Exploring the Pyramids

On my first morning in Cairo, I enjoyed breakfast on the hotel rooftop with a direct view of the Great Pyramid. Omelet, falafel, cream cheese, and salad somehow taste even better when eaten against a backdrop that is 4,500–4,600 years old. Later, I had lunch right beside the pyramids themselves at Rooftop 7000 restaurant, overlooking the Giza plateau.

Buying tickets turned out to be an experience of its own. Only one small ticket office was open, and payment could be made by card only. This system was introduced because, in the past, ticket sellers often pocketed part of the money by charging tourists higher prices or giving back less change. Around the ticket office, locals crowded in an attempt to catch unsuspecting tourists. Some claimed to be employees; in reality, if you handed them your ticket, they might keep it until you paid an inflated “guide service” fee.

One casually dressed man told us to follow him to access the pyramids. I was skeptical and refused at first, having read that you should not trust anyone. In the end, he actually was an official employee and led us to the correct entrance without asking for money. The ticket itself contains a QR code that allows entry through an automated electronic gate.

Inside, the real chaos began. Offers for guide services, camel rides, horse carriage tours, and souvenirs came from every direction. I walked past them all, ignoring the usual opening line: “Where are you from?” Answering that question almost always leads to aggressive sales tactics. The camel handlers were especially talkative. There are also concerns that camels near the pyramids are not treated particularly well.

We stepped into a couple of tomb chambers near the pyramids, but they appeared rather simple and unadorned. The overall impression of the site was surprisingly dirty. Trash lay scattered in many places. Between two tombs, one camel handler was urinating openly. The lower stones of the pyramids were covered in graffiti. It is perhaps not surprising — the entire Great Pyramid is guarded by only one guard, whose main task is to prevent people from climbing it. Heavy fines are imposed on anyone who tries.

The three main pyramids were built for three generations: the father Khufu, his son Khafre, and his grandson Menkaure. The second-largest pyramid, Khafre’s, still retains some of its original white limestone casing at the top. In 1196, an Egyptian sultan even attempted to dismantle Menkaure’s pyramid because the structures did not fit his Islamic worldview. After eight months of effort, he gave up — but a visible gash in the pyramid remains to this day.

Nearby stands the Sphinx, commissioned by Pharaoh Khafre and believed to bear his face. Its nose was likely destroyed in 1378 by Muslims who disapproved of local peasants continuing to venerate it.

As the afternoon wore on, around 4 p.m., guards began blocking access to the third pyramid. By 5 p.m., they were blowing whistles and herding visitors toward the exit like livestock. Horse carriages wrapped up their day’s work, and camel tours returned as the sun lowered over the plateau.

Safety standards throughout the day seemed almost nonexistent — not only at the site but across Egypt more generally. Seat belts were used only in cars that emitted an annoying warning beep otherwise. At one point, I even saw a child riding on top of a moving car rather than inside it.

After leaving the pyramids, we took a taxi to explore downtown Cairo. On one street corner, an elderly local man approached us and began speaking fluent English. He turned out to be a retired geography teacher. We chatted for a while before he politely excused himself and left. It was a refreshing encounter — proof that not every local who starts a conversation is looking for money.

From a rooftop terrace later that evening, we watched the Nile dividing Giza and Cairo, the sprawling city glowing as night fell — a modern megacity rising beside monuments that have stood for millennia.