Another adventure over
I'm on a flight from Cairo to Vienna, so goodbye to Egypt for now. I would like to come back, maybe for a birding trip in Aswan, but I'll talk about that later.
First, though, I have to talk about yesterday and our visit to Giza. I had enjoyed the trip already. The Valley of the Gods was incredible (and, yes, I remember that I haven't written about that yet), but Mohamed had told us the best was last and he was not kidding. We got up early so that we could beat the big crowds to the site, as we have done on most excursions (and, if you do group travel, never complain about early wake-ups, if it gets you to a tourist site ahead of the hoards). We got on the bus and were at the Giza plateau in about 45 minutes. (The pyramids are literally on the outskirts of Cairo!) The first thing we did was take pictures. We were all taking pictures, but the Mohamed used our phones to take pictures of each of us. He really knew how to get great shots there, and I loved this one the most. (I've already made it my profile pic.)
Then I asked Lynn to do my Walk like an Egyptian picture for Jake.
A number of us (hmm, all 10 of us) had told Mohamed that we wanted to go into the Pyramid, and so we did that first. It required an extra ticket for US$20, Tickets in hand, we climbed to the opening and headed in. Mohamed had said that it wasn't for anyone with claustrophobic, but it really wasn't that bad. You did have to walk up a shaft bent over for maybe 40 meters, but then it opened up and you had to walk up a steeper ramp with much more room. It required attention and stamina, but it wasn't hard. Unfortunately, there was a woman in front of us who should not have attempted the climb. We were seriously worried that she might have a cardiac event. (One of our group pointed out that she was being followed by 2 paramedics and 3 RNs.) It slowed us up considerably (both directions), but I felt sorry for her. When we got to the chamber, it was sort of intense. We took pictures, of course, but I also just pressed up against the cool stone and just thought about where I was. I had chills just thinking about the years between when the Great Pyramid was built and now. When I asked Mohamed later, he said we had gone about a quarter of the distance into the Pyramid (but the maps I found make it look like it was further in).
I found (lifted) this image on the internet. We went in in a slightly descending tunnel, then up the ascending passage. That's where we were bent double (for a long time!). That opened into the Grand Gallery, with the high ceiling. You climbed the gallery until you reached the King's Chamber. The only thing in the chamber was a large stone altar...and a sense of history that I'll never forget.
Then it was back down (again following the potential cardiac victim). We were very glad when we got almost out that we had gotten up and on the road early—there was a huge line waiting to climb up! Oh, I forgot to say that the way in was also the way out, so you had to squeeze by people coming the other way. The people at the end of the line were probably looking at an hour to get to the chamber, and a very crowded chamber at that. I clowned around a little more as we climbed down the face of the pyramid to the ground, and Mohamed captured it.
Then it was a short drive to a place called the Panoramic View. It indeed was, with views of all of the pyramids in the area.
This was also the place of the camel rides. Per Mohamed, Trafalgar had not been promoting these rides until recently, as they felt that the camels were not well cared for. (Digression: at one of the stops on the Nile cruise, travelers from other groups disembarked to see a temple that we did not visit. Mohamed explained that the only way to get to the temple was in carriages, and that Trafalgar thought that the horses were not well treated, so we would not do this. And the horses were indeed mostly pitiful things, very thin and ungroomed.) Lynn had never ridden a camel, and I said what the heck, so we both did it, along with 4 others from our group. This was nothing like my camel ride in Morocco—this was a 15 minute ride, with a stop for photos that our camel wrangler took. It was still great fun. They used actual camel saddles here (in Morocco, it was a metal framework with handles to hold onto). The camels seemed quite happy and well fed. If they weren't being ridden, they were on their knees, munching fresh alfalfa, (Note added re camel riding: today, I couldn't figure out why my upper legs were sore, till I remembered that I had them over a very wide camel back yesterday.)
From there, we took some pictures again, with Giza spread out behind us. We also took group pictures. We were a happy bunch!
Next up was a rug place, where we learned about how the lovely rugs are made, then they try to sell us rugs. This is not my thing. And, if it were, I had seen the same thing in Türkiye and Morocco. The patterns might be different, but the process is the same.
I didn't mention it yet, but after breakfast, I had the onset of the traveler's curse (💩). I took an Imodium and I didn't feel too bad till this point. But about the carpet place, I started to feel a bit yucky. Our next stop was lunch, and I noped right out of that. I did eat some fresh pita bread, but I didn't think a big meal was a good idea. When we got back on the bus to head to the Sphinx, I took a Tylenol, and by the time we reached the site, I was feeling okay (but not 100%).
The Sphinx looked both grand and sphinx-like. Again, Mohamed did his picture thing (I had more pictures taken of me on this day than in the past 5 years all together). It was particularly cool that the Great Pyramid was right behind the Sphinx. We didn't get to stay here very long, but we knew we were coming back for the light show last night and we'd see it again.
