Three Pyramids and a Man-headed Lion

Wow…Egypt… By far the most exhausting port we have visited…by far…(did I mention that??)  Ok I will do my best to recap for you but my brain feels a lot like a small tornado so we’ll see if I can type in complete sentences.  I’m going to write the first couple days now (while we’re leaving the port) and Mal is going to finish off the last few days sometime later (my part’s gonna be waaaay better ☺ ) ((keep dreaming))

Day 1:
We arrived in the port of Alexandria, Egypt and got on 4 different coach busses (it was a huge trip…120 kids) to drive a whopping 3 hours to Cairo.  During our drive our tour guide spoke on the history of Egypt while pointing out every grain of sand in the Sahara Desert.  Really though…she was UNBELIEVABLY knowledgeable about everything Egypt but to college kids early in the morning she sounded a lot like a lullaby.  We drove and drove and finally saw the pyramids (side note: I totally won the classic game “who-can-spot-the-pyramids-first”…booyea).  We stopped for lunch at a hotel very near the base of the pyramids.  (See #1 below)  We climbed back into the bus and went to the world’s first monumental stone complex, the Step Pyramid of King Zoser.  After 5000 years of damage and decay, it looks a lot like a hill in a sandbox…a huge sandbox that is the Sahara Desert.  After looking at some more ancient pyramids (that are far less popular than the grand pyramids) we headed back to the hotel for a much-needed siesta.  But it was short lived and we headed back out to visit a Bazaar in Cairo.  The bazaar was not nearly as nice as the ones in Turkey so we didn’t really get anything.  (See #2 below)  We dozed back to the hotel on the bus, had dinner, and went to bed at a late 12:00am (or 0:00 for you military people).

Day 2:
Early wakeup call number 1.  After only 4 hours of sleep we had to wake up to watch the sunrise over the pyramids (which I’m sure I can find on youtube at any time of day that does NOT end with “a.m.”) (he is really being sarcastic it was INCREDIBLE)  We had a quick bus ride to this plateau that looks out toward the pyramids to the East.  For the first hour or so it was really dark and foggy (meaning we could have waited til 5am…but what’s an hour?)  Eventually the sun finally came up and cast light over the pyramids…it was amazing…and yes, probably better than youtube.  We took so many pictures (your welcome Mom) of the sunrise, holding the pyramid, eating the pyramid, squishing the pyramid, jumping at the pyramid, looking up at the pyramid, and so on…  Then we went for a little walk down closer to the 2nd pyramid (the one with the cap on top) and the 3rd pyramid (the smallest of the three).  Then we paid a few dollars for a quick camel ride which was quite an experience.  Mal and I shared a camel (poor fella…we named him Steve but no offense Dad) and we had this 8-year-old kid leading our train of camels beating them with a stick.  It was a little scary having a kid controlling 3 beasts when he couldn’t even satisfy their hunger if he were their midnight snack.  One girl’s camel decided to take off and she was holding on for dear life while these Egyptian guys went chasing after her…it was hilarious…shhhh!  Then we drove to the base of the Grand pyramid (the biggest/first one) and the 2nd pyramid (again with the cap on it) and then onto the Sphinx.  It was really cool being that close to everything.  Then we went to the National Archaeological Museum and saw oodles and doodles of ancient artifacts recovered from the tombs of King Tut and a bunch of others (can you say sensory overload??).  Then we went on this boat ride on the Nile where we had lunch and had a belly dancer and music and other guys entertain us.  Then we drove to the Alabaster Mosque of Mohamed Ali (not sting like a bee…I know I was disappointed).  We went back to the hotel to rest and then out again to visit the pyramids at night and enjoy a ‘light and sound’ show.  They had huge projectors and lasers and they projected different scenes and images on the pyramids and the sphinx and such…it was pretty cool.  But again a late night…dinner at 10:00 (or 2200). 

I will leave the next 2 days for Mal to explain at a later time but let me give you a teaser…we had to wake up at 3:00am to catch a flight.  Ouch…



Couple funny things about Egypt:

1 – they have bathroom assistants.  Now before your mind goes to far…let me explain: They have these people who stand in the bathroom and wait for you to approach the sink.  Once you do, they turn on the water for you and pump out soap into your hands.  Then they wait for you to finish and dry your hands with a towel.  Royal treatment eh??...but then you have to pay them.  So basically you have to pay for a service you a) didn’t ask for, and b) you don’t want.  (I like washing my hands all by my self!!!)

2 – So me and Mal and our friend Julia were walking through the bazaar and I kept getting these natives yelling “You lucky man!”  And eventually Mal pointed out that one said “You have two wives…you VERY lucky man!!!”  (if you didn’t know…polygamy is popular in Egypt)  One guy even said, “You have two wives…one for Sunday one for Monday?  Shheeesh….

3 – Security??  In Egypt they have the police and then they have the “Tourist Police”…no joke.  These guys stand at all the major tourist spots with their big guns and happy smiles (ok that was a joke) and make sure you don’t do anything stupid.  But, they also motion you over and tell you to climb the first couple steps of the pyramid for a picture.  However, when your done, they won’t let you leave until you have “compensated” them for their kindness…and remember…they have the big guns!  So basically security is tight…unless you have the money to loosen it.


We have our Sea Olympics today...  Mal and I will clash swords and butt-heads in an epic dodgeball duel (she’s going down…….) (again keep dreaming!!! Who do you think your kidding I am the master of dodgeball)  Winner of the Sea Olympics gets to disembark the ship first (yippee ki-yay…)

As always feel free to email us!  We have 5 days of class before Morocco and I swear the teachers are against us…lots of papers and tests for everyone.  Speaking of paper…I should probably get a start on that…

Love always!

John and Mally