Our first day in the great metropolis that is Cairo, begins with a hearty breakfast at the hotel. In some free buffet Madrid have not found such a variety of food as they had in the hotel only for breakfast.
After binge eating morning, boarded the bus to the city we crossed the road to the pyramids. On the way we see the tradition intermingles with modernity poverty and the dynamics of a big city.
far finally starting to see the towering masses of stone of the 3 pyramids Ghiza. To enter the premises of the pyramids, make us get off the bus to pass by some listeners, leaving the cameras and backpacks on the bus. Again, let me gaping security concept of the Egyptians, because when people register only if you take something dangerous in your backpack, you will gain access to the enclosure without any problems.
When the bus stops at the foot of the pyramid in the middle (Pyramid of Khafre), you feel a overwhelming feeling to come face to face with a monument of this magnitude and more than 2000 years.
is in this place where you can see the 3 pyramids where the guide gives us much information about the three monuments. As we are looking at the pyramid's center, on the left is the Pyramid of Menkaure, the smallest of the 3, and right the great pyramid of Cheops. We note that although the central pyramid appear much larger than that of Cheops, the latter is the largest. It is all due to the pyramid of Khafre is built on a plateau area higher than the Cheops and the angles of the walls are more prone. In addition, currently due to wear of the top of the pyramid of Cheops, Chephren is the highest.
Other data give about the central pyramid, that of Khafre, is that it is the only one that retains some of its original coating of polished white limestone at the top. The rest of the coating came off in an earthquake in the fourteenth century, and what was, for centuries used this cover as a quarry for building of temples and other works of the city of Cairo.
in the esplanade between the 3 pyramids, are replete with remains of other funerary temples and smaller buildings, all belonging to the large funerary complex which was built on the plateau of Ghiza.
In the face of the pyramid of Khafre facing the city, are the remains of the processional causeway linking the pyramid with the temple beside the Sphinx, about 500 yards down towards the Nile
When finished with explanations of the pyramid of Khafre, it is the turn that of Cheops. As we said earlier, this was the largest pyramid complex, measuring 146 meters tall and has a base of 230 x 230 meters. To build it, it took almost 2,500,000 blocks of stone about 2 tons each.
After the explanation, leaving us 15 minutes to take a look around the resort (again very recently), so I approached the pyramid of Cheops and I feel really small to get next of the pyramid and look up. As you approach, you realize the magnitude of the monument, because at this distance you can see that each of the millions of stone blocks measuring about 2 meters high.
On one side of the pyramid, built the solar boat museum, an aberration that completely breaks the aesthetics and not like even the Egyptians themselves, as I found later by a comments from our guide.
We take the few minutes we left to us typical pictures of the pyramids in the background and explore some of the ruins that are scattered across the plateau. Being more remote, I'll not get close enough to the smallest of the pyramids of Menkaure.
We return to join the group and offers the possibility Pepe to enter the Pyramid of Khafre. I do not think for a second and I deaf to the warnings about what they are narrow and oppressive corridors and claustrophobic it is hot and the course in some parts, and the input I have on hand. Nothing in the world would lose the opportunity to walk where he did one of the pharaohs of ancient Egypt and entering that was one of the greatest human construction for centuries.
Artistically speaking, the corridors of the pyramid do not arrive or the soles of shoes to those in the tombs of the Valley of the Kings. Here the walls are smooth and without paintings or prints of any kind, and the camera funeral not have any decorative element, but is the sarcophagus of stone in which they introduced the pharaoh's embalmed body. Still, if you can not miss the opportunity to visit the complex funeral, because the feeling of walking through the inside of a pyramid built over 2000 years ago and thinking that on your head there are hundreds of thousands of stone blocks perfectly assembled like a giant tetris is simply overwhelming.
As they say a picture is worth a thousand words, I leave a video I recorded on my phone. If you plan to take pictures go forgetting, I undertake to leave the camera outside the pyramid, but said nothing as mobile as I took to immortalize my visit to the pyramid. For if ye do what I do, I notice that there are some guards for the whole tour, so be careful. For all these reasons and because it's basically a mobile do not expect great quality, but at least I hope you like so that you see an idea
After the visit within the pyramid, the bus takes us to a clearing a mile or so for us to take pictures to all the three pyramids.
To keep good manners, in the esplanade there are several positions where good bargain thanks to a friend get three tablets recorded at a great price in one of the hardest and most complicated haggling all travel.
The next stop is at the edge of town to the exhibition of the pyramids. Right here is the Great Sphinx. When you stand face to face to see the monument of 15 meters high with pyramids in the background, it seems to stop time. You may have seen this picture a thousand times in pictures, movies or commercials, but not as well be you there, with the sun hitting you in the head and desert dust that gets everywhere and the silhouette of the three pyramids in the background. The mixture of all these things is what makes you gawk.
