FollowingFaye: Bucket List

Seeing the pyramids was high on my bucket list, and today I checked it off.

Extraordinary doesn't begin to describe how magnificent these structures are, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

I was picked up at 9:00, with our first stop being the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities. It is the largest collection of over 5000 years of art, including paintings, sculptures, artifacts, and most impressive of all, King Tut's tomb and treasures. Some of the pieces were massive. We were not allowed to take pictures inside.

Side note - When I was in Atlanta a few years ago, I visited a traveling King Tut Exhibition. Although it was grand and there were exceptionally beautiful pieces, when I saw the slideshow showing how those pieces were obtained - by robbing the tomb/gravesite - I couldn't get out of there fast enough. It was like I was a part of the gravediggers by supporting this. I didn't have that reaction this time. Somehow, displaying these treasures on Egyptian soil takes the sting away from how they were discovered and obtained.

Egyptian Museum of Antiquities

Side View - Egyptian Museum of Antiquities

The intricacies of the designs carved and painted into the sculptures and artifacts is breathtaking. The colors - so bright and distinct. The gold layered wooden objects, still intact after all these years.

Walking among items that you know are thousands of years old, tends to put the years we typically live on this earth into perspective.

Next, we're off to see the pyramids, but we make a stop at a papyrus shop/museum to see how this ancient paper is made. It was mesmerizing. The papyrus plant is used. It looks like sugar cane with a flower at the top of it. It has three sides and when you look at a cross section of the bottom, it looks like a pyramid. Depending on the size of the paper you're making, you cut the stalk the desired length, skin it, and slice it length-wise. Then you use a rolling pin and mash them flat. Next, they're layered in water to extract most of the sugar out of it. Some is left in because the sugar acts as a natural glue. Then they are taken out of the water and weaved - crisscross - like a mat. Lastly, they're put in a press and mashed again. The final product is a paper so resilient - you can write on it and water washes it away. You can roll it up or ball it up, and it's still OK. To get it flat again, you can put it back on the press or iron it with a regular iron used for clothes. Amazing!

I found this video that demonstrates the process.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9el1VJqIgw

As we're driving to the pyramids, I'm curious about the city landscape. There are 22 million people that live in Cairo, so it's a big city. There are miles and miles of dark red and brownish-gray high rises. Many parts of the city look and feel very old. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of the high-rises are not finished because if the folks leave it unfinished, they don't have to pay taxes on the property. It creates an abandoned look to the homes.

Many other parts of the city looks neglected. There were no kind words spoken about the former Mubarak Regime, but they have high hopes for the current president. Both of the men I was with today participated in the revolution. They're also both 31, Ben's age.

Burned building right next to Egyptian Museum of Antiquities.
It was left standing as a monument to the struggle.

And now . . .

The pyramids!

The city - high-rises and businesses - are right across the street from them.

The pyramids are behind me.

The panoramic view is from the back side where you have to drive a mile or so in the desert, then turn around and there they are - MAGNIFICENT! I just did a Wikipedia search and discovered they are one of the Seven Wonders of the World, and the oldest.

Me in front of the largest pyramid

Looking up at the largest pyramid

Tiny specks in red are people walking along the bottom layer of rocks.

Me in front of panoramic view

Then, as you're leaving the area, you come across the majestic Sphinx.

Sphinx!

Me in front of the Sphinx

Hanee, the tour guide in front of the Shinx

Finally, a word about driving in Cairo. It is not for the faint of heart. Two things caught my eye. First, the majority of the cars on the road are at least 10 years old, and they all seem to be scratched or dented. Here's why (I'm guessing) - the drivers create lanes. The roads/streets, with the exception of one very short span, do not have painted lanes. Most of the way home, cars were seven abreast on a road that looked like it was designed for three lanes. I could have literally shaken hands with the folks in the cars next to us. Another interesting thing - OK, that's three - the roads/street didn't have traffic lights. Folks kind of governed themselves. It was a sight to see. Traffic was back-up for days as there were three cars that were being pushed or tended to because they had broken down. Bravely, men were walking through the moving traffic like it was standing still.

Last word, promise.

There are horse-drawn fruit and vegetable carts, covered motorcycles that seat four, and women who balanced large loads on their heads. I hope to get pictures of these later this week.

I know this was a lot. If you made it until now, bless you.