Day 9: Giza and Cairo (Part 2)

..continuing on from Part 1.

When I previously left off, we had just explored the massive Khufu Pyramid, entered a royal ante chamber and climbed inside one of the queen’s pyramids.  Our next stop was the climate controlled museum, right next to the great Pyramid, which houses both the original location of, and the completely reconstructed solar boat of Khufu.  This is the original wooden boat which ferried the king’s body down the river Nile to the Giza plateau.

That’s right, it is an original c4,500 year-old wooden boat.  A-mazing.  It took 18 years to reconstruct and no metal was used in the reconstruction – only bound together by rope.  It resides within a fully climate controlled location, above the original pit it was discovered in a few decades ago.  It is an unbelievable find, and looks magnificent.  We were able to traverse 360’ around the mighty vessel, on platforms designed for optimum viewing.

After about half an hour marveling at this amazing full length craft, we exited and joined our bus for a quick trip out to a convenient viewing location for photos of the Giza plateau.  This involved mainly hundreds of people having their photos taken facing the three main pyramids in various poses.  The air was not particularly clear, so the pyramids appear washed out or very distant.  On a clear day the vantage point would have been ideal.

We also observed many camel rides going off over distant sand dunes.  There were the usual array of hawkers and kids but they didn’t bother us due to our guide and security man.  We boarded the bus and drove past the pyramids and down to visit with the mysterious Sphinx.  At first glance the Sphinx is located in a quixotic location – roughly between the Khufu pyramid and a Pizza Hut.

The area is pretty well sealed off and requires a ticket to enter the temple situated adjacent to the mighty carving.  You can not access the Sphinx directly – it is behind walls – therefore the closest vantage point is from this aforementioned temple.  To reach the temple we had to traverse past lines of vendors trying to push their souvenirs, which we were able to do without incident.

Snapping a few quick shots, we proceeded to enter the temple (which honestly was a bit underwhelming) before walking out onto the viewing platform.  The Sphinx is exactly like you’d expect from seeing it in photos and on TV.  It is still something to see in person.  My only regret is not being able to touch it or walk around it.  I took a number of photographs to try and capture the essence of the thing – it is rumoured to predate the Great Pyramid – but who knows for sure?

After spending some time admiring the Sphinx, we rejoined the bus which spirited us off towards Cairo.  Our next stop was lunch, which was at a restaurant located on an island in the middle of the river Nile.  The meal was particularly good, especially the humus and tahini – and was well received by all.  After lunch we boarded a small river craft and went up river along the Nile towards the Cairo museum.

We had to board the bus again in order to cross a busy road.  Shortly thereafter, we arrived at the museum – Hassan doing an excellent job of navigating the guards and traffic.  We had a brisk run though the museum (although cameras were not permitted).  Our guide Islam gave us a running commentary on the earliest known hieroglyphic tablet, a number of early dynasty sarcophagi and several huge statues, predominantly of Ramesees II and of some of the other well known kings.

The highlight was (obviously) Tutankhamen’s treasures, the main attractions being his golden mask and two golden sarcophagi.  As the museum was very packed, we had precious time and not much room to work with, but we managed to view a good portion of Tutankhamen’s treasures including the aforementioned items of interest and including chariots, burial boxes and many other things.  The mask was impressive, but the twin sarcophagi really stole the show.

Once we had finished in the museum, our driver took us out to Giza once more (bidding adieu to Cairo) for the Sound and Light show.  Taking place in front of the Sphinx, the show was basically an hour long excuse to admire the great pyramids.  Narrated by the famed actor Omar Sherif, it was basically a retelling of Egyptian (ancient) history through the perspective of the Sphinx.  There was a lot of use of lasers and some very nice lighting of the three main pyramids, but it was a little underwhelming.

After the show, we were taken to our hotel nearby – a five star hotel which had once played host to Winston Churchill – and checked in.  We had dinner at the hotel’s Indian restaurant and I withdrew some more Egyptian pounds.  The meal was quite good – I had Roganjosh – and after we retired for the night.

Next up – Day 2