Egypt. Taba. Sinai Peninsula + Cairo.
Chapter 1. In a travel agency.
Upon arrival from Turkey in October, we agreed at the airport with Ira, one of my friends, that we definitely need to see Egypt in a month or two. No sooner said than done!
Ira called me in early December and said that she found out everything! We met with her and began to look through the list offered to us by an already verified travel agency
- Egypt is approximately the same as Turkey. In the sense that the Egyptian "five" (5 star hotel) is approximately at the same level. Well, maybe a little easier regarding nutrition. You know, the travel agency will not lie, - Ira told me.
Well, let's see what they offered us! I replied and we started watching.
By the way, for the first time we decided to fly to Sharm El Sheikh (“Sharm”) and see this part of Egypt, that is, the Sinai Peninsula.
- Here is a good hotel in Sharm, here is in Dahab, in Nuweiba - Ira showed the hotels offered by the travel agency, - And here, the farthest point of the peninsula in the Gulf of Aqaba, a place called Taba. There is a very good “five”, a hotel of the Hilton family. The price is the same as we had in Turkey. Even a little cheaper. Here the tour is not 7 days, but 9! And in Taba, they say, the very best corals and fish! Three hours drive from the airport, but it's worth it. Because here is exactly what you asked to know - a casino at the hotel! summed up my companion.
- Taxi! - I collected my thoughts, - The only negative is the three-hour journey from the airport. The rest is pluses. And the casino. . .
The fact is that I have never looked into such establishments in my life. I have waited long and hard for the chance to visit a casino abroad!
Of course, if the hotel was not very good, but there would be a casino, I would not choose it. Although, probably, there are casinos only in good hotels? Here we have a chance to visit the "five" "Hilton", see the fish... and three hours to go through the desert by bus from the airport with an Arab driver. Hmm... well, let's take a chance! Moreover, this is our favorite “Pegas Touristik” (“Pegastic”, as we called it back in Turkey).
The tour has been booked! We flew out a few days later. In the meantime, we had to prepare for the trip.
On the way to meet Ira, I kept thinking what we should take with us. The suitcase is already there. It's a matter of small! Fish, corals, casinos, mummies, pyramids, pharaohs, desert. . .
After making several runs to different shops of the mall, we got new things: binoculars, a map of Egypt, an Arabic phrase book, a water bottle, an underwater film camera in a case, and a CD with the movie “The Mummy” and “The Mummy Returns”!
We watched movies that same evening to spice up our trip! Moreover, later I downloaded an ancient Egyptian dictionary from the Internet, which I printed out and put in my suitcase. Fins, a mask and a snorkel also went there. Remembering the rather expensive advantage in Turkey, I weighed my suitcase. Seventeen kilos. So there are 3 more kilos for souvenirs. But this is not enough. I called Ira. Her bag weighed 10 kilograms and for two of us we still had 13! Will do!
Chapter 2. To Egypt!
Early in the morning we took a taxi to the international airlines. First there was baggage control and obtaining a ticket, then customs, baggage check-in and ticket registration.
Standing in line at passport control, I suddenly heard one man say - “How many people, probably the plane will be “TU”.
This is where I got nervous! What else "TU"? At the travel agency, I asked for a Boeing or an Airbus! Turned to the man and asked why he thought it would be “TU”.
It turned out that it was just his guess, and I breathed a sigh of relief. And then for some reason he asked - “Are you by any chance flying to Taboo? In Taboo? ! And which hotel? Hilton? ! And so are we! ”
And so we met right at the airport. It was family. Lesha with Lily, and with them was a son, whose name was Sergey. They flew to Taba for the second time and specifically to show their son the underwater world of the Red Sea.
“Then they didn’t lie about the fish! ” I happily said to Ira.
Then we started going through passport control, then hand luggage control with all the same aunts screaming at everyone. Then many tourists ran to the Duty Free for alcohol, and we continued to get acquainted with our hotel neighbors.
