Terry and Amy Arrive

It seemed like we only had a couple of days (it was really nine days) to prepare for the arrival of our guests, Terry and Amy.  We arranged for a whirlwind tour of Cairo and a Nile cruise in the south of the country for them. We accompanied them and enjoyed seeing our favorite country through their eyes.

We met them at the airport with a van, leaving the airport at around 1 a.m. for the trip across the city to our apartment.  It takes about twenty six hours or so get here from Minnesota, usually with a long stopover in a European city such as Paris.

 

 

After a late breakfast, we headed out to the great pyramids of Giza, everyone's "must see" stop.  We started with Ismail, the camel man, and considered the options for a camel ride into the pyramids area.  Ismail keeps a smaller menagerie of animals now than in the past and Linda was disappointed to not find any goats in the stable.

Ismail explained the options available for the camel ride.

  

Terry and Amy would take the camels into the pyramids area and we would meet them at the great pyramid to continue the tour.  Amy climbed aboard the camel and Terry rode a horse for the first part of the trip. His camel was waiting nearby.

 

Meanwhile, Linda and I toured the new Nine Pyramids View hotel next to the stable.  This is one of numerous "boutique hotels" near the pyramids.  These are the best values for visitors, with rates around $50 per night, great service and always a fantastic view.  Here, Linda stands at the corner of the rooftop breakfast area. Imagine eating your omelette while basking in the warm sun and gazing at the pyramids.Can it get any better?

 

(To see the scenery available on the tour, review this previous post on the blog.)  About two hours later, we joined Terry and Amy at the base of the Great Pyramid.

It costs 200 EGP (about $13) per person to enter the pyramids area and twice that to go inside the Great Pyramid.  Many people will tell you that there is nothing inside except Cheops' granite sarcophagus but once you have come this far, you should make the trip inside just to see if you receive some special "pyramid power" - you never know.  Many people do come to meditate and pick up special powers. Hence the signs banning some activities, such as climbing into the sarcophagus for a nap.

Climbing up to the entrance on the north face of the Great Pyramid is as close as you can come to actually climbing a pyramid nowadays, although it was quite a popular activity many years back.  

 

A guard with a whistle flags anyone venturing above the prescribed path although he somehow missed these two girls who would soon pose for a photo.

Food and drink(except water) are prohibited in the area although this vendor is selling ice cream treats.

And, of course, the pesky and persistent vendors selling tchotchkes were prohibited a few years ago.   Somehow they have re-emerged in full force.  We soon became acquainted with this one sitting near us.

As we left the area, I took a picture of the Mena House Golf Course which has been closed for quite some time.  Squeezed into 40 acres, it features eighteen greens but just nine fairways.  I keep hoping to find it back in operation during one of our winter visits. But alas, there are other plans for this land.