It was shocking to learn that 750,000 people live in the cemeteries around the city. Children playing in the graveyard is an image that will stick with us for a while. The day we saw the pyramids we had actually been on our way to the market district called Khan al-Khalili, but somehow our cab driver talked us into going to Giza instead. This is how things work for the most part. There seems to be a web of affiliations between all cab drivers, shop owners, camel touts, etc. which has been established to maximize tourist dollars spent.
Patience is essential.
So after vehemently explaining a number of times we did not wish to ride into the desert on horseback, we were at last dropped off at the ancient Pyramids of Giza. As you cross the road and enter the grounds you are transported from modern chaos into a time gone by. The great pyramids rise from the desert in a majestic line of three. Miles of desert stretch before you dotted only with people and their camels. We made our way around through the Sphinx and even shimmied up into the Kings Chamber deep within the Pyramid of Cheops.