Day 7 - Cairo [Day 3] - Pyramids!

Friday, November 26, 2010

Dahshur

Today I visited all the major pyramid fields in the Cairo area. Pyramid = tomb = statement "I lived". That is my synopsis after seeing and reading about these gigantic out-of-this-world structures. A pharoah's tomb began construction the day he took office, so to speak. 

Roadside sugar cane

This was another early day, and we start at 7:30 AM on Friday, which is good for us, as, due to the weekend, no traffic on the streets. I realize what it takes for no tooting car horns and a million cars on Cairo's streets. Weekend early morning. Sayed, our driver for the day, shows up with tigger in his back seat, and a car that's seen better days and reeks of tobacco smoke, but he's game to show us around for the day. So away we go.

Ramses statue - Memphis

On the drive down to Memphis, the ancient capital of the first pharoah who united upper and lower Egypt nearly 4,000 years ago, that he's been driving for Pension Roma guests for nearly 25 years. He proceeds to show us some sights along the way that we'll be passing, and shows us our first glimpse of the Giza pyramids, where we will end our day, off in the haze. Awesome! 

Alabaster sphinx - Memphis

Half an hour later, we arrive at Memphis. The city was built of clay and mud, and has long since returned to the Nile, but archeologists continue to dig and find. The site itself is nothing to sneeze at, but has a supine gigantic statue of Ramses [one of them] under a roof, and some other statuary in the open-air museum. A WC break later, we are on our way back out and on to Dahshur to visit the Red and Bent pyramids.

Bent pyramid

The Bent pyramid is one of the oldest, and many believe this helped lay the groundwork for the great pyramids at Giza. "Bent" because the angle changes about 2/3 of the way up the pyramid. Our guidebook tells us that this was because of a nearby collapse of another pyramid being raised at the same angle, with the Architect then questioning his design and making changes. Huh.... a few thousand years later and some things remain the same.... 

So we picked up our very own police escort at the site, and gave him a ride to his camp on our way to the Bent pyramid. This one is not open to tourists to go down in, but you can walk around it. As we did, we were joined by an Egyptian guard who asks the standard question: "where you from". I wander a little further afield for other shots of the pyramids, leaving Andrea to deal with our escort for a while. A few minutes later, I see that his camel is going down, and she's going to take him up for a ride... you go girl! I don't remember either our Camel Cop's name nor our ride, but I also take my first ride on the ship of the desert. It's different, but it's fun. CC also takes us around to where you can try to "lift" the pyramid. Fun, and I get into it too.

Red pyramid

Red pyramid

After our little trip, Sayed drops us off at one corner and we start walking around. After our circumnavigation of the pyramid, we are off to go inside. The steps up are a little steep, and my lack of shape is showing as I'm a little out of breath as we start to descend to the mouth of the pyramid. The stale and musty air, with the small quarters, has a wave of claustrophobia overcoming me, and I call down to Andrea to go ahead, and that I would join her if I could. I take a few minutes to get my breath, and to get aquainted with the size of the passage as well as the stale and ammonia-like smell, while sitting only a few steps inside. Finally the claustrophobia edges away, and away I go, something like 60 meters downhill bent over. Once again, I'm thankful that I'm vertically challenged. I saw a 6-foot plus man bent over nearly double climbing back up and it did not look like fun. 

The ceiling of the tomb

The steps - Red pyramid

By the time I get down to the ground, I'm coated in sweat both with the heat, and feeling a little nauseous to boot with the ammonia smell. There is no decoration down in the burial chamber of the queen, and yay, stairs up to the king's chamber. The way the tomb is constructed is really interesting, with the mass of the pyramid above us - okay, not helping claustrophobia feeling! - and the way it is supported on the chamber walls. Really interesting from a construction and physics perspective. Again, no decoration, and these tombs are nothing like what we saw in Valley of the Kings. While these pyramids were visual to everyone else, the tombs in Valley of the Kings were full of decorative arts that would be visible only to the soul of the pharoah, as he made his daily journey through the night. I found the differences fascinating, as at the time the Valley of Kings' tombs were being built, the pyramids were already ancient! 

Step pyramid

So, seeing inside of pyramid... check! Next, we are off to the pyramid fields of Saqqara. A quick stop at the really nice Imhotep museum, and we are driven to Teti's tomb, then to the step pyramid at Saqarra. This, too, has the facing that has deteriorated, or been re-used at other places. A quick wander and then we are interested in lunch and Giza. 

Lunch is at Oasis, formerly known as Andrea, which is why we chose it. Food is buffet-style geared for the tour buses, but the view of the pyramids through the haze and fields is awesome. Eat, WC and off we go! 

