Day 27

February 15th

It's been nearly a month, but today I finally went to see the Great Pyramids at Giza. These things are incredible, from a far. First, of all they are absolutely massive, the largest one being 230 meters on each length. They were also the world's tallest building until the 19th century, when the Eiffel Tower finally surpassed it after some 6 thousand years. The pyramids also sit on a little plateau that overlook the entire city. I can only imagine how amazing they must have been in their prime, when they were covered in smooth white limestone and capped with Gold. Simply incredible.
However, once you get close to the Pyramids you kind of find your disgusted not only by the state of them, but also the complete lack of care by the tourists and the Egyptians. On the tourist side, it seems that everybody wants to just go and capture that cliche photo of them standing in front of the Pyramids or them walking like an Egyptian, or them playing with Camera angles in such a way that they look like they are doing something funny. I would say few care to learn anything about the Pyramids other then the few tidbits of trivia they can use to wow their friends who didn't get the chance to go. What is the point of going to these places if all you are going to do is take a picture that is worse than one you could have bought in a postcard. If they just did this they could save a lot of money and not crowd the pyramids for those of us who actually care.
Second, on the side of the Egyptians. The pyramids were covered in filth. Trash was everywhere, mainly bottle-caps, cigarettes , and decaying plastic bottles. Granted there were no trash-cans, but in reality there wasn't much of anything at these places. There weren't any information boards that told information about the pyramids, there were no visitor centers or most importantly signs and fences that kept people from climbing all over them or going someplace where they shouldn't go. Also at Sakkar (the oldest pyramid in the world) structures to the south I would routinely pick up pieces of the columns that were just lying around covered in litter and perfectly capable of being stolen. I also miss American culture. Everyone at the pyramids is trying to screw you over and take your money. They are not ever being nice simply for the sake of being nice, they are being nice because they want to rip you off. I was constantly barraged with offers for stuff. These are easy ones, because you can simply say you don't want 100 times and keep walking. The worst are the ones who come up to you and put something on your head or in your hand and bascially force you to buy stuff from them. Or the people who ride the Camels and say take a picture of me, but then ask for money. You cannot be nice to these people. If you even make eye-contact or slow down a bit they will not stop pestering you. For one person, when he came up to me, I said No Hablo English. However, this dude spoke Spanish, and i didn't have a chance. The one that has worked is saying I didn't bring any money with me. People generally stop caring then. But I just hate the fact, that you can't trust anyone to give you the straight deal of what's going on, and unless they are your friend they will screw you over for anything they can get. I guess from now on, I will have to be more of a hardass and less of a kind Midwestern student. As the Egyptians call to you as you walk by, "Welcome in Egypt"
On a different note: I love America. I really do, absolutely love America. Traveling through the rest of Egypt that isn't Zamalek, you realize just how different the rest of the world is from America. I am not talking about the lack of water-fountains, or the climate or the cleanliness. I am talking about the fundamental nature of America that sets it apart from the rest of the world. In Egypt, everybody lives in the same shoddy housing, doing the same work that they have always done and will always do. They have zero opportunities to improve their lives or their status in life. There is really no such thing as social mobility in this country or ideas of equality and opportunity. In America, the norm is that there is an option to move yourself up in life, to be anything you want to be. In Egypt, there are no options, and when you are in poverty in America there are support groups or you can have homeless shelters. In Egypt there is almost nothing, and those in poverty get nothing form the government. Its a country where the phrase "Yes We Can" simly does not exist.