Today's agenda for Pamela and Tommy included the Great Pyramids of Giza, the Sphinx, and the King Tut exhibit at the Museum of Cairo.
The bus ride was quite amazing, but we do not wish to do it over again .. ever! Roman drivers are aggressive, but these people are crazy. There are no apparent laws, lights, lanes or anything else one might associate with organized driving here. Accordingly, they need no cops and have none. After three hours of honking, weaving, screaming, unmistakeably vulgar gesturing and nearly killing 50 or so pedestrians ... we finally arrived in Giza.
Pamela could at last relax her sphincter before we saw the Sphinx.
The Pyramids of Giza can be clearly seen from outer space, which is very easy to believe once you stand at the bottom of one.
The Tut exhibit is far more extensive than the mask and the sarcophagus and obviously a must see.
A few impressions: The Pyramids, Sphinx and Tut exhibit are all breathtaking. So too is camel dung, the breath of a camel and the breath of a camel driver. Abject filth, poverty and a general sense of hopelessness are pervasive. One can't help but wonder what King Tut, who ruled the known world at nine years of age over 3,300 years ago, would think.
Glenn and Robbie decided on a two-day "nuclear full metal jacket" Cairo visit.
Glenn absolutely had to ride a camel as he had bragged to his friends back home that he would and agreed to send a picture of confirmation. Robbie finally decided to join him, but found the experience terrifying.
The drivers kept saying "lean back" as Robbie was imagining being thrown to the ground. When she got off, the camel spit at her!
We visited the spectacular Alabaster Mosque of Mohamed Ali in the Citadel, the fortress where it's located. It is called the Alabaster because of the extensive use of stone. Mohamed Ali erected it as a monument to himself. The mosque proper is to the east and the courtyard is to the west. The architecture is like that of Istanbul, not Egyptian.
We went to the Giza Plateau to attend the English version of the "Son et Lumiere". We were seated right in front of the Sphinx under a star -studded sky. The Sound and Light performance brought the history of the ancient Egyptian to life as the Pyramids were illuminated.
To end the night, we sailed on a Nile River Cruise, enjoying music and belly dancing as we passed Cairo's waterfront landmarks.
A market on the road to Saqqara.
We visited the ancient cemetery of Saqqara to see the Step Pyramid of King Zoser, the oldest structure in the world built of stone. King Zoser was the first sovereign of the Third Dynasty. We went inside the Mastabas[tombs] built nearby which contain many rooms. Unfortunately, no photography was allowed inside, but it was amazing to see the wall paintings in such beautiful, colorful condition. They depicted every day life in Egypt, professions, hunting, fishing,and animals.
We drove south from Cairo to Memphis, Egypt's first capital. We visited the ruins of the Temple of Ptah, the fallen colossal statue of King Ramses the 2nd and the Alabaster Sphinx of King Amenophis the 2nd.
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