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Published: August 29th 2005
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Karnak Temple
We saw this temple at night for the sound and light show, very impressive. Mum, dad and I flew out of Cyprus headed for Cairo, Egypt. We spent the first day exploring Cairo, we walked along the Nile before heading to the bazaar, so naturally I had to shop for more things! Cairo was pretty full on, there's something like 25 million people in Cairo alone. It is a muslim country and it showed by the way the women dressed, the majority of women wore head scarfs and a lot wore the full chadore. The reaction of the men towards me was also quite different to other places I've been (even Turkey, which is also muslim). My blonde hair and skin seemed to be of interest. So mum and dad were a bit nervous when I decided that I wasn't ready to leave the bazaar when they were and announced that I'd stay on and meet them back at the hotel later. I actually had to convince them that I was grown up enough to take care of myself, and luckily I did. I had a great time shopping, I became very good at ignoring the stares and attempts to be overly friendly with me. Then took myself out onto the busy road to attempt
Walk like an Egyptian
Mum and I being silly at the pyramids to get a taxi home. The roads are chaotic, people and cars everywhere, your heart is in your throat most the time while you're in a car driving. The first two taxis were a failure because they couldn't speak English, but then I found a taxi driver who insisted he knew where he was going. I was dubious at first and keep asking if he if really knew, but as we drove along I knew he was taking me in the right direction so I relaxed, he didn't even rip me off with the price so I was happy about that.
That night we went out to the pyramids for their sound and light show, it was amazing! I expected to impressed, what I didn't realise was how awe-struck I would be by it all. The show started after the sun set which gave a beautiful back-drop to the pyramids and sphinx. The show had music and lights and gave an explanation about the history. Well worth it!
The next day we went back to visit the pyramids in the day light. Again, I was still blown away by the size and history of it all. We went
Shopping in Cairo
Busted again! I do love to shop :-) inside the second pyramid, which involved crawling about 30 metres underground on an angle. At the bottom was one of the kings tombs (no mummy inside though).
That afternoon we flew to Luxor, which was a real change from Cairo, only about 1 million people, much more laid back and relaxed. Again our hotel overlooked the Nile which was lovely. That night we went to another sound and light show, this one was at the Karnak temple. It really is amazing how much history there is in Egypt and the size and beauty of the temples, statues and buildings they built. Another wow moment that night.
The next day we had a tour guide who took us to the Valley of the Kings. This involved more crouching and walking down into tombs of the dead kings. This time we even saw a real mummy! It was very little and wrinkled. It was damn hot out in amongst the sand and rocks, but our tour guide, Ayman, told us we were lucky, it was only 40 degrees this week, last week it had been 55 degrees, how don't know how people survive in that sort of heat! Then we
The Sphinx
In Cairo next to the Sphinx headed off to a few of the temples.
I seemed to attract even more attention in Luxor and I think Ayman (our tour guide) was enjoying himself because of it. Every where we went guys kept saying things to him and he'd smile and they'd look at me. After a few quizzical looks from me I questioned him about it and he explained that Egyptian people love the soft golden hair. And apparently there are more asian tourists than western. So he started calling me the golden hair girl. Anyway while we were walking around he was clever enough to have an umbrella to protect from the heat of the sun. And seeing as we were surrounded by kings and queens I decided I might as well play the princess so kept walking next to him so I could use the shade of his umbrella. After a while if I wandered off without him he'd follow after me with his umbrella saying that he had to protect the golden hair. I thought it was a real laugh, I wasn't too fussed about the hair but having my own personal escort keeping me cool was fine by me. It's amazing
At an Egyptian Temple
This temple was built by a Queen who ruled Egypt, it was very uncommon for women to rule. The guy is the backgroud is Ayman, our tour guide, with his trusty umbrella. how far a smile can get you ;-) hehehe.
That night our tour operator, Akhmed, took us to a restuarant on the Nile. It was really lovely and relaxing. Then after dinner mum and I went to the markets (dad piked and went back to the hotel). Akhmed escorted us there and waited while we shopped then walked us home. It was quite nice being looked after and not having to worry about how to get around. Plus it helped getting a good bargain when you had someone local who spoke the language.
All in all, Egypt was great, my only regret is that we couldn't have gone for longer. I'll be adding that to me list of places to return to.
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