Perusing the Pyramids

Up early for a huge buffet breakfast and an 8am briefing as to the next ten days. We quickly realized we were on the budget tour while everyone else had opted to upgrade from sitting train to sleeper train, or felucca to Nile cruise. We didn't even know they were options but we stuck with our original plan - 14 hrs on a train couldn't be THAT bad could it?

And off we set bound for the infamous pyramids of Giza. Merely 5 mins down the road and we were there... Under the shadow of what felt like the biggest thing I'd ever seen! 137 metres tall, the two big ones are enormous. No matter how many books you read, or pictures you see, nothing can prepare you for exactly what it's like to see them. For instance, I always thought they were rough, like sandstone, but the surface of the pyramids is smooth and cold. Each of those 2 million 1-10 tonne  blocks is pure granite!

We went deep inside Korfu's pyramid, the one that still had the limestone cap. The crouch size tunnel was very deep, before ascending again into the belly of the structure. Inside we entered the burial chamber. It was hot, humid and absolutely incredible! As was the sphinx... No words can do it justice.

Next stop was Saqqara - the huge complex which includes the even older step pyramid. This overlooks the miscalculated bent pyramid and the corrected version alongside it. It's an unforgettable landscape and truly awe-inspiring to think how these structures were built with such precision 5,000 years ago. There are architectural details, like the long shafts inside one pyramid that point directly at key stars. How the ancient architects achieved what they did defies logic. I always say that you can find any landscape in the world in Australia- snow, rainforest, desert, beaches - but the one thing we don't have is ancient marvels. It is an honor to have seen these most famous monuments of the ancient world so closely.

It was a wonderful day, finished with a delicious Egyptian meal at a thriving local restaurant with some of the others on our tour. An early night again, ready for a city tour the next day.