Today we set out for the pyramids at Giza. As is the norm in Egypt, apparantly, the cab drivers will unexpectedly take you to local businesses to try and get you to buy things. Our first such stop was a papyrus factory, where they showed us how papyrus paper is made. With the exception of some modern industrial assembly-line techniques, the process hasn't really changed since the time of the pharoahs. We quickly learned that Egyptian culture is very hospitable, at least to those with money to spend; we were served Egyptian coffee and tea while we perused the gallery. I ended up getting a large and beautiful papyrus banner depicting the 99 names of Allah in Arabic. I figured that, if I want to be an amateur Crusade historian, my future library would not be complete without some memorabilia from the East.
After the papyrus place, we went to one of the cab driver's friend's businesses: an ironic blend of parfumerie, tour company, and stables. We were shown how traditional parfumes are made from extracting the pure essence of various flowers. Cameron, Lauren, and I each got about an hour's worth of sampling and I ended up buying a 300g bottle of a lotus-based essence for about $40 USD. I rarely wear cologne, so I figured an Egyptian one would last me for awhile. While we were sampling the various essences, the owner of the parfumerie/stables was readying our camels.
When we were all done at the parfumerie, we walked outside and our camels (Ali Baba, Schzerahad, and Michael Jackson) were waiting for us. As it should be, I was assigned Michael Jackson and the middle of the camel train. Our guide, Chemou, rode and Arabian horse in front of the caravan to lead us. We climbed up a steep sand dune at the edge of Giza village and then came in full view of the three main pyramids. They sneak up on you and are revealed all of the sudden in a truly miraculous fashion. I don't think I've ever taken so many pictures in such a short period of time in my entire life. We approached the plateau from the south, coming down from a panoramic view and arriving first at the smallest pyramid, the one belonging to Menkaure.
The larger pyramid of Khafre (Menkaure's father) and the great pyramid of Khufu (Khafre's father) are arranged diagonally northeast from there. We would systematically get off our camels to walk around, see various ruins like the Pharaonic Temple where the funerals were held, and take more pictures. We then left the Pharaonic Temple in front of Khafre's pyramid and walked down the Grand Causeway toward the Sphnix. We got off our camels again, did the blatant tourist picture-taking, and then headed back into the village to demount.
Once back at the stables/parfumerie, we switched our ride from camels to Arabian horses. We then spent the next two or three horses riding south into the desert from Giza to Saqqara, site of the first pyramids built in all of Egypt and the models for the three great pyramids that are so well known now. Some of the times we would take off across the dunes at a full sprint that would almost rip you out of the saddle, but most of the time we walked up and down the tall dunes at a leisurely pace. It was extremely nice and relaxing to be riding as the sun set to our right.
We passed a variety of ruins, a couple of army bases (where Lauren was whistled at considerably), and, regrettably, piles of trash just stuck randomly into the desert. Once we got to Saqqara, we demounted and took pictures with the stepped pyramids therre. As the sun was setting and it began to get dark, we headed east into the village, where a car was waiting to get us. Chemou took us to a part of the village that rarely sees tourists, as there's really nothing for them to see or do there, which made for a very interesting experience. Literally hundreds of children who were playing in the dunes or the alleys of the village would stop what they were doing and start running after us waving and yelling 'Hello!' and 'How are you?' Our guide says that, even in Egypt, tourists are not seen very often and it might have been the first time that those kids had seen Westerners.
We got back to Giza and had a kebab barbeque and Sakara beer (owned by Heineken) with our tour guide Chemou and the owner of the whole get-up, Ali. Our driver, Ahmed, had been waiting for us since the parfumerie and then took us back to the Mayfair hotel for the night. It was only about 9 pm, but we were pretty exhausted. I didn't get nearly as much sun as I thought I would, but it felt great to get a shower and get into some gym shorts. Cameron and I watched part of the Egytian/English national teams soccer game for awhile, but after England made it 3-1 we considered it over and went to bed. An overall exhausting day, but probably one of the most (if not the most) fantastic days of my life.
