.......our previous blog wandering Cairo's neighbourhoods........
The Pyramids- last remaining Wonders of the Ancient World, other-worldly and mysterious. So much has been written about these massive structures, and conflicting controversial theories abound. This was our experience......
When we were last in Egypt, after being distracted by the social life at our hostel for some time, we eventually got around to setting out for the day to see the Giza Pyramids. Unfortunately, that day saw the worst dust storm in decades hit Cairo and completely obliterated our view of the monuments, or anything more than one foot from our faces. Our day trip was cut short, and we never even took one photo. This time we were determined to have a better experience, and a more thorough look at not just at the Giza Pyramids, but at the oldest pyramid in the world at Sakkara and the proto-type for Giza, the Bent Pyramid at Dashur.
We'd found a small guesthouse online that appeared to be in a great position, right in the middle of the groups of ancient pyramid sites we were keen to see. The sites at Sakkara and Dashur were virtually impossible to see with public transport, and we had decided to splurge on hiring transport to take us around. Since this guesthouse was so close, we figured the prices might be lower than from Cairo. After tentatively booking a room, we spent a week trying to contact the owners to confirm they had received our booking, and to ask how to reach Abu Sir, where the guesthouse was located. We were pleasantly surprised (and a bit suspicious) when the owner offered to pick us up from our hostel in Downtown Cairo. All went well, although the drive to Abu Sir along the rubbish filled, stinking canal road with depressingly squalid housing was intriguing rather than pleasant. As we pulled up at an empty house in a tiny village, we thought it might be an interesting stay. The owner finally showed up, and asked our plans for our stay. We balked at the very high prices he quoted for transport, and he quickly seemed to lose interest in us.
We decided on a walk through the village to orientate ourselves a bit, but timed it badly, as dozens of feral kids were just coming out of school and we were completely mobbed, and not in a nice way. They were screaming, hanging off our clothes and bags, asking for money and stopping us from walking. It has to be said, it's the first time we've been chased off the streets by children!
We escaped to the main road and found some friendly people in the village, including two boys making liver sandwiches and rice puddings which were quite tasty. We noticed there were loads of Indian style tuk-tuks running up and down the road, and decided to use one to try to get ourselves to Sakkara the next day. The village had quite a strange vibe to it- nothing we could exactly put our finger on, but it didn't exactly make us want to linger, and went back to our guesthouse.
On return from our walk, the owner informed us that we would have to leave! We were a bit confused, and thought we had misunderstood. He said the electricity would be going off for two days, and it wasn't possible for us to stay. When we asked where he suggested we should go, he just shrugged as though he didn't care. We said that we were very disappointed, especially since we had paid him for four nights up front. Suspecting some kind of scam, we demanded our money back and a free lift to our next destination, and were surprised when he agreed! The whole day was quite bizarre and although we were extremely disappointed about not being able to take our time to explore the monuments, we felt as though we'd had some kind of lucky escape. When we reached our next destination, Giza, people there told us Abu Sir was famously dodgy, people there ran drugs and weapons, and were dangerous!
We were relieved to arrive in the suburb of Giza, officially part of Cairo, but seemingly a world away from the Downtown area. Luckily we quickly found a hospitable, family run guesthouse, and were offered an old room stuffed with antiques on a rooftop with pyramid views.
We were also fortunate to meet a couple of travelers from France and Taiwan (we had yet to meet almost any fellow travelers in Egypt up until now), who were keen to see the same sites as we were. Not only did splitting the costs make a day trip more affordable, they were lovely company, and we had a fantastic day out.
Sakkara is an enormous site that was once the necropolis for the ancient capital of Memphis. The biggest draw here is the pharaoh Djoser's burial place, the Step Pyramid, the oldest pyramid in the world, and the earliest stone building in Egypt. Imhotep, the famous royal architect, was responsible for the design, and the change to stone from mud brick was very significant. Built in the time of the Old Kingdom of Egypt's history (approximately 2682 until 2613 BC), this could make the step pyramid more than 4.5 thousand years old!*
The sheer enormity and age of the Step Pyramid were incredible, but we couldn't help feeling a rather obvious and badly done restoration had been attempted, which was unexpected and rendered the pyramid slightly underwhelming on close inspection. However, the site was littered with dozens of lesser pyramids, tombs, grand rooms and ancient rubble. It was a bit confusing to find our way around the site, with no signs and many doors and gates closed. Some monuments were so spread out we had to drive between them. We sort of stumbled across lovely rooms filled with hieroglyphics, and followed the crowd (not very large) to find the next wonder. The highlights were the interior of the Pyramid of King Teti (slightly later era than the Step Pyramid) with it's colourful drawings of hunting scenes, and the Tomb of Kagemni. A final highlight was the wonderful museum on site, full of stories and beautiful treasures from the inside of tombs (including the world's oldest mummy).
