The Giza Pyramids

So, you wake up in the morning, you look out your window, and what do you see? I saw a fumigator that made it impossible to breathe for a little while, so i hope that your view is better! It's really annoying though to have to be careful with the water here though, since we are in the 3rd world country and the water is just pumped from the Nile, and since all of the sewers go into the Nile along with detergents and dead animals, you don't want to drink any of the water. This may not sound too bad considering that you have given lots of bottled water though the day, but this also keeps you from eating fresh veggies that were washed with the Nile water, showering has to be done with all orifices closed (including eyes), and you have to brush your teeth with bottled water as well, and that can be a bad habit sometimes! So yeah, life in Egypt in going to be interesting, let's just hope that I don't get sick!

Our first stop today was the pyramids of Giza! There are 9 pyramids in the area, and of course we all know the big 3, and really they are magnificent structures! They all faces of the pyramids go towards one of the cardinal directions, and Hufu's (the largest) height is proportional to the distance around the world, and it's weight is proportional to the weight of the earth! Aliens really must have helped them on this one! Our tour guide, Islam, is great as describing things for us and making sure that we remember what he has told us. Our name is "Group Tut" which is pronounced 'toot' not 'tut'. So he was always saying things like, "Group toot! You awake groop toot?" And when he would ask us questions or tell us something that was pretty amazing, he would say, "you believe this??! Yes or not?" Ha ha, we was so much fun as a guide.

Now, we did get to go inside the pyramid of Kafhra, the 2nd largest pyramid. No pictures are allowed though which is sad (and a recurring theme throughout the trip) but really there is just a little tunnel that isn't large at all, only about 2.5 feet high that you have to crouch and walk down into the pyramid, and then you have to crawl back up to where the tomb is. It really was a plain room, not even any paint is left to see, but just the fact that we were in the middle of one of the largest s ancient structures in the world was enough to humble me. All 40 of us were in there together, and we sang "I am a Child of God" in the tomb of this ancient king. Other tourists there didn't speak English, but one we talked to them later though an RM and they said that they liked hearing the singing and they could tell it was a hymn. I thought that was a neat experience.

From seeing the Pyramids, we went to the other side and got to see the Sphinx, which, like Mt. Rushmore, is a little anticlimactic. Don't get me wrong, it's an amazing structure, but it is a lot smaller than you would think! It's also right across the street from the city, and it's really crowded. One thing if you go there, realize that nothing, not even help or advise, is free from a local. I didn't fall into this trap, but a few people in our group did have to end up paying off kids that were trying to 'help' them out. If you want a picture of all of you, just grab another tourist, it doesn't matter if they speak your language, they know what you want! The Sphinx actually sits next to one of the oldest temples in the world. There really isn't much there anymore, but it was cool to get a rundown of the ancient priesthood and gospel from Bro. Brown as we walked around the area.

After making a stop at the papyrus factory where they showed us how the oldest paper in the world is made, we went to Saqqara where the first step-pyramid of Egypt is and it was made for a King named Zoser. This pyramids was actually a series of mastaba's on top of one another, and then later architects were able to perfect the idea for Hufu's pyramid. This place was neat not only for the pyramids here (about 6 more in the area) but you can also see about 10 other pyramids in the distance, all prototypes leading to the ones in Giza. It is really interesting to be able to see the progression that was made from pyramid to pyramid until they got the idea down right.

We also stopped in Memphis (all these places are really close to one another by the way!) and we say the great statue of Ramses II. This is the largest statue ever carved, and unfortunately it's not standing, but it is a great tribute to the talent that the Egyptians had back in the day. We also were introduced to a few of the early gods of the Egyptians and some of the traditions they had. There is also a smaller sphinx there that is much more complete and was done a little later to more talent went into it. So yeah, cool place to go.

The day ended with a trip to the airport where we flew to Luxor so that we can begin our wonderful adventures there tomorrow. And you guys should really look at the place that I get to stay in here! A 5 star hotel on the banks of the Nile, I have a bungalow with a private pool, and a dome in my room, a dome!!! It is probably the best hotel that I will stay in for a long long time! I hope that you are all doing well! Love you all!