The GREAT Pyramids -Day 3

Day 3 – The GREAT PYRAMIDS

Wow, what a site. Three pyramids all in great shape considering how old they are. The Nile was once a mightier river then it is now and was wide enough to actually flow very near to the pyramids. Now it is quite a distance away. I learned a great deal about the 3 main pyramids and the other 3 minor ones. I was warned that absolutely NOTHING is free in this area. I also read that you need to guard your camera. Well sure enough as soon as we left our guide and were taking a few pics a police officer approached me and in broken English asked for my camera and then made me pose. This is where I got the funny shots of the pyramids. After he made Kai and I pose the camera became ransom for a tip. So he made some money off of us that day. We had many other people offer to take our picture or offer to pose with us….It was all about offering you something for free and then holding you hostage for the tip. It was also awesome to see the boats that they burry next to the pyramid for easier passage to the afterlife. The boat beside the Great Pyramid was massive!

We also traveled to the Salah El Din Citadel which stands high above Cairo. In the citadel there are 3 mosques including the most important to the Egyptians called the Mohamed Ali Bashir Mosque. We were able to visit and tour the inside of the Mosque. There were 365 lights that used to be candles. This represented the days of the year. There was a beautiful courtyard and the views from the outer wall of the mosque overlooked the city of Cairo.

When we left the Mosque we visited a Papyrus Paper factory and learned how the ancient Egyptians used the Papyrus plant for paper and as a method of recording historical events. I ended up buying a couple of prints.

We spent a couple hours at the Egyptian Museum which is host to hundreds of Mummies and their sarcophaguses. It was also host to thousands of other treasures found all over Egypt. Of course this includes the most famous of them all; the items of King Tutankhamen. King Tut was the king of Egypt from the age of 9 to 18 at which time he died without explanation. He wasn’t a famous king nor any better than any other kings. The only reason he is so famous is due to the fact they found so much in his tomb. We were able to get up close to many of the items found in his tomb. We were 3 inches away from his famous golden head piece. I was great to learn about the various symbolisms used in ancient Egypt and Rome. It was easy to start analyzing different statues and their status in Egypt based on the symbols that were used.

Enjoy the pictures……