Pyramids & Wars. Egyptian History.

Though it’s with a bit of sadness but for all the madness I must leave Cairo and its chaos and cacophony of visual and audible delights and disturbances.

Cairo in a more peaceful state.

Today I got in trouble with the police at the Pyramids and Sphinx. Well, not really. I just put them in a position to gather a few seconds fame (their perception) and a chance to try to squeeze a bit of baksheesh out of this motorcycle adventure traveler. They don’t take kindly to motorcycles getting too close to the pyramids. This because the camel and donkey vendors don’t like the competition – it’s far too normal to see camels out by these ancient beautiful structures. But a motorcycle? Amazing to see the eyes of a tour bus glued to the windows with snap happy fingers pushing shutter releases of digital and other cameras to get a shot of this crazy guy out there.

Then there’s the flow of traffic. One way going out. But I wasn’t ready to go out, so I turned around. Waved down and told that it wasn’t a good idea, but then one of those blue police trucks comes pulling behind and full of waving policeman and their steely weapons suggest I just follow them. Back to more pyramids. I love Egypt. Not only for what you can do, but for you can’t yet can do. How’s that for a wacky sentence?

You lookin’ at me?

The step practice pyramid on the Giza Plateau.

Poor old nose washed away with the sands of time.

Wow! I can’t believe I made it and rode to the pyramids. Dark Side of the Moon and all that! A dream come true.

Last night I spent the final hours of my Cairo experience with M. Magdi and Jonathan. With my bike fully loaded for a early departure, I was hesitant to ride the bike into the madness for fear of my stuff and my safety. So I doubled up with Jonathan on back of his 1200GS and rode to a local café where cold beer and strong coffee kept the conversation exciting and interesting until it was time to say goodbye with the promises of a return to Cairo and the desert for more off-road riding in the future.

I woke up early the next morning with the hotel manager at the Windsor happy to find me a car I could follow so I didn’t lose an hour of time wandering my way out of the complicated city for the road toward the Suez Canal and the Sinai Peninsula where I could relive history and both the Six Day War of 1967 and the 1973 front headed by Anwar Sadat in the 1973 Yom Kippur/Ramadan War where Egypt took back the territory it lost in 1967. All of this as I plan to move deeper into the Arabic world while exploring the holy lands and hoping to cross into Israel and still have an opportunity to travel through Syria and into Turkey.

Military memorial near Suez Canal looking over at Sinai Peninsula.