Grain
Last weekend we had some time off, so me and three other students decided to swing over to Cairo, Egypt for the weekend. It consisted of some amazing sites, lots of over dramatic bartering, and plenty of stories…

Legos
The second day in Cairo I went and saw some of the pyramids and the sphinx. At the time it was hard to wrap my mind around where I was at and even at the moment it still is. One of the first things I did was to go inside the Great Pyramid. The shaft that leads down is about 4ft high, so it was a scrunched squeeze, but it was definitely worth it. There were no hieroglyphics along the walls. However, there was an empty tomb in the room that the tunnel emptied out into. Certain parts of the pyramid were blocked off. I wasn’t with the Canadians so I decided to limit my exploration.

Super Furry Animals
When I got outside the pyramid I went with the group on a little camel ride. I thought my camel was rather adorable until he started gnarling at me like I insulted his mother. He had these long yellow teeth, which rather resembled those of the guy who was leading my camel. We went out into the desert on top of a giant sand dune and looked out over the pyramids. MJ, a student here at JUC, was with me and at one point I got offered 100 thousand camels for her. I told the guy if he threw in 100 kilos of bananas it was a deal.

Antiques
On my last day in Cairo I took the time to visit the Egyptian Museum. I got to see some of the Amarna Letters, lots of Egyptian ossuaries, and a really amazing king Tut exhibit. The museum had so many amazing pieces in it, however only about 1/5 of them were labeled. The ones that were labeled looked like they had been typed out in the 50’s complete with yellow aged paper. I only spent about 3 hours there, but to really appreciate each exhibit it would take a couple of days. There were thousands of people inside enjoying the artifacts. The king Tut exhibit was packed to the max. I just walked into the area and flowed around the room in a current of people. The headdress of king Tut is absolutely breathtaking.

Eroded Boulders
So one evening I’m ambling down the side walk minding my own sweet business when I feel this golf ball sized rock hit my leg. I turn around and see this group of kids looking at me about 20 yards back and one of them says “sorry” in English. So I’m like whatever I’m sure it was an accident. I keep on walking a little ways and then another rock goes bouncing by me. So, was the kid sorry because he got caught or because he missed my head?

White Lie
One of my previous posts was all about the noise level of Israel. Well, I have a confession to make. When I wrote that I had yet to experience the sound waves of Cairo. Let me put it this way. Jerusalem is a small church mouse playing a little harp in a giant cathedral compared to Cairo. On a couple of occasions I expressed my displeasure in a manner that added to the decibels, but it was all in vain for I only added to the noise.

A Three Hour Tour
The group’s last adventure before leaving the country was to rent a boat and sail the Nile. It was early evening and the boat restaurants illuminated the shores of the river and when combined with the moonlight gave us just enough light to enjoy the venture. As I skimmed my fingers across the water I sat in awe of the moment that was being given to me. Honestly, how many people do I know that have sailed the Nile?

Finale
The trip was good. I saw the pyramids, went to a museum, sailed the Nile, and got some rocks thrown at me. So, when I sit back and contemplate it, I realize that it was just another day in the Middle East…