Cairo is a huge city -- sprawling, dirty, polluted, with old and new side by side. We were amazed at the car and pedestrian traffic. There seem to be no real road rules in Egypt. Cars drive ignoring all lanes, weaving in and out, missing pedestrians and other cars by inches at all times. We were very glad that we did not have to do any driving. In fact, we were glad we didn't have to walk anywhere as the roads look uncrossable. (Remember this for later!!)
The areas directly around Cairo look to our eyes as being war torn or recently bombed. In fact, it is neither of these. All the newer housing developments are square block brick apartments all stacked on top of each other willy-nilly. No apartment complex is complete or painted. The tops of these complexes have steel struts sticking out so that new floors can easily be added. Our guide (a fantastic gentleman by the name of Ayman Fathy) told us that when a child gets married, the father of the bride usually builds another floor on top of the apartment house, to provide a new apartment for the newlyweds. Consequently, no apartment house if ever finished. Likewise, the buildings are not painted because if they are painted, the owners must pay tax.
Our first day of touring was of Memphis -- the old capital of Egypt during the Old Kingdom and the Pharaonic age. Memphis houses a huge statue of Ramses II and the small Sphinx in the picture above. Nearby in Saqqara is the Step Pyramid, the prototype pyramid for those at Giza. It is the first tomb to be built as a pyramid shape in steps so that, in theory, the pharaoh could climb the steps to Ra, the sun god.
After Saqqara, we headed to Giza, outside of Cairo to visit the pyramids, the solar boat, and the great Sphinx. We chose not to go into one of the great pyramids, as the passageway is extremely hot, slippery (from the body heat), claustrophobic, and not very interesting. Instead, we chose a short camel ride near the pyramids. Kate and I shared one camel, and my mom and Anna shared another. Peter and my father each had their own. After much trepidation by the girls, they decided it wasn't so bad, except for when the camel knelt down or got up.
Later that evening, we returned to the pyramids to watch the sound and light show. The best part was the images they superimposed onto the Sphinx to give an idea of what it may have looked like painted. One interesting feature was the Egyptian marching band playing bagpipes before this show. Bagpipes in Egypt?
