Day 2 in Egypt

The phone rang at 4:15 this morning to alert us that it was time to wake up.  Although the time was early excitement was in the air.  We were going to see the pyramids today!!  Not only that but we were going to see the sunrise over the pyramids and have a camel ride.  We got to the pyramids just as the sun reached over the horizon.  It was beautiful and I was rendered speechless.  I couldn’t believe that I was at the pyramids, buildings built so long ago.  They are beautiful.  After spending several hours watching the sunrise and getting many pictures (can you really have too many pictures of the pyramids) we saw the camels approaching.  It was 10 US dollars to ride a camel down to the pyramids, get a picture taken, and come back—totally worth it in my opinion.  My friend Andrea and I shared a camel and let me tell you it is quite an experience, especially when the camel rises from the ground for the first time.  Camels are tall—if you have never seen one in person—they looked about 2 and half times my height, but they were fun.  We named our camel Sally.  After our rides, we headed down to the pyramids.  I was able to buy a ticket to go into the middle sized pyramid.  It was definitely worth the money.  You begin your trek down a small square ramp, this journey is not for anyone who gets claustrophobic.  You go steeply down the pyramid and then up the same sized ramp into the burial chamber where the tomb still is.  We all climbed into the tomb, it was thrilling and a little creepy standing where the mummy, the dead pharaoh, once laid but it was an experience. 

 

Once done looking at the pyramids, my tour group proceeded to the National Archeological Museum.  This museum houses mummies and sarcophagi and, of course, the treasures of King Tutankhamen’s tomb.  It was an incredible museum and so fascinating to walk around inside.  Interestingly, there is no air conditioning in the building, but we all managed. 

 

After the Museum, we headed out to for a Nile Cruise and lunch.  It was fun and there was some interesting entertainment, including belly dancers, karaoke-like singers, and a sufi dervish show.  We were all sort of tired at this point and the free time at the hotel included a nap.

 

After our free time at the hotel we headed back out to the pyramids to see the Sound and Light Show.  We got to the pyramids a little early and so several of us headed to Pizza Hut to have some food.  It was really neat to be able to eat overlooking the pyramids, and for those who think I wasn’t being adventurous enough with Egyptian Cuisine it is because it is very unhealthy to eat the food in Egypt.  There is a high likely hood that you will get, what the medical team on the ship calls, Traveler’s Diarrhea.  I wanted to avoid this at all costs so I went for the healthy, at least in the sanitary sense, Pizza Hut.  After our quick dinner we headed over to the show.  It was fun, they gave the history of Egypt and the Pyramids, including the Sphinx, and it was great to see the pyramids all lit up.  After the show we headed back to the hotel to try and get some shut eye before another early morning.