Sightseeing in Cairo

Cairo wasn't particularly photogenic, so I don't have many pictures of our sightseeing there. We hired a guide for a half-day and went to some of the sites in Old Cairo. It was all fascinating, particular having visited Christian sites in Israel. It really put all the pieces together as far as the history of Christianity goes. For example, we saw an underground area in a church that is supposedly where Mary, Joseph and Jesus hid. Also, we saw a synagogue near which it is believed that Moses was found among the rushes.

We also visited the Egyptian Museum -- which holds so many pricless, ancient treasures, but it was truly appalling to see the conditions under which they are kept. The museum was in very poor condition and many (rather, MOST) items were not even labeled. But, it was amazing to see King Tut's treasures, etc. after having been to the places where they were found! It really gave us a complete picture of the history of ancient Egypt.

But, in the end, Cairo was not a very pleasant place for us. It is severely overcrowded. The streets are very scary (there are no traffic patterns to speak of) and everything is so dirty. It actually made us happy to return to Israel!

Speaking of which, the flight from Cairo to Tel Aviv was a complete nightmare. It was full of Israelis and was completely chaotic from the beginning. We had to push our way through the additional security line at our gate and a fight nearly broke out between an Arab man and Israeli woman there due to the pushing. Then, on the plane, there was an old man who seemed to be completely senile. He kept getting out of his seat, trying to get off the plane, etc. This cycle kept repeating. Then, an Israeli couple came on and kept trying to sit in business class even though they didn't have tickets for business class. They didn't seem to understand that if you bought an economy ticket, you sit in economy. It was so self-righteous. And it further delayed our takeoff.

Then, before the plane took off, two Jewish Israeli men started arguing two rows behind us. It was extremely loud and disruptive, and though I don't know what they were saying, it was very offensive. Many people: women, men, young ladies, etc. eventually started shouting at the men to stop (after several minutes of shusssh!-ing from various sectors of the plane didn't work). Nothing was shutting them up and I think it must have turned nasty as the woman behind me starting saying: "Enough! That's not nice!!"

I was fixated on trying to calm Sweetie who was worried a riot was going to break out any second. Then, as we are literally accelerating on the runway to take off, a woman gets up out of the last row and starts walking toward one of the arguing men, trying to calm him. Everyone started screaming, "Sit down!" The chief flight attendant got on his PA and said, "SIT DOWN! SIT DOWN NOW!" It was complete insanity.

The men continued arguing, but that wasn't all that was happening. I noticed once we reached the necessary altitude that the flight attendants were congregating about 6 rows back. And I saw one of them carrying a glass panel with a plastic frame around it that looked suspiciously like a window. Then, I saw one flight attendant, with a very concerned look on her face, gesturing for the woman seated at the window to move away from it. Sweetie looked back and thankfully didn't see the replacement window and thought something completely benign was going on. I didn't bother to tell him that one of the windows had cracked (or popped out or something) and they were presently replacing it and that we were probably all about to be sucked out of the plane and plummeting to our deaths in the Egyptian desert.

Well, as you might have guessed, we survived. But I have never been on such a frightening plane ride in my life!

Cairo: Sailboats and Seedy Buildings

Our first full day in Cairo, we relaxed and visited the hotel's gym (pretty nice!). Then in the afternoon, we joined some of Sweetie's friends who live in Cairo for a sunset felucca (sailboat) ride on the Nile. They had brought champagne and gluhwein and it was absolutely lovely!

Then, we joined them for dinner at their apartment. They're diplomats, so I expected a certain standard of quality. Well, the lobby of their apartment building looked very seedy. Sweetie immediately veered toward the stairs, while I braved the elevator with the daughter of Sweetie's friend. I noticed she pressed both floors 6 and 7. Hmmm....Weird. Then she said, "The elevator doesn't stop on 6 while it's going up, so you have to go up to 7 and then come back down." Then, she so kindly added, "In Egypt, they don't fix the elevators until they completely break down." THANKS FOR SHARING. So, needless to say, when it stopped at 7, I jumped off and took the stairs down to 6.

Anyway, after that brush with disaster, we had a really lovely dinner and enjoyed some homecooking!

Some General Egyptian Observations; Onward to Cairo

Let me take a break in my trip report to offer a few random tidbits about Egypt:

-- Cigarette smoke is very pervasive. Lots of people smoke and the Egyptians seem to have a very fluid concept of smoking sections/tables/hotel rooms. Basically, here's the deal: you walk into a restaurant and they ask if you want smoking or non-smoking. Either one you choose, you're going to be seated at the same table. Your table is only "non-smoking" in the sense that YOU are NOT smoking at it. I'm not kidding.

