"+ 54 Celsius, 3 Pyramids & 1 Sphinx" Pyramids of Giza by Zandra

Pyramids of Giza Travel Guide: 415 reviews and 1,291 photos

Pyramid of Khafre, Giza, Egypt - Pyramids of Giza

+54 Celsius, 3 Pyramids & 1 Sphinx

The summer I worked in Ayia Napa on Cyrus, two friends and I decided to do something "cultural", so we went on a weekend cruise to Egypt with Louis Cruise Lines (see transportation). Usually, I try to avoid convenient "everything included trips", but since we didn't have time to arrange everything on our own, it was rather cheap and this was the period when it was unsafe for tourists to travel within Egypt, I made an exception. It was in the middle of the summer, and the day we visited the Giza Plateau it was incredibly hot; around 54 degrees Celsius. My advice for those planning a trip to Giza during the summer is to bring several bottles of water, sun lotion and a cap! I'd also advice you to go out to the Giza Plateau as early in the morning as possible. That way you can avoid the rush traffic, it'll be cooler, less tourists and street vendors.

I had always thought that the Pyramids would be located far out in the middle of a desert, so I was really surprised and also a little chocked when I realized how close they really are to the center of Cairo. The 20-million city is constantly expanding and modern buildings are being built closer and closer to the Pyramids. The whole plateau itself is very touristy and commercialized, but despite of all visitors and annoying street merchandiser, it is still a magical and mysterious place. The Pyramids and the Sphinx can not really be described. You have to experience them yourself! When I was standing in front of these enormous stone monuments, I couldn't stop thinking about how on earth people could have built these giants. It was tempting to believe the Swiss author Erich von Daeniken (http://www.daeniken.com), who claims that aliens helped the Egyptian people to construct the Pyramids and also provided the tools for the construction... However, the Sphinx is not as big as one might think, but it's still impressive!

"Man fears time, but time itself fears the Pyramids"
- Arabic Proverb

Pros and Cons

Pros:The Incredible Monuments
Cons:Street Vendors and Camel Owners
In a nutshell:A Must

Last visit to Pyramids of Giza: Jul 1998
Intro Updated Jul 6, 2004
Add to Trip Planner (?)
Report Abuse

Reviews (4)

The Sphinx Things to Do (2)

more travel advice

Pyramid of Khafre & The Sphinx, Giza, Cairo - Pyramids of Giza

Khufu, Khafre & Menkaure Things to Do (2)

As you probably already know, the Pyramids served as grave monuments for the pharaohs. The Pyramids at the Giza Plateau... more travel advice

Aggressive Street Vendors, Giza Pyramids, Egypt - Pyramids of Giza

Beware of the Street Vendors Warnings and Dangers (1)

There are many of them, and they'll charge you for everything. If you want to photograph them, you'll have to pay.... more travel advice

Everything Included with Louis Cruise... Transportation (1)

When I was on Cyprus, I decided to go on a mini cruise to Egypt, so I bought a package trip from Louis Cruise Lines.... more travel advice

Comments (3)

Reply
- Report abuse
DreamHolidayTravels Jun 8, 2006 at 5:22 AM

Good page. Your travel tips are very helpful and photos are very nice.
Reply
- Report abuse
Fen Oct 9, 2005 at 4:32 AM

Hi Sandra, I went on a similar Cruise to Egypt from Limassol too :) Nice pics of the Pyramids! Regards ~ Fen
Reply
- Report abuse
morgane1692 Apr 6, 2004 at 6:05 AM

sounds very, very familiar, summertime in Cairo and the heat was beyond merciless!! nice cruise you had though, nice to have it all taken care of for you like that!