For the first real day back to world cultural exploration, this was an exceptionally good one. My driver from the airport yesterday, Yasser, served as driver and guide to Egypt’s major pyramid complexes. We started bright and early at 7:30am, because we needed to get to the base of the largest pyramid by 8:00am to quay for tickets into the main burial chamber. When we arrived there was no line and it was about 8:15am. Fearing that the guidebooks were correct and there would be none of the 150 tickets remaining, I sauntered up to the barred ticket window. Surprisingly, and gratefully, there were three of the 100 Egyptian Pound tickets left in the book.
Yasser had warned against spending the money to enter the burial chamber, but I was undaunted. This was a life’s dream and it was going to happen. Determined, I entered past the guarded gate, through the narrow entrance and into the dim, musky, shadows of a horizontally shrinking tunnel.
I’m not an “altitudinally gifted” giant and the ceiling height had shrunk to roughly sternum level with a very steep gradient to boot. Crosspieces of steel are fixed to the stone floor providing traction for the ascent into an increasingly stale airspace. Then, just when you think the disk between your L1 and L2 will rupture from the back strain the ceiling opens into a rising gallery. About a hundred further steps deliver the ultimate prize, the roughly 30 meters by 20 meters burial chamber. With effort, your eyes will adjust to the darkness density within a few moments to reveal a lone sarcophagus that ultimately held the pharaoh’s true burial vessel. With a few blinks, it became clear that I was not alone. (Sorry no photos allowed inside.)
There were about thirty other travelers in various states of physical and seemingly psychological disrepair. Some lay on blankets, arms stretched out to the sides, gazing intently at the ceiling for apparently anticipating the arrival of some imparted inspiration. Others sat in the lotus position, gently whispering, “Ooooolllllmmmmm”, while watching each person watching them. Somehow, going out on a limb here, I’m not sure this is what the Buddha had in mind. Then there were my favorites, the spirituality avid “sarcophagus layers”. Their leader would dutifully assist each into the burial box where individually they would cross arms in the pharaohonic “final resting position”. The leader would start his watch and these power seekers with closed eyes were prepared to absorb the mystical powers of the pyramid into their energy source. Yasser was right, this was really a joke, especially after the tour busload of Japanese tourists showed up to turn the chamber into a noisy seven million ton limestone sardine can. I was “outta there”.
The rest of the Giza complex was incredible. Witnessing a reconstructed barge unearthed from its massive chamber was inspiring. This was not a replica, but the actual structure rebuilt after the original ropes had disintegrated over the course of five thousand years.
Next on the ultimate tourist agenda was the requisite camel ride, worth every penny of the 50 Egyptian Pound fare. Yasser saved me at least 100 Egyptian Pounds by letting me know that the real price should be between 50 and 60 pounds. Tourists around me were doling out between 150 and 250 Egyptian Pounds. I practiced local negotiating skills and settled on 50, so tipped the camel owner 10 after the ride. Everyone was happy.
Did you know that there are actually nine pyramids at the Giza complex and over 108 others in the deserts to the south? The other six pyramids in Giza are for the wives or queens of the Pharoahs and one empty tomb for his mother.
None of the others compare in sheer scale to the "big three" in Giza.
Then I was on to the Sphinx. Now if invisible energy was to emit out or into anything I think it would be this creature. I don’t know what it is but the Sphinx is definitely worth the time to just sit and absorb.
After lunch, it was off to see the original large-scale pyramid, loosely called the “step pyramid” and more directly called Mit Rahina, in the Saqqara burial complex, designed by the architect Imhotep. Twenty-Twenty hind site, I would definitely recommend seeing this site first, followed by the Giza complex. (Yes, Yasser had recommended this order, but someone else had different priorities.) To gain the architectural and historical context prior to Giza would have added all the more to the impact. The Pharaoh buried in the “Step Pyramid” was the father of Cheops, builder of the “Great Pyramid” of Giza.
One archeological bonus, at the Saqqara complex, was the drilling of a hole into one of the ante chambers reviewing a carved stone statue. Of course the natural side lighting had to be dug and covered with plexy glass but it was fun to get a view of what the original discoverers may have seen.
Visiting what little remains of Memphis was the final stop on the day’s tour schedule. Although the smallest of the museums, the Ramses exhibit contained a few of the most impressive artifacts. Specifically, the alabaster Sphinx gave a full picture of what its larger offspring in Giza really looked like before Napoleon’s artillery troops decided to make cannon target practice of its face.
Also of interest are the mammoth stone statues of Ramses, the pharaoh who united north and south Egypt over five thousand years ago and created a new neutral capital, Memphis.
Finally, a great dinner and even greater company capped off the day. Eating at one of the most recommended restaurants in Cairo, Felfela, it was filled with tour groups, with the exception of two people, Hiro and me. Only an aisle separated us but it may as well have been an ocean. After ten minutes of self-debate I finally stood up and asked if he wouldn’t mind sharing dinner together. He was literally and energetically delighted. Hiro is a Japanese scientist on vacation in Egypt. My invitation meant he could practice English, which made his day. We had a blast, talking about everything from the Portuguese influence on Japanese cuisine (tempura) to the geopolitical impact of Taiwan’s use of traditional Chinese characters versus Beijing’s move to a revised character scheme after the Maoist revolution. It was a perfect brain teaser dinner and ending to a great day!
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