Well I have only been in Cairo for a short while and it's time to move on to the next item on my agenda, Luxor and the Valley of the Kings. Time to feel like Indiana Jones and get our explorer on! After arriving in Luxor the night before, we woke early and took a local microbus, which is a van for locals that costs about 30 cents, toward the Luxor Temple. We rode in a caleche, a horse drawn buggy, for part of the trip to the temple. Then I got to see my first of Egypt's wonders. Luxor Temple has over 50 half-human, half-lion sphinxes forming a wide entrance way to the temple. Just looking at the temple walls, the intricate hieroglyphs and gigantic human statues makes my imagination go a little wild; to think that thousands of years ago, thousands of workers built these structures with their bare hands and using only primitive tools. It is truly amazing!

We continued on with our National Geographic episode with a trip to the Valley of the Kings! The landscape is very dull, but the contents of it are tremendous! We bought tickets to enter three tombs and took a motorized cart train to the beginning of the tombs. We visited the tombs of Merneptah, Ramses II and IV. I was so surprised to still be able to see the vibrant colors in the murals and hieroglyphs covering the walls.

Then I had my chance to go the most famous tomb in Egypt, the tomb of King Tutankhamen. It was a fascinating experience! I was the only person in his tomb for about  minutes. The surprising thing about the tomb is the size of it. It is very small, consisting of only one large room with two or three small room joining it. All the treasures of King Tut are tucked away in the Cairo Museum. The only things that are left are his mummy in its original wooden sarcophagus and the wall murals surrounding the burial chamber. The fame definitely was brought by its discovery by Howard Carter, because the size of the tomb does not rival any of the other tombs. It was quite an experience being able to descend into the tomb alone and remark at the   murals and where this famous boy king laid to rest. My thoughtful silence, thinking to history, was then broken by the heavy footsteps of other tourists.

I spent two weeks in the exotic and mysterious land of Egypt, a land that has intrigued thousands for centuries. A land most people including myself had only experienced through detailed National Geographic specials or from the pages of our World History books.

A friend I had met in college was studying Arabic in Cairo, so when I was extended an invitation to visit, I jumped on it. Thus I began my journey to the land of mosques, belly dancers and pyramids.

The first leg of my journey took me from Shreveport to Atlanta and about eight hours later, I arrived in Frankfurt, Germany. Then, I departed for Cairo, which is "Masir" in Arabic; flew over the Mediterranean Sea and began my Egyptian adventure. After a big bear hug to my friend at the airport, I caught my first glimpse of the pyramids barely visible on the horizon of the city. Cairo is such a huge city. As I flew over it, the buildings are clustered in a massive pile extremely close in proximity. I'm sure you could climb into a neighboring building's windows without a rope or ladder.

After a much-needed rest at my friend's flat (or apartment), we headed to the Nile River for a fancy evening dinner cruise where we ate gourmet cuisine and watched a belly dancing performance. It was incredible! As we rode in the taxi back to the flat, I could still hear the fast-paced, cymbal-filled music in my head. Cairo has a certain music to it; music just as fast-paced and energetic as when the pharaohs ruled the land.

The next day, being a female, naturally I wanted to go shopping in one of the oldest and largest open air markets in the world, the Khan el-Khalili. The marketplace in the Disney movie, Aladdin, was modeled after this marketplace and it's as chaotic there as in the movie. It is amazing! There are so many smells, sights, twists and turns at every corner. It is a never ending jumble of salesmen and their identical merchandise trying to get the best price for their wares. I was only slightly overwhelmed with it all. My first purchases were small ornate glass perfume containers and then a beautiful maroon scarf from a young salesman who led us from the main alleyway up a flight of narrow, dank stairs and down an adobe hallway with no roof to a shop hidden behind a large tapestry-covered doorway. I left the market with many items including a small wooden camel, necklaces and earrings for my sisters, more colorful scarves, a small bust of King Tutankhamen, several hieroglyph papyrus prints, three small alabaster pyramid sets and a traditional galabia, a heavily embroidered long garment. My favorite purchase was a black belly dancing veil complete with shiny silver coins.

Men in other countries can cause some very interesting and hilarious moments. When we were taking our exit from the market, a young man called us "Spice Girls" and called me a "Barbie" as we were passing him. We ignored him until as we passed he said he was a "strong man." (lol) Then we had to burst our laughing, but I have to say I was definitely flattered with the "Barbie" comment...Egypt to be continued in the next blog!