Pyramids and the Desert

We drove to Giza to see the Great Pyramids and the Sphinx this morning. It is difficult to describe the exhiliration of seeing the monuments peeking over the dusty, run-down buildings of Giza. (They are so dusty because it never rains!) Giza boasts the largest of the 130 or so pyramids still standing along the Nile in Egypt. The largest pyramid built by and for the pharoah Khufre is the size of 10 football fields at its base. The boulders making up the pyramid are placed so precisely, it is remarkable that they were built 4,000 years ago. I had thought the pyramids were built thanks to slave labor. Not so. The pharoahs employed skilled architects and artisans, and paid farmers in the off season to work on them.

We are here in low season, so there were just a few tour buses ahead of us. We declined our driver Mohammed's offer to drive us around, preferring to walk though the sand and rocks from one pyramid to to the next. I had read the warnings in the guide books about the many touts preying on unsuspecting tourists. Sure enough, five guys and their camels accosted us shortly after we entered pyramid land. They offered to pose for us. Will, Willy and I brushed past them, but Bear lured by the camel photo-op paused momentarily. Then, before we could say "Im-shee, or go away" a green cotton scarf had been jauntily affixed to his head and he was seated on top of the humped beast. While Will and I watched Bear on his camel, Willy was cajoled onto a camel, too. When I asked "how much?", the answer was "whatever you wish to pay Madame". OK. After the boys rode around for several minutes and Will and I had a photo taken, we were asked to pay 150 egyptian pounds per person for the privilege of this camel encounter. Will gave them 60 pounds and said good-bye. Little did we know that Bear had been negotiating on his own and handed over 100 egyptian pounds, so that he could get off his camel. When pressed why he gave so much, Bear shrugged and said "I had 300 pounds in my pocket, I knew I could spare 100 and be done with the guy."

Trudging along the pyramids we all were overwhelmed by the perfection and immense size of them. We kept wondering how could they create them way back when. Looking in one direction we could see the city of Giza covered in smog. Looking in the other, we could see tiny groups of camels and horses in the rolling dunes of the desert. In addition to the three big pyramids there are a few smaller ones and ruins of funerary temples.

After walking in the 100 degree desert, we cooled off in the air conditioned solar barque museum. We slipped on canvas slippers over our shoes (to protect the floors from the desert sands), and admired the cedar wood vessel which they claim is the oldest boat in existence. It was restored from 1200 pieces of wood found in a pit near the Great Pyramid. It is believed to have been one of the boats that transported the dead Pharoah down the Nile to the pyramids. It was buried along with the mummy of the dead pharoah because it was supposed to transport it into the after world.

Finally we saw the Sphinx. It is such a familiar image -- regal and quixotic. Heading back to the parking lot to meet Mohammed, we spotted a small doorway in the ruins. It was the tomb of some queen and the boys eagerly descended the nearly vertical ramp to the burial chamber to see the mummy.

Amr set up matches for the boys with members of the Kuwait national team. Willy beat his opponent soundly. Bear played well, but lost to his. While they were playing, I planned to work out. The fitness schedule said Taebo class, and I went in with apprehension. Turns out it was a subsitute instructor, Valentyna. She led her own undefinable class which I called double-time cardio/total body conditioning class. She was manic -- trying to work out super hard since she had just returned from a week in Croatia.

The boys wanted to stay home and go to bed early this evening, so they went to the mall, drank iced coffees from Starbucks (forgetting that drinking the ice might make them sick), and ate a pizza for dinner. Will and I went to the Lebanese restaurant at our hotel because of the promise of lebanese music and a belly dancing show at 10:30. The food was superb and served on a mini-grill placed on our table. Many patrons of the restaurant knew and sang along with the three lebanese lounge lizards, while Will wondered why all the lebanese pop songs sound the same. We discovered how the burquaed ladies eat. They move a hidden flap in their veil to the side of their mouth with every sip and bite.

At 10:30, thirteen musicians attired in black turtlenecks began playing their tamborines, violins, and drums. Soon two vocalists chimed in with some Arabic songs, and finally the belly dancer emerged. There is a lot of hype about this belly dancer--apparently she is one of the best. We are not qualified to judge, but we thought she was mediocre. Shakira is much better and prettier. As the besequined belly dancer seductively motioned to the audience, the men from the gulf states were visibly getting into it. We saw enough so we left.