The Last Days of Cairo

We began yesterday by taking an epic journey...


FROM THE CITY OF CAIRO

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TO THE DESERTS OF GIZA

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AND... THE PYRAMIDS AND SPHINX!!!

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Just when we thought that Cairo couldn't get any cooler, we stumble upon (that's a joke) the pyramids and the sphinx.  I didn't know quite what to expect, but I knew that this trip would be meaningful for me.  What I found/saw far exceeded my expectations.  The weather was hot and dry, and we happened to visit the pyramids following a dust storm (so visibility was low).  But once we got there, none of that mattered! 

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The pyramids were so tall and beautiful.  I found myself annoying my classmates by asking them all sorts of hypothetical questions, theorizing how they were built.  The angles on each structure were perfect.  Each side was evenly symmetrical.  And despite being thousands of years old, they were in great condition.  I was in awe of the architects and I wanted to know more about the math they used to incorporate this style of building.  I wondered how their math and science skills impacted the rest of the world.  Seeing their burial techniques and how well-preserved the bodies of mummies were...and then seeing these massive monuments, enduring the test of time gave me a new appreciation for the Egyptian culture.


I also realized how much the American media and entertainment industry (movies) had mis-educated me about the Egyptian culture!  I can recall watching the 10 Commandments movie and seeing groups of Egyptian slaves dragging massive rocks up an incline to build the pyramids.  However, after visiting the pyramids and looking at the elaborate ramps that they could make, it's much more likely that builders used teams of horses to do this sort of work.  Slaves were more likely to be masons and carry building materials.  But this is something I would have NEVER learned had I not visited this place.  To clear up some other misconceptions, while I'm on the subject:


1. There are very few people who ride camels in Egypt (they're called tour guides and they work around the pyramids)
2. People don't live in pyramids
3. Egyptians are VERY stylish (men wear nice jeans, dress shoes, and button up shirts or polos/younger women dress like American women)
4. Egyptians aren't anti-American, in fact they LOVE Americans and watch a lot of our movies and tv shows
5. The city of Cairo is very modern (similar to New Orleans in look and culture

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The Sphinx was majestic.  It's obvious that the water, sand, and wind erosion has done some damage to it's figure, but THE BEAST LIVES ON!  I loved the hidden features that you can only see from standing 50 feet away from it, like:


1. It's tail (which wraps around it's backside)
2. It's claws (which are worn away somewhat, but are similar to those of a waiting lion ready to pounce)
3. It's eyes (which actually have depressions around the cornea area...I could imagine a beautiful human face was there once)
4. It's skin (which is covered in patterns from the people who carved it...it's like a hidden design with some mysterious meaning)


GETTING BUSY WITH IT!

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Today, our friend Mohamed took us to a sports club (think community center) in Cairo.  While there we played basketball and soccer.  While I held my own in basketball, I was thoroughly whipped by some 10 year olds in soccer.  While they didn't make fun of me because they respected my skills as a goalie, they asked me if I was an "amateur" when I played with them on the field.  The most hilarious thing to happen while playing was that one of the kids (maybe 12 years old) walked over to me, grabbed my arm, and told me that my at my classmate, David Watterson, needed some glasses.  I laughed until it hurt!