Egypt

We arrived in Egypt last week and have done so much already. So far we have been to Cairo, Alexandria (northern part), and Shama al Sheik(eastern part). Our time here has been great and with many adventures.

Cairo was overwhelming when we first arrived. There were people everywhere running across the streets in front of cars and as you walk down the street tons of people are trying to sell you souvenirs you don't want. I guess this should be expected in a city of 18 million people. I expected people to try to steal from me or be dishonest, but I have not found any of that so far. Though it was overwhelming at first as we talked to the Egyptian people more we found that though they are poor and have a much different lifestyle from ours they are very kind and happy.

During our time in Cairo we saw the Pyramids of Giza, the Egyptian Museum, the Citadel ( a large mosque), and also attended a call to prayer at a mosque. The pictures that I was shown of the Pyramids when growing up do not do justice to their size. Each of the stones that were used to build it are 4 feet tall and they are stacked probably 200 stones high. The museum showed King Tut's tomb and all of his clothes and jewelery. He was a very extravagant man. He must of had hundreds of pounds of gold. When in Egypt you should never use a mosque as a land mark, there are hundreds of them. They are beautiful and have incredible paintings on the ceilings. When I go to Europe it will be interesting to compare them to the cathedrals.

Our time in Alexandria was a more relaxing time. When we arrived we went to a fort along the Mediterranean build by Alexander the Great. Soon we got hot and jumped in the sea with some local boys. After talking to them for an hour a friend of theirs offered to take us around the city for the day. The man took us too the beaches which were nice, but covered with trash. Later on we bought freshly caught fish and had them cooked. We took the fish and a some pitas to the Mediterranean shore and smoked hookah (an middle eastern tobacco smoked through a water pipe).

Currently we are in Shama al Sheik with Luke's friend Rami, and Rami's friends Shereef, Mu hammed, an Ahmed. We all quickly became friends. Our days here are spent diving at the corals reefs and trying to get the a better feeling of Egyptian culture.