Cairo and the Pyramids

After Singapore, Lisa and I flew to Egypt to begin exploring a completely different part of the world. We had spent some time in Turkey three years ago, but still had no idea what to expect in the three weeks we were planning to spend traveling through Egypt and Jordan. It turned out to be quite an interesting experience, as this region has some of the most amazing historical treasures on the planet, along with some of the friendliest people we've met anywhere.

Our Egyptian journey began in Cairo. We decided to treat ourselves a bit, to make up for all of the budget traveling we'd been doing. Also, it was low season in Egypt (100 degree daily temperatures don't exactly attract lots of tourists), and we found a deal at Le Meridien Pyramids that was more than 60% off the rack rate. So we settled into the first really nice hotel of our trip, one that had a pool overlooking the Pyramids.

The most interesting aspect of our stay at Le Meridien might actually have been the mix of people that we saw. We'd sit by the pool and watch European women stroll by in string bikinis, right alongside Arab women who were covered from head to toe in black. Many of these women had children and Lisa remarked how interesting it was that half of these kids thought it was perfectly normal to not even see their mother's face in public, while the other half thought it was perfectly normal to see most of their mother's body exposed. Meanwhile, a small band played a varied and unusual mixture of songs by the bar ("Hotel California"), and in the background the 4,500 year old Pyramids loomed over the entire scene. It was a curious mingling of cultures and centuries.

Of course, we did tear ourselves away from the pool in order to explore Cairo and the Pyramids. Often described as the world's oldest tourist attraction, the Pyramids somehow manage to live up to their hype. Amazingly, they were in place 2,500 years before Christ, which is even further removed from that biblical age then we are today. Standing in front of these ancient monuments, it's difficult to imagine how people 45 centuries ago managed to pile these immense blocks one on top of the other and to do it with such precision.

We spent an entire afternoon wandering among the Pyramids and the Sphinx, and then went back in the evening for a sound and light show. Although we also spent some time touring the city of Cairo and the Egyptian Museum, the Pyramids were without a doubt the highlight of our visit to the Egyptian capital.

Here is a photo of Lisa in front of the Sphinx and one of the Pyramids...