Friday April 5th
Arrived 7am at Sokhna the state of the art port that is the gateway to the legendary city of Cairo. After an early morning call and breakfast we took the two hour drive through the barren desert to Cairo. The city is a mix of poverty, filth and the last remaining Wonder of the Ancient World – The Great Pyramid Of Cheops.
First we visited the Giza Plateau to see the three pyramid complex known as The Great Pyramids for a photo stop. We then descended to The Great Pyramid of Cheops where we could walk around and actually touch the stones and if you wanted to you could go inside. As the tunnel was only four foot high we decided against it. No bad backs for us thank you.
From here we further descended to visit the mysterious guardian of this ancient mortuary complex, the Sphinx. This massive statue with the body of a lion and the head of a human was carved from a single piece of Giza Plateau bedrock - we took some fabulous photos.
After a wonderful photographic session which included beating off the local trinket sellers who after offering to take our photos then wanted dollars for their help we travelled to the Nile to board a river boat for lunch. We cruised along the Nile through Cairo viewing all the local sights which included the burnt out building made famous by the People’s Revolution in Tahrir Square this February.
While on the riverboat we heard the sounds of the celebration protest being held in the square and then the sound of what we thought was gunfire but turned out to be firecrackers. However later that night it turned ugly and there was gunfire and two demonstrators were shot. Luckily we were back on board by then.
A long day but well worth the experience and we’re so glad we made the effort.
No comments:
Post a Comment