Memphis, Step Pyramid in Saqqara, & Not feeling very well

Day three of the trip did not start off very well to say the least. I woke up with a terrible stomachache so decided I needed to take it easy with the food. Lets just say I wasn’t feeling better as the day went on.

We started our day off in Memphis, which was the first capital of Egypt, to see some of the oldest artifacts in Egypt. Memphis became the capital of Egypt when the upper and lower regions were brought together to become one nation. Zach told us that over 30% of these artifacts belonged to King Ramses II. Two of the statues we saw there were of him. The large colossus of him was made of limestone and one of the biggest statues in Egypt. They were extremely impressive considering how old they were and the condition they were in. Here we also saw the alabaster sphinx, which is the second largest sphinx in Egypt.

After we left the site of the ruins, we went to the Imhoptep Museum in Saqqara, which was a necropolis for the city of Memphis. There we watched a short movie about the complex, and we saw some amazing artifacts. We even saw a mummy that was in amazing condition! Most of the artifacts there were around 5000 years old. It was truly incredible.

Next From there we went to visit the step pyramid of Kind Djoser, which is the very first pyramid ever built in Egypt. We entered the site through the Funerary complex of Djoser which had a lot of columns and was made of beautiful stone. The step pyramid we learned is the first man-made stone structure in the world! The entire complex was designed to imitate a city and is surrounded by walls made of limestone with many doors, but almost all of the doors aren’t functional because the complex was designed for the afterlife. We learned that the Egyptians cared more about their next life then their current one, therefore everything they had with them at their grave would be brought to the next life with them. They also believe that their spirit could occupy any object thatcontained the face of that person after death, and that is why so many statues were made with heads of the pharaohs. The step pyramid was very cool, and here I learned how to use the panoramic feature on my camera!

We went to the Tomb of Mereruka and the Titi Pyramid which were both very cool. The Tomb was filled with hieroglyphics and drawings of things that people did in everyday life. Archeologists apparently learned a lot about daily life in Egypt from this tomb. Some of the drawings still had color on them and the detailing in them was amazing. The pyramid was very cool as well. Once inside we were able to see hieroglyphics taking up literally all the space on the walls. There was also a sarcophagus here too, which almost freaked me out until I found of there was no mummy inside (The mummy from the Imhoptep museum really freaked me out!)

After this we went to a carpet school where Egyptian children learn how to make hand-made carpets out of wool and silk. These carpets were extremely beautiful and very expensive. Some of them cost up to $35,000! (Yes dollars!) They really were beautiful oriental carpets, but unfortunately I’m just a college student so I didn’t feel I would have a good place to put such an elaborate piece of art!

Finally we made it to lunch (yes we did all of this before lunch!) where there was a buffet. At this point my stomach was only getting worse so I didn’t eat much, but was very cool about this place we went was they had a baby lion you could take pictures with! (In addition to a bunch of other animals) I saw some shot glasses that some merchants were selling, but they weren’t quite up to Andrew’s standards (still looking Bro!)

Finally we made it back to the hotel for a little rest, which I definitely needed because my stomach as well as my head were in agony! Luckily I got an hour-long nap before we went to the sound and light show at the Giza Pyramids. The show was decent, but it was pretty cool seeing the pyramids lit up at night.

When we got back to the hotel Ben and I split a single portion pizza because the two of us really haven’t been able to eat much (he isn’t feeling well either). Tomorrow we are leaving this hotel and will be taking a sleeper train to our next destination. Tomorrow’s itinerary includes some Mosques and Churches, which are supposed to be beautiful. Ghaly told us that we wont have internet on the train so I don’t know when I will be posting my next entry, but stay tuned!

Pyramids of Giza, Camel Ride, Papyrus, & Learning a Valuable Lesson

The video below is of me in front of the Great Pyramid of Giza, the largest Pyramid in Egypt and the tallest man-made structure in the world for 3800 years!

On this night of the trip I passed out very early and didn't get to write this entry for a couple of days, but I'm going to do the best I can with what I remember and notes I’ve been taking.

