Family TravelEgypt Sabbatical This was the first day of our trip to Egypt. We had arrived late last night and been met by our tour guide who told us to be ready for touring at 9 this morning. After eating breakfast and hoping that no evil bacteria would enter our system, we went to see the citadel and mosque built by Mohammed Ali (not the boxer) 200 years ago. This was meant to give us some perspective on the country's history and an introduction to Islam. As a precursor to later events, we saw the area that was quarried for the pyramids (way back when) ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210001 Next we went to the citadel ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210002 where our guide ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210003 told us what we would see. When we entered ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210004 Sarah and Jane were transformed ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210005 into respectable types. The inside was spectacular ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210006 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210007 and this gentleman was polite enough to clean the lights for us ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210008 The views of Cairo were spectacular ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210010 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210011 You could see the pyramids in the background ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210009 and the guide took a picture of us suitable for framing ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210012

On the way to the pyramids, they pulled the tour guide hustle and brought us to the papyrus store where these gentlemen ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210013 were happy to separate us from our money.

Next it was on to the pyramids ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210014 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210028 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210033 where we saw camels ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210015 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210029 had our picture taken ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210016 saw the rocks they were made from ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210017 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210019 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210020 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210031 stood and looked at the situation ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210018 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210021 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210022 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210024 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210030 also from the side ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210023 We also stole a picture of a camel ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210025 and got some pictures taken of us ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210026 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210027 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210034 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210035 We even took a picture of the guards ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210032

Our next stop was at the ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210036 Sphinx which sits nicely by the pyramids standing guard ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210037 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210038 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210039 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210040 and is equally impressive from the side ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210041 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210042

Our next stop was lunch where everyone was a little tired ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210043 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210044 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210045 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210046 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210047 but the view was unbeatable ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210048

After lunch, our next pictures were taken at the Pharoah Village which sits on the Nile ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210049 and has a web site ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210050 We went past the papyrus ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210051 and a lot of statues ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210052 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210053 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210054 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210055 including Ramses 2 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210056 who adopted Moses after he set sail in a basket into a scene like this one ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210057 and the court jester ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210058 We also saw farming scenes ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210059 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210060 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210061 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210063 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210066 some hieroglyphics ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210062 some boat building ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210064 statue making ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210065 Next we entered a replica of King Tut's tomb ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210067 and talked to the high priest ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210068 We took a picture of the papyrus of the seasons we had bought earlier ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210069 a men's room ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210070 ourselves on a bridge over the Nile ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210072 and the obligatory phone booth pictures ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210071 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/04.21.00Cairo//P4210073