pyramids and the Sphinx

I decided to rent a car to go to the pyramids today, as some of them are a bit hard to get to on public transit.  I should say I rented a car with a driver-even I am not foolish enough to try to drive here.  I ended up sharing it with a couple from England-that was an interesting beginning.  Their car arrived just moments before mine (I just found out then that they were also going to the pyramids) and they went down.  I went down shortly after and found them in a dispute with their driver who had a black taxi (old, beat up and NO air con) when they were promised a car with A/C.  My car was nice, my driver was nice and so we arranged for them to come with me.  Their driver was very upset and kept talking about being able to switch cars, he would get a permit....which is shorthand for you are going to sit for an hour or two while he negotiates something and then you will be asked to pay extra to compensate him.  So off we went in our lovely air conditioned car.  It was already 90 when I went out walking at 6 am so A/C was more than a luxury.  The couple are both teachers, Nathan is English and teaches math in high school and Aurelia is French and teaches French and Spanish.  They are probably mid 30s and very nice.

We went to Giza first, to the more famous and oft visited 3 pyramids and the Sphinx.  Given that almost nothing the Pharoahs chose to honor and keep was female, I suppose the Sphinx is male, but I'm going to consider her a female.  I liked the Sphinx.  (I will post photos, hopefully tomorrow).  At the entrance to the pyramids, the driver, who speaks very little English, rolls down his window and greets the security police, dropping his left hand outside the car door and out of sight.  The official drops his hand too and it appears they have shaken hands.  Baksheesh given and accepted, the gate opens and we drive in.

The pyramids are truly amazing, as you would expect.  It's really hard to describe them as anything other than a mathematical wonder.  Of course you can no longer climb on them and you can't get close enough to touch the Sphinx (although with enough baksheesh I am sure you could), but there are all sorts of lesser tombs and structures partially restored or dug out, and we were able to clambor all over them.  There are deep tombs, into which it would not be good to fall, and there is nothing to keep you out, no railings, no coverings over most of them.  There was a doorway to a small room, so of course I went in it, and in the dark corner what appeared to be the beginning of a stairway.  I nearly went over and checked it out-and then Nathan threw a rock down...and it was not a stairway.  Oh my.  He and Aurelia wandered about as did I and we just sort of kept each other in sight so as to keep pace with each other at the end.  So sometimes I was on my own and sometimes exploring with them.  Both were nice.  Lots of touts trying to sell a camel ride, a photo on a camel, a horse ride, a carriage ride, water, soda, a photo op. 

Next stop was further out of town.  We drove along a canal fed by the Nile, and I was enchanted by the crops being cultivated.  I wanted to ask the driver questions but his English did not allow for it.  I know there were mangos, corn, several kinds of vegetables, date palms by the hundreds or thousands and many others.  And bougainvillea.  Fruit sands abounded, worked by a young woman in full abeyya (robe, scarf, etc) or a young boy, barefoot and dirty.  Guava, mangos, grapes, bananas and I know not what else.  The road was filled with potholes and of course trucks and other cars, so much jockeying for position and speed, then abrupt slowing for speedbumps, then off again.  In spite of the way they drive, when a small girl dashed in front of us, the driver adeptly avoided hitting her as her mother looked on. 

We passed through a village, with deep rutted dirt roads, donkey carts, like new cars, bicycles, pedestrians and taxis shared the road.  Could have been any small town in central America, except for the signs in Arabic and the clothing.

The second stop was Saqqara, which is home to the Step Pyramid.  The Step Pyramid is the first ever built, in fact the oldest stone structure, older than Stonehenge.  Then lunch-what awesome food!  Kevin and Philip, you both being foodies, you would have really appreciated this lunch.  I was frankly not expecting much, as this was right next to a pyramid and I figured it just got by on location and necessity. However, it was delicious.  We were served a big platter of the bread they make called 'aish-sort of like pillows of air but delicious, then little plates, with tanini, baba ghanoug, falafel, an eggplant mixture and another kind of mixture and then chicken and beef on little grills with tomato and peppers.  All of it was absolutely delightful.

The last stop was at Dashur, which has the Red Pyramid and the Bent Pyramid.  We only got to go to the Red Pyramid, as these are in the middle of a military zone and they close them at will.  We were able to go inside the pyramid by climbing about half way up the outside on steps built for that purpose (have I mentioned how hot it was?)-steep steps.  Then you enter a shaft that slants fairly steeply down about 65 metres into the interior of the pyramid.  It has a metal bottom, with sort of 2x2 wooden slats spaced about a foot or two apart to act as steps and keep you from sliding right down.  It is only about 3 feet wide and 3 feet high, so you have to stoop as well.  It got cooler immediately as I went down but incredibly damp so that just standing at the bottom my skin was dripping-more like condensation than sweat.  At the bottom was a large room and then another short passageway, then another room with a wooden staircase.  Up I went, only to find it dead ended.  So, then I panicked.  Only one way in and out?  That 3x3 shaft?  Oh shit!  I decided to exit post haste.  I kept the panic down by concentrating on the slats in front of me.  I quite literally felt close to losing it.  I guess spelunking is off my list of future activities!

Saw a mummy in the museum, along with lots of amazing artifacts.  there were some drinking cups and bowls made of calcite that were so thin they were almost translucent, yet perfectly formed and smooth.  A 12 foot or longer spear, with a wooden case to carry it in-think of a really long pool stick case.

On our way back out on the dirt road we got a flat tire.  While I knew this must be a hassle for the driver, I really didn't mind, I had no where else to be and it was just part of the adventure.  He limped the car into the village we had passed through before and there he got someone to fix it very quickly. 

I dozed off a bit coming back, and my legs are a bit wobbly from all the climbing.  Great day, all in all.  And I found a different hotel after I got back, for Friday and Saturday nights.  The room is bright and clean, with air conditioning, in an historical building with an interesting elevator which has to be operated by the staff-it has a lever that you push one way to go up and the other to go down.  So you 'call' the car by ringing a bell.