The plane, of course, we had a Boeing, the Orenea company (rented by Pegas Touristik), but this time we had seats at the very end of the cabin, in the tail. And we ourselves asked them. I read somewhere that the safest places are located there. In the event that the plane breaks in half, the tail, in theory, can land on its own. But in fact, of course, it was more an attempt to retire from drunken, screaming our tourists, whom we had seen enough when we flew to Turkey. But we didn't succeed! On the contrary, the most drunks of the flight this time also asked for a seat in the tail!
After a ten-minute swearing by the flight attendants who asked passengers to sit in seats according to the numbers on the tickets, which the tourists who had already done well in the waiting room did not want to do (you see, their “alcohol company” gathered in different parts of the plane and it’s not convenient to run around the cabin with glasses), the doors closed and we taxied to the runway.
The howl of turbines, “sticking” into the chair and the earth goes down somewhere! We are flying! Second time abroad!
The flight was pretty fun. First, a woman sitting nearby, taking a glass of cognac every 5 minutes, doused Ira with this very drink, then a man sitting nearby began to complain that after half a liter a grid appeared in front of his eyes, and then the child sitting in front began to get us, as his drunken parents are asleep! It's good that the flight is not long!
When I saw Egyptian land on the navigator, Ira and I began to look out the window. Below was the sea! Sometimes blue, sometimes green. We flew over the most beautiful islands with clear water around, and it seemed (or maybe really) that in some places the bottom was clearly visible!
And at some point, the moon appeared in the sky. Or rather, a month. The fact that the moon can sometimes be seen in the morning, of course, we knew, so we were not surprised. But Ira suddenly said - a young growing month, let's show him the money!
- What for? I was surprised.
- So that soon more money will come! I always do this! Ira answered.
Of course, I didn’t really believe in all these signs, but I decided to show it! Why not? There is nothing to do anyway, the month is very close, because we are almost 10 kilometers closer to it... and took out a pack of dollars from his pocket, putting it right into the window! Month-month, give us more money like that!
Chapter 3. The road to the hotel.
On the radio they asked to fasten their seat belts and the plane began to land! The sea is a desert, the desert is a sea, and here is the landing strip and the message on the radio - “Welcome to Sharm El Sheikh! ”.
Being one of the first to leave the aircraft cabin, so as not to watch how our tourists would be endured, we boarded the first bus that arrived for us and a few minutes later we were at the airport.
The building was small and very interesting in shape - round in places, and resembled a huge tent! There were human body temperature sensors, and if it was elevated, it was necessary to undergo an examination by a doctor. But everyone flew to the resort healthy and the second stage began - filling out a guest questionnaire in English. It's just not clear why. Well, then, however, they found out - you give 5 dollars and they fill it out themselves. And, more precisely, they don’t fill it at all, but simply skip it. Okay, let's move on!
It was mid-December outside, and the African heat was on the street! High humidity, palm trees, sun! Beauties!
According to the already known scheme, we found the Pegasus counter, where we found out the number of our bus, which we found also quickly. After loading the bags, we entered into a bargain with the drink vendors that were hanging around! I wanted to drink, Africa, after all!
- Van dollar, only van dollar! - said an Arab who came up to us and was selling cola.
– An animated mummy, magical sands, the Book of the Dead, a lost city… great, though a fairy tale, but great! - I thought, - But probably under tons of sand, there is still a lot of interesting things hidden here! Or maybe dangerous! But it's hard to find anything. As Dr. Jones told his archaeologist students, sitting in libraries is not enough! Dig!
- And where to dig it? Not at the Hilton! In other words, our trip is not archaeological, for now we will limit ourselves to what others have already found!
The deserted shores of the Sinai Peninsula ended and hotels began. As in Turkey, our hotel was the end point of the bus, and we were lucky to see others in different areas.
