Fearless Travel

Finally on the 10th of June we had “Pyramid day” (yeom al’Ahram in Arabic). The American university in Cairo knows how important culture and history are to the learning of Arabic and so they set up this day-long excursion.  We students gathered and loaded ourselves onto the two, nice, big, air-conditioned buses for a quick tour of Cairo and then off to Giza.

Cairo, lies on the east bank of the Nile where historically, Egyptians always built their cities. Giza, on the other hand, is on the West bank (and a bit south) on the side of the Nile that the Egyptians reserved for the dead. For those of you expecting a trek through the desert, you will be surprised to find the Pyramids are, in fact, surrounded by the city of Giza. All those movies that tell you the Pyramids are way off in the desert somewhere are LYING.

The pyramids are, in fact, a mere 10 kilometers from the Nile, and from Kufu/Cheop’s (the “Great” pyramid - there is only 1 by the way…great I mean) pyramid, you could walk about five or six minutes down the hill to get a drink or some piece of memorabilia and walk back to the Pyramid.

Some people who went with us were disturbed at the mini commercialization of the Pyramids; I don’t know why since every awesome spectacle from the painted desert to the sistine chapel has someone selling something about the wonder near it, but I digress. For me, history is a very tactile experience and just touching those 2 to 20 ton blocks of granite is enough to send chills down my spine. Looking at the Pyramids, and their attending temples, statues, and such, I am amazed that they were built so damn long ago and that they were built at all! The Pyramids should be on your must-see list and here’s why:
The first one was build roughly 3000 B.C. by Kufu (called Cheops by the Greeks) -

about 1300 years before the 10 Commandments were handed down to Moses;

2700 years before the birth of Alexander the Great;

4942 year before Columbus sailed west;

4776 years before the signing of the declaration of independence;

and during that time, the pyramids have seen the rise and fall/decline of three “pharoahnic” Egyptian empires, the Greek empire, the Roman empire, the Byzantine empire, the Muslim conquests, the Mongol invasions, the Ottoman Empire, the British empire, and now our helpful democracy is being witnessed by these massive constructions.

Compared tot he concrete out-buildings constructed in the 1950’s and later to aid in the archaeologists and guards to preserve these monuments, the Pyramids seem new. The outbuildings have become pitted and ruined by the constantly-blowing sands, the intense heat of the sun, and general decay, yet the pyramids are not visibly damaged in 5000 years.

To top it all off, the ancient Egyptians did it all without mortar to hold the blocks together, most fo which were cut with copper or stone tools…

The official brochures say that The Great Pyramid (the one built by Kufu/Cheops) has somewhere in the neighborhood of 2.3 MILLION blocks ranging in size from 2 tons to 20. If disassembled and laid next to each other, they would extend for 1/3 the distance of the equator. It took 20 - 22 years of labor (not by slaves) by Egyptians during the summer months. I got dehydrated just walking around, looking at them.

You do have to pay a nominal fee (20LE - 100LE, depending in time of day and your status as a student or not, as part of a tour or not, etc.) to get into the preserve, and an additional very nominal fee (around 20LE) to enter the pyramid of Kafre (the middle one), or the Sphinx, or the Boat of Kufu/Cheops building. All of them are worth it, though entering the pyramids is truly a grueling trek (spend doubled over sloping at a 45 degree angle (up or down) either way), and perhaps can be skipped if you are not into the whole go-inside-the-pyramid thing.

I do have to say that the whole experience was at once overwhelming and surprising. I had no idea that seeing these most ancient of buildings would be so spiritual and yet laced with the mundane; tourists, ancient craftsmanship, peddlers, the architecture, the city, and the wonder of it all are like nothing I have ever experienced before. If you do get a chance to come to Egypt, I would urge you, beyond anything else, you MUST visit the Pyramids if you go to Egypt.

HERE is a live webcam of the Pyramids set up by an enterprising young Egyptian since my departure.

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