The first stop of the day was the Giza Pyramid Complex, which is the only remaining ancient wonder of the world. The Stones from the pyramids were from the other side of the nile, but during the flooding season, the Egyptians would use boats to bring the stones to this location. The workers of the site weren't slaves believe it or not, but were in fact people who were happy to help because they believed helping the king build his tomb would bring them closer to paradise in the second life, which to them was more important than their current life. The pyramids used to be completely smooth with limestone but over time have lost that texture (that is why when you look at pictures of the pyramids, there are some parts that look more perfect than others)

The great Pyramid (the biggest) was the tomb of King Kiops. The Middle Pyramid is the most perfect pyramid in Egypt and was the tomb of Kiops' son, King__. Finally the smallest Pyramid is the tomb of the Grandson of Kiops, King Menkaure. We went into one of these pyramids which was pretty creepy (especially since the lights went out while we were down there! seriously!)

While at the Pyramids we also got to ride camels! It was a little scarier then I expected it to be. I thought it would be like riding a horse, but it was actually a little higher up and not as secure (or maybe this is just because I was in Egypt and the saddle thing wasn't that sturdy) oh well it was still fun!

So the part you have all been waiting for; bargaining with the local merchants! As Professor Ghaly told us from very early on, Egypt is a cash economy; lets just say we quickly understood what he was talking about. Immediately after arriving at the Giza Pyramids, we were bombarded with people trying to sell us things. These people do NOT take no for an answer; if you say no, they keep offering you things for a lower price and never quite. Unfortunately I had an unfortunate experience with this, but at least I learned how to deal with it for the rest of the trip.

So in short this is what happened (and for the record, this is pretty much how it is with everyone here, but now I know how to deal with it). This pretty young Egyptian kid (probably 13 or so) B-lined at me and immediately was saying how beautiful my eyes were, and how he loved Obama (after I said I was American). After minutes of this and many attempts at walking away, he keeps putting little pyramids in my hand and saying that they are gifts when I explain a number of times that I don't want anything. After going back and forth forever, I realized he wasn't going to leave me alone, so I decided to take out some money since he was being very nice and I wanted him to just leave me alone at this point. I planned on giving him 5 Egyptian pounds or so (about $1 in America) but as soon as I took out my wallet, he snatched about 200 Egyptian pounds from me (which is about $35). I was so irritated that this kid did this to me, but I was caught so off guard and it was the first time I was dealing with the merchants here, so there wasn't anything I could do. After this, I realized I'm never going to carry that much money on me, and to always make sure to keep small bills on me, because the people here NEVER give you change! I definitely learned a valuable lesson here. So second note about Egypt* Keep tabs of your money at all times, and give the merchants exact change, because if you give them big bills, then say goodbye to your money!

After this we went to the only mummification temple left in Egypt and the Alabaster Sphinx, the largest Sphinx in Egypt. We learned that Sphinxes are the heads of the Kings with Bodies of Lions to symbolize strength. We had a good time here taking a bunch of fun pictures. There were also a lot of Egyptian kids here on field trips, and they were amazed at the site of us! Elana was one of the main attractions; her fair skin, and light hair and eyes were so exotic to them, they couldn't help but take pictures of her! (it was pretty funny)

After this we had lunch at a restaurant with a view of the pyramids. We had our first public bathroom experience here as well where you tip the attendant for toilet paper; Note #3**Almost all bathrooms in Egypt have attendants who will give you toilet paper once you tip them. We learned quickly to start carrying toilet paper with us, because they wont give you much.

After this we stopped at a papyrus museum (which was really just a shop). They taught us a little bit about the history of papyrus and how to tell if it is real or not. I bought a papyrus painting of the old Egyptian calendar for a very good price; it was originally 900 Egyptian pounds, but I got it for 500 (~$86) and the man selling them to me gave me 2 smaller pieces for free which were very beautiful as well.

Overall I saw and learned A TON! We saw some of the major sites and learned about the culture in a very short amount of time. Can't wait to see what's next!