The road through the desert, by the way, was excellent. It was built by Israel, and after the return of the peninsula to Egypt, everything that was built here went to the country.
And finally, we drove into Taba - the extreme point of Egypt, and then there was already a border. As it turned out, there are mainly prestigious five-star hotels of the highest class, such as the Intercontinental, Movenpick, by the way, the neighbor of our hotel, and others. And here is the Hilton itself! The last hotel in Egypt on this side.
The entrance to the territory was carried out after checking the luggage on the tape, approximately like at the airport. The fact is that on October 7.2004, a terrorist attack occurred here, which partially destroyed the hotel. After the restoration, the following security measures were taken and, just in case, the parking lot was removed from the building itself. Then a truck bomb exploded on it.
After passing through security, we went inside! The hall was of a decent size and there was already a queue of our tourists to receive key cards from the room. Well, of course! Here, too, there is a Russian girl at the “reception”! And just like in Turkey, she is always unhappy and rude to everyone! OK. We do not pay attention to it, we go to the room!
Opening the door, we expected to see, of course, something completely different than it was here. The room was small and without a balcony. The windows overlooked the local bazaar, and somewhere downstairs the ventilation of the hotel was buzzing. We looked at each other disappointedly and then I heard Russian speech in the corridor. This was the guy who came here with his wife for the second time in 3 weeks. The room they had, as it turned out, was good and with a balcony.
Did they give you a bad number? he asked. “Ahh… You probably didn't know. Here you must immediately bribe the porter at the rate of $ 2 per day, that is, for 9 days it is $ 18. Then you will be given a good number. And so, the Russians are always given the worst. Well, let's go down, now we'll agree!
Not in a very good mood after what we heard, we went down. The guy took 20 dollars from us and went to chat with Mohammed, the duty administrator. But he returned with nothing. The administrator told him that enough for today!
N-yes. The fact that tourists, especially Russians, are belittled in some hotels, I heard this, but I did not fully believe it. We did not have this in Turkey. The room was given, of course, the windows are not on the sea, but like everyone else. And here the hotel is not worse, and they behave like that! Maybe call the US in the management of Hilton? ! Although, our compatriots themselves spoiled them with bribes. No wonder Russians are now given bad numbers at the beginning!
- Okay, Ir, everyone forgot, - I said, - We came to rest, then everything will be fine. And in general, if we ordered a Sea View room or with an agreed balcony, it’s one thing, otherwise... A standard room in this hotel is a standard, even with a balcony, even without, what they give, they will give. But we will not support the administrator with a bribe!
And having agreed not to think about it again, we returned, unpacked our things and began to gather for dinner! Well, let's see what they eat in Egypt!
The restaurant was quite large, but the waiters here seated the tourists themselves. That is, if there are two of us, we will have a table for two or three. This also applied to alcoholic drinks - the wine was also brought to the table by the waiters themselves, and for each glass of wine it was necessary to report the room number. As I found out later, this was done for the report. And suddenly they drink! The food here was good, but rather monotonous. A new dish rarely appeared and, going for breakfast, lunch or dinner, we already knew exactly what we would choose. And drinks, fruits, and sweets were in a large assortment. In general, the food was a little worse than in Turkey, but not bad. True, the number of meals was three against seven Turkish. By the way, a prerequisite for entering the dining room was the application of liquid gel to the hands, but not soap, but disinfection - after a minute the gel evaporated. Well, that is, it was an alternative to washing hands with soap!
After dinner, we returned to the room and began to explore it. The air conditioner worked properly, the room had a safe, which was included in the price, the refrigerator was full of all sorts of cola and chocolates, however, here they were paid. There was a price list on the refrigerator. Only one bottle of 1.5 liters of water per day was given free of charge. It was not always enough, but you could buy it at the hotel. Drinking tap water, especially in Africa, was by no means impossible! The maximum is to brush your teeth, and even then, it is not recommended!
