Spring in Egypt Part 2 - Saqqara

When we arrived in Egypt on Day 1 of our tour, someone with Expat Explore sign met up with us right before the immigration area and led us through immigration. He helped us get the arrival cards that we should've gotten on the plane but didn't, led us towards our luggages, and took us to the exit where someone else with an Expat Explore uniform picked us up with a van. I have read about all the information regarding Egyptian people expecting tips everywhere and this was our first exposure to it. It was no surprise for us, considering Indonesia used to be like that not so many years ago. Our first greeter asked for a tip point blank. Just like that. After filling up the van with 6 passengers,  we headed to our hotel in Giza area. 

The Oasis Hotel Giza is supposed to be a 4-star hotel but I personally wouldn't call it that. When we arrived at the hotel we were gathered at the lobby along with other people from a few different tour groups. Someone from Expat Explore got our passports to check us in and we waited. While waiting, our group was called for a technical meeting with Michael, our Egyptologist tour guide and we got our passports back without keys to our rooms. Michael spoke very good English and his clear voice made him very easy to understand. During the meeting he covered things that we could expect and things that we should and should not do to ensure a smooth tour. It was supposed to be a brief meeting but considering how late it was, it felt a bit lengthy to us.

After we finished our meeting we realised that we had not been checked in yet! So someone from Expat Explore collected our passports (again) and checked us in. We were taken to our rooms right away, and to our dismay our room reeked of smoke. It was very late and we were too tired to bother complaining or asking to switch rooms so we decided to just bear with it. We weren't happy with our room, not only because of the smell but the carpet, floor, and other things were not clean. To top that off, the bathtub didn't drain properly. The following day, we requested to Michael that we are given a non-smoking room when we return to this hotel on our last day.

Just arrived in front of Oasis Hotel

The fated lock that kept changing numbers (see my Muscat post)

On the following morning, breakfast started at 6 am and we gathered at the hotel lobby at 7 am. In our group, there were 36 people including two kids aged 10 and 11. Right on the dot we loaded to our tour bus, a newer looking one with comfortable foot rests. I was quite happy with it. We drove past the Giza Pyramid Complex towards Saqqara...

The Pyramid of Giza (from the bus)

Approaching Saqqara, we saw a lot of greeneries. There were fields and farms on either sides of the road. Then suddenly, just like there was an invisible line there was nothing but dry sand. We were told that the reason behind this phenomenon is that the Nile river floods periodically and during those times enrich the land so that things can grow. This is how crucial the Nile was to civilisation.

Upon alighting our bus, we were given our entrance tickets to the site. We entered as a group, gathered and walked through as a group while listening to the explanations, and then at the end we were given about 20 minutes of free time for roaming around and for pictures. This was the format that we followed at every site. I loved that Michael gave a wealth of interesting information on every site that we visited. Not that my information retention is that great but well Miss Kiki was there and she seemed to have absorbed the information like a sponge. Even more so because she has an interest in Ancient Egypt and have read books on them from a few years back.

My ticket

We entered the complex through the gate, past pillars that was supposed to represent a garden/courtyard area that led us closer to the Pyramid of Djoser. While Michael was explaining that the Pyramid of Djoser is the oldest known stone building complex, the first of its kind, Miss Kiki started whispering in my ear... "Mom, I thought the first pyramid was a step pyramid!". I didn't know what to answer to that, but later on it was mentioned that the pyramid is sometimes referred to as the Step pyramid due to its shape and she went "Aahhh..."

The Step Pyramid of Djoser

The Step Pyramid of Djoser was designed by his remarkable architect Imhoteb, so famous he was that his name is written on the entrance tickets instead of his lord's name. Imhoteb was also a master of medicine, and is the only god of ancient Egypt known for sure to have walked on earth. King Djoser was from the 3rd Dynasty in the Old Kingdom. This dated around 2600 BC. From Saqqara, we could see Dahshur Pyramids in the distance. In Dahshur stood the Bent Pyramid, which was an attempt by King Sneferu to improve the step pyramids to have smooth sides. They made an error on this one and it had been a great learning experience for the ancient Egyptians. Upon realising the errors King Sneferu commissioned another pyramid to be made and that one was more successful. Later on, his son Khufu used that same technology with improvements to build the world-famous Great Pyramid of Giza, the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and the only one that is still standing today.

At the beginning of our free time, Miss Kiki and DH along with my friend went into a tomb that was open to public. There were hieroglyphs inside the tomb but unfortunately pictures were not allowed in the tomb. There are many other tombs and pyramids in Saqqara, most were not intact anymore and many still uncovered. I believe they are still working on discovering and excavating the rest.

I walked around the area and took some pictures. I had flip flops on and I could tell you that the sand was super fine and soft, and unexpectedly cold!

Dahshur Pyramids

Entrance to the tomb

We used our free time to explore and took a lot of pictures. From there we hopped back on the bus and proceeded to our next destination: the Giza Pyramid Complex! Please stay tuned for the next post!