Cairo, Egypt

We arrived in Cairo after an extraordinarily long drive in an extraordinarily uncomfortable van. We were starving by the time we arrived. This is mostly because of Ramadan--many restaurants are closed. Plus, our new tour manager, Izzat, is Muslim and forgets that we like to eat. Oh well, perhaps I will be thin and fabulous by my return.

After we finally got something to eat, we wandered around Cairo for a bit, where we ran into a very "helpful" Egyptian who promptly escorted us into his perfume shop. (Gee I didn't see that one coming.) Anyway, there's a sucker born every minute, because everyone ended up buying some, including me. The perfume store owner then invited the five of us over for a traditional Egyptian dinner the next night. Rachael and I didn't go--something about those guys really skeeved us out. (Mostly because one guy attempted to grope her. Can we say ew?) Rach and I ended up eating at Pizza Hut instead. (I know, I know, we're lame. However, I would rather eat the subpar fast food than attempt to ward off roaming hands for several hours.)

The next morning I got to see my very first pyramid, Saqqara. Let me tell you, I was quite excited. As I trudged through the sand surrounding the pyramid, a snippet of long-forgotten memory flashed through my head. I was in third grade, and we had just moved to our "new" house. (It's now 15 years old.) At the time, I found our spare room to be enticing, its emptiness was both novel and mysterious to me. I remembered crouching in that room, listening to an audiotape on Egypt as I flipped through a book on the pyramids. Back then, I found everything about Ancient Egypt enchanting. I still do.

Of course the Great Pyramids were even more exciting. I felt like I was waltzing into a special on the Discovery Channel. *sigh* They are actually tucked in behind the city, much closer than I expected. However, they are concealed by high-rise apartment complexes and the permanent cloud of smog that hovers over Cairo. The Sphinx is not quite as big as one might expect, and he looks very forlorn without his nose. :(

After our outing to the pyramids, we took a nap and searched (unsuccessfully) for the Cairo bazaar. I was hoping to find a concealing top. As I've learned, the more clothes you wear around here, the better.

It's interesting to be here during Ramadan. The town goes completely crazy around 5 p.m., as everyone is rushing home to break their fast. By 5:30, everyone is eating and the streets are so empty it looks like the A-bomb went off.

We got on a night train to Aswan, where we had to bribe (I mean tip?) the porter to upgrade our sleeping carriages. He sort of scammed us and tried to collect double. Then he stomped on my toe. Yeahhhh, we weren't best friends by the end of our trip. However, we do have a return trip, so maybe we can bond on the ride back to Cairo. Or maybe not.

Peace foo's. I be out.