Welcome to Egypt...Land of the Pharoahs.

Welcome to Egypt!!

It is late when we finally arrive at our hotel in the Giza area of Cairo, after a 9 1/2 hour flight to London, a 5 1/2 hour layover in London Heathrow and another 5 hour flight to Cairo... not to mention a good hour to clear the airport and another hour to the hotel. I calculate it has been 22 hours of travel and it is nearly 2:00 a.m. when I finally get to bed.

The alarm rings early the next morning and a stumble out of bed, throwing open the curtains for the first look at morning in a new place on the other side of the world. And there it is, as promised. The pyramids are visible from our hotel room.

After a hearty buffet breakfast we meet up with our guide and set out for our first day... a visit to the great pyramids of GIZA.

Giza is home to the great Pyramids... a series of 3 pyramids built in the 4th Dynasty of the Old Kingdom 2613 to 2498 BC. These were the tombs of the pharoahs or kings of Egypt, monumental structures built for their afterlife.

The greatest is the Great Pyramid, Khufu - the largest and oldest built in 2589 to 2566 BC.

It was the first to be built in what is now recognized as the pyramid shape, the triangular structure reaching to the God of the Sun. Now the massive blocks of limestone are exposed but originally it was covered with a total layer of polished stone reflecting the sun's rays. This outer layer was removed and used in the building of the city of Cairo. Only the very top of the second pyramid still has the remnants of that coating.

We wander around the pyramids in awe of the massive undertaking now thousands of years old. The Great Pyramid itself is said to be composed of 2,300,000 blocks of limestone each weighing between 2.5 nd 15 tons.

And, of course we must take the popular camel ride around the pyramids.

It is difficult to believe that we are actually here seeing and touching the greatest wonders of the world.

We also stop at the Great Step Pyramid on Saqqara.... this is believed to be the firswt pyramid.  

First the kings were merely buried in the ground and covered with sand.

Then there was a simple rectangular box put atop the grave to honor and the and likely protect the remains.

Eventually they added another larger tier on top of the base.

And then additional tiers were added, stepping up toward the sun with each level distinct.

Only then did the ancient Egyptians take the next step to create the geometric shape we see today.  

There was originally an elaborate wall surrounding the site. At the time it was the first such stone structure and contains many fascinating features as the builder copied the architecture of the local peasant home but casting them from massive boulders of limestone rock.  There are carved stone hinges holding massive stone doors, neither of which are, or ever were, functional. Architecturally it is a wonder, groundbreaking and fowrard thinking in the 3rd dynasty BC.

It has been a long day.... but a full and fascinating one.

Come With Me.. as we explore more of Cairo tomorrow.

Colleen