Day 3 (Part II) - GIza & Khalili

Day 3 - Part II (Giza & Khalili)

And now, off to Giza for the Great Pyramids! :) It was pretty sunny by now but still chilly due to the strong winds. There are 3 pyramids at Giza and the first of them was built for King Cheops. These were the last of the Pyramids and after their "evolution", these pyramids turned out to be the ones with the most magnificent architecture due to its perfect angles and stuff. There used to be an outer layer of drawings and hieroglyphs on the pyramids (probably depicting stories of the Pharaoh buried there) but over the ages this outer layer has gone and what we can see now are only the big huge blocks of granite that forms its structure. And believe me the blocks are huge! It's almost as tall of me!!! (see pic) Several small steps are carved onto the foundation blocks so tourists can go up and touch and see the Pyramid up-close.

Now remember in my previous blog entry I talked about the huge Egyptian schoolkids tours? The "rombongan lawatan sambil belajar"? Now here is where the 'interesting' stories come:P There were a lot of these groups on that day and, for reasons unknown to any of us, it seems to be that they kind of consider us some stars or something:P My first experience was when this couple of girls came up and asked to take pictures with me. I was so shocked I just obliged:P But seems that Woonie and Kok Hin were not spared either and as we walked around the place we had to entertain lots of questions of "Where you come from?", "What's your name?" and also picture-taking. The funniest part was when this group of schoolgirls asked me and Woonie for our autographs! And I'm like "What's that about...?":P

After lots of pics later, we experienced what turned out to be the highlight for me of my Egypt Trip - the camel ride =D Initially we were supposed to pay $USD10 each for the ride, but after Kok Hin's negotiations and a call to Ahmad the PIC, the fee was scrapped off:) Our camels were to take an around 15 minutes walk to a tiny hill where we will be able to take snapshots of all 3 pyramids at the Giza plateau together:) The camel ride was bumpy and I remember holding on for dear life because I was so afraid that I will fall down from that way up high seat! :P But I guess that fear is partly why the experience was so exciting , kinda like a roller-coaster ride you know? :P Oh, the ride was pretty smelly too because there was camel dung everywhere haha:P Another funny thing is that our camels were constantly trying to kiss each other or something ( you can see it in the picture), but according to their keeper they're both males! Hmm....anyway, all too soon the ride ended and we had to say goodbye to Cleopatra (that's our camel's name ;) ).

Next it was to the front of the second biggest pyramid there, where the Great Sphinx lies guard. This pyramid was built for Pharaoh Chephren, and supposedly there was a big piece of stone in front of his pyramid so they decided to carve it into the Sphinx with the face that is supposed to be Pharaoh Chephren's. Poor thing has lost a nose now though:P....Woonie was saying that the SPhinx is not as big as she though it was...I thought that it was nearer to the Pyramid but actually its not:P Also, as we were walking to the Sphinx, there were more schoolkids tours hanging around and asking for pictures and stuff, whick got slightly annoying especially when you're trying to get a decent picture but you can't as the kids keep trying to get into the frame:P In the end Noha had to tell some of them off so that they would stop bugging us:P.

Next it was off to another factory, this time a Papyrus factory. Remember when we were in school and we learnt about "kertas papirus" being used to write documents and all that? Well we saw how the papyrus scrolls are made. The Cyperus papyrus plant grows along the banks of the River Nile and the ancient Egyptians has made papyrus paper since 4000 BC. For more information of the process of how to make the papyrus paper, go to this link http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/egypt/dailylife/papyrus.html. :) Hehe I can't really describe the process well so...:P Again, when the demonstration was done, there was another sales pitch as the shop is covered with framed papyrus scrolls with beautiful Egyptian paintings and artworks on them, depicting myths, legends, Gods and Goddesses and also scenes of Egypt. With the smallest scroll retailing at RM60 each, this was another factory that saw all 3 of us leaving empty-handed:P

After that it was off to the Mosque of Mohammad Ali which is supposed to be the twin of the Blue Mosque in Turkey. More schoolkids tours, again Noha telling them off :P...The mosque was pretty impressive, but my jaw really dropped when I went inside (my first time in a mosque too!:)) The interior was just magnificent...there were these round lights hung all around that illuminated the place..and the columns and dome in hues of gold and green with Quranic verses carved on them...me and Woonie were so impressed that we said a collective 'Shit" the moment we stepped inside, meaning that in the most reverent way possible of course :).




