{"id":1555,"date":"2023-11-08T06:28:00","date_gmt":"2023-11-08T06:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sarahanderictraveltheworld.com\/?p=1555"},"modified":"2024-12-15T03:08:15","modified_gmt":"2024-12-15T03:08:15","slug":"dates-with-the-pyramids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sarahanderictraveltheworld.com\/index.php\/2023\/11\/08\/dates-with-the-pyramids\/","title":{"rendered":"Dates with the Pyramids"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Activity level: \ud83c\udf36\ufe0f\ud83c\udf36\ufe0f\ud83c\udf36\ufe0f\ud83c\udf36\ufe0f\ud83c\udf36\ufe0f<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Modes of transportation: \ud83d\ude97 \ud83e\udd7e \ud83d\ude82<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Beautiful view to wake up to\u2014although we could have used more than 6 hours of sleep.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Editor’s note: If you\u2019re wondering why there was a delay between posts, buckle up, because the next few days are packed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our hotel worker, Noura, woke us up with breakfast, and we had a little time to eat on the balcony (since all our clothes were in the wash, it was easy to pack). Our guide for the day also couldn\u2019t find the hotel (so it wasn\u2019t just us), so we ended up starting the tour a little late (around 8:15).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We really enjoyed our tour guide Amira, who had recently gotten her PhD in Egyptology. She could read hieroglyphics, and taught us all kinds of history of the pyramids, the kings of ancient Egypt, and the relation to other periods in history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our first stop was the great pyramid\u2014the largest one (pyramid Khufu). It\u2019s even bigger in person! We paid a little extra to go inside, and it was a long tunnel up (with 4 foot ceilings) to the center. Some people say it\u2019s not worth it, but we thought it was really neat being that far inside the pyramid (not much to see inside though). It\u2019s also insane that the structure was built 4500 years ago and is still standing. One king even tried to demolish them, but it turned out to be wildly unpopular and too expensive (he did get some chunks out though).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Hard to tell from the angle, but this is Giza!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We also got sort of scammed by a guy who took our phone to get pictures of us. That\u2019s where we learned that you need to make change before you give a tip, because they will not give you much back (luckily it was only a few bucks).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Inside Giza! We got pressured to take this photo which we didn\u2019t even want to pose for\u2014but it\u2019s a funny memory now.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The walk through the Great Pyramid was surprisingly steep. Many people of all ages were doing it, but some seemed to be struggling since it was very hot and humid inside.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We walked over to the pyramid of Khafre, built by the son of Khufu, the builder of the great pyramid. It\u2019s recognizable because it\u2019s the only one that still has the limestone covering on the top of it. Also very cool (and much less crowded).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Giza from another angle\u2014the guide privately told Sarah that Eric is a very special friend to Sarah (it wasn\u2019t until later that we realized she didn\u2019t know we were married).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On the walk between the pyramids, a group of teenagers spotted one of the newer wonders of the world and ran up to Sarah to take a photo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cHello!\u201d \u201cBeautiful\u201d \u201cI love you\u201d the girls were very excited to practice their English, and with phrases like that, we didn\u2019t mind helping out. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We then went on our way to a better view of the pyramids. Our guide took us to a \u201cfriend\u201d who insisted Sarah try a headscarf. Luckily after all of our travels we were very comfortable saying no thank you. It was fun to try though. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sarah is clearly thinking: \u201cPlease get this off so I don\u2019t feel obligated to buy\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Of course, we had to do a camel ride, so we negotiated a good rate and took a short ride over to the lookout point and back. The photos say it all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Camels are awesome.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The guides have you do the most ingenious poses.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

While we waited for our guide to figure something out with the camel dude after our ride, we took in some awesome views.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We quickly stopped for a view of the third pyramid, but our real goal was the sphinx. It was put there to ward against grave robbers, and obviously didn\u2019t do its job. Very cool though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Instagram vs\u2026<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Reality. The Sphinx is awesome (although smaller than expected) but the crowds were crazy.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We got shuttled once again into a shop\u2014perfume this time\u2014to be hard-sold. Sarah actually liked one of the scents, so we made an insultingly low offer and ended up buying a very small amount. The guy didn\u2019t seem to happy with the sell at the end of it, but we were happy with the purchase (and we are 100% sure that he made a hefty profit). Our guide got in the car with us and said something while laughing to the driver\u2014oh how we wish we understood Arabic. We were also supposed to go to a papyrus shop, but we told our guide we weren\u2019t going to buy anything; in the interest of time, she nixed it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From there, it was about an hour to Dashur through the date palm fields. Dashur contains the bent pyramid (the failed first-attempt non-step pyramid), the red pyramid (a successful second attempt), as well as various other small, half-destroyed pyramids. These were the staging grounds for King Khufu so that he could build the great pyramid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This pyramid was much less crowded and nearly as magnificent as the ones in Giza.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Bent pyramid. See? It\u2019s bent!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Our cab driver told us to \u201csave our energy\u201d for the journey into the pyramid, and he wasn\u2019t wrong. It was a long walk down about a 25 degree incline in another 4-foot square tunnel. Sarah got a little claustrophobic (somehow, more than she did in the tight caves of Belize). At the bottom, there was a burial room at the top of a staircase\u2014but honestly, also not much to see (as we learned later, the pyramids were too conspicuous and got entirely looted, unlike the later tombs). Our legs were burning by the end, but it was awesome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We see why our driver and guide warned us\u2014the walk through this pyramid was fairly intense and there was no light or crowds. We were on our own. It felt like an adventure!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On the way back, we asked to try some dates, so our driver stopped by the side of the road and picked us up some. We didn\u2019t even know, but apparently there are two types of dates: soft ones (the ones we can get dried), and hard ones (which have the consistency more like apples). We ate them all the way to our next stop, Memphis, and they were delicious!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dates are \u201csuper food\u201d according to our driver. We had energy for the rest of the day, so we agree.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Memphis was the old capital city of Egypt founded in 3200BC. We didn\u2019t stay there long, but we saw a cool large statue of Ramses they found nearby. We also saw some ancient home remains and some baboon statues (a baboon was the judgment god who would gobble you up if you lived a bad life), but had to be gone pretty quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sarah is convinced Ramses II had a lot of enemies because nearly all of his statues in Memphis were ruined.