Our first night went well. It was, however, a little chilly, but warm blankets were also available here. Cool at night, hot during the day - a common occurrence in the desert! The sun rose very early here, and also set early. From 8 am it was already possible to sunbathe with might and main (considering that it was winter outside).
After breakfast, where we met with our new acquaintances Lilya, Lesha and Sergey, we went to the beach, having received towels on a special card. The beach was literally 20 meters from the hotel itself and consisted, of course, only of sand. Palm trees grew here, between which hammocks were stretched throughout the territory, and there were also sunbeds on which our company was located.
- Well, I'll go and try some water! - I told everyone, but Lesha stopped me.
- What about slippers?
- Slippers? What slippers?!
It turns out that in the Red Sea you need to swim only in special rubber slippers with thick soles. Or in fins. Otherwise, it was possible to cash in on your head, or rather, on your feet, a lot of trouble. Having trusted already experienced swimmers, I went to the local bazaar, which was located right on the territory of the hotel. There, in the first store, I bought two pairs of the right size, for me and Ira. Well, now I'll try! I went into the sea and took a dip. The water is definitely saltier than in the Mediterranean, therefore, it is easier to stay on the surface, and it is more difficult to drown. The water is very, very clean, just crystal clear! But the promised fish something is not visible!
I went ashore.
- Where can I see the underwater world? I asked everyone.
- And you put on a mask and look! Lily smiled.
Well! I put on my mask and went back in. Having sailed a little from the shore, I plunged headlong... I could not even imagine such a thing! The sea to the very bottom was the cleanest, as well as on the surface, and everything was visible very far in any direction. And coral gardens bloomed all around me! And in these gardens, many fish of all colors and sizes swam! Butterfly fish, clown fish, yellow, red, golden, small, large…
I jumped out excitedly!
- Iraaaaa! I yelled, “Hurry up, take a mask, two pipes, put on slippers and come here! ”
After 5 minutes, we were already swimming around the corals together and examined their inhabitants. The gardens were about five meters from the shore at a depth of one to two meters. Small fish swam on the surface, trying to make friends with us (as it turned out later, they were waiting for food), and larger fish were usually lower, at a depth of about a meter and a half. Of course, Ira and I didn’t think of sticking our fingers, arms and legs into cracks and crevices, and our first acquaintance with the underwater world of the Red Sea went perfectly! At the same time, I managed to make sure from my own experience that slippers or flippers are simply necessary here! Swimming in the shore, I took a vertical position and began to search for the bottom. Groped. But something caught my leg a little. I dived to check what was there, and saw that I had put my foot on a small coral that grew right next to the shore. Rubber shoes protected my foot, however, the coral still got me a little in the ankle area. I went ashore and looked at the scratch. It was small, but the blood did not stop right away, and then this cut was pinched by salt water for another four days. And would be without protection - it could be worse!
After lunch, we made another visit to the fish, but with a treat! In general, it was impossible to feed the fish here. You could make a comment. But if a little and not often, then you can!
The fact that we saw a lot of fish in the morning is not much! It is worth crumbling a bun in the sea, as the water boils around, and hundreds of different fish will attack the food and instantly tear the pieces into small, small crumbs! And in a minute they will again swim peacefully nearby! All this we observed both from the surface of the water and under water, and photographed. It's a pity, though, there were big fish that swam a little lower. They also really wanted to eat, but the little ones were more agile and ate everything in a matter of seconds. And the big ones, without catching food, swam sadly, opening their mouths. Well, at least put a bun right there for them !! ! But in fact, it's dangerous. If you feed the fish from your hand, you can be left, at best, without a piece of skin on your fingers.
After an exciting process of feeding, we sailed away. Here at the bottom lived harmless starfish and almost harmless families of sea urchins, with needles about 30 centimeters long. Accidentally stepping on IT was even more dangerous than on the coral. But, as Lilya and Lesha told us, rubber slippers also provide protection from hedgehogs. But it's better to look at the bottom anyway, and then get up! And, having finally decided on safety precautions, and having familiarized ourselves with the local marine life, we went to dinner. And then we had an acquaintance with the hotel guides!
