And yes, yet another picture of Khafre's pyramid. "This is uncle Ted on the side of the house..., this is uncle Ted in the back of the house..."

Note the fellow in the black uniform and beret. That is a member of the Tourism and Antiquities Police. You will see these guys everywhere in Cairo -- often three to five at a time, armed with combat rifles and looking generally bored out of their skulls. There were times in Cairo that I could have sworn that I saw more soldiers of one stripe or another than I did ordinary folks.

It makes sense for Egypt to have such a defense force, considering how important tourism is to their economy. All the same, I've been told that they're just about useless unless someone's trying to kill you. In fact, the tourist police are as likely to try and rip you off as the street vendors, only difference being that the vendor doesn't have a gun.