Our First Day In Cairo & Exploring The Giza Plateau,
W officially woke up at 9am, I say officially because I woke once at 3am & again at 5am to look out the window at the pyramids, pinch myself and go back to sleep.
I still can't believe we are in Egypt!
The view from our hotel during the daylight hours is amazing & something we will remember for the rest of our lives. We ate breakfast looking at the the 3 pyramids of Giza, 1 of which is a World Wonder. They sit on the horizon, their huge silhouette blocking out the sky & demanding attention. It's really hard to describe how impressive they look, they don't look real, it's like looking at a photoshopped picture. The enormity of their structure seems difficult for the naked eye and the brain to reconcile as real, the emotions and awe make it even harder.
Our breakfast is an amazing mix of mediterranian vegetarian food including freshly fried falafel, salad, pita bread, pickles and babaganoush. It was delish!
After breakfast we mentioned to our hotel manager that we wanted to go shopping for a papyrus painting. There is a famous scene out of the book of the dead, an ancient funerary text, that I read about when I was very little & I vowed if I ever went to Egypt I would get it traditionally painted on papyrus, to cherish forever. I've always been very fascinated by the concept of the ancient Egyptian gods & the afterlife. It is unbelievably complex and fascinating. The name of the book translated into ancient Egyptian calls it the 'book of coming forth by day' or the 'book of emerging forth into the light' it was used in the New Kingdom era also known as the Egyptian Empire, from the 16th century BC and the 11th Century BC. Though some spells that have also been found on pyramids and sarcophagus's date back to 3rd Millennium BC, also known as the early to middle bronze age!
There is no single book of the dead, you could have one commissioned and made personal by your own selection of spells that you identify with to help you make your journey through the afterlife, this book was then placed in the coffin or burial chamber with the deceased.
The scene is called The Papyrus of Hunefer, Hunefer was a scribe from the year 1275 BC. The papyrus depicts 3 scenes in the judgement hall. Hunefer is depicted on this papyrus as being dead and awaiting trial as his heart is being weighed on the scales of the crocodile head god Maat, by the jackal headed god Anubis, against the feather of truth. Thoth who is the Ibis headed god of the scribes, can also be seen recording the results. Also looking on is the God Osiris, symbolised by his green skin, who is the judge & god of the Underworld, afterlife and rebirth. Behind him stands his wife & sister Isis (my favourite goddess) characterised by her bird of prey wings & his other sister Nephthys. Both sisters play an important role in afterlife rituals, Nepthys symbolises the death experience while Isis represents the birth experience. You can also see the son of Osiris and Isis, the falcon headed god called Horus, who's symbol I wear on a pendant. There is also a row of deities supervising the judgement and the canopic jars, holding the other sacred organs can be seen.
The ancient Egyptians believed that the heart was the holder of one's personality & held information on your emotions, intellect & character from life, both the good & bad. If your heart weighs more than the feather of truth, because your heart is heavy with the bad things you have done in life, you are condemned to non existence and would not be permitted into the afterlife. Instead your heart was given to the ferocious devourer beast that is depicted as part hippopotamus, crocodile & lion.
If your heart weighed the same as the feather of truth, you were justified & then presented by Horus to Osiris & he would grant you passage into the afterlife.
We were really surprised when the hotel owner took us downstairs & into a shop that we didn't realise was located below the hotel, full of papyrus. He said that his family has its own papyrus business and makes them. He had the exact scene I was looking for in the exact size I wanted (quite big) the only thing I was initially hesitant on was the bright colours on the papyrus. Initially I had in my mind, that I wanted a darker colour papyrus and no bright colours, so that it looks more authentic and traditional. It took me a few minutes to appreciate the detail, the light colour of the papyrus & the bright colours of the paint. I realised the lighter papyrus & the colour made it more splendid and eye catching, the detail is phenomenal. Tom was instantly sold on it & I sealed the deal a few minutes later, it's going to look so good in museum glass & a thick gold frame. To make it even better, the hotel manager could give us a 50% discount, taking it from 6000 EGP to 3000 EGP. We also got a smaller one, in more traditional colours depicting Tutenkhamun & we had our names in ancient hieroglyphs added inside 2 cartouches, again discounted. We also each brought some ancient Egyptian perfume, recipes from the ancient times, apparently. My scent is called Cleopatra & was one of the scents the Queen loved & frequently wore, I'm a bit sceptical if thats true or not. Tom got a really unique, spicy perfume with a strange name that we can't remember.
After shopping we had an accidental 2 hour nap in our hotel room.... we were obviously still tired from our jet lag.
