Old Cairo - Day 4

Old Cairo – Day 4

Memphis, no not in the USA, Cairo is also known as the old Cairo. We went to the site of King Rameses II statues. He was one of the most influential kings of Egypt. Memphis was the old capital of Egypt. There have been many capitals over the many years of Egypt’s existence.

We also went into the area called Sakara which is very well known for its Egyptian Carpet Schools. These schools train children from the age of 6 and up to manufacture Egyptian and oriental carpets. These kids live in Sakara which is a very poor area. School is not mandatory in Egypt and families must pay for school uniforms, books and any other fees that the school has. So in this district the families find it easier to send their children to be carpet makers. Some of the children will get some schooling however most are just carpet makers for the rest of their lives. This also helps the children to help support their families when they get older. The pay of course is not great. To me this seems a little like child labour however if they weren’t in these schools they would be receiving no education and never have a possibility for a future job. A hard reality to think about. It’s a shame the country could not improve education in the poorer areas.

We arrived at the next set of pyramids called the Step Pyramids. It was the first of a new style of pyramid that included 5 steps in the slope of the pyramid. There was also a pottery pyramid which was called this because the pyramid was covered and built with broken pottery. This area, in total size, is massive and they think that they have only uncovered the beginning of what will turn out to be a massive ruins area. The excavation is all done by hand and takes a great deal of time. This project much like the one in Italy at Pompeii will be continuing for years.
Tonight we went on a Nile Dinner Cruise. The food was ok. It was a small buffet. There was a belly dancer, live band and an Egyptian twirler. The belly dancer needs to go back for more training…Oh did I say that? LOL. The twirler – a male dancer wearing a colourful Egyptian dress who spins around non-stop for about 15 minutes was awesome. He impressed me and the others on the boat. 98% of which arrived from 4 buses of a Japanese tour.

We cruised around the Nile for 2 hours. It was a nice way to spend the evening in Cairo.