Diamond Giza

What a terrific first day in Egypt! We finally arrived in Giza after a long day travelling – which included 3hrs stuck on the tarmac in Chicago while several issues with the plane were fixed (no water, needed de-icing etc). Our German pilot (we were flying a Lufthansa code share) was NOT impressed and complained about it several times as he kept us updated on the delays (“Well, this is ridiculous here in Chicago – but safety first, I suppose” – umm, you think??!!). But eventually we were underway, stopping en route in Frankfurt for our transfer – and to pick up Lisa!! Our flight from Frankfurt to Cairo was uneventful (although it felt a lot longer than 4hrs) and en route we flew over some pretty spectacular mountain ranges (I think in Germany). As we approached Cairo, the city sprawl below was very evident – but looked very pretty as the lights sparkled in the growing dusk.

We’d booked the whole trip through a local Jordanian travel agent recommended by one of Lee Ann’s colleagues who had been lovely throughout the planning- but a little scattered at times, so we were just a teeny bit apprehensive as to how our arrival was going to go. We needn’t have worried as a very nice chap was there to meet us as we came into the arrivals hall and he very efficiently escorted us through getting our visas, passport control and retrieving our baggage. Bish bash bosh. We found an ATM and got some Egyptian pounds (a freebie tip for all you travelers out there: if you get out a non-rounded number like 3950 EGP then the machine is forced to give you small notes – you’re welcome!) and then got rolling for the transfer to our hotel in Giza. Time it takes depends on traffic but around an hour is pretty standard. We’re staying at the Marriott Mena – right slap bang next to the Great Pyramids!! As it was already dark by the time we were on the road, all we could see were shadowy Tobleronesque outlines – building the excitement for our first full day!

Unbelievably, I made it out of bed the next morning at 6.30am, having had a surprisingly good nights sleep! (yey for NyQuil plus my sleep supplements). As I walked over to the hotel gym, I got my first Proper Look at a Proper Pyramid. So pointy! And HUGE – even from a distance!! After my workout (am training for a 5K), I met Lisa and Lee Ann for breakfast before we finally met up with our guide for the next 4 days, a lovely lady called Gina plus our driver, Karim. Today’s itinerary was centered around Giza and getting some Big Sights checked off our Egypt bucket list – the first one being a trip to the ancient city of Memphis which used to be the capital before the founding of Cairo. Now, I don’t have time and sufficient energy (jetlag is slooooowly starting to nibble at my cerebral cortex’s edges) to give you the full skinny of all the history Gina shared with us today. But suffice to say – this shit is OLD. Like, proper old. 3000 yrs BC old. And that’s old. Lee Ann’s mind was totally blown and she was temporarily rendered mute in awe! As we were walking in Memphis (admit it – you just sang that, didn’t you?), we saw up close our first hieroglyphics, sarcophagus, sphinx and giant statue of Rameses The Great (looking pretty buff, I must say). There were sleeping dogs (which we let lie) and the weather was just about right – a touch over 70 degrees. Rameses II is regarded as one of the greatest and most powerful pharaohs in Egyptian history and reigned for an incredible 66 years!! (from c.1279 – 1213 BC – the 19th dynasty). He was a renowned warrior having fought (and won) many battles but also was said to have achieved one of the earliest peace treaties in world history. He was also a bit of a ladies man (its good to be the King) and had 90 children! Because of his lengthy reign, he had a LOT of time to build cities, monuments and temples dedicated to – yep, Rameses II – so there are more surviving statues of Rameses II than any other pharaoh, including the 10m high limestone behemoth that we saw at Memphis.

Our next stop after Memphis was to go see the stepped pyramid at Saqqaara – the first ever pyramid constructed in the 3rd Dynasty for King Djoser in 2667BC (there were 30 great dynasties of ancient Egypt in all, beginning from around 3100 BC – that’s over 5,000 years ago!!!). (if you’d like to learn more about all 30 dynasties, here’s a cool website I found that has some great information – including a typewriter that you can use to write your name in hieroglyphs!! https://discoveringegypt.com/)

Saqqarra is still a very active archeological site with lots of white tents and the like – and just a couple weeks prior, a golden sarcophagus had been discovered. I was getting distinct Indiana Jones vibes (you know – the scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark when they are digging for the Ark just outside Cairo and the diggers and Indy are all silhouetted on the far horizon… ) but fortunately we didn’t have to dodge any rolling boulders or enthusiastic tarantulas as we explored the sites. That whole complex apparently used to be surrounded by a huge wall 10.5 meters high (the entrance and colonnade of which we went through) and the whole complex was thought of less a tomb, but more as Djoser’s royal residence for eternity. The man responsible for carrying out the project was Djoser’s Prime Minister, Imhotep. Imhotep is credited as the inventor of building in stone and was a man of many talents—architect, physician, master sculptor, scribe, and astronomer. He may be the first true genius in recorded history, and his impact on Egyptian life and custom was profound. He was later deified as the god of wisdom and medicine.

We also visited the tomb of Princess Seshseshhet Idut, who was a princess in the 6th dynasty during the reign of King Teti (c.2345 – 2323 BC). The wall carvings inside were just incredible – the color of the various ochres used so vibrant after nearly 5,000 years!! Gina pointed out various interesting carvings depicting daily life during that time – including one of people collecting taxes (with a delinquent getting beaten as punishment!) as well as many different animals, fish and flora (my favorite – the baby hippo being born – right into the jaws of a waiting beast!). Under some hieroglyphs, there were additional markings – which Gina explained were numbers so it was basically a shopping list for the various servants, animals and foodstuffs the Princess required to be provided to her for the afterlife!

