EGYPT  2001:

The next stop on the tour was the Pyramids, Sphinx, and the Solar Boat.  On our way to the Pyramids, our guide Fathy warned us to stay away from the guys on the camels.  He told us that they are crooks and con artists that will trick you out of your money.  He also recommended not to make eye contact with them even if they start talking to you.  The first thing I did when I stepped off the bus was to walk away from the Great Pyramid in order to get the entire thing in a picture.  The pyramid is so enormous that it is impossible to take a picture of the entire thing without walking far away.  I guess because I was away from the rest of the group, a camel guy spotted me and came towards me.  I made the major mistake of looking at him when he started talking to me.  He immediately tried some con scheme on me and stood in the way of my picture and I assumed he wanted money for taking him in the picture.  I tried walking away but he kept following me around.  I was saved by an armed security guard or solider on another camel who saw that I wanted nothing to do with the crook.  He came running on the camel towards us and the camel crook immediately ran away.

Once I took some nice pictures of the Great Pyramid, our guide Fathy told us to hurry up over to the ticket booth to buy tickets to go inside the burial chambers in the pyramid.  We were very lucky to get the chance to go inside because they only allow two groups of 100 people to enter the pyramid per day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon.  We just happened to arrive when the afternoon group tickets went on sale.  The tunnels inside the Great Pyramid were spectacular.  I recommend being in good shape to make it to the top to the kings burial chamber because you need to climb about five flights of stairs in a tunnel with a three and a half foot ceiling.

The Solar Boat is real close to the Sphinx and Pyramid area, but they didn't allow cameras in there unless you bribed the guards.  The Solar Boat is a huge wooden boat found in the Pyramids area which was used to carry the body of the deceased Pharaoh to the burial site.  After the Solar Boat we saw the Sphinx.  Even though it was a little smaller than I expected, I was still impressed with the workmanship.

The pictures below are of the road to the Pyramids, outside and inside the Great Pyramid, the Sphinx, and some crooks with camels.  The seventh picture is of Dr. Wahby in the crooked blue hat and Fathy is the dark guy to the left of Dr. Wahby standing in front of the Sphinx, facing the camera in a picture about half way down.