A pretty late lunch was next :) Still had it in a tourist-only restaurant, but this time we had it buffet-style instead of the usual one dish meal of either chicken, fish or beef. Being the Malaysians that we are, all three of us were starting to get a little bit bored of the food so the buffet was a welcome respite :) I also tried several traditional Egyptian desserts, but couldn't finish them as all of them were so sweet...After that we bid goodbye to Noha as we were to leave for Aswan that night, where we will be joined by another tour guide, but before we left Cairo, there was one more place for us to go...the Khan El-Khalili Bazaar for some major shopping! :D


Shopping at Khan El-Khalili Bazaar is definitely an experience of its own. As you walk down the streets everyone from every shop is asking and telling you things like "Where you come from?", "Come come I give you good price!", "Only 1 dollar 1 dollar!" etc etc...You could just be absent mindedly fingering something and you can bet that you will be stuck at that shop for quite sometime as the shopkeeper keeps haggling you to get something :P And when you DO actually like something, be prepared for some serious bargaining!:P

For example, a typical bargaining conversation between Woonie and a shopkeeper will sound something like this :

(Woonie looking at a shawl)
Shopkeeper: You like? $USD60 for the pashmina, very good price, this very good quality.
Woonie (shakes her head) : No...it's too expensive (makes to go away)
Shopekeeper (stops Woonie) : No no its ok you tell me your price, you tell me...
Woonie (laughs) : You will scold me if I tell you...
Shopkeeper (shakes head, maybe try to put arm around Woonie) :No no no...how much you want come tell me, I give you good price...
Woonie (holds up both hands) :10 Egytian Pounds!
Shopkeeper (looks away...) : No no no....55 pounds, this good price, good quality!!

...and it goes on and on....until either :
i) We get to buy the product for a fraction of the price
ii) We walk away to other shops around the area:P

In the end we did get some nice shawls for a pretty good price from one of the shops...In fact Woonie got more than shawls, the shopkeeper also offered to line her eyes with kohl for free!:P So we went up to the attic of his shop, and after some time, Voila! Woonie with bigger, darker eyes :)





We contiuned walking down the bright colourful streets of the bazaar. Some of the more common souvenirs that we found included shishas of every sizes, t-shirts, jewellery, brightly coloured Galabea (traditional costumes), sexy belly dancer costumes with dangling beads, statues of all the things that we connect with Egypt (pyramids, pharaohs, gods and goddeses, cats, the Key of Life or Ankh which is a symbol of good luck, the scarab etc), and also papyrus bookmarks and scrolls depicting Egypt's myths and legends. As we were walking, me and Woonie got a lot of funny, flirtatious stares and looks (sometimes shouts) from the male shopkeepers and locals (which is pretty much everyone there, for reasons unknown we saw very few Egyptian ladies) so it was really a bit uncomfortable....There was even an incident where we walked into a shop and the shopkeeper put his arms around Kok Hin's shoulders, and then proceeded to hug and kiss me and Woonie =o/ He was like "Where you come from? Malaysia? My brother is in Malaysia!!!", and before me and Woonie knew what was happening he swooped down on us...scary...

But I guess the funniest incident for me that whole night was when this following conversation happened as we were leaving the bazaar...

(Me walking, an Egyptian guy in front of me turned around and stared at me)
Guy : Where you come from?
Me : (still walking) Malaysia...
Guy: (still staring) I will make you happy forever!

I was so flabbergasted I faster walked away and when I saw Kok Hin immediately grabbed his hand, Woonie all the while laughing uncontrollably beside me:P.

After our unforgettable shopping experience in Khalili, we got into our van which sent us to the train station as we were taking the sleeper train to go to Aswan. Ahmad and Sharif was there to send us off, and as the train was later, I slept in the waiting room while Woonie, Kok Hin and the rest chatted. When I woke up it was time to get onto the sleeper train. Fortunately me and Woonie got into the same cabin :) The sleeper train's cabin is pretty compact, but inside there is a tiny wash stand for us to brush our teeth and things, and after we had our dinner (served by this really nice and comical porter:P), he pulled some level or other which 'magically' transformed our seats into bunk beds! =D SO cool...the only thing that I wasn't happy with was the fact that I can't take a bath as there are no shower facilities :o/ Still, I made do with my wet tissues:P After brushing my teeth and a visit to the loo and back (coincidentally on my way back to the room I got to meet a fellow Malaysian, Stanley who was on the same flight as us to Cairo from KL:P), I settled down on the cosy bunk bed with Bobby (my yellow teddy :)), and promptly fell asleep as the train rocked gently all the way to Aswan the next day....:)