Monday June 10
We would go to the Giza area and spend the whole day there. It was a bit
detached from the centre of Cairo. The day was as hot as the other days,
we could feel the heat as we were traveling on the van. The wind blowing
in was so hot that we shut down the window to stop their coming in at
last.
Before going to the famous attractions, we met the official of ministry
of youth in Giza. It was a brief meeting but we were being welcomed warmly
and they gave us souvenirs for memorial. We also took pictures with the
official.
After that, we went directly to the building which never grew old: the
Pyramid and the Sphinx!

Greatly different from watching the wonder in magazines or television,
you could feel the grandness of the tomb only by standing at the foot
of it. We walked into the pyramid to visit, but the interior was never
as great as the exterior. What we visited were the most famous ones: the
three pyramids of Khufu. While we saw the shape so clearly from far away,
you could only see lots of stones when you were near. Just like appreciating
paintings of Georges Seurat, you could not appreciate the components of
the art as a whole.
The Sphinx was guarding the tomb for all these years. We did not go down
to see it closely but we could feel its strength and determination from
far away.
These were really something you should see at least once in your life.
The only drawback was the unbearable direct heat from the sun.
After this visit, we did not stop. We went on to visit a sport center
inside a tobacco factory for staff. We had lunched there and tried a traditional
snack called "Ummali" and an appetizer called "Mezze".
Also, we visited a youth center in Giza.
Children
in the youth center were very friendly and excited at our coming. I thought
that there should be very few visitors before us. When I stood and smiled
at them, they were so excited that they surrounded me and kept on asking
"What's your name?" This might be the only English they knew
for some of them.
Then,
when I took out the camera, they were even more excited that they surrounded
me even more closely and the children kept on pushing to get closer. It
was the time I really felt the need of human beings to make contacts.
The curiosity of human beings was the purest at that moment.
At night, we went back to the Pyramids and watched the Sound and Light
Show. It is the way how Egyptians make the Pyramids worthwhile to visit
even after sunset. They use lazer lights and tell the story of Ancient
Kings in Egypt. Although the pyramids did not move, at least there were
changes of lights and the shapes they made.
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