Pyramids

Yes, I went to the famous pyramids at Giza. I had a private guide take me around the site on horseback. We rode around the tombs of the workers, up to the pyramid of Khafre, and the sphinx. It's great to be somewhere that isn't so worried about safety and preservation because I got to climb on the second pyramid for some photos. I'm sure the lawyers in the U.S. would never allow such a thing to happen. The size of the pyramids is, of course, staggering but so is the steep angle at which they were built. I had trouble seeing the top point while standing at the base. All around the bottom are small rocks and dust from the stones that we see now, but also from the limestone casing. Large blocks are partially buried in the sand from falling so long ago. The sphinx is also impressive, but relatively small by comparison. There were dozens of people riding horses or camels around the complex, but many hundreds of people from the tour buses were walking around. It is a very busy place. I told my guide that it was nice of the pharoahs to build the pyramids to help bring in the tourist dollars.

The other stop of the day was Saqqara to see the first step pyramid which was for King Zoser. I walked into a couple of tombs with hieroglyphs all over the walls. Stooping over to walk through the passageways made me wish I was shorter.

One driver took me to the sights for the day. He drove like everybody else in Cairo: aggressively. Horns are used to pass, the speed limit is: as fast as you dare, pedestrians cross at their own risk, and there are no stoplights or lane dividers. On what would be a four lane road in the U.S., they can fit seven cars across in a traffic jam. As I saw more of the area around Cairo, it looked just as dirty and depressed as the city. People live in brick apartment building that are half-finished, with support pillars and rebar coming out of the top floor. Garbage is everywhere, especially on the banks of canals, and most of the roads are in poor shape.

So, I will be happy to leave Cairo because the only interesting things are the historical monuments. Tomorrow, I leave for Aswan on a 13-hour train ride south. The hotel is hosting a New Year's Eve party tonight with dinner. It shouldn't be too difficult to take it easy since alcohol is so hard to find here.