And we still had more sites! Memphis and the Step Pyramid were visited in turn. Memphis had an impressive 10 m statue of Ramses the Great (Ramses II). The whole site was quite small, and we only spent a few minutes there.
I particularly liked the Step Pyramid. We entered through a row of columns, then were able to walk all the way around the pyramid. It is unique with its step structure. It was the earliest pyramid, and the only one built with that structure. Next they build straight-sided pyramids. For the first attempt, they started at too steep an angle, so they made it less steep halfway up. That one is called the Bent Pyramid. After that one, they figured out the "right" angle, and the remainder all have basically the same shape.
I mentioned the dogs and cats in my last post. I had saved chicken from my dinner at Heart Attack, plus I filched some smoked herring from the breakfast bar. I had fed one piece of fish to a cat at Memphis, and now, here we were at the Step Pyramid, our last stop, and I still had all the chicken, plus two pieces of fish. I saw some dogs near the entry, and I got the attention of one, who trotted over and was rewarded with the fish. But some sixth doggy sense made the other dogs realize that there was food about 40 feet away, and they all came running! My plan had been to pull meat off the bones to give to them, but I gave up that plan in a heartbeat, dropped the box, and stepped back. I somehow think these guys (and girls) are hardy enough to survive a few chicken bones. (Or that's what I'm telling myself.) But the reproachful look I got from one dog that arrived too late really killed me. As I walked away, I apologized to him that I didn't have anything else.
And, of course, somehow Mohamed, at the bus some distance away, photographed me with my canine buddies.
We headed back to the hotel after this, for a couple of hours of relaxation. This was also when I said goodbye to our lovely guide Mohamed. Most of the group (7 of 10) were staying an extra day and going to Alexandria for the day, but Lynn and I had a 4 PM flight out on Thursday. So we said goodbye with hugs and promises to keep in touch. We've WhatsApped each other a bunch today (Thursday), as he told us how the trip to Alexandria was going and I told him about Lynn's and my adventures at the bazaar.
So, at 6 PM, we got back on the bus to return to Giza for the Light and Sound Show. Does anyone remember the pyramids scenes in the James Bond movie, The Spy Who Loved Me? That was when Roger Moore was Bond.
Well, that was the Sound and Light Show at Giza, in the 1970s. You'll be happy to hear that the same sound system is still operating. I'm sure it had to be the same—the quality was identical. And the light show consisted of white or pale pastel colors lighting up the surrounding pyramids in some order that I couldn't figure out, as the same narrators from the 1970s (with British accents) told some story about the pharaohs, while some still images were projected on a screeen not too far in front of us. Can you tell that I was not impressed with this show? I'm not sorry I did it, because I got to see the pyramids and the sphinx again, by the glow of moonlight and the lights from the city, but I honestly expected something more...more something. I don't know.
By the way, it was actually dark. The iPhone Night Mode really made it look like daylight.
I was also somewhat distracted. Not long before the show, I called my BIL's phone so that I could be part of the phone call with Jake's oncologist about the results of his biopsy from a couple of weeks ago. It actually worked quite well! I could hear Dr. Sheela and she could hear me. But I thought I had mis-heard her when she said that Jake's biopsy was negative. I said, "Wait, his biopsy was what?" Yep. No lymphoma detected. His lymph nodes lit up like Christmas lights on the PET scan, indicating high metabolic activity, the sign of cancer cells doing their thing. Except it's not cancer.
So, what is going on? She has no idea. She had called UVa to discuss it with them, and they had a few ideas. Did we have pet birds or exotic animals? Nope. They're going to test Jake for a bunch of viruses (like Epstein-Barr). It could also be something with his immune system, as apparently he is still considered immune compromised from the stem cell transplant in 2018, even though his immune system shows up as normal when he has blood work done. But the main thing is that his cancer is not back. Dr. Sheela said that we should keep our appointments on Monday at UVa. Jake will also still have the eye surgery on December 4th and they will biopsy the cells floating around in there, but I'm beginning to think that's not going to be cancer either. (The neurosurgeon does not think that Jake has any cancer in his central nervous system now either.)
So, it's yo-yo time. We were all geared up for the fight again, and now it's not there anymore. Of course I'm thrilled that it's not cancer and that Jake won't have to go through chemo and other treatments again. And the doctors will still have to figure out what is going on. But Jake feels fine, so that's good. As Dr. Sheela said, this is good news.
So, as I sat at the show, I was also thinking about that, and texting some people with the good news. But, as you can see above, I did take some cell phone photos (yay for iPhone NightMode). We got back to the hotel (through still busy streets) at about 9, and several of us went to one of the restaurant for dinner. I was able to eat some pasta, then I crashed. Oh, I did start the antibiotics I had brought with me in the afternoon, between trips. I might have been fine without them, but with the prospect of two travel days ahead of me, I decided that it was time for the Z-pack.
