The Last Remaining Wonder of the Ancient World

Yesterday we went to the Giza plateau, 30 km from downtown Cairo, and spent the day in the presence the pyramids of Khufu, Kafre and Menkaure. They have been visited, and written about, by travelers from Herodotus to Mark Twain, so it is a bit daunting to attempt say something about them. Here are a few observations:

• At 4000 years old, the Great Pyramid of Khufu is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World - nearly two millenia older than its nearest competitor, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. It is also the only Wonder that is still in existence.
• The Giza Plateau is full of tourists and persistent hustlers offering horse and camel rides, tours, and sovenirs. The pyramids are still one of the most awesome things I have ever seen.
• The Cairo suburb of Giza comes right up to the foot of the Giza Plateau. If you look one direction from the pyramids, you see desert. If you look the other, you see the smog and sprawl of a city with 20 million inhabitants.
• There is a KFC at the bottom of the plateau. The Sphinx's inscrutable gaze appears to be locked with that of the grinning Colonel.