Keeping in order of age, the next site we visited was Dashur, home to the Bent and the Red Pyramids. Perhaps 100 years after the Step Pyramid at Sakkara was built*, a golden age of pyramid building began, apparently mostly thanks to the wonderfully named pharaoh, Sneferu. He ushered in the new Fourth Dynasty, and was responsible for a major change in pyramid building techniques. The Bent Pyramid was actually his second go, the first having long ago collapsed. The theory about the odd shape is that the angle was changed half way through building when it was realized collapse was imminent. It represented the transition between the step form and smooth side form pyramid.
This pyramid had been left alone, and we could see quite clearly some of the buildings techniques used where massive stones had fallen away, and the smooth limestone surface that was incredibly still on much of the outside.
The site here was empty, in the middle of no where, and we were very happy indeed we had not persisted with our plan to get here by public transport. There was nothing, including no other tourists. The two pyramids were awe inspiring- so huge and ancient, and once again we gazed at wonder at the enormous precisely cut stones and wondered how on earth it was all put together. It was amazing to see the progress between them staring right at us. The two pyramids at Dashur are equally the third largest pyramids in the world (after Khufu and Khafre's at Giza).
The only other monument on the site (apart from the blobby ruin of the Black Pyramid) was the Red Pyramid, built by Sneferu immediately after the Bent, and this time the angles were right on.
Included in our ticket was entry to the inner chamber of the Red Pyramid, and it was exciting to climb way down into the dank depths and see some of the internal parts of the structure. The following day Sal's pathetically aching legs caused her to feel every bit of her 44 years!
The ancient names of these pyramids were very romantic- these two were known as "Sneferu Shines in the North", and "Sneferu Shines in the South".
We found Giza less enthralling than other parts of Cairo, mainly because of the inevitable and understandable hard sell as soon as we stepped out the door, but also due to the the lack of charm in it's modern town buildings. We had to ask the price for everything before purchasing, as some shops and cafes felt they needed to overcharge tourists. We soon found a good ahwa, shop, bakery and a few eateries we trusted. Because it was low season, the patter wasn't too bad, but there's only so many times one can be polite when refusing a horse/camel ride or visit to a perfume/papyrus shop. We were happy to hang out on the rooftop at the guesthouse, gazing at the Pyramids and chatting with the family and travelers. The only negative about the terrace was that it overlooked a square where the "tourist" horses and camels were kept, and mostly treated rather badly.
We were lucky enough to spend an entire day at the site of the three pyramids at Giza, taking our time, and soaking up as much of the ancient wonder as we could. As we were there in winter, it was surprisingly easy to find secluded, uncrowded spots where we could sit and gaze. Other times, "security" staff would appear and insist we needed to move- we just ignored them. There was some small trouble when we wanted to walk the half an hour or so to a view point where the panorama of the pyramidal trio over the city was favorable, but were told we couldn't walk, and instead must take a horse or camel. This was clearly a scam, and we simply started walking towards the nearest tourist policeman, who assured us we were indeed free to walk (and then asked if we wanted to take a picture of him on his camel!). Mostly, it was quiet and lovely, and we enjoyed the experience much more than we were expecting. Khufu's pyramid had the biggest crowds, as the interior tunnel was open and the bus loads were pouring in, after their obligatory selfie session out the front. We sat and watched the show for a while. Before our dust storm 12 years ago, we entered The Great Pyramid at Giza, and were disappointed with the crowds and the plainness inside. We were happy and a bit smug this time, to have seen the much more atmospheric interior of the Red Pyramid.
The three pyramids on site at Giza are the life long work of three generations of pharaohs. Still in the 4th dynasty, and following on from Sneferu, the pharaoh Khufu, his son Khafre and grandson Menkaure all decided to build their tombs at Giza. We found it interesting that the oldest pyramid (The Great Pyramid of Giza, as Khufu's pyramid is also called), perhaps built in 2560 BC*, is by far the best preserved, and also that each successive pharaoh had seemingly built smaller structures than their forefathers. Plenty of theories abound about the structures, including that they may not have been burial tombs at all- after all, no mummies have ever been found inside any of them. Regardless of the purpose, the magnitude and awe-inspiring scope certainly suggested something immensely important.
