Wow! Who knew that there were so many hidden secrets inside rubble constructions in the Sahara, yes, the Sahara. The Great Sahara (which means “desert”) stretches from the Nile all the way through Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Mauritania, and Western Sahara, to the Atlantic Ocean. (Saudi Arabia is in the Arabian Desert.) The living areas in these regions are made possible by depressions in the sand which creates access to water. Of all the countries in the swath, Egypt is the luckiest in this resource because of the Nile.
Today started off with Saqqara. Here was the first Pyramid ever created, a step pyramid, possibly created by accident, which is why it is a rectangle instead of on a square base like the Great Pyramids of Giza. We were able to go into one of the mastabas, which are smaller tombs and rectangular. This one meant crouching down to three and a half feet and walking bent over through a downward tunnel to a room that opened up, walls covered in Hieroglyphs, then through another shorter tunnel to a bigger room, covered ceiling to floor in hieroglyphs. These were the text to the papyrus writing of The Book of Coming Forth by Day, or The Book of the Dead.
Half of the tomb was of translucent alabaster, into which was carved a relief that appears in certain lights— very magical.
Next was the nearby tomb of Seshseshet, which is significant because of the very fun art inside. In a long mural, we saw illustrations of how to tempt cattle to cross a river and what happens when a hippo meets a croc!
Our next destination was the rug factory. Since we’ve just had all our carpets cleaned and found out they’re of Egyptian origin and quite valuable, we were interested. This is a community business that employs children in their hours off of school. Half the children come in the morning, half in the afternoon, attending schools that accommodate their schedules. It was shocking to see kids working, but they were very skilled and were learning a trade that would employ them for their whole lives. We considered a purchase but decided against it. Another couple bought two rugs to furnish their new house!
Then came the big attraction— the camel ride! This wasn’t a one-by-one thing. Instead, we all walked through a caravan of camels and all rode camels together in an area on the edge of the site of the Great Pyramids of Giza. Breathtaking. Our guide was named Ahmed, and he took very good care of us, which was important because riding a camel is like riding a horse, but with altitude! And they wobble! At first, I was holding on tight, then with one hand, and finally just gripping with my thighs— to take pictures. It was a great time!
From there came the pyramids without camels! Even with our guard nearby, we were hounded by salesmen who wanted to help us take good pictures in exchange for $1. It was hard to resist, especially when they are so earnest and needy. In the end, we ended up with about 50 photos, all the same, with John pointing at the top of the pyramid and both of us pushing up a rock that holds the base of the pyramid—everyone had the same trick. Still, it was cute!