Sunday, February 12, 2023

11th of February 2023 - Great Pyramid of Giza and Sphinx

On the 11th of February we were taken by coach past Cairo to Giza.  Giza is most famous as the location of the Giza Plateau, the site of some of the most impressive ancient monuments in the world.

 

Cairo is situated on the east bank of the Nile and is the twelfth largest in the world by population located.  A number of  constructed buildings in Egyptian cities and villages have been declared by the state as “unplanned” with thousands of buildings being built without licenses.  Many of these buildings do not comply with safety regulations or can even threaten the safety of aviation for being illegally too tall.  Some of these buildings have been partially demolishing.  The décor of some of the demolished apartments was clearly visible.

 

Giza is the third-largest city in Egypt and  is located on the west bank of the Nile, about 3 miles southwest of central Cairo.  It is part of the Greater Cairo metropolis.  including a complex of ancient Egyptian royal mortuary and sacred structures, including the Great Sphinx, the Great Pyramid of Giza, and a number of other large pyramids and temples. Giza has always been a focal point in Egypt's history due to its location close to Memphis, the ancient pharaonic capital of the Old Kingdom.

My first view of the Great Pyramid of Giza was from the coach.  I had imagined the Pyramids to be out in the desert however they are practically in the city of Giza itself.

 

The next view was from the entrance to the Giza Plateau.  The entrance was incredibly busy as it is half term in Egypt.

 

There was quite a few hawkers actually in the Giza Plateau especially those selling camel rides.  I hadn’t considered there would be camel poo over large parts of the Giza Plateau.

 

I met my goal of sitting on the Great Pyramid of Giza but decided not to attempt to enter any of the Pyramids.

 

The highlight for me of the Giza Plateau was seeing the Sphinx despite the Sphinx having lost its nose and beard.

 

After the Giza Plateau we were taken to a shop where we saw how paper is made from papyrus.  This is apparently a process taking up to  a few weeks rather than days.

The trip took over eleven hours.  I wasn’t expected to watch Sonic the Hedgehog on the way back.  The sound was patchy and the subtitles were in Egyptian but at least this passed the time.

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