Where pharaohs, pyramids and perfumes meet

It is, therefore, not with a small amount of amazement and anxiety that when the Egypt Airline offered to sponsor me along with some 15 passengers en route Sudan, we agreed to spend six hours in Giza. Giza is located only a few kilometres to Cairo, some hundred meters away from the last community in […]

It is, therefore, not with a small amount of amazement and anxiety that when the Egypt Airline offered to sponsor me along with some 15 passengers en route Sudan, we agreed to spend six hours in Giza.

Giza is located only a few kilometres to Cairo, some hundred meters away from the last community in the southernmost part of the city. It is an area that appears above the scene of the dusty desert houses that surround several hundreds of meters across southern Cairo.

Ancient Egyptians called this place imentet, i.e. the west and many others called it kherneter, i.e. the necropolis.  This valley with its wonderful and amazing monuments can best be described as a truly marvellous ingenuity of architectural prowess.  Here lies the three largest pyramids located in the area namely Khufu, i.e. the Pyramid of Kafhre and the Pyramid of Menkaura. Each of these pyramids, according to our guide Salim Zakariyya, is a tomb dedicated to a different king of Egypt. The three pyramids, according to him, were built during the third and fourth dynasties of the great Egyptian royal families over 3000 years ago. The structures came as a result of efforts by the kings and their children to preserve their dynasty and show their immortality.

Weekly Trust learnt that, the Pyramid of Khufu, which is the biggest in Giza field, is made up of a base which covers around nine acres, approximately 392,040 square feet, while the Menhaura Pyramid has only one base, which means it’s lesser in size than the Khufu Pyramid. The third and smallest is the Pyramid of Kafhre, which has two-tiered base encased in granite that serves to fortify and make it stronger.

Further investigations showed that like other pyramids of the great kings of Egypt, the Pyramids of Menkaura, Khufu and Kafhre were not themselves completed by the end of each respective king’s reign.

According to Zakariyya, the Menkaura Pyramid, which was in honour of King Menkaura, could not be completed before the death of the king. His remains were later buried in the uncompleted pyramid where it still stands today. Zakariyya further explained that most of the pyramids in Giza were constructed by around 25,000 to 30,000 skilled workers for over 25 years in a row.

“Workers numbering between 25,000 and 30,000 worked continuously for 25 years to build most of these pyramids,” he said. He added that Giza is just one of the over 180 pyramids around Egypt, and all of them are graves of kings, their children, wives and those they favoured.

The marvellous scenery and magnificent picture that captures one’s attention on arrival in Giza is incomprehensible, and it as well leaves one wondering how possible it was for those workers to have built those massive structures with concrete granite. Thousands of tourists looking amazed were also seen taking pictures of the sandy environment and were much of the time disrupted in the process by dusty interference.

Some of the pyramids could not be entered and the smaller ones that housewives of the kings lived in were mostly situated behind the greater and bigger pyramids. To go round Giza would take over two hours depending on the enthusiasm of the visitors. Inside, there were places for tourists to rest, take pictures and even enjoy some tea, that is, if the winds allow that.

After two hours of going round Giza Pyramids, we moved to the great perfume centre of the city. It is one marvellous place that exposes one to the natural perfume that Egypt is known for. The Cleopatra Centre is a collection of Egypt’s best perfumes that serve many perfume designer factories in Europe and America, according to a perfume expert, Mr Hammadi Khalid, while taking Weekly Trust round the perfume centre.

“It is from here that major designer factories from Europe and America purchase condensed perfumes to produce their designer perfumes,” he said. According to him, each perfume has its significance and is blessed with various powers to apart from provide sweet-smelling scents, also reduce tension, prevent headache, remove spots and enhance confidence.

“The Cleopatra, which is the mother of perfumes, serves the dual purposes of scent and removal of any spot on the face of people, while the Nile is rich in beautification and increasing confidence,” he added.

Hammadi also disclosed that the perfume industry is one of the biggest foreign exchange earners for the Egyptian economy. “No visitor comes to Egypt without having the sweet scent of Cleopatra, the queen of perfumes and the wonder of the beautiful style,” he added.

We ended up buying several perfumes worth hundreds of dollars after listening to the magical prowess of the various scents on display. I never knew about the medicinal powers of any perfume, but the visit to ‘Cleopatra’ opened my eyes to this fact.

Visiting Egypt without having time to admire the vast sandy lands that provide affordable houses to the millions that live in Cairo is never a good idea, so we took time to visit several construction sites where massive housing schemes are being developed. In Egypt like in many Arab countries that I have been, hydra form blocks are popular methods used in mass housing schemes. Engineer Salim Muhammad informed Weekly Trust that since the advent of hydra form blocks, these types of houses have provided affordable housing for millions of hitherto homeless Egyptians until the decision by government to embrace their use for mass housing. And thanks to this wise decision, most Egyptians now have affordable, respectable and reliable housing for their comfort.

Although I spent less than ten hours in Giza, Egypt, I nonetheless was able to see the rich cultural heritage of this ancient country that has used its ancient history for its economic development.

Egypt International Airport in Cairo is another beautiful modern architectural masterpiece that provides a warm welcome to visitors into the ancient country. Designed in tune with modernity, the airport boasts of recent technology that can be seen anywhere in the world. The exquisite shopping malls, tea corners and duty-free shops scattered around the massive multi-terminal airport hints any visitor of the enchanting beauty that awaits one inside.