Finally, the last post of Egypt!! We ended our day, and also our trip, with a visit to the Great Pyramids at Giza. This worked best with our travel schedule, but it was also nice to end our adventure with one of the best attractions. I think we had all heard about what to expect, in that there are parking lots, and vendors, and whatnot, and that the pyramids are no longer isolated in the desert, but it wasn't so bad. In comparison to everything else we saw though, this was definitely the busiest spot, and it was so nice to see so many other things without all the people. I can only imagine what these places are like when it is high tourist season.
Along our drive we caught glimpses of the pyramids in the background of the skyline
A nice view to have!
Downtown Giza. Last donkey picture, I promise :)
Beautiful colors
Ticket prices in English and Arabic. The entry fee is 60 Egyptian pounds or 30 for students. The price for Egyptians (listed in Arabic) is 2 pounds, or 1 pound for students. Wow.
The pyramid of Khufu, the oldest of the bunch. Dating to 2550 BC, it is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, and was the tallest structure in the world until St Mary's Cathedral was built in London in 1300 AD. That's a long time!
The Great Pyramid of Khafre, the son of Khufu. Technically shorter than Khufu's pyramid (in respect for his father's monument), it is built on slightly higher ground, and therefore appears to be the tallest. At the top a section of the original outer limestone covering survives. The rest of the limestone, as in the case for all of the pyramids, was later stripped away and reused for other building projects.
The Pyramid of Menkaura, Khafre's son, and the smallest of the bunch
The parking lot, with the two favored modes of transportation
Feeding the camels
The result of that feeding :)
One of the 6 smaller pyramids on the site, built for various wives of the 3 Pharaohs
No one else was obeying the rules, so...
The chaos of Giza. Tour groups, school groups full of small children, camels, horses, people trying to sell stuff, tourist police, guards, construction workers, etc. Even still, it wasn't that crowded, and once we walked away from the first pyramid we had the place to ourselves. Quite a few children and young teens approached us for pictures. At first we thought it was somehow a scam, but they never asked for money, and we then realized that many of them had likely never been to such a large metropolis before, and therefore had never before seen foreigners.
From right to left, view of the Pyramid of Khafre, of Menkaura, and a smaller queen's pyramid. The Pyramid of Khufu is on the right, just outside the frame of this picture.
Camel rides!! We heard they are a ripoff, but whatever! There was no way we were going to leave Egypt without riding a camel. Plus, we were able to bargain down to a price we were happy with, and it was one of the funnest things I've ever done. Here is my camel, Moses.
He's a cutie!
Because there were 5 of us, and we all wanted to ride one individually, they had to call more guys over. The guy in the back is trying to persuade some of us to ride horses instead of camels. No way!
Eek!
This expression says it all: "Holy shit, I'm on a camel in Egypt!!" They are incredibly tall by the way, which doesn't become until they stand up (which they do very quickly!).
Pure joy
During a self-timer photo we accidentally caught a camel walking by in the background. Photobomb!
Surface of Khafre's pyramid
Corner shot. Each stone is several tons, and was placed by hand, although we still don't exactly know how.
The sphinx!
She's a lot smaller than I expected, but quite cute!
We met our driver at the Pizza Hut in town. I love the Arabic, and also the reflection of one of the pyramids in the window.
On our way back to Cairo we saw the Egyptian equivalent of a tow truck. Yikes.
Back at the hostel, packing up our suitcases which had exploded. Our flight left at 4:55am, and we had to leave the hostel at 2am. Luckily we were able catch a few hour's nap before we had to leave. Crazy hours, but so worth it.
Alla ysalmak Egypt and shokran
Along our drive we caught glimpses of the pyramids in the background of the skyline
A nice view to have!
Downtown Giza. Last donkey picture, I promise :)
Beautiful colors
Ticket prices in English and Arabic. The entry fee is 60 Egyptian pounds or 30 for students. The price for Egyptians (listed in Arabic) is 2 pounds, or 1 pound for students. Wow.
The pyramid of Khufu, the oldest of the bunch. Dating to 2550 BC, it is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, and was the tallest structure in the world until St Mary's Cathedral was built in London in 1300 AD. That's a long time!
The Great Pyramid of Khafre, the son of Khufu. Technically shorter than Khufu's pyramid (in respect for his father's monument), it is built on slightly higher ground, and therefore appears to be the tallest. At the top a section of the original outer limestone covering survives. The rest of the limestone, as in the case for all of the pyramids, was later stripped away and reused for other building projects.
The Pyramid of Menkaura, Khafre's son, and the smallest of the bunch
The parking lot, with the two favored modes of transportation
Feeding the camels
The result of that feeding :)
One of the 6 smaller pyramids on the site, built for various wives of the 3 Pharaohs
No one else was obeying the rules, so...
The chaos of Giza. Tour groups, school groups full of small children, camels, horses, people trying to sell stuff, tourist police, guards, construction workers, etc. Even still, it wasn't that crowded, and once we walked away from the first pyramid we had the place to ourselves. Quite a few children and young teens approached us for pictures. At first we thought it was somehow a scam, but they never asked for money, and we then realized that many of them had likely never been to such a large metropolis before, and therefore had never before seen foreigners.
From right to left, view of the Pyramid of Khafre, of Menkaura, and a smaller queen's pyramid. The Pyramid of Khufu is on the right, just outside the frame of this picture.
Camel rides!! We heard they are a ripoff, but whatever! There was no way we were going to leave Egypt without riding a camel. Plus, we were able to bargain down to a price we were happy with, and it was one of the funnest things I've ever done. Here is my camel, Moses.
He's a cutie!
Because there were 5 of us, and we all wanted to ride one individually, they had to call more guys over. The guy in the back is trying to persuade some of us to ride horses instead of camels. No way!
Eek!
This expression says it all: "Holy shit, I'm on a camel in Egypt!!" They are incredibly tall by the way, which doesn't become until they stand up (which they do very quickly!).
Pure joy
During a self-timer photo we accidentally caught a camel walking by in the background. Photobomb!
Surface of Khafre's pyramid
Corner shot. Each stone is several tons, and was placed by hand, although we still don't exactly know how.
The sphinx!
She's a lot smaller than I expected, but quite cute!
We met our driver at the Pizza Hut in town. I love the Arabic, and also the reflection of one of the pyramids in the window.
On our way back to Cairo we saw the Egyptian equivalent of a tow truck. Yikes.
Back at the hostel, packing up our suitcases which had exploded. Our flight left at 4:55am, and we had to leave the hostel at 2am. Luckily we were able catch a few hour's nap before we had to leave. Crazy hours, but so worth it.
Alla ysalmak Egypt and shokran
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