Giza, Egypt

Memphis, Cairo, Sakkara, and Alexandria Egypt

“Presently a wild Arab in charge of a camel train recognized an old friend in Ferguson, and they ran and fell upon each other’s necks and kissed each other’s grimy, bearded faces upon both cheeks. It explained instantly a something which had always seemed to me only a farfetched Middle east figure of speech. I refer to the circumstance of Christ’s rebuking a Pharisee, or some such character, and reminding him that from him he had received no “kiss of welcome.” It did not seem reasonable to me that men should kiss each other, but I am aware, now, that they did. There was reason in it, too. The custom was natural and proper; because people must kiss, and a man would not be likely to kiss one of the women of this country of his own free will and accord. One must travel, to learn. Every day, now, old Scriptural phrases that never possessed any significance for me before, take to themselves a meaning.” – Mark Twain Innocents Abroad

The day started at the Muhammad Ali mosque inside the Citadel in Cairo. The Citadel was a fortified area the Mosque was its church (Muslim). It is similar to the Famous Blue Mosque in Istanbul and our Muslim guide was proud to show us around. Afterwords, we enjoyed the view and our guide introduced me to some of his friends. Turns out one was named Muhammad Ali. Upon meeting him, I comment what a nice place he had and we appreciated his hospitality. Apparently humor does not translate very well.

Next stop was Memphis where we saw the many huge statues of Rames. I think he liked himself because there are plenty. They are all amazingly large.

Now it was on Sakkara to see the Step Pyramid. The oldest of all the pyramids in Egypt. The area is still being excavated and had the feel of an Indiana Jones movie with the only exception being the multitude of tourists.

After another Falafel stop, we began the journey back to Alexandria to board the ship.

In Alexandria, we saw the famous Library. The Library of Alexander was famous in antiquity but had only recently rebuilt. Alexander the great knew the value of knowledge. In ancient time any one entering the city was required to hand over any books they processed. Teams of scribes would copy the book before they were returned to their rightful owners. In this way a massive amount of information was contained in the ancient library of Alexandria.

We also saw the spot where Pharaoh’s’ lighthouse stood. It was one of the ancient wonders of the world and could be seen 100 miles out at sea.

Last stop was to try a drink fresh squeezed sugar cane. We thought it was great. Somebody will make some money selling it in the states one day.

After two days, We were glad to be back on the ship.