Chapter 6. Selection of excursions and a walk on a yacht.
For some reason, there were two guides from Pegasus here. One Russian woman, of course, also rude and always dissatisfied with something, and an Arab, who speaks excellent Russian, named Mustafa.
- Let's talk to him! Ira and I decided.
Excursions from Taba offered interesting. Mount Moses, Israel, Jordan, of course Cairo, quad biking in the desert and a boat trip.
Israel, namely the excursion, was not very interested in us now, since we had already been there. However, we immediately had the idea that we could cross the border ourselves, since it was visible from the hotel window. And in this regard, we asked the question, do they put a stamp in the passport when crossing on foot?
- Necessarily! The guide disappointed us.
Remembering how nervous we were in Israel about this when we flew from Turkey, we decided not to risk it. In the near future we had plans to visit the Emirates. Let's visit, and then we'll see Israel!
Of course, Jordan also disappeared for the same reason. Well then, be sure to take Cairo! And you need to know about the Nile Valley - Luxor and Kornak.
- It's night to go to Cairo by bus! In Luxor you go back to Sharm, then by plane to Hurghada and back the same way! Mustafa told us.
- All clear! In the Nile Valley we will sleep and see nothing really.
Let's do it another time, if we ever have a rest in Hurghada, - I said to Ira, - And Cairo... well, what can we do. Will have to go! Night in the desert. It's okay, we'll survive. We're not going on camels!
Moving away from the hotel zone for about 3-4 kilometers, the yachts anchored not far from the deserted coast. Divers immediately went under the water, and we - to swim! But we didn't swim for long. Our ship's guide jumped into the water and called the whole group to come with him. We swam. But where and why? Or maybe there is something that we have not seen yet ?!
Having swum fifty meters and not seeing anything new, I asked the guide why and where we were sailing at all. The answer pleased and was something like this - “Just swimming”! The people laughed, and I showed signs that I went to the yacht. True, at that time our ships were making some tricky maneuvers to turn around, and we had to wait about ten minutes. I decided to spend this time with benefit and got out on a deserted beach to sunbathe a little. Then the sailing tourists called me. The guide apologized profusely for “the boat was a problem” and we all got to dinner! The food, to be honest, was not very good here - pasta in some kind of sauce and drinks. By sea, in general!
After some time, the divers returned and the first thing we, of course, asked - “Well, how is it? ”.
- It's so great! - said the girl who went up on deck, and added with delight, - There are such fish! I stuck one finger in and she bit me!
Everyone laughed like a herd, but it was not possible to find out anything else. The answers were limited to phrases - “Yes, it's great there! Yes, it’s beautiful and interesting! ”. Apparently, this meant - “We didn’t take diving - it’s our own fault, we won’t tell you anything. ”
Well, okay. Nevertheless, it would not hurt to take a diving course yourself, but next time!
We returned to the hotel beach just in time for dinner. After a quick meal, we said goodbye to Lilia and Lesha, since they did not go to Cairo, and went to get ready.
We only slept for an hour and a half. Two zombies, one wearing an Indiana Jones hat, soft canteen of water and a video camera at the ready, arrived in the lobby. After drinking coffee there, we came to our senses a little and went to the hall, where people had already begun to gather, who were also going to Cairo. Everyone here was given dry rations for the journey - sandwiches and chocolates... But they didn’t give us. It turns out that we were signed up for the tour, but they forgot to include us in the list for food. That's right, but why do we need food ?!
Hmm, good guides here. One is always dissatisfied, the second is a sclerotic! Well, nothing, there should be stops along the way.
