Being a World Heritage site-tourist, visiting the pyramids of Giza and Dashshur for the first time in your life, is of course a very special experience. At least when you dream, think and plan ahead for it! But the realities of life can sometimes surprise you and maybe even spice things up a bit. After having spent a day in Cairo I hired myself a taxi-driver for a day. One of those thousands of black-and-white, worn down Peugeots that runs up and down the streets of Cairo each day. My driver Abu, a true Egyptian, proved to be quite a character and after having stopped for a couple of times on our way to Giza talking to his friends, he gave me a thorough (and very useful) instruction in how to fend of the camel- horse and souvenir hustlers, that despite the presence of the tourist police, constantly annoys the tourists.

So don’t for a second think you can wonder around the pyramids and the sphinx, peacefully dreaming about the pharaohs and life in by-gone eras. But if you constantly shout “La, Shokram (no thanks in Arabic), or even stronger expressions in English, you might stand a chance. At Dashshur, the situation was quite the opposite and my visit surprisingly peaceful.

But despite the downsides, the pyramids are still one of the most impressing sites I’ve ever visited during my World Heritage travels and for sure a number one place to visit for all people, whether you are interested in history or not.