Egyptian Exodus (Day 2)

My students had their presentation late on Monday morning (6 July 2009). It went well. The numerous practice sessions paid off. Results would only be known the next day (7 July 2009) during the World Festival (closing ceremony).

So, after lunch we all went on a tour to the Sakkara Pyramid. Nine of us in the group paid USD20 each. Sakkara is located about an hour's drive out of Cairo. The famous Sakkara Pyramid is also known as the Step Pyramid because it is made up of 6 "steps".


[The Sakkara Pyramid]

In the same area, we also visited a "mastaba" tomb, i.e. the top part of the tomb is flat. Inside, the walls were adorned with beautiful hieroglyphics drawings, some of which are in colour (although faded).


[The "mastaba" tomb]

A third attraction was a visit to the burial chamber inside another smaller pyramid. For this we had to crouch down (this reminds me of our visit to the Chu Chi tunnels in Ho Chi Minh City) to walk through a narrow declining passage way into the burial chamber where a now empty tomb is located. The ceiling of this tomb had drawings of stars. It was cool inside, a relief to the scorching and blinding sun outside. Here, we were also extorted by someone who appeared to be the caretaker. They were also a few peddlars trying to sell souvenirs.


[A smaller pyramid with its burial chamber adorned with stars on the ceiling]

On the way back to the city, we stopped at a perfume shop called Royal Perfumes Palace. The perfumes consisted of those originating from a single flower such as lotus, rose, jasmin, papyrus, gardenia, etc., to blends with names such as Isis (for ladies), Ramses (for men), Christmas Night, etc. They also have aromatherapy oils such as mint, eucalyptus, lavender, aloe vera, etc. To help us "forget" the smell of a preceding scent, we were given a small cup of coffee powder to sniff. I bought a bottle of lotus flower perfume (LE150), apparently favoured by Cleopatra :o).


[The Royal Perfumes Palace lounge where we sat down and had our hands dabbed with different perfumes]

The tour ended at 5.30pm, after which I headed to Spinneys for some souvenir hunting.


[A date palm plantation near the Sakkara Pyramid]


[A more developed part of Cairo just by the River Nile]


[A shot of a not-so-developed part of Cairo. But no TV aerials please... only satellite dishes :o)]


[A watermelon-man. Although there are much newer make of cars in Cairo, cars like the one in the foreground are not uncommon]