We started our second day in Egypt early with a visit to the Pyramids of Giza.  Even though this sight is completely overrun with tourist (we being 2 of them) and is as crowded as a mall at Christmas time, the Pyramids really are remarkable and an amazing sight.  The sheer size of them and the history that accompanies them is incredible.  It is an awesome feeling to look up at structures so large and know that they have been standing in that same place for over 4,500 years.  We paid a little extra and were able to go inside the Pyramid of Khafre (the second pyramid) into the burial chamber.  The tunnel leading in was tight and very short, definitely not made for tall people.  Inside it was hot and humid, but well worth it.  We felt like Indiana Jones….if he had entered tombs in line behind German and French tourists.  It was a cool experience to see the inside though even if we weren’t quite like Indy.   After the pyramids we saw the Sphinx, which was smaller than we expected but by far one of our favorite things.  It is such an interesting structure.  Our guide Ahmed (who is an extremely nice guy that loves J-Lo and Shakira) then took us to one of his favorite little corner shops to eat a Schwarma (meat sandwich).  He told us that we would thank him and he was right, they were delicious.   After eating we headed to the Egyptian Museum.  This was incredible, however, the exhibits began to run together for us because there is so much and it is all so similar.  The highlight of course was the King Tut exhibit.  Very cool to see the burial mask and sarcophagus that we have always seen in encyclopedias and history books.  After the museum we headed to Khan Al-Khalili, which is a merchant’s bazaar that is over 600 years old.  By this point we were wiped out so we just looked around a bit and planned on going back later for actual bargaining and shopping.  To finish the day we went back to the Pyramids for a light/sound show (over priced in our opinion) and had Pizza at the Hut.  McD’s on the Nile seemed a bit surreal but eating Pizza Hut while looking out over the Pyramids of Giza was on a whole new level.  It was a long, busy, unbelievable day.

Next Post:  Coptic Cairo, The Citadel, Khan Al-Khalili, Al-Azhar Park,

Citadel View Restaurant.