Glen: I writing this on Sunday 19th May – at 6.02am!
Here are some of my observations, thoughts and impressions of our visit to Cairo and the Pyramids.
As we exited Cairo airport Ahmed, our private driver, was waiting for us and we headed off into the city. Cairo is a large, sprawling, very dusty, some would say dirty, car congested, traffic light free (well we saw one) lacking lane control, lacking driver control, city! But you must go there.
We went to the Mohamed Ali Mosque, it had awesome and spectacular views, well but for the sand storm although we did just about see the Pyramids from there. We went to the Museum and saw the Tutankhamen display, fantastic. Ahmed then took us to our hotel, the President, and we checked in (that’s another story for another time!!)
The reception was on the ground floor and we were told that we were on floor three. Now if they hadn’t explained to us, albeit I didn’t fully understand at the time, the lift experience would have been a mind bending one. Lifts in Egypt tend not to have doors on the lifts themselves but just on each floor, like the UK many years ago. So you can see the doors of each floor pass on your way up or down (health and safety would have a field day here) picture the scene as I press the button for the third floor (the lift only had G, 1, 2, and 3 listed) and then watched in disbelief as we saw 11 floors pass by!! Yes we were on the 12th floor!
Next day, Giza and the Pyramids. Again Ahmed was on time and we battled through the morning rush hour, well I don’t know what they call it here, it can’t be ‘rush hour’ as there’s no rushing involved and it lasts more than an hour, 24 hours in fact. Off to the Pyramids we go.
I have to confess that even though I’m 53 I have been known to play the ‘odd’ Xbox game in the past and the taxi ride as you approach the main Pyramid entrance did remind me of the way I used to play “Grand Theft Auto” As we drove up the hill numerous Egyptian men would block our path and point and shout demanding that we stop and alight from our vehicle. But Ahmed ignored them and made just the ‘slightest’ adjustment in his intended direction so as to miss the offending Egyptian (camel, horse and carriage ride sellers) and proceeded to the main ticket office. However, in my mind I was making just the ‘slightest’ adjustment in my intended direction so as to hit the offending Egyptian and thus accumulate a $100 per successful collision reward (that’s how I remember playing the game anyway!)
We purchased our tickets and stepped boldly through the security screening and entered the site itself. The Pyramids are fantastic, other worldly and even though ‘seeing is believing’ I found it hard to comprehend. But enough of that and let’s talk of the ‘souvenir’ sellers and their chosen method of ‘selling’ or should I call it ‘lying’ (same number of letters just a different meaning, oh look I’m at it now, I’ve been here too long!) They walk up to you and say “here’s a gift for you” then they give you a beautifully embroidered 100% Egyptian cotton (made in China) authentic head scarf, totally free of charge and walk away. As they walk away they say things like, “free to you as a gift” “something for you to wear and remind you of our lovely country and our people’s generosity” “we love the English” that pee’d me off for a start, being Welsh!
My ‘souvenir’ seller then walked back to me, just as I was telling him I was leaving his kind and thoughtful gift on this 4,600 year old piece of rock. He then thrust some perfect miniature wooden Pyramid replicas into my arms, yes not just the Great Pyramid but all three, Khufu, Khafra and Menkaura! But this time he doesn’t walk away he starts telling me what a kind man I am and how he only wants good thing to happen to me and for that reason, and not for the gifts, could I give him 100LE! I push the ‘gifts’ back onto him and he pushes them back onto me and we must look like a couple of guys playing a game whereby the aim is to keep the ‘gifts’ in the air for the longest possible time without hardly touching them!
Mandy and I walk a little further away to a much quieter location and with some solitude start to fully appreciate the true ancient wonder before us. There is a mystical silence around us, the ancient Gods have sent a peaceful bubble for us to walk in, lost in the moment, the history the sheer scale, when all of a sudden, bl**dy hell! a two ton, fifteen foot high Ninja camel sneaks up on us and frightens the bejeebers out of me! “Ships of the desert” my arse. Just imagine being at Stone Henge in the days when you could walk amongst the stones when suddenly right close up behind you is a two ton Shire horse wearing slippers, well it was just like that! Then the Egyptian man in his authentic Arabian attire (Ray-Bans and all!) astride the afore mentioned “NC” says in a perfect Eaton educated accent “would you like ride old chap”, oh no not another indecent proposal I thought, but then I realised this had a different meaning ; )