I’ve spent the last few days viewing some of the most historic sights on our planet, whilst trying not to be completely overwhelmed by the chaos that is modern Cairo!

I headed to Giza to view the Great Pyramid and the Sphinx. In the searing heat and with the daunting prospect of walking from site to site in the desert causing me more than a little anxiety, I did not require much persuasion to agree to a camel ride around the desert.

As with so much of Africa, concern for animal rights does not trump the chance to make some money and these animals were an asset exploited to within an inch of its life. Having seen the condition of the camel, with the whip marks around its legs and the signs of obvious malnourishment, I chose to just walk it instead.

The brief moment of inner smugness I felt quickly dissipated as I realised why I was the only person there on foot – a 3 hour walk in the desert, completely exposed to the beating sun is as horrific as it sounds!

The iconic image of Egypt is the sight of the Great Pyramid of Giza and it truly is a sight to behold – one look at this remarkable structure and you really do forget what unrelenting sun and dehydration can do to your body!

Now over 4500 years old, it is still in remarkable condition and its grandeur is just mind blowing. I took this photo of me standing by the foot of the pyramid just to show how large it actually is. I’ve been reduced to a green blob in comparison!

Your mind immediately wanders to ancient Egypt and what those who commissioned and then constructed these remarkable structures would think today.

Did the slaves who were moving these huge pieces of stone into place ever imagine they would still be admired many millennia later? As they died in their thousands, would they really care?

How would the pharaohs who insisted on these pyramids being built for their burial and to allow their souls to launch directly to the gods feel if they knew these physical symbols of their immortality are now largely there as a background to a million selfies from Japanese tourists?

For such a famous international landmark it was surprisingly quiet in Giza. Tourism has nosedived in Egypt since the revolution and I think this may actually have been the only time I wasn’t surrounded by people in Cairo!

There are a number of smaller pyramids in Giza too and the other famous landmark is the sphinx. Pictures don’t really do justice to how large the structure is and with the head of a human and the reclining torso of a majestic lion, it is much more imposing an image than I imagined a limestone structure could be!

And yes needless to say I am not immune from the tourist tradition of taking a photo pretending to kiss the Sphinx!

I ventured inside some of the pyramids into the old tombs but other than the architecture wonder of being able to be deep inside buildings as old as this, there is not a lot to see here and once you’ve seen one empty tomb you really have seen them all! I’m hoping to get a better understanding of how pharaoh’s were buried and their beliefs when I visit the Valley of the Kings in Luxor.

After this incredible day I wanted to spend a day looking around Cairo and looking at some of the religious buildings dotted around the city.

I was warned  off spending much time in Cairo by a lot of people butit’s the contradictions that make it so fascinating.

It is the city of ancient civilisation and the modern mayhem of a chaotic city. Where people will simultaneously go out of their way to make you feel welcome and shout in Arabic at you across the street. The city of beautiful pristine buildings and rubbish littered across the road. The loud calls to prayer being drowned out by a symphony of car horns blaring from every direction.

It’s a city with a real character and soul.

Going up to the citadel to see the old town and the Muhammad Ali mosque is fascinating. With no cars allowed, it is an oasis of calm in this chaotic city. Still a working mosque, it is less opulent but far more historic than most mosques that have been erected across the middle east and the reverence which so many people have for the building is quite moving.

From this height you can get a great view of the city and get a visual representation of modern Cairo with minarets and skyscrapers vying for attention and pyramids and traffic jams as far as the eye can see!

The other famous religious site is the hanging church of Babylon and St Mark’s cathedral in the Coptic corner of Cairo. At the start of Ramadan, the sight of an elderly Greek orthodox tour guide and woman in a headscarf walking side by side giving tours in English and Arabic is quite inspiring, you cannot be impervious to the charms of this city.

And yet just before you get carried away by such fatuous notions of togetherness you see the metal detectors and security guards that bookend each end of this Coptic area, reminding you of the security threat to these people.

Just another contradiction in this remarkable city.