Cairo and Pyramids

By 8am, we arrived in Cairo after our first family sleeper train experience.  Thankfully Dad had learned that the train stopped in Giza, where our hotel was, prior to stopping in Cairo, and getting off in Giza would save us significant time so we quickly scrambled off of the train after a good night's sleep.  Thankfully our tour agency who was picking us up from the train station was waiting for us at this stop even though the emails said they would be at the Cairo stop - so we were grateful God's hand was over that detail as it prevented us from several hours of headaches!

Goodbye Luxor!- Train ride to Cairo

On the drive from the train station to our hotel, we were astounded at how there was red brick high-riser after red brick high-riser everywhere we looked, most of which appeared to be connected and unfinished or empty in certain parts of the building.  And then...  THE PYRAMIDS!  They were huge and visible as we drove around as if they were no big deal, something common like the Mall of America or something!  They were amazing and a constant reality-check of how surreal it was to be here in Egypt!  After arriving at our hotel, having a conversation with the guard, our trunk inspected, a guard with a mirror examine the underneath of our car, a dog sniff out the vehicle, the metal road block lowered so we could get dropped off, our bags screened and we walked through a body-scanner, we were quick to explore the luxury of being at a nice hotel and were soon in awe of the great view we had from the pool area!

Welcome to Cairo! - Pyramids in background

After some time at the pool we got cleaned up and headed out to meet some friends of friends at Chili's on the Nile.  The traffic was absolutely insane!  While lanes were marked on the street, where there would be three separate lanes marked there would be at least five plus actual lanes pushing their way forward.  We enjoyed learning about our new friend's life here in Cairo, playing with the girls, the kids slid down the banister, and we had chips, salsa, and unlimited strawberry lemonades!

Just moving around this city is a bit more challenging than others but we are trying to quickly get our bearings. We give Uber a shot which, when they can find us (they often cant as many drivers here dont know how to use a map) this works great. Uber is new here though and there is a taxi strike going on as well.  The chaos of traffic is something to be experienced and will certainly be remembered during our Minneapolis commute complaints.

Chili's fun with new friends!

The next morning we began our pyramid day tour.  There are 111 pyramids in Egypt, all were built in lower Egypt, which is northern Egypt (the Nile flows from south to north), during the Old Kingdom (2700-2200 BC).  The pyramids are considered to be an apartment to live inside for the afterlife.  They are all built on the West Bank of the Nile River as the sun sets in the west and so that is believed to be the start of one's journey into the afterlife.  While the Ancient Egyptians built their everyday homes from mud bricks as they acknowledged their current life was temporary, they built their tombs with limestone.  The limestone originated in Aswan and was brought up the Nile to Cairo.  Each pyramid has a foundation and all pyramids used to have smooth casings 3 - 5 layers thick and it thinned  out the closer it got to the top.  Because of the casings, the original pyramids did not show evidence of entrances, but over years of earthquakes, most casings have fallen.  It is believed that the fallen casings were used to build the walls and aqueducts around Egypt by later occupants. Interestingly, there are no pictures of what the pyramids looked like with their casings intact, so if you've seen a picture of a pyramid with smooth sides it has been imagined.

Giza Pyramids in the Sahara Desert!

Our first stop was the Great Pyramid at Giza, the only one of the 7 Wonders of the World that is still standing today.  It was built for Khoffu in 2551BC and took 20 years to complete, and is believed to have been roughly 481 feet tall.  It contains 3 million blocks each weighing 2 1/2 + tons.  The top of Khoffu's pyramid is flat and it is thought that it might have originally had a golden mask at the top. There are two entrances and eight champers inside The Great Pyramid, three main and five for relieving pressure.  Khoffu only lived another 5 years after its completion so he was able to die knowing he had a fabulous place to rest.  We were able to enter in the robber's entrance and it was very surreal to be inside this ancient wonder!

Hard to see, but we are at the entrance of Khoffu's Pyramid.
The sides of the Great Pyramid are not smooth because the casing has fallen away.

Kids standing in front of the remaining casing at the base of the pyramid. Only layer of casing left is at bottom shown here.

