The First of Many Possible Installments about Egypt

A Stranger in a Strange Land

Was the trip fun? Well, that word probably isn't the best adjective. The trip was very physically and mentally taxing: it was very, very hot, we got very little sleep, we were always just a little thirsty, we were learning too much to take in, but still it was fascinating. We drove down to Eliat, in the very southern part of Israel, making several stops along the way to see famous places. Somewhere along this route (probably at a Kibbutz towards the southern end of Israel) I lost my neck pouch. This is the equivalent of losing my wallet, but sort of better and sort of worse: in my pouch was a photocopy of my passport, a credit card, and $257 in US dollars and Egyptian pounds and about 4 shekels. Not good. So far, the pouch has not been recovered. This was a setback, but there was an emergency fund I could use in Egypt so it wasn't an awful trip. Then we crossed the border into Egypt, drove across the Sinai Desert and under the Suez Canal, and into Cairo!

17 million people live in Cairo, and an additional 3 million people commute to Cairo each day. These commuters alone constitute a larger number of people than the entire population of the state of Utah. Cairo is HUGE. After a day or two, we flew to Luxor, where we saw other important things, then took an overnight train (where the wheels were probably squares, it was that rickety) back to Cairo, whereupon after a few more days we drove back, stopping for a few hours in Eliat to go snorkeling.

Trip highlights, with PICTURES!

In Israel:
I saw an IBEX at the burial site of Ben Gurion. (I did a report on ibexes in 7th grade. This was great.)

I murmured in the Wilderness of Zin, where the Book of Mormon Sariah complained against her husband.

In Egypt:
I saw the pyramids! (they are huge, fyi. HUGE.)

I walked like an Egyptian! (incidentally, only tourists walk like this in Egypt.)

I kissed the sphinx.

I saw the Temple at Karnak.

I saw the obelisk commissioned by Hatshepsut (for all you Mara fans out there, that was very exciting.)

I had a faluka ride on the Nile.

I rode a camel!

I went to the Valley of the Kings (in Luxor) and saw King Tut's mummy in his tomb.

I went to a mortuary temple and found some really deeply carved hieroglyphics.

I saw the Colossus at Memnon.

I went snorkeling in the Red Sea and got a few stomachs-full of salt water, and expelled one of them. :( I think I'll leave the Red Sea to the Middle East.

(the pictures link to the right of the blog is updated with many of my Egypt pictures!)