Well, I didn't think we would make it today, as the driver that Ahmed's family uses was supposed to be busy today, so we were going to do some other things instead, but then the driver called (his name is Mohsen) and said he was available to pick us up at 10:30!
So... I finished getting ready and we headed off!
The traffic was light so it only took us about half an hour to get there. We didn't go straight down pyramid street though, his driver kept cutting through the streets in a zig zag pattern. I'm not sure why but we got there just fine.
It was neat driving there. The closer we got, you could see the tops of the pyramids behind all the buildings.
The entrance fee is cheaper if you're Egyptian. I think it cost Ahmed something like 2 Egyptian pounds to get in, but it cost 50 Egyptian pounds for me. And there's no cheating it because you have to show I.D.
Now I had heard and read that you will be assaulted by so many people trying to sell you things and get you to ride their horse/camel.
There were certainly people who asked us, but it wasn't as bad as I had thought it would be.
However, I will say, the people that did ask you if you wanted something never took no the first time Ahmed said it. Like they kept bugging him and he just kept saying shukran (thank you) and leh (no). He said some other words but that was basically the gist of it. I'm sure I would have lost my patience with them after saying no twice. Good thing Ahmed was doing the talking.
=)
So really, it's hard to imagine how big the pyramids are until you are there. You can see lots of pictures and videos but really they are just enormous in size. When you think about individuals building these structures and how long it took and how hard they worked! SubhanAllah, it's just amazing.
We ended up just walking when we got there because I really didn't want to take a horse or camel. And besides which, the camels make a really creepy noise and I didn't want to be on one.
So we walked up the hill to get to the pyramids. You pass the sphinx on the way up the hill. Very neat to see.
And then at the top of the hill there are the three pyramids. I can't remember their names but I know it's easy enough to look them up for anyone who is interested.
We walked around the pyramids themselves. Well, the two big ones we walked around. The third (smallest of the three) was a bit of a walk and neither one of us felt like walking to it, so we just took a couple of pictures.
One of the bigger pyramids was roped off and you couldn't get closer than 10 feet or so. I guess there have been too many accidents with people climbing and falling off.
The other pyramid you could get right up to, but you still couldn't climb it.
Both of them, looking up, they just seem to go up so high. And I had always kind of thought the rocks would be uniform but they aren't. I made sure to get some pictures showing how the sizes of them differ.
Now maybe they were closer in size at one point and they have eroded since their original caps (cover) came off. I'm not sure.
Also, there are the most ginormous ants out there on the ground. Like really huge. I'm sure if you got enough of them together they could carry you away. I should have taken a picture of one of the little buggers but I didn't.
We only stayed just over an hour. Long enough to look around and see and get a feeling for them. Of course Ahmed has been many times, though not recently.
I felt like I should have stayed longer or something but I was ready to go. I had seen them, I had taken pictures, I had been somewhat awed.
I know we were there when it wasn't as crowded as in the high tourist season, but there were still a fair amount of people there.
Perhaps if we had gone and it had been quieter and less crowded, I might have been able to really relax and take them in more.
But I'm not disappointed. I'm happy we went and I finally got to see them.
I was thankful for the breeze. Even though it's not blazing hot here at the moment, it's still fairly warm, and having a scarf wrapped around your head a couple of times seems to keep the heat in. So the wind was nice. Alhamdulillah for the wind!
=)
After we left we stopped by some place on the way back and Ahmed got us some lunch. Little sandwhiches he called them. They were actually like little pita breads. One had falafal and one had foul (a bean mixture for those who don't know). He also got some rice pudding. I like the taste well enough but I'm not too fond of mushy food.
Anyways, I didn't eat in the car, I waited til we got to his parent's apartment, which we had promised to stop by.
So I had lunch there and then ended up taking a nap for a couple of hours.
Ahmed woke me when it was time for the family to have lunch. Mom made chicken and rice and a red sauce. They said it is similiar to what briyani would be for Indians, but not with the spices and maybe the sauce was different. Anyways, I had mine without the chicken. Mom made some mushroom soup for me. It comes out of a packet but I swear it's some of the best soup I've ever had. I'm going to have to bring some home with me for sure.
Before I could eat lunch with the family though, my phone was ringing and I answered it. It was my son. The poor guy broke his arm again, about a centimeter from where he broke it almost exactly a year ago. He was at tae kwan do and doing a double kick and fell and landed on his wrist. Anyways, he said he was fine and he knew what to expect since he broke it last year. He sounded good, and I'm not too worried, just wish I could be there to give him a hug.
But, if everyone reading this could send a good thought his way I would appreciate it.
Almahdulillah he is alright.
Okay, enough for today!
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