It
been far too long since I sat down and thought about writing for JunketAbroad,
and I have missed it. Since we last spoke I applied to graduate school, a
significant drain on my creative energy, studied for and took my final exams, and
traveled around Turkey. Now that I am settled back in Cairo I have been working
on a couple of new posts that I hope will get me back into the swing of things.
The Pyramids of
Giza are the kind of mysterious that forces the mind into action in hopes of
discovering their forgotten secrets. These secretes tease the tips of the
imagination, as if through deeper thought and imaginative exploration it could
be possible to ascertain the exact manner in which the Pyramids were
constructed, and their true purpose. Part of the mystery comes from the nagging
feeling that there is certainly more to them than meets the eyes because it is nearly
impossible to accept that there is nothing special about them apart from their
immense size and beauty. It is inconceivable to imagine that things so
extraordinary were built solely to house the decaying bodies enshrined in their
depths. But perhaps this is their greatest power, to excite the imagination.
It is my opinion
that our current understanding of the Pyramids is superficial at best. I say
this because the explanations do not effectively address many of the questions
that plague any discussion of their origins, especially with regards to their
construction. As a result speculation is rampant and creative. Perhaps they are
actually the remnants of long lost power and understanding bestowed to the
ancients by aliens. Perhaps there is a lost codex that will shed light their
true nature and provide context for unlocking the mysteries of the universe.
This seems just as plausible as hundreds of thousands of slaves dragging the
enormous stones cut and polished to perfection with other stones across the
sand in the desert heat. Ok well maybe not just as plausible, but as long as we
are making things up why not get creative.
Whatever the case
may be it is undeniable that there is something extraordinary about them, but
it is almost impossible to put it into words. This undefined quality makes your
skin crawl and your body tingle with excitement and foreboding. They are huge.
They are old. They are perfect. All of the superlatives capable of describing the
Pyramids have been exhausted, and they are all true.
I will freely
admit that I want to believe the Pyramids posses magical powers or play a key
role in a larger phenomenon. What can I say I get excited by the implications of
the speculations. My experience with the Pyramids has made me pretty confident
that if the world is going to end as a result of something other human agency,
the Pyramids will be the epicenter of some pretty spectacular stuff.
Potentially. So naturally I planned to be at the Pyramids on December 21st,
the latest in doomsday predictions, just in case, and because I could.
I intended to go to the Pyramids in the early
evening, just in time to watch the heavens open up and the mother-ship return
to enlighten us, and/or to watch the fire and brimstone rain down upon us as
the faithful are raptured away from the blooming hell-scape that was earth. I
was also petty confidant that the apocalypse would be an evening affair, its
more dramatic that way… and there had been no mother-ship nor fire and
brimstone when I woke up that morning.
Preoccupied with
my theories on the likely schedule of destruction I did not thinking twice
about hours of operation of the Pyramids, it was doomsday after all who could
think about something so trivial at a time like that! I climbed into a cab and
said, ‘Al-Ahramet (the pyramids) and
step on it,’ (I didn’t actually say that last part, my Arabic is not that good
yet). Its good to know that even on doomsday, when every last moment of
existence is precious, Cairo’s traffic is still so unbearable it made me beg
for the end to come quicker.
It was a stroke of
luck that our taxi was flagged down by an Egyptian man standing at the side of
the road. He spoke to the driver in Arabic for a moment and then hopped onto
the trunk of the cab and proceeded to give the driver directions through a maze
of side streets and allies. From what I was able to gather from their
conversation there may have been some kind of protest or demonstration that was
causing the back up, and by following his directions we would avoid a prolonged
wait. Whether or not this was the case, our self appointed navigator was
actually directing us to his business in hopes of enticing us to hire his
services as a guide on a camel tour of the Pyramids. I should not have been
surprised that this was his intention, and though I was annoyed by his ploy I
did not see the opportunity that his actions had provided. And after our detour
through the back allies of Giza we found ourselves at the back gate of the
park.
My lack of
foresight in regards to the hours of operation meant that we were going to
arrive at Pyramids after they had closed for the day, and perhaps eternity. Until
then I had not considered the possibility that it would not be possible to see
the Pyramids up close because they were closed. Before even stepping out of the
cab we were approached by a man who told us that the park was closed for the
day, but offered to get us into the park for the price of admission, sixty
Egyptian Pounds, paid to him rather than to the ticket office. This payment
would not only get us in, but he offered to be our guide and personal attaché for
dealing with the park’s security staff who would surely question our presence
at the park after dark.
In the waning
hours of daylight on the last day of the world as we know it I found myself on
a private tour of the nearly deserted park, which is usually swamped with
tourists and vendors. Needless to say the world did not end while we were there,
oh well, but the experience was still pretty unforgettable, highlighted by a
spectacular sunset. By standing in just the right spot the Sphinx was
silhouetted against the three Pyramids, aligned and bathed in a warm glow.
To be continued…
TL;DR I bribed a guy to let me see
the Pyramids after they were closed. It was great!
