Day 4 Camels and Pyramids

All but Virginia have adapted to Cairo-time but we are still struggling to get her to sleep at night. Truth be told, we were struggling with a bedtime routine before and this is only a tiny bit worse. She is a night owl and a party animal. We haven’t been entirely consistent because she is just so much fun at night and we like having that special time with her. On the flip side, she needs her sleep and it drives us crazy to not have any waking hours to do anything (like pay bills or just talk) without the kids needing something….drink of water, get out the playdough, read a story, etc etc. Anyway, that said, she didn’t get up until her usual 11am so we got a late start for the pyramids.

Aedan, being the expert taxi flagger in the family got a good one….In Egypt, you get to know your taxi drivers. You tip well and they help you with all kinds of things. Omar taught us how to say the name of our street in Arabic (very helpful!) as well as a few other survival phrases. He also negotiated a “friend” price for us at the pyramid tour office. But I am getting ahead of myself….

There are 2 sets of pyramids in the suburbs of Cairo and we decided to go to the smaller set (Giza) because they are closer and have the famous Sphinx which Aedan was really excited to see. We took the Corniche Nil (Nile Road) out of town which is a scenic drive and I almost forgot all of the obligatory honking, especially when I saw the new Starbucks which “God Willing” was actually open. I guess I should have known better to poke fun because although Starbucks is open on the Corniche Nil, chai is not offered in the Egypt market. Whaaaat???? Bottom line: no chai. I came back to the car empty-handed and I thought poor Aedan would burst into tears. When I explained what was going on, he sweetly said “but mom, 22 months is a long time for you to go without chai”. I told him that all of had to adapt a little and gave him some examples of the ways in which he had adapted and how I had to follow his lead and take it in stride like he had (Aedan puffed with pride at this point). However, Aedan gave me a spontaneous hug and said “sorry about the chai mom” He is such a good kid and I don’t give a damn about the chai anymore…..ok well maybe just a little but I will get over it.

So we zoom to Giza which is totally different than Cairo…very rural in a touristy way that you would expect. Virginia delighted in the donkeys carrying pyramid trinkets, etc and lots of kids running about. She was so cute about noticing EVERYTHING. I didn’t know this but only tour busses can get close enough to the pyramids to walk. This seems odd since Egyptians aren’t exactly known for their historic preservation. I suspect it is yet another money-making venture. Omar took us the tour office, introduced us as “friends” to the son of the Giza mayor (who unsurprisingly is the head of the tour office) and went straight for the bar (“Take your time at the pyramids my friends. Omar will be right here”). We were offered a camel or horseback and advised to take the horse but of course, we took the camels. I mean, who wouldn’t? For the record, Virginia wanted the horse because “she is so good at riding at Nana and Larry’s”. However, since Nana and Larry weren’t there to hold her on, we elected camel.

Riding a camel is pretty awesome and a bit scary. Aedan said it was the scariest thing that he has ever done (way double YIKES Mom!). You are high up there and camels are not exactly gentle, sweet-smelling animals. Virginia and Joe shared one camel and Aedan and I the other. When by some unknown reason I was selected as lead camel (of Joe and Virginia) and I apparently didn’t whip the camel hard enough, a boy of about 13 was hired to walk beside us and keep the camel in line. I don’t know how he did it or how we made it. It was like a 3 mile ride ON A SLOOOOW CAMEL. At one point, the camels burst into a run-walk and I swear I almost fainted. I am holding my 5 year old for dear life and (now over his initial fear) he is pointing out that this is EXACTLY like he read in Magic Tree House….I wanted to yell: WHERE IS THE TREEHOUSE? TAKE ME BACK TO FROG CREEK. But I didn’t. At least I think I didn’t.

Fear aside, the view was spectacular. I mean, we really felt like we were in the desert (we were) and it was totally unbelievable. I will never forget going over that hill and then BAM! The pyramids. Even though Giza is a tourist destination, it is pretty much desolate and really felt authentic. We took lots of pictures and the kids scrambled onto the pyramids. They let you climb all over them. We didn’t go inside the pyramids. It was too hot and we were all exhausted. We have been told that it isn’t a good idea for kids to go inside the pyramids because there are still high levels of bacteria from all of the ancient food that was stored there. I think this is probably bunk but I do know that all of the artifacts have been moved to museums and I figured we would be back with some of you so I didn’t push the kids.

There are 9 pyramids in Giza…Father, Son, and Grandson plus some for their extra not-so-good wives. Apparently the most beautiful and smart (which is always the same woman apparently…even in ancient Egypt some gals get all the luck!) wives get to stay with the pharaoh in the tomb. What’s the point, I say? I’d rather have my own pyramid. It was touching that Aedan said that he wanted to build a pyramid for himself, Joe, Rock, and Larry but when our guide told us that the slaves had to work without food or water (150 died each day in the effort) and that they were all killed at the end (their bodies buried, ironically with food and water) in the tombs so as to serve in the next life too, Aedan backed off the whole wanting-his-own-pyramid thing!

The Sphinx was relatively small in comparison to the pyramids and the vast beauty of the desert. They have some sort of crazy James Bond light show there at night which we will have to check out later. The nose was missing but had I not known, I wouldn’t have necessarily noticed the missing nose. For one thing, the Sphinx is covered in birds and for another, unlike the other pyramids, you can’t get close to it without buying an extra ticket. This was near the end of our tour and we barely had the energy to walk to the gate but you can see the pictures. We’ll definitely come back when the weather cools.

We returned into Omar’s safe care after some serious haggling with the tour guide about an appropriate tip (he wasn’t that great and we stuck to our price). In the end, Omar alerted the mayor’s son who yelled at him in Arabic. It worked out fine. We took care of Omar and he took care of us. We paid the hired camel boy and gave him the extra money we had planned to spend trying out the frappachinos….can you imagine pulling 2 camels in the desert for 6 miles several times per day for tourists?

After showers and a long nap, Joe had another allergy attack (Carol was right about the horse/camel hair thing). Thankfully, 1 Claritin seems to have mostly cleared it up. I woke up from the nap early and went to find the “nearest” grocery store”…it was only 3 blocks away but took several tries and 45 minutes to find. I was rewarded with Country Crock (salted, spreadable butter is hard to find here) and fresh skim milk (as opposed to the powdered kind that everyone drinks).

Later, Joe and I took the kids to CAC (Aedan’s school) where the kids ran around, ate animal crackers, and played badminton with a Japanese family. I am so proud of Aedan. He went right up to the probably 3^rd grader and asked if he could play with them. That took real guts and despite the language barrier, they played for almost an hour. Aedan even learned a few Japanese words (gamecock, racquets, etc I am thinking but who knows???). We sat companionably with the Japanese family while the kids played together and I smiled inwardly. This is why we came to Egypt…so we would have moments like this.

Sunday begins the Egyptian workweek and Joe is going into campus for the first time. It is hard to believe that it has been only a week here. I think we are well-settled given that it has only been a short time and Joe is ready to start his own adventure. Now that I can find Aedan’s school/playground and the grocery store somewhat reliably, I am feeling better about being alone with the kids. Of course, at the time of this writing…they haven’t woken up yet J

Best,

Ashley