Good Day Travelers!
The time has come where I will tell you the story from one of my most exhausting, frustrating but still most stunning experiences of my life. A visit to the great pyramids of Giza. During the past days while I was editing and sorting all of my pictures from this visit I had many mixed feelings thinking back on this adventure. Let me share my personal emotions, feelings and thoughts about a place which probably every person on the planet knows about.
I think there is no doubt that a visit to the great pyramids of Giza is probably on the list of most travelers out there. We know them from school when we learn about history, we have seen them in movies and documentaries or simply know about them from one of the many available books about this world famous location.
Let's start with some basic information before I tell you the full story of my journey.
Location, Tickets, Tours
Getting to the Pyramids from Cairo is super easy. If you take an Uber for the 45 min ride you will pay roughly 8-10$ which is super fair in my opinion. I personally booked an AirBnB for 2 nights in Giza as I wasn't in a rush and actually planed to visit the pyramids twice.
But with my new learned experience I think a 1 days trip is more than enough. You probably won't visit the Pyramids a second time.
Ticket Price:
- For Egyptians or people from other arabic speakin countries the entry is free
- For Foreigners you pay 200 EP (7$) + 60 EP (2$) in case you want to see the inside of the Pyramids.
- Guides are available online or at the ticket counter
Rule Nr.1 - Make sure to get to the official ticket counter. There are many other unofficial ticket counters around which sell the main ticket for 240 EP. Unfortunately I fell for one of these as the Uber driver drove me there and everyone around guaranteed that this was the official counter. And to be fair, I didn't really mind to pay 1$ more as I just wanted to get inside the area but I had no idea what was coming next...
Map:
Source
Scams and Harassement
Guys, be careful, I will be brutally honest now! After getting out of my Uber to buy the ticket there were already 5-10 people running to me to show me the ticket counter. Very rude, very uncomfortable. As soon as I got my ticket I experienced the biggest shit show (excuse my english) I've ever experienced in my life.
If you've ever been to a country where many scammers, beggars and street hustlers were - Take this x100 and you will have a slight idea about the situation at the Pyramids.
After getting my ticket I walked with great enthusiasm and full of excitement and happiness to full fill one of my biggest dreams of seeing the pyramids through the gate at the ticket counter. It took about 5 seconds before the first guys came to me "Hey my friend, you want camel ride?" "Hey my friend, where are you from?" Hey my friend, you need guide?"
Nothing wrong with that! BUT these people won't leave you alone! I said NO, THANK YOU to them in the most polite Arabic way possible. For the first 10x, 20x, 50x - 100x!!! They don't stop to follow you, even you turn around, walk other directions. They don't stop to harass you until you give up. Even I'm a extremely calm and peaceful person they got me to a point where I was shouting to them to leave me alone!!! They were harassing me for over 15 mins and I almost lost my control and I was about to leave and go home.. But I just knew I traveled thousands of KM to visit this place so I just gave to 2 of the guys 100 EP each and told them to get the hell off me. It worked, for now.
Maybe some of you can imagine how I felt at this point. Traveling thousands of kilometers to full fill one of my biggest dreams. I was full of anger and even more full of sadness. I have never experienced anything like that, even I've been to Delhi, Sri Lanka and Morocco which are known for street hustlers but it's not even comparable. This was straight harassment!
To clear my thoughts and release my anger I walked in a corner, had some water, tried to clear my mind and be positive again. I managed to feel emotionally better after about 20 mins until my journey finally started. So - Let's start the tour! :))
The Great Pyramids of Giza
So, you have some options to get around this area. You can ride on a Camel or take some kind of a Horse Rickshaw. If you talk to the locals, they will ask for a price which is about 5x higher than the official price. Yes, you read right, there is a official price on some signs around this area! So in case you want to choose one of the two options, just go with the official price to negotiate with the locals.
I personally do not support any of these options as I don't like the way how animals are treated there. But I don't judge you or others if you take one of the options. It's totally up to you. The funny thing was, that except me, no one was walking around by foot. It was probably because of the extrem heat from roughly 42°C at that time in June. All the other tourists had their fancy face/head covers + guides + animals. I stood out quite a bit, not even intentionally :D
Sphinx Valley Temple, Sphinx
So after the harassment behind the gate you can walk around almost freely. Here and there will be some people offering you rides but they accept a no after 10x which is not bad at all! You will start right at the valley temple of the Sphinx, which will directly lead you to the actual Sphinx itself.
I can't deny that my smile and happiness came back after seeing the Sphinx for the first time in person. One of the most Iconic Monuments on our earth. Funny enough the first thing which came to my mind was the comic of Astérix which I watched as a kid where they were responsible for breaking the nose off the Sphinx, ha. Maybe some of you know it :))
Khafre, Khufu, Menkaure- Pyramids
After my first impression of the Sphinx I walked closer to the Pyramids and yes, they blew me away. It is hard to describe how impressive they look in person. My brain was racing when I saw them for the first time. So many thoughts about the history and stuff I've learned about them went through my mind.
On Picture 1 and 2 you see the famous Khafre Pyramid. It's very easy to recognize it because of the top. As you can see there is like another layer of stones on it. On picture 3 and 4 you see the smaller Menkaure Pyramids which are actually 4 in total. One big one with 3 smaller ones on the side.
On the first 3 pictures you see a better angle of the Khafre Pyramid. Right beside it is the Khufu Pyramid, the third one of the "big three".
In case you will visit the Pyramids yourself one day I recommend you to bring enough water. Especially when you explore the area by walking you will need it! There is almost no shadow and you will be permanently under the strong sun.
Oh and there are of course a few more scams! If you see a cool looking Arabic men with nice sunglasses sitting in front of the Pyramids on his camel - DON'T PHOTOGRAPH THEM - They of course will charge you money for it :)) I luckily knew it as soon as I saw them sitting around. Also, there are some people selling water and pepsi for ridiculous prices. So, just bring your own water/drinks and avoid taking pictures of the cool looking camel guys.
Here you can see a better angle of the Menkaure pyramids. They look a bit more rough and destroyed but not less impressive if you stay in front of them. On the right side you have the big Pyramide and on the left side the 3 smaller ones.
On the pictures above you see all Pyramids lined up. Probably the most iconic photo you can take here. So please don't hesitate walking to the Menkaure Pyramids to get this view/shot. It's really worth it! :))
Overall I walked around for roughly 3 hours before my body gave me the first signs that he is going to shut down soon, ha. It was really really hot! I think 2-3 hours are enough to see everything around this area without rushing to much. After being there I would also recommend you to bring some sort of hat or head coverage. You will thank me later! :))
Do I recommend a visit to the great Pyramids
No. Yes. No. Yes.. It's a tough one... The thing is, real Egyptian people are amazing. They are kind hearted, honest, friendly and super funny. The Pyramids itself are stunning, impressive, breathtaking or what ever you want to call them. The street hustlers are... xxx terrible, even all the Egyptians who don't participate in the scams are extremely sad about the situation on the Pyramids.
Now, after making my own experience I recommend you one thing which will probably safe your happiness at this place - Just get a guide for 10-20$ upfront before you go to the Pyramids. They will most likely protect you from the terrible persons around there. Don't make the same mistake which I made walking in there on my own. Even I don't like being guided at all (Probably some of you travelers as well), this was the first time where it would have made sense for me.
So, it's probably still a yes. But please don't make the same mistakes as I did. Hopefully some of you will be protected after this post!
Thanks for reading and joining my virtual tour + rage :D
Best,
Chris