Cousin Cai, you're named after a pretty sweet city

Just so you know I was actually there...
We arrived in Cairo Monday evening and bright and early on Tuesday we took off for the pyramids. Some sixth grade flashbacks for you all: There are three pyramids at Giza, the great pyramids which are considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. We visited all three. The Pyramid of Kufu is the first, built (of course) by Kufu, the second is the Pyramid of Kahfre (son of Kufu), and the third is the Pyramid of Menkaure (son of Kahfre), so as our guide repeated several times, the father, the son, and the grandson.

There really is not anything I can say to adequately express the magnificence of the pyramids. It was incredible to think how huge and symmetric and old they are. Christ lived 2000 years ago, so the things we see in Jerusalem like the Garden Tomb or the pool of Bethesda are about 2000 years old, but the pyramids were built 2000 years prior to that. 4000 years ago and they are still standing. It's incredible.

After the pyramids we also saw the Sphinx and then went to a papyrus factory, Saqqara, and Memphis. The papyrus factory was really cool and the people there showed us how papyrus is made. Saqqara is the location of the Step Pyramid, the first pyramid ever built. Prior to the creation of the pyramid, when a pharaoh died they would bury him and then build a mastaba, which is just a large box, over his grave. The Step Pyramid was a mastaba with five smaller mastabas built on top of it -- hence the step-like structure. Memphis was the first capital of Egypt and had several statues, including a huge one of Ramses II which has fallen, but is enclosed and visible.

Tuesday evening we took a plane to Luxor, but I want to skip on to our return trip to Cairo. Rather than discuss the trip chronologically I will discuss it by location, so as not to confuse you...although that may be confusing for some. Regardless, I'm skipping Wednesday and Thursday for the moment.

Friday morning we went to the Cairo Museum, which was incredible. We were able to see the Rosetta Stone, all of the gold that was discovered in King Tut's tomb (there are rooms filled with gold jewelery and dishes and a throne, it's incredible), various other ancient artifacts, and an exhibit with 10-15 mummies, including Ramses II (considered the Ramses of the Bible who would not let the Israelites go) and Hatshepsut, the only female pharaoh of Egypt. Again, I was amazed by how old everything is, and how well preserved.

After the museum we spent a few hours at the Khan al-Khalili Bazaar before having lunch at the Hard Rock Café. The bazaars in Egypt were similar to the shopping in Jerusalem, except these shop keepers would almost go down to any price you wanted. However, I preferred the Luxor bazaar, so we'll discuss that when I come back to Wednesday-Thursday.

On Friday we went to the Cairo Citadel, which is the mosque of Muhammad Ali (not the boxer, a very important Muslim leader) as well as the Ibn Tulun Mosque. They were beautiful. We had to take off our shoes, as the mosques are holy sites, and our guide gave us a little lecture about Islam which, unfortunately, we had already heard several times on this trip. However, we loved looking around the mosques and taking pictures.

To the left is the Cairo Citadel, or the Mosque of Muhammad Ali. The decor inside was beautifully ornate, with rich colored carpets and intricate designs in the lighting. To the right is the view from the top of the minaret at the Ibn Tulun Mosque. The minaret is the tower where the prayer call sounds five times a day. There is a minaret very close to the Jerusalem Center, so we get the pleasure of hearing the prayer call often, occasionally at 4:00 AM. Although it is a beautiful call, I prefer it when the sun is up.

Saturday was our last day in Cairo, and that afternoon we drove back into the Sinai by way of the Suez Canal and the Red Sea. The Red Sea is beautiful. We stayed in a dirty hotel just down the road from Saint Catherine's monastery so that we could get up at 1:30 AM to hike Mout Sinai Sunday morning. But first, let's go to Luxor.