Spring Break, Part 2

This is by far my favorite photo of our trip to Egypt. The trip had its ups and downs, but riding a camel at the pyramids is one of those things you'll never forget.

After our fun time in London, we boarded a flight for our 5 hour journey to Cairo, Egypt. Cairo, also known as Al-Qahirah, is the largest Arab city in the world and the largest city in Africa. We didn't really know what we were getting ourselves into when we arrived. The culture in Egypt, is one of bartering and it is a "mad" city like nothing we had ever experienced. The streets are crowded and very poor. There are no grocery stores or restaurants- all we saw were run down buildings and shops.

A street in busy Cairo

A vacation in Cairo is not like a vacation in a European or American city. You cannot just walk out of the hotel and stroll the streets if you have free time. Except for our trips to the Pyramids, Sphinx and the Egyptian Museum, we stayed in the safe confines of our hotel. It was definitely an eye-opening experience and Kyle & I both feel like we came away from the trip with a different perspective of the world and our charmed lives.

We arrived in Cairo late Wednesday night. On Thursday we had given ourselves a free day to explore the city, but just ended up hanging out in our hotel, lounging by the pool and watching movies. Not too shabby really! On Friday we had a guided tour to the Pyramids and it was amazing! Our guide took us to both the pyramids and the Sphinx and gave us an in-depth lecture on the history of the Pyramids. And of course, we got to ride a camel! Kyle wasn't too keen on this, but I was very excited!

Tourists at the Pyramids

The Great Giza Pyramids

Proof we were actually there!

The Sphinx

Kyle couldn't resist trying to pick the Sphinx's nose (or lack of nose)

After our trip to the Pyramids, we also made a trip to the famous Egyptian Museum. The Egyptian Museum is the most extensive collection of Egyptian antiquities in the world with 120,000 items on display. It was quite different from the Smithsonian in Washington D.C.. Most of the items were in enclosed cases, however most of the descriptions were written by hand on torn off pieces of notebook paper! Quite a different experience from what we were used to. But the artifacts on display spoke for themselves. We got to see mummified animals (crocodiles, dogs, monkeys and cats), the tombs of the Pharaohs, golden chariots, ancient jewelery and even the items they found inside of King Tut's tomb. It was an impressive collection! Perhaps my favorite part was the mummy rooms. As you may know, I hold a special place in my heart for all things Halloween and what could be more Halloween than actual mummies?! The level of preservation was stunning. The mummies had toenails, hair and teeth! It was like a real live Tales from the Crypt episode.

All in all, our trip to Eygpt was great. Now we're back in the good-ole UK appreciating our safe streets and clean water! Kyle is back in class and I'm back at work. We don't have anymore traveling adventures planned until July, but that is good because we're both a bit worn out as it is!

-Stacie