Day 2 Giza Plateau

Bus to the plateau shared with the locals; Dora smiling on the right. Hoda is the girl w/ pink headdress at the end of the bus. She's our local guide for the day.

Day 2, we take a bus from Cairo to Giza. I do not have a seat, so I am dangling in the middle of the bus, feeling the straight stares from the men sitting down below. By the time, I have become used to random calls, hissing, staring from the street. If you ignore it, it's not that bad. in the bazaar, everywhere I go, people ask me if I am Japanese. When I say no, then they keep on guessing "Korean?", "Nepal?", "Chinese?"... I finally got sick of it and say no to everything. One man, after exhausting all possible answers say "Egyptian?", another even said "From the moon?" We burst out laughing. YES, we are from the moon.

Policeman on the camel patrolling the plateau

As soon as we get off the bus, we see the Great Pyramid, built by Khufu 2650 BC I believe, and the second pyramid of Khafre. As we get closer, it becomes more massive in size. I am in awe when I get to its foot. Its limestone cover has all been removed to built some of the Islamic mosques during the ages after the pharaohs so its facade is not smooth any longer but with huge blocks of stones forming steps all the way up to 437 meters pointing to the sky. When you walk by it, you are covered by a shade. It takes a long time to walk out of the shade.

1st photo is the Great Pyramid. Second one is the Second Pyramid, the Third Pyramid and one of the Queen's Pyramids.

There are loads of camels and locals trying to get the tourists to ride the camel or take photos with it. We were warned by Daniel to not get onto the camel back because touts were especially bad at the Giza Plateau. We heard stories that some tourists were held "hostage" on camel back until they paid the asked price. One tourist paid 1000 EGP to ride the camel which almost could buy the camel itself.
We walk down the shaft in the Second Pyramid. It's about 100 meters long (300 feet more or less), two way traffic in less than three feet wide slope. There are handles on each side of the wall. Dim white light. Julee's ok so far since there is light. The shaft is about 4 feet tall, so everyone has to bend down with the head up in order to walk down the slope. Several occasions, I hit my head on the wall above. After the downward slope, we then go to a flat area that's about 8 feet tall, 10 feet long, then we see the same size shaft, this time going upward. So the bending starts again. People behind us are yelling in Arabic and smoking. The air is thin but thick with smoke. We stop to let them go pass us so we don't feel rushed. At the end of the shaft, we come into the burial ground of the pharaoh. The mummy is not inside but the sarcophagus is. It's a plain stone coffin, with is lid open. I touch the coffin. It's icy cold.

The Sphinx sits royally, about 15 minutes of walk from the pyramids. The big cat has stretched out paws and the face of King Khafre without the nose. The guide says it's not Napoleon that damaged the face of Sphinx but the erosion of sand and wind over thousands of years. From the Sphinx, you can take in the entire view of the three pyramids. There is a bunch of pyramids of the queens, where the queens, sisters, or mothers of the Pharaohs lie. They can not compare to the three major pyramids in size.
Sphinx in front of the Second Pyramid. It is impossible for me to take a picture w/ the Sphinx and all three pyramids in the background. There is massive land and distance between them.

I try to climb one of the mastabas (stone tombs that buried the king's close family and royal court), flat tombs surrounding the pyramids, but the whistles of the police stop me abruptly. He comes rushing to me, blowing his whistle with on mercy. I panic and almost roll of the rocky steps. Why me? The smart Egyptians already climb to the top from the other side, without even being detected.

In the afternoon, we visit the Cairo Museum. I will elaborate later on the mummies.

What a day!