It is thought they had to build the first pyramid several times as they experimented with the math. Originally they started at an angle of 58 degrees but realized that did not work, so they adjusted and rebuilt ultimately discovering that 52 degrees is the perfect angle. 

Of the pyramids at Giza, Khoffu's is the largest and to the right is his son's, Khafre, whose pyramid is 33 feet shorter than Kohffu's in order to show respect for his father.  To the right of the Khafre's pyramid is Khoffu's grandson, Menkaura's, pyramid, which was originally 228 feet tall and we were able to enter as well.  Behind Khoffu's pyramid are three smaller pyramids for queens.

SJ pretending to pinch the top of Khafre's pyramid,
which is really shorter than Khoffu's pyramid

"Little Pyramid"

Incredible but a bit windy in the Sahara

We drove up to a location with a great panoramic view of the pyramids and took some fun photos and did a short family camel ride through the desert.  Sitting on these big beasts as they maneuvered themselves into a standing position and then the reality of riding them in the Sahara desert with the pyramids right there was an amazing experience that we all enjoyed.

The Pyramid Jump!

Dad & SJ ready to go

Why not ride a camel in the desert?

Off we go!

Trying to capture the moment

Just a little camel surfing

Our family camel caravan

After touring the Giza Pyramids we headed towards the famous Sphinx.  It is believed that Khafre was the owner of this statue which is carved out of one block of limestone.  Today it's nose has been eroded or broken - rumor has it that Napoleon or a local took it, while it's beard is currently in the British museum.  It's headdress/crown supports the neck (weakest part of body) and functions as a protection from sun while working in Sahara desert.

A little kiss..

Family shot in front of the Sphinx

Our history classroom for the morning

After lunch we made a quick stop at Memphis, the first capital of Egypt after Pharaoh Menes unified Upper and Lower Egypt.  We visited an open-air museum with a gigantic statue of Ramses II an observed his cartouche on many of the statues there.  Ramses II is known to have put his cartouche everywhere and is considered a robber, yet he didn't want anyone doing to his statues what he'd done to previous pharaoh's statues.

13 meter long statue of Ramses II

Sphinx carved out of one large block of alabaster

Ready for battle with Ramses II - standing with left leg forward symbolizes
one is alive and ready to march (as in the chant "left, right, left...")

Moving on in Memphis, our final stop of the day was the Saquarra Complex, once enclosed within a wall and consisting of several buildings, temples and a courtyard.  The walls were over 30 feet tall and made of polished marble.  Some portions of them still stand and are absolutely beautiful in modern standards with the coloring and grain of the limestone, it's cut, and the way the sun shines on it!  The King would renew his power at a feast that took place every 30 years in the courtyard.  During this feast, in addition to renewing his power & starting a new term, he would fight a bull & run around the large open space.

Djoser's step pyramid is thought to have been built around 2700BC, and is considered the oldest stone building in the world.  It was originally about 204 feet tall and made from limestone.  Djoser built it to hold his mummy and it was intended to be a common flat-roofed mastaba.  However as time went on more levels were added until it had six layers.  Imhotep was Djoser's head architect and he is given much credit for the techniques involved in stone architecture.

Standing in the courtyard, in front of the beautiful walls, in the Saqqara Complex

King Djoser's Step Pyramid, the oldest structure on Earth, 2700BC

It was bizarre to contemplate this period in history & the chronology of everything.  We continued singing our Classical Conversation timeline song probably close to 50x trying to get & keep things straight in mind.  Trying to process that the civilizations who built these structures to prepare for an afterlife lived without the Bible and wondering what knowledge of God this ancient civilization had after they defended from Noah.  We found one interesting aspect that it all coincided with young earth dates, and we also found it interesting to compare stones & building techniques of fitting them together without glue or mortar just as was done to build Machu Picchu.

After a full day of pyramids, Dad treated Mom to some spa therapy and that night the kids did schoolwork in the hotel rooms while Mom and Dad ate at the hotel restaurant and had a date night. Everything mentioned here was just from a day and a half!