We wake up at 6:00 am. Had a decent night's sleep but excited to start exploring Egypt.
Buffet breakfast at Khan el Khalili Cafe which is located in the main building. A bit of a walk but good exercise. I have scrambled eggs, fruit, orange juice, coffee. Richard has cereal, dates, fruit, orange juice, tea. A nice variety. View of pyramids from this cafe.
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Main building
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Reception
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Breakfast buffet
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View
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Our scheduled pick up time was changed from 7:30 am to 9:00 am. In front of the hotel/resort main entrance. Driver is Adel. Guide is Mustafa. Because Egypt gets its gasoline from Libya where there is currently political unrest the A/C will only be turned on if we request it. We try to be mindful not to waste the precious gas on the A/C but it's so hot!
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Our driver Adel
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Unfortunately the pictures I had taken from today's excursion have mostly disappeared but luckily I did have a few in a scrapbook I did when I got home from this trip. Our first stop is the step pyramid of
SAQQARA/SAKKARA. In the time of the Old Kingdom Egypt's royalty and nobility were buried at Saqqara. The name could come from Sokar, the Memphis god of the dead although another could say it comes from saq, the Arabic word for a hawk or falcon, the sacred bird of Horus. Or the name is from Beni Saqqar-local Berber tribe. This is the funerary complex of King Zoser/Djoser.
Step Pyramid 27th century BC. Imhotep was chief architect. Largest structure ever built in stone back then. Originally there were levels of stones to create a four-step and then a six-step pyramid which was clad in white limestone.
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| Admission ticket |
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| Imhotep Museum and our guide Mustafa |
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Step Pyramid
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Postcard
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MEMPHIS. World Heritage Site. Village of
MIT RAHINA. The ancient city, once the capital of the Old Kingdom, has been erased over the centuries by Nilotic silt. History. The city's foundation is attributed to Menes, the quasi-mythical ruler also known as Narmer-who was said to have unified Upper and Lower Egypt and launched the I Dynasty around 3100 BC. At that time Memphis was situated at the apex of the Delta and thus controlled overland and river communications. 4000 years of continuous occupation. There's an outdoor museum. A statue of Ramses II. Sadly most of my pictures are no where to be found except for these few. We stop at a roadside stand to buy bottles of water.
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Memphis
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Admission ticket
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| Ramses II |
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| Postcard |
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| Sphinx of Memphis |
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We bought bottles of water here
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DAHSHUR. Pyramids credited to Snefru/Snofru (c. 2613-2588 BC) father of Cheops and founder of the IV Dynasty. Red Pyramid. Bent Pyramid-still has some of its limestone coating. We entered the Red Pyramid. There's a ladder going down which you do backwards. Probably not for those who are claustrophobic. It's the only one you can enter. Saw the Bent Pyramid attributed to Amenemhet III, the Black Pyramid attributed to Snefru-the second pyramid in the group, the White Pyramid also attributed to Snefru-the third one in the group and located north. I only had these 2 pictures in my scrapbook and I know that I took more than that. I'm an avid photographer and would never just take 2 pictures from such an important site.
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| Admission ticket |
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| Red Pyramid |
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| We entered the Red Pyramid |
We got back to our hotel around 3:30 pm. Called Dr. Ragab's Papyrus Institute because I wanted a hand painted papyrus but there was no answer. Relaxed in the
pool until 5:00 pm. We are the only ones at this pool. I know there are other pools here at the hotel but this one is closest to our building where our room is located. The water was cold even though the pool is supposed to be heated. Maybe this isn't the pool that's heated? And the weather is hot so I would have thought the pool would be a perfect temperature. Not so.
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| Hotel swimming pool |
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| No one here but us |
Then we shower, change and take a taxi-driver Amir-to the
Four Season's Nile Plaza Hotel where we will have dinner at
BELLA. Before we are allowed to get out the outside of the car is examined by men with equipment that looks at the undercarriage of the car. There are also dogs. Are they looking for bombs? We get the ok and enter the hotel. We will call Amir when to pick us up. Bella has not only several pasta dishes on the menu but some appealing seafood entrees. Complimentary was a kind of pizza style pita bread with garlic and gruyere cheese. Yummy! Crisp bread sticks were also on the table. Green salads for both of us. I ordered the grilled sea bass with asparagus/spinach/mushrooms, and cubed potatoes. This dish was amazing. Richard has the salmon special-giant prawns, shrimp, risotto. Both fish dishes were cooked perfectly and nicely presented. Dessert was shared-machiatto ice cream with almond biscotti. Water, Stella beer. Yummy! Cost without tip 782.32 LE/$142.89. This restaurant is very serene, romantic, with an elegant atmosphere. Excellent service. A great into to our dining experiences in Egypt. Round trip taxi 180 LE driver Amir.
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| Dinner |
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Complimentary pizza style pita bread
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Richard's salmon, prawns, shrimp, risotto
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| My grilled sea bass with spinach/asparagus/mushrooms |
Tomorrow is a big day. The Giza plateau!
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