After Saqqarra, we got back in the van and headed towards the largest pyramid of them all, the Khufu Pyramid within the Giza Necropolis. On the way, we stopped at a carpet school where they showed us how they both weave and hand-knot the rugs and carpets. And yes- both Lisa and I succumbed to temptation and bought a rug each. Lisa’s is a gorgeous runner and mine will be perfect to hang in the SkyNest! It has 250 knots per square inch!! The most terrifying job has to be the chap who trims all the rugs right at the very end to make sure they are all level and perfect. One false snip and that’s potentially months of work (and thousands of dollars!) ruined! I think I haggled suitably hard – but at the end of the day, everyone has to make a living so I don’t get too worked up about whether I got it for the absolute cheapest I could. I’m sure we are probably paying some kind of premium as we are tourists (and I’m sure there is also some kind of arrangement between that particular carpet factory and our tour company) but after a very hard few years for the tourist trade, I’m OK with spending a few bucks here and there to support local businesses.

Anyway, back to the Great Pyramids of Giza. There were two pyramids to potentially explore – so we chose to visit the larger one (go big or go home, amiright?). Gina cautioned us that it wasn’t suitable if you had bad knees, a bad back or got claustrophobic – that should have given us a bit of a clue what to expect, but we did it anyway. Holy shit. It was nuts. To reach the top of the pyramid you, obviously, had to climb a number of stairs. And it was very very narrow – in places, you couldn’t stand upright, so you were hunched over as you climbed up these stairs – while people were also coming back down the same way!! The guy right in front of us took one look at the ascending staircase as it got super narrow and steep – and just Nope-d out. Even after having waited for at least half an hour to get to that point!

But we did it – and it really wasn’t all that bad – even as it got hotter and hotter as we ascended. After about 10mins, we reached the top and clambered out into the burial chamber – which was (I’m gonna say it) kinda underwhelming, if I’m being totally honest! There was a big granite sarcophagus towards the back of the space, plus two small square openings in the wall (so that the spirit could reenter) – but other than that, there was no (visible) decoration on the walls or anything other than some impressive masonry work. No piles of gold or gemstones or skeletons with spikes through their skulls. Ah well. After maybe 5mins talking pictures of us Walking Like Egyptians, it was time to head back the way we came. So we were now going down those narrow, steep stairs Fortunately it was almost 3pm by this stage, so it probably wasn’t quite so busy as the descent was pretty straightforward and none of us tripped, fell and died, so that was a win. My straw hat acted as a buffer between the top of my head and the low stone tunnel roof, so I managed to avoid clonking myself on the noggin too.

But wait! There was even more excitement for our first day in Egypt (we haven’t even been here for 24hrs yet!) as we decided to take a very local form of transport to our restaurant for lunch – a camel! I’ve been on a camel before (a long time ago with Mumsie in Tunisia) so I remembered the drill for how to get on and off but it was a first for Lisa. My camel was called Mickey Mouse (umm…), Lisa’s was Ali Baba and Lee Ann’s was Michael Jackson (no moonwalking, alas!) It took about 25mins to ride over to our lunch stop, during which we got some great pictures, taken by our guide Mahmoud.

We finally had lunch just before 4pm (fortunately Lisa had brought snacks!) which was delicious – especially the rice pudding which was sublime. So creamy. After lunch, we stopped to say hi to the Great Sphinx but didn’t have all that long there, as the sun was setting and the traffic guards didn’t really like us stopping right on the road so were trying to shuffle us on quickly (Gina sweettalked them into letting us stop for just a couple minutes). So we didn’t have time to wander up close and take a good look (which was a shame) but it was still incredible to see this iconic image right there, in front of our eyes. For some reason, I’d kinda thought that the Sphinx was right in the middle of the desert, surrounded by nothing by sweeping majesty sand dunes – I certainly wasn’t expecting to see it right next to a main road!!! As we didn’t have long to stand around and chat about it, I looked up some additional info on the Sphinx from Wikipedia – here’s the link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Sphinx_of_Giza but TL;DR – it’s the oldest known monumental sculpture in Egypt and one of the most recognizable statues in the world. The archaeological evidence suggests that it was created by ancient Egyptians of the Old Kingdom during the reign of Khafre (c. 2558–2532 BC)

Finally, our very last stop of the day (this is Day One, so how any of us were still functioning was beyond me!) was to a perfume factory where, yes, I bought some essential fragrances including the local specialties of lotus flower, papyrus as well as orange blossom and nard (which is great for meditation). Lisa also bought some including a eucalyptus and sandalwood blend plus a Nefertiti blend. The guy who was showing us all the various different fragrances was quite a character and had clearly perfected his sales pitch over the years!

After sniffing each other’s appendages more than I’d have ever expected to (even Krusty got in on the act and was gently rubbed with Arabian Nights) and after my credit card started begging for mercy, it was finally time to call it a day and make our way back to the Marriott Mena for an early night, a hot bath and a well-deserved rest. What a simply spectacular start to our vacation! Tomorrow, museum treasures await!!!