Oh, I suppose I knew that the Great Sphinx is right by the pyramids, but that doesn’t mean I comprehended just how close it is. As we are driving down the hill, Sam points it out. Except I’m looking off in the distance, a bit to the south of Sphinx, and don’t see it until we are just about on top of it.
After we get off the bus, we wound our way through some courtyards before coming to a dramatic view of the Sphinx from the front/side.
Editor: Isn’t every view of the Sphinx from the front dramatic? Blogger: Well, I’ve got to admit, you’ve finally made a decent point!
Walking to the Sphinx, you go past a large outdoor market, with the proprietors beseeching you to buy their geegaws and whathaves. We were advised not to make eye contact or to look at the items for sale. It was good advice, as we blew past the shops without a word.
Each step, the view of the Sphinx changed, and as we got closer, more dramatic. We went directly in front of the Sphinx as Sam filled us in on the history. What stood out the most is that Napoleon/his troops did not have the nose blown off with explosives/cannon shot, as there is historical record of the nose being missing before Napoleon’s time. The little French dude deserves most of the criticism he gets, but not this critique. It’s enough to give a guy a complex.
Just standing in front of the Sphinx is awe inspiring. The best is to line up the Sphinx up with a Pyramid. Just incredible!
We wound our way back down to the entrance to the Sphinx, went through some chambers, and came out on the east side of the Sphinx, where there is a bit of a viewing platform from ancient days. You could, from a distance, walk all along the side of the Sphinx.
Fortunately, we were not asked the Sphinx’s riddle, because I would not have known. Because he didn’t ask, he couldn’t kill us.
I had headed up the parapet on my own, and a kindly bearded fellow asked me to take his picture. He’s an old-timer named Ben from Seattle. He had spent the last five months traveling through Europe on his own, and had just come to Egypt for a while. He had no plans on where he was going next. He was quite the nice guy, and understandably seemed interested in conversing. I traveled Europe for a month at age 21 on my own and loved it. Traveling alone forces you to be more outgoing, and Ben was certainly proving that. He’s a good man and I hope he has safe and interesting journeys ahead of him.
Carol came up and joined me on the parapet, and we walked down, enjoying the Sphinx.
After leaving the complex of the Sphinx, we ran the gauntlet of the open air market, and went to lunch. Unfortunately I did not bring my camera into lunch, as we had stellar views from our 2nd floor table of the Sphinx and the Pyramids. Let me tell you, if you go to Cairo, have a meal at a restaurant (find them on google) that has a view of pyramids. One such restaurant is an Italian place famed for its pizza. It’s called. . .Pizza Hut.
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