The Sphinx, the Pyramids of Giza, and the Step Pyramid of Saqqara, the World's Oldest Stone Monument

Amber buying water off this man's donkey at the Pyramids
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The Pyramids

June 10, 2008 

(Matt)

On our second day in Cairo, we were up early, had breakfast at Hotel Longchamps, which is a really nice place, and got a cab for the day to take us to the pyramids.

Guard who took our photo, complimented Amber, and then asked for money
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On the way to Giza, we got our cab driver to take us to the bus station, and he insisted that he come in to help us get our tickets to Sharm El Sheikh. In our limited experience, very few people seemed to speak English. So some help in the bus station was much appreciated. As he stepped up from the street up to the curb, he hit a slippery spot, his feet literally came up over his head, and fell flat on his back with a frightening thud. He had a very hard time getting up. It was such a hard spill that security guards and employees just inside the door ran out to help. Even with 4 or 5 of us trying to pull him up, he was unable to stand. He was hurt and embarrassed, but he shook it off pretty quickly and came in to buy our tickets for us, which was really nice.

The landscape behind the Pyramids
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After stopping at four banks, we final got some money out of an ATM and set off to the pyramids. We were not even out of Cairo when we saw them over the city skyline. I never knew they were so close to town.

Seeing the pyramids at Giza and the Sphinx was surreal, like the first time you see the ocean or mountains. I can't even count how many times in my life that I have seen these icons on movies, on television, on cartoons, in pictures, in books, but this sight is one of those places that doesn't even seem real until you see it in person. It was truly awesome.

Matt with Pyramid that we climbed into
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We fortunately arrived before the tour buses, of which there were MANY by mid-day, and our pictures look like we had the Sphinx almost to ourselves...because we did. There were about 5 Japanese tourists there when we showed up. By the time we left, the Sphinx was completely overrun by tour bus groups. How many tour buses? To illustrate this answer, we took a picture of the tour buses parked in front of the pyramid of Khafre (with Khufu in the background), and I think it clearly demonstrates the extent to which this is one of those historical locations that everyone wants to see. Egypt sees a remarkable 8.1 million visitors each year, and this brings in $6.6 billion U.S. dollars per year. But that does not diminish in any way the impressiveness of the pyramids, the sole survivor of the Seven Wonders of the World. Still an engineering mystery, we do know that they are tombs or a funerary complex for the pharaohs' afterlife.

Matt at Saqqara, the world's oldest stone monument and first pyramid
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Khufu is the oldest pyramid in the Giza Plateau, and it was completed 4578 years ago, in 2570 BC, about 46 centuries ago. There were 2.3 million limestone blocks, estimated to weigh an average of 2.5 tons each, used to build Khufu. Researchers now believe that Egyptian farmers, rather than slaves, were used to build the pyramids.

While walking around the pyramids, we paid extra to walk into the belly of Khafre and see the tomb. You have to crouch down and climb folded in half for a few minutes, making it a pretty sweaty affair. But going inside a pyramid is a must, if nothing else just to say that you have done it. So we have done it.

The Sphinx
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Next we went to Saqqara, which had a nice new museum. Here we saw the Step Pyramid (Pyramid of Djoser), the first pyramid in Egypt and first stone monument in the world. It was built in 2750 BC, about 4758 years ago. It was getting very hot during this part of the day, and Saqqara is truly in the desert. We concluded our day with a trip to Memphis, which was the capital of the Old Kingdom of Egypt. Now it is really just a courtyard with some impressive stone carvings, including the giant supine statue of Ramses II. Amber is standing next to this statue in one of the pictures on this blog.

Amber with statue of Ramses II at Memphis
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(Amber)

The pyramids were as great as you would imagine. The strength and engineering they took defy reason. There are even sects of people who argue that angels or aliens created them, because there's no way humans could have. I am old-fashioned when it comes to angel and alien architecture and construction talk, so I am leaning strongly toward the human construction theory....but I don't question why some think it would be impossible. They are astonishing. It was a highlight of the trip.

Amber with huge stone carving of Ramses II
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(Matt)

Our third full day, we headed back to Islamic Cairo to see Ahmad Ibn Tulun and the Citadel. We walked several hours all through Cairo, ate beef bulgogi, and collapsed in bed.

(Amber)

We loved Cairo. We didn't get enough of this place. Saying that it's rich in culture and history is like saying the pyramids are sort of neat. It's all mind-blowing.

Us at Pyramids
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