Day of Pyramids

Our first stop of the day was the Step Pyramid at Saqqara. It was incredible to see the very first pyramid ever built, and then we descended into a nearby tomb complex. The whole experience was amazing.

After that, we made a short visit to a carpet factory and ended up purchasing a beautiful rug for our house in Japan. They shipped it to Mariko’s mom in Osaka, which worked out perfectly.

Once we finished a wonderful buffet lunch, we headed to one of the biggest highlights of the entire trip: the Great Pyramid of Giza. Thanks to some lucky timing, traffic in Cairo was heavily restricted because of the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum and visiting dignitaries. That meant hardly any tourists were at the site. It felt unreal.

The pyramids themselves were absolutely mind blowing. It is still hard to believe we stood at such an iconic place that we had only ever seen in books and documentaries. They did not disappoint. Their sheer size is something you really do have to experience in person at least once.

Next, we visited the Great Sphinx, which was just as cool and iconic as we hoped. We spent a long time there simply looking at it and feeling grateful for the chance to visit. Truly an amazing day.