The dreamy nature of the ancient names continued at Giza, with Khufu's pyramid known as "Khufu's Horizon" in ancient times. Khare's and Menkaure's went by the less imaginative "Khafre Is Great" and "Menkaure Is Divine"
There were several other lesser monuments on the site, mostly in a state of virtual rubble, but the security staff weren't too keen about people looking around these.
Some entrance fees were expensive. Apparently there had been a recent price hike.
Giza Pyramids 200 EGP/UK£9.60
Sakkara Complex 180 EGPT/UK£8.60
Dashur 60 EGP/UK£2.90
* It must be pointed out there are hundreds of theories about ancient Egyptian sites- the ages, how they were built and by whom, and the information we have included is only an accumulation of the main stream theories from experts and archaeologists. When looking at the incredible structures up close and seeing the size and precision of the stones and their placement, it is easy to understand those who think other worldly races may have been responsible for their existence.
.....next up, our experiences in and around Beirut......
The Pyramids- last remaining Wonders of the Ancient World, other-worldly and mysterious. So much has been written about these massive structures, and conflicting controversial theories abound. This was our experience......
When we were last in Egypt, after being distracted by the social life at our hostel for some time, we eventually got around to setting out for the day to see the Giza Pyramids. Unfortunately, that day saw the worst dust storm in decades hit Cairo and completely obliterated our view of the monuments, or anything more than one foot from our faces. Our day trip was cut short, and we never even took one photo. This time we were determined to have a better experience, and a more thorough look at not just at the Giza Pyramids, but at the oldest pyramid in the world at Sakkara and the proto-type for Giza, the Bent Pyramid at Dashur.
 |
| Gazing in wonder, Giza |
We'd found a small guesthouse online that appeared to be in a great position, right in the middle of the groups of ancient pyramid sites we were keen to see. The sites at Sakkara and Dashur were virtually impossible to see with public transport, and we had decided to splurge on hiring transport to take us around. Since this guesthouse was so close, we figured the prices might be lower than from Cairo. After tentatively booking a room, we spent a week trying to contact the owners to confirm they had received our booking, and to ask how to reach Abu Sir, where the guesthouse was located. We were pleasantly surprised (and a bit suspicious) when the owner offered to pick us up from our hostel in Downtown Cairo. All went well, although the drive to Abu Sir along the rubbish filled, stinking canal road with depressingly squalid housing was intriguing rather than pleasant. As we pulled up at an empty house in a tiny village, we thought it might be an interesting stay. The owner finally showed up, and asked our plans for our stay. We balked at the very high prices he quoted for transport, and he quickly seemed to lose interest in us.
We decided on a walk through the village to orientate ourselves a bit, but timed it badly, as dozens of feral kids were just coming out of school and we were completely mobbed, and not in a nice way. They were screaming, hanging off our clothes and bags, asking for money and stopping us from walking. It has to be said, it's the first time we've been chased off the streets by children!
We escaped to the main road and found some friendly people in the village, including two boys making liver sandwiches and rice puddings which were quite tasty. We noticed there were loads of Indian style tuk-tuks running up and down the road, and decided to use one to try to get ourselves to Sakkara the next day. The village had quite a strange vibe to it- nothing we could exactly put our finger on, but it didn't exactly make us want to linger, and went back to our guesthouse.
On return from our walk, the owner informed us that we would have to leave! We were a bit confused, and thought we had misunderstood. He said the electricity would be going off for two days, and it wasn't possible for us to stay. When we asked where he suggested we should go, he just shrugged as though he didn't care. We said that we were very disappointed, especially since we had paid him for four nights up front. Suspecting some kind of scam, we demanded our money back and a free lift to our next destination, and were surprised when he agreed! The whole day was quite bizarre and although we were extremely disappointed about not being able to take our time to explore the monuments, we felt as though we'd had some kind of lucky escape. When we reached our next destination, Giza, people there told us Abu Sir was famously dodgy, people there ran drugs and weapons, and were dangerous!
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| Driving from Cairo to Abu Sir |
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| Rooftop of Abu Sir guesthouse, before it all went wrong! |
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| Just as we were noticed, and before the onslaught! Abu Sir |
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| The canal doubled as the rubbish tip, Abu Sir |
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| Friendly sandwich twins, Abu Sir |
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| Streets of Abu Sir |
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| Curios kid, Abu Sir |
We were relieved to arrive in the suburb of Giza, officially part of Cairo, but seemingly a world away from the Downtown area. Luckily we quickly found a hospitable, family run guesthouse, and were offered an old room stuffed with antiques on a rooftop with pyramid views.
