CAIRO, MOTHER OF THE WORLD.  The Greeks called it Babylon, many Egyptians still refer to their city as Misr, but this metropolis is known to the world as Cairo.  

Cairo is an exciting and vibrant, yet traditional and historical city.  We had a wonderful time as we explored the many amazing sites and colorful markets and neighborhoods.  

We began our visit to Cairo, and Egypt for that matter, with a trip to the Egyptian Museum for a lesson on the Kingdoms of Ancient Egypt.  Among the hundred thousand treasures in this museum, are the relics found in the tomb of King Tutankhamun (a/k/a King Tut).  The boy king ruled Egypt from the age of ten for one decade from 1347 to 1337 B.C. before he fell ill and passed away.  Tut was a strong ruler, and he brought back the religion of Amun-Ra which had been suppressed by his predecessor.  

Tutankhamun's tomb was discovered in 1922 nearly intact with over 5,000 dazzling works of arts and treasures.  In 1975, Tut toured the States and became so famous that a song was created just for him.  The Boy King was preserved in mummified form and placed in three coffins, one fitting neatly into the next.  Covering his head was this magnificent and now famous funerary mask made of solid gold.

The bodies of the Pharaohs (kings) of Ancient Egypt were embalmed and preserved as mummies so that their spirits could be reunited with their actual bodies when they reached the afterworld and became Gods.  Tutankhamun was no exception.  During the embalming process, his internal organs were removed from the body and preserved in canopic jars with stoppers in the form of his head.  These jars (and perhaps their original contents?) are on display at the museum.    

After a day at the museum, we felt that we were ready to visit the Ancient sites.  What better place to begin than the Pyramids of Giza.  The Great Pyramid is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.  Standing for over 4,000 years, the Great Pyramid is the only ancient wonder which still exists today.  Next to the Great Pyramid of Khufu stands the Pyramid of Khafre which is accompanied by the famous Sphinx, which takes the form of a lion with a face shaped like King Khafre.  Here we stand in front of the Pyramid of Khafre and the Sphinx, which by the way, is not as large as we expected.

The Pyramids of Giza as seen from a distant sand dune.

Although we were very excited to view the famous Giza Pyramids light show, we were not so enthusiastic about the $10 admission price, as we had already spent well over that amount in admission prices throughout the day.

The Japanese show was scheduled to appear before the English one.  This allowed us to preview the show from outside the gates and decide whether it was worth the hefty fee.  We managed to see the spectacular show quite well from outside the gates at the low low price of absolutely nothing.  Therefore, we did not even feel the need to stay and watch the show in English.

Every Friday the camels come in from Sudan ready to be sold to the highest bidder at the Birqash Camel Market just outside of Cairo.  It takes about one month for the camels and their herders to make the trip.  The camels can go for at least two months without food or water so this is not a problem.  The camels store gases and fat in their humps which may be oxidized into water and sugar to help sustain them during the long journey through the desert.  There were hundreds of camels roaming through the small market area.  The camels became very rebellious at times, and we had to run for cover on several occasions.  Most of the camels had their front leg tied up to prevent them from causing too much commotion.  At first sight, I thought this was cruel, but I soon began to appreciate this technique.  

Some of the market participants relax in the shade as they sip on shai (tea).

After a morning at the Camel Market, we explored Islamic Cairo.  One of the highlights of this area is the Citadel and the Muhammad Ali mosque which was completed in 1857.

A trip to Cairo would not be complete without a felucca ride on the Nile.  The felucca is an Egyptian sail boat and, as seen here, is navigated by Egyptian sailors dressed in their traditional garb.  We had a great time as we slowly moved along the Nile with our new friends (see below).

Little did Gersh (far right) know when we met him at the Pyramids the previous day that we would actually take him up on his offer to join him and his friends for a felucca ride.   We were glad that we imposed upon them, as they were a fun bunch.  From left to right, meet:  Mike from Canada, Andy from Wales, Maacy from Michigan, Lorra from Canada and her friend Gersh from Canada.  Mike and Andy are currently teaching in Qatar which is located next to Saudi Arabia.  Maacy and Lorra are expatriates working in Cairo.  Gersh is visiting Lorra and inviting strangers to join her on felucca rides.

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