The first surprise of Giza is how close it is. The pyramids do not rise from an empty Sahara in splendid isolation; they stand at the ragged edge of Cairo, with apartment blocks, traffic and fast-food signs crowding right up to the plateau. You can photograph a four-thousand-year-old wonder and a city bus in the same frame.
That proximity is the real story. Cairo is one of the largest cities on earth — loud, improvised and endlessly alive — and the ancient monuments are simply part of its daily backdrop. Not a museum you visit, but a neighbour everyone lives beside.
A word about baksheesh
Small tips — baksheesh — oil nearly every interaction here, from the man who shows you a better angle to the one who watches the restrooms. Carry a pocket of small bills. It is less a scam than the grammar of daily life, and a little goes a long way toward making the city feel on your side.
