The Things Tourists Do!

I took a rider out a year ago on a trek around the desert. She was on a long trek herself and had been given a small stuffed animal to take pictures of in various places. In honor of her ride, she put the duck (I believe) into Wadi's bridle. I love photos of people doing random things.

Apologies for not posting for a while but I was being a tourist myself and visiting family in the US.

Pyramids Make People Silly

 The panoramic point at Giza always has bizarre photo opportunities.  Maybe a Japanese tourist jumping high into the air from a wall. I don't know why.

Or people standing posed to touch the top of a pyramid...or maybe a tourist bus. At the correct angle you get the shot of someone touching something untouchable but at another, complete nonsense.

Spot light

On a winter afternoon with big thunder clouds blowing above the desert, the sun will shine down through a gap to highlight  a spot on the desert. When the spot happens to be the pyramids of Abu Sir.

Everyone Comes To Giza

We went to Giza and were delighted to have to dodge many, many tourist buses.  As it was the last day of the Feast, there were also a lot of Egyptian families enjoying an outing to the Giza plateau and having picnics in the shadow of the pyramids.

Archetypes

The pyramid, the camel, the sky. What more?

Photo by Cally Stephenson while in Cairo playing tourist.

The Old and The New

Oddly enough, you can see the pyramids of Giza from a lot of different angles.  People expect to see them in company of sand dunes and camels, but as you drive into Cairo from Alexandria, they come into view in a landscape of traffic lights and mobile phone towers.

Black Pyramid on a Winter Day

Riding near the Black Pyramid at Dahshur is an amazing experience any time, but yesterday was one of those crystal clear days with high rain clouds passing by. Truly incredible.

Blending In

Beige and black sheep against the beige desert with the Step Pyramid in the distance. I spotted this flock in the desert just after Eid el Adha, so the sheep were probably very relieved to be ambling through the desert. A pair of grey baby donkeys chased each other through the sand alongside.

A Seriously Amazing Pyramid Photo

We drove out near Kerdasa today to buy some heavy woven vine mats to roof my sitting area by the bird cage. On the way home we suddenly saw this view of the Great Pyramid and Catherine got the sot. The most amazing thing about it, other than its lovely composition, is the fact that the road is empty.

Local Tourists

It was heartening to see Egyptians visiting Giza in the absence of foreign tourists. There were school trips and simply friends wandering around enjoying a chance to see the pyramids without the crowds. Many of them took the chance to ride camels and horses as well, which helps the economy here. I loved the flag cape.

The Neverending Problem

When the Ring Road around Cairo was first built, action by UNESCO and other groups stopped the construction of the portion that was to go around the back of the Giza plateau. The dirt road base of the proposed route that can be glimpsed running over the hill in front of the jeep has since become a well-used thoroughfare despite the fact that it was never paved, and trucks and cars use it to make a short cut to the Fayoum road. The other use of the paved portion of the road has lately been as a place to dump garbage. A newspaper article a while back shamed the authorities into cleaning up the sides of the road, but within a week or so, the trucks were back at it. These photos were shot today when I was on my way back home from town. What a bloody shame!

Business Is Slow

A young woman gazes at her tourist trinkets at the Great Pyramid. We were visiting and didn't see much more than half a dozen tourists. It's tough but to be very honest I didn't see anyone at death's door despite one little boy who was selling postcards telling me how tough things were. "No money, no Pepsi" "Just as well no Pepsi. That stuff will kill you, kid".

One Of The World's Great Balconies

We went to collect a friend of mine who was visiting from the US so that she could come have a late lunch. While she picked up her stuff, we went to admire the view and were totally blown away. I've gotten used to seeing the Giza pyramids as I drive in and out of town, but just sitting there being gorgeous on the horizon...well!

Well, Of Course!

This house has been sitting there unfinished, unfurnished, and unlived in for at least fifteen years. I thought that it was an unfinished museum being built by the antiquities service, but in fact it was planned to be a rather unusual home.

Hiding Place

Suppose you wanted to hide a very long wooden boat on a stone plateau. Where would you hide it? If you were an ancient Egyptian, you'd dig a large hole in the rock and put it inside, naturally. The Solar Boat museum near the Great Pyramid holds a reconstructed cedar boat that was found in a pit like this on the other side of the pyramid. They were willing to work for a good hiding place.

The Pyramid Photo

Not much needs to be said. Most people associate Egypt with three enormous pyramids standing in the desert. There are photos taken of them from the panoramic point which show the pyramids with desert in front of them. In reality, they stand on a plateau just above the extended city of Giza, not at all how they are pictured. However, this shot from the Ring Road near the Mansureya Road shows the pyramids of Giza at the edge of the farmland. It is a bit misleading since the palms are hiding a major apartment complex for the military and part of Nazlit Semman. Still, it is a wonderful view.

On The Way Home

Yesterday was a bit of a mad rush finishing things with a friend who has been staying here for a month. We hoped to be home early but the sun was setting as we crossed the Nile to Giza. The north wind had blown all the pollution away and the clouds glowed crisply in the sky outlined in silver, pink and gold. On an evening such as this it's hard to imagine that all this beauty is just there to enjoy.

Tea Break at Dahshur

Some of the tourist police and their camels take a break in the afternoon in the shadow of the Bent Pyramid at Dahshur. This pyramid is interesting for its sort of squashed shape (the builders used too steep an angle initially and then had to lower it) and for the fact that it is one of the only pyramids that still has its facing stones.

Cruisin' Giza

This picturesque old man works the crowds at the Great Pyramid accepting "donations" from tourists who want a photograph of him. The pockets of his galabeya are full of trinkets to sell as well. Thank heaven for a decent telephoto lense.

View From The End of The Highway

I was coming home from Maadi the other day and we took the last exit off the Ring Road for a change. I stopped to take this shot of the Pyramids of Giza. There is something amazing about having these massive rock piles practically in your backyard.