Prior to leaving Alexandria, I want to mention a Christian family I had chance to converse with on the Corniche (the main beach strip) on my last night there. A comment our tour guide later made reminded me of this family: They were Egyptians before they were Christians. When it came time to take pictures, while their females were dressed western, I was not allowed to photograph them; only the males were up for that.

This family asked me about what I felt about Iran, and I told them. When it came my turn to ask them about Egypt, I was met by a stunned silence. I immediately realized my own blunder: in Egypt, one is not allowed to speak freely about the politics; once asked, the Egyptian citizen can only cast praise upon the system. Upon my asking the main speaker for this family looked around to the left and then to the right and then behind, and then said in a hushed tone: we can't really speak here. Then amidst my profusions of "oh yes, I understand", came "but the true answer is that we are not happy here". Thereafter, I asked them to accompany me across the street (my usual request on the driver-dominated streets of Middle East) so I could catch the bus back to my hotel, effectively putting an end to an awkward conversation.

The next day upon arriving at the Cairo, I was met by Adel, a pen-pal, who acted as my guide in getting me to the Le Meridien Pyramids Hotel where I was to meet my friend Barry and the rest of the tour-group who would be my company for the next 15 days. After meeting Barry (whom I hadn't seen since our last escapade to Mexico two years prior) and checking into my room, and as I was meandering through the hotel grounds, I realized an Egyptian wedding was to be held there that same evening.

Later during the procession of bride and groom, as myself and many other tourists took part in taking pictures and spontaneously dancing to the very bliss music that was being played live, I felt myself not so much an spectator, but a part of the festivities. Our Egyptians hosts were gracious enough to regard us with humor and expressions of welcome!

The next morning, I realized why the hotel was named thus: the great pyramids were in plain view! After meeting the rest of the group and our tour guide (Amro) over breakfast, we headed out for our first excursion: The Great Pyramids of Giza, which were all of a ten-minute drive away! While in the minibus, Amro asked who wanted to go inside the greatest pyramid? Amro further explained that the corridors inside the pyramid and the burial chamber to which they led were suffocatingly hot amidst throngs of tourists that were perpetually invading the place. (Annually, 12 million people visit Egypt, and guess what the number one attraction in Egypt is!) Furthermore, he explained, there was nothing of interest (paintings, carvings, antiquities, etc.) to be seen inside the pyramid. Only a couple from our group raised their hands.

I did, however, sign up for approaching the pyramids on the classical camel back, the way it has been done through the millennial.

It was a hot/sunny day without a cloud in the sky. (It rarely, if ever, gets cloudy or rainy through most of Egypt, the Mediterranean coast being the exception.) As expected, the place was overrun by tourists and young Egyptian men who tried every which way to make money from the visitors.

After having had our fill with the pyramids from the outside, I managed to buy a ticket from a tourist who had had a change of heart to go visit the inside of the pyramid, after all. (One can only do so by buying a special ticket for about US$8 from the entrance gate, not an easy walk back once one is at the sight!) I realized it was almost the time to meet back at the bus as I stood in the long line leading to the opening of the pyramid. The opening is small; one needs to bend over and climb inside like that all the way to the burial chamber, which is a small room. The entire venture is likely to take around 15 minutes. Walking inside for about 10 feet, however, I decided to make a U-turn.

Upon meeting at the bus, we drove the short distance to the Sphinx (Abul-hol, literally meaning "father of fear"), which was not accessible by tourists and could only be viewed from an approximate 50 ft. distance.

Thereafter, we visited a papyrus factory where they not only made paper out of plant, but created beautiful artwork on it.

For lunch, we stopped at a green garden in Cairo, where we enjoyed a sumptuous multi-course meal, including chicken roasted inside a ground oven.

For the afternoon, we visited the National Museum of Cairo, where among other treasures, we visited antiquities of King Tutankhamon (and the mummies of several pharaohs for a separate ticket fare). In that museum they have so many pieces of artifact now that in the words of Amro, it has turned into a storage place now, with items rowed in very close proximity to each other.

After that, we walked through a traditional market (suk) and then had tea at a coffeehouse before returning to the hotel for the evening.

This was our first full day with the tour, 26 September 2009.

Me and the Camelherder, who constantly asked for "Bakhshesh" (Alms)

Lunch with Friends!

Barry and Me

Rosa and Me!