Egypt

"If there's a country i recommend people to visit it would be Egypt. It's a place where spirituality can be felt everywhere. I've stayed in Egypt for about three weeks and i have visited many sites and still its like i have seen nothing. This is a one vast country that is full of discovered as well as undiscovered ancient sites. No mater where you go you're sure to fall on pyramids, temples or mastabas (Tombs). I have visited Saquara and all it's pyramids and temples which has the oldest step pyramid in Egypt ,that of king Zoser then went south(around ten hours by train)To the city of Luxor and Luxor Temple then to Valley of The Kings, Valley of the queens, Hatshepsut Temple then headed to Karnak temple then got back to Giza Plateau. But of all that i have seen only one particular area fascinates me and that is The Giza Plateau, The three Great Pyramids. This area is way beyond explanation way beyond words."

"I had something of a experience in Khufu's pyramid. Now let's take a look at the Three Great pyramids."

Patrick Zakhm

Patrick's experience in Khufu's pyramid

"The first one which is the tallest of the three is Khufu pyramid(called Cheops by the Greeks) it stand 449 feet high(used to be 481)and used to be covered with limestone .Khufu was the son of king Senefru and queen Hetpeheres. He ruled Egypt from 2589 to 2566 B.C.."

"Two boat pits have been found in 1954 which contained two dismantled boats .One has been put back together and it is thought to be khufu's funerary boat built from the cedars trees found in Lebanon .The boat is now in a white boat-shaped museum right next to the pyramid."

"These are some of the huge limestone blocks that covered the pits where the boats have been found."

"This is a a small scale copy of khufu's funurary boat."

"And this is his original size boat that was found in pieces in one of the pits."

"The Above is Khafra, Chepfren(called by the Greeks) or khafre pyramid.Not open to the public and its the second tallest pyramid of the three .It looks taller then khufu's pyramid because it was built on a hill. It stands 446 feet high and i was told by my guide that it was used to be covered by a layer of pure white alabaster stone. You can still see a bit of it on the top of the pyramid .Chephren was the son of Khufu who ruled Egypt from 2520 to 2494 B.C."

"Menkaure or Mykerinus pyramid is the smallest of the three(the three smaller pyramids near it are those of his children). It stands 204 feet high and used also to be covered by a granite stone layer .Mykerinus is thought to be Khufu's grandson who ruled egypt from 2490 To 2472 B.C."

"Some tips that might be helpful to those visiting Egypt for the first time."

"I found that Ahram Street is a wonderful street because all the world famous restaurants like MC Donald's, Burger King, KFC,Pizza Hut etc can be found there. That is of course if you don't like local dishes which i think is missing the hygiene that is found normally in ordinary restaurants :). When you arrive in Egypt if you're a E.C (European Community) member you get your Visa at the airport once in Egypt, which takes the form of a stamp that you have to buy from the bank nearby and its like 15 or 20 Egyptian pounds (like 4 US dollars)then bring it back to the officer, that's all and don't worry the visa officer will put your passport aside and wait for you because the whole thing takes only few minutes. Once you have your visa you'll be approached by hotels agents be careful who you go with not for the sake of security Egypt is pretty secure country but for the quality of the hotels that you'll be offered there and when you are told "it's a Good hotel" be also careful ask to see the room first because the word "'Good'' to them is way different from the word "good'' that i know that we know."

"In Egypt you might be surprised by something that is missing in bathrooms and restrooms(except in hotels)and that is T. papers. They only have cold water hoses to clean yourself with if you know what i mean :). You can try the hoses and I'm sure you will at one point or another because to the Egyptian this is a natural way to clean/cleance yourself. But then you can still carry some stocks of napkins on you in case you didn't like their water cleaning technique."

"Another important thing to be wary of are con artist, there seems to be a lot of them in Cairo. If you want your budget to last enough for your trip be careful on the streets. They usually approach you when you're walking then before you know it you're in their shops and you are being invited(more like forced)to Buy this and that(usually these guys sell perfumes the essence of perfumes)and in most cases you end up buying something you don't really need and you've payed for it twice as much as you would have paid for somewhere else. And boy they insist alot ,they can drive a person crazy to the point of telling them ''Here !take my money give me anything but get off my back !''. These people are everywhere and they stick to you like crazy glue. Specially if they get feedback from you. And the "no thank you" have a very little effect on them."

"There are plenty of con artist out there. You have to be tough and smart and know how much something is going to cost you in advance. That goes for taxi drivers as well, make a deal with them before they drive you to where you wanna go(that is if they don't drive you nuts first). One of their tricks goes like this, a guy comes to you carrying booklets for sale he tells you ''This is only 25 Egyptian pounds, just 25 pounds, take one take one''then when he feels you're biting on his bait he'll pull another booklet similar to the one he's trying to sell you worth 30 pounds then say ''take both for 50 pounds,two for 50 good deal cmon''. After insisting so much you feel pity(who wouldn't) for him you accept to buy only one the "25 pounds one" you pull your wallet to discover that you're not carry anything smaller then 50 pounds .You give it to the guy the guy takes it(once in his hand)then say "o sorry no change sir"then he pulls back his 30 pounds booklet instead and force you to take it and no way you'll see your 50 pounds again unless you call a policeman. You simply can't argue with these people because they only speaks few English words. And they usually come to you when you're in a hurry like heading to take your guided tour bus or you just stepped out of the bus and going with your group and sure your guide can't wait for you that's when these guys come at you, very smart tactics indeed, this way you have to buy fast. I suggest that you that you keep a lot of small bills on you and avoid showing them large bills like when pulling out your wallet filled with 50 s and 100 s pounds bills."

"That's the kind of tricks they use on people specially foreigner .One thing i really liked in Egypt is the security particularly around hotels to protect foreigners. And there are usually like two or three vans filled with police officers around hotels and these cops are called Tourist Police. Created after the incident that happened in 1993 in Hatshepsut temple where many tourist were shot to death by several masked Muslim extremists. Well armed masked men dangled themselves down from the cliffs behind Hatshepsut temple then opened fire on everyone killing 40 tourists all were Germans."

"Where i stayed in the ''Jewel of the Pyramids hotel'' (its on Ahram Street). If you call for a cab to come pick you up from the hotel and the cops see you get inside the cab they would stop the cab instantly then ask him where he's taking you then walkies-Talkie other police officers .This is for security so they know who took you in case something happens. Because if something happens tourists will start leaving the country and the government will loose millions of dollars because tourism is one of Egypt main income."

"For those interested in taking a guided tour on the Giza plateau on camels or horses it should cost around $ 85 US (like 400 Egyptian pounds)per person and should last at least two hours. Try the camel first a bit before you agree on taking it. I found the horse is much more comfortable then a camel. On the camel i was always in pain back pain because of the way it walks, it hurts the back."

"By the way 1 US dollar makes 6.5 Egyptian pounds so a 100 US makes 650 Egyptian and that's pretty good compared to other countries i have visited."

"The monthly wage there is around 400 Egyptian pounds and that's not a lot. Maybe that can explain why there are so many con artists. In whole living in Egypt is very cheap if you manage to keep con-men away from you."

"In times i have noticed that if you greet Egyptian in their language you break the ice between you and them and they treat you better and with a genuine smile. " Assalamou Alaekom '' means hello or hi in Arabic. It's unbelievable how they sparkle with happiness when you greet them in their ways. Another word is " Ezzayak ?" means how are you ?in Arabic. And believe me learning 4 or 5 Arabic words sure makes a difference in their treatment and communications with you."

Patrick Zakhm