Eric's first taste of Egypt was
a short visit as part of a cruise from Cyprus. Admittedly the
land of the Pharaohs is not a usual Penguin holiday destination,
but it does have a lot to offer. Especially on a short trip where
the day is planned out for you.
By
the way, what do you call a Penguin at the Pyramids ???........LOST
!
Eric's first visit to Egypt was by boat from the island of
Cyprus. This is a very good way to travel, as the boat had lots
of space and there were plenty of activities to keep an energetic
penguin busy. Unfortunately it does mean a very early start as
the boat gets to Egypt when most penguins are still sleeping.
The bus journey to the pyramids takes quite a long time, but
on the way you get to see a lot of how the modern Egyptian people
live. Driving past farms where donkeys work carrying the harvest,
it must be a very similar life to the days when the Pharaohs
ruled Egypt.
When you get to Giza the first thing you notice is the size
of the Pyramids. It would take over 700 Penguins like Eric standing
on each others shoulders to reach all the way from the ground
to the point of the biggest Pyramid.
The Biggest Pyramid was built by a king of Egypt called Khufu
over 4000 years ago.
The pyramids are not the only tombs to be found at Giza. They
are surrounded by lots of smaller tombs called 'Mastabas'. These
were where the Kings friends and family were buried, along with
other important people.
Perhaps they thought that by being buried near their King
he would help them by putting in a good word with the Gods.
For Eric's next trip to the Pyramids he was accompanied by his friend Sonic. The two unlikely explorers spent a very enjoyable
day exploring the wonders of the Pyramids. This was Sonic's first time and he particularly liked the Sphinx,
the massive statue of a lion with a human head which stands in
front of Khafre's Pyramid.
Eric likes this photo, he thinks it makes the
two friends look like brave explorers in the middle of the desert.
Pity it was actually taken at the side of the Pyramid coach park.
After visiting the Pyramids Eric went to the Egyptian museum
in the City of Cairo. The museum has statues and objects from
all over Egypt as well as lots of Mummies.
After the museum a very tired Penguin slept almost all the
way back to the boat waiting to take him to Cyprus.
King Eric
Oh dear, I hope that the Cairo museum doesn't notice that Eric's
'borrowed' a piece of jewelry from King Tutankhamun.
Tutankhamun is a very famous king. His tomb was found in the
valley of the kings and as well as his mummy it contained a lot
of his treasure.
Sorry Eric, you're going to have to give that back now...
There are about 2,300,000 blocks of stone in the Great Pyramid,
and it was over 146 meters high
The blocks were cut, moved and put into position by hand,
with only simple wood and copper tools.
Although King Khufu built the biggest pyramid, so far only
one tiny statue of him has been found.
Originally the pyramid was covered in smooth white stone,
but this was removed to be used in other buildings.
