5,000 year old mummies & pyramids

The morning after my arrival to Cairo, my Egyptian friend Mohamed drove me straight to the Egyptian Museum.

I'm not a big fan of history, but as I walked through the giant museum, the timelessness of the pieces started to take over me.

Selfies in the museum are taken with pieces that survived a handful of millennia.

Facial features were beautifully exaggerated back then.

At this point I started approaching tombs and mummies. I wasn't keen on paying extra to see the mummies, but was told I should, so I did.

Photography is not allowed in the mummies room, but my whole impression changed as soon as the mummies came to view. These are 5,000 year old bodies, and my eyes could see their skin, fingernails, and hair.

A whole day can be spent at the museum, but my time was tight - Mohamed wanted to show me the pyramids.

Yet again, as soon as the pyramid started peaking from behind the buildings, I freaked out.

It was only until the pyramids appeared that I comprehended this is 5,000 year old architecture.

Friends who visited have a varying opinion of the pyramids. One thing is clear: these structures are humungous.

The pyramid's covering is almost weathered, but the underlying structure remains strong.

Each block of the millions used impresses. Two blocks make up more height than an average human.

Some friends have said the pyramids are not as tall as they imagined. One reason could be that once standing too close, the pyramidal shape leaves the eye diagonally, giving a wrong illusion of height.

And then we entered the Grand Pyramid (cameras not allowed). People often say there's not much to see inside. Indeed, even historically, there's never been any mummies or gold. But it's the claustrophobia-inducing multi-millennia old passage to reach the center of the pyramid that infused historical spirits inside me.

The experience of entering the pyramid was incredible. I've never felt like this before.

Then we had a pleasant walk around the pyramids and enjoyed the touristic vibes.

As we left Giza, I wondered how many secrets lay inside the pyramids.