I needed a vacation and currently staying in Israel, the ideal option seemed to be Egypt. It would be very different from my previous trips and the fact that there was the sheer incredible history associated with the architecture there made for a very interesting trip to work on. I took a bus from Jerusalem to Eilat, crossed over to Taba (never seem to get over the fact that I walked across continents Asia to Africa) and then took a bus to Cairo to reach in the late evening. I had been booked at a hotel in El Haram street (also called Pyramid street) which is pretty close to the pyramids in Giza. The street itself is quite a hotspot with the number of discos and pubs on it. Getting into the Giza area the first thing to notice was the imposing silhouette of the pyramids in the city's smoggy background with the vulgar modern architecture unable to obscure the grandiose triangle which looks like a geometric hill yet is obviously the work of man.
The next day I went with a guide to the pyramids. If they seemed imposing from a distance, up close they seemed unreal. The largest one, of Cheops stands at 138 mts(originally 146), while the second one of Khafre, slightly smaller but equally amazing still has a part of the casing stone
remaining which gives it a distinct appearance. I entered this pyramid as well to get a view of the sarcophagus inside and the decor for the dead. The relatively smaller pyramid of Menkaure stands beside at less than half the height to provide a perspective. His statues in the museum show him to be quite a benevolent ruler compared to his predecessors. Surrounding these are the tombs of nobles who wished to be near their rulers in the afterlife. The sphinx guarding the entire complex of course is impressive as well
. Stories regarding the extraction of the Sphinx in 1400 BC (it was built before 3000 BC and buried in sands up till the neck) by a prince who wished to be king, and the destruction of its nose and beard were the pick of the legends.
Later then I visited a perfume store where they extracted and prepared the perfumes locally and a papyrus store which displayed the artistry and beauty of an art practiced since ages. The highlight though was the Egyptian museum, where just quickly observing each and every artifact in the museum would take months. I managed to catch a glimpse of the more popular ones. The mask and Sarcophagus of Tutankhamen being the real eye candy at 11 and 108 kgs of gold respectively. A couple of hours there was less than a trailer for the sheer number of historical collections of over 5000 years but my guide managed to explain what the common symbolism in quite a few statues and carvings meant.
The evening was again spent in front of the pyramids and the sphinx as I stayed on for the light and sound show in the dark. Extremely well presented and certainly worth the time as it literally shed some new light on them. The next day was a trip to Memphis which had been the capital 3000 years ago and housed some more statues and then to Sakkara which had some more tombs and a step pyramid which was the precursor to the true ones in Giza. In the distance from Sakkara the bent pyramid is visible as well. A visit to the Alabaster citadel provided a welcome change to the scenery as it was in religion, architecturally and functi
onally very different from all that I had seen until then. Also visible from that location was a panorama of Cairo. Some falafel and window shopping in Khan el Khalili bazaar (man do they love ripping tourists off) moved the evening along after which I hung out at the station with my tour operator for company until my train arrived.
I needed a vacation and currently staying in Israel, the ideal option seemed to be Egypt. It would be very different from my previous trips and the fact that there was the sheer incredible history associated with the architecture there made for a very interesting trip to work on. I took a bus from Jerusalem to Eilat, crossed over to Taba (never seem to get over the fact that I walked across continents Asia to Africa) and then took a bus to Cairo to reach in the late evening. I had been booked at a hotel in El Haram street (also called Pyramid street) which is pretty close to the pyramids in Giza. The street itself is quite a hotspot with the number of discos and pubs on it. Getting into the Giza area the first thing to notice was the imposing silhouette of the pyramids in the city's smoggy background with the vulgar modern architecture unable to obscure the grandiose triangle which looks like a geometric hill yet is obviously the work of man.
The next day I went with a guide to the pyramids. If they seemed imposing from a distance, up close they seemed unreal. The largest one, of Cheops stands at 138 mts(originally 146), while the second one of Khafre, slightly smaller but equally amazing still has a part of the casing stone 
remaining which gives it a distinct appearance. I entered this pyramid as well to get a view of the sarcophagus inside and the decor for the dead. The relatively smaller pyramid of Menkaure stands beside at less than half the height to provide a perspective. His statues in the museum show him to be quite a benevolent ruler compared to his predecessors. Surrounding these are the tombs of nobles who wished to be near their rulers in the afterlife. The sphinx guarding the entire complex of course is impressive as well. Stories regarding the extraction of the Sphinx in 1400 BC (it was built before 3000 BC and buried in sands up till the neck) by a prince who wished to be king, and the destruction of its nose and beard were the pick of the legends.
Later then I visited a perfume store where they extracted and prepared the perfumes locally and a papyrus store which displayed the artistry and beauty of an art practiced since ages. The highlight though was the Egyptian museum, where just quickly observing each and every artifact in the museum would take months. I managed to catch a glimpse of the more popular ones. The mask and Sarcophagus of Tutankhamen being the real eye candy at 11 and 108 kgs of gold respectively. A couple of hours there was less than a trailer for the sheer number of historical collections of over 5000 years but my guide managed to explain what the common symbolism in quite a few statues and carvings meant.
The evening was again spent in front of the pyramids and the sphinx as I stayed on for the light and sound show in the dark. Extremely well presented and certainly worth the time as it literally shed some new light on them. The next day was a trip to Memphis which had been the capital 3000 years ago and housed some more statues and then to Sakkara which had some more tombs and a step pyramid which was the precursor to the true ones in Giza. In the distance from Sakkara the bent pyramid is visible as well. A visit to the Alabaster citadel provided a welcome change to the scenery as it was in religion, architecturally and functi
onally very different from all that I had seen until then. Also visible from that location was a panorama of Cairo. Some falafel and window shopping in Khan el Khalili bazaar (man do they love ripping tourists off) moved the evening along after which I hung out at the station with my tour operator for company until my train arrived.
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