The back way into the Giza pyramids

Sayed takes the back way in, and we arrive at the "back" entrance, where it is not possible to get a ticket to go inside the pyramid, which is fine by me. We start right at the Sphinx, and take a quick wander through the site, which guards announce is "closing" shortly after we get there. What?! Neither Andrea nor I checked to see what time, but that's ok. It's Omar and Moses to the rescue! Omar is a camel herder and Moses is a camel, and they take us for a really nice 45-minute or so camel ride. We get some awesome photographs of us on the camel as well as the pyramids. I was a little hesitant, but I'm glad that Andrea persevered, and I have this wonderful memory. 

Giza

We are let off by the Pizza Hut, where we go up for a non-alcoholic drink and to watch the sun set. Awesome! Then, with the museum not on the agenda any longer, we are back to the hotel.

Andrea & I and Moses

But we are not done yet. For my last night in the city, we try our hand at street navigation again and go "off book" to a restaurant that my friend Gina recommended on Zamalek, and since it looks like a straight shot, we decide to walk it. We seem to doing ok, and then the path takes us up a bridge and we realize that there are three lanes merging. An observation of how the locals do it tells us that you pretty much wait until there are no cars, then cross over to the rather wide pedestrian walkway... hmmm... ok, we try it and are not killed, so away we go. A stop to observe the decked out and rocking felucca boats on the Nile below, and then it's off the other end. And, yay, I feel rather proud when we descend and are right there... large wooden doors, no sign. The interior is really interesting, and somewhat reminiscent of Fishawis, with the lamp shades and the hookah. Food is so-so for me. We order a "very old recipe" that tastes like chicken pot pie, and traditional Moloquiyyah, the gummy spinach soup that I did not enjoy. But all in all, great meal, and Andrea negotiates for us a cheap cab ride back.

Sphinx

The End of my first visit to Cairo. I say first because, after a rough start for me, I really enjoyed my time here. There is a lot to see and it's a bustling city, in the vein of NY or Paris or London, that invites further discovery. Overwhelming at first, Cairo really invites you to get to know it better, and if you persevere, it rewards you with giving up some of it's secrets, and tantalizes you with the more it has to offer. I think I can say the same for Egypt, and was pleasantly surprised at what I found here. I can't wait to be back for more... But, my vacation is not over yet! Three more days in Jordan await!

Day 6 - Cairo [Day 2] - the city

Thursday, November 25, 2010

The night train from Luxor

Happy Thanksgiving!  So my first day in Cairo left me feeling less than happy about being there and a little overwhelmed by the whole big city scenario. I hadn't actually managed to do much, and felt that the down day had left me short on time. With Andrea arriving late yesterday, I now had a partner in crime, and we decided to spend our Thursday exploring Cairo in it's many forms, starting with Coptic Cairo, then moving on up into Old Cairo and Islamic Cairo.

Inside the church

Hanging Church

We got a little bit of a late start , but shortly after 10 AM we were having our first Metro experience and we headed to Nasser - made it there without mishap - bought our ticket and boarded the Women's Only car. Yay! We even managed to get off at the right stop, and headed into the Coptic Museum right across the Metro stop. Fascinating building, with some really ornate woodwork that reminded me of what I had seen in Spain at Seville and especially Granada. Too bad photos were not allowed. Once again, the Rough Guide was our guide, and we wandered next into the Hanging Church. Cool architecture. Fascinating to observe the similarities between the pilgrims who were praying in the Catholic Church and the Muslim prayer style [arms folded and heads bowed]. We visited St. George church next, which is wonderfully round, and the oldest synagouge. Later in the day, we would visit the Mohammad Ali mosque, and I found the similarities between all three buildings truly fascinating. There are some thoughts there that are still formulating, but nothing profound has come to the forefront, except that perhaps more time needs to be spent by us focusing on the things we have in common.

The streets of Old Cairo

St. George's

The wander through the old Cairo streets was really nice, and then we headed to the subway taking it two stops, and trying to figure out how to get to the Citadel from there. None of our maps covered the whole area, so it was trying to piece together Lonely Planet and Rough Guides. We started out asking for directions from an Egyptian - yes, I asked for directions! - and then we were off. First turnoff successfully navigated by landmark, and then the next street and turn was accidentally by one of us spotting an errant sign. This turned out to be one of many really fascinating turnoffs. 

Mosque of Hassan

On our way to Khan El-Khalili

"Street" is an interesting word for what I saw. This really reminded me of the streets of Pakistan or India or Peru. The street was semi-paved with all kinds of vehicles sharing the lane and a half. There is no sidewalk to speak off, and a number of stores hawk their wares as we continue on. We are close, but haven't spotted a street sign in a bit, when a cab driver and I negotiate the terms of our drive to the entrance of the Citadel which is all the way around the corner. He stops at a street corner and leans out to ask if anyone there speaks English to understand my request to stop at the gate of the Citadel. Some guy does, and tries to talk us out of going that way as it's close to closing time. We disregard the advice and the driver finally understands where we need to be and away he goes, speaking to us in Arabic the whole time. We think he's just making fun of me. For this ride, I am Italian and Andrea is Canadian, just to keep it interesting. After cutting across something like six lanes of traffic, he drops us off right where we need to be, and we head on up.

