Boys and I arrived safely in Cairo and have already spent an eventful day at the Giza pyramids. We are staying at the Bedouin hotel which is really a family run guest house with 6 rooms. We were all really apprehensive when we 1st walked down the tiny alley up those broken down stairs in that dilapidated building, but once we are upstairs, it really feels like home. The owners, staff and fellow-guests at the hotel are super cool with the kids and they are running around from room to room as if it was their home. The hotel is clean, with wifi and ensuite shower & toilet. What more do we need?
The visit to Giza was a real rip-off though. I trusted hotel owner, Karim, who said he would take us to good stables so that we could get camels & horses to visit the pyramids. The stables, animals and guide were great but we paid more than twice the going rate. I was furious at 1st but managed to put everything in perspective. It was my fault for not verifying the price before leaving and it was a great 1st lesson. Richard & Janice warned me to be careful and this was a very good reminder!
The pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx were altogether not as impressive as we had anticipated. There are a total of 9 pyramids : the largest being Kheops (aka Khufu), followed by those of his son, Khephren and his grandson, Macerinus. There are 6 smaller pyramids for the wives and sisters of Kheops and Macerinus. Kheops looks smaller than Khephren as the top of Kheops was shot-off by Napoleon Bonaparte and Khephren is situated on higher ground. The 1st layer of stones of the pyramids have all been removed already, except for the tip of Khephren. These beautiful stones from Aswan (granite, limestone and alabaster) were taken by Mohammed Ali (Turk that came to invade Egypt and was the 1st king of Egypt) who used it to build the Mohammed Ali mosque and citadel. Did you know that no one knows how the pyramids were built as the kings killed everyone that worked on the pyramids after they were completed. There are therefore 100s of thousands of dead builders near the pyramids. The Sphinx (face of a man, hair of a woman and body of a lion) was built to protect the pyramids. The original name of the Sphinx is Amon-Ra meaning sun-god as it faces the east. We all thought the Sphinx was puny, but when we were told it was chiseled out of 1 solid piece of rock, we were slightly more impressed!! Well, the sphinx is nose-less as napoleon took his nose off and brought it to France and the Brits came and carted off his beard and it is now at the British museum. Haha. Are you impressed with all this knowledge?
The visit to Giza was a real rip-off though. I trusted hotel owner, Karim, who said he would take us to good stables so that we could get camels & horses to visit the pyramids. The stables, animals and guide were great but we paid more than twice the going rate. I was furious at 1st but managed to put everything in perspective. It was my fault for not verifying the price before leaving and it was a great 1st lesson. Richard & Janice warned me to be careful and this was a very good reminder!
The pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx were altogether not as impressive as we had anticipated. There are a total of 9 pyramids : the largest being Kheops (aka Khufu), followed by those of his son, Khephren and his grandson, Macerinus. There are 6 smaller pyramids for the wives and sisters of Kheops and Macerinus. Kheops looks smaller than Khephren as the top of Kheops was shot-off by Napoleon Bonaparte and Khephren is situated on higher ground. The 1st layer of stones of the pyramids have all been removed already, except for the tip of Khephren. These beautiful stones from Aswan (granite, limestone and alabaster) were taken by Mohammed Ali (Turk that came to invade Egypt and was the 1st king of Egypt) who used it to build the Mohammed Ali mosque and citadel. Did you know that no one knows how the pyramids were built as the kings killed everyone that worked on the pyramids after they were completed. There are therefore 100s of thousands of dead builders near the pyramids. The Sphinx (face of a man, hair of a woman and body of a lion) was built to protect the pyramids. The original name of the Sphinx is Amon-Ra meaning sun-god as it faces the east. We all thought the Sphinx was puny, but when we were told it was chiseled out of 1 solid piece of rock, we were slightly more impressed!! Well, the sphinx is nose-less as napoleon took his nose off and brought it to France and the Brits came and carted off his beard and it is now at the British museum. Haha. Are you impressed with all this knowledge?
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