Chapter 4 - The Pyramids

This was Sunday, and Mohammed suggested a tour of the museum and the pyramids, so off we set in blazing sunshine past the beautiful buildings surmounted by domes and minarets of warm, sand coloured stone, wide streets and the sight of multifarious people, the original gypsy women, wide eyed and walking with a lilt, Tuareg veiled women, swarms of Arab children and noisy youth; then the Museum, solid and comparatively modern where are housed the treasures of ancient Egypt. Here we were forbidden to take photographs and a guide took charge of us, intoning in a sing-song voice all the data of the wonders he showed us.

 The inner sarcophagus of King Tutankamen decorated in heavy gold and figures of the gods guarding his body, 'and so the good-a-deeds-a-man chased away the bad-a-deeds-a-man' whined another guide. There were the urns where the entrails of these once glorious monarchs lay when they were taken from the body before embalming. Their clothes, ornaments, jewels, thrones - a glorious whisper of the might of Egypt when the world was young. Of course, many of the treasures are in the British Museum to be studied and admired but in a more scientific manner whereas here was the glamour of Egypt as well as her treasures. I noticed there were no mummies displayed as in our own museum, and thought how shocked visiting Egyptians must be at the sacrilege.

We had a surfeit of past glories, so out into the sunshine again, and the warm yellow glow of sand. There not far away were the Pyramids, begging pestering Arabs, camels looking down their noses at us, and their drivers in romantic desert garb insinuating themselves into the party, wheedling, begging and bullying to be hired. I fell for it, and a dignified creature whom I was assured was called 'Queen Elizabeth' bent her front knees and sank down for me to mount. Remembering the jacaranda tree I was not too gullible, in fact I am sure that had I been Chinese, 'Queen Elizabets's' name would have been 'Confucius'. I have no head for heights and she seemed very tall, but after a few minutes I found her gait most pleasant, and had it not been for her charming rascal of a driver grabbing my left hand to tell my fortune for a shilling I have no doubt Queen Elizabeth and I would have enjoyed our fleeting intimacy more. It was fine to feel her keep a horizontal back as we descended a fairly steep incline of sand towards the Pyramids - I had expected to go over the handlebars, but she was evidently built with a spirit level.

We passed on our left a brooding castle wall, surrounded and gate-guarded, the home we were told of one of the King's women. I dismounted and was in time to overtake a donkey boy who had two of our fellow passengers (twin boys aged 6) on the back of his resigned looking donkey, and was demanding a 'teep'. One of the little boys was pulling his purse and pocket lining out in a desperate attempt to stop his opportuning, while his brother with a wobbly chin was telling the boy 'my father has already paid you!'. The coins fell to the ground, and the donkey boy was on them in a flash. I opened his hand with difficulty and extracted a shilling, but he managed to hold onto a sixpence and some coppers. The rest of the party and guides had appeared and Mohammed used some very strong language to the donkey boys, camel drivers, scarab sellers and the like and gave us strict instructions to give no 'teeps'. 'I pay them and you must give them not'ing'. We felt relieved.

The pyramids towered above us, not smooth as I had imagined, but heavy slabs of stone piled up and up into the blue sky. Another tattered Arab started to mount rapidly stone by stone to the top and down again - a feat he did in ten minutes, for our approval and largesse. We felt so sorry for his unnecessary expenditure of energy that we 'responded as meant'. I hope he spent his earnings on something to build up his strength. On to the Sphinx with her lion paws swelling up from the sand, and down below her through a dark, rocky tunnel, to lean over a damp, dirty wall and down on mouldering bones. Alone, such a sight might have been impressive, but surrounded as we were by the progeny sprung from these ancient times, too far flung from these ancient times, too far flung from all grandeur, the atmosphere was destroyed. The sand was heavy and hot, our feet through our shoes felt burned, and we returned for lunch, quite glad of the amenities of civilisation.

We had to see the 'old bazaar in Cairo' and though it was Sunday, Mohammed assured us that he knew a shop which would be glad to open for us to buy the sandals we so badly wanted, so after lunch we were driven straight to this shop in spite our various appeals to stop at one or the other places which appeared to be open. We began to realise that our guides received commission but we were in their hands for better or worse and no-one seemed to have the strength of mind to say 'No!. Stop!. I will go in this shop'. We trooped through a darkened shop where all sorts of fancy goods were displayed, into a backshop where each one of us was given a chair and with much sales-talk and many gestures the proprietor proceeded to sell some of us phials of perfume at £2 each small phial. Much as I love perfume, and deep as I was under the hypnotism of our friend Mohammed, I tore myself away from the mannequin parade of perfume and browsed among the fancy goods in the main shop, where I actually did get a pair of real Arab sandals at a reasonable price. Mohammed obviously disapproved of my good purchase but I was beginning to be tired of Mohammed's ministrations.

We managed to be allowed to walk through the arcade-like bazaar where meat hung smothered with flies and natives passed or lingered with trays of revolting looking food, but we wanted to see the real thing, and this appeared to be it. After tea we visited the lovely modern streets of shops where we were able to buy the most delicious Turkish delight I have ever seen or tasted. Our plane was leaving very early next morning, and we were to be called at 2.30 a.m. so we sensibly went to bed immediately after dinner, having thoroughly enjoyed our unexpected extra day in Cairo, but unanimously agreeing we had had quite enough of being pestered for a long time.