Travel to Old Civilization Part 2 - Cairo

Cairo
We arrive in Cairo by 10 in the night. Sheriff, the representative from Travco escorts us to President Hotel. Unfortunately this hotel fades in comparison against the one in Alexandria, but we do not let that dampen our spirits. It’s about 11 and the only night we would be spending in a hotel, so we decide to make most of it. A bottle of red wine was already purchased at Sharjah Duty Free, which was corked open. Glasses start clinking against the assortment of namkeens and Pistachios. Saurabh, Karthik and I make most of the wine, joking and sharing hidden stories of the past (Btw I confession to make boys are better if not best than girls in gossiping.) That night Karthik discovered a formula to a deep and satisfying sleep (a glass of wine before bed) which we got to know in the morning.

Day 2: 15th December 2006 – Cairo
It is 6:30 in the morning as I wake up to the call of the alarm from Saurabh’s mobile. I sit back against the bed as the morning sun peeps in from the balcony. You know it felt different as I watch the sun urging me to get up, embrace and enjoy the gift of life which the Almighty has bestowed upon me. Shaking the philosophy away I went about my morning activities and see my self in the breakfast hall on the 10th floor. As I see Cairo city from the window, it reminds me of Bombay, the high rise building, the flyovers look so similar. We enjoy our first meal of the day and as usual my breakfast size befits my over healthy physique. We meet our guide for Cairo City Madeline (who turned out to be the best guide of the trip.) In addition to Giza Pyramids, we decide to visit the Step Pyramids of Sakara for which had to shell out extra 50$ each which we still feel is high priced. Giza Pyramids We set out to visit the pyramids, the weather is quite pleasant a little windy and the sun is not very hot. Maggie our guide is busy analyzing us as Indians, asking question commenting on Kalkur and Saurabh that they look very young and that I do not have Indian features (which I have heard for the first time.) We answer the questions which she poses one after another on Indians, India and her culture. We get to know that she is Major in Archeology. Still chitchatting we see the Pyramids lining against our sight. We are enjoying the sight of it as our vehicle takes us near the Oldest and only surviving member of the Ancient Wonder of the World. Words cannot start to explain the feeling that sets in on seeing these gigantic structures which have braved the challenges time must have thrown on its face. The pyramids were covered by a smooth coat which was stolen in later centuries; remains of which can be seen on the apex of the second pyramid. Our guide starts telling us about the history of Egypt. History says that the largest pyramid belongs to King Cheops of the 4th dynasty of Egypt. The pyramid was built in 30 years and the king had changed his mind regarding his burial chamber three times. Finally the burial chamber is made near the apex of the pyramid. One cannot fathom how such gigantic slabs of stone were brought to this place. We take the journey inside the pyramid, and the scene which it presents is better than the outside picture. The corridor of the pyramid is a sight to see. We walk on the makeshift steps to reach the burial chamber. One LBCD(London Born Confused Desi) comments on the way there is nothing but an empty room and a tomb. His remark that his money was lost had us in splits for the entire day. On seeing the burial room our mouths fell open. Breath of each stone in the room is size of our arms spread apart. I cannot stop staring at height of the room that my neck starts straining. Our only regret is that we cannot take photos of this amazing sight, but Saurabh seems to have taken a few stealthily using his mobile camera. I take one backward glance of the room to etch it my memory and head back out. We were still to get to terms with what we saw inside the Pyramids that we forgot to take photos of the pyramid complex (we have less photos of the pyramid which we realized later.) We head to a point from where the three pyramids can be seen. We lap up this place by taking many patel and group shots. We have one photo which has us taking Walk like Egyptian pose. Localities here pose for photo and demand money which surprised us. After having our fill of the photos we set out to visit the Sphinx. The Sphinx The Sphinx or the Guardian of the 2nd Pyramid has represented the essence of Egypt since time immemorial. Although we have seen pictures of sphinx in our text books, nothing can compare to the sight of seeing the Sphinx with one’s naked eyes which dates back to 4500 years. The Sphinx represents King Khafre of the 4th dynasty whose tomb lies in 2nd pyramid. The Sphinx carved from limestone is a marvel from the ancient Egypt. Sphinx has body of lion with head of king Khafre and lost its nose during Turkish invasion. The Sphinx is of enormous size with its paws 50 feet long while entire length is of 150 feet. The head is 30 feet long and 14 feet wide and its height is 73.5 metres. As a custom we take patel shots against it and move back to capture the beauty of whole complex of three pyramids and the Sphinx standing in guard to them through our lens. After a first hand history lesson we visit a small museum where a statue of King Ramseys II is placed. We take few snaps around the place and head to the Step Pyramids of Sakara. Step Pyramids of Sakara The decision to visit the step pyramids was certainly a good one. The Giza Pyramid is definitely a wonder of the world but I would say without mincing words that the Step Pyramid is definitely the photogenic one. The Step Pyramid belongs to Djoser a ruler from the 3rd dynasty. History says that the tomb was not designed to be pyramid but a mastaba (underground burial chamber). The king wanted a wider mastaba then what was designed. The architect after some extent could not widen it so he built one mastaba on top of another, this continued till there were six mastabas on top of one another. Each mastaba represents a step in the structure. The entrance to the complex starts with a false door leading to an assortment of pillars of various sizes which next opens up to the Step pyramid complex. There is a tomb of nobleman near the step pyramid. The paintings done on the wall of the tomb is intricate. By the time the photo session of step pyramids was over, we were all famished. We proceeded to restaurant for a lunch. The lunch consisted of Filafil, Egyptian Rice, Raita, Spaghetti, Khabus and French fries. Though a dry lunch we ate like there was no tomorrow. Papyrus Gallery We reached papyrus gallery to see the paintings. The local guide at the gallery told us that papyrus is considered very holy in Egyptian history as the base of the papyrus represents the pyramid while its leaflets are shaped in form of sun. We saw the process of how papyrus is changed to a writable form. We are left to observe the paintings in the gallery. We spend watching each painting and getting to know the legend behind it. We were discussing whether to buy paintings at the gallery as they were costly. After lot of thinking about the price and whether we can find better painting at any other place, Manoj, Karthik and I bought our paintings. Karthik took a painting which depicted key of life. Manoj took a painting which featured offering to the Sun God while my painting featured birds depicting circle of life. Next we head to the railway station to board our 1st classs sleeping train which would take us to Luxor. The first thought on seeing our compartment was “Yeh to shuru hote hi khatam ho gaya.” After chatting for some time we visited the bar in the train. We took some snaps and decided to call it a day.