Day 9 – Sunday, March 1: Sakkara, Carpet School, Giza Pyramids, Sphinx
Today was a day of awe on this “pyramid day” as we saw a bunch of them here in there Cairo/Giza/Sakkara area! It was also our second last day of the trip. We enjoyed mostly sunny skies, with pleasant highs around 65 again.
Sakkara
We beat most of the morning Cairo traffic this morning as we drove directly to Sakkara, the ancient necropolis of the Old Kingdom capital of Memphis. Here we saw the impressive Stepped Pyramid of Djoser (or Zoser). It dates to around 2,700 BC (conventional dating). It is the oldest of all pyramids (now totally 127, although some say 134). This pyramid predates Abraham by about 650- 700 years! After seeing the Stepped Pyramid, we entered a small pyramid for Unas from the 5th Dynasty (about 2350 BC). We also entered a mastaba (the tomb of Seshseshet Idut, c. 2345-2323 BC). Leaving Sakkara, we made an interesting stop at a local carpet school en route to the new museum.
“Today was ‘pyramid day!’ We visited the pyramids of Sakkara and Giza. There are about 127 (some say 134) pyramids discovered so far within Egypt. We even went inside two of them! It was a great day!”
Great Pyramids of Giza / Camel Ride, Great Sphinx
Next, we drove to the Great Pyramid (also known as the Pyramid of Cheops or Khufu and constructed around 2,600 BC), with the Pyramid of Khafre (or Chephren) and the Pyramid of Menkaure built shortly after. Two of them stand nearly 500 feet high. Most likely it took 100,000 men 20 years to build. The Great Pyramid was built with 2.2 million stones, with the average weight of each stone around two-three tons (the stones weigh between one and 60 tons).
First, we enjoyed a panoramic view of the pyramids as well as a fun camel ride. Most did the camel ride, and no one fell off! Then we drove down to get a closer look at the Khufu pyramid. Many in the group walked inside and up to the center of the Great Pyramid to the “King’s Chamber” while others walked around the pyramid (each base is 750 feet long). Slightly below the pyramids is the Great Sphinx. It is 240 feet in length and almost 70 feet high. A stele (called the Dream Stele) was erected in front of it by Thutmose IV (the son of Amenhotep II). It still stands there today!
We returned to the hotel for dinner at 6 p.m. again (it’s nice to eat early!), with a free evening. We have one day to our trip, and tomorrow we have a longer but interesting drive to eh region called Goshen.
Note: Once again, we are all safe, with no worries that the Israel-Iran war will reach us. We are well south of this conflict.
Day 10 – Monday, March 2: Land of Goshen – Tanis/Zoan, Cairo
