Egypt - Day 4 & 5

So now we're in Cairo! Home of the PYRAMIDS!! The only surviving ancient wonder of the world, the pyramids are unbelievable! We started by going up to a panoramic photo site and took a group picture.

We then took a camel ride down to the pyramids!! It was so fun!! I rode with the beautiful Jillian and we thought we were going to die. Our guide Abraham looked about 12 and he informed us our camel's name was Michael Jackson.

We were then allowed to explore the pyramids, and since I'm cheap and didn't want to be so constrained in space, we went into one of the queen's pyramids which was pretty cool. We also went and saw the largest boat from ancient times that was discovered not too long ago in one of the pyramids. After that we went and saw the Sphinx at the bottom of the hill. He was so big! All the girls made sure to get a picture kissing him.

Here's one of the camels with the security guard behind him in his suit. See Mom, we were well protected.

Way into the queen's tomb. Just a little scary...

The rest of the day we were able to rest around the hotel. In the evening there was an Egyptian wedding we were able to watch for a little bit. The bride was so beautiful!
The next day was spent visiting the religious sites of Cairo. We began by going to a fortress of Salah al-Din which had the mosque of Muhammed Ali (the ruler, not the boxer) inside. It was so beautiful and it had a wonderful view of the city.

In Egypt, Muslims and Christians live (for the most part) peacefully. Also, it was so amazing to think that I may be walking where Joseph, Mary, and Jesus (once he grew and learned) once walked when they were fleeing from Herod. In fact, we visited a site that most believe to be a place the family stayed at while fleeing.

The Coptic Christian church is quite different from the denominations we are familiar with. They have 7 sacraments and comprise about 10% of the Egyptian population.

We then went to the market which was insane! All of the men were quite upfront about wanting to marry you, especially with my friend Sarah. She has dark features so they were all convinced she was Egyptian.
We then had lunch in this beautiful garden. Only a year or so ago this site was a garbage field, basically, but the new mayor had a major initiative to clean it up and now it is so clean and beautiful!

The tan building in the distance is where we had lunch.

The mosque in the shadows is the mosque we visited earlier in the day.

Afterwards we headed over to the Egyptian museum which had King Tut's tomb and head mask displayed. It was so amazing we went back twice! It was so weird to see the picture that is in every textbook in person!

For dinner at our hotel, they had a roast type thing outside. It was fun until these crazy skirt dancers came out. They insisted on 9 of us girls helping them with their show. Needless to say it was awkward.

The next day we headed back to London with some major fiascos in the airport. But no worries, we are safe and sound. I hope you have enjoyed my adventures and I apologize for not being able to record it better. I promise you will hear all about it when I come home!

After this week I have learned so much that I can now speak Arabic. This sign below reads: "Ya'll come back, ya hear!"

Egypt -- Day 2 & 3

So on Wednesday we had a relaxing day. We had a "city tour" on our coach, which basically meant taking a longer route to the market. We did stop once at a papyrus making factory and learned about how the ancient people made papyrus, what they used as paper. We then arrived to the tourist market where we could shop for a hour or so. Any price is negotiable there and the exchange route with the Egyptian pound is amazing so shopping was fun, to say the least.

We then went back to the hotel where we had an afternoon free to swim and relax. Some of us went into what they called the Infinity Pool which looked to go on forever because it "met up" with the Nile. So beautiful! Then some of us went on a carriage ride around the town of Luxor which was very eye opening. They live much more rustic lives than what I'm use to, yet the people look so happy and thankful. The children are so adorable! It reminds me to count my very many blessings.

The two beautiful girls I shared the ride with. Rachel--
& Elizabeth--

We then went to Luxor Temple. It was so beautiful because it was at night and all of the lights were on. The temple was on the East bank, in the land of the living. So it would have been a joyous place to go and worship one of their many gods. It also had beautiful decorations of religious and military stories all over the walls.

This is a similar statue to the one built by Hatshesput in Karnak Temple.

I believe these are statues of Ramses II.

The next day, Thursday, we visited the Temple of Hathor (their main female goddess) in Dendara. This particular temple was built during the time that the Greeks and Romans controlled Egypt. It was interesting to see some of the touches of Greek and Roman influences, but how it still was mainly Egyptian. The Greek and Roman emperors would depict themselves as an Egyptian god to gain respect by the people, which began with Alexander the Great. This temple also had a picture of Cleopatra VII (or Elizabeth Taylor) on the back wall. Historians know it is her because her name is written close by in hieroglyphics since she looks like all of the other pharaohs.

If you can make it out, this is showing 6 of the signs of the zodiac. The calendar system we use today was based on the ancient system the Egyptians used.

The lotus and papyrus planets standing for the two kingdoms that formed to make Egypt.

This is the key of life. It was an ancient symbol for long life and happiness.

Hathor. If you can tell, she has the ears of a cow because cows were seen as beautiful animals fo many different reasons.

Cleopatra VII-

We then had some free time and 5 of us took a beautiful boat ride down the Nile. The driver was so great he let everyone drive the boat for a little while. When it was my turn we basically went in a circle because I was confused. Oh well.

We were then off to Cairo to see the Great Pyramids!!