Last night, I went down to the hotel's living room (the only place with a TV to get my news fix - bad news for Mr. Bernanke and Wall Street, eh?) and met a couple of Aussies who happen to be traveling on the same schedule as me, so starting tomorrow I have two travel buddies. We're going to hit Giza, Saqqara (home of the step and bent pyramids, not-so-successful experiments before the Great Pyramid finally worked out), and Dashur, home to a few old temples nobody visits. Then we will head off to Aswan, where we'll take a 3 day cruise on a traditional Egyptian sail-powered catamaran called a felucca, stopping off at all the famous temples along the Nile as we float with the current back toward Cairo. We'll make a detour for Abu Simbel (those 4 giant sitting statues you see on the Discovery Channel all the time) before we go. I'm really looking forward to having some company for a while.
I went back to the Egyptian Museum today and found out why I didn't like it yesterday: all the good stuff is in the half a floor I didn't cover yesterday. I mean all of it. Beautifully detailed papyri, King Tut's funeral goods, some other royal burials, along with the royal mummies. I looked at the face of Ramses II and Seti I. Awesome. King Tut's stuff is just as impressive in person as it looks in the books. Man, boy was rich. It's hard to believe he was a minor king - and hard to imagine what the tombs of the greats would have looked like. I mean, Tut only had a few years of rule to accumulate grave junk, Ramses II would have had 67...
So in spite of the fact that every tour group in Egypt was there this morning, I managed to keep clear of most of the crowds and find some time to really enjoy myself. Alas no photos allowed inside the museum, but I have lots of lovely memories - too bad y'all can't see them, though.
On a totally random note, I have had several questions about what shwarma is. It is delicious, first off. But as for actual description, it is chicken or lamb roasted on a rotisserie, then shaved, mixed with tomatoes and peppers, then topped with yogurt sauce and served on bread. The Middle East's answer to the Philly Cheesesteak. I think I'll be living on it.
I'll try to get online tomorrow to gush about the pyramids, but if not, I may be disappearing for several days again as I'm on the move down the Nile. Talk to you soon!
And for any Muslims out there, happy Eid! Party starts tonight and you can start eating lunch again tomorrow! Yay!
4 comments:
We're enjoying some comfortable armchair travelling with you via your blogsite, thru countries we visited/lived in many years ago. Keep up the news - we look for it daily. Enjoy the Nile cruise and stay safe and well.
Hello there! Louisa wanted to let you know that she has been reading so she wants a postcard! Also we both loved the lion pix....so Buddy is not the biggest cat in the world.
Love, The Migliozzi's
The pictures are awesome! Of couse, the former biology teacher in me is most envious of the safari (not quite the same as Disney's Animal Kingdom...) and the Kilimanjaro picture reminds me of my new love, Mount Rainier. Enjoy that Nile cruise and keep us posted!
Nikki
Hi, The Wynn received your postcard today. We are all envious. Thanks for letting us travel with you, through the postcard and your blog. I look forward to sharing your adventure
with 7B Geographers.
Dorothy
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