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We rushed to make sure we could get into Saqqara before it closed at 4 to see the step pyramid, which was the first pyramid built. While the other pyramids generally had tunnels going upwards, at this time, this pyramid had tunnels going downwards. We were both amazed at how perfectly the workers (aliens?) dug straight tunnels through pure limestone, hundreds of feet horizontally and straight down. Kind of amazing for 5000 years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A note on aliens: every tour guide has brought up the aliens theory of things, which is pretty funny (they quickly debunk it by saying we have evidence of worker camps, but what are they really trying to hide?).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I mean are we really supposed to believe humans made a tunnel under a massive pyramid over 4500 years ago? \ud83d\udc40 <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The flat walk under the pyramid led to this steep drop to the tomb.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Before we left, we got to explore the grounds a little. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Right before this photo, the tour guide was telling Sarah what an amazing friend and good person Eric seemed to be. She seemed happy when Sarah told her we were married. We guess we keep it professional even on vacation.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Dessert + sun + ancient architecture <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We had held our lunch until the end to have enough time at the stops, so we finally drove to a restaurant to eat. We got some Egyptian style meats on a grill, which were so tasty and delicious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This place seemed very touristy but was awesome\u2014you\u2019re greeted by musicians, funky decor, and delicious food (also we\u2019re pretty sure those are the same chairs from our wedding).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Table Kebobs<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We think we ended up taking too long, and we missed our chance to go to another shop (oh no!). In fact, we Google translated our guides talking, and we think they were lamenting that we ate too slowly (or at least that\u2019s what we could piece together\u2014but it\u2019s up for interpretation).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We had an amazing time on the tour, so we tipped them well and they dropped us off at our hotel. By then, our laundry was ready, so the concierge very graciously let us pack in the common area even though we had checked out that morning (and even brought us tea and drinks). We had asked if it would be possible to shower in an empty room, but he said that they were all booked, unfortunately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The hotel we stayed at the previous night was so nice\u2014we had a night train to catch so we weren\u2019t staying with them again( but they still held our bags and let us pack our bags in the lobby. They also gave us juice and tea while we waited and told us to take as long as we wanted to relax in the lobby. They really meant \u201cwe want you to feel at home.\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

He asked us how we liked Egypt because the ministry of tourism wanted surveys (which we had heard a few times). We learned that Egypt has been having tourism problems, so there are a bunch of very recent programs to help make the tourist experience better\u2014so that\u2019s pretty nice!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Long day of travel\u2026 and a night train to go.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We weren\u2019t done just yet. We had to get to the train station to catch our overnight train. We got dropped off in the square in front of the station and had to walk through an extremely crowded walkway to the station. Sarah held onto Eric and they made it without incident (except one guy yelled FU to Eric then started laughing for no reason).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Train station shawarma <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We got a quick dinner of shawarma (which was just ok) before heading to our train platform. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Once we got to the bottom of this escalator, a police office approached us. Turns out he was a total “G”.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A policeman spotted us in the station and asked if we were on the night train. He then found our name on a list and then escorted us to the train (it sort of seemed like a few of the police men were guarding the tourists, interestingly). Sarah offered him a date, and he just laughed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The train actually arrived and left on time, which was apparently a miracle. We got to our cabin and settled in, though the cabin may have settled on us too quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The bottom is supposed to be seats that fold into a bed. Unfortunately every time we tried to sit in the seat, the bench collapsed on us. So we just kept it down.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It was definitely an old train from an era when men were men and everyone smoked two packs a day (don\u2019t get us wrong, Egyptians still smoke\u2014but not in their rooms). It was fun, though. We ate before the train, so we didn\u2019t each much of the dinner (which we heard would be interesting)\u2014though we did order tea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There was this hilarious Brazilian woman in the room next to us loudly pantomiming and telling us the room was \u201ctrash\u201d in broken English (with a smile and many grimaces). She kept saying \u201cdon\u2019t turn on light!\u201d because her room was pretty dirty. She also kept saying she was freezing, so Sarah let her borrow her jacket until they could get the heat fixed. She was very appreciative from what Eric could piece together from his limited Spanish (though it was Portuguese).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bunk bed!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There were no showers on the train either, so we just had to wet wipe shower for the night and hope we could get a regular shower soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<let\u2019s just say it\u2019s a good thing we didn\u2019t get a photo of the bathroom><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The train was extraordinarily bumpy, but it rocked us to sleep (good thing we had earplugs, though). We were arriving in Luxor in the morning to start our Nile cruise.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sarah and Eric visit some sites that really have stood the test of tomb.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1994,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[31,32,33,41],"class_list":["post-1555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-egypt","tag-cairo","tag-giza","tag-memphis","tag-saqqara"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sarahanderictraveltheworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1555","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sarahanderictraveltheworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sarahanderictraveltheworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sarahanderictraveltheworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sarahanderictraveltheworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1555"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/sarahanderictraveltheworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1555\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3771,"href":"https:\/\/sarahanderictraveltheworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1555\/revisions\/3771"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sarahanderictraveltheworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1994"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sarahanderictraveltheworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sarahanderictraveltheworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sarahanderictraveltheworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}