Our first stop in Giza was not the pyramids, but a papyrus shop. Learning how papyrus was made and all about hieroglyphics was amazing! We spent a long time looking at the beautiful art, and even bought some to take home.
Next stop... Pyramids!! The big pyramid was closed until 1, so we wandered around the whole complex. We got to see real hieroglyphics, etched in stone. We got to see all around the outside of the pyramids.
Our guide even let me climb partway up! The big pyramid belonged to the Pharaoh Khufu. The Greeks later renamed him Cheops, but we know his real name.
When the Great Pyramid of Khufu opened, we waited in line a couple minutes. Our guide teased the guard because he had four wives; his friend said what's wrong with that, and our guide said "four mother in laws." Everybody was laughing when we went in. You walk in, and quickly climb a ladder. It's good I'm a monkey, because it turns out there's a lot of climbing to visit a pyramid! You go up for a long time on a ramp, and sometimes the ceiling is so low, the adults have to bend in half to get through.
On our way up, we say a young boy who was paralyzed from the waist down army crawling his way to the top. This made me really reflect on how lucky I am to be a healthy monkey. It must take a lot of determination to use your arms to get to the top of such a huge structure.
And then we were there. In a big empty room with just a stone structure for a sarcophagus. Incredible. I just stood still and let the feeling of the ancients wash over me. To want to live forever and build such a great place was amazing. How had this place survived so long? So many treasure hunters and wars and the harsh environment that must have tried to reclaim these great structures.
I'd heard Daddy and and our guide talking about how the pyramids were built. There's a lot of debate on this topic, but I think the Egyptians were amazing engineers and hard workers, and made the pyramids. But the alien theory is pretty cool too.
When we came down out of the pyramid, we headed for the stables. I could not contain my excitement and kept running ahead of our group until Mommy put me up on her back. It was time to ride a camel!! I wondered if it would be like riding a motorcycle. Mommy said it would be quieter.
When we met our camels, I hopped right on. Mommy had to use a stirrup and swing her leg over, just like she was getting on a motorcycle. She had read about riding camels, and knew when it started to stand up, to lean back like riding in sand, because camels stand up back legs first. She giggled so much during this process that I thought she'd fall off, but it turns out she's pretty good at camel riding.
Then it was Daddy's turn. Watching him made Mommy giggle more! The camels were up, and the guide put Mommy in front so Daddy's camel had to follow. I don't think Daddy's camel liked that, because he kept trying to snuggle mommy's leg and get ahead.
We rode up to a fun spot for photos, and a nice man brought us 7 up. No charge, just something "from your heart." Mommy and Daddy didn't have any change, so their heart was really big by Egyptian standards. This nice man could hopefully feed his family for a week, and Mommy and Daddy were happy about that.
Our camels guide took cute pictures of all of us, and on the way back, he let the camels run! It wore him out pretty quick; the camels have long legs and he was barely above their knees. He told us he was 10 years old.
I wonder what it's like working from the time you are ten, depending on tourists and tips for a living. I wondered how much he was expected to make for his family, and if he went home at night or slept with the camels. I love Mommy and Daddy but it would be pretty cool to sleep with camels every night.
I though that was enough excitement for one day, but then Daddy told me it was time to see the Sphinx! The sphinx is different than the pyramids, because it wasn't built; it was carved out of stone.
Our driver is a pretty funny guy. He knows everyone on site, and drive through the back way and parked on the sidewalk. Pretty sure none of this was allowed, but he took us through a "shortcut" where they hold the sound and lights show. We went into the valley temple, and were surrounded by huge blocks of granite.
After this amazing day, our tour guide bought us lunch and we set out for the Red Sea. I fell asleep lickety split, and dreamt of the funny looking lion person spinx getting up and chasing us all the way there.
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