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Published: April 10th 2009
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We embarked on our Egyptian journey on Thursday around 9pm when we left for the airport. We made it there with plenty of time to catch our plane. The hostel people were supposed to pick us up from the airport, so we figured we would have no problems. Unfortunately, upon arrival we did not see anyone from our hostel. Turns out the email I sent in reply to when we got in did not go through. Sarah and I ended up taking a taxi. Finally, at about 4am, after 8 hours of traveling (there was a time change), we made it to sleep.
Sarah and I opted to take our first day as a pretty relaxed day, mostly because we would be able to sleep in a little bit more that way. We didn't wake up till around ten and didn't really get out until about noon. We took a little time to get our bearings and gather some information about what we wanted to do. Our first stop was the Cairo Museum. AMAZING. We spent three hours and made it through the entire museum, though we definitely did not look at every object and by the end we were
elevator in our Hostel's building
apparently it dates back to 1897. The hostel people say they keep expecting it to be replaced... but it still hasn't been! much less interested and much more tired than when we began. But we saw lots of royal mummies, including Ramses II. We also saw most of the finds from the tomb of King Tutankhamen. Sarah and I especially enjoyed exploring the materials of the various objects in the museum, especially the really well preserved wood and linen.
Next we made our way down to the Nile, because we figured we needed to see it. After a couple of pictures we decided to head down to the big bazaar in Cairo. As soon as we got out of the taxi, a very friendly Egyptian guy told us that we needed to go through an underpass to get to the touristy bazaar. We thanked him and he asked where we were from. After a couple of minutes of talking, he began to tell us about the Egyptian bazaar that was much more for locals than for tourists. We showed interest and he took us around. It was PHENOMENAL. We bought scarves and learned how to wrap them around our heads. We then went to a spice shop where they explained all the different medicinal spices to us and then sat us
down, showed us twenty or so different spices (and let us smell them) and explained to us what they were used for. The prices were really great and Sarah and I both got a good number of spices. I am very excited about my green pepper, which I didn't even realize you COULD buy.
After the spice shop, our new Egyptian friend (whose name I cannot remember) asked us if we were hungry. We were, so he took us to a local restaurant- one we NEVER would have found on our own and where we only saw locals eating. The food was amazing! We tried all sorts of great dishes. In the end, our new friend bought dinner for us. He very much enjoyed practicing his English (which was amazing) on us and we very much appreciated having a free private tour of parts of Cairo we wouldn't have otherwise seen. Turns out he is also a student, studying in Cairo. He told us that he very much believes that what goes around comes around and that he was happy to be showing us around! He also helped to get shop owners to take their prices down and did
some translation for us. As we walked, he pointed out mosques and other significant buildings to us and provided history about them.
Next he took us to a papyrus shop where they make good quality papyrus products. The owner started by showing us all of his endorsements in various trustworthy guidebooks in multiple languages (English, French, and Greek). He then showed us different quality papyrus products including what he does and what you find when you are in the tourist market. After that experience, we were shown a craft market where we were shown how shell inlaid boxes are made. The owner of that place showed us the difference in quality from the typical tourist products and the better quality ones.
Throughout the day, Sarah and I both found lots of new treasures and very much enjoyed exploring Cairo and the Museum. I look forward to what comes next- tomorrow we see the Pyramids!!!
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