Well I'm mostly done my Egypt tour, the rest of my group has gone home I have a few too many extra days that I'm trying to fill here in Cairo. The tour was amazing! I so enjoyed the valley of the kings visit and I got to go into several tombs with pretty amazing art work. It is very very hot in the valley of the kings and the tombs are even hotter so it's a bit like going to the sauna with your clothes on. It was totally worth it though! I've seen so many ancient temples with Philae and Karnak being amongst the best. I've learned so much about Egyptian history and art. The best accommodation we had was on a nile cruise boat for several days we drifted down the nile on our boat stopping to see important sights and then reboarding. I greatly enjoyed sitting by my cabin window with my feet up watching Egypt life go by. It was very hot in Southern Egypt but without humidity so I survived pretty well. In Cairo it's quite a bit cooler so now I'm very happy.
To fill the time I've booked a private tour to two important sites for pyramid development in Egypt so I'll be going to Dashour and Saqqara with just me, a guide and a driver. Which should be a cool experiance. I'm also going to revisit the egyptian museum and prowl around the artifacts some more. Other than that and a visit to the coptic museum I'm not sure what else to do with all my free time but my hotel has 2 pools, sattelite tv, 4 restraunts and shopping so I'm pretty set.
It was weird being away over Easter especially since I could picture my family being all together and knowing I was missing that. I also found it weird to have such hot weather for Easter. One on my tour mates made the observation that this was probably closer to what the weather would have been like for the first Easter and that made me realize what a special opportunity this was. There were no easter chocolates or ham but it was still Easter.
The food here is excellent with felafal being my favorite food followed by tanjine. Culturally the men are very big flirts but for the most part know where the lines are and don't cross them. I'm a big hit though with my blonde hair turning lots of heads. I'm actually glad when we tour mosques since I have to cover my head. Modest dress and demenor help greatly as well. Also all of Egypt seems to be in love with Canadians. Although they all think it's very funny to announce "Canada Dry Never Die" which I don't totally get but they laugh uproariously. One guy even hummed the Hockey Night in Canada theme song which cracked me up.
The markets are lots of fun with fast and furious bargaining and lots of calls of please don't break my heart beautiful buy my _______. Needless to say I've broken lots of hearts. Still don't know how many camels I'm worth but my bargaining skills have won me a few proposals. The egyptian people are very baffled by my travelling alone and not afraid to ask questions. Which is somewhat ackward but I've learned they're just curious.
I'm glad I've visited Egypt and can't wait to share my photos with you all. It's a very beautiful country. I'm feeling much more like my old self and it's been nice to be with people who just know Megan. I was afraid I didn't know how to just be Megan since I'd been Megan&Armin so long but she's here and having a great time. I've also proven to myself how much stronger I am that I thought and that if I can tackle this trip around the world alone I can face anything....even moving to Regina. I'm actually beginning to get excited for school although I know I'll be putting a lot of miles on my mustang visiting home. I got my official letter from the UofR so I'm officially starting in the fall! Now to figure out a way to sign it for them :D since they want it back before I'm home.
Well it's supper time here in Cairo so I'm going to finish up here on the computer for today but since I had to pay a ridiculous amount for a ridiculous amount of time I'll be able to post my photos tomorrow I hope.
Happy Easter! He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! what a wonderful promise and gift we have in those few words.
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