The Egyptian Pyramids

Let me set the stage for you… My dad, grandpa, brother, and I enter the shadows of the Great Pyramid on the Giza Plateau just outside of Cairo, Egypt. It’s always been my dream to visit the pyramids ever since reading stories about grave robbers back when I was a little. After climbing up the blocks on the outside of the pyramid we walked through a short passage that brought us deeper into the pyramid. At the end of the short passage was a steep staircase. Just when we were about to start climbing the staircase, another family hurtles down from above. They were coming down so fast that it almost seemed like their feet weren’t touching the steps. A teenage girl comes flying out first panting really hard. She seemed to be in extreme distress about whatever she had just experienced. Right behind the teenager, who we assumed was the mom followed, trying to comfort her.

We thought this odd little procession was done, and although we were now a little more nervous about what would find at the top of the stairs, we started to climb. No sooner had we started when the dad of the previous girl comes racing down the stairs holding a toddler. As he slows down to pass us, he seems like he’s about to slip, so I put my arm out to steady him. He leans on my arm briefly and then seems to be more in control of himself so I take my hand away, only to have him slip and fall down the rest of the stairs on his butt while still holding the toddler. The mother sprints over to the dad, rips the baby out of his hands, and goes back to the teenager.

Keep in mind that at this point we hadn’t even started really climbing the passage to the top. Now considerably more apprehensive, our group resumes climbing the staircase. The inside of a pyramid isn’t really made for people to climb, and the burial chamber we were visiting was 2/3 of the way up an almost 500 some odd foot structure. Getting to the chamber requires half crawling half walking up slanted wooden boards with metal bars on top sort of like a ladder. The experience isn’t really made to involve passing people. We completed the staircase and come into a more open passage where we could stand up, though still on a very thin ladder. From there we continued climbing.

It was about halfway up this second section that we ran into more people. We could see two people coming down from above, one of which was holding a white cane under his arm. As we try to pass them, my brother and I come to the sudden realization that this man is blind. While I’m a big proponent of accessibility, I had a difficult time understanding the motivation behind wanting to explore the passageway inside the pyramid for this person who couldn’t see. The passageway was a little dangerous for me, and I could identify the hazards. There were a lot of low handing rocks that someone could hit their head on if they couldn’t see them, or places where they could slip and fall. The falling seemed of particular issue because the blind man wasn’t using his white cane at all. Instead, he was using both hands to film his descent. Additionally, besides looking at the end passage there wasn’t much to experience. This poor man just had to spend an extended amount of time in a very hot passageway probably working up quite a sweat.

We managed to pass that man and finally made it to the top. It was awesome to look around the chamber, even though there isn’t really anything there. It was cool to imagine what it would have looked like when the sarcophagus was in it. On our way back down to the bottom, we run into the blind man and his friends again. I was very ready to be out of the passage at this point. It’s not that I’m claustrophobic it’s just that it was really hot. Egypt at this time is constantly around 105˚, and the passage had no breeze. I had sweat dripping down my back and legs and was very ready to get to the air-conditioned van. We slowly, and I mean slowly, made our way to the bottom, with the blind man still filming the whole journey. In the end, we all made it out of the pyramid alive. Thankfully we didn’t run into the family who had seemed to be freaking out at the beginning of our journey. Now, I just look back on the experience and laugh.

So that concludes the story of our journey into one of the great pyramids on the 4th day in Cairo on our tour of Egypt. After this experience we had a lovely time exploring more of the pyramids, riding a camel (how fun!!), and taking lots of pictures. I loved my time in Cairo and enjoyed exploring a city so different from my own. It’s been on my bucket list for years.

Other than this day we explored mosques, markets, went quad biking in the desert and just relaxed. Look out for my next blog post about cruising down the Nile and trying to deal with the heat. Trust me, it’s intense. Thanks for reading!

Egypt Itinerary

Where Em Went