Walk Like An Egyptian

Hi all! Egypt’s been so great so far! Time to catch up on the last few days!

We docked in Alexandria on Tuesday morning. Most people left for long trips early on, but I had a day trip that took us to the best sights of the city. During the trip, we got to spend time at their brand new library…and it was so COOL! That sounds really lame…but it was honestly the coolest library I’ve ever seen. They spent 20 million bucks to build it. The ceiling is this cool tilted glass circle thing, and there are blue and green lighting fixtures embedded throughout it. Seriously…Google it. Bibliotheca Alexandrina. I’m seriously considering going back to get a library card. 

The next morning, I woke up early for a two day SAS trip to Cairo. We drove three hours from Alexandria to Cairo, where we headed to a buffet lunch that was delicious! After that, we went to some museum, where they had a bunch of King Tut’s stuff (thrones, beds, jewelry, etc.). I also got to see some mummified animals, which was, sadly, the highlight for me. Those ancient Egyptians sure did know how to preserve crap.

After our museum visit, we headed to the hotel we’d be staying at. Our tour guide informed us that Obama stayed there during his last visit to Cairo, so I figured it’d be up to standard...and it definitely was! And the view from my balcony was of the Great Pyramid. SO COOL! We got a little bit of time to nap and freshen up, and then it was off to a Sound and Light show at the Pyramids. It was really cool to watch. They used lasers and lighting techniques to write in hieroglyphics and project pictures on the Pyramids and Sphinx as some voice told stories about kings of Egypt while some cheesy music played. After the show, we headed back for another delicious meal at our hotel and then to bed.

The next morning, we got a 4:15am wake-up call and headed to the Pyramids to watch the sunrise. It was absolutely breathtaking! Of all of the things I’ve seen in the last 5 countries, this was, by far, the most INCREDIBLE. After the sun came up, we all got to take camel rides…which was even more terrifying than my donkey ride in Santorini! To make it easy to get onto the camel, it sits down…but then to get up, it quickly throws itself forward…and if you’re not holding on for dear life, good luck. Thankfully, it was just a nice little 15 minute trek…plenty long enough for all of us to acquire this really awesome camel stench, though.

After the camel rides, we went closer to the Pyramids to get some better pictures. As I walking around, one of the many Egyptian dudes trying to sell crap came up to my friend and I. You’re basically supposed to just ignore them so they go away.  He started talking to me and said, ‘Hi! You are Egyptian, yes?’

‘Nope.’

‘Ah, but you look like Egyptian princess.’

‘Uh, thanks?’

‘Yes, you are beautiful princess. You look like the Cleopatra!’

What is this guy, blind? Let’s get to the point. ‘I don’t have any money.’

‘No. No money! Do you have boyfriend?’

Learned my lesson before. Always. Say. Yes. ‘Yep.’

‘Oh…luckiest man in entire world! Are you going to marry him?’

My fictional boyfriend? Oh yeah..there's a real future for us. ‘Uh…maybe?’

‘That is too bad. If you no like him, you come back to be my wife.’ Tempting…but I think I’ll pass.

Then, he pulled out a white cloth thing and a rope and said, ‘I give this to you, free, since you are my beautiful Egyptian princess.’

Free? Yeah, right. ‘No thanks…I don’t want to buy it.’

“No! It is free for you!’

Before I could stop him, he put the cloth on my head, put the rope thing around it, and poof! I had a turban-type thing.

Then, he said, ‘I take your picture!’ Okay. Whatever. Maybe he’ll go away after.

He took a picture of my friend and I, handed me the camera back, put his hand out, and then looked at me and said, ‘Can I get something American?’

Something American? What’s he talking about? I fished around in my purse, and the only thing I could find was a packet of Wet Ones. I pulled it out and said, ‘Look! This is American! I got it at Wal-Mart! Have you ever heard of Wal-Mart?’

He looked at me like I was an idiot (a look that I’ve gotten accustomed to receiving) and said, ‘No, my princess. Some American money. You have one dollar?’ Ohhhhh…that’s what he meant by American. So does that mean he doesn’t want my Wet Ones packet?

Hmph. I thought my cool turban thing was FREE. Apparently, being an Egyptian princess doesn’t get you shit in this world. I handed him 5 Egyptian pounds (less than a buck), and he walked away happy. I got played. Shocker. Oh well. It’ll make a nice gift for Daniel. Get excited, little bro.

After our trip to the pyramids, we went to a small bazaar for a couple of hours. I thought the guys in the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul were pushy…but they had NOTHING on these Egyptian dudes. They were SO aggressive! I went into one shop that had really pretty vases and saw one I liked for my mom. I asked to see it and noticed that there was some writing in Arabic on it, so I asked what it said. The clerk replied with, something, something ‘Allah’…at which point, I decided to pass. I figured the Jewish mother probably wouldn’t appreciate a vase with some Islamic saying on it. Unfortunately, that’s not something I could explain to the clerk. So, as I was walking away, the guy kept following me, offering lower and lower prices. It took me forever to lose him.

After our trip to the bazaar, we took a lunch cruise down the Nile. There was even a belly dancing and whirling dervish show. I saw a whirling dervish ceremony in Turkey, and it was super boring, so I wasn’t expecting much. It was basically a bunch of guys in dresses spinning around for a long time. This guy was way more exciting though. His dress thingy was super colorful, and he had this umbrella-type thing that he spun around his head. While he was dancing, he went around to all of the tables so people could get pictures with him while he spun his cool umbrella thing. He stood behind my chair so my friend Caitlin could take a picture of us. Then, before I realize what’s happening, he picked up my water glass with his free hand and starts to shove it towards my mouth. After I awkwardly drink from it, he picked up my napkin and wiped my face off. It was funny, but slightly embarrassing since the whole room was turned around watching. Made for some good pictures though. After our Nile cruise, we got back on the bus and headed back to Alexandria.

It’s past midnight, so I’m gonna hit the sack. Thankfully, no early morning plans for tomorrow!