Beyond Thunderdome

A seven hour time zone difference can mess with your sleep patterns.  Even worse?  A 2:15 am wake-up call.  Basically that meant we were getting up the second day in Cairo at 7:15 pm Eastern US time.

We had to be down for the bus to the airport at 3:15 am to catch our 6:15 am flight to Aswan. Getting through the airport was not that difficult.  After landing, there was general consternation as one unfortunate member of the tour had her luggage NOT make the trip to Aswan.  The story has a happy ending, as her bag made it to the ship for the Lake Nasser cruise around 11:15 pm last night, after catching a later flight.

We still had a three hour bus ride from Aswan to Abu Simbel.  And the drive was pure Mad Max, Beyond Thunderdome.  Driving through the dystopian Sahara desert was unreal.  Flat, sandy, with miles of nothing.  The bus was passing all sorts of vehicles, including trucks with multiple passengers in the truck bed, tuk-tuks, motorbikes pulling trailers with large bundles of stuff.  Fortunately, none of the trucks had mounted guns that shot fire.

The hills were like nothing I’ve ever seen – individual carved out of the wind, with some looking like natural pyramids.

About halfway there we stop at dystopian rest stop for coffee, tea, and a bathroom break.  It was a makeshift “building” with a literal mirage across the street, looking like a sizable body of water.  It was a very cool stop, as we were surrounded by the desert.

The rest stop

The desert goes on and on forever

Typical pick-up truck scene

It's a hard way to make a hard living

The rest of trip was uneventful, but memorable.  We passed by new farms irrigated by Lake Nassar with green fields of wheat growing.  A small town built by the government to attract more people to farm, but the town is all but barren.

He Didn't Have Much To Say

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!

Mary and Neil

That's the Great Pyramid over the 

Sphinx's left shoulder.  I'm here to help.

That's the Pyramid behind the Sphinx.

A stray dog and her stray pups.  Cute.

Glen, Carol, Mary and Neil.

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.  

Leading into the Sphinx viewing area.

Close-up side view.

You think the ear is big, you

should see the size of the

Q-tip it takes to clean it.

Classic view

They were on the hill above the Sphinx.

A Sphinx and his pyramid.

A view of the Sphinx's view of

the encroaching city of Giza.

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.

View from lunch.  Photo by Carol.

Tired camel, photo by Carol.

A Magnificent Vista

After exiting the pyramid, the group met back up with Sam (many people on the tour did not go up the pyramid, which, given that Carol and I might be the second and third youngest on the tour, is a smart decision by many) and we proceeded to walk most of the way around the base.  

The entry to the pyramid is on the north side, to face the North star.  As we walked around to the east side, we saw the Queens’ pyramids (one in good shape, one in so-so shape, and one not so much).  

Sam also filled us in on the ships that were found, believed buried by the pyramids to fly the Pharaoh through the sky each morning and then back again at night.

After making it to the south side of the Pyramid, we reboarded the bus and drove to the best overlook of the Pyramids of Giza.

We did group photos, and then Carol and I passed on the chance to ride a camel.  We had each done a camel ride in the Northern Territory of Australia, and neither felt the need to do it again 34 years later.  Neither of us are naturals at horseback riding.  Given that, we learned we are even worse at camel riding.  Neither of us wanted to relive the bruising of the legs we earned in Oz.  

While others, including Neil and Mary, headed off to ride the camels, we wandered around the overlook plateau, taking photos of the pyramids, watching the stray dogs (none of whom were in ill health), and generally marveling at the view.

Tired camels

I bet Napoleon wasn't photo-bombed

when he visited the pyramids!

Classic Pyramid Pose #1

Classic Pyramid Pose #2

What's So Great About The Great Pyramid?

Well, as it turns out, everything.  Upon walking up to it, the size and scope of it is stunning.  Yes, there are other pyramids right there.  And yes, that’s pretty mind-blowing, but it would be still mind-blowing if there was only the one.

Sam talked a lot about the construction and history of the pyramids as we stood in the shadow of the Great one.  I hadn’t realized it, but historians now believe that slave labor was NOT used.  Instead, it was workers taking breaks during the Inundation (flooding of the Nile) and working to curry favor with their gods.  They were fed well, and not whipped as once assumed.  In a way, they were trying to earn their way into heaven.

The pyramid has a number of mastabas around it, which are tombs of important assistants to the Pharaoh.  They are impressive in their own right, although it is amusing that they vied to be buried close to Pharaohs to show their importance in life and also in death.

After a bit, we went inside the Great Pyramid, which is the only one you can enter.  After a brief walk along a relatively flat passage, we went up.  At our age, it’s a strenuous up.  Most of the hard part came because we had to hunch over while climbing up.  The passageway has about three feet of clearance in some areas, all the while you are going up at a xx degree climb.

I was more worried about Carol than myself, as she is not a fan of tight spaces.  She can get a bit claustrophic at times, but she kicked the butt of the Great Pyramid.  I was not so nimble going up, so I got to the top long after Mary and Carol made it.  Neil made it about halfway up before turning around. I was worried I need to do the same.

