Egyptian Travel, Visiting the Pyramids of Giza

If you ever visit Cairo then you want to visit the Pyramids of Giza, it is about £10 admission to get through the gates and when your through you can spend the whole day at the Pyramids exploring, however they perform light displays at the Pyramids in the late evening so to stay you may have to pay a little of extra. When you arrive in Giza, the Pyramids are not always visible but they are not hard to find. There are two entrances to them, one being in downtown amongst the shops and restaurants which has a big touristy entrance that leads you straight to the Sphinx, which is just as famous as the Pyramids themselves. The second entrance at the back of the Pyramids is up on the hill and is used by the locals, it brings you straight to the Pyramids and saves you walking up the hill and saves you travelling to downtown, however this entrance has many beggars and scams from the local police, what the locals call “The Mafia Police” and you need to be on guard when using this entrance. It’s nothing to worry about, but there are always people around every tourist attraction that are willing to take advantage of people and this happens at this second entrance and not the main entrance where the police are more professional.

For example, the police at the main entrance get so many tourists walking through who tip them that they are in a very wealthy position to carry out their orders properly and honestly. Whereas the police at the far end usually deal with the locals –Egyptians who want to enter for free to sell water for example- and the police are always negotiating with these Egyptians and when they see the odd tourist entering, they carry on with the same behaviour, trying to negotiate deals with the tourists, trying to sell them museum tickets, or take them to their fathers perfume shop. Just be firm with the police, tell them that you want to enter the Pyramids and that you need nothing else. My partner and I always used the back entrance because we visited the Pyramids every day for a week and instead of paying £10 each every day at the tourist entrance, we instead made a deal with the mafia police to pay only £5 to let us in, of course he pocketed this money but it saved us a good sum of money.

When you get past the gates and enter the Pyramids you will immediately be struck by how beautiful the Pyramids are and it’s something that you will never forget. The heat together with the still air, the sight of the Pyramids and the silence of the desert will fill you with a sense of calmness that I personally have never experienced in my life. It is then that you become the main attraction of the desert, and as the Egyptians flock to you they will offer you everything under the sun. Some will try and put head scarfs on you and insist that they are gifts, it doesn’t matter how many times you say no, they will insist and then when you finally take the head scarf they will ask for money. Some will call you over and tell you were to stand to take the best photograph, when you take the picture with your own camera they will then ask for a reward for supplying you with this information. It is a pretty funny experience but the main thing to do is shake your head no, don’t say no because then they know what language you speak and will try to talk to you even more. Do not walk over to people who call you, just ignore them and walk on, and do not let people put anything on your head. There is no need to be rude, just be firm and assertive and remember that other Egyptians are watching, when they see that you are refusing they will not try to seduce you with their charms. The most common scam is when the Egyptians ask to check your ticket, again do not answer them, DO NOT HAND THEM YOUR TICKET, just carry on walking as they will not follow you for long, there are way too many people walking through the entrance for them to dedicate their time to following you for more than a few minutes, and after a while they will leave you alone and move on to the new tourists entering.

The tourist police on the site are dressed in white, usually they just sit on their camels and leave you alone, they are there to make sure that the Egyptians do not bother the tourists and will step in and help you if things did turn a little ugly. However things needn’t get to that stage and only will if you yourself become abusive, the Egyptians after all are only doing their jobs, but if you swear at them then don’t be surprised if they start screaming at you. If the tourist police do step in then do not be surprised if they ask to be paid a few pennies. Again do not get angry or abusive if you are being badgered constantly by the locals, it is all part of the experience and is has been going on at the Pyramids for many years.

When things calm down you will find that there are actually many Egyptians who are selling items that may interest you. When your drink has heated up from the desert sun you will be happy to find the Egyptians selling cold drinks from their ice buckets for only a few Egyptian pounds, and after a few hours it will be you approaching them. I eventually bought a small ornament of the Pyramids for only £1.50, I bought it of a very old man who sat not bothering anyone and I was very sad to see the tourist police rob this man of his money shortly afterwards. So if you do want to purchase anything try to be discreet, again if other Egyptians see you buying they will begin to flock to you again like seagulls. If you do see the police take money from the locals stay well clear, many of the locals have not paid to enter the Pyramids and they have only been allowed by agreeing to pay commission for the items they sell. Another thing that you shouldn’t do is have your photograph taken with any beggars; they will expect you to pay them and their families and can kick up a pretty big fuss if you do not. Also do not give any money to the children, no matter how cute and funny they may be. They will disappear for a few minutes and then return with their whole family in tow. Instead we found it best to give the children pens, that way the children have something to sell and will be too busy trying to sell the pen and less likely to return.

The Pyramids themselves are simply magical and it is the large Pyramid that you want to enter, it is a very steep climb inside and be careful to watch your head, - there are no health and safety rules here – but it is not the inside of the Pyramids that we really wanted to see, it was walking around them and being part of the culture that surrounded them, we set ourselves around three hours from entering the sight to exiting and found that this was perfect for us to enjoy the place. We stayed in a hotel just around the corner called the Delta Pyramids Hotel and visited the Pyramids every day, after a few days the Egyptians at the Pyramids got use to us and didn’t hassle us so much. Remember that they may hassle you and be annoying and they may even try and intimidate you, but an Egyptian will never get physical with you so do not be afraid of them. They are working all day in the heat trying to make a living and after a while they will become a little desperate and moody, but who can blame them. However they will not tolerate you if you swear at them, so be assertive but watch your mouth and respect their culture.

Visiting the Pyramids will be one of the best things you will ever do and experience, many hotels offer excursions to the Pyramids and will drive you there and back, they will arrange everything for you at a price. Many of these hotels are in other parts of Egypt like Hurghada, Luxor or Alexandria and personally I think the best way to enjoy the Pyramids of Giza is by finding a hotel in Cairo and staying there for a week to really soak in the culture of the city. Many of the excursions will cost a couple around £100 and will spend 4-5 hours driving you to the Pyramids for only an hour and then driving you 4-5 hours home, and for that same amount of money you could quite easily pay for a hotel for the week in Cairo. Whatever you decide, The Pyramids of Giza are one of the few ancient wonders of the world left and everybody should find time in their lives to explore them at least once.