They say that “Man fears time…but that time fears the Pyramids.” This is true because the Great Pyramids of Giza are the last of all the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World that remain. In my mind, by building the Pyramids, the ancient Egyptians achieved what they aspired to: eternity. Not only for the pharaohs that they were intended for, but also for the ancient Egyptian culture itself. And when we see them, we become a part of that eternity.
I have been to and experienced the Pyramids three times in my life-the first time being at the age of 40 and the most recent time on my 53rd birthday. I waited about 30 years to visit the pyramids the first time; I had been enthralled with ancient Egypt from the age of ten or younger.
I’m often asked what it’s like to see the pyramids in Cairo: Do you drive out far to see them? Do you come upon them suddenly in the middle of one of the most crowded cities in the world? Or do you start seeing them gradually in the distance?
The answer is yes to all. But each time I visit the Pyramids, I try to remember how I can explain it to someone who has never seen them.
First of all, the Pyramids are located in the desert in a region called Giza which is just across the Nile River from modern Cairo. Yes, you drive there-or at least, you are driven in a taxi or by a tour guide if you’re smart. You travel through congested traffic, throngs of modern Egyptians trying to cross in front of your vehicle without being killed and past mounds of uncollected trash crawling up the few trees that line the streets. Here and there on the horizon you catch sight of the monuments, and you ask repeatedly: It that it? Are those the Pyramids? And the amazing answer is yes. Yes, those are the Pyramids of Egypt.
At some point your driver starts slowing down, perhaps swearing in Arabic, as the traffic crawls and the tension mounts, and you realize you’re almost there. On your right, there is a line of insignificant shops, including a Kentucky Fried Chicken, believe it or not. But then you look to your left and there it is: the Giza Plateau. You can actually see the desert and then you see the triangular shapes-the Pyramids– the largest free-standing stone structures in the world. (You may be disappointed to know that the Pyramids are not the oldest stone structures in the world; that prize goes to the Neolithic temples in Malta-a relatively unknown island south of Sicily.)
Depending on the tenacity of your guide-and you must go with a guide-it will take you about 30 or more minutes to work your way through the tourist lines and entry fee stations. Finally, you will find yourself standing in front of what Napoleon called “three thousand years of history looking down on you.”
Depending when you go to Egypt, it may be very hot-perhaps 100 degrees F., toward the middle of the day. For sure, you’ll be accosted by vendors, tour guides, kids, beggars, thieves-all of whom care very little about the ancient monuments except for the few coins they may earn from the tourists admiring them.
Ignore them for the moment, and feast your eyes on one of the world’s most inspiring pieces of architecture. Consider this: the Egyptians didn’t even have the wheel to help them. No matter how many scientists, archaeologists and engineers analyze and study the Pyramids, no one truly knows how they were built.
I don’t know what you’ll feel. But you will feel something that you have never imagined. For me, seeing the Pyramids was a spiritual experience and the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. And each time has been like the first time for me. Don’t let anyone tell you they know how the ancient Egyptians built them-whether it be your guide, a tour book, a know-it-all amateur archeologist friend. No one truly knows–and that’s the most wonderful thing about them. The Pyramids remain one of the last great mysteries on earth. And that’s what keeps me and so many others coming back again and again.
