EGYPT I
We arrived in Egypt in October/2000 for a three days stay in Cairo and one day in Luxor. Birthplace of one of the greatest civilizations the world has known, "modern" Egypt still retains the glory of the Pharaohs in the extraordinary monuments they left behind, in their pyramids and the splendors of their temples. That makes the country worth visiting!
Cairo was the first egyptian city we visited. It has a population of about 16 million inhabitants and that makes the city as extremely crowded, disorganized, noisy (the traffic in Cairo is a chaos) and such concentration of persons seem to turn the city hotter than one can imagine. Cairo is still the heart of Egypt and is allegorically called "The Mother of the World" - and there we were, for an unforgettable experience!
Just like 99,9% of the tourists, the "Great Pyramids of Giza" (18km from downtown Cairo) was the first place we visited in "Great Cairo Area".
Pyramids-Giza/Egypt, October/2000
Considered one of the "Seven Wonders of the World", the Great Pyramids of Giza (built around 3000-341 BC, so over 5000 years old!) are possibly the most visited monuments of Egypt and among the world's greatest tourist attractions. This "complex" is composed by the Pyramids of Cheops (the biggest one - see page 2), Chephren and Mycerinus (the smallest one), who were father, son and grandson; some smaller ones called the "Queen's Pyramids", built as the tombs of Cheops' wives (YES!!! Polygamy was and still is acceptable in Egypt) and sisters; and the imposing figure of the Sphinx (see page 3).
The Pyramid of Chephren, the second biggest one, is now 136.5 meters high (imagine a 45 floors building in front of you!). It was closed for restoration when we went there so, unfortunately (or maybe fortunately - hehe) we could not get into it.
Pyramids-Giza/Egypt, October/2000
The Pyramid of Mycerinus is 62 meters high (correspond to a "modest" 20 floors building) and is quite damaged outside, due to a 16th century "insane" calipha's attack, who wanted to demolish all the pyramids ("Thanks God", I mean, Allah - hehe, he did not achieve such crazy objective). The Great Pyramids of Giza are so impressive that, to have an idea of its hugeness, Napoleon estimated that there would be enough stones in these three main pyramids to build a wall, three meters high, all around France!!!
Pyramids-Giza/Egypt, October/2000