Egypt - Interesting

Our arrival in Alexandria....isn't it so pretty.  Here we joined a tour to travel to Cairo to see the Pyramids, Spinx and Egypt Museum - Tutankahmun's Treasures (Sorry no photos of Museum). 

We are now on the bus seeing the real Alexandria.  Have to remind ourselves that it is very dusty as we are in a desert...hence the lack of colour.   The other shock we had is that we travelled in bus convoy with armed vehicles front and back.  Also a security guy on each bus....we did notice that he was armed. We stopped half-way at a check point.  The guard was with us the entire day.  We had a three hour bus ride to Cairo and three hours turned into longer on return due to the heavier traffic.  A long day.

Just love this photo....I actually took this one.

The litter appears.

Had to take this as it appears to be sugar cane in the shop.  We have fields of it around where we live.

The pyramids of Giza....we are here and how awesome they are.  To withstand all this time. 

This is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.  Egyptologists believe that the pyramid was built as a tomb for Pharaoh Khufu and constructed over a 14 to 20 year period concluding around 2560 BC. :-0

The Great Pyramid stands at 146.5 metres tall and was the tallest man-made structure in the world for 3800 years.

The tourists have arrived.

One of the many aggressive camel ride owners and people selling their wares at the base of the Pyramid.

We were warned before hopping off the bus that these people are very aggressive.....we all thought 'yeah, yeah'.  Well they are.  As soon as our feet hit the ground there were people in our faces selling us trinkets, coins, postcards, camel rides etc.  We soon learnt to say 'NO' and keep on moving without looking at who was talking to us.  This camel rider actually chased us up to a second level of rocks as our friend we travelled with tried to be a little polite.  WRONG.  Another thing if you take a photo of the cute and innocent kids that sitting so cutely on their donkeys and smiling be warned ..... as soon as that shutter clicks they are off their donkey and chasing you for money.

The view of Cairo from the Pyramids....yes....we are right on the city's doorstep.  I really thought the Pyramids were out in the desert by themselves.

A view from the bottom to the tippy top.

One of the guards standing behinds the roped off area.

Next stop the Spinx which is walking distance of the Pyramids.  Another wondrous sight to see in my lifetime.

The two amazing sites together.

Now this is a view that is not shown very often.  This is all around the base of the Pyramid....as well as all the animal poo.  

So in all ...... I glad that I have been to visit but disappointed at the respect that is shown to these great structures.  Not somewhere I will return to.  But it is something that if you get the chance you have to see.

I had a fascination for the licence plates.  I think I just really love the wonderful script letters.

This I took for my friend in New Zealand whose partner owns a Honda car parts yard.  Great use of space.

A lot of the units look like this.....unfinished.  Apparently, everyone moves in when there is one thickness of brick work instead of the two or before the top is finished.  If they move in when it's unfinished they don't have to pay Government Taxes.

Lots of different loads seen on the roads.  Crazy, crazy traffic....travelling only about 20 cm distance from one another.  There are lanes marked but not one uses these lines.  Horns are honked to say I am coming through and I will come through and people just move on over.  I must admit no-one aggressively honks the horn or hangs out the window and abuses anyone.  Amazing......everything is very fast and hectic but it all seems to work. 

Too scary for me....so glad we were in a big bus.

A colourful building amongst all the drab.

The Nile river as we crossed over a bridge on the way to the Egyptian Museum.

Now this is the Pyramid that I am glad we live beside.

Walsh's Pyramid.....Nature built.....922m high.