Sunday 25 November 2018

A visit to the Pyramids, Cairo.

Well this is probably one of the greatest construction projects in the world, ever. It took 20,000 people 20 years working 24/7 to construct the Pyramid of Khufu also known as the Great Pyramid and Pyramid of Cheops. It's the only remaining Seven Wonders of the World.

I've been fascinated by the Pyramids in Giza since I was a child, when my father visited there with work and somewhere there is a photo of him sat half way up, in the days when tourism wasn't as prolific as it is now and one was free to wander and climb. I was surprised to see we could still climb certain areas and steps had been cut into the blocks to allow us to do so.


It was a very emotional trip for me also, as I can no longer share my travel adventures with my father of places both he and I have visited separately. As with all places we visit for the first time, until we get a feel for a country that is considered dangerous for tourists, we opted to book a tour guide and transport. I wasn’t impressed with our tour, it seemed a bit rushed. There were several fees to be paid, the tour itself that collected us from the hotel, entrance fee and the choice of entering the chambers of two of the pyramids. Our guide told us there was nothing inside to see and it was hot and difficult to get in and out, but seeing as we were here we should go in the 2nd pyramid as it was cheaper.


I’m glad we took the tour though it would have been a long walk up to see the panoramic view or get a horse and carriage ride up there which didn’t appeal.



On leaving the bus stopped briefly for a quick photo of the Sphinx at which point we opted to get out the bus to spend a bit more time there and get an Uber to meet friends later. We were warned none stop that we would get harassed by vendors, but our biggest problem was locals who wanted their photo taken with us. It was time consuming only, everyone was super friendly though.


We arrived around 10am and spent about 2 hours there, there was a distinct lack of tourists, I’d expected it to be very busy.

We've visited Luxor twice now, Valley of the Kings, Karnak and Luxor temple and have been to the Louve in Paris to see many ancient relics from this period. But this is my first visit to Cairo and I’m in love.



You can see on the other construction photos I've been taking around the world and in Dubai by clicking on the links below:

Week 158 Dubai Bluewater Islands and Dubai Eye. Man made island a 210m high Big Wheel
Week 159 Dubai Dubai Marina - Reflections
Week 160 Dubai Dubai Frame. A window between the Old and New Dubai and a 150m high glass floor.
Week 161 Dubai Dubai Marina 3 years apart.
Week 163 Dubai New Metro Line for Expo 2020
Week 164 Arizona and Nevada Hoover Dam 2002 - 2010
Week 165 Dubai Dubai Opera House What a difference a year makes
Week 166 Dubai Unfinished buildings. The Pentominium
Week 167 Coventry Mixing the old and the new. Coventry Catherdral
Week 168 Dubai New Dubai Metro Station 
Week 169 Dubai The new extension of the Dubai Mall and Burj Khalifa 
Week 170 Dubai Hotel fire After the Address fire 
Week 171 Dubai Unusual designs The Opus Building
Week 172 Dubai District Cooling. Keeping the desert cool.
Week 173 Dubai Can I visit the Burj Al Arab
Week 174 Dubai The Almas Tower
Week 175 Dubai The Cayan Tower
Week 176 Toronto The CN Tower
Week 177 Nevada The Paris Hotel 
Week 178 Dubai Ibn Battuta Gate
Week 179 A Wedding Our first child got married
Week 180 Dubai The World's Tallest Tower
Week 181 Dubai and Wales Al Fahidi Fort and Chepstow Castle 
Week 182 Dubai New Metro Station in Al Furjan 
Week 183 Dubai Ski Dubai
Week 184 Another Wedding
Week 185 South Africa Life in a township
Week 186 Austria Ski Jump 
Week 187 Dubai Green Plant Bio Dome 
Week 188 Dubai Update on the Metro Station
Week 189 Dubai My view from the balcony changed in 8 months
Week 190 Greece Just how instagramable is it?
Week 191-192 Dubai Before and After. 3 months out of Dubai
Week 193 Dubai Building a boat in the sky
Week 194 South Africa An African Sunset
Week 195 South Africa Building with boxes Charity work in South Africa
Week 196 Another family wedding and a year of travel
Week 197 Dubai What are they building now? World Trade Centre
Week 198 Monmouth Building work in South Wales
Week 198 Dubai The cladding is going on, on the metro station
Week 199 Dubai They're building on the beaches in Dubai
Week 200 Hong Kong Building with Bamboo
Week 201 Dubai My Week as a volunteer on the European Tour

18 comments:

  1. Wow. I really hope I get there one day!!

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  2. Wow, what an amazing place to visit. It really is stunning. I can imagine how bittersweet it must have felt to be enjoying it, but knowing that you couldn't talk to your dad about it.

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    1. it was such a moving palce to be, i'm looking forward to exploring more on my next visit

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  3. Hi Suzanne, my Mum was actually born in Egypt, spending most of her childhood there (long story) and it surprises me that it has never been a place she has wanted to revisit. Seeing the pyramids must be breathtaking. How such amazing buildings were created in a time when machinery wasn't a thing is just mindblowing. That tunnel looks a little clautraphobic for my liking though.

    #MySundayPhoto

    xx

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    1. the tunnel was claustrophobic, but i over came my fears as it was something i'd always wanted to do. That must be strange for your mum not to want to revisit, from what my dad said about Cairo, it doesn't look like much has changed

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  4. Oh my word, I could bore you senseless with stories of my one and only visit to Cairo as a young, daft backpacker. Three days we were in that crazy city before we realised the map we were using was upside down! Anyway, so sad to see steps have been cut into the Pyramids. I guess that was an attempt to control people climbing on the pyramids as everybody used to do it. In fairness to your tour guide, there is nothing inside Cheops apart from a lot of tourists! Love the final picture, you timed that just right. Oh you're making me reminisce.

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  5. Wonderful photos. I love the photos and feel like I'm there. I would have thought it would have been packed.

    Thank you for linking up to #MySundayPhoto

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    1. I guess the tourists have just stayed away after the revolution, sad really

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  6. Going into one of the pyramids is not for the claustrophobic tribe! I did it a few years ago, but don't remember which one. We ended up in a big room with a big crypt (tomb) and that was it. But visiting the pyramids in person is very impressive, and not like seeing it on TV.

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    1. oh i think if one travels all that way, one should really go inside, regardless of the fact it is empty

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  7. I've always wanted to visit the pyramids - great photos. That last one is stunning - the sun on the top of the pyramid. #mysundayphoto

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  8. Oh wow! What an amazing trip. Fantastic photos, that last one is stunning x

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  9. Oh wow, that last photo is so special. I've never been but one of those "must do" places one day.

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