Cairo, Egypt: Day Eight (11/27)

We had the opportunity to change guides. To our surprise, we had a female guide named Rahed. She wasn't your typical Egyptian woman. She was loud, a working woman and eager to learn about other cultures as well as share her's.

One thing I learned from Rahed is that men are considered to the superior gender and given preference. Women generally only work as a nurse, school teacher or if the family was wealthy, a women would stay at home out of public sight. She described life as an Egyptian woman as lonely as women do not even socialize with each other. I asked her what she does for fun and she said she often found comfort in eating.

Today, we started out the day with breakfast at our hotel overlooking the beautiful Giza Pyramids. It's a sight I could look at daily. It was so serene and cool that we were that close to one of the 8 wonders of the world.

Here are some city views from the car on the way to the Egyptian Museum.

After being picked up, we spent the day in Cairo, the city. Our first stop was the Egyptian Museum and where President Mohamed Morsi's office was next to. Outside the museum, we had to surrender our cameras to guards armed in tanks and machines guns. I was def. not going to disobey the rules here. However, we were allowed our iPhone and allowed to take pictures outdoors after our tour.

Inside the Egyptian Museum was like stepping back in time. How so you ask? It felt like someone's overflowing attic. There were tags printed with a typewriter still used and some tags printed by a computer and some tags that were handwritten. The display cases were mismatched and it seemed like they were never upgraded once the artifact was placed. Then the way the items were displayed shows that they didn't really have an artifact room and everything they had was on display. Sarcophagus's were stacked on top of each other and many of the items looked as if they needed a humidity controlled room. However, the highlight of the trip was the mummy room, for an additional fee of course. That was the only "modern" room with air conditioning and humidity controls. We were able to see both Kings and Queens and different mummification processes. The animal artifact room was also cool to see the love of animals the ancient Egyptians had. I never knew that they would mummify their horses, dogs, birds. etc. Very cool.

Next stop was Coptic Cairo which houses many churches and was believed to have housed the Holy Family (Baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph). We only went to visit the Hanging Church and Ben Ezra Synagogue. Inside the Hanging Church, there is a well that the Holy Family drank out of and the walls are covered with great Byzantine art, my personal favorite. Byzantine art typically is gold leafed and features religious scenes esp of Mary with a halo. I don't know why I love this period so much when the portraits were so unrealistic and the gold leaf is rather tacky but it's what I focused on when I studied Art History in college. When we went to Ben Ezra Synagogue, we were show where baby Moses was supposedly found. The architecture inside show the mix of Jewish traditions with menorahs (the 9 candle holder), mezuzah (wrapped paper wishes in the door), and decor. However, there was def. Egyptian influence with the lights, layout and tapestry.

By the time we finished, it was almost 2 pm and we were starving. We were lucky to eat at a place called La Cuisine. We were treated to some hummus, roasted potatoes, grilled fish, roasted chicken, beef kebabs, mixed vegetables, rice and assorted Egyptian pastries. Yum!!! I love how everything is fresh and not processed. Locally grown and locally made.

To work off our lunch, we headed to the Saladin Citadel. At the top of the citadel, you get a panoramic view of Cairo. Despite being smoggy, you can see how densely populated the city is. Inside the citadel it is the tomb of Mohammed Ali, hence the name of the mosque, Mohamed Ali Alabaster Mosque. Again, they don't know if the body is really buried there but a lot of devout believers come to pay their respects. The inside courtyard was amazing in size and architecture. Make sure to pay attention to the clock, a gift from the US which was never worked. Doh!

Our last stop was the Khan El Khalili Bazaar so I could finally buy my cartouche with my initials. Happiness is when I get something one of a kind to remind me of my travels.

But we realized it was Thanksgiving back in the US, so we made a quick stop to KFC near the Giza Pyramids to pick up some fried chicken. Be warned, there is no cole slaw, french fries or even biscuits. We ended up eating very oddly seasoned chicken, some tabbouleh like salad with some very stale pita bread. Not exactly what we hoped for but def. an experience. Next time, def. do McDonald's instead.