Exploring Giza and all that sand

Our first full day in Egypt: pyramids, Sphinx, camels, and more!

We’re here at the Great Pyramid on the Giza Plateau. Built by the pharaoh Khufu, this is one monumental statement piece.

They say it’s made of more than 2million stone blocks – some weighing 15 tonnes each!

The ones at the top, weigh in about 2tonnes… still, as I’d like to point out – a heavy lift!

Ohhh speaking of heavy lifts – I got quite the workout negotiating (bargaining) for my 20 minutes camel ride. Started at $100 – got it for $18! Bammmm, thank you NYC street vendors, you taught me well.

Bargaining is a national sport here – everyone gets in on the fun!

There are nine pyramids here on the Plateau – the three largest built within 100 years of each other! The smaller ones were built for wives and family members.

Ain’t gonna lie – seeing camels in the desert was thrilling, but camels or “the ships of the desert” are not indigenous to Egypt— in fact, they’re originally from North America! But… they are synonymous with Egypt and today about 95,000 of these one-humpers call it home.

Standing guard to protect the Pyramid of Khafre, is the Sphinx. It’s dated to about 2500 BC and stands a whopping 66 feet high! The old boy has seen it all including Napoleon’s troops, but he still won’t tell his secrets.

Like…. What happened to his nose! Well, archeologists now believe his cobra crown, nose, and regal “beard” have either fallen off or eroded over time. Those rumors that Napoleon’s troops used it as target practice – probably started by the British to tarnish the reputation of their longtime enemies

Only in Giza will you see a policeman on a camel chasing tourists on horses away from the pyramids. You’re not allowed to climb the blocks anymore because 1- it’s not good for the pyramids, 2- people were getting hurt, and 3- (trigger warning) it used to be a favorite place for folks to climb, then toss themselves down in a gruesome act of suicide. (Sorry for the sad share – but fascinating.)

I admit I felt kind of guilty taking a camel and a horse ride, but I know it is important for the local economy and, you know what, it was fun … plus the owners/trainers did seem compassionate and caring towards their animals

Our first full day in Egypt-one for the books! — at Giza pyramid complex.