The Most Surreal Experience of My Life Inside the Pyramids of Giza

Going inside the pyramids of Giza was the most surreal and hilarious experience I’ve had so far in Egypt, maybe ever. Honestly, there’s not much to see under the pyramids at the Giza complex – but it’s amazing just to think “I’m inside the great pyramids right now” which (in my mind) made it worth spending the extra few bucks to buy the extra ticket in. 

Guards are stationed outside the entrance to the pyramids, (to make sure no one enters without their ticket) and also inside once you enter.

I had to leave my camera at the entrance because there was no photography allowed, even though I had paid extra to bring my camera into the Pyramids complex, the guards said “No camera, just phones”. 🤨

So I guess while the original rule was no photography, along the way they realized they couldn’t take away everyone’s phones, so now it’s “only photography with phone” allowed. Fine by me, it just seemed like another silly way rules are loosely adhered to in Egypt. 

I was getting ready to take some sneaky photos with my phone once we entered the low-ceiling staircase (you need to basically crawl! It was actually really fun) when the security guard greeted us with “Ahhh! My models!” and promptly took my friends phone and started taking pictures of us. 

This was a welcome development because they had said no photos were allowed, so I thought the guard was just being friendly, or maybe he wanted a tip, but then he got SUPER into it and started (I can’t think of another term) creative-directing our visit. 

We would strike a pose and then he would go – “No! Like this!” And would pose against the wall with his face tilted up like an IG model, and then he would be like “Now two of you! One look at me, smile! Now one with no smile”.

He got so into it that I kept waiting for him to say guarding the pyramids was just his day job and he was actually an aspiring photographer. 

Neither of us were able to stick our bum out enough for his creative vision

After the first round of pics he told us to follow him and we all followed the leader and crawled into a giant room with… nothing in it. Absolutely nothing. There used to be a pharaoh at some point but he was removed decades ago and now there was just an empty rock box where the sarcophagus used to go. 

I masked my disappointment with a lackluster “woooooooooooooooooooow” as I scanned the room to see if there was another corridor or if that really was it – and when I looked back our guard/photographer had climbed up onto the tomb and was beckoning us to follow. 

This is where it got really surreal – and I’m not going to say any more defining characteristics about which pyramid we were underneath or when because I don’t want the guard to get in trouble. The guard had us climb up onto the tomb and started directing us for more photos: 

“Now, walk like an Egyptian.” 

“Now, stick a leg out, just a little – keep it classy.” 

“Sexy face!!! Now happy face!!! Look up! Now down!” 

“No no, bum OUT, like this: *he proceeds to throw it back better than I ever could.*

I think he took close to 50 photos of us, all the while when people would come into the room filming or with a camera he would snap “No filming!”. I couldn’t help but laugh – the whole experience was so bizarre. 

I thought that was it and went to slip him a 50 EGP baksheesh (tip) for the effort when he motioned for us again. I’m not a spiritual person, but my friend is – and she knew right away he wanted us to meditate with him but it took me a minute before I caught the plot. I genuinely thought we were all just holding hands for a second before he started guiding our breathing and instructed us to close our eyes. 

Keep in mind, tourists were coming in and out of the room the whole time this was happening, I can only imagine what it looked like: 2 girls and a guard performing a seance? Who knows – anyway – 

After a few minutes of meditating in the pharaoh’s tomb, I look up and my friend is crying. Real tears. As I said, she is spiritual and I am not. To me, meditation is just a high-end way to fall asleep. After seeing the effect the space was having on her the guard then instructed us to lay against the farthest wall with our palms flat behind us against the wall. 

Up until that moment, I felt nothing – then with my palms against the wall, my arms started to vibrate. This threw me. Palms against the wall: vibration. Palms a few inches away: nothing. My friend told me this was the energy from the pyramids, and honestly, at that moment I couldn’t think of a better explanation. 

I left the pyramids actually thinking I had some sort of spiritual experience. 

Later, when my friend who missed out on entering the pyramid (she lost her ticket) asked me to describe what happened I went up against our hotel wall in the same way I had in the pyramid … and my arm started vibrating. The moral of the story, holding your arm in a specific way will make it shake a little bit.