Middle East Memoirs: Day 1

Date: Thursday, March 31
Location: Egypt
Specific Location: Cairo and Giza
Temperature: Hot
Excitement Level: ***** (that's out of five stars total)
Disclaimers: Yes, please. Let me just take this time to say that it is NOT recommended to order new sports bras prior to the trip and then fail to try them on before packing them into the Samsonite suitcase bound for the Middle East. I thought we were in the clear. "We" being my new brassieres and me. I even ordered them larger than normal to ensure a proper fit. Well, the joke's on me. They were too tight around, too big in the "coverage" area, and the result bore a striking resemblance to Madonna's cone bra fashion faux pas back in the 1980s. Therefore, certain pictures during the first few days of my investment tour will be filed under "Madonna Boobs". Please try and refrain from spitting Diet Coke all over your screen as you view my "Madonna Boobs" gracing the Middle East. By day 5, I resorted back to my regular Vicky's Secret bras; choosing comfort over moisture wicking. And suddenly, with everything being anatomically shaped how God intended, the trip took a turn for the better. And I no longer knocked things over as I turned. There was a lot of turning on day 5. But I digress. Let's move on, shall we?

Morning has broken. My roomie, Meagan, and I opened the curtains of our hotel room, and VIOLA!

Oh. My. Pyramids. Right there. Do you see them? Where? Right there!! Where?!?! Sigh.

My very first camel sighting. Little did I know at the time this picture was taken that I would have the opportunity to see many more camels on this trip. But, I didn't know. Our Rabbi liked to keep us in the dark about our daily excursions. So I just kept snappin' away.

The city of Cairo, Egypt. Cairo is the largest city in Africa and is home to more than 22 million people. Wowzers.

And here we are in front of "Pyramid #1". "If you look to your left, you'll see a massive structure built out of large rocks..." That's not what he said. I'm just improvising. I think it's pretty clear what we're all looking at.

And to give you an idea of it's massivity...


Each rock carried by hand. I can't imagine.




Note to self: Always make sure one's shorts are hanging nicely before having someone take a picture of you standing in front of the Giza pyramids. Sheesh. Then again, there really isn't a way to wear zip-off hiking pants and look good, so I guess it's OK.

My roomie, Meagan. I was her primary care-giver on this trip.

This is my buddy, Jeff. He's the one who got this whole ball of wax running and off the ground. If it weren't for this guy, Middle East Memoirs would simply be, "Middle East Memoirs: A Work of Fiction". He's the best, and I'm so glad that he forced me into this trip. And I use "forced" very loosely there. He basically said, "Hey Em, wanna go to Egypt and Israel over Spring Break?" and I said, "Absolutely, I do!" Badda bing, badda boom. Done and done.






The Sphinx!

Notice the scaffolding to the right of the Sphinx. Typical. Why wouldn't they choose this exact moment in time to do construction on an ancient piece of limestone?!



* Madonna Boobs #1

So. Annoyed.

After our morning in Giza, he headed into the city of Cairo for lunch. On the Nile. As in The Nile River.




These women were making bread directly outside of the restaurant. They encouraged us to take a picture of them, so we kindly obliged. Then we realized that we needed to pay them an allowance for taking a picture. $1 well spent.


This is where the demonstrations took place in Cairo back in January. We were headed to the Egyptian Museum. We tried our hardest NOT to look American as we piled out of our massive white bus and stopped all traffic as we crossed 3 different streets on our walk to the museum.

That evening, we boarded a plane in Cairo and flew to Luxor. Luxor, Egypt. Not the Luxor in Vegas for all you heathens out there.

Points to Ponder:
1. It's not HOW they built the pyramids, rather, WHY? WHY a pyramid?
2. The ancient Egyptians revered Ma'at, a goddess who brought truth, balance, law and order to a world of chaos. Without Ma'at, there was chaos. What is our Ma'at? What in our lives, if taken away, would rock us to our core?
3. The Nile was life. Land surrounding the Nile was green, lush, and productive. Step outside of that land and there is desert. Chaos.
4. As the Nile fed the land, shoots would sprout, creating a mound or a ben-ben. Pyramids were shaped and modeled after these mounds. Life. The Nile was life.