Egypt: Cairo/Giza

We arrived in Cairo late our first night and didn’t really have a chance to do anything but crash at our hotel. The next day we awoke too excited and were still in amazement that we had made it to Egypt. Instead of heading to the closest pyramids in Giza, we decided to make a circle around the area and end up at the largest pyramids that are closest to our hotel.

We started the day in a town called Memphis, which is the ancient capital of unified Egypt. We saw our first pyramid there: The Step Pyramid. It is incredible to learn about how they excavate all of the tombs in the pyramid and around the area. There is still so much in Egypt to be discovered that we will need to come back in a few years to see what is different.

Then we traveled just a short distance to a museum where they had collected many Egyptian artifacts. Probably the most famous was a 16 foot statue of Ramses II called “The Colossus.” I am still in shock because when you travel in Europe and go to see famous artifacts, you are not allowed to touch anything. Here you can touch just about anything that isn’t behind glass. I love to feel the carvings of the hieroglyphs done in the different stones and just imagine the time when they were being done back thousands of years ago.

Our final stop was the Giza pyramids, also known as The Great Pyramids. There are a total of 9 pyramids in that area, and once again, I was amazed because we were able to go up and climb on them. Due to safety reasons, we could only go so far, but still to go see up close the Great Pyramid, one of the 7 Wonders of the World! As if that weren’t enough, we both hopped (literally) on a camel to get a wide view of the pyramids. All I can say is that I love camels. Sure you feel like you are a little too high off the ground, but I felt completely safe. I love the way they move and how the bottom lip sticks out when they walk. By the end of the trip, I was feeling comfortable enough to let go of the stirrups and cross my legs. Even when they run it is still fun to ride on them. My camel liked to bite other camels, so I named him Tyson, and Jason’s camel was a bit slow and lazy, so he named him Jabba. I think we are going to look into buying one when we get home.

We spent a lot of time around the pyramids, just looking at different tombs and others sites around the area. We ended the day watching the sun set over these amazing feats of mankind. We bought tickets to go sit in front of the famous Sphinx and watched what is called “The Sound and Lights” show, where they light up the pyramids while giving a brief history of Egypt. It was incredible and of course amazing to be sitting in front of the Sphinx.
Throughout the day we found little shops and have been gathering objects such as Egyptian perfume, rugs, papyrus paintings, and other souvenirs. I am afraid we are coming back with a lot more than what we brought.
That was just the first day!!!!!



The next day we woke up ready again for more Egypt. When Jason and I travel we tend to go to a lot of museums, and Egypt is no exception. If anything, we have been looking forward to the Egyptian museum. I have always wanted to go there because any artifact that has been found in Egypt within the last hundred years has been taken to the museum. Of course, the most famous would be the items found in King Tut’s, including his headmask. We were not allowed to take any pictures in the museum, but so many of the items were out to be examined up close, and even touched.
After the museum we were going to go visit other landmarks in Cairo, but decided we wanted to see the city in a more relaxing way, so we took a felucca (Egyptian boat) along the Nile River.

Now we are back in the hotel after doing some more shopping and wandering of Cairo, and have finally found time to update the blog. Sorry about the delay if any of you have been wondering about our safety, but we are having the time of our lives and are enjoying it so much.