We were also fortunate to meet a couple of travelers from France and Taiwan (we had yet to meet almost any fellow travelers in Egypt up until now), who were keen to see the same sites as we were. Not only did splitting the costs make a day trip more affordable, they were lovely company, and we had a fantastic day out.
Sakkara is an enormous site that was once the necropolis for the ancient capital of Memphis. The biggest draw here is the pharaoh Djoser's burial place, the Step Pyramid, the oldest pyramid in the world, and the earliest stone building in Egypt. Imhotep, the famous royal architect, was responsible for the design, and the change to stone from mud brick was very significant. Built in the time of the Old Kingdom of Egypt's history (approximately 2682 until 2613 BC), this could make the step pyramid more than 4.5 thousand years old!*
The sheer enormity and age of the Step Pyramid were incredible, but we couldn't help feeling a rather obvious and badly done restoration had been attempted, which was unexpected and rendered the pyramid slightly underwhelming on close inspection. However, the site was littered with dozens of lesser pyramids, tombs, grand rooms and ancient rubble. It was a bit confusing to find our way around the site, with no signs and many doors and gates closed. Some monuments were so spread out we had to drive between them. We sort of stumbled across lovely rooms filled with hieroglyphics, and followed the crowd (not very large) to find the next wonder. The highlights were the interior of the Pyramid of King Teti (slightly later era than the Step Pyramid) with it's colourful drawings of hunting scenes, and the Tomb of Kagemni. A final highlight was the wonderful museum on site, full of stories and beautiful treasures from the inside of tombs (including the world's oldest mummy).
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| Djoser's Step Pyramid, Sakkara |
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| Ancient artifacts just lying around! Sakkara |
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| Alcove in tomb, Sakkara |
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| A hunting scene, Sakkara |
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| Go on.....kiss my pig, Sakkara |
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| Such clear ancient engravings, Sakkara |
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| The site at Sakkara |
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| Exquisite figurines in museum, Sakkara |
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| Columned hall, Sakkara |
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| Hieroglyphics, Sakkara |
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| Stunning wooden sarcophagus of the architect Imhotep, Sakkara |
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| A scene of famine, compete with skinny rib cages, Sakkara |
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| Detailed carvings, Sakkara |
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| Nile fish were commonly depicted, Sakkara |
Keeping in order of age, the next site we visited was Dashur, home to the Bent and the Red Pyramids. Perhaps 100 years after the Step Pyramid at Sakkara was built*, a golden age of pyramid building began, apparently mostly thanks to the wonderfully named pharaoh, Sneferu. He ushered in the new Fourth Dynasty, and was responsible for a major change in pyramid building techniques. The Bent Pyramid was actually his second go, the first having long ago collapsed. The theory about the odd shape is that the angle was changed half way through building when it was realized collapse was imminent. It represented the transition between the step form and smooth side form pyramid.
This pyramid had been left alone, and we could see quite clearly some of the buildings techniques used where massive stones had fallen away, and the smooth limestone surface that was incredibly still on much of the outside.
The site here was empty, in the middle of no where, and we were very happy indeed we had not persisted with our plan to get here by public transport. There was nothing, including no other tourists. The two pyramids were awe inspiring- so huge and ancient, and once again we gazed at wonder at the enormous precisely cut stones and wondered how on earth it was all put together. It was amazing to see the progress between them staring right at us. The two pyramids at Dashur are equally the third largest pyramids in the world (after Khufu and Khafre's at Giza).
The only other monument on the site (apart from the blobby ruin of the Black Pyramid) was the Red Pyramid, built by Sneferu immediately after the Bent, and this time the angles were right on.
Included in our ticket was entry to the inner chamber of the Red Pyramid, and it was exciting to climb way down into the dank depths and see some of the internal parts of the structure. The following day Sal's pathetically aching legs caused her to feel every bit of her 44 years!
The ancient names of these pyramids were very romantic- these two were known as "Sneferu Shines in the North", and "Sneferu Shines in the South".
