We started in Sakara, with the first Egyptian pyramid built for King Zoser, a step pyramid. Our guide is an archeologist who helped to unearth the site- he took us in tombs which are not open to the public and oh my. The artwork- only 2400 BC, base reliefs and carved reliefs showing everyday life in Egypt. These tombs were for a pair of royal hairdressers, which says they were brothers, but the base reliefs show some very close brothers. Another tomb was for a whole fleet of butchers, buried below the Zoser level but above the common worker bees. On the way to Sakara, you drive down the Nile flood plain- so amazing. It is lush green farmland, with water buffalo and donkeys and horses and carts and farmers and all the accouterments. When you get to the end of the road, the lush green stops and the Sahara desert begins as if drawn by a line. The Nile flood plain is as fertile as they say!
Next we stopped at a rug making school to watch young boys and girls learning how to make oriental rugs and tapestries. We bought a Bedouin style rug with turquoise and orange and dark blue- very beautiful, and benefiting the poor children from the area. Always happy to help out! Next we had lunch at a hunting palace built by the royal family in the early 1800s. The palace is a hotel now, has been home to dignitaries like Charlie Chaplin and Winston Churchill. Our guide told us that two weeks ago he was a guide for Harvey Keitel and family and Robert De Niro and family who were there for a wedding. He says Harvey Keitel drinks all the time. He was amazed. The most impressive thing is that the Great pyramid is visible from the window! Stunning art work and metal work in the dining room.
After lunch it was time for the Giza pyramids. We turned a corner and there they were! Too much really, when you have wanted to see something all your life and suddenly there it is. We went up to the plateau for a camel ride, and then down through the complex to wander over to the sphinx. Really mind blowing and frankly impossible to get your brain around. The pyramids are made of millions of blocks, each weighing between a tone and fifteen tons. We went to the solar boat museum, which is a boat made of cedar found near the base of the Great pyramid and rebuilt. It was placed next to the tomb for the Pharaoh's use on his trip to heaven, made of 100 foot long planks of cedar.
We rested for a few hours, and have just returned from having dinner with an Egyptian family here in Cairo. The tour offers it as a cultural exchange and we went for it. Really lovely time and great food. The agency matched us with a couple our age. Turns out the lady of the house is also a needle worker- she does crochet, and I had brought her some hand knit washies, so we had much to discuss. Really fun, until we found out from our guide that the Egyptian tourist police were outside in their van guaranteeing our safety. It seems that Egypt wants to avoid terrorism problems with Americans at all costs, so the tourist police make certain we are safe- can't complain, but it was bit sobering.......
wow - who organized this tour? Gotta experience this place, and not just vicariously.
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