We heard from Kelsey's driver last night that the pyramids at Giza opened at 9am (which seems a bit late, but I got to sleep, so that's good). We woke up, had a foul ("fool", kinda tastes like refried beans) and egg sandwich and a tamiya and egg sandwich for breakfast, then took an easy Metro (I love the Metro) ride to the Giza station.
There, we found another pair of tourists, and, instead of them paying 20 pounds, we all paid 10 pounds to this driver.
But we were in for more than we bargained for. We go this crazy route, leading through farmyards then busy gravel roads along a canal, and then... end up at a horse- and camel-riding facility?
Once we were there, Abdalla had the difficult task of translating to his "brethren" (since they all think he is Egyptian) that no, the tourists did not want to get ripped off. We eventually threatened to leave the cab, and a new driver took us to the side gate of the pyramids.
Abdalla has this issue of being from Oman, but having an Egyptian accent from his parents, so all the Egyptians want him to be on their side, not being a tourist. It has helped, but when we find other tourists, he is put in a hard spot. They are convinced that he has to be Egyptian.
Abdalla and I wandered and read from my little pyramid guide book that I picked up this morning. It is so hard to find the scale to the pyramids... from afar, they look like you've seen in any picture. From up close, there is a tiny man at the bottom, and layers and layers of one-meter-tall blocks.
It was a hot afternoon, so we did everything very slowly, which meant that we were headed back in a cab at about 1pm. Our next stop was the Egyptian Museum, which is just a few blocks from home, but I didn't realize how short-tempered I was because of the heat. When they asked me to check my camera at the bag check, I nearly freaked out, for no good reason.
After calming down, I saw a lot of the treasures of Tutakamen's (King Tut's) tomb... they really crammed that thing full!
Some ice cream and a nap (and a bout of homesickness) restored my spirits for the evening's activities.
There, we found another pair of tourists, and, instead of them paying 20 pounds, we all paid 10 pounds to this driver.
But we were in for more than we bargained for. We go this crazy route, leading through farmyards then busy gravel roads along a canal, and then... end up at a horse- and camel-riding facility?
Once we were there, Abdalla had the difficult task of translating to his "brethren" (since they all think he is Egyptian) that no, the tourists did not want to get ripped off. We eventually threatened to leave the cab, and a new driver took us to the side gate of the pyramids.
Abdalla has this issue of being from Oman, but having an Egyptian accent from his parents, so all the Egyptians want him to be on their side, not being a tourist. It has helped, but when we find other tourists, he is put in a hard spot. They are convinced that he has to be Egyptian.
Abdalla and I wandered and read from my little pyramid guide book that I picked up this morning. It is so hard to find the scale to the pyramids... from afar, they look like you've seen in any picture. From up close, there is a tiny man at the bottom, and layers and layers of one-meter-tall blocks.
It was a hot afternoon, so we did everything very slowly, which meant that we were headed back in a cab at about 1pm. Our next stop was the Egyptian Museum, which is just a few blocks from home, but I didn't realize how short-tempered I was because of the heat. When they asked me to check my camera at the bag check, I nearly freaked out, for no good reason.
After calming down, I saw a lot of the treasures of Tutakamen's (King Tut's) tomb... they really crammed that thing full!
Some ice cream and a nap (and a bout of homesickness) restored my spirits for the evening's activities.
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