Mohammad Ali Mosque

Inside the mosque

Andrea's first mosque was the Mohammad Ali mosque, built in the style of Ottoman mosques with tall, thin minarets, and interior lighting that resembles what's in the Hagia Sophia. We are passed by a school group, and everyone decides to practice their English on us with "How are you?" and "What's your name?", and "Where are you from?". We continue on inside and then move on to the lovely vistas of the city of Cairo below us, especially scoping out where we will be headed next, which is the Blue Mosque.

Cairo traffic - from the Citadel

Cairo - from the Citadel

After another peek at one of the smaller mosques in the complex, we are off to visit another part of Cairo: Islamic Cairo and the Khan El Khalili market. We decide to walk it, and between our Lonely Planet and Rough Guide maps, we should have been ok, except for lack of street signage. We do end up taking a wrong turn somewhere, and end up in a neighborhood that's very Cairo. With the sun setting behind us, we are walking through what would be "real" Cairo, where the people really live. The road we are on appears to be two way, with all kinds of street traffic. We pass by neighborhood stores and restaurants and mosques, and people in cars, taxis, bikes and motorbikes, all on their way to somewhere. We also get a few looks, but eventually, we are at the gates to the Khan! Yay, we made it! From here on, it's a pretty straightforward walk to our restaurant pick for the evening. We were joined for dinner by a little Cairo kitty and his pals. This little guy was pretty sweet and made himself pretty comfortable with us. Once the feeding started, though, we were surrounded pretty quickly.

After dinner, more walking around the bazaar. Wow, whatever you want, you can get around here. It's a mix of actual markets for the people and for tourists as well. After a bit of wandering, we cross over to the Al-Azhar mosque, where we meet another guy on the street who get us "in" and walks us around a little bit, and introduces himself as someone who works at Al-Azhar. As the Imam is not there that day, we both take a walk around the mosque with our escort. It is at the end that we are hit with the price for our little visit, payable to the two guards, of course. I feel dumb and a little angry to be extorted in a place of worship, but there it is.

Inside Al-Azhar

I throw off my funk because the energy of the place, and the people all around me, just does not allow for brooding. A wander down the streets of the Khan El-Khalili unearths some really wonderful stores, but we can't leave yet - we haven't tried Fishawi café, a hookah joint that is in all the guide books. So we wade past the other cafes to Fishawi’s and are able to finagle corner seats with some great people watching. An order of mint tea and a hookah in front of us, we settle in to observe. Even though we spot a few other tourists, the place is hopping with locals. What strikes me are the women with head scarves who are puffing away; I guess in New York this would be your corner Starbucks? I try my first puff - and my last - leave the rest for my friend. No smoke for me! A pleasant 40 minutes or so later, we are ready to wend our way back to our hotel. Nearly eleven and the various stalls at the Khan are closing up and the mess that’s left in the streets after is quite amazing.

Fishawi's

We face our last challenge of the night… we have to navigate our way back to our hotel! We think it’s a straight shot, but some of the midans make for challenging street crossing. Once again, the Lonely Planet and Rough Guides maps, used in tandem, come in pretty handy. Plus, this was the area I got lost in my first day, so a second trip makes it easier still. A mere half hours – or maybe it was only forty minutes – of walking later, and we have managed to make it back to Pension Roma! A high five is definitely in order.

At the front desk, we make arrangements with Noel for a car and driver for our pyramid day tomorrow. I love the “no problem” service! My last day in Egypt, and while I’m not ready to move on yet, I can’t wait to see what’s coming up next!

Day 4 - Tombs & Temples of Luxor

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Sorry everyone, I've been journaling during my travels but due to some issues logging into this site, I have not kept up here... 

But if you're still interested, Day 4 unfolded somewhat like this:

Morning view

So my sister and brother-in-law DVR-ed a few history channel movies for me before I left that got me even more excited about my trip. One of those had been about the Valley of the Kings and the other about Queen Hatshepsut and her reign and her temple and tomb. To be here and to be able to get a much better feeling for what this was like had me really excited. I was giving hotel-related tours one more try to help me get the most out of my day here. I knew it would be easier, and the hotel had promised no more than 10 people maximum, so there was hope. 

Darth

Colossi of Memnon

We started close enough to on time departure at 8 AM for me not to complain. Our guide was excellent. He gave us a history lesson on our way to the Colossi of Memnon. I'm not sure if anyone else thinks so, but the one to the right looks a LOT like Darth Vader to me. Hmmm... anyway, the story here is that in ancient times the statues sang, due to a crack in the stone and the wind hitting it just right. Of course, there was a temple to go along with the statues, but now all that remains are the ruins. The group was really small, with only six people and our guide so really manageable.

