The instant the rubber touched the runway the passengers of the plane erupted in applause. Welcome to Egypt! Our plane arrived in Cairo a little after three in the morning. Aaron and I had spent the previous night tossing and turning on the deck of a Greek ferry. We were in desperate need of sleep and the Cairo airport was so covered with people I felt like a bee returning to its hive. We caught a cab to a hostel in downtown Cairo. The cab ride was very enjoyable and passing over the Nile at night was a sight to behold. The next morning we hired a taxi driver to stay with us all day. He would take us to a site, drop us off, and when we were done he would be right where we left him. Walit, our cab driver/guide was a riot. I asked him to put on his Arabic music and there was no hesitation on his part. Once the music began he was clapping and singing. I had a blast joining in with him. I was clapping and singing words I thought sounded similar to the Arabic lyrics. I eventually was sining as loud as I could and Walit gave me a smile as if to say "you're alright man." Or maybe it was just the usual, "what a stupid American," but I prefer my first assumption.
On the way to Giza Walit took us to a Papyrus paper shop. In Arab countries almost all the guides and taxi drivers try taking you to local shops. The incentive for these men is that if you buy some gifts they will receive a portion of the money. I usually would put up a fight, but papyrus art sounded interesting. I am glad we went. We were taught how papyrus paper was made and Aaron and I ended up buying a few paintings.
We almost arrived at the pyramids when Walit decided to take us down another side road. We arrived at a shady camel riding operation. we were invited to sit down for the usual tea and bargaining. I was not up for the operation. I have heard stories of camel owners not letting riders off the camel until they pay $250 American dollars. The tourists are stuck on a camel almost twelve feet in the air and the guide who used their camera to take the pictures of them decides to take the camera hostage for $250. Not fun! I argued my way out of the back alley and we finally worked our way back to the cab.
Aaron and I easily found a semi-legitimate camel stable when we reached the Giza Plateau. They continued to try to charge us commission fees above our set price, but I just laughed at them. Thank goodness I learned how to haggle in Morocco. These people will take you for all you are worth! Aaron and I each hopped on a camel and headed out towards the desert. We passed horses and I was stunned to see that the horses only reached the area on the camel where the legs reached the torso. Camels are huge, awkward, and very unpleasant to ride. The desert was desolate except a dead horse here and there. The pyramids emerged over the desert like mountains. There are nine pyramids in all, but three are much larger than the rest. I have never felt so far away from hom in my life. From a distance the pyraids were not as large as I imagined them. But, as I rode closer to the pyramids and down into a valley I was humbled by their massive size. Even the small pyramids were incredibly large once we were nearer to them. On the other hand, The Sphinx was smaller and less impressive than I had imagined. I couldn't believe I was actually at The Pyramids of Giza! The desert did not seem that hot until we hopped off our camels to view the Pyramids. The temperature radiating off the hot desert floor felt five degrees hotter than the air up on the camel.
I love being in Egypt during the slow season. Everywhere we go, we find that we are the only caucasians in sight. We don't even mind the extreme heat, it only seems to keep the tourists away. Aaron and I rarely break a sweat down here. Maybe Italy and Greece helped our bodies get accustomed to the heat. I have now officially seen on of the "Seven Wonders of the Ancient World," so I've got that going for me; which is nice!
|  | 
|