The hotel was already branded bus tour operator. The truth is not empty. First, he gathered people from the nearest hotels, and we were the last to pick up. We greeted the guide, the driver and the security guard in a jacket (directly the presidential guard), and entered the salon. With us, among other things, we had pillows from the hotel. The hotel guide told us to take them with us, as we had to spend the rest of the night on the bus. And everything would be fine, but all the places were occupied. Well, that is, the bus was half empty, but the people sat down so that everyone was sitting alone. Of course, people from the same company also did not sit together to make it more comfortable to sleep. And where should we go? Sit down now with strangers? The last thing I wanted to do was wake up on the shoulder of some bearded man! I immediately remembered the shots from the movie “Police Academy” in the bar “Blue Oyster” - “Tuturu-tututun”!!!
Tourists from our hotel in the end, of course, started swearing, the guard and the driver held their heads, and the guide in Russian tearfully asked people from the same company to sit next to each other. Fifteen minutes later, some of them still got it and they moved, freeing up seats. And we hit the road! True, twenty minutes later, for some reason, at some post, we were stopped by the locals, either the military or the police. One of them entered the bus and walked through the cabin, briefly looked at all the passengers. Apparently they were checking, suddenly an Arab terrorist got into the bus! All the passengers were sitting with stone faces, and when the inspector came up to me, I told him - “Hello! ”.
- O! Hello! - the stern Arab blossomed in a smile and almost climbed to kiss!
Then he left the salon, and we drove on!
It was an African night. The bus flew along a good and straight road through the desert. All the tourists except me were asleep. I generally like not to sleep at night, so I sat and looked ahead. Now the desert, then the mountains, then the mountains, then the desert. That met the bus. I wonder why both turn off the headlights at night ? ! Do they blind each other? But something high is coming towards you. Yes, it's a minibus! The height of the machine itself is two meters and the same amount is loaded from above with bales! This can be seen in many films where Africa or India is present, but watching live is much more interesting!
Then I still decided to get some sleep, as the day was going to be difficult.
I woke up from the fact that the people on the bus were arguing about who should go to the toilet first (in the sense of the bus). There are a lot of people, but only one room! When everyone calmed down, I took a nap for another 30 minutes and woke up again, but this time because the sun was shining in my eyes. Dawn in the desert!
The bus stopped at some big road eatery. The guide announced into the microphone that if someone wants to eat or drink, go ahead! Parking 30 minutes. Of course, Ira and I ran to the cafe first! The kind guide from the hotel forgot to order us food to go.
As soon as we stepped out, we felt cold! Well, not frost, but 7-10 degrees, not higher. And we were dressed lightly, as during the day the temperature would be 25 degrees in the shade.
After having a snack and drinking two cups of coffee, we no longer fell asleep. Soon, vehicles began to appear on the road - cars, trucks, carts and camels.
The passengers on the bus finally came to their senses when we were already crossing the Suez Canal, and the guide, who, as it turned out later, was only a bus guide, began to tell us about this area.
Chapter 8. Cairo, Giza, pyramids and mummies.
Ali, that was the name of the guide, said that one square meter of land costs $1. Well, not by the sea, of course, but in the desert, about fifty kilometers from the Nile or the Suez Canal. And who needs it, land? No water - no life!
Closer to Cairo, residential buildings began to appear. In appearance, of course, these were carelessly molded sheds from what came to hand, and instead of a roof, many had an unfinished floor. The poor, there is not enough money to complete the houses...
- Not quite so, - Ali reassured us, - That they are poor, yes, but that's not why they are unfinished here. The fact is that you have to pay tax for the next floor. And if there is no roof, then this is not considered a completed floor! What clever people we have!
The cars here were also peculiar - incomprehensible models. We have not seen such. Mostly they were old vans and minibuses, like our RAFIK, only even older. Like in the movie "Fantô mas" with Louis de Funes. Animals were often transported in vans, and minibuses served as route vehicles. Moreover, they were packed to capacity, but this did not frighten the locals. They were quietly placed on the steps, sitting at the open door, and some were sitting right on the roof!
