Bienvenidos a Egipto!

So this weekend I went to Egypt! Real live, located in Africa, Egypt! It was completely awesome. Only four of us went. Kelley, Martin, Dana, and Me left on Friday for the airport around 5. Our flight left on time and was super short, only an hour. They gave us a full meal on the plane so by the time we were finished, it was time to land.

We were greeted at the airport by a guy from the travel company who helped us with immigration control and took us to meet Abdul, who was our tour leader for the weekend. Our tour group consisted of us and just one other guy, Christos, who was also from Cyprus. The airport wasn't that far outside of the city but the traffic is Cairo is absolutely insane. I've never seen anything like it. No one pays any attention to the lines on the road and often there are more lanes of cars then the number of supposed lines. It was all very entertaining and a bit nerve racking at first. After dropping Christos off at his fancy 5 star hotel, they took us to our hotel. The President Hotel was our home for the next three days. Our rooms were clean but our hallway was covered in tarps and hanging wires. It was all good though because the beds were comfortable and the shower was hot. Once we settled into our rooms, we were starving so we went to the restaurant in our hotel for our first Egyptian meal. The restaurant had a great view of Cairo and the food was good. After, me and Kel retired to our room and watched CNN (our first television experience in months).

The next morning we got up bright and early and had breakfast and started our tour at 9. First stop: The Pyramids!!! Once we beat throught the Cairo traffic once again, we finally saw the tops of the Pyramids! It was unbelievable!! They sit right outside the city. We had to go through metal detectors and everything (which is really common here, theres even one outside our hotel). Our guides left for a while and we took pictures and tried to take it all in. Some school girls came up and introduced themselves to us and asked us to take pictures with them. We had been warned about the people with the camels and how they try to scam all the tourists. But, of course, Martin fell for it so I went along with it too. So we rode on the camel for a bit before we were completey ripped off. 100 egyptian pounds each!! (1 euro = 7 egyptain pounds, don't worry the conversion still gets me confused). Bottom line, I rode a camel at the Pyramids. Once we finished exploring we hopped back in our van and they took us to the proper place to ride camels for half the price. It was like a field of camels and Martin couldn't resist poking them. We had a great time riding about even though Kel was terrified and used her death grip on Martin the whole time. After our camel fun, it was off to see the Sphinx. It was great having a tour guide the whole time because she would explain little bits of history at each place we went.

Also, everywhere we went, even at the Sphinx there are people basically harrassing you to buy things. One little boy wouldn't leave Kelley alone and kept trying to get her to buy bookmarks until his dad came and dragged him away. It always pretty humorous. Afterwards, we went to a perfume place that was covered in beautiful perfume bottles and a guy told us all about how they are made. I tried this drink called Karkade which is made from hibicscus flowers and it was delicious. Once we were swindled into buying some stuff we were swept off to see how papyrus is made. We had a completely full day of seeing and learning new things. We were so busy that the guides said we only had enough time to stop and grab McDonald's for lunch. McDonald's in Egypt is fantastic. Everything is crazy cheap and they even have McDelivery and a McArabia! On our way out some little boy walked right up to Dana and tried to take his milkshake right out of his hand!! Very strange. We had our lunch on the run on our way to the Egyptian Museum.

The museum was amazing. Its nothing like places in the US because you can touch everything pretty much. There were tombs covered in hieroglyphics and just lined up with nothing surrounding them. And we also saw King Tut's belongings and his coffin. It was alot for one day but we really did get to see everything.

Then they took us to the Al Khalili Bazaar which is massive and pretty overwhelming. This is where true haggling happens. When you walk down the street, every shop owner calls at you to come see what they have. It makes it very difficult to show even the slightest interest in anything. But I got a few good deals and Martin managed to get a watch for 200 pounds that was first 800!! We were only there for about 45 minutes but that was enough for Kel and I. One guy asked Martin how many camels it would take to buy Kelley and that was only the beginnning of it.


Once we left, we sped off to catch our dinner cruise on the Nile. Our tour leader, Abdul, even came with us. It was really great to have them with us all the time. It was an open buffet with live music and dancing throughout the night. I floated down the Nile! I still can't believe it. The rest of the night was some more CNN and sleep.

The next morning was a really early one because we were off the Alexandria which is about a 3 hour drive from Cairo. I slept on and off through out the drive but I was awake enough to see us driving through the Sahara Desert. Awesome. Alexandria is definately a different place. It has a strong Greek history because it was founded by Alexander the Great. Our tour guide took us to Bombay's Pillar and the underground library that Alexander the Great had built for himself. Then we went to the Meditteranean Sea for a while to visit a castle that looked like a true sandcastle. It was gorgeous and Martin ended up buying a real shark for 50 Egpytian Pounds (about 6 Euros). One of the strangest things I've ever seen purchased. One problem was that dead fish tend to come with an unappetizing scent. He ended up leaving it with Abdul who I'm pretty sure did not want it.

Next we were off to the Alexandria Library which one of the most amazing examples of modern architecture. Its home to the largest reading space in world (2,000 people in one room!) It was a gorgeous place. We stopped and had a quick lunch before we headed off to the Montaza Royal Gardens, which home to beautiful views of the sea and the President of Egypt's summer home. Our driver bought us all ice cream and we played with a bunch of cats. Apparently there are a plethora of random cats in every country besides the U.S., I guess. After all this, it was time to head back to Cairo. It was a long drive back so we slept for most of the way. It was a long day but it was still far from over.

In order to continue our procession of constantly eating, we walked to a restaurant a couple doors down from out hotel to get some dinner. Everything was so cheap so we made sure to fill ourselves with everything possible. We met four American girls who were staying at our hotel who are studying abroad in Athens this semester. It was nice to hang out with them and we even got their number so we can call them when we go there in April.

The next morning was an early one again. Kel, Dana, and I got up really early so we would have time to walk down to the Nile which was only a few blocks from our hotel. We were staying in the district where all of the embassies are so there were several guards on every corner. We found a little park and watched people rowing down the river. Afterwards we headed back to pack up and head out. Abdul came and picked us up, as per usual. We had one last stop before the airport.

We went to this huge, seven floor mall! It was kind of random but it was massive and awesome, and the last place we could buy some souvenoirs. We bought some great stuff and we went to get lunch. Then something amazing happened. Kelley pointed and I looked and there was a Chili's!! I got so happy because my favorite meal of honey chipotle chicken crispers come from Chili's! I ran upstairs and grabbed a menu . . . and THEY DIDN'T HAVE THEM! Bummer. so I had lebanese food instead. Its a lame story but o well.

Back to the airport we went with all of great finds and lots of pictures. An hour later, we were back in Cyprus.

Yesterday was my birthday so my roommates invited some of our friends over and we had a good ol' fashion pizza party because I've been dying for pizza. Afterwards we went out all night and had a great time as always. I'd been given a balloon with clowns all over it and I kept it tied to my shirt all night so I was easily marked. It was great. And I got so many phone calls that made me very happy! : D

So far today, I woke up and laid on the roof in the sun because the weather is fantastic. Now, I'm going to clean and food shop because Doug is going to be here tomorrow!!!!

Things continue to be great. Oh! We've booked plane tickets to go to Ireland and Paris at the end of the month!!

Much more to come!!