Saturday 24 September 2011

Egypt Day 2 in Cairo

After two days in Luxor..., we took an early morning flight to Cairo. As soon as we arrived into Cairo we drove straight to the step Pyramids. Located in the Saqqara Area, the step pyramids were constructed by Pharaoh Djoser. Having a total of 6 huge steps, it is meant to be the tallest building of its times. We walked through a gate (or rather a 10 meter wall)… into a courtyard of temples, chapels & columns.

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As the Step Pyramid is meant to be a tomb, the burial chambers are underground hidden in a maze of tunnels to prevent grave robbers. Sadly the tomb was robbed and all that remained was Pharoah Djoser’s mummified foot.

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From here we went to a Carpet school. It was interesting to see young kids learning the trade.

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We then drove to the Great Pyramids. I have always wanted to visit the Pyramids (after watching Moses I think!!), and this was indeed a dream come true.

Within Egypt this is the most popular ancient site – One of the seven wonders of the world – Great Pyramids of Khufu. It is indeed beyond impressive. Standing at some 480 feet high and covering thirteen acres of land. In reality these Pyramids are less interesting than many other ancient structures in Egypt – mainly because it does not have any inscriptions or paintings….. however the magnitude & architecture in its times must have been commendable. We attempted to walk into the 2nd pyramid…. Its got a long & narrow walkway to the main tomb. It was dark, smelly & claustrophobic and my friends backed out…. I wasn’t brave enough to do this on my own. The Pyramids have a mysterious feel to it…. ….

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Many of the later pyramids were not as large as the Great Pyramids of Giza. So I guess that the Pharaohs were making a statement about their own power, glory & strength.

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A little further from here is the Sphinx. You feel magical seeing the Sphinx with the backdrop of the Pyramids. This Sphinx is a body of a lion & head of a king. This is believed to be the most immense stone sculpture ever made by man. The Great Sphinx is not an isolated monument, and cannot be looked at in this way. Like many other monuments in Egypt, the Sphinx is a complex consisting of an old temple, a new kingdom temple, some other small structure & a sacred lake.

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My Day 1 in Egypt ended here….. and I cant wait to tell you all about my next day in this memorable, ancient, mesmerizing land….

15 comments:

  1. Nice post Pats - it made for great reading and I loved the pics! I'm waiting to hear about the next day as well!

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  2. Egyptian history is fascinating. I always love to read about the mysteries of Egypt. These are some really nice shots!

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  3. Beautiful pictures. I wish to visit Egypt as well some day!!

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  4. Great post with beautiful pictures! Thank you so much for taking us on this fascinating trip to the pyramids :)

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  5. Such a fascinating country Egypt is, and the history is fascinating, hope I get to go one day! I'm in the other side of the world right now, hope you visit too! Have a wonderful tour weekend and thank you for sharing such amazing photos! FABBY

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  6. Patty, I am so enjoying your detailed post on Egypt. It feels as though I am visiting with you, what a great trip this must have been. So looking forward to the next post...:):)

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  7. It must have been fun to see the carpet making

    Cheers
    Sonia
    http://cardsandschoolprojects.blogspot.com

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  8. Patty this is cool. It feels like we are traveling with you. Egypt is on my list and somehow through the years never came through. I even paid for a tour once and took the money back. I have a friend there and I will visit her before she leaves Cairo.

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  9. Your post reminded me of my wonderful holiday in Egypt. Great pics :)

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  10. Fab posts Patty... Love your travel posts...Egypt is one of my favorite destinations on my must-visit list... Oh! The traveling itch is back...though it never ever fades for me... . ;-) ;-) ...

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  11. One place I want to visit with my children, doubt it will happen though. Is it safe to visit now?

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  12. Someday I will visit too --but now, thanks for sharing your pics and experiences :)

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  13. Love traveling through your blog Patty!

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  14. The pyramids are amazing, I would be afraid to go in to one of them and I'm claustrophobic too.
    XXX Ido

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  15. Travel the world through pattys blog ......
    :-)

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