We woke early and learned AGAIN, the hard way, that most Egyptians will do just about anything to screw us out of money. Our hotel hired car convinced us to take stop by a stable and take camels or horses to tour the Pyramids. We agreed, meaning we paid him quite a bit of money just to take us to and from the stable. Oh well, lesson learned, and for all of you, if you ever visit Egypt (which you should), please contact us first for some tips.
We hired two camels and two horses, and were accompanied by a tour guide and two teens to help with the animals. We went in a back entrance and climbed a tall hill that overlooked Cairo and the pyramids. Seeing the Pyramids is quite the difficult experience to put into words. Two thoughts come to mind: 1- it is surreal being so close to something so famous and old, 2- the vanity of these phaorohs to spend so much money is such a poor country to house their dead boides in unbelievable. We paid the “government official”20 Egyptian pounds each (less than 4 dollars) to enter an excavation site that was just discovered one year ago. We got to climb in a tomb with Cleopatra heirioglyphics on the wall, a child’s tomb, and see the opening to underground passageways that led to the large pyramids, and learn about the mummification process. We then went to the Sphynx, which was the least impressive to me. Finally, our guide took the reins of my horse and raced us through the desert. It was so exhilarating!
Interesting facts we learned:
-Each of the three large pyramids took 30 years to build.
-After the inside of each was built, the workers who designed it were killed in order to ensure that no one could come back and steal the bodies or the gold.
On the walk back to the stables, a man on a horse came to bother us. Our guide tried to whip his horse to get him to run away, and in the narrow alleyway, I received a whip to the left calf. After we finally made it back to the stable, the owner invited us in for air conditioning. We went into a dark building, and he led us to the back to smell perfumes his family has been making for generations. They did smell good, and were unique, so we bought some. We were then dropped at the Egyptian Museum to wander and look at tons of amazing artifacts and artwork housed in a rundown building with poor lighting and no a/c.
Our time here just kept getting better. In the evening, we decided to walk to Islamic Cairo. After one too many turns down a dark street filled with glaring men, and realizing that we may have misjudged the distance, we got in a cab and were dropped off on a corner. A nice man approached us and started talking with Pete in Arabic. He recommended a few places and said goodbye. As we continued walking, Pete stopped to get some Arabic sweets and he approached us again. Before we knew it, we were experiencing the tour of a lifetime! Fahd, our impromptu guide, gave us an insiders look at the Market.
The Islamic Cairo Market is unbelievable! It engages all the senses. You walk along these crowded, narrow, cobblestone streets. People, motorcycles, and cars whiz past you. With every turn you are confronted with a new palate of colors, new whiffs of food or gasoline or body odor, and new sounds of either Arabic music, mosque sounds, or people selling their goods. We were lucky enough to be approached by a nice, honest man who lives in the area and showed us around. I can say with certainty that we had a truly unique, rare tourist experience at the Khal-al Khallili Market. First, we went to a 200 year old stand that makes the traditional Fes hats (the red dome hats). We saw how they make them and shape them with a very hot, old iron machine. We were led to an herbal doctor who sells different teas and spices for every ailment. We drank tea, sniffed and tasted a variety of herbs, and ended up buying saffron and an herb for tea that is used to improve memory and prevent Alzheimers. We were led through a dark building to a staircase that led to a famous papyrus paper store and window shopped the amazing artwork.
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