Egypt!!!

I seem to be getting into a habit of alternating posts about development and my work with posts about various adventures I am taking in Africa. This might be a sign that I am taking too many breaks, but I figure it’s important to explore this half of the world when opportunities present themselves. I also am doing my best to use my time well while I am in Lusaka.

Anyways, an opportunity presented itself to take a quick trip to Egypt to meet up with my friends Mercy and Canuche who are taking a break from life in Seattle and traveling around the world. The trip getting there was a day longer than expected (late flight to Nairobi meant a missed connection and a night in a hotel after spending 3 hours in one line and 1 hour in another line bonding with nice folks traveling to Khartoum…), but it was totally worth it. It was wonderful to have some folks from home to share adventures with, and the sights in Cairo and Luxor were impressive and full of surprises. One surprise was how small the sphinx at Giza was relative to the pyramids (see photo). Really that’s just a testament to how huge the pyramids are! I also was shocked about how sore my legs were after we climbed up and down into the Red pyramid at Dahshur (near Giza and Cairo). There aren’t many hills to climb in Lusaka…

I was also amazed at the amount of time and effort that was put into preparing the pharaohs for the next life. Not just the tombs and the mummification, but the “Russian Doll” style layering of caskets, and all the art and artful instructions on how they should proceed upon their rebirth. I was most impressed, though, by the temples honoring the pharaohs and their gods. These pictures show part of an extensive colonnade in the Karnak temple, and the remains of a colossus (a huge free-standing statue) in the Ramesseum, both near Luxor.

Some challenges for me living in Lusaka have been protecting my money from theft and dealing with all the people asking me for money. In Egypt, I was much less concerned about theft (downtown Cairo was a relatively safe, busy and entertaining place even late into the night!), but found that the locals were instead trying really hard to “milk” money out of the tourists. It was hard to walk down the street without someone asking you where you were from, then where you were going, followed by an invitation to lead you there or an invitation to lead you to a “better” place elsewhere… In the tombs and temples, people frequently came up and offered to guide you, or just started guiding you anyways, with the assumption that a tip would come their way. We unfortunately had to learn how to ignore inquires and respond strongly and negatively to all offers of help!