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74 |
75 | 76 | 77 |
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Near the pyramids is the Sphinx (74-78), a natural rock carving with the face of man and the body of a lion. Considerably smaller than the pyramids, the Sphinx measures 190 feet long and 66 feet tall. |
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78 |
79 |
80 |
81 |
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82 |
83 |
84 |
85 |
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We had lunch at the Mena House Hotel, a famous hotel that at one time was employed to house visitors to Egypt who came to see the Suez Canal, despite the fact that the canal is two hours away. We also went into Cairo to visit one of the shops catering to tourists. The Cairo ride was an eye opener. Cars and donkeys mix freely on the streets and Cairo, one of the world's largest cities, has few traffic lights. Consequently, traffic is mass chaos with some drivers taking great risks to move about. After the Cairo stop, we visited the Sakkara pyramids, including the Step Pyramid (79, 83, 85), dating to 2686 BC. That pyramid is believed to be the oldest stone structure on earth. |
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| 86 | 87 | 88 | 89 |
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Finally, we made the three hour trek back to Alexandria. A few minutes before arriving at the ship, we passed the new Alexandria library (89). This library aims to someday rival the reputation of the Cleopatra's Library at Alexandria, once containing the world's largest collection of books. When the Pharaohs ruled over most of the known world, Alexandria was the center of the universe, famous for both its lighthouse and library. The city is named for Alexander the Great, who, surprisingly, never saw it.
It was a long but unforgettable day, well worth the long drive to see the pyramids. However, the impression of cruise passengers to Egypt was uniformly negative--all thought it dirty, chaotic, unpleasant and many observed instances of severe poverty or poor personal hygiene. With the events that happened a couple of days later in America, it is now easy to look back at what we saw in Egypt and think how attractive it might be for very poor persons without much hope to embrace radicalism against the richness of America. |
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