I can now say that I’ve seen most of the more famous pyramids in Egypt up close, and I’ve even been inside two of them! (This is the bent pyramid.)
We didn’t get to go inside any of the 3 most famous ones, but oh well. The first one we went inside, the Red Pyramid, built by Sneferu (4th dynasty). It was the third pyramid he built and is the first “true” pyramid. 
I have in my notes that it is called the red pyramid because it is built of granite. Our Egyptian guide said that it was called red because of how it looks when the sun hits is and all pyramids are made of sandstone. Hmm… Anyway, that was our first stop and my first trip inside a pyramid. The air inside was far ranker than anything I had previously experienced. I mean, I’ve gotten somewhat used to the occasionally smell of garbage and urine over the semester, but this…it smelled quite similar to an outhouse, but much stronger and unrelenting. Nevertheless, it was amazing inside. Amazing to think about people carrying all sorts of treasures inside through those steep, narrow paths. Amazing to see the huge boulders inside fitted so tightly that the narrowest knife wouldn’t be able to squeeze between them. Wow. The other pyramid we went inside was itself not that impressive of an edifice on the outside. I believe it belonged to Teti, of the 6th Dynasty. It did not smell nearly as bad, and the passages inside were not nearly as long. The inside was also covered by hieroglyphics (whereas the other had been plain) so that was cool.We went to a couple museums featuring various statues and Egyptian finds. I have to admit, I don’t think I know enough about Egyptian history and archaeology to be as interested as I have been at museums in Israel. Still, they were cool. I think one of my favorite pieces was the cubit rod.
We got to look around in the “Mereruka Mastaba” and see all the reliefs on the walls and the falls doors. The pictures were amazing – so intricate and small. How long they must have taken! Let’s see, my favorites… We didn’t really have enough time to take them all in, but I think the two that really caught my eye were in the first chamber. The first was a picture of people basically wrestling a cow. One of them had the tail, a couple had the horns, and they were going at it. It reminded me of the Big Timber Rodeo wild cow race. The other was a larger image of a man and woman. Their heads were cut off, but they were holding hands. It was cute.
We visited the Djoser pyramid complex (a stepped pyramid). Basically a series of, I think, 7 Mastabas built on top of each other.
We finally got to see the Great Pyramid and the Sphinx at Giza. Unfortunately, we were quite rushed there. Oh well, still fun to see.
We also stopped at a Papyrus factory on the way back to our hotel before dinner. We saw a short demonstration on how Papyrus was made. Pretty cool.
Favorite parts of Egypt today (I mean, other than the pyramids):
1. Seeing random mammals in the backs of pickup trucks. No fancy camel trailer for the dromedary. No sir! The back of this short bed truck will do just fine! And when the camel is done using it, it can do duty as a bovine transporter. Sheep and people were also seen in the back of trucks, sometimes more than one species together.
2. I really like the pita-like bread and the sauces.
3. Seeing signs that say things like, “Please do not throw toilet paper at the toilet.”
4. I haven’t gotten sick yet! (knock on wood)I have to say that Egypt reminds me more of Bolivia than Israel did, though quite obviously all of them are quite different. Some of the smells here, though, are similar, as well as seeing donkeys in the street and people in the backs of trucks.
Ok, I’m off to bed.
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