Egypt: Cairo and the Pyramids

Egypt, home to arguably the World's most renowned ancient civilisation, and Cairo was my next stop from Tunis. Saying good bye to the Tunisian leg of my travels I boarded my plane in the still humid night and took off for the land famous for The Pyramids, amongst other things.

Arriving in Cairo at some ungodly hour of the morning I was instantly hit with an even warmer climate. North Africa appears to be experiencing a hotter than average Autumn that I shan't complain about. After some confusion surrounding my transfer to the hostel, which evidently wasn't there, I was left to search the streets of Downtown Cairo until 5 am in a taxi. A daunting experience in a city with an estimated population of between 16 to 20 million people (you would have thought they could be more specific these days) and with taxi drivers with no map reading skills what so ever! The only city of this size I have visited is Sao Paulo, Brazil, and I have to say that I would not want to search the streets there for a hostel at 5 am on my own. After some time (2 hours to be precise) I was safely resting in my bunk at Dina's hostel preparing myself for the experience of this vast metropolis.

Cairo is a hive of bustling activity. Thursday morning, after breakfast, I headed out into the city with a couple of people from the hostel for a stroll and a bit of sight seeing. The immediate impact of the size of Cairo is nothing compared to the intensity the city exudes when you step onto the pavements. The traffic here is relentless and the thick, blue/white, cloud of smog is almost suffocating. Stretching across the city like a blanket there is no escape from the toxic film.

As I made my way to the market area of the Islamic quarter you are immediately aware of the numerous hawkers and opportunistic locals waiting for their next victim. One unfortunate girl from our hostel was stung for 44 USD for a cup of mint tea, an incident I am sure she will look back on and regretfully shake her head about. Being smart here is the same, if not more important, than it was in Tunisia. That said there is a beautiful array of wares for sale inside the souqs.

Separated into various sections you will find the competitors sitting outside their stores on stools chatting until the ever popular tourist appears in view. Then the street or alley will come alive with calls for you to buy their merchandise. "Hello, where are you from?" is the common cry and a mere look or mumble from you will result in a sales pitch worthy of a BMW car show room.

Outside the main souq and I stumbled across a small road known locally as the factory street. A true diamond in the rough, this road was home to many small outlets of the factories making the products for the Souqs. At bargain basement prices its hard not come away with something. Tucked around the back of this street are the workshops themselves. I had the opportunity to watch furniture being hand made. From stools and chairs being nailed together to the wood being turned on lathes it's all there. Taking photos of the men at work is well received and showing them their pictures makes them smile. As I snapped the man at the lathe he invited me to try my hand (under his direct supervision of course)...it was a fascinating experience as the damp wood chips covered me from head to toe.

Spending the day walking through the streets of Cairo can be an exhausting experience and the evening saw a well deserved period of relaxation. I had organised a day to the pyramids for the following day and got my head down for the early start impending.

Friday morning came and breakfast in the hostel was a traditional Egyptian fare. Aubergine stuffed with spicy chilli, pita bread and flava beans it was a heavy breakfast but perfect to set you up for a day of wandering the ancient landmarks.

We were picked up by our driver around 8.30 am and headed off in the direction of Giza. Around Cairo there are numerous archeaolgical sites with the main ones being Giza, Sakkara and Dahshur. We would visit all three this day. Early morning on a Friday and I was struck by how empty the streets were. The weekend in Egypt is Friday and Saturday, I was informed, and being so there was no commuter traffic. Our way to the river, where we had to cross to get to Giza, was practically clear but the ever ominous smog loomed over head restricting your view of the distance.

En route to the Pyramids our driver stopped at a papyrus museum. Inside I was shown how the ancient Egyptians made the World's first paper. By stripping the outer layer off and cutting the inside of the papyrus plant stems into strips and soaking them in water for a minimum of 6 days (the longer they are soaked after this the darker the paper becomes) this releases the natural glues of the plant. They are then laid in a criss-cross fashion to bind and put in a press. Originally the Egyptians didn't have the modern, mechanical, presses used today so they used large stones, or fat women, and every 6 days they put a bigger stone (or woman) on to continue the press. This leads to an incredibly strong and flat paper which, because there are no chemical agents - all the glue is natural - the paper doesn't degrade over time.

Of course the visit to the museum wouldn't be complete without the sales pitch after the demonstration for you to buy the "authentic" papyrus scrolls.

Leaving empty handed we made for the Giza location. The most famous of all the pyramids these are the three widely seen in films, documentaries and the like. Here you find the Pyramids of Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure. Khufu was the father of Khafre and built his pyramid, the largest of the three, some 4600 years ago. At 146.5 metres high it is a towering stone mausoleum crafted by artists to help Khufu's passage to heaven. His son, Khafre, constructed his own pyramid after his fathers, slightly smaller in size, however he wanted to impress power and importance and so he built it on higher ground to make it look larger. The Pyramid of Khafre is fascinating as the original lime facia can still be seen at the top of the structure. The third and smallest of these three temples was built by Menkaure and stands at around 62 metres high. Walking around the area is a truly unique experience. Since I was a child at school I have studied and learned about the pyramids and having the opportunity to finally see them has been a moment I shall never forget. Combined with the famous statue of the Sphinx it was a magnicient morning.

After the awe-inspiring monuments I was back in the car and heading down to Dahshur. Around 15 to 20 kilometres south from the Giza site Dahshur seemed like a strange place to go. With a few more pyramids scattered around there hardly seemed much point except that here I had the chance to enter the pyramid (although this is possible in Khafre pyramid - an extra cost). The entrance to Dahshur is a tiny square hatch in the side of the stone facade which leads into the passage. It's a steep, perhaps 45 degree, slope with battons across the floor to act as steps. Inside the air is clammy. It's a bizarre atmosphere. It feels humid as the perspiration leaks from your skin but the air is almost cool. It is great to see the inside of one of these tombs.

Seeing this much in a day can become tiring and, after an unwanted visit to an oil factory (the driver makes a percentage of anything these guys manage to sell you I found out) I headed to Sakkara. The final mausoleum stop of the day, fatigue setting in, I decide not to enter the site. The Egyptians are quite clever as they make you pay individual entrance fees for each location. This becomes expensive and feeling the strain on my wallet and my ability to absorb anymore ancient hyroglifics or stone mounments I headed back to the hostel.

To top off the most fantastic day I headed down to a local Sheesha bar with a few of the travellers from the hostel to share an apple flavoured pipe and some tea. The perfect way to pass the warm evening by. Sitting in the Downtown area of Cairo enjoying the splendid evening surround by locals all with pipe in hand is a very Egyptian night out.

The following day was all about preparing for my overnight journey to Luxor to begin my cruise down The Nile...stay tuned