DAY: 3
TEMPERTURE HIGH: 86F
STEP COUNT: 11,407
We had our first full day here in Egypt and man was it a busy one. Every day at the hotel we have breakfast that is provided. The breakfast was quite nice for a hotel buffet breakfast. Breakfast included two eggs, waffles with cholate syrup, potatoes (that were more like mashed potatoes with cheese on top, and vegetarian falafel. From breakfast we had our group introduction meeting and quick guidelines/rules for the day.
Our day started at 8:00 am. Our first stop was to the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities. This drive took about 30 minutes to get to. On the way we saw the Nile River and learned how Cairo is made up of two parts, the Cairo district east of the river and the Giza district which is west of the river. We also learned that the government is moving all of their people out of the slums and tearing the buildings down to rebuild new structures for the residents. Its crazy to see so many what looks to be unfinished builds and structures everywhere. I am unsure if projects take so long to build or if projects continuously run out of money but everywhere you look there is construction going.
When at the museum, our trip tour guide completed the museum tour for us and she was quite knowledgeable. Now this is not a history paper and I will spare you a history over load as that is exactly what I experienced, but I will share some quick facts I learned and could catch from touring the museum.
Quick facts:
- The Egypt area had 9 specific dynasties. Dynasties labeled ‘Intermediate’ meant that multiple Pharaohs, Kings, or Queens ruled at the time.
- Lower Egypt means the area closer to the Mediterranean Sea while the top of Egypt is the south of Egypt. This is because the rivers flow down to the Mediterranean Sea from the rain falls in Winter that happen in the south.
- Pharaohs sculptures included specific elements of that ruler’s life. So, more rectangle crown meant that the ruler was of the south, long curled breads on paragraphs signified they were a living god, and the object that the pharaohs are shown holding in their hand explained how they ruled. Also, a rulers left foot forward symbolizes a connection to the heart as they believed the heart ruled the body not the mind.
- The first every queen of Egypt made her statue resemble a man to encapsulated how powerful she was. And the King after attempted to erase all mention of her from history.
- Europeans at one point embodied the Egyptian culture and began mummifying their rulers and created a new form of mummification by using plaster face molds to preserve their facial features.
The museum was so beautiful and had so much history to take in. What always amazes me is cultures/locations like Egypt has thousands of years of history that is not always nice and pretty but has so this longevity in how it has effect the culture. It makes me laugh at how young the US still is compared to these locations that have both ancient and modern history that has been recorded, documented and discovered and yet there is always a continuous of discovery because there is so much that is still unknown. From the museum I did purchase some things but the man thing were these nice rings because I am a sucker for a good ring design.
After the museum, we went to lunch and lunch was amazing. It was at this restaurant called Nile City. The restaurant sat on the Nile River in a old boat. This is a very popular place for locals to go eat, and I completely understand why. For lunch it was an associate of local Egyptian dips which include garlic dip, humus, tahini, and baba ghanoush served with bread. Every dip was good, but my favorite was the garlic dip by far. The main course was a grill plate with a side of rice and French fries. Chicken was my choice of grilled meat. Once again, the food did not disappoint. For dessert we had this sort of rice pudding I believe. It had a very interesting texture, but the flavor was amazing. I definitely wanted to sleep after this meal. A lot of people from the group went to Starbucks, and though I wanted to too my stomach was not going to agree. I do plan to get it before we leave Egypt.
Our next stop was Coptic Cairo, a historically Christian neighborhood, that’s home to the some of the world’s oldest churches. And here is where the bible and history became one for me. We visited the Synagogue Ben Ezra which is owned by the Jewish Church. I did not capture much on the history of this location, but I do know it is where they believe baby Moses was found, so a church was built on top of the holy ground. The next church we visited was the Saints Serguis and Bacchus Church and this church was built on top of one of the places where the Holy family (Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus) were given asylum while fleeing the persecution. It did feel very Holy being in such a spiritual place.
The last and final place we visited was the Muhammed Ali Mosque within the Salah El-Din Citadel. The mosque was quite beautiful. Because it is sacred place, we had to remove our shoes before entering. The staff was also setting up the place for a wedding that was taking place later on in the day. The bride and the bridal party was there and they were all beautiful.
Ending the lovely day, we had dinner at a restaurant called Andrea El Mariouteya New Giza, which was in a city that is a city called New Giza. Dinner included small appetizers of beets, faba beans, baba ghanoush, and bread. The main course was chicken chicken thigh, leg and breast. For dessert we a crème brulee and since it was my sisters birthday, our tour guide order her a nice cake that was half chocolate and half vanilla.
With a full day ahead of us, I leave you with some beautiful pictures from the day. I am so enjoying all the history that Egypt has. Laters Gators ☺️
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