There were a few other interesting odds and ends from the day. First, for a lot of our drive to Giza, we were beside a canal. Near Cairo, it wasn't too bad, but as we got further out of town, it got truly disgusting. There was trash everywhere, and we saw trucks actively dumping waste into the canal. There were birds on it (I saw coots and egrets, plus one kingfisher), and I did see some fish (and fishermen 😳). But it was truly bad. Mohamed said that they are "working on it" and we did see some dredging, but there is a long long way to go.
And, as I have said before, the traffic is unbelievable. We took Ubers to and from the bazaar today, and the first didn't have working seatbelts. We just held on and reminded ourselves that we've seen only 2 wrecks in Cairo...
Oh, another trivia bit: there are more Mohameds here than you could imagine. Our Mohamed said that there was one in each family, usually the firstborn son. They tend to use their second names as well to act as identifiers. Our Mohamed was Mohamed Taha.
So, we slept in a little this morning, till about 7. And looked out on a smog-filled Cairo, the worst we have seen. I'm so glad it was clearer yesterday for our trip to Giza! This was 1970 Los Angeles type smog. As the day went on, Lynn and I were coughing more and more. And everyone around us was as well. As soon as we got on the plane, with fresh clean air (comparably, I mean), the coughing subsided.
So Lynn and I showered, breakfasted, and did most of our packing. Our pickup time for the flight was 12:30, and I checked with the front desk to ask for a few minutes leeway on the noon checkout ("not a problem"), and we walked outside and called an Uber to take us to the Khan el-Khalili Bazaar. It was about 9 AM at this point, and the bazaar opened at 9:30. The Uber was 5 minutes away. We watched as it moved toward us (on the Uber app map) then turned and headed away from the hotel. We watched for a minute, thinking he (another Mohamed!) was avoiding traffic or something, but he continued to move away, so I canceled and we got another driver (Hayim, I think), who showed up promptly. It was about a 5 km drive, and this was the vehicle without working seatbelts. Even with the traffic, we were there in 10–15 minutes!
And we entered a wonderland! It was a warren of passages, some large enough for vehicles (though there were none) and others about a meter wide, with shops everywhere! And though the vendors tried to get us to come into their shops, they were not annoying or persistent like the ones at the tourist sites. There were some tourists there shopping, and some Egyptians shopping, and we decided that we could have spent an entire day there. Bargaining was the name of the game, of course. And we had nice crisp US dollars. (The Uber driver told us that although the official exchange rate is US$1 = 31 Egyptian pounds, on the street, the rate was 50:1. Also, I thought the fare was US$20, but it was actually about US$2.50. I guess that explains why the drivers were so happy with their $2 tips.)
We had about 90 minutes to play, and it was far too short a time. I had bought several tiny silver boxes in Morocco as souvenirs, and found a couple at a shop here that I loved, but we couldn't get to a deal and I walked away (I was willing to pay $120 for both, and he wanted ~$130). Oh well. I bought some red beads and a couple of small scarabs that I liked, then I found some adorable little dresses for a friend's granddaughters. I was all set to buy till the vendor set a price of over US$100. I was so taken aback by his balls that I just walked away laughing. I told him there was no use bargaining, that we weren't even on the same planet. (I might have gone $23–25.) He pursued asking what I would pay and I just laughed at him and said not to bother. I think he was cursing me when he walked away. I'm sorry, but that is not playing the game right.
I then bargained for some tee shirts instead and had fun with the vendor, trying to give him an older $1 bill when he wanted one more dollar. That was more like it. I walked by a shop doorway just as the proprietor spat into the doorway (not near me), and he was so apologetic! Then I went back to the silver shop and bought the 2 boxes for the price the vendor wanted. He put them in little bags and then turned me over to a young man who led us down the street. I thought he was taking us to a card machine, but we headed to an ATM. I was like, whoa, that wasn't what we said! (I pay no fees with my credit card at all for international transactions—not true with my debit card!) The first ATM didn't work, so the seller took over taking me to the next ATM. Which had a line. At this point, time was very short. I had called an Uber, and had about 6 minutes. Some man broke in front of the woman in front of me, and did multiple transactions. My seller got really pissed. He was yelling, the guy at the ATM was yelling, a policeman came...Lynn and I just watched. I was at 2 minutes and about to hand the boxes back to the vendor and leave, when the vendor pointed to the now-available ATM. I pointed to the woman in front of me, who had been waiting longer, and everyone urged me to the machine. One minute later, I handed the vendor his 4000 Egyptian pounds, and he had the nerve to ask me for a tip! That did not go well for him, as I informed him he had cost me money because he said he would take a card, not that I'd have to get cash from an ATM. A tip! Ha! But here is a bad picture of my lovely boxes, taken on my knee on the plane.
We got to the curb 30 seconds before the Uber slowed down for us. This car did have seat belts! Back to the hotel to finish packing and meet our ride to the airport, which all went well. We took off and had a smooth flight to Vienna, where I'm now in an airport hotel, as our flight to DC isn't till morning. Oh, there was a lovely sunset from the plane.
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