Backpacking through Pyramids
I arrived at the hostel late at night and I instantly got amazed by the views of the pyramids. Right in front of me, in front of the window of my room! I suddenly got a throwback to when I was a kid and read all kinds of stories about the pyramids and saw photographs of Pharaohs. I don't really know what captivated me but I was entertained for hours seeing those pictures and recreations of that ancient world. I could read over and over again the story of how Howard Carter discovered the intact tomb of Tut Ankh Amun. But now, finally, I was there, contemplating the 4,500 year old monumental tombs. I was very tired but the excitement kept me awake for some time before I crushed into bed. Four hours later at around 5:15 AM I got woken up by the Mosque's call for the morning prayer. I fell asleep again right after the prayer was over.
The next morning I woke up at 7:00 AM and I could not hold the excitement to have breakfast right in front of the Pyramids in the rooftop of the hostel. The views were amazing and the city of Giza below me was starting to wake up. The hostel was definitely worth the money. It was 20€ per night. The area below looked like a bomb devastated all the buildings. It somehow gave me a feeling of insecurity, but with time I learned that this was the way Egyptians dealt with things once they don't need them anymore: 'Leave it on the rooftop: out of sight, out of mind'.
Once I had finished my breakfast, I memorized the path by foot to the admission office of the pyramids complex so I wouldn't have to take my phone out in the streets. When I arrived to the entrance of the complex, a mob of people was already lining up for the ticket office. Actually it was not a line, it looked more like someone was giving free money at the office. All the Egyptians were shouting at each other and fighting to get their ticket, pushing and stepping on others. These guys would do what it took to get their tickets sooner. I wanted to tell them all that it was easier and probably faster if we all make a civilized line and buy the tickets one person at a time. But, wherever you go, do what locals do. So I also started to play the game of pushing, elbowing and "accidentally" stepping on others. After 5 minutes I only moved 1 meter. I was trying to compete against professionals Egyptians, so I gave up. On my way to retreat one of the staff members stopped me and offered to buy the ticket for me. I was happy, until this guy started to push and shout everyone, even moving away the guy on the first line who was buying his ticket. Everyone looked at me like I was at fault for the aggressive behavior of the official. I replied to the crowd with a forced small smile accompanied by a slight rise of eyebrows. The cost of the entrance was 5€ for students and 10€ for general admission tickets.
Anyway, after all I was finally inside the pyramid complex. Once inside I got bombarded by camel and horse owners and tour guides who wanted to offer me their services. Getting rid of them was as hard as washing out glitter. The place was full of tourists, but they were all Egyptians families that had travelled from all the different places from the country to spend a day in the pyramids. This meant that I was the target of all the scammers inside the complex. I suffered the suspicious friendliness of some nice people, who at the end they only wanted a tip. They did not let me alone. I just wanted my silence and to walk through these amazing memorials of death.
The pyramids by themselves are majestic. Impressively big and remind one of the immense empire and wealth that once this Egyptian society had. Reading about them, one instantly gets amazed by the precision and extremely low error margins that they were constructed with. They are perfectly aligned with the physical north and are completely symmetric. I stood right in front of one of the pyramids and remained there for several minutes, like a little kid watching his favorite cartoon. These constructions appear much bigger than they look in pictures, and being there, right in front of such a meaningful monument reminded me once again of how lucky I was to be there. The surroundings of the pyramids is full of ruins. There are some more smaller pyramids around the main three. Some of them still preserve their shape while others are just a pile of limestone rocks.
Throughout the course of two days I visited the whole complex by foot. It is worth to go by foot instead of camel or horse. By foot you acquire a better idea of the true size of everything. On the other hand, by horse one would only see them for an hour. I took my time and explored the whole area by myself. Sometimes a little bribe to some officers was needed in order to get "special access" to some areas. At some point a security staff asked me to follow him into an area that was fenced. He asked me to stay low and stay as close to the ground as possible. He did not want other security officers to see me around there. After following him through the ruins of what once was a pyramid (which I later learned that it was the Pyramid of Khentkaus I) he wanted me to roll under a barred fence and follow him inside the tomb. I refused and he asked me 15€.
'No, you brought me here, you crawled under a fence and you are asking me 15€?' I said.
'Yes, you come, you follow me, I show you everything nobody can see for 15€' He whispered.
Menkaure, Khafre and Khufu Pyramids
There was no other way to mess up my stay in Egypt and end up in prison. If I wanted to go to jail, this was the perfect shortcut. I suddenly put words in my head to this guy's offer: an offense to the national heritage of Egypt. I was sure authorities would not like that. I refused and left the place. I gave this guy 1€ to keep him happy and to leave me alone.
I think the legacy of Egypt needs to be preserved at its best. Things get broken, misplaced, damaged or lost because of ignorant tourists that break the rules. I didn't want to deteriorate or damage anything in this amazing place. On the other hand it was sad to know that tourists get the chance to break the rules for just a handful of money. Also it would be nice to see some sort of trash and litter cleanup mechanisms since the area surrounding the pyramids is full of waste. As a personal recommendation, bring some food with you, spend the day there and be patient. Walk around by foot as far as you can get. Go to the sightseeing point which is around 40 minutes walking from the pyramids. The views from there are amazing. I know camels are nice and they are great for social media posts but you should first know the area before showing it to others!
