How touristy can you get, a camel ride around the pyramids.  We never knew that there are actually 9 pyramids around this site.

 

Our next day in Cairo was just as busy as the first.  Cairo is filled with more monuments than you can see in the brief time that we were there so we had to limit ourselves to just the highlights.  After seeing the great pyramids in Giza we headed south to Saqqara to see the one of the step pyramids.  The step pyramid in Saqqara is the oldest of Egypt’s 97 pyramids.  After Saqqara and Memphis we headed back to Cairo to visit the Cairo Museum.

 

The lotus flower was a treasured flower for the Ancient Egyptians.  This one was found in the fountain in front of the Cairo Museum.

 

Laura walking around the step pyramid.

There were a few benefits about going to the middle of the desert in June and July.  One: the prices during the off-season are just right, and two: we never came across any crowds.  We were told that the huge parking lots, that were nearly empty everywhere we went, would be overflowing around Christmas.  So if you’re interested in visiting Egypt consider a summer visit.  The trade off of walking around these great monuments without the crowds is worth putting up with the heat.

Laura making new friends in a parking garage. 

 

Getting ready to leave Cairo we had a couple of things on our mind.  There are no other monuments in the world that are more eye-opening than these giant structures.  The Ancient Egyptian culture was more advanced than we can imagine.  The traffic in Cairo was much more chaotic than anything we’ve ever seen in Bangkok, Taipei or Hong Kong.  And finally, the Egyptians are very warm, friendly and FUNNY people.  They always enjoyed a good laugh or prank regardless of any language barriers.  The Egyptians are fantastic people.

 

Steve’s turn to make some new friends at a local food seller.  Yes, that guy on my left is being very friendly.

 

 

The Alabaster Mosque in the Citadel.

 

This street next to our hotel dead-ends at the great pyramids.