TRAVEL: Cairo & The Pyramids of Giza, Egypt

Before you begin, read the rest of my Egypt adventures here!

Cairo is certainly more of a city-like city than any of the others that we'd been to in Egypt with absolutely massive billboards above the huge roads lined by towering apartment blocks. Such reading material seems necessary given the traffic problem the city has as road rules just don't seem to apply with cars whizzing left, right and centre without indicating and squeezing into whatever tiny spaces are possible, beeping raucously as they go. As our driver aptly said 'The lines on the road are just for decoration.' 

We drove for about an hour or so across the river and into Giza where we would be staying at the Le Meridien hotel for the next two nights. The location of the hotel couldn't be better, a stones throw away from the pyramids themselves. Our main tour of Giza was the following day, so we settled in before braving the streets of Giza. The traffic was no less bad here, and to cross the road you really were best closing your eyes and hoping the drivers weren't doing the same. 

The roads clearly weren't made for pedestrians and we found ourselves ducking around cars and other obstacles in the way. I have a feeling that such excursions can't have been good for my health, and we joked about how many years the pollution was taking off our lives, although the noise of the horns was just as bad! 

We were searching for the number one restaurant in Giza on TripAdvisor, but a lack of clear directions meant we weren't entirely sure where we were going, so it was just luck that I looked up at one particular moment to see the sign for Dar El Dadak where we had intended to go. I wasn't quite sure how it had managed to make its way to number one on TripAdvisor given its out of the way location, but we were willing to give it a shot anyway. 

We had an early dinner consisting of soup, a selection of appetisers including baba ganoush, sesame sauce and white beans in tomato sauce, followed by a main of whatever meat or veg we desired, and some basic fruit for dessert. For less than $7 a head, it wasn't a bad experience and hit the spot, giving us the energy needed to brave the walk on the way back and a well deserved rest. 

I've decided that perhaps Cairo wasn't the best idea for the final day of our trip, as it certainly wasn't a relaxing one! We were picked up at 8:30am and whirled across the city in horrific morning traffic back to the centre of Cairo. We pulled up right outside Tahrir Square, the epicentre of the revolution back in 2011. Security was insane for a while after that although it has since died down, there are still armed guards outside most important buildings. 

On the edge of Tahrir Square is the Egyptian Museum, evidently somewhere all tourists seem to go judging by the crowds. I've never seen queues quite like it for a museum before! Over the next few hours, we worked our way around the museum in chronological order - it gives you an impression of just how extensive Ancient Egypt was. Highlights for me were some of the statues they had which were quite different to those we ha previously seen, in that their eyes were made of glass and shone in the light. I can imagine that would be quite eerie for the first person to discover them!

The museum is also home to many of the finds from Tutankhamun's tomb, including his famous golden mask and casket. We were told that these were two items that the museum would never loan to any other museum or bring to any exhibits as their worth makes it impossible to insure such items as their value could not be matched if anything happened to them. I wondered why Tutankhamun had been buried with so many impressive items - historians believe that all the Pharoahs probably were, but much has been plundered over the centuries - it is only that Tutankhamun's tomb was so hard to find, buried under another, that such items were not already stolen. 

We endured the traffic again to head back to Giza for lunch right opposite the pyramids. They're clearly not used to vegetarians here as I was offered pasta with tomato sauce, although we did also get some rather nice hummus and rice pudding as well. 

The remainder of the day was spent at the Pyramids themselves, along with half of the rest of Egypt's tourists it seemed! The structures really are quite impressive and given the chance to go inside, I couldn't resist. Bring your student card for this one, as you'll save yourself half the price to go inside the Grand Pyramid. However, it's certainly not for the faint of heart, as it's quite claustrophobic, steep, and very, very hot. You begin by crawling into a tunnel, and then it's up and up some steep ladders until you reach the central tomb, a small granite room with a sarcophagus in the centre. We were told that some people come here to meditate, which I could understand, although it was unbearably hot. I was pleased to have had the opportunity to go inside one of the most incredible buildings in the world. 

I felt a bit rushed as we raced our way around the three main pyramids to take photos as the site closed at 4pm to clear up for the Sound & Light Spectacular. Our final stop was the Sphinx, which I felt was less impressive that the Pyramids themselves, but I suppose that goes for most things. Still, the fact that something had endured thousands and thousands of years cannot go unacknowledged, and it is undoubtable that the Ancient Egyptians were one of the most forward-thinking civilisations of all time. 

It wouldn't be a Ciara trip without searching around for a snowglobe to take home, so we spent the last part of our day in Giza searching a few bazaars for one, although they seem to be much less prevalent in Egypt than I've found in other countries. Having secured one, I was content with our time in Egypt, and there was time to watch one last sunset before we prepared to go home. Until next time!