So, moving on from that topic, let's talk about Egypt Day #2. Aimee and I were hotel buddies (surprise) and we got up on time, got ready, and went down to the restaurant for breakfast. Had a quiet breakfast, everyone was sleepy-eyed, and then waited in the lobby of the hotel for everyone to be ready. Finally, everyone showed up and we piled in our traveling van :o) to head to the pyramids!!!! Driving through Cairo is nuts, cars just fly everywhere. I thought Amman was bad but Cairo has a different breed of bad drivers - they have no shame. And as a pedestrian, you better be on your guard, cars do not stop for you. You'll be road kill before you know it! Some people aren't aware and I wasn't really before I started researching for the trip, that some of the pyramids are literally right in the city. We did not go into the pyramids because we are such a big group - I am not sure if they allow people in them anymore, a few guidebooks say they do but who knows. Anyway, we went to a stable on one of the streets near the pyramids and made a deal to tide horses out to them. While they were getting the horses ready, we watched a demonstration of our papyrus paper was made from the papyrus plant that grows in the Nile. The Egyptians used the plants for paper as well as for small boats, mattresses, and mats. They first take the stem of the plant (which has the shape of a triangle) and they shave off the green outer layer. Then they make strips from the inside and they soak them in water at least 24 hours if not more. The longer they soak, the darker in color they get. Then, to make the paper, they criss-cross the pieces of the stem, then put it through a press, or roll by hand to squeeze out the excess water and gluten. Then, it dries and you have paper! Pretty impressive. This is what I think of when I think of baby Moses in the basket in the reeds. A papyrus basket.
Anyway, after that demonstration, we picked our horses and mounted them, then headed down the street towards the desert. Let me tell you, I haven't ridden a horse in a long time, getting on was quite fun! haha. But I got on and my horse was very gentle, just wanted to get me to the pyramids. I took plenty of pictures on the way of our crazy group getting adjusted to their horses. As went started out into the sand, you couldn't see anything but then, as we climbed over a hill, the pyramids were laid out in the distance. I can't explain to you what a beautiful site it was. It's on of those things I never thought I would see in person. The desert stretched out with the pyramids, the people in front of them look so small - then to the other side, you can look out into the city. I tried to capture all of this on camera but my horse was making me bounce up and down quite a bit. :o) We stopped part of the way to the pyramids to look out and listen to a guide talk a little about them. Another man was riding a donkey and the donkey was carrying drink and food supplies that the man was selling - all of the sudden, the donkey went crazy and the man jumped off, the donkey kept going and knocked all of the bags off of it's back! Quite a funny scene if you can imagine. The sad part is that the animals are not treated very well so the donkey probably got punished when it got caught. :o(
When we reached the pyramids, the size was really hard to believe. I got off my horse and I literally walked right up to the pyramid and touched it, people were sitting on parts of it. Crazy!! As we were riding away, I got some more pictures and then one of the horses in the group just decided to sit down! Luckily, no one was hurt but it was strange - then a second horse sat down! They were tired from the heat and the long walk I'm sure.
After getting off the horses and back into the van, we set out for the Egyptian National Museum. It was FILLED with ancient artifacts that were just sitting there, out in the open. No glass cases around them. There were glass cases around the mummies and tombs but still! That would never happen in the States. I saw the exhibit of King Tut, pretty amazing :o) I was not able to take pictures in the museum which was a bummer but I will be able to tell you all about it when I get home, don't worry.
Finally, when the museum adventure was over, we were able to eat lunch. My symphony conductor's brother lives in Cairo and he and his family prepared traditional Iraqi food for us to eat for lunch. We went to a beautiful park and enjoyed the food. I am unsure of all the names but there was wonderful rice, stuffed grape leaves, stuffed kousa, and tomatoes, YUMMY!
Enjoyed some relaxation time at the hotel and then took a ride out to a game/sports lounge. There was an important football (soccer) match on (Barcelona and Madrid) so people were watching that, enjoying argeela and food, and Aimee and I were playing ping pong :o) fun fun!
Alright, that basically sums up the second full day. I don't know if I mentioned in my first update that on our first night, we were able to visit one of the main mosques. They have a women's and men's section so the girls from the trip covered up and went into the women's section. My friend Christina got some pictures of us there and I took two pictures of the inside. It was quite beautiful to say the least. A great experience.
Ok, more more to come, talk to you soon! miss you and sending good thoughts. xoxoxo
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