Day 7, 8 & 9- Cairo - Memphis, Pyramids, Sphinx, and Mohammad Ali Mosque.

We flew from Luxor to Cairo, and stayed at the Marriott Hotel in a suite of rooms complete with kitchen (normally $900 per night!!) with views of the city and river, and then moved to the Nile Hilton next to the Egyptian Museum. Our first trip was to the evening sound and light show at the Pyramids. No photo's I'm afraid. The next day we visited the site of the ancient city of Memphis, an earlier capital of Egypt. We followed this with a tour of the Egyptian Museum, where photography is not allowed.

On the last day we visited Giza for the Pyramids and the Sphinx. The wind was blowing, so the pictures looked a little overcast owing to the resultant sandstorm. We then visited a Cairo landmark, the Mohammad Ali Mosque.

An alabaster sphinx at Memphis.	This is the first pyramid ever constructed, built for King Djoser. It is known as the 'Stepped Pyramid', as it was intentionally built in a series of stepped levels.
There are 3 main pyramids on the Giza plateau. The largest (hidden off to the right in this photo) was built by King Cheops, the next smallest on the right of this photo was built by his son Khafre and the smallest on the left built by his son Mekaure. There were a number of smaller ones at the base of the large ones for wives and family. The Sphinx in the foreground was sculpted by Khafre to embellish a large rock that stood in the way of the view of the pyramids.
Just visible at the top of Khafre's pyramid are remnants of the polished white limestone finish that originally covered the whole of the pyramid. Many of the outer stones of the pyramids have been taken over the years to build Cairo.
Behind the Sphinx is the largest pyramid, Cheops, and to the right at the base can be seen two of the smaller pyramids.
The Solar Boat is an amazing historical find. It is the boat used to bring King Cheops along the Nile to the pyramid after his death. It was found buried to one side of the base of his pyramid.
Mohammed Ali was the founder of the last dynasty of Egyptian kings, and he started the construction of this mosque in 1830. His tomb is inside.
The interior and ceiling are beautifully decorated, and it is nicknamed the 'Alabaster Mosque'.

A panoramic view of Cairo from the Mohammad Ali Mosque. The haze is due to the sandstorm.