At 4pm we went for a walk to the gate's to enquire about ticket prices to see the outer areas of the pyramids & Sphinx. We didn't want to go into the main pyramid as its included in our tour, but we couldn't resist a small walk.... Unfortunately when we got there it was closed! It's considered a government facility and they keep funny hours, considering the sun is still up for another 4 hours.
We were approached by 2 Egyptian man, probably the 7th & 8th men to approach & introduce himself, welcome us to Egypt & enquire where we were from. They seem very friendly & happy to welcome locals. We have been welcomed to Egypt by strangers an unbelievable amount.
He had a carriage & horse called George Michael who looked to be healthy & lively, offering us a carriage ride around the pyramid enclosure & out into the hills of the desert to have some beer & watch the sun set.
We were initially hesitant, but agreed on a price of 200 EGP each and climbed into the carriage. We drove through the streets waving at the friendly locals while our driver pointed out a few sights such as a muslim cemetery on the very outskirts of town. At the road near the desert we stopped and our driver told us that we had to pay an entrance fee of 120 EGP each to go out into the desert & his friend jumped out to 'pay' the fee. We're still not sure if he actually paid anything. The carriage ride was excellent & it offered a great view looking back towards Cairo, the desert & the pyramids, of course. We sat on a mat with cushions and drunk cold beer, just enjoying the moment. At this stage when Tom enquired about the cost of the beers, he was told nothing & not to worry about it, we assumed it was absorbed in the initial 200 EGP price. We were approached by some men who had camels & offered us an opportunity to pose with them & go for a very brief ride, as a photo opportunity. After the photos they approached Tom & asked for 800 EGP each ! Tom managed to talk them down to 400 EGP each, something I wasn't aware of until after the fact & horrified. No payment was discussed before this & I felt it was a total rip off. Comparatively we paid 400 EGP total for a 1.5 hour private taxi ride in rush hour traffic through Cairo. We would discover 2 days later with our tour guide that a 1 hour camel ride should cost 200 EGP, we had the most expensive 10 minute camel ride & we got ripped off hard core.
Once the sun went down we got back into the carriage & made our way back to the hotel, stopping at an ATM on the way. It was at this point that Tom had an argument with the carriage driver who asked for a tip & 500 EGP for the beers, which we all shared, making our 200 EGP carriage ride & camel photo experience actually 970 EGP each. After India & constantly getting ripped off, we had absolutely had enough & we were not paying a single pound more or paying the 500 EGP for the beers he told us were free. The smile that had been on his face for the past 2 hours suddenly disappeared, luckily we were very close to the hotel!
We spent a few hours after sunset enjoying the amazing view from the roof top balcony & having a few more cold drinks.
Overall a very good first day in Egypt!
- Alli
W officially woke up at 9am, I say officially because I woke once at 3am & again at 5am to look out the window at the pyramids, pinch myself and go back to sleep.
I still can't believe we are in Egypt!
The view from our hotel during the daylight hours is amazing & something we will remember for the rest of our lives. We ate breakfast looking at the the 3 pyramids of Giza, 1 of which is a World Wonder. They sit on the horizon, their huge silhouette blocking out the sky & demanding attention. It's really hard to describe how impressive they look, they don't look real, it's like looking at a photoshopped picture. The enormity of their structure seems difficult for the naked eye and the brain to reconcile as real, the emotions and awe make it even harder.
Our breakfast is an amazing mix of mediterranian vegetarian food including freshly fried falafel, salad, pita bread, pickles and babaganoush. It was delish!
There is no single book of the dead, you could have one commissioned and made personal by your own selection of spells that you identify with to help you make your journey through the afterlife, this book was then placed in the coffin or burial chamber with the deceased.
The scene is called The Papyrus of Hunefer, Hunefer was a scribe from the year 1275 BC. The papyrus depicts 3 scenes in the judgement hall. Hunefer is depicted on this papyrus as being dead and awaiting trial as his heart is being weighed on the scales of the crocodile head god Maat, by the jackal headed god Anubis, against the feather of truth. Thoth who is the Ibis headed god of the scribes, can also be seen recording the results. Also looking on is the God Osiris, symbolised by his green skin, who is the judge & god of the Underworld, afterlife and rebirth. Behind him stands his wife & sister Isis (my favourite goddess) characterised by her bird of prey wings & his other sister Nephthys. Both sisters play an important role in afterlife rituals, Nepthys symbolises the death experience while Isis represents the birth experience. You can also see the son of Osiris and Isis, the falcon headed god called Horus, who's symbol I wear on a pendant. There is also a row of deities supervising the judgement and the canopic jars, holding the other sacred organs can be seen.
