Egypt - July 2002

Page 1 of 2

It's been a while since I've posted a set of pictures from one of my trips. This set is a set for a "long overdue" installment. I was originally scheduled to run this trip from Cyprus but they changed it to Cairo. I didn't have a whole lot of time but, of course, I had to go see the pyramids. We arrived early in the morning after flying all night. I got back to the hotel, had breakfast and made arrangements to do some sightseeing. Mike, the other First Officer, was the only person interested in going. The Flight Attendants had all been working out of Cairo for several weeks and the Captain had already left for home.

About 8:30 a.m., Mike and I met up with our guide, Ahmed. He was recommended to us by the hotel and we were very pleased with their selection. Ahmed made all the transportation arrangements and basically took care of everything for us. The cost for our 4 1/2 hour journey was $30 each (plus tip and what we spent along the way) and included air conditioned taxi (the driver stayed with us for the entire trip), entrance to the pyramid area (about $7 if I recall correctly), his expertise as a 45 year veteran tour guide, and a couple of mint teas along the way (a nice touch).

We left the hotel, crossed over the Nile and made our way to Giza, home of the famous 3 great pyramids and the one-and-only Sphinx (they say it something like sfink-es). He tried to teach us some Arabic along the way but I've already forgotten it all.

We entered the 'back side' of the pyramid area and drove to a viewing area where the first few pictures were taken. Each of the Great Pyramids were made by and for a King as a tomb. The family (wife and kids) would be buried elsewhere. Typically the smaller pyramids were where the wife and children would be buried. However, because the three great pyramids were for three kings in a row (father, son, grandson), they all got big ones.

We had the option of going inside pyramid #2 (the one with the smooth top portion) or going in a small tomb across the road. The pyramid was crowded and the guide said while it would be interesting to see, there isn't anything on the walls (carving / painting). The tomb we went to had fantastic paintings on the wall which, he said, were all original and about the same age as the pyramids (something like 2640 BC).

Part 2 on the next page

Out the window at the Nile Hilton	Hilton Lobby	Looking to the top of Pyramid 2	From a distance, the 3 Giza Pyramids
Pyramid 3 (the 'father') and three of the smaller pyramids (the babies)	Ahmed and Mike	Ahmed and Varrin	Closer up of 'dad' and the 'kids'
The entrance	The Pyramid 2 again (notice the smooth top)	Sign at the entrance to the tomb we went into	Mike going into the tomb
The pictures on the wall are original (2600 BC or so)	More art in the tomb	Ahmed explains the meanings of the art to Mike	Spear fighting from boats
The workers	On the left, dancers, on the right, musicians	Filling the jugs	Close up of the musicians (my favorite, of course)