Tombs and Pyramids, Pyramids and Tombs

Hello again, it's taken a while to get this update finished but here we go.

Kendra's update ended with our amazing week long dive trip on the Red Sea. Once we were back on land we soaked up the sun at a resort in Hurghada (on the Red Sea Coast). There isn't much to say about it of course because all we did was eat, sleep, read and lay out in the sun.


The Beach at our Resort in Hurghada

On Sunday, after 3 days, we left Hurghada and went back to the craziness that is Cairo. I had only booked a hotel the night before so our fingers were crossed hoping that it would be decent. A bit of drama ensued on the way to the hotel when driving through a tunnel we heard several loud screeches and bangs as an accident took place right in front of us. Ohh, don't worry, an accident in Cairo isn't like an accident back home. Our driver just kept going and so did whichever car could still move. The best part was the Cab that probably caused the whole thing driving off with his rear bumper dragging on the road and two rather dazed looking people in the back wondering if they had just imagined it all. Judging by what we'd seen on the roads up to that point, we weren't suprised, just happy not to be involved.

Our hotel in Cairo turned out to be a bit of a gem. It was built originally in 1907, as a bath house, converted into British Officers club and finally a hotel in 1952. The place has so much character that it's been in several movies with several actors (mostly Egyptian) having stayed there. According to the hotel manager we stayed in the same room as an actor from the Monty Python movies who was there back in the 70's or something, we felt honored.

This second stint in Cairo was not to be like the first (i.e. sleeping) and once we were settled in our room we set out immediately to take in the famous sites. We started out with the ancient Egyptian capital Memphis. Next was the Bent Pyramid, the Red Pyramid, and the Step Pyramid of Djoser's (as well as a few tombs older than even the pyramids). You may have guessed then that the Pyramids of Egypt aren't just the famous ones that we see all the time but in fact there are many pyramids scattered along the vast plateau's above the Nile. From our first stop we could see as many as 15 (approx.) pyramids in our view North up the Nile valley, including - because it was a clear day - the Great Pyramids far off in the distance. Incredible. As a short history lesson, it's interesting to note that the practice of building the pyramids for the tombs of the Pharaohs was abandoned after it became obvious that they were easy targets for tomb robbers. Instead of constructing the massive pyramids they moved the tombs to a secret location near Luxor that would be much easier to conceal, hence the Valley of the Kings. Unfortunately for them this didn't work either and, as we mentioned in our first Egypt update, only one tomb from hundreds of burials was actually discovered intact, Tutankhamun, a.k.a. King Tut.

We were allowed to go into one of the pyramids called the Red Pyramid, which basically meant crawling down a steep sloping tunnel about 4 feet high for about 160m. Once through there were 2 large rooms to explore that really took your breath away, first, because it was truly rank in there, and second, because of the sheer genius of its construction especially considering the primitive technology available at the time. What makes these structures even harder to comprehend is the fact that they predate any stone structures ever found around the world. The first one, with the prestigous title of the worlds first stone structure, was King Djosers Step Pyramid built and completed around 2600 B.C. - That's 4600 years ago...What! How can these still exist and more importantly how can I be standing in a room where people once walked, or touch a stone larger than a car that was carved and put in place that long ago! More than the temples from the Nile, these pyramids really shook me with that revelation.


The road to the Red Pyramid, the first "True Pyramid" of Ancient Egypt.


The Bent Pyramid in the distance. This was constructed before the Red Pyramid, half way through construction they discovered the angle was too great and had to change it to a gentler slope in order to finish the work.


A closeup of the Red Pyramid.


King Djoser's Step pyramid and the worlds oldest remaining stone structure!



Our next day, the last in Egypt, we saved for the Great Pyramids of Giza. Trust me when I say we "Saved the best for last". The day started by visiting a section of Cairo called the "City of the Dead". This is a cemetary, found in the middle of Cairo, that was first used by muslims as early as 1200 AD. However, this cemetary is a bit different. As the population exploded in Cairo from 2 to 18 million people, the crypts of this "City", which have an extra room for visitors of the deceased, also became room for the living. Poor people began to squat in the crypts and use them as home...and we thought Calgary had a homeless problem!

We visited a large mosque in the middle of this "Dead City" called the Sultan Barqouk mosque. We spent an hour or so enjoying its architecture and the views allowed from climbing one of the two large minarets. Next was a typical tour ploy, our driver stopped at a papyrus painting studio and we got the spiel on how ancient papyrus was made. Of course they must have known that Kendra and I are suckers for paintings and we proceeded to find ourselves persuaded into buying some paintings at outrageous prices...Damn, it happens every time. I tell you, any traveller that says he's never been ripped off, is either lying, or just doesn't know it. Oh well, the paintings are nice.


Sultan Barqouk's Mosque in the "City of the Dead". We climbed the Minaret on the right to get the view from the next photo.



OK, and here it is, our last stop would be the most famous of all, The Great Pyramids of Giza. We'd seen them briefly from the car prior to this but now it would be up close and personal. @#$%, they are amazing. Of course we've all seen the pictures, heard the stories, and put an idea into our minds of what they are actually like, but you can never quite know if what you hear is true. Well let me say this, its all true! Every word of it! Incredible is too mundane a word for this.

My first impression, even as we saw them from a distance, was just how incredibly big they actually are. They are massive, and literally dominate everything around them. We first went to the famous Sphinx and then proceeded to spend 2 and a half hours, wondering around the site. Every time you closed your eyes and opened them again you just couldn't believe what you were looking at. The other rumours about this site are also true, yes, there is a KFC at the entrance, yes, the vendors are constantly barading you to buy a statue, ride a camel etc. and yes, the city is right next to the site, but who cares! How about some pictures.


The Shpinx, Khafre, and Khufu (Cheops) Pyramid's all in one photo. Oh yah, and tourists.


Kendra and the Sphinx


The Khafre Pyramid


The Great Pyramids of Egypt, L-R, Pyramid of Menkaure, Pyramid of Khafre, and the Pyramid of Khufu which is the largest actually. (The 3 in front were for Menkaure's Queens)


The Great Pyramid of Khufu standing originally at 146.6m tall and now after erosion and the removal/theft of the topmost stone just a bit shorter 138m!


The base of the Khafre pyramid, amazing.

So that was Egypt! Boring I know, the next morning we were on a plane and headed back to...Vienna actually. That’s right the trip isn’t quite over we have three nights in Vienna before we finally head home to start planning our next trip (can anyone say Peru...Galapagos).

Mike and Kendra