Day 3 — Cairo and Sakkara

Day 3 (December 27, 2009):

Wake up call was at 6:00 a.m. today so we could make it to the museum. Our group had a private viewing of the museum before it opened at 9:00 a.m. This experience has so far been one of the highlights of the trip. As you can see from the picture, it was completely empty. I felt much like Ben Stiller in Night of the Museum 3: Egyptian Museum. The museum itself was somewhat dirty and was not presented with the same quality and ambience of an American Museum.

We then went to Memphis, the ancient capital of Egypt. There we found many larger than life statues of the great Ramses II (believed by scholars to be the Pharaoh from the bible. Ramses must have been a megalomaniac to demand such large structures in his name.

We ended the day with a trip to Sakkara. The pyramid of Sakkara was the first pyramid of Egypt and therefore lacks the grandeur and splendor of the great pyramids. Nonetheless, it was amazing to imagine that this pyramid had lasted so well preserved for so many years.

Sakkara

The Pharaohs of Egypt built the pyramids so that they live on past death. To ensure they would live a comfortable afterlife, they included everything they would need including food, servants, chariots, and clothing. While the Pharaohs probably did not end up living into the afterlife as they expected, they may have unintentionally achieved their goals. Thousands of years after their death, we still stand in wonderment and amazement at their achievements. They have achieved immortality beyond their wildest dreams.

Day 2 — Pyramids of Giza

Day 2 (December 26, 2009):

Today was our first day inside Cairo. The fog returned and made our viewing of the pyramids somewhat difficult. The pyramids were just as grand as one would expect. What did surprise me, however, was there location. One always imagines the pyramids being in the middle of the desert. In reality, the pyramids jut up right next to a very poor neighborhood in Giza. In fact, there was a Pizza Hut and KFC that had a view of the pyramid.

The sphinx was also a lot smaller than I had expected. In the pictures, the sphinx always looks comparable in size to the pyramids. However, in reality the pyramids tower over the sphinx.

We also got the opportunity to go to the burial chamber of the Great Pyramid of Giza. The route was clearly not designed for hoards of tourists to visit. The route through the chamber either had a ceiling of 3 feet or a very steep incline. I bumped my head a few times, however it was worth it for the Indiana Jones experience.

The second guide on our trip tried to convince us that the pyramids were not built by the slaves. I’m not sure whether Egypt is on a marketing campaign to rid themselves of this reputation, but the Egyptians have been making great effort to dispel this historical image. Our tour guide said that only love for one’s Pharaoh could create such beautiful buildings and artwork. While this romanticized version of history may help the tourism industry, I am doubtful whether it has any truth. Love can be a strong motivator; the whip can many times be even stronger.

We topped the day off with lunch at the Mena House. The hotel, which is over 100 years old and had a view of the pyramids, felt like it was straight out of the 1920’s.

Day 1 — Alexandria

Day 1 (December 25, 2009):

Today we went to Alexandria. Alexandria was the capital of Egypt from the time of Alexander the Great. We left bright and early in the morning and travelled over three hours to Alexandria. The weather was not what one would expect of Egypt – foggy and damp. Upon arrival, we went to a number of museums and sights.

One of the noticeable parts of Alexandria is the poverty. The apartments are victims of rent controlled pricing. The result is that neither the landowners, nor the residents have an incentive to create improvements, and the quality of the structures suffers.

None of the original sites from Alexandria exist. An earthquake destroyed the famed lighthouse, a fire burned the 700,000 manuscripts of the library, and the rest of the ancient city remains underground. Therefore the best way to see the city would be to scuba dive. Unfortunately, I am the only one in my family who scuba dives.

One of the highlights of the trip was seeing the door of the Temple of Isis. The discovery of this door has been one of the biggest finds in recent memory and we were there to see it. (See this article: Monument lifted from Cleopatra’s underwater city)

The trip back from Alexandria was incredibly difficult. The traffic in Egypt has been horrible. Unlike Asia, the driving is not so crazy as to force you to close your eyes as the cars shoot around. The gridlock, however, is unparalleled by any country I have visited. Cairo is a city of approximately 20+ million people, and it seems like everyone drives.

Egypt

I used to have a blog that documented my travels to Southeast Asia (danziggy.blogspot.com). I’m finally reviving my blog for my upcoming trip to Egypt. However, I got sick and tired of blogspot and am now switching to WordPress. We leave tomorrow (December 23) and will be gone through January 4.

I’ve been waiting to go on this trip for over a decade. We booked a trip to go to Egypt in December of 2001. However, after the terrorist attacks on 9/11, this trip was cancelled. We considered going again in 2003, however that was stifled by the looming threat of war in Iraq. Now that I am just 24 hours away from leaving, the only thing standing in my way is a massive blizzard in Los Angeles (unlikely).

I will be going to the following cities on the tour:

Cairo, Alexandria, Luxor, Aswan, Efu, Kom Ombo, Abu Simbel, Denderah, Qena

Thanks for visiting, I will try to update my blog at least every other day.

Happy Holidays!