Oh I could write about perseverance and all that, but I pretty much muddled through.  The second half of the climb was just as steep, but it was a more open passageway, so I could stand straight up.  Doesn’t mean it was easy, as I availed myself of a rest break anytime someone was coming back down.  I would scrunch myself against the handrail and act all sporting as I would wheeze, “oh no, go ahead I could use the break.”  It was best when there was a larger group coming down, giving me an excuse to rest a bit.

Upon reaching the top, to add insult to injury, I literally had to crawl through the short passage into the great hall.

It’s neat to be able to say I made it to the top of the Great Pyramid (also known as Cheops), but the great hall is of moderate size and interest.  Have been up longer, Carol and Mary headed down, whilst I wandered around in a bit of a daze.  We had to pay the man a dollar each to head back down.  It’s not part of the entry, just a fact of life in Egypt.  To be fair, his job requires him go up and down the pyramid, hang out in a hot room,  and make sure no one is an idiot and tries something dumb.  No doubt collecting “tips” is his way to feed his family.

Mary, Iron Tourist, and Mrs. Iron Tourist,

elated at reaching the top!

Going back down was easier than going up, although using my legs as a brake to ensure I didn’t pick up speed caused my thighs to burn.  We went on Thursday January 26, and today, Friday January 27 my thighs are still sore as can be.  

Once I reached the 3 foot high passage, I slowed down considerably.  I could hear two younger gentlemen behind me closing the gap.  I stopped to let them pass, and saw that they were esssentially speed butt crawling down.  I discarded the “speed” part of their journey, but did butt crawl down, which was far easier on my back. I finally made it all the way down and out of the pyramid.

Carol and I had conquered the pyramid!

First Photos From Cairo

Alas, WordPress has flipped the order of the photos again -- happens every so often.

The Odyssey Group at the Giza Pyramids

The Pyramid of Khafre

The burial location of the large

"ship" that transported the 

Pharaoh across the sky. 

One of the Queen's pyramids.

The Great Pyramid

Upstairs at the Great Pyramid.  It's a struggle

to get there, but I made it.  Carol breezed

up the steep, tight spaces.

This was the easier part of the climb,

as I could actually stand up here.

Carol in the Pyramid.

The Great Pyramid.  And the sun.

A Mastaba of some important

administrator to Ramesses II.

First view of the Great Pyramid

Our first view of the Nile in

sunlight, from our hotel balcony.

Walk Like An Egyptian

You had to know it would not take me long to use that headline on this blog, and so I decided to end any pretense of suspense and get it out of the way quickly.

So, we are on an Odyssey Unlimited tour of Egypt and we are also doing the extension to Jordan.  Odyssey bills itself as “The Small Group Travel Experience.”  There are 24 people on the tour, including Neil and Mary Newhouse.  The group are all Americans, and we are led by our guide, Sameh, or “Sam” for short.

Mrs. Iron Tourist and I have a rule of thumb.  Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Costa Rica we’ll do our own planning/self-guiding.  For Asia, Africa, the Middle East, however, we will go with a group.  We’ve done one group tour in Spain, but that was an REI Camino trip, so it was a bit different than the typical traveling through Europe.  We are considering Japan on our own, but we’ll see.  Anyhow, you get the idea.  No way we would do Egypt or Jordan on our own, so here we are.

The flights, Cairo via Frankfort, was uneventful.  I finally watched Jack Nicholson’s coming out party, “Chinatown.”  Ron Brownstein wrote his fabulous book, “Rock Me on the Water: 1974, The Year LS Transformed Movies, Music, Television and Politics,” built around four things – the changing music scene (Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt and others), TV (“All in the Family” and movies (exemplified by Chinatown).  After reading the book after it came out in 2021, I realized I had to watch that movie.

Another highlight of the flight to Frankfurt was flying over Bradford, England, which was the constituency of the Member of Parliament who I interned for in London, Geoff Lawler, who remains a good friend to this day (this will be a good test to see if he reads the blog!)

Killing approximately six hours in the Lufthansa Frankfurt airport lounge was fine, especially when I napped for an hour or so. 

Flying to Cairo was uneventful, although I got a good look at snow-covered Alps, including Alpine villages, as well as a beautiful sunset.

Arriving in Cairo, we breezed through immigration. The female officer was not the friendliest immigration officer we’ve ever dealt with, but friendly ones are hard to find, regardless of what country you are going into.

We were met by Sameh, and also met about half of the remainder of the group (others were coming in on other flights).  We went onto the bus and pulled out.  Riding on the bus was eye-opening, as Cairo traffic is as disorganized as I’ve seen.  Another observation is that billboards rule.

And, the media consultants in Egypt clearly have convinced their clients about the rule of three – I rarely saw just a single billboard.  Instead there were usually there were three of the same billboards one right after the other.  

We got to the hotel, the Kempinski Nile Hotel Garden City Cairo, feeling starved.  So we went straight to dinner, choosing the Italian restaurant over the Turkish restaurant.  After that, we headed to bed in an attempt to acclimate to the seven hour time difference.