Ok. Egypt needs no introduction. The mysterious and enchanting tales of this land has mesmerised people all over the world. From the pages of our history books to documentaries, we have all wondered about the feeling of being able to witness the marvels of the ancient Egyptian civilisation which still stand proudly today after thousands of years.

A typical pyramid exploration day begins from Cairo and starts at the site of Saqqara. After a full day of exploring the lesser know pyramids, the day ends in Giza where, with the light of the setting sun, the great pyramids cast their shadows on awestruck visitors.

We started on a warm April morning. Business seemed slow for the locals and the trickle of visitors didn’t seem to cheer them up much.

Even then, some of them managed to keep up their spirits high.

Inside the complex was the well known structure of the pyramid of Djoser or the step pyramid. Built by a master architect, Imhotep, it is one of the oldest pyramids consisting of steps or Mastabas.

The next site on our plan was Red pyramid. This is one of the pyramids where visitors are allowed to go down to the tomb chamber. It is a great opportunity for visitors as it has a fraction of the visitors than the pyramid at Giza and people can take their own sweet time to explore. A narrow passage leads down to the chamber which looks a daunting task for claustrophobics and some people backed out from the entrance.

Finally, in the second half of the day, we were at Giza.

Believe me when I say this, the scale of these structures cannot be guessed from a photograph or from the documentaries. Visitors are allowed to enter the tomb chamber in the great pyramid for a much higher price than the general entry ticket and there is a daily limit to the number of visitors allowed. Even then, we founds large groups of visitors making their way to the tomb.

No trip to Giza is complete without a visit to the view point which allows visitors to get a view of all the pyramids. One can take a walk but we decided to take a camel ride.

As the sun was about to set, we took a last look at the mammoth wonders. Visitors were starting to leave for the day and Giza was getting ready for the evening light show. The heat of Egypt was starting to take its toll on us. As our vehicle started moving out of the complex, we kept looking over our shoulders till the last structures were out of sight.