This was my only truly touristy day in Egypt. I have one word for you: con-job. Egypt has some of the friendliest people I've ever met anywhere but one shouldn't assume that the friendliness is always truly natural. If you're anywhere near a tourist area, it's reasonable to assume the smiles are motivated by the prospect of money. (Away from the touristy areas, the helpfulness and smiles really are genuine.)
I had decided that my first visit would be to the pyramids. Naturally, the guys at my hotel offered to make all the arrangements. That seemed like a pretty good idea. All it actually meant was that I set myself up with the word Sucker tattooed to my forehead. Here's what I managed:
- Overpaid for the taxi that drove me to Giza, Saqqara and Dahshur. (The driver entreated me repeatedly to "give yourself to me," which would have been frightening if I didn't know that he simply meant I should trust him with the itinerary.)
- Overpaid for the horse and guide I hired in the Giza pyramid complex
- Overpaid for my lunch
- Overpaid for a papyrus painting
- ...
You get the idea!
It wasn't all bad, of course. The pyramids are truly magnificent and enough has been written about them by far more competent writers than me. Of the Sphinx, my travel book quotes Alan Bennett as saying, quite accurately, that "seeing the Sphinx is like meeting a TV personality in the flesh -- always smaller than had been imagined."
TIP: if you ever go to Egypt, don't take any packaged tours or make any other travel arrangements in advance if you can help it for the first couple of days. Not until you're familiar with the prices and the various scams, that is.
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