Today we set out for the pyramids at Giza. As is the norm in Egypt, apparantly, the cab drivers will unexpectedly take you to local businesses to try and get you to buy things. Our first such stop was a papyrus factory, where they showed us how papyrus paper is made. With the exception of some modern industrial assembly-line techniques, the process hasn't really changed since the time of the pharoahs. We quickly learned that Egyptian culture is very hospitable, at least to those with money to spend; we were served Egyptian coffee and tea while we perused the gallery. I ended up getting a large and beautiful papyrus banner depicting the 99 names of Allah in Arabic. I figured that, if I want to be an amateur Crusade historian, my future library would not be complete without some memorabilia from the East. 
After the papyrus place, we went to one of the cab driver's friend's businesses: an ironic blend of parfumerie, tour company, and stables. We were shown how traditional parfumes are made from extracting the pure essence of various flowers. Cameron, Lauren, and I each got about an hour's worth of sampling and I ended up buying a 300g bottle of a lotus-based essence for about $40 USD. I rarely wear cologne, so I figured an Egyptian one would last me for awhile. While we were sampling the various essences, the owner of the parfumerie/stables was readying our camels. 
When we were all done at the parfumerie, we walked outside and our camels (Ali Baba, Schzerahad, and Michael Jackson) were waiting for us. As it should be, I was assigned Michael Jackson and the middle of the camel train. Our guide, Chemou, rode and Arabian horse in front of the caravan to lead us. We climbed up a steep sand dune at the edge of Giza village and then came in full view of the three main pyramids. They sneak up on you and are revealed all of the sudden in a truly miraculous fashion. I don't think I've ever taken so many pictures in such a short period of time in my entire life. We approached the plateau from the south, coming down from a panoramic view and arriving first at the smallest pyramid, the one belonging to Menkaure. 
The larger pyramid of Khafre (Menkaure's father) and the great pyramid of Khufu (Khafre's father) are arranged diagonally northeast from there. We would systematically get off our camels to walk around, see various ruins like the Pharaonic Temple where the funerals were held, and take more pictures. We then left the Pharaonic Temple in front of Khafre's pyramid and walked down the Grand Causeway toward the Sphnix. We got off our camels again, did the blatant tourist picture-taking, and then headed back into the village to demount.
Once back at the stables/parfumerie, we switched our ride from camels to Arabian horses. We then spent the next two or three horses riding south into the desert from Giza to Saqqara, site of the first pyramids built in all of Egypt and the models for the three great pyramids that are so well known now. Some of the times we would take off across the dunes at a full sprint that would almost rip you out of the saddle, but most of the time we walked up and down the tall dunes at a leisurely pace. It was extremely nice and relaxing to be riding as the sun set to our right. 
We passed a variety of ruins, a couple of army bases (where Lauren was whistled at considerably), and, regrettably, piles of trash just stuck randomly into the desert. Once we got to Saqqara, we demounted and took pictures with the stepped pyramids therre. As the sun was setting and it began to get dark, we headed east into the village, where a car was waiting to get us. Chemou took us to a part of the village that rarely sees tourists, as there's really nothing for them to see or do there, which made for a very interesting experience. Literally hundreds of children who were playing in the dunes or the alleys of the village would stop what they were doing and start running after us waving and yelling 'Hello!' and 'How are you?' Our guide says that, even in Egypt, tourists are not seen very often and it might have been the first time that those kids had seen Westerners. 
We got back to Giza and had a kebab barbeque and Sakara beer (owned by Heineken) with our tour guide Chemou and the owner of the whole get-up, Ali. Our driver, Ahmed, had been waiting for us since the parfumerie and then took us back to the Mayfair hotel for the night. It was only about 9 pm, but we were pretty exhausted. I didn't get nearly as much sun as I thought I would, but it felt great to get a shower and get into some gym shorts. Cameron and I watched part of the Egytian/English national teams soccer game for awhile, but after England made it 3-1 we considered it over and went to bed. An overall exhausting day, but probably one of the most (if not the most) fantastic days of my life.
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