Editor’s note: Rick McKay, Joe Masonick, and Jack Karolewski, have been annual travel companions for more than 50 years to a variety of sites with many goals. This week’s adventure is the 10th in the series.
The previous part is at thevoice.us/india-egypt-next.
By Rick McKay
Our extended cultural and travel trip in 1977, planned by Capricorn Tours in London, brought us to Egypt. We were on our way up the north face of the Great Pyramid Cheops. The adventure was augmented by an old man who offered to be a guide. Each block in the structure is three-to-four feet high and one must pull oneself up from one level to the next. The grade was steep and the old man shook his head and went back down. Jack went down, too. Joe and I continued our ascent. That was a big mistake.
We had reached the midway point when, in a moment of apprehension, I was gripped with fear, having cast an eye downward. My hands held fast to the rough edges of the worn limestone blocks as I examined my situation. Above, each foothold and grip was less sure than previous, though our path from below was by no means safe, each block tapered and wind-worn with a thin covering of powder or limestone chips, the handholds uncertain. The angle of incline seemed staggering. It was impossible to go down, yet what lay ahead was little more promising. One false step or faulty grip which might fail to bear our weight, would send our helpless bodies careening down the terraced face like lifeless dolls to the base of the pyramid some 200 feet below. I felt as though my nerve was about to abandon me; the strength drained from my arms; my legs began to tremble. Death had never seemed so near, though I had been in many precarious climbing situations where my life has hung in the balance.
I looked up. Joe was 10 to15 levels above me and to my right. From the top of the pyramid I could see Jack waving down at us, photographing us, urging us on. It was then I realized that the pyramid must be ascended from one of the corners, not the face. The integrity of the steps is more sound, the surface area larger, and any dust or debris cleared away by constant use.
Without further hesitation, before all my energy had dissipated, I drew my consciousness to an objective clarity and saw what had to be done. With eyes fixed only upon each successive grip and toehold, with great care and deliberation, I hoisted myself from one level to the next, always angling somewhat to the right, until after what were perhaps the 10 most suspenseful minutes of my life, I reached the relative ease of the cornerstones some 30 feet from the summit. And then we stood on the top of Cheops, the desert wind caressing our faces, the world at our feet!
By the time we descended, the entrance had been unlocked. However, on that particular day the electrical power was out and the inclined passage to the heart of Cheops was in total darkness. Fortunately, Joe had a flashlight with him and we began our descent. In the queen’s chamber we sat down to rest, turned off the flashlight, and sat in silence for perhaps 10 minutes, breathing in the damp stale air, reflecting on just where we were and the deep history in which we were immersed.
After climbing an incline to the king’s chamber, where a professor and several students were gathered by candlelight around the empty sarcophagus of the king, we departed and returned to our hotel for our 2 p.m. checkout.
Later that evening we boarded the 8 p.m. train for Luxor, and arrived around 10 in the morning. Luxor is the modern name for the ancient city of Thebes, once the capital of ancient Egypt. On the west side of the river can be found the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens and the incredible tomb of Tutankhamon, discovered by Howard Carter in 1922. Ironically, the most prized artifacts from that tomb were no longer in Egypt. They were on tour and would arrive in Chicago during the month of August, meaning that we would have to wait to see them until we arrived home.
We decided to fly back to Athens the day after our return by train to Cairo. Our flight to the States would depart from there several days hence. We would spend those remaining days relaxing. Much to our surprise and delight, when we arrived in Athens, we were informed that standby tickets back to the U.S. were available immediately!
All three of us were exhausted and ready to go home. We jumped at this opportunity and we were on our way home!
Continued at thevoice.us/contemplation-of-1977-trip-ready-again.