-- Cairo has the most polluted air I have ever breathed. I consider myself fairly resilent despite my problems with chronic allergies. I have visited China and suffered no ill-effects from the pollution and also lived for a year in Tokyo, one of the world's largest cities. But in Cairo I developed the "Cairo cough" -- a irritating, dry cough that just won't go away. I felt as if I had a cold all the time. I will spare you the gory details, but let's just say that I really couldn't wait to get back home to cleaner air.

-- Egypt has some really wonderful food. Kushari -- which is best bought on the street. Hummus -- a souped-up and richer (but I think healthier) version that what you find elsewhere in the Mideast. Tiny lemons that pack a whollop of flavor. Cinnamon tea.

Back to the trip report:
Cairo
Our boat trip wrapped up after a week (sadly -- they practically had to drag me off) and we headed back to Cairo.  The plane trip was mercifully short.  As Sweetie and I boarded, we realized that our seats were toward the rear of the plane.  Ok, fine.  But, as we walked back, suddenly the rows became much much much closer together and our row had ZERO leg room.  It actually looked like they had put a row in between two normally spaced rows.   The lady in the row in front of me-one seat over reclined her seat and she was virtually in my lap.  No kidding.   During the flight, Amro walked to the back of the plane, saw our row and did a double-take.  Then, in his typical positive demeanor, he commented, "Wow, you will get to know your neighbors VERY quickly back here."  

Once in Cairo, we were taken to the Grand Hyatt where we had booked a Nile view room.  Not feeling like venturing out, we settled on dinner at Okashi, a Japanese restaurant in the hotel.  It was surprisingly good!  And interesting to watch the Arab teppanyaki chef's grill tricks:-)  

Day 10 - Aswan: Gardens and Market

In the morning, Amro took Sweetie, me, and one of the other boat guests to the nearby Kichner Island to visit the botanical gardens there. It wasn't as fancy and well-kept as I was hoping, but relaxing and still worthwhile.

Then, we returned and were off on the motorboat again to a special lunch that the staff set up for us on an island opposite us. "Granny" (the oldest guest at about age 80) joined us - getting off the boat for her first time that week and unfortunately injured herself getting into the motorboat. Sweetie alerted the staff and they ran back to the Nesma to get the first aid kit. "Mom" (Granny's daughter) wrapped Granny's hand so many times you would have thought Granny broke her wrist instead of cut her thumb). Anyway, "Mom" said she always wanted to wrap someone's hand up like that:-)

The staff had set up a glorious table under umbrellas, decorated with flowers and palms. It was so much more than we expected. All the effort they had put into it was amazing. It was so scenic and relaxing. And as usual, the food was out-of-this-world delicious.

And the wine was great as well. Egyptian wine was included in the cost of our trip and I have to say that Obelisk makes a very drinkable red and even more drinkable white. Very worthwhile. I think Granny and Mom had their fair share of the white for sure:-) Sweetie and I probably could have had even more, but then I would have even MORE than 10 pounds to lose, so it's just as well.

After our amazing lunch, we had a special tea time at 5PM. We were taken our on the motorboat for some birdwatching among the beautiful islands at Aswan. The area is a protected nature reserve and the ride was absolutely fabulous and quite possibly my favorite event of the trip! We saw so many unusual birds. I only wished that I had a telephoto lens for my camera. Definitely will have to get one before we go to Africa!

After our birdwatching boat ride, we headed straight to Aswan for the market. It was relatively civilized -- well-lit and not too crowded. Sweetie and I made a few purchases (spending a grant total of about $7 for two scarves and some tea).

Dinner wasn't far off by the time we returned from our excursion (does it sound like we were eating all the time? But actually there were usually 6 or 7 hours between meals). Scrumptious cauliflower soup, risotto with mushrooms flavored with saffron and tumeric, canneloni with spinach and potatoes. Then, the chef brought out a huge and extremely decadent chocolate cake as it was our last dinner. They chef and Haras looked at me questioningly, and I said "Yeah I'll have a piece!" All week they had given me fruit for dessert instead of the rich cakes that the others had (which I decided was just as well, because it helped keep the weight gain down!).

Egypt: Day Nine, Kom Ombo

Cruising into Kom Ombo, the so-called "dramatic" view of the temple, which overlooks the Nile, was somewhat marred by 2 cruise ships moored right in front of it. We ran the gauntlet of shop keepers and boys selling bracelets as we made our way up to the temple, which is dedicated to both Sobek, the crocodile god, and Horus the Elder. There are two separate temples, side by side. It was very scenic -- looking out over the Nile. There were a lot of hieroglyphics about healing and also showing tools for embalming.

Being Spoiled
Some general trip notes:  The steward Haras always puts a smile on our faces, remembering our favorite beverages even when we don't; waiting to greet us with a tray of delicious fruit drinks (apple, mango, guava, orange, etc.) after our excursions; surprising us with exotic mixed fruit drinks in the late morning when we're cruising (mint and orange; strawberry/mango/guava, etc); keeping us satisfied with tea morning, noon, and night; and refilling our lunch soup bowls for us.  

Mustafa, the chef, cruelly tantalizes our tastebuds in the hours before lunch, with rich aromas of garlic and spices wafting their way to the upper deck. Some favorites of mine so far: corn soup, baba ganouj, hummus (very different from the hummus you get in other countries -- heartier, with more lemon), salad with corn/carrots/pomegranate seeds, kidney bean salad, roasted potatoes, etc. Mustafa is a culinary genius and very attentive to my food restrictions. We'll be thinking of him for the next month as we try to get all this weight off!

Ali, who cares for our rooms, surprised us last night with a man made out of pillows, wearing Sweetie's jacket and my sunglasses. We took pics in bed with the "man." Here you can see one of Ali's other creations.

This morning we all got up and took a walk with our guide Amro  around the idyllic island where we had moored.  Amro pointed out that Bales (the company we booked the trip with) accepted no responsibility for any cow dung we stepped in:-) ).  The island was quiet, full of nature, and beautiful.

Today we are cruising to Aswan.

Aswan
We took a small motorboat across the river, which is dotted with many scenic islands, to Aswan.  Then we hopped on a minibus to the Old Dam and the New Dam.  The New Aswan Dam is ENORMOUS.  It's 1 km across at the base and 40m across at the top and generates 2/3 of Egypt's electricity.   It was very scenic with a great view of Lake Nasser and there was a park on top of the dam.

After that, we took another boat to the Temple of Philae.  It had gorgeous views since it is on an island (it was relocated years ago from a nearby island that was submerged 9 months of the year after the building of the new dam).  There was quite a bit of damage done to it and lots of Christian crosses were carved inside (it had been turned into a church at one time).  

Several more boat rides were involved to make our way back to the Nesma.  On our final jaunt, the young man controlling our little motorboat skipped over some rocks and we stalled out.  We drifted...and drifted...
and wondered how much time would pass before someone realized we were missing....Finally though, he managed to restart it and before long we were safely back on the Nesma at its very private mooring, surrounded by sunflowers and bougainvillea.  We promised not to tell anyone....

Egypt Day Eight

Yesterday we left our somewhat noisy dock at Esna and sailed to Edfu where we visited the Temple of Horus, after driving through the town market. The temple had a huge wall (pylons), much like Karnak, and is considered the best-preserved temple. It's "only" about 2,000 years old, though. Nevertheless, lots of heads have been chipped out (thanks to the Romans, who didn't want the Egyptian gods to have any power when the Romans took over the temples, so they chipped out all the faces).

One guy made a lame attempt to get some baksheesh -- we thought he was taking us up to the roof of the temple (which I heard had amazing views), but it was locked and he didn't have the key (and he obviously knew that). Very lame. He asked for money, but I turned him down, disgusted by his lame effort.

Edfu was a nice temple, but after Karnak, it was probably difficult to impress us.

Afterwards, we sailed on to a private mooring at an island on the Nile. Once it was dark out, we watched Death on the Nile in the boat's salon. Which then of course made us all careful about locking our doors at night:-)

Dinner was outside, as it was a special barbeque night for us. It was scrumptious -- tahini, babaganouj, eggplant moussaka, lentil soup....Yummy.

The music teacher from the school on the island where we docked came to the boat and played the oud and sing after dinner. He also had a small entourage of two drummers with him. It was fabulous and one of the boat staff had us all up and dancing.

Today we set off at 0830, sailing toward Kom Ombo after passing quarries where they got rock for the temple and pyramids. Likewise, there were small temples built into the rock at the quarries.

More on Day Six: cruising

This morning we were awoken by Muslim prayer calls blasting into our room. We expected them because we heard them last night. It's right before a big festival, so they've been going on longer than usual.

We're cruising now -- and we're into a mountainous area, with the desert very close to the river on the east bank. There are lots of ancient villages on the west bank - really like time has stood still. There are fishermen, women washing rugs and dishes in the river, and kids helping or player soccer on the banks of the Nile. The kids all wave and shout "HELLO!" or say, "What's your name?" Also, we see lots of people on mules.

Our boat has room for 12 guests, but there are only four others besides us: "Granny," who is about 80, her daughter, and the grandchildren (two boys, ages 12 and 14). As I write this, the boys are having a water bottle jousting match behind me on the upper deck.

Egypt: Day Six: Karnak

On Monday, we went to Karnak after breakfast on the boat. It was huge - very tall walls at the entrance and the entire site is 67 acres or something like that.

The massive, tall columns in the famous hippostyle hall were awe-inspiring. We got "shown" into Hatshepsut's Temple by an old Egyptian guy, knowing full well that some baksheesh (a tip) was going to be necessary. The entire time the old guy was pointing out "beautiful" paintings in the walls, all I could think was, "We have no small change. Crap." This was the story of our entire trip. Egypt runs on baksheesh. Everybody wants baksheesh. Everybody wants to do something for you (show you some "special" part of a temple, take your photo, carry your bag, etc.) in order to get some baksheesh. But the problem is that the baksheesh receivers end up with ALL the small change in the nation of Egypt. And we had none. The banks had none. No one else had any. Very frustrating. So, we ended up telling the dude that we had no change. He was very quick to offer us change and pulled out some crisp bills for us from a sizable wad of cash in his pocket. Hysterical. He had nicer bills than we did.



If you've ever seen the old movie "Death on the Nile," then you might notice that one scene was filmed in Karnak. Anyway, we could have spent hours there (or perhaps days) but we had to get back to the boat (after our guide stopped off at Luxor Temple to buy us some bootlegged photo postcards of the Valley of the Kings that we really wanted). We had to hurry back because our guide wanted to beat the rush at the lock at Esna, and we certainly beat it, but JUST. We pulled right into the lock behind a cruise ship and didn't have to wait at all.

Dinner was fabulous. My special menu included: tomato soup, pasta salad set on red cabbage, fried cauliflower with ginger mashed potatoes and stirfried veggies and noodles, and dessert (I always got fruit while the others got cake. Which was just as well because I put on 10 pounds during the week even without the cake).

Egypt: Day 5, Hot Air Balloon

I did not sleep well the night before our hot air balloon ride, as I was worried we would miss our 5AM wake-up call.  We were taken in the Nesma's trusty little motorboat in the dark to the nearby "dock" (just crash the boat into the rocks and cement and you're docked!).  We had to wait a minute because there was a row of people doing their morning prayers toward Mecca at the top of the steps to the street.  A minivan came soon thereafter to pick us up.  It was still dark and we were taken down a dirt road, behind some houses (thinking, "WHERE is he taking us??) The driver dropped us at the local "haunt" and said to wait five minutes.

Imagine this scene: not yet 6AM.  Dark.  Dirty.  The place was a cafe/water pipe smokehouse and was pretty ratty. It was also full of about 15 Egyptian men (not a single woman besides me), many of whom were in the local dress (literally, a dress). Most of them were smoking.  They were all watching some old Egyptian movie that involved various men peeping at the silhouette of a woman who was changing clothes behind a curtain.  Reminder: I was the only woman in the place.

It was all very strange and surreal.  I noticed Sweetie smile at one of the men who walked in, trying to be friendly and act like it wasn't the completely weirdest thing in the world that we were sitting there, but the guy smiled back and then looked at me.  All I could think was that Sweetie's smile might have meant "She's yours for a price" in the local body language.

I have to honestly say that I have never been anywhere that felt more different from what I am used to.  The traditional dress of Egyptian men really just added a dimension that you wouldn't get in say, South America.

Well, finally, we met up with hordes of tourists who came over from the ugly big cruise boats on the opposite bank of the Nile.  The launch site was literally right next to the mortuary temple of Rameses II (somehow I think launching hot air balloons from next to 3,000 historic ruins would not be allowed in most countries).  As soon as we arrived, the huge crew piled us into the gigantic basket (room for 32 people) and we were up, up, and away as the pilot gave Sweetie and me an impromptu safety briefing while aiming bursts of flames into the balloon.  Apparently, all others had their safety briefings on their cruise ships.  This then also explained why we were asked to enter a compartment in the basket that was right next to the pilot.  I ducked every time he fired that thing.  I don't know how my hair didn't go up in flames.

Anyway, I was exceedingly nervous the entire ride given that the only other time I was in a hot air balloon, WE CRASHED.  

The pilot, to his credit, did a great job of directing us over scenic areas of the  Valley of the Kings and Queen Hatshepshut's Temple.  Also, sunrise over the Nile was gorgeous.  

The landing involved us skirting the rocky desert floor while the crew of about 20 men raced through the desert on foot until they reached us, at which point they all grabbed hold and dragged the balloon to the "road" (the pilot kept saying he would land us on the road, but I didn't see any roads.  How the "road" differed from the plain rocky desert floor, I'm not sure).  

I felt much better once we were actually out of the balloon.  We walked to our minivan, where some young local boys were begging.  Very sad.  One boy actually ran after our minivan, reached up to one of the windows, and then he fell when the van started going too fast.  He got up safely and limped away, but it really made me very sad....

When we got back to our boat, breakfast was ready.  After breakfast, we got back on the trusty motorboat and went back to the Valley of the Kings (which we had floated over earlier in the day).  Deja vu.  We went into three tombs there, in addition to King Tut's tomb, where we were able to see King Tut's mummy!  It's on display for only a few months!  Very lucky for us.  The etchings/paintings in all the tombs we entered were fascinating and extraordinary.  

We headed to Queen Hatshepsut's tomb after that -- it's in a great setting but is almost entirely reconstructed.  It was very HOT there.  

After that we visited one tomb in the Valley of the Queens.  There was a fetus "mummy" there, but basically only bones were left.  I could have done without that, I think.  

We went back to the boat for lunch, a nap, a shower, tea and cookies (every day at 5PM), and then Sweetie and I took the motorboat to Luxor and walked along the bank of the Nile.  We checked out the famous Winter Palace Hotel (French President Sarkozy stayed there a week later with his girlfriend).  

Egypt: Days Three and Four

We spent our second full day at the Mena House bumming around, relaxing, etc.  We had massages in the late afternoon, which I hoped would solve my mobility issue due to my pyramid legs.  The masseusse was VERY STRONG.  Sheer brute force.  I endured it, thinking that it must be what I need to release all my built-up tension.  I did feel better afterwards, but Sweetie later noticed that I was extensively bruised along my spine as a result!  It did look really bad.

Anyway, the night before we left for our Nile cruise, the pyramids were lit at night and it was very magical to see the Great Pyramid from our balcony, all lit up.  We had dinner at a fancy, grand old-style restaurant in the hotel.  There was a guy singing Lionel Richie, Eric Clapton, etc. covers (after a dismal pianist did a set where he was trying to play along with pre-recorded music.  It was very clear that he didn't have the faintest clue how to play the piano.  Bizarre.)  The food was not great for a vegetarian like myself, but I loved the free appetizer (this was very common at all the restaurants we ate at -- free suprise appetizers -- so it meant we were always eating more than we planned).  

The ride to the airport on Day Four was fine and I was glad we had Bales taking care of us, because I wouldn't have had the faintest clue what to do at the airport  (the x-ray machines for you and all your baggage are at the entrance to the airport).  While our Bales guide for the boat trip was checking us in for our flight to Luxor, a crying little boy walking past us and then proceded to puke all over the place.  We relocated to put some more distance between us and the puking boy.  I did notice, however, that the boy's mother and sister (?) were very diligent and wiped it all up off the airport floor and changed his clothes and tossed his clothes into a plastic bag.

The wait for our plane was AWFUL.  Some dude was chainsmoking near us.  And when we finally went to the gate, the air wasn't much better.  We were ravenous, but the cafes at the airport were a terrible ripoff.  Our plane was over one hour late, so we were waiting at the less-than-stellar Cairo airport domestic terminal for about 3 hours.  It felt like forever.

Needless to say, we were VERY excited to finally land in Luxor and hop on a minibus to a small boat which shuttled us over to our "dahabiyya" sailboat for the week.  The Nesma is a gorgeous sailboat, with six cabins and room for 12 guests.  Haras, one of the crew, was waiting for us with a tray of drinks.  They were apple juice, but I was so happy to finally be on the boat that I didn't care that they weren't alcoholic!

Lunch was served (it was 1730 by then!) and then we went back across the Nile to Luxor Temple on the opposite bank.  It was lit (it was dark by then) and very cool!  We saw great carvings -- it was all rather extensive.

Dinner was served in the elegant salon.  It was delicious!!  And I was not short-changed at all even though I was the only vegetarian.  The food was amazing!

Sweetie and I called it an early night as we had a 5AM wakeup the next day for our balloon ride over Luxor!

Egypt Days One and Two - Uncut!

Taken from my trip journal -- Day One:

Egypt! The great pyramid is before my eyes. What a mass of humanity we had to pass through to get here! We flew from Tel Aviv to Amman (Jordan) and there we were lucky enough to see our connecting gate immediately, but we had to loop around behind it and go through security again. I was directed to a female inspector for my requisite pat-down. She wore a veil and was seated in a box with curtains. She had a bit of BO, which wasn't suprising because it was really hot in the airport. No air circulating whatsoever.

I decided to check out the bathroom, and had to return to Sweetie in order to grab some tissues (they just use squat toilets and only water to rinse in Jordan...). I decided to avail myself of the only Western style toilet in the ladies' room.

We boarded in a slightly random fashion (no line, but also no overt pushing and shoving). The plane was great -- two seats on each side (Royal Jordanian Air). We flew over some of the most inhospitable-looking places I've ever seen. Complete and total mountainous desert.

The Bales Travel rep (we booked the trip through British company Bales Worldwide) was waiting for us immediately as we got into the airport in Cairo. He purchased our visas at the bank window (I never would have figured that out on my own) and we went through immigration after a short delay in which Sweetie's passport somehow left the immigration officer's cubicle, completely unbeknownst to us.

My bag was virtually the first to come out and Sweetie's was right behind, so needless to say, we were very happy (thinking back to my FIVE days without my suitcase in Sicily). We had an entire crew from Eastmar Travel (Bales's local travel company) there to usher us to our minibus. It took us 75 minutes to get to our hotel, the famous and historic Mena House at Giza. it was a very scary ride because traffic is just INSANE.

We took a nap and had a scrumptious dinner at the hotel's famous Moghul Indian restaurant (best Indian food in Egypt, apparently). We walked around the hotel grounds, which are really "Oriental" (that means "Middle Eastern" in the Middle East).

Day Two:
Today we saw the Bent Pyramid -- a pyramid that the ancient Egyptians sort of messed up on because they got the angles wrong and had to tighten the angles as the reached the top. Oops.

Then, I ventured into the Red Pyramid at Dashur, all by myself. In retrospect, it was completely insane for me to go in by myself, without a flashlight, and without anyone else inside the pyramid. But, anyway, I had to bend over while scuttling down the very steep staircase/ladder that descended into the pyramid (as the entrance is about 1/3 UP the side of the pyramid). It was not easy. Then, once in, there were three separate chambers. There wasn't really anything to see inside, except the architecture, which wasn't what I was expecting. I didn't expect the three independent chambers. Anyway, it smelled strongly of ammonia inside and I was slightly worried that I would pass out, and sort of neared a panic-state when I realized how far down I was and that I was entirely alone.

So, I did not linger long and made the hunched climb back out. I have to be honest and say that as a result of that little venture, I could barely walk for two days after that!! I work out regularly and lift weights, but walking into and out of a pyramid clearly uses different muscle fibers!

After that, we went on to Saqqara (with our guide and driver, whom I had hired for the day). There I made the very short descent into Titi's pyramid, which looks just like a mound now because all the outer granite was plundered. An old man escorted me with a flashlight. It was much more interesting inside because it had carvings of Titi's cartouche and one chamber had a ceiling carved with stars. It was truly spectacular and very magical. I also looked in the sarcophogus. It was amazing -- the fine detail of the carvings.

After that, we saw a tomb of a noble where our guide Mustafa showed us lots of pictures and hieroglyphics and carvings that still had the original color from 3000 years ago.

We ventured onward to Giza. The Great Pyramid (visable from our hotel room) was impressive. Massive. The Sphinx was actually shorted than I expected -- maybe this is because you view it not from the base of it, but from a platform off to the side that is much higher than the base of the Sphinx.

Our guide took us for kushari for lunch -- a very traditional Egyptian food. It has macaroni and linguini mixed with lentils, fried and dried onion, tomato and spices. YUMMY. And dirt cheap.