As you can see, my travels have been slowing down. This is due to a little less travelling because of a shift in priorities, and getting some bills paid off before I head back to the states...mind you, I'll be travelling in the states, but maybe more on a domestic level. ;)
Anyway, this past visit with my mother included a short trip to Egypt. Since we were limited with our time, we decided to stick with Giza and Cairo. I think we saw a good amount of sites, however, anyone who has been to Egypt will saw they we only saw about 1% of the country. So, something to look forward to in the future! Maybe scuba diving in Sharm el-Sheikh (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharm_el-Sheikh) next?
Many of the pictures I have below speak for themselves. We couldn't believe we were actually there, visiting the pyramids! It was something I grew up experiencing in Philadelphia, at the Natural History Museum. So needless to say, my mom and I were pretty psyched.
Before heading to Egypt, we made sure to check government warnings and speak with Egyptians over here in the UAE. I have the advantage of having a good friend in Egypt, that used to live near me here. Oh, and my fiance' is also Egyptian, so that helps! I spoke to him, as well as many others and they advised that it was fine to visit their country, and having a reliable tour company as well as a country contact, was even better. One last thing I researched before we left, was how to handle the vendors and scam artists (which can really ruin a travel experience).
We arrived around noon, made a stop to pick up some cane juice and Koshary (Egyptian dish with pasta, sauce and lentils), and spent the day relaxing by the pool and admiring the view of the pyramids, from our hotel. The following day, we woke up early, met with our tour guide and started our busy day of sightseeing. We began in Memphis, the capital of Egypt during the Pharoah's time. We saw many ancient Egyptian artifacts, as well as a huge statue of King Ramses II. We moved onto the Step Pyramid of Zoser, the oldest known pyramid in the world. It almost looke more like a hill, than a pyramid you'd traditionally think of. But it is amazing that it is still standing to this day. Our third stop were the pyramids of Egypt that most people think of...the pyramids of Cheops, Chephren and Mykerinus. A few steps away was our fourth and final stop, The Great Sphinx. The idea that the Nile was essentially at the feet of the Spinx is hard to believe. The area of the fertile valley, is where the Nile used to run, before dams and erosion took over. So, in the Pharoah's time, the water would flood for a few months almost up to the feet of the Sphinx, and then recede to expose perfect fertile ground. After seeing an amazing amount of sights (and only having to deal with a few vendors hounding us to buy over-priced tacky tourist knick knacks), we had a delicious lunch at a hidden gem of a restaurant. Yummm!
My friend Mohammed drove down from Alexandria and spent the night, that night. So, when we were rested and cleaned up from a busy day in Giza, he took us into Cairo for a late dinner on the Nile, in one of many boat restaurants. the following day we hung out with Mohammed, driving around Cairo, taking in the city sights. Our key highlights were The Egyptian Museum of Antiquities, Tehir Square, and the Mohammed Ali Mosque. There were a few other stops along the way, but because traffic in Cairo is like nothing I've ever experienced anywhere else in the world (literally), some stops were very short and to the point...haha!
The next day, we were up early and out to the airport for our flight back to Abu Dhabi...only to stay at Shangri-La Hotel...hello!
