Land of The Pyramids

When and Where: 08/2012 – Port Said, Cairo, Giza, Alexandria

44^th Country Visited; 1^st African Country Visited

Interesting Facts:

· Egypt is home to the only remaining Ancient Wonder of the World.

· The pyramids were built as tombs for pharaohs and their families.

As my cruise is in route to Africa, I reflect back on my only prior visit to the Mother Continent. Aaron and I went on a Holyland cruise in August of 2012 that stopped for two days in Egypt. The Arab Spring, which took place in January 2011, was in the back of my mind. It had been a turbulent time in Egypt with riots breaking out, government buildings being burnt down and the government of Hosni Mubarak being overthrown. I was nervous about Egypt, but I knew it was a place I had to see.

Upon disembarkation from the ship in the barren Port Said, we found our small tour group: a private tour arranged by one of the passengers through the website Cruise Critic. We were at the tail end of a caravan of buses and vans headed for Cairo. As I looked out the back window of the van, I noticed armed soldiers in an open pickup truck behind us. They followed us all the way into Cairo. Once in Cairo, we passed through Tahrir Square where the uprising had taken place. There were many buildings destroyed by fires on the square. It looked like a war zone. My fear became heightened. We arrived at the Cairo Museum for a tour. As we proceeded through the museum, we passed by large sarcophaguses and wrapped mummies. The tour guide gave us headsets so we could hear him as he whispered. Talking was fowned upon in the museum. When I turned around, Aaron was gone. I was freaking out, not being able to call for him, and wondering which of the tall sarcophaguses he might have been behind. I franticly began looking for him everywhere. After about 15 minutes, I found him. This was most frightening moment in all my travels to date. After the museum, we stopped at a restaurant on the banks of the Nile for a chicken lunch. The Nile was filthy and smelled like a sewer. The skyscrapers in Cairo were run down and some looked abandoned. The city looked miserable.

After lunch, we headed for Giza. As we worked our way into downtown, I saw a KFC. I looked across the desolate street, and there were the Great Pyramids of Giza. Seeing the Pyramids, I was awestruck. The sheer size of the Pyramids took me my surprise. The Pyramids date back to the 26^th century BC. Our tour guide brought us to a remote area which offered spectacular views of the Pyramids. The guide arranged for Aaron to ride a camel down to the Pyramids. I watched nervously from afar as Aaron traversed the Sahara Desert down to the Pyramids. Meanwhile, I hopped back in the van with the driver to make my way to the point where I would meet up with Aaron. I stood by the Pyramids in sheer awe. The rocks were each at least 8 foot tall. I couldn’t figure out how back in the day, the rocks were lifted into place. The atmosphere at the Pyramids was also tense as there were armed men scattered about the area. Most of the armed men looked like civilians. Next, our tour guide brought us to the Great Sphinx, the largest and oldest structure. The Sphinx has a lion’s body with a human head adorned with a royal headdress. The nose was missing from the Sphinx. In 1378, the rulers of Egypt ordered the nose be removed as a sacrificial offering to the gods in return for a good harvest. There is little doubt why Giza is a world wonder. As we made our way back to the ship after a long day, I reflected back on the amazing and scary experiences I had this day.

The next morning, the cruise ship arrived in Alexandria Egypt. Aaron and I disembarked for a tour of the city, the Library of Alexandria and ancient Roman ruins. Unlike Cairo, Alexandria is a port city. It is clean and modern compared to Cairo. As we passed along the coastline, I saw a public beach along the Mediterranean. I had never seen a woman swim fully dressed and in a hijab before. While men were allowed to wear traditional swim trunks, women on the beach and in the water had to be fully dressed. Our tour then took us to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. As we exited the tour bus, a call to prayer blared over the loud speaker. The city ground to a halt. Most people (not the tourists) faced Mecca, dropped to their knees on prayer rugs, and publicly prayed. This lasted for about 10 minutes before the city became alive again. The Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the modern-day counterpart of the original Great Library of Alexandria which dated back to 250 BC and was one of the largest and most significant libraries in the ancient world. The modern-day Library, one of the largest in the world, has four art museums including a museum of antiquities. The library has also undertaken a project to archive the internet from 1996 forward. Our next stop in Alexandria was the ancient Roman ruins which dated back to Alexander the Great who founded the city in 331 BC. The most impressive sight is the Roman Amphitheater which dated back to the 2^nd century AD. As Aaron and I sat there, I wondered about what it would have been like to live in this historic city centuries ago. The final tour stop was Montaza Palace. The palace was ornate and the adjoining gardens were pretty. It was built in 1892 as a palace for the royal family at the time. We made our way back to the ship at dusk.