Thursday, October 22, 2009

Arrival of the Parents

So Mom and Dad are here, time to do round two of tourist attractions. So far we've done the Citadel, the market, the Egyptian Museum and the Pyramids. We also went on a dinner boat for a great all you can eat buffet and to watch Sufi, Belly and Whirling Dervish dancing. The first two types of dances were ok, the belly dancer was not a good one, she was pretty much shaking her breasts and ass and not really belly dancing so that was disappointing. The Whirling Dervish was incredible, the guy just kept spinning and spinning and the outfit was beautiful. At one point he was dancing with decorative bowls on his head and at another point he was spinning like a top completely covered by the outfit.

It's great having the parents here, perhaps the best part is that they are staying in a hotel, so for the first time in months I'm enjoying an air conditioned sleep and a shower that has consistent and forceful water pressure and hot water that doesn't disappear (I could even make it hotter). I'm just kidding about that being the best part, but it's not too far behind them being here.

Mom has surprised me in her street crossing ability, at times she's a little jumpy and nervous, but it's usually because a car is a few inches away from us. Dad is impressed by the drivers and trusts them more than American ones so he walks around like it's nothing; he did almost get hit by a motorcycle, the hairs on his arm literally blew in the wind as it whizzed by. My parents refuse to eat pigeon, but they have been good sports about trying other foods and my mom loves the juices and coffee.

At the museum Dad looked like a little kid. He was so impressed by the artifacts, both in there grandeur and the massive amounts the museum has. You could see the joy in his eyes especially when he was looking at the King Tut mask. Mom loved the jewelry and noticed the designs on many of the bottles and tables resembled the designs on objects my Great Grandfather brought back from his overseas adventures of the mid 1900s.

This trip to the Pyramids was completed on camel instead of horse. Mom has dreamed of riding camels by the Pyramids so we went one step further than just riding, we took a 2 hour tour of the area by camel. Dad was in awe by the Pyramids, at one point as we were walking up to one he joking wondered if his great-great-great-great-etc. grandfather had helped to build this one. On this tour of the Pyramids I learned two really interesting facts. 1. The three big Pyramids were built for the King, the 6 smaller ones were built for his Queen and daughters. 2. In front of the Pyramids there are excavation sites were they are uncovering new tombs. These tombs are not royal ones, but rather where the bodies of those who built the Pyramids are buried. After a Pyramid was built, all those who worked on it were slaughtered in order to prevent them from sharing the secrets about how to enter the Pyramid, etc.

The Sphinx, while in the same compound is fenced off from the rