Egypt

As a woman, I was both warned and concerned about traveling in Egypt. In order to save money, my friends and I planned to travel independently of Semester at Sea, which is something I have done in almost every country. This had some people a little concerned. These concerns were not justified at all. I felt so safe in Egypt. I did not feel uncomfortable because I was a woman in a predominantly Muslim country, as some had warned we may. I loved Egypt. I found Arab people to be completely welcoming and friendly. They were not like the stereotypes created by American media.

For those (like my sister) that want the abbreviated version, this is how Egypt went:
Day 1: Alexandria to Cairo to Luxor (all by train, but to Luxor was an overnight train)
Day 2: Luxor – Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut’s Temple, and Karnak Temple followed by a ride on the Nile, then flight to Cairo
Day 3: Cairo – PYRAMIDS, we rode on camels to the pyramids and it was AMAZING, this is by far the coolest thing that I have ever done!
Day 4: Cairo Museum – more mummies, sarcophagi, and old Egyptian stuff than you ever thought existed, then train to Alexandria and evening in Alexandria
Day 5: Alexandria Library and walking around city

It was so amazing to me to see all of the things that I did in Egypt. Egypt was the reason that I chose to do the Fall voyage, instead of the Spring. I am so glad that I did. I have always been fascinated with Ancient Egypt – the pyramids, pharoahs, heiroglyphics, and all things Egypt. It was so surreal to actually see it up close. I cannot explain the feeling that I had the morning in Luxor walking to the Valley of the Kings and visiting tombs that are literally thousands of years old. I touched heiroglyphics on the wall that had been carved several thousand years ago. They are still there, the paint is still there and scholars cannot explain how all of it was done. We went in three tombs at the Valley of the Kings and none of them were exactly the same. There was differen tartwork and rooms designated for various things. We even saw a sarcophagus in one. The artwork was amazing, I wish I could have taken pictures.

Later, in Luxor, we visited the Temple of Hatshepsut. It is interesting that in this temple, the figures of Hatshepsut are carved out as if trying to hide the character because her successor (someone in her family) was mad that she tried to keep the thrown from him. It is quite an interesting story that I am excited to learn more about in the future. Later we went to The Karnak temple, which was amazing – it was HUGE!!! I took tons of pictures there, too. There were huge statues and artwork and many rooms and such a large facility. That night, we took a ride on the Nile with our guide, Monsieur and our buddy Ray Ray. They were really fun. Then, we flew to Cairo.

The next day, we were off to the pyramids! I rode a camel over sand dunes and desert to reach the pyramids. It was quite literally the most amazing thing that I have ever done! I just can’t describe it with words. WOW!! My camel was really cool – the guide called him Mickey Mouse. It was funny, too – the guide told me that there was something wrong with my camel’s saddle so that he would have to ride with me. I don’t know if it is true or not, but he definitely wanted me to think so. He was really nice and not weird at all. He even offered me the pyramids as a souvenir. haha!! When we got there, we walked around and even climbed up the pyramids for a while, which was just awesome!! Then, we went inside Cheops pyramid (The Great Pyramid). My friends and I each got in the sarcophagus, which was really freaky, but fun!

The next day we went to the Cairo Museum, which is huge and has tons of artifacts. I feel like they had more stuff than they knew what to do with. I saw mummies and all of King Tut’s stuff. It was all really awesome. The mummy display was really cool because they set it up so that the descendants and families were all next to each other. It was interesting to see the mummies of the people whose tombs I had been in two days prior.

That night, we returned to Alexandria. We walked around the city and i ate the best falafel ever! It only cost 10 cents. We also met a man named Mohamed who helped us navigate the city. He also taught me a few phrases in Arabic. The next day, we went to the Alexandria Library and walked around the city.

Egypt was awesome- it was very different than I expected.