The ancient Egyptians believed that the heart was the holder of one's personality & held information on your emotions, intellect & character from life, both the good & bad. If your heart weighs more than the feather of truth, because your heart is heavy with the bad things you have done in life, you are condemned to non existence and would not be permitted into the afterlife. Instead your heart was given to the ferocious devourer beast that is depicted as part hippopotamus, crocodile & lion.
If your heart weighed the same as the feather of truth, you were justified & then presented by Horus to Osiris & he would grant you passage into the afterlife.
We were really surprised when the hotel owner took us downstairs & into a shop that we didn't realise was located below the hotel, full of papyrus. He said that his family has its own papyrus business and makes them. He had the exact scene I was looking for in the exact size I wanted (quite big) the only thing I was initially hesitant on was the bright colours on the papyrus. Initially I had in my mind, that I wanted a darker colour papyrus and no bright colours, so that it looks more authentic and traditional. It took me a few minutes to appreciate the detail, the light colour of the papyrus & the bright colours of the paint. I realised the lighter papyrus & the colour made it more splendid and eye catching, the detail is phenomenal. Tom was instantly sold on it & I sealed the deal a few minutes later, it's going to look so good in museum glass & a thick gold frame. To make it even better, the hotel manager could give us a 50% discount, taking it from 6000 EGP to 3000 EGP. We also got a smaller one, in more traditional colours depicting Tutenkhamun & we had our names in ancient hieroglyphs added inside 2 cartouches, again discounted. We also each brought some ancient Egyptian perfume, recipes from the ancient times, apparently. My scent is called Cleopatra & was one of the scents the Queen loved & frequently wore, I'm a bit sceptical if thats true or not. Tom got a really unique, spicy perfume with a strange name that we can't remember.
After shopping we had an accidental 2 hour nap in our hotel room.... we were obviously still tired from our jet lag.
At 4pm we went for a walk to the gate's to enquire about ticket prices to see the outer areas of the pyramids & Sphinx. We didn't want to go into the main pyramid as its included in our tour, but we couldn't resist a small walk.... Unfortunately when we got there it was closed! It's considered a government facility and they keep funny hours, considering the sun is still up for another 4 hours.
We were approached by 2 Egyptian man, probably the 7th & 8th men to approach & introduce himself, welcome us to Egypt & enquire where we were from. They seem very friendly & happy to welcome locals. We have been welcomed to Egypt by strangers an unbelievable amount.
He had a carriage & horse called George Michael who looked to be healthy & lively, offering us a carriage ride around the pyramid enclosure & out into the hills of the desert to have some beer & watch the sun set.
We were initially hesitant, but agreed on a price of 200 EGP each and climbed into the carriage. We drove through the streets waving at the friendly locals while our driver pointed out a few sights such as a muslim cemetery on the very outskirts of town. At the road near the desert we stopped and our driver told us that we had to pay an entrance fee of 120 EGP each to go out into the desert & his friend jumped out to 'pay' the fee. We're still not sure if he actually paid anything. The carriage ride was excellent & it offered a great view looking back towards Cairo, the desert & the pyramids, of course. We sat on a mat with cushions and drunk cold beer, just enjoying the moment. At this stage when Tom enquired about the cost of the beers, he was told nothing & not to worry about it, we assumed it was absorbed in the initial 200 EGP price. We were approached by some men who had camels & offered us an opportunity to pose with them & go for a very brief ride, as a photo opportunity. After the photos they approached Tom & asked for 800 EGP each ! Tom managed to talk them down to 400 EGP each, something I wasn't aware of until after the fact & horrified. No payment was discussed before this & I felt it was a total rip off. Comparatively we paid 400 EGP total for a 1.5 hour private taxi ride in rush hour traffic through Cairo. We would discover 2 days later with our tour guide that a 1 hour camel ride should cost 200 EGP, we had the most expensive 10 minute camel ride & we got ripped off hard core.
Once the sun went down we got back into the carriage & made our way back to the hotel, stopping at an ATM on the way. It was at this point that Tom had an argument with the carriage driver who asked for a tip & 500 EGP for the beers, which we all shared, making our 200 EGP carriage ride & camel photo experience actually 970 EGP each. After India & constantly getting ripped off, we had absolutely had enough & we were not paying a single pound more or paying the 500 EGP for the beers he told us were free. The smile that had been on his face for the past 2 hours suddenly disappeared, luckily we were very close to the hotel!
We spent a few hours after sunset enjoying the amazing view from the roof top balcony & having a few more cold drinks.
Overall a very good first day in Egypt!
- Alli
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