10/16/2022 0 Comments PyramidsMy first wonder of the world!!!! Today Brittany and I scheduled a small group guided tour of the Pyramids, Memphis, and Saqqara. We got picked up from the hotel around 9am from the tour guide, to find our group had 4 other people- a Polish man in Egypt for the UN Climate Conference, and a family from the UK, all very nice people making for a great tour group. We arrived to the pyramids and some groups were 30-50 people large!! Luckily I had looked up beforehand that if you have student cards, you can get 50% off to all the entrance fees!! I still have my Elon card and saved quite a bit of money as we had to pay entrance fees at all of the locations. We started at the Grand Pyramids, and I have no idea how to describe how jaw-dropping it was. I mean the history there, the size of the pyramids, and the sad history behind who was forced to build them. The UK family paid to go inside the first pyramid, though it was very expensive and our guide told us all you do is crawl inside then walk up a bunch of stairs to end up in an empty room. The only cool thing about it is that you can say that you have been inside the pyramid, but that it isn't really worth it. We decided to save our money for the camel rides later! After waiting for the family to come out, we walked around to the second pyramid in the back, where our guide directed us to an amazing spot for fun pictures! He was a genius with photo-taking. We then headed to an area above the pyramids, where there were dozens of camels. I was the first one in our group to get up on a camel, and holy shit it is the scariest thing ever!! You sit on them while they're sitting, and then they jolt forward and back to stand up. You end up so high off the ground, it was absolutely terrifying!! Once everyone else got up, our camels were tied together and led down to walk in front of the pyramids. I still cannot fully understand that we actually did it and the incredible views we had. One of the best moments of the trip! After the first pyramids we drove by the Great Sphynx, where we hopped out the van to get a better view. There isn't anything you can do by paying an entrance fee except to look, so we stayed on the sidewalk where you can get a great view! Afterwards we stopped at a few great bazaars, where I ordered a cartouche with my name in hieroglyphics, they are what all pharaohs and Egyptians in ancient history had to signify on their statues and sarcophaguses. They are what allows historians to now know which tombs/statues belonged to whom. We also went to the Papyrus museum where we learned how they make paper, it was so cool to see how they use such small strands of the papyrus leaves to make the papers. On the way we stopped at Memphis, where we saw one of the largest preserved statues in Egypt that they have kept laid down now. It was a quick visit, and then we headed to Saqqara with the step pyramid and it was incredible!! Another breathtaking view for a breathtaking day! We walked around, and our tour guide paid for us go inside the tomb of Idut which was recently discovered. I don't understand how it was all so well-preserved with the paintings and color inside the tomb. It was an amazing day and incredible opportunity. Everyone kept saying it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but I hope not!! There is still so much more to see and do in Egypt, and archaeologists continue to discover more history at each of the sites.
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