| 9/15/1999 | |
| The Egyptian Museum and the Pyramids of Giza, or "where is your camel saddle meester?" | |
| The day started bright and sunny, which was a big surprise in the desert. We were still tired from the flight, and a strange night's sleep. We started with breakfast, at the Greenery once again. This was included, so the fear of another $100 bill never crossed my mind. Once again the food was excellent, then on to the bus. Our first stop was the Egyptian Museum of Cairo. This is the best place I've seen in the world (thus far) to find ancient relics. This place was amazing. Everywhere were great artifacts from all dynasties of the Egyptian kingdoms. Everything from 3000 year old jewelry, to mummies, to embalming tools, to sarcophagi, to game boards, to stone statues, to furniture; and, of course, the treasures of King Tut. The place was simply amazing. I was rather dismayed, though, at the pace were forced to maintain going through the museum. There were a number of whole rooms that we simply blew off. In my typical fashion, I wandered around, checking out sights while the guide was explaining the meaning of a single artifact. I managed to see much more the most of my fellow tourists, but I still felt robbed. I guess you have to expect that when you try to see a gold-mine like Egypt in only two weeks Our next stop was lunch, at the Seahorse Restaurant. The place served genuine Egyptian fare on the banks of the Nile. It was an outdoor, covered terrace with a great view of the river. The atmosphere was relaxed, with a number of cats running an playing around us. I surmise these are for rodent control, but prefer not to think about that. The service and food were excellent, as was the companionship. After lunch we were on to the pyramids of Giza. The pyramids gave us a real lesson in the ins-and outs of surviving an Egyptian tour. Not to detract from the grandeur of the plateau, but I have to say that I was very annoyed most of the time I was there. A constant barrage of begging and dealing distracted me from what should have been one of the most profound moments of my life. I don't want to beat a dead camel, but I was ready to grab one of those soldiers' assault rifles and open fire. Anyway, the plateau excursion started with a camel ride up to the plateau. The camel "driver" offered to take Chris' and my picture. Of course, this was followed by persistent begging for tips. The driver of Chris' camel was pressuring her to give my driver (the one that actually took the pictures) more money, even after I had already "tipped" him much more than he was worth. As we approached the plateau, the saddle on my camel came loose, then broke, sending me sprawling backwards over the camel's back, with a screaming "Booooah!", to the ground. Suddenly, an explosion of screaming Arabic erupted from all around me. The tour guide and security dude were screaming at the camel driver and camel-tour dude. Everyone offered a hand to pick me up. My sunglasses, which had fallen off in the tumble, quickly disappeared. I got up, relatively uninjured, but very dusty. The uproar continued as we walked up toward the plateau. I took the opportunity to snap a pic of Chris without the meddling of a begging camel driver. The fervor continued, and finally the tour guide had my money refunded. Eventually the security dude returned my sunglasses as well. The kicker of the thing was the driver's subsequent attempt to extract a tip from me. This was quelled by one loud "Whadaya kiddin'?!?!?!?". He very quickly became apologetic and even let us take pictures of him without any further tips. The rest of the time was relatively calm, barring the constant barrage of "Camel ride meester?". We stopped at the three pyramids, snapping pic after pic. We actually got to go inside the third pyramid on the plateau. It wasn't quite what I expected. A long, steep, narrow, tiny little shaft took us down to the burial chamber. It was very plain. There were no carvings, no hieroglyphs, no decorations at all. It was very hot inside, which was another surprise. You could still smell the incense, myrrh, and oils used in the mummification of the pyramid's occupant. Though there wasn't really much to see, it was still an experience. Our next stop was the Sphinx. While checking out the rear of one of the world's most prestigious monuments, I was overtaken by the irresistable urge to exclaim "NICE ASS!". Some strange dude next to me, who had just stopped video-taping, asked if I could repeat that while he was taping. It turned out that he was from our tour group. He introduced himself as Mike, and his new wife as Alicia. We bonded immediately. This was a bond that would strengthen as the trip progressed. Anyway, we dodged "merchants", snapped lots of pics, and roasted in the desert sun. After a quick and brutal haggle with a 12 year-old kid (which I won, I think), we were off to the hotel for dinner and a rest-bit. That evening, Mike and Alicia joined Chris and me as we returned to the plateau for the sound and light show. It was just as I had remembered it from the movie The Spy Who Loved Me. I realized then that I had seen the very spot where Jaws and 007 duked it out, but had neglected to recognize or photograph it (oops). The show was very cool, but it really could use a modern, Disneyesque touch. We returned to the hotel where I wrote the software to enter this narrative, and got a good night's sleep. |
|
| View Photos For This Date | |
| Return To Travel Log |
| << Previous Date | Next Date >> |