One of the school sponsored trips was a desert horseback riding trip to the pyramids, which I opted to go on. I have mixed feelings about the experience.
We took school vans out to Giza where the Pyramids are. They are in a type of artificial desert with Cairo spreading out around them, the pictures I'm sure you all have seen are shot from a specific angle to make it seem like they are isolated in the middle of the desert. It was still magical and amazing to see them rise up from behind a hill as we were riding out. I got some pictures but they are a little blurry because we were there at night. I will try to go back during the day and get better pictures of them as well as the Sphyinx.
I won't be taking horses out the next time though. The horses are malnourished and are whipped to exhaustion everyday. They take multiple tours and I have my doubts about the amount they are fed. When we were at the top of the hill at a little camp, they were trying to eat the bark from the logs we were leaning against. You can see their ribs and the hips bones look like they are about to poke through their skin. One horse I was riding was so skinny, my heels couldn't connect to urge it on. After that, I just let it go as fast as it wanted to which was a very slow walk.
The area around the pyramids is abysmally poor. You ride through alleys of huts with dirty barefoot children waving at you while their mothers try to sell you things like individual packets of Keenex. Their is trash everywhere.
If you look down on the ride up or down from the Pyramids chances are you will see a camel or horse who did not make it back. When they die on the trail, they are left to rot in the desert and for the dogs to eat. When they get sick down below, they are taken behind a wall, shot and carted away in a pick up truck.
As bad as I felt for the horses, I suppose it is a way for the people there to make some type of living. I am still conflicted about the whole experience.