Given our start time of 8 AM, we hit Hatshepsut's temple along with the masses at a little after 9:30-ish. I now understand why the government is cycling through tombs and monuments, giving them resting periods. I guess it was to be expected, but even in a site that large, the amount of people who were in the same space was incredible. But Hatshepsut and her Architect knew how to pick their site. The mountain rising behind it dwarfs the temple in scale; but when you stand in front of the colonnade, the size of it, and the statues of the queen, rise in front of you and appear colossal in comparison. With a picture-perfect blue sky, it's hard to imagine all of the politicking that went on behind the scenes in Hatshepsut's time. Her stepson, whom she kept from ascending the throne for a number of years, took out his anger at this by trying to erase her form from all of the statues and carvings. Once again, I'm struck by the brilliant colors that have survived for over 2,000 years while exposed to the elements. We still struggle to do that with all of our techonology today, and the service life of our buildings is 60-80 years, and in a lot of cases a lot less, whereas this civilization built for eternity.

Next: Valley of the Kings. I hope I have the chance to return to this area in the future. I can see having a great time doing the trail from Hatshepsut's temple over to VoK, along with a number of the other things I couldn't get to in one day. What I've seen only whets my appetite for more. We saw the requisite three tombs at VoK. Our guide did an excellent job of explaining the things we should be looking out for, as he couldn't come with us inside the tombs. Since I was there, I shelled out the extra to visit King Tut's final resting place. All of the treasures form his tomb have been removed, and a lot of them are back home in NYC's King Tut exhibit, but his mummy is inside and I saw his shriveled up head and feet - the rest are covered by a white cloth. His sarcophagus and the outermost wood gilded with gold coffin also still remain. The tomb is pretty unadorned, as he died so young and his reign was not very long. The king started work on his tomb as he assumed his crown. The other tombs we saw were really colorful. All of them came with this odor that actually made me a little nauseous.

Oh yes, and the no photos in VoK ban is still in affect. It really is too bad, but I understand the reasoning. It's usually people who pay no attention to signage that bans photographs or flash photography. I do wish they would allow photographs within the valley itself, though. The location is stunning, with hills surrounding the area and lots of stones. Since I can't bring back photographs, I pick up a little stone for my "souvenir".

We enter into two more tombs that are part of our ticket, and are both intricately decorated with hieroglyphics and colors that are still so brilliant, even after hundreds of years. Then it's on to Valley of Queens. OUr ticket gets us into three tombs, and only three are open. Unfortunately, Queen Nefertari's tomb is resting, so not open for viewing. This is one of the nicest-looking tombs. There is a lot of similarity between what I saw in Valley of the Kings, and similar concepts in what the Knig and Queen and their travels through demons and good and bad snakes and then the resurrection with the sun. The same dieties appear over again in both King and Queen tombs, and with repetition i begin to understand and pick out the major Egyptian pantheon of Gods and Godesses. It's interesting to note that the types of Gods that are a part of Egyptian mythology are so similar to Greek and Roman mythologies as well.

After Valley of the Queens, the tour is at an end, and the guide suggests a felucca / ferry trip across the Nile as a shortcut back to our hotel vs. the long 40-minute ride back. This works for everyone, and for 2EGP per person we are away and back at the hotel. Our next tour to Karnak is not supposed to be until 3:30, but we find out that in fact it begins at 3:00. Hmmm... it's a quick run out for koshary, recommended by our hotel staff. Unfortunately, directions are not their strong suit, but a few questions from locals and we have our containers and are back at the hotel to chow down.

For the next tour, we are in luck as the group is even smaller: it's just Andrea and I and our guide Mohammad, and the driver. This afternoon we will be taking in Karnak temple, the largest temple complex of the ancient Egyptians. Nearly every pharaoh supposedly added to the construction, so there are hundreds of years of history, and we have only two hours to appreciate it. Our guide is excellent, and he packs in nearly 4,000 years of history in our two hours. Unfortunately by now I'm a little glazed over by tombs and temples - what I get for packing in millenia of history in one day - but I am awed again by the construction of the columns in the temple that have survived for this length of time. The columns themselves are massive and the forest of them tower above us, carved in a language that only a few understand in this day.

With dusk, and the evening call to prayer, our tour is at an end, and as we leave, we go around the scarab beetle sculpture three times for luck upon our guide's insistence, feeling a little dumb doing so, but when in Egypt... Back at the hotel, I have a few hours before my departure for Cairo on the 10:15 pm night train, so it's a quick dinner by the river Nile and cab ride. The scarab beetle walk around results in good luck for me: I have no roommate in my room. The train arrives on time, and I'm off to spend my last three days in Egypt in Cairo.