Sunrise and Camel Rides at the Pyramids!

July 28
Cairo, Egypt day 2

We woke up at 4:15 and had a nice breakfast (yummy bread with fig jam) at the hotel with delicious chocolate milk! The oranges were really good too, we don’t get these on the ship! We rode on the bus to the Giza plateau to see the pyramids, and it took about 15 minutes to get there. We slept the whole way because it was so early and dark outside! When we got there, we walked up a sandy hill and could barely see the pyramids. They were beautiful and the sun wasn’t even rising yet. The sun finally started rising and it was extraordinary! It was a little foggy so the pictures didn’t turn out as well as planned, but seeing it in person just took my breath away. We were all sitting there, silent, just staring at the sun rising behind the 3 pyramids. Just sitting there looking at these massive structures, thinking about all of the history behind it, and wondering about their time, it made me realize how amazing this trip was and how incredible this opportunity was. We took a lot of pictures and hung out there until 8 or so, then the camels showed up! We had the ENTIRE pyramids to OURSELVES. Just our group, no sellers, no locals, no tourists with us, no one. It was absolutely amazing. We walked down to the pyramids, because the pictures were from far away, and we sat in awe. Some guys were doing back flips off of rocks and getting cool pictures. So once the camels showed up, men with their little table shops came as well! They sell little statues of camels, pyramids, and other Egyptian figures like the Sphinx etc. All of the camels lined up and we each paid $10 to ride! The camel ‘drivers’ were in robes with white things around their heads, and the camels had pretty fabric over them; they were fancied up for us! She and I walked up to our camel and climbed on! Camels are way bigger than I thought, for the record. We hoped on and watched other camels stand up as people held on for life! As our camel started to stand, I held on so tightly to the knob in the back and the camel leaned far forward to where we thought we’d fall off! We were laughing so hard through all of this. Finally the camel made it up, slowly and scarily, and we gained our composure from laughing so hard! The camel driver was laughing too, I mean, it was pretty funny. We attached in a line with other camels and started walking towards the pyramids! The camel behind me was a little close and started making these weird grumbling noises. The driver started making a grumbling noise back at him and it made the camel stop and move back! So cool! The weather was actually perfect, the sun had just risen and it was a little cloudy. We walked down by the pyramids and the ‘driver’ (who walked the camels with a rope), took our pictures and then we stood for a while and walked back to the top of the sand hill! Some of the drivers were on little donkeys leading camels galloping. It was SO fun and I can’t believe I rode camels at the pyramids in Egypt!!! After we took some more pictures and everyone got a turn, we headed out! What an unbelievable experience.

We headed to the other side of the pyramids, which was nice because it was the side that the sun was on, so I got a few more irreplaceable photos. Behind us was the Sphinx, which we were going to next. 4 months ago, 4 MONTHS AGO, they found a tunnel/chamber connecting the Great Pyramid to the Sphinx! That blows my mind. They also found treasure chambers that will be opened some time this year when they finish excavating! Can you imagine what they will find?! And I was there!!!

So next we headed down to the Sphinx of Giza. Let me remind you- the weather is PERFECT. I don’t understand how lucky we got being in the desert in the summer and sweating slightly; perfect. We walked down a ways and there was the Sphinx. It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen or pictured. It was massive and beautiful. We took silly pictures that looked like we were kissing it, haha! We could see the pyramids behind it so you can imagine that it was pretty astonishing. I love the Sphinx. I want a shirt or jewelry or something with a Sphinx; I just LOVE it.