The explanations of Pepe, tells us that is carved directly into the clay Ghiza plateau which represents the face of Pharaoh Khafre with the body of a lion.
We talked about the famous nose of the Sphinx and the 2 possible theories on how it broke. The first and that everybody knows is that Napoleon's army used the Sphinx's face to shooting tests, the second is that over time with the weathering and erosion over the nose of the monument on the ground.
Apart from the Sphinx, visit a mortuary temple in which the guide tells us there is a theory that the pyramids is joined by an underground corridor. You could also walk by the processional route linking the central pyramid temple, and this is as close as you can be for the Sphinx, and you can not go down to the area where it is built.
Near Pyramids area, the guide takes us to a papyrus shop, where we teach the process of manufacture of the papyrus, how to draw the strips of the plant, such as woven together to create the paper and then put into a press to release the water and get its final shape. Then, and what has really been the guide, leave us about 30 minutes to buy the scrolls that we like. Here I did not buy any papyrus, because as I've said many times the guide takes commitment, but I until now, had not yet proven.
After eating at a restaurant that the guide will sell as the best of Cairo, overlooking the pyramids (of which only see the tip of one of them) and get a omelette somewhat peculiar in that the egg and potatoes seem to have been fought under another group to a papyrus shop just below the restaurant while the rest end up eating. Upon entering, we saw the two of us ask us where is the guide, to which we reply that we have on our own and without guidance. Contact the following sentence was, "Take off 50% the price of any papyrus and that's what it will cost you to come to you without a guide, prices there are for groups of tourists."
Well, when we have finally chosen and we'll buy the papyrus "The Judgement of Osiris", see the guide tells us that the bus will then turns and starts a discussion with the owners of the shop at least 5 minutes, thank goodness we did not understand anything, but by the tone and gestures, Pepe had to be cursing in some ancestor of the seller. We pay our papyri and boarded the bus, where the guide takes a general anger at all saying that the next time will not wait for anyone. To ask the rest of the group had been waiting how long, they say they have only been 5 minutes.
As we go to the Cairo Museum, we compare our papyri of the Judgement of Osiris with other fellow travelers who have chosen the same, are equal. Bring their seal of approval that are authentic papyrus, like those of who have purchased rest in the workshop which has been the guide, but with the difference that the same papyrus that they would have cost 80 €, it costs us 35 €.
After we have spent hard time in the papyri store, we got to the Cairo Museum. Here if there are no options to remove the camera, because we have to leave the bus. In mobile there are not many options as there are a lot of security around the museum.
could throw me hours talking about how little we saw at the museum, but would need weeks to see the detail each of the thousands of pieces that are stacked in each of the rooms, and what I focus on what most impressed me, the treasure, the sarcophagus and the mask of Tutankhamun.
I do not know what they feel when in 1923 Howard Carter first came to the intact tomb of Pharaoh, but when you consider his first words "I see wonderful things," must be a really exciting time. And no wonder, since all the material that was found in the tomb and is exposed in the museum occupies over half of the plants. You can see from the clothes you wore as a child to the chair where he prepared after his death, canopic jars, where they kept the bodies so they could use in the afterlife, jewelry, furniture and much more. I leave an address for you to do a tour of the museum:
http://www.egiptoaldescubierto.com/?dest=/museos/elcairo/elcairo.html
this If you left me fascinated, the acme was entering a very well guarded room where they found the sarcophagus and the pharaoh's gold mask. Anyone who approached the funeral mask was left dumbfounded for a moment staring into the eyes that seemed to have a life, or observing the many details that are in the engravings and inscriptions of both the mask and the sarcophagus. Only these two pieces deserve a visit to the museum, so do not hesitate if you have time to visit certain that you will like.
After a walk in the other rooms of the museum, back to the bus, which leads to a perfume factory, where we explain how to produce more typical essences of Egypt, and offer us some tea while we stop smelling several samples of different perfumes. To my surprise and after and all the people the group has found the wide margin that takes the guide, many people buy several bottles of perfume.
Once back at the hotel, as we only included breakfast, we went for a walk the nearby streets, where we found a kebab in which we have dinner.
front of the hotel, we see a souvenir shop where we went in and almost go crazy. Parts are made of quality and prices of laughter. We spent over 2 hours shopping figures, papyrus (probably banana leaf, but very well finished), mother of pearl boxes, etc. To give you an idea, every day we go a couple of times and we loaded, and best of all, we became friends of the owner of the shop every morning when we saw the bus came to wish us good day (a while trying to enter again to buy something.) Every day when we entered a more souvenirs, we drew a coca colas and we had just talking about Egypt, Spain and the meaning so different that they had words phonetically the same in each country.
I leave the address in case you cop near the hotel or you want to go look at something specifically. It has two shops in a row, very small and dusty, but really worth it:
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