Land of the Pharaohs

Ok, so I just spent 11 super busy days in Egypt so I'll just hit a few of the highlights of the trip. We flew into Cairo on the 1st and were immediately amazed by the Egyptians complete lack of instinct toward self preservation on the roadways. The lane markers are not even used as mild guidelines, people are driving and cutting and swerving all over the place, there are horse and donkey drawn wagons on the highways, and vendors and beggars are standing in the middle of the road asking for money or selling what looks like grape kool-ade in plastic bags with straws. It is pure madness.

Our first night was in the Movenpick Resort. It was truly amazing. It had a giant pool and over 20 "clusters" each with 3 stories of rooms. It was complete with restaraunt, bar, outdoor bar, hookah bar, 2 pools, and 2 lazy rivers. Very nice comfy stay.

The next night we took the 12 hour night train to Aswan. This was a completely different experience! It was very cramped, and the food was questionable at best. I will say that I slept like a baby with the train rocking and bumping all night.

The next 3 nights were spent on the "cruise" boat. The rooms were comfortable but 26 of 32 of us got sick with some kind of bug. It was quite miserable. The days were spent in temples and museums! The ancient Egyptians were master builders and the hieroglyphics are amazing. It is truly unique to stand in front of a wall and touch 3000 year old writing with your own hands.

We also visited 2 Mosques where I got the rare privilege to kneel down and lift Islam up to YHWH. That was probably my favorite part of the trip. It is the first time I got to witness Islam closely and we were even in one of the Mosques during prayer time. It was cool to pray for their salvation and their hearts and to lift up a people that Christians often put down.

The rest of the nights were spent in various hotels. The vendors are one of the more memorable facets of Egyptian culture as they will say anything to make you buy something, even "This free gift for you." It's not, and they will take your "gift" back if you don't pay for it. Also toilet paper and even just using the toilet is not always free, in fact it's rarely free.

Another cool stop was the Valley of the Kings. It's cool because the tombs still have color on the hieroglyphics. The color makes the writings even more beautiful.

We also visited 3 specialty shops: papyrus, alabaster, and essential oils. I bought a hand painted papyrus but resisted the urge to get alabaster or oils. They were all very cool though and the shop owners were very nice and accommodating.

Overall, Egypt was very fascinating and a wonderful life experience. I got to see some of the oldest structures in existence, visit old testament locations, even climb Mount Sinai. I have now been in Africa and Asia. It was a great time. The people, excluding the obnoxious vendors, were very nice and welcoming. They are excited about the revolution. We did have one night train ride cancelled due to protesters blocking the track but we were informed and took the bus for 12 hours with one of the drivers from "Crazy Taxi." It was fun though and I'm so glad I got to experience it.

Egypt's Top 11

In honor of the 11 days I spent in Egypt I have decided to present the top 11 things I learned in Egypt.

11. "NO" can sometimes mean "Please try harder to sell me a camel ride up Sinai."
10. Being sick in a 3rd World country is unbelievably inconvenient.
9. Drinking tap water is an often overlooked blessing.
8. "Free gift" can also mean "Come inside and pay."
7. Arabic is a confusing, difficult language.
6. Egyptians have no concept of personal space ... or showers.
5. The pyramids are very tall, and its very hot inside them.
4. The Nile is a dirty, nasty river.
3. Egyptian tours come equipped with a body guard, who comes equipped with 2 fully automatic sub-machine guns and 2 semi-automatic pistols.
2. Egyptian food is bland and monotonous.
1. In Egypt, going 6 wide on a 4 lane road is not only acceptable, but expected and encouraged.