Days 4-5: Cairo, Pyramids and Museum

Great pyramids in the fog
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Day 4: At Sea

This day was a relaxing one, during which enjoyed the sunshine, watched a documentary about ancient Egypt, watched an African-themed musical production, and, of course, ate and drank to our hearts’ content.

One hell of a graveyard

Day 5: Port Sokhna, Egypt

T&T at the pyramid of Khafre
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Our excursion began with a bus ride from the port to the Pyramids, quite a long ride that brought us through the large but less-than-beautiful city of Cairo. A city of 21 million people, it felt very big but not very modern, with rubble underfoot everywhere, virtually all “unfinished” buildings (for property tax evasion purposes), and a lot of animal traffic as well as modern (albeit high emission) vehicles. We stopped first to see the great pyramids of Giza. Though the three main pyramids at the site were awe-inspiring in their size and age, the area itself was poorly kept and litter was everywhere. It was sad to see the condition of some of the worker’s tombs surrounding the pyramids, as they were full of trash. Excitingly enough, we were permitted to enter the second pyramid (of Khafre) , and proceeded down a sloped, cramped, narrow, and low-ceilinged passageway into the heart of the pyramid. The main chamber was surprisingly large, with a huge stone sarcophagus to one end that has been unable to be removed from the site as it is much too large to fit though the passages, prompting the belief that the pyramid was effectively built around this feature. We were also able to visit the excavated ‘spirit boat’ of Pharoah Khufu (Cheops) in front of the first pyramid, as well as the famous Sphinx and temple of Khafre.

Sphynx
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After a buffet lunch at a hotel in Cairo, we spent the afternoon at the Cairo Museum of Antiquities, where we saw numerous statues (including colossi of Amenhotep III and wife Tye, around which the museum was built), most of the contents of King Tut’s tomb (including his death mask), many mummies (among which were Ramses II, the Great), and countless other artifacts from throughout ancient Egyptian history. It seemed as though priceless artifacts were crammed into the museum the way knick-knacks are crammed into grandma’s attic. We were barely able to do it justice in the few hours we spent there. Finally, we traveled back to the boat for dinner and some British stand-up comedy.

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