Saturday, March 23rd, 2019
Our first stop this morning was a visit to the Giza Pyramids, the last remaining wonder of the ancient world and the Sphinx.
There are still ongoing excavations on the Giza Plateau. Evidence from the finding of a builders’ settlement, shows more evidence that the Giza Pyramids were built not by slaves but a skilled work force. After exploring the area, we then went to visit the sphinx.
The Sphinx is a statue made out of limestone. It is 240 feet long and 66 feet high! . Egyptologists believe from studying hieroglyphs that when Khafre became Pharaoh, he constructed his own pyramid next to his father’s and even though Khafre’s pyramid is shorter than the Great Pyramid, it is surrounded by a more elaborate complex that includes the Great Sphinx.
We also experienced a camel ride at the Giza plateau! When getting on the camel make sure you hold on tightly!
After our camel ride, we visited Sakkara (Saqqara). It is a large burial ground and where pyramid building first started. We saw the Step pyramid.
Pyramid of Unas
Below are pictures of the Temple at the Step Pyramid.
More pictures from the Saqqara Necropolis.
On our way back to our hotel, we stopped by a carpet school. They gave us a demonstration on how they weave the carpets. This is a trade that is passed down in families.
Dinner was on our own this evening so we ventured out to a Hard Rock Cafe. Our guide set up an Uber to take us to the restaurant and wait for us and then take us back to our hotel. Traffic was horrendous and our driver missed the drive so a 20 minute drive took over 45 minutes. We were concerned about having enough time to eat because most Hard Rock Cafe’s are extremely busy. Well, when we finally arrived, we were the only customers wanting a table. The host told us that they couldn’t sell any alcohol! We were there with another couple so we laughed because we hadn’t ever dined at a Hard Rock that wasn’t extremely busy!
Our waiter explained that it basically was politics that they couldn’t get their liquor license approved. We enjoyed our meal and made it back to our hotel without any issues!