GIZA/CAMEL RIDE/PYRAMIDS/SPHINX

This morning we drove to Giza to visit the pyramid and Sphinx, certainly one of the highlights of the tour.  Cheops’ Pyramid, the largest of the three, was built in the 4^th Dynasty about 2690 BC and is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.  In front of the Pyramid of Chephren sat the Sphinx, 190 feet long and 65 feet high, carved out of a single piece of rock in the shape of a lion with a pharaoh’s head.  It is hard to describe the feeling I got when I at last stood at the feet of the Sphinx. It is truly magnificent.  We rode camels near the pyramids.  Earlier on the tour we attended a light show at night, which took place in front of and behind the pyramids and Sphinx. It was great to be able to see these treasures in the daylight as after seeing them lit at night.

We also visited the Solar Boat Museum, which houses Cheop’s 142-foot funerary boat. This boat was used only once to transport his body to his burial temple. It was dismantled into 1250 pieces and buried after it was used. Discovered in 1954, the Solar boat is considered one of the most important archeological finds of recent date.

From here we went to the Mena House Oberoi Palace and Hotel. This palatial hotel stands in the shadows of the Great pyramids in Cairo and has been in existence since 1869. It was truly amazing to gaze out at the pyramids from our table in the restaurant.  A musician strummed a guitar while we dined on a delicious lunch of curried soap and chicken. 

The property was originally a royal lodge used by Khedive Ismail, the King of Egypt, as a house for himself and his guests while on hunting trips in the desert or during visits to the Pyramids of Giza.

After lunch we drove to Memphis, capital of the ancient kingdom and one of Egypt’s most important cities. Memphis was also the legendary city of Menes, the King who united Upper and Lower Egypt.  Today much of Memphis’ splendor has been destroyed, but the Alabastor Sphinx built in the 18^th Dynasty still remains, as does the beautifully carved statue of Ramses II.

We then continued to Sakara, the vast metropolis of ancient Memphis, whose surviving pyramids include the famous Step Pyramid, built by Zoser I in 2686 BC: the word’s oldest free standing stone structure.