I woke early and joined a day tour around the city. We spent the morning at the Egyptian Museum, home to King Tut! I enjoyed the mummies and ancient antiquities along with the remains of King Tut, including jewelry, clothing, and the famous gold-plated mask. Later that day, I peeled off my shoes, allowed several women to dress me in a white robe and sat on the bright red carpet of a Muslim mosque.
The next morning, I met other travelers from around the world and made friend with my new tour group. We taveled first to the Necropolis of Saqqara, where we marveled at the tombs and temples and visited the first Pyramids ever built in Egypt. We continued on to the famous Pyramids of Giza and the lion-headed Sphinx at Giza Plateau. Sand dunes roll into the distance, camels and donkeys linger, local craftsmen and sales people hassle anyone and everyone walking by in efforts to sell trinkets and jewelry. In the midst of the chaos, several large Pyramids stand prominently in place, just as they have for thousands of years. It is truly awe-inspiring to stand at the foot of the Pyramids and gaze up at the massive structure, clearly an architectural feat recognized any day in age. Nearly 2.5 million limestone blocks were used to construct the largest of the Pyramids.
Later in the day, I joined a few new friends as we mounted camels, decorated with brightly colored rugs, and trusted our lives into the hands of several very young boys. Most of us laughed nervously as we awkwardly stumbled and slipped across the sand dunes of the Sahara Desert. We spent the afternoon admiring the Sphinx and then visiting a local Papyrus shop, where we learned how this durable ancient paper was made.
Dinner was fantastic - grilled chicken and mincemeat sausage served on a table top grill, pita, hummus and assorted dips, eggplant, falafel, seasoned vegetables, and pita bread.
We joined locals and other tourists and boarded a thirteen hour night train to Aswan - LONG night!
