Sunday, June 3, 2007

Saturday, May 12th

Day two was Earrrrrrrrr-ly. We got up very early, checked out of our hotel, and bid good day to our disgusting bus bathroom before heading off to the Memphis museum.


At this museum there are huge, huge, huge statues of King Ramses II. Huge. Out of control big.

Ramses was kind of dreamy.

Then, our Great Pyramid Appetizer was a visit to Saqqara, where we actually got to go inside a pyramid! We went inside the Pyramid of Teti, and, in all the excitement, neither Steve nor I bothered to figure out who he was.


The Pyramid of Teti is the one that you can readily enter, without having to sign up. Some pyramids only allow as few as 10 people to enter each day, or some are completely closed off. The insides of most of the pyramids are off-limits due to a lack of oxygen inside. So, with that in mind, it comes as no surprise that entering the Pyramid of Teti is a terribly claustrophobic experience. You can see how tiny it is, and how I had to pretty much bend myself in half to fit.
You aren't supposed to take pictures inside the pyramid. I don't think this is out of respect, because we found out you can take pictures pretty much anywhere in Egypt if you give the guy who told you not to take a picture some money. The shot of Steve and I cost 1 Euro. Enjoy.


We also got to see the famous Step Pyramid of King Djozer. The step pyramid is the technological predecessor to the style of pyramids such as the Great Pyramid. It's kind of like how the Walkman is to the iPod. There is a hole in one of the blocks outside the Step Pyramid that we were told to peer into. Hidden inside is this statue of King Djozer himself.

It was then onto the Giza Pyramid Complex. The big time.
The three Pyramids are as follows: the Pyramid of Khufu (also known as the "Great Pyramid," the "Pyramid of Cheops," and the “Pyramid of Holy Crap. How Did They Ever Do That?”), the slightly smaller Pyramid of Khafre (his son), and the Pyramid of Menkaure (or, “Baby Pyramid”).

There are also three smaller pyramids on the outskirts, presumably the graves of the King's wives.

Here is the cast just hanging out in front of one of the Great Wonders of the Ancient World.

Oh, and then we rode a camel.

This may be one of those times where the relationship between writing and pictures gets a little rocky.
The pictures pretty much sum it all up. I guess I could try to sum it up in words, too. We spent our last day in f*@king Cairo, Egypt (Egypt. As in, Africa. As in The Great Pyramids. As in riding camels. As in The Spynx) riding a f*@king camel in front of the Great Pyramids and the f*@king Sphinx.

Let the record state that riding a camel is very soothing. It is a smoother ride than even a horse, and camels don’t get spooked like horses do. This doesn’t change the fact that I clutched my Paxil bottle as the camel initially rose up with Steve and I on it, or when the camel behind me sneezed on my leg.

But it was nowhere near as scary as being in that parasailing boat in the Bahamas. Maybe I’ve grown since then. Or gone nuts since then.

But how many crazy people can say they rode a camel in front of the Great Pryramids? Or, more accurately, how many nuts say they did it and are actually telling the truth? Probably about 73. And now I’m one of them.



1 comment:

Arnie said...

Holy crap. Jealousy abounds.