I was wide awake at 5:15 this morning.. but I did sleep better than the last few nights. So, that’s a big win. I laid in bed, writing out yesterday’s post until I was time for Mom to wake up and it was safe to start making racket.
We got ready and made it to breakfast early enough to eat, drink 3 cups of coffee, and make it to the ATM before Sherif arrived at 8:30. We’ve been crushing these mornings.. it’s got to be the excitement, that’s the only thing I can come up with.
Our first stop of the morning was to a pharmacy, so Andrea could get some non-drowsy antihistamine.. she might be having either an allergic reaction to something or a heat rash, but she wanted something on board just so it wouldn’t get worse. I feel awful for her, I know first hand how miserable it is to be itchy, even the slightest bit. We also pit stopped next door to get a soda-because-me. Ha. Sorry.
Our first half of the day was spent inside the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. It was hectic and somewhat chaotic.. every nationality with their own guide, a cacophony of languages and people smacking into one another. Sherif navigated it so well for us, quickly choosing to show us things that weren’t crowded, or AS crowded as other exhibits. Then, he’d slide us in to the busier areas before they got overwhelming.
Listening to him teach us and explain ancient Egyptian history to us-his history-to us was nothing short of incredible. He was lively and seemed to love every bit of the knowledge he was sharing. We saw sarcophaguses, two preserved human mummies, mummies of animals buried with Pharohs, jewels and furniture and so so many other treasures.
The statues were stunning, every single detail carved without error. Seriously fascinating. Sherif showed us statues found in the great, second, and third pyramids, he taught us some letters in hieroglyphs-and how to tell the two names of a king or his wife, and the stories the carvings tell. We also learned about Hapshepsut and how she was one of the strongest and best Pharohs of Egypt, and how she’s depicted as a king with a beard and muscles in the valley of the kings (which we will get to visit as well).
We learned about King Tutankhamun-the youngest Pharoh, who reigned from the time he was 12 until he died at age 18. We got to see his sarcophagus, and see all of the treasures that were found in his tomb. This king was young and had a short reign, so the massive amounts of jewels and trinkets we saw from his tomb would have been nothing compared to the tombs of the other longer reigning Kings-but their tombs were raided and thieves stole their treasures.
Once we saw everything we could inside the museum, we were taken to Coptic Cairo-said to be one of the places Jesus, Mary, and Joseph stayed while in Egypt and escaping the persecution of infant boys by King Herod in Jerusalem. We saw the first Christian church, “hanging” on wooded rafters high above in a fortress built by the Romans. (Again, forgive me if my details aren’t correct-I should have taken notes! Haha).
Sherif pointed out details of the Christian church, the ivory inlays in the wooden crosses and their three points symbolizing the Coptic church: the father, the son, the holy spirit, and then the 4 corner tips, equaling to the 12 disciples. We saw the crypt that Jesus, Mary, and Joseph slept in, and the church above it-along with a stunning baptism pool. And we saw the first Jewish synagogue. The Jewish, Christian, and Muslim communities got along much better than we were led to believe. Sherif says the same is true now, between Christians and Muslims in Egypt, that they aren’t constantly fighting or segregated. All beliefs are respected and can live in harmony with each other without the hatred that the media portrays.. mosques and churches nearby one another. Beautiful, really.
From Coptic Cairo, we headed to a restaurant for a late lunch (we weren’t hungry before going to the second stop, but we all were now!). We had a wonderful meal at a nice restaurant near the hotel. It looked like a tiny place out front, but the restaurant was long and quite big inside. And the food! Phenomenal. We were served rice, bread, the best falafels so far, chicken and beef-along with 4-5 things to dip our breads and meats in: tahini, babaganush, eggplant, cheese with finely diced tomatoes.. it was all so great. My favorite part was desert though: RICE PUDDING. Hell yeah.
We made it back to the hotel before 4pm-and I was exhausted. The heat here is draining, and even though we were inside most of the day, it is hot inside the buildings. Once I was back in our room, with the air conditioner set to arctic blast, I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I chatted with Mom awhile and rested my legs, but before long I was passed out.. like before 6pm. I didn’t pack or plan anything, just that my alarm would go off at 3am and I’d have to pack quickly for a 3:45 Hotel departure.
Our flight to Aswan leaves at 5:45 tomorrow and apparently that’s enough time to get there, check our bags, and get on the plane. We’ll see!