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| Bent Pyramid, Dashur |
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| Smooth surface of the Bent Pyramid, Dashur |
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| Bent Pyramid, with Red Pyramid in the distance, Dashur |
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| Looking up the shaft, coming out of the Red Pyramid, Dashur |
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| Dwarfed at Dashur! |
We found Giza less enthralling than other parts of Cairo, mainly because of the inevitable and understandable hard sell as soon as we stepped out the door, but also due to the the lack of charm in it's modern town buildings. We had to ask the price for everything before purchasing, as some shops and cafes felt they needed to overcharge tourists. We soon found a good ahwa, shop, bakery and a few eateries we trusted. Because it was low season, the patter wasn't too bad, but there's only so many times one can be polite when refusing a horse/camel ride or visit to a perfume/papyrus shop. We were happy to hang out on the rooftop at the guesthouse, gazing at the Pyramids and chatting with the family and travelers. The only negative about the terrace was that it overlooked a square where the "tourist" horses and camels were kept, and mostly treated rather badly.
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| Arriving in Giza |
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| Our funny, musty old room, Giza |
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| Yes! Finally captured a weasel (on camera!) |
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| Rooftop at guesthouse, Giza |
We were lucky enough to spend an entire day at the site of the three pyramids at Giza, taking our time, and soaking up as much of the ancient wonder as we could. As we were there in winter, it was surprisingly easy to find secluded, uncrowded spots where we could sit and gaze. Other times, "security" staff would appear and insist we needed to move- we just ignored them. There was some small trouble when we wanted to walk the half an hour or so to a view point where the panorama of the pyramidal trio over the city was favorable, but were told we couldn't walk, and instead must take a horse or camel. This was clearly a scam, and we simply started walking towards the nearest tourist policeman, who assured us we were indeed free to walk (and then asked if we wanted to take a picture of him on his camel!). Mostly, it was quiet and lovely, and we enjoyed the experience much more than we were expecting. Khufu's pyramid had the biggest crowds, as the interior tunnel was open and the bus loads were pouring in, after their obligatory selfie session out the front. We sat and watched the show for a while. Before our dust storm 12 years ago, we entered The Great Pyramid at Giza, and were disappointed with the crowds and the plainness inside. We were happy and a bit smug this time, to have seen the much more atmospheric interior of the Red Pyramid.
The three pyramids on site at Giza are the life long work of three generations of pharaohs. Still in the 4th dynasty, and following on from Sneferu, the pharaoh Khufu, his son Khafre and grandson Menkaure all decided to build their tombs at Giza. We found it interesting that the oldest pyramid (The Great Pyramid of Giza, as Khufu's pyramid is also called), perhaps built in 2560 BC*, is by far the best preserved, and also that each successive pharaoh had seemingly built smaller structures than their forefathers. Plenty of theories abound about the structures, including that they may not have been burial tombs at all- after all, no mummies have ever been found inside any of them. Regardless of the purpose, the magnitude and awe-inspiring scope certainly suggested something immensely important.
The dreamy nature of the ancient names continued at Giza, with Khufu's pyramid known as "Khufu's Horizon" in ancient times. Khare's and Menkaure's went by the less imaginative "Khafre Is Great" and "Menkaure Is Divine"
There were several other lesser monuments on the site, mostly in a state of virtual rubble, but the security staff weren't too keen about people looking around these.
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| Horse riders in the distance, Giza |
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| In his element, Giza |
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| Good view of the "cap" of limestone on Khafre's pyramid, Giza |
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| Resting in the shade, Giza |
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| Around Menkaure's Pyramid, Giza |
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| "The scene"- looking down to the Sphinx, entrance of Giza and Cairo city |
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| Moody sky at Giza Pyramids |
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| Incredible precisely cut and laid enormous stones, Giza |
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| Classic shot! Giza |
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| Old Sphinxy, Giza |
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| The smallest of the the three, Menkaure's pyramid, Giza |
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| Exploring around the outskirts of the pyramids, Giza |
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| It was hard to decide what to go for |
Some entrance fees were expensive. Apparently there had been a recent price hike.
Giza Pyramids 200 EGP/UK£9.60
Sakkara Complex 180 EGPT/UK£8.60
Dashur 60 EGP/UK£2.90
* It must be pointed out there are hundreds of theories about ancient Egyptian sites- the ages, how they were built and by whom, and the information we have included is only an accumulation of the main stream theories from experts and archaeologists. When looking at the incredible structures up close and seeing the size and precision of the stones and their placement, it is easy to understand those who think other worldly races may have been responsible for their existence.
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| Happy travellers! |
.....next up, our experiences in and around Beirut......
A delightful locale for all sorts of photographic compositions, as converging lines intersect with a plethora of ruins, and the moving image.
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