The Giza Plateau with the Great Pyramid and the others is breathtaking and is on so many bucket lists. I am not sure we believed we would ever see it with our own eyes. Naturally once there it opens new challenges and expectations. Not the least was to actually enter the burial chamber high in the center of Pyramid.  From our group only Carol and I and four women ventured up the steep ramp to the center [picture]. The climb was strenuous. The ramp must be at 30 degrees with cleats on the walkway to prevent slipping .The overhead is so low that I was bent over at the waist for most of the climb. A taller person would have an interesting time. In both directions we passed other groups going the other way on this narrow path. ALthough the diagrams show ventilation shafts became instant friends. There was no sense of any air movement and it was hot.

Upon exiting we were greeted by a very smooth, aggressive salesman, one of several hundred it seems who make their living hustling tourists. Carol wanted to play along and in the end I was grateful to get clear for 200 Egyptian Pounds (about $12) and nothing to show for it except some fun pictures.

For this I paid good money? Don’t tell my Financial Planner

From there we drove around to the  Solar Boat. This wooden boat was built to take the spirit of the Pharaoh to the afterlife after which is was dismantled  and stored in a deep long pit (some 45 meters) and buried in sand and rubble. There it rested until the 1950’s when it was exhumed and 10 years were spent reassembling it. It is stitched together with cordage. The original cordage survived,  but not condition for reuse. The only nonoriginal parts are the cordage and one steering oar. The solar part is that it was considered to be dedicated to the Sun God and is so marked.

Collapse! The heat had been in low triple digits and the sun was merciless. Also we had a 7 AM flight to Luxor which meant a 3:30 wake up to be on the bus by 5:15 to get to the airport and clear security.  We were in bed by 8:30 with full stomachs from too much dinner. One hour flight to Luxor and on to the bus to begin touring Karnac by 9. We were among the first groups in and although the sun was already hot it continued to raise the temperature as the  morning progressed. I am not sure words or pictures can do justice to the largest religious structure in the world. The 134 columns alone are a massive construction, but they are merely a part of this group of temples built over 1000 years. 

Collapse! We stopped someplace for lunch and checked into the hotel early. Unpacked, showered and flat out slept until late afternoon. The temperature in the garden when we awoke was 104 
F. Very slow movement.

To be continued.