Next, we headed to the Egyptian Archeological Museum. Our guide gave us earphones so she could narrate throughout the museum. She majored in Egyptian history or something like that, so she knew a LOT about it all, which was so incredible to hear and comprehend; so much to take in! She would say, “Put your whispers in Sunshine!” referencing to the earphones, and she called our group ‘sunshine’, haha. We went in, and it was beautiful and massive. This was the prettiest structure of a museum that I’ve seen. I don’t know if this is right or not- but I think she said it was build over 100 years ago, which is why it was so ornate and beautiful. We weren’t allowed to even bring a camera in so I can do my best to describe! First we saw old boats that were re-build for display. The Egyptians would use these during the Nile floods to assist their strength in lifting and building things. We also saw pottery (rooms full of it) and tables, beds, more boats, and jewelry. We walked into a jewelry room and it was air conditioned, unlike the entire museum, which really wasn’t that hot. There were queen’s and king’s jewelry. There were bracelets with the lotus, the beetle, the Sphinx, and many other Egyptian symbols made into bracelets, necklaces, bangles, earrings, and arm bands! Shea and I wanted it all, it would make great jewelry today. The Egyptians had good taste!! We then walked into another part and saw a fetus that was recently found in a tomb. This tomb was probably 4 feet long and solid gold. Inside was another decorated casing, containing the fetus, which we actually saw. It was weird but so amazing at the same time. If the fetus has this big of a gold tomb… you can imagine what King Tut’s looked like! We saw bows and arrows, and many other archeological artifacts that are still being found to this day. We then went into King Tut’s room. There were 3 giant gold chambers that were all inside each other, Tut’s tomb in the middle. All three gold rooms were on display, along with his tomb. Let me tell you something- this was incredible. I was 3 feet from King Tut’s tomb. It was massive and solid gold, with turquoise and other precious stones and decorations all over it. I bet that thing weighed so much. It was about 8 feet long and 5 feet wide, laying on it’s back (does that make sense?). I can barely put it into words- amazing, incredible, breathtaking, astounding, ridiculous! Whew. Google it, and look how amazing it is!! What a memory.

We then left the museum and headed to the Citadel of Saladin and the Alabaster Mosque. On the way there we were stopped on the street next to a prison bus. The prisoners were all hanging out of the metal barred windows and reaching towards my window and the bus. It was really scary and there were guards with huge semi-automatics were surrounding the truck. I quickly closed the curtain!! Creepy feeling- let me tell ya.
We arrived at the entrance to the Mosque of Mohamed Ali, the founder of modern Egypt, and made our way up a steep hill in the high, dry heat! We took off our shoes and put them in little bags. There were Egyptian kids on a field trip and they were all smiling and saying hi to us, it was cute! Inside was the most beautiful mosque that I’ve seen so far! The courtyard outside of the mosque was huge and beautiful too. We all sat down inside and rested, while our tour guide was throwing out facts and people were on the ground praying left and right.

Our tour guide sells jewelry through a company, and she showed us her catalog and samples. It’s like Mary Kay for Egyptians, she probably gets a pink camel if she sells a lot! Shea and I each got a gold pendant that has our names on it in hieroglyphics. I got my middle name because the symbols look pretty together and I never use my middle name on things so it was a fun change! We chilled there for a while and walked around some shops, then headed out.

We ended up on a bridge crossing the Nile and stopped for lunch! We walked up to this big gold entrance saying ‘The Pharrohs’ and it was very touristy decorated like the Egyptian times; it was really neat! There were mini statues of the Sphinx, pyramids, and other figures. We got on a pretty double-decker boat that was very resort-looking. It was decorated for tourists and was definitely a money maker! Inside was a huge buffet with great food, and a stage! We all sat and ate while we cruised along the Nile! Then, the musicians came out and set up the stage. There were a few men with drums, a keyboard, a singer, and an accordion. The music started playing and a belly dancer came out! It was so cool! Then a man came out in a very big dress-like thing and he was spinning in circles, and he has sparkly boots! When he would spin, his dress would poof us and make cool shapes. He would spin really fast and do cool moves! Then, the band played some more and we had desert while watching this entire show. It’s neat to think about the Nile and the part that we were on- this was the same waterway traveled by pharaohs, queens, and other people thousands of years ago. It was really fun and I met some girls that are going on my trip to Morocco so that’ll be cool to know some people going on the same one as me.

We went back to the hotel and had a few hours to hang out and rest. I tried to buy internet but something went wrong on my computer so I got my money back, thankfully. It’s so hard to get internet.
After resting, we headed to something really amazing- the light show at the pyramids!! It was at the Giza Plateau. There were chairs all lined up and a few cafes facing the pyramids and Sphinx. We took pictures as the sun set and then took our seats. Under a star-studded sky, the sound and light performance brought the magnificent history and achievements of the Ancient Egyptians to life as the illuminated pyramids and the mysterious Sphinx dominated the darkness! There was dramatic orchestral music playing in the background as a British voice would narrate things. It was amazing!! Some people decided not to go because they thought it wouldn’t be good, but I was not going to miss out on this. Yes, it wasn’t a Disney World light show, but it was pretty incredible! I loved it. We headed back to the hotel to sleeeeeep, my favorite. We have to wake up at 3 to drive to the airport to fly to Luxor!!