The Great Pyramids of Giza

When we found out that we were going to move to Cairo, we started showing the boys pictures of Egypt, and of course dominating the scenery was the pyramids. Hence the first thing that came out of William's mouth when we got off the plane at Cairo airport was "Where are the pyramids?", exclaimed with an anticipative voice.

Today finally, we went to see the pyramids. I've experienced the feeling before - it's a very special thrill to see a world famous wonder or monument like that - and as we spotted the pyramids behind buildings while approaching our destination by taxi (a mere 15 minutes from our home across the Nile), the boys let out little shrieks of excitement. I have climed stairs in the Statue of Liberty in New York, the Notre Dame in Paris, and up to Acropolis in Athens, but what struck me this time was the age of what we were admiring, as well as the skill and the mystery surrounding these amazing man-made creations. It was quite something.

It was HOT. Probably a bit over 100 degrees Farenheit/around 40 degrees Celsius. William quickly turned the color of a well cooked lobster. We had brought 2 large bottles of water, which lasted us about 1 1/2 hours, and we kept patting the boys with water, in addition to letting them drink from the bottles. There were a lot of people trying to get money from us; offering to take our picture, taking our children by the hand to lead them through a tricky path, handing the boys drinks or souvenirs, acting as our guides by telling us information about the site or anything else you could come up with that would put us in debt. We avoided all this to our best abilities with the little Arabic we have learned, but it was still quite a nuisance.

All in all, though, it was a good first visit to the pyramids, and we'll be back in a couple of weeks on a guided tour that will give us a more throrough experience.