And so we entered Cairo! Our bus was definitely one of the best vehicles around, as we were surrounded by mostly old Fords and Fiats. I've seen cars like this from time to time. But of course, as an experienced driver, I was very surprised by the organization of traffic. That is, there was practically no organization at all, as well as rules. Cars, trucks and buses drove up to the intersection from two or three sides and agreed with gestures who would pass first. The unspoken rule of passage was one more thing - the one who has the most “barn” passes first: a bus, a truck, an SUV, a passenger car. Nobody used the direction indicators here. There were only 9 traffic lights for the entire huge city of eight million, 8 of which did not work, and the Arabs did not pay any attention to the one remaining! There were also many carts. For example, one of them with a cab driver almost overtook us in the third row, but, really, he was not lucky - the bridge began and his transport, with a capacity of one horsepower, could not overtake our bus and fell behind! But despite this “Cairo chaos” on the road, I saw only one accident, and that was on a straight line - one car slightly caught up with another in the ass. Yeees! In our country, with such an organization of the movement, almost everyone would have beaten on the first day! To be honest, I don’t even know if I would risk driving around Cairo in a rented car. In other matters, such trifles as scratches do not really bother anyone here. Say hello and move on!
After giving a lecture on traffic in Cairo, the guide said something to the driver and we stopped. Our bus picked up a man with glasses, a little overweight and clearly a local. He took the microphone and introduced himself! This was our guide to the city, to which he handed over the reins of power to Ali.
Our new guide's name was Hasan and he spoke excellent Russian! Moreover, from his first words, I realized that he is an interesting, cheerful person and, therefore, the tour will be good!
“Look to the right, ” he said. “Here we see slums and mountains of rubbish.
This is a common occurrence for us. What do we see on the right? – also quietly in the floor asked the guide.
The people turned their heads at once and froze! In the distance, the silhouette of a huge pyramid was clearly visible, shaking the imagination! I wonder why we have not seen it from other parts of the city? The guide knew exactly when to draw our attention and create the effect of surprise!
And Hasan continued. He handed out to the entire salon a sheet of A4 paper, on which there was a translation into Russian of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. Everyone began to study them, and I proudly took out my printout, which took 10 sheets!
Our bus was approaching the city of Giza, which had practically merged with Cairo. Here, in the vicinity, in the Libyan desert, the pyramids were located!
We stopped about a hundred meters from the largest - Khufu (Cheops), in a special parking lot.
- Attention! - the guide said loudly, - Now you yourself are going to visit the pyramids. You cannot take pictures inside. Two are available for the tour - Cheops, the largest, it is paid, tickets can be bought over there (he pointed to the cashier), and that one is small. This is the pyramid of queens, called the pyramid of Mother Cheops. It's free. And yet, you know the parable - ride a camel 1 dollar, get off the camel 100 dollars! - the guide smiled, - I'll be waiting for you at the bus in 30 minutes!
I don't understand our compatriots. I don't understand everything. To go such a long way in order not to see the only one of the seven wonders of the world that has survived to this day? This is what I am for. Having learned that the entrance to the pyramid of Cheops costs 150 pounds (about $ 25), our entire bus, with the words “Oh, fuck it, ” sorry, stomped into a free small pyramid. They just flooded, since the queue at this pyramid already had a hundred people without them.
Twenty-five dollars for Egypt, in fact, a lot of money. Especially for the entrance to the pyramid. But once you've arrived, why not take a look? True, the ticket office did not accept dollars, but our bus guide happily lent us pounds, which we later returned to him.
The entrance to the pyramid of Cheops was carried out not from the ground, but from the plates that made up the pyramid, at a height of about 15 meters. Each, by the way, weighed an average of about 2.5 tons, and in total, about two million of these plates were involved in the pyramid! After all, the pyramid inside is not empty! And its height was 147 meters! I still can't imagine how it was built. Or maybe they weren't people at all? And the pyramid was not built for burial?
