So after the past couple months of nothing but go go go, I had this past weekend all planned out - I was going to do nothing but watch college basketball and relax. Weeeeell, Alissa and Kinsey convinced me to go to Cairo with them at the last minute. So I booked a flight at 4pm on Thursday and flew out Friday morning. This was one I couldn't pass up! I couldn't resist the sunshine and 80 degree weather for one thing.
The sphinx.
Alissa, Kinsey, and me at the Sphinx.
The feeling we had when we were there is hard to describe. The only word any of us could come up with was "surreal". Just knowing how ancient the city and that area is was pretty overwhelming. I can only imagine the time and effort it takes to build a pyramid today with cranes and gps, let alone 5,000 years ago. It's no wonder why they are one of the 7 ancient wonders of the world.
Kinsey, Alissa, and me.
Here is a picture that gives a little perspective of just how big they really are (this one, The Great Pyramid, is the tallest at about 500ft). Each one of the stones is probably about 40" tall, which is much bigger than I expected.
This is a boat that they discovered in about 1955 that was used to transport the pharoahs bodies down the Nile to the pyramids for burial.
Camels in the desert next to the pyramids.
The three famous pyramids are really close together, but this one was about 20 miles away from them. It was called the Bent Pyramid.
On Sunday, we went to "Islamic Cairo". Our Lonely Planet book said the best way to get there and to get the best experience was to walk from downtown, so we did. I really didn't know what to expect since it was the first Muslim country I have been to. I know it was not even close and can't possibly compare, but I have a better appreciation now for what our military must go through in cities like this. There would be no way to know who is hiding a gun or rpg or where they are hiding - not to mention the hundreds of cars parked or abandoned on the roads. 
Our hotel was right on the Nile River, so we got some great views of the city.
Remind me again why we need AK-47s to protect the Pyramids?
This is a boat that they discovered in about 1955 that was used to transport the pharoahs bodies down the Nile to the pyramids for burial.
Camels in the desert next to the pyramids.
The three famous pyramids are really close together, but this one was about 20 miles away from them. It was called the Bent Pyramid.
On Sunday, we went to "Islamic Cairo". Our Lonely Planet book said the best way to get there and to get the best experience was to walk from downtown, so we did. I really didn't know what to expect since it was the first Muslim country I have been to. I know it was not even close and can't possibly compare, but I have a better appreciation now for what our military must go through in cities like this. There would be no way to know who is hiding a gun or rpg or where they are hiding - not to mention the hundreds of cars parked or abandoned on the roads.
None of us ever felt unsafe, but I'm not afraid to admit that we were very uncomfortable at times because the streets were so windy (and of course rarely named) and typically just dirt and the buildings (or lack thereof, or what seemed to be rubble sometimes) were pretty amazing how bad they were. Some of the places we walked through looked like war zones and being a third world country, everyone was literally just dirt poor, so I didn't feel like I should take any pictures. Even though we were the only tourists in many of the areas (at least it seemed that way!), we were always asked where we were from and nobody ever gave us a hard time for being Americans. In fact, one of our cab drivers asked who our favorite presidents were (I of course refrained from even whispering!) and he said his were Carter and Clinton (shocker, huh). But he said that everyone there was sad that after 9-11 so few Americans come to visit anymore and that everyone there just wants peace in the region. Clearly it was only one Egyptian's opinion, but was interesting to at least hear his perspective. He also drove us by Sadat's mansion on the way back to our hotel, but we passed to quickly to get a picture.
Here are some mosques we saw in the Islamic Cairo area.
Our hotel was right on the Nile River, so we got some great views of the city.
Taxis. If you get lucky, you might get a seatbelt, and if you get really lucky, all of the doors will have handles!
One thing that was eerie the first time was hearing the call for prayer echo throughout the city. Here is a short video of one of them. (Sorry, you'll just have to tilt your head because I wasn't smart enough to get it to flip around).
One thing that was eerie the first time was hearing the call for prayer echo throughout the city. Here is a short video of one of them. (Sorry, you'll just have to tilt your head because I wasn't smart enough to get it to flip around).
And this is how you cross the street in Cairo - and we were definitely not brave compared to the locals! For one thing, there are no lanes in the roads, and even if there are, they don't follow them. They don't mind the traffic lights either...just honk and go. I wanted to video one of our cab rides, but never could get a good one. When we were on our way from the airport to the hotel, our cab clipped the mirror of another person's car (we were going fairly slow), so then the other car clipped our's back! Then, not 10 minutes later, a motorcycle was going between the cars (we were almost stopped) and he bumped into our car too! Like the cab drivers said, if you can drive in Cairo, you can drive anywhere. No thanks...I'll take their word for it.
