To my surprise, even under the hot sun, the stone of Giza Pyramid is surprising cold. Closing my eye with a hand on the cold stone, I reminiscing the story line from childhood manga - Yugi-Oh. Finally, after so many years, I was able to visit the famed pyramid as shown in the manga.
The 7 Wonder of Ancient World
Contrasting to the common belief that pyramid was located in the middle of the desert, most of Egypt's pyramids are located quite close to civilization which makes it easy to reach. After 10 days in extremely chaos, my driver picked me up at my hostel. Horn and donkey cart is the common sight from my hostel in Tahrir Square to Giza (where the Great Pyramid of Khufu was located) which took almost an hour.
You may take public transport to Giza. However, during my time there, I opt to use Careem (Middle East's equivalent of Uber/Grab) which priced reasonably.
The Great Pyramid of Khufu, Giza
I believe most of the peoples alive today will have seen the photo of the Great Pyramids of Giza. This is the most recognizable monument in the world. Seeing it with your own eye is really breathtaking. Standing next to the huge stone, I can't help by marvel at how ancient Egyptian move such a huge block to build this mega tomb for their King (Pharoah).
The Great Pyramid of Giza is also the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World built during the Egyptian Dynasty of Khufu (hence, the name). It's age? Historians estimated it to be around 4500 years old now. WOW... Imagine moving such a huge piece of stone without modern machinery?
Exploring the Great Pyramid of Khufu, Giza
I actually visited the pyramid twice. The first being on part of my Nile river tour's packages that come with a camel's ride around the complex. However, being with the camel handler who keep on requesting tips and rushing for time, I made my way back there the very next time. This time, I am exploring it during non-rush hours on foot. Both ways of exploring have it own charm. While camel ride tour will bring you to the most photogenic part of the pyramid, exploring on your own will really enable you to properly immersing in the beauty of this huge structure.
If you are physically fit, it will be better to explore the complex by yourself with your own sweet time. It is common that you will be approached by horsemen or camel handlers, offering you a ride around. Be careful and make sure you had bargain the price properly before hopping into one of the animals. And you will need to prepare extra money for tips which is not included in the price you are negotiating. This scenario is very common across Egypt's tourism spots. Since the Egyptian Revolution in 2011, the value of Egyptian's pound to drop. While this is a welcoming news for us as a tourist, this makes local's life more difficult and this causes them more desperate to earn extra money for their living.
The best time to visit here would be after the morning rush hour where the site was crowded with tour buses (which is after 11 am).
Apart from the 3 main pyramids and 3 smaller pyramids, another famous monument is lying around; the Great Sphinx of Giza or human head lion monuments. It was located at the entrance to the complex.
Can I go inside the Pyramid?
One of the most common questions people asked me about the pyramid is... Can we go inside the pyramid? The answer is... YES, you can. One of the main pyramids was open for tourists to enter via a steep and narrow wooden step as below. It will lead you into a small empty enclosed room. There might be treasure here but millennials of tomb raiding leave nothing in here.
Sound and Light Show
An hour light and sound showcasing the history of ancient Egyptian rulers was held at the complex near the Sphinx. You will need to pay for the shows. As a traveller on a tight budget, I instead opt for watching it for free at the rooftop of Pizza Hut across the street.
A testament of the Past
The chaotic day at the pyramid ended with these amazing photos of the pyramid during the sunset. As chaotic as it seems, Egypt (especially the pyramids) has its own explainable charm. My visit here answers some of question about the pyramid that I had since my childhood but it leave me with even more questions to be answered. Reluctant to leave, I will be back again after the world is open up again for travel, to find the answer. And most importantly, to enable me to be immersed once again in one of the greatest civilization of mankind. Goodbye and see you again
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