At the entrance, we were met by an Arab sitting on a chair, who checked the tickets, said the phrase - “But the photo, but the video”, and showed with his hand - come in!
We went inside. There was a rather narrow corridor, reminiscent of a cave. Lamps were lit and video cameras hung around. I started to take out my printouts with the ancient Egyptian language and the plan of the pyramid, but then I was disappointed. All the passages, except one, were closed with bars with a padlock. You can't play explorers. It's a pity! Well then let's go ahead.
After a few meters, a rather steep ascent up the stairs began, or rather, along a wooden board, on which steps were nailed, as it were, so that tourists would not slide back. The ascent was about fifty meters. Having overcome it, out of breath, we entered the chamber of the Pharaoh, where there was an empty sarcophagus. All! The rest was not available for tourists!
Frustrated, we went down to the base.
- Well, let's go then to that little one we'll go! Ira suggested.
- Let's go to!
The crowd of tourists either had already looked at the free pyramid, or was inside, so we entered it without a queue. There was the same corridor as in Cheops, and at the end there was a small chamber and there was also a sarcophagus. True, unlike the big one, about 50 people gathered in this cell. And half tried to get in there.
- Let me in! The bus is leaving!
“People, where are you going? ” There is nothing to breathe here!
- Let's go ahead, don't listen to them, everyone wants to see!
“Ahh, let me out! ”
This is how our economical tourists looked at the pyramid. Ira and I did not enter the cell, we just glanced at it. Then we returned to the place of our meeting with the guide, on the way all the time fighting off obsessive sellers who sell figurines fifty times more expensive than they actually cost. And from free camel rides and very paid getting off it (in other words, I would jump off myself, but a woman or a child would not). And from police officers offering to take a photo against the backdrop of the pyramids for $ 1 (although, in my opinion, it is better to do this than others). When everyone gathered at the bus, Hasan showed us a place near the pyramid, where there were huge pits. Here, archaeologists found the buried Sun Boats of the Egyptian fleet, one of which is now in the Sun Boat Museum near the pyramids. This was the end of the tour. In the pyramid of Khafre, in which the lining was preserved at the very top, and Mikerin was not allowed. Therefore, there was nothing more for a simple tourist to do here.
The bus brought us to an observation deck near the pyramids, where everyone had a photo session, and after that we went to the Sphinx. This huge statue has seen a lot. According to the stories of scientists, it was repeatedly watered by heavy rains and taken away by millennial sands. And only in 1925 the statue was cleaned, and in this form tourists admire it, all as one taking a photo from afar “lips to lips”.
And the downside of this place was that the obsessive traders of all sorts of nonsense just terribly got it. Bargaining for a figurine, which cost $1 in our bazaar at the hotel, here started at $30 and ended with the word “free”, but not three, but free. But if you pick up the goods, then everything! No one will take it back and the seller simply will not lag behind. One such ran after us about two hundred meters, although we did not take the goods in our hands. At first I used the public phrases “But, senks”, then, seeing that the person did not understand, I switched to Russian phrases, but I tried gently! It all ended with the fact that already at the bus the seller, cursing in English, left. Well, do not beat him in the face there! I had to “not understand” his last phrase!
When everyone gathered, the group was taken to another interesting place - a perfume factory. We were seated in comfortable chairs and brought fruit tea. Then a guide to the factory came out to us, by the way, a Russian woman, who began to tell us about the assortment. It offered perfumes, both male and female, for all occasions. For example, the perfumes of various Egyptian queens to lure men. Or oils for the skin according to a secret ancient recipe for youth. And it turns out that one of the pharaohs had no heirs. He did not like "this business". And so, the court chemist created a special perfume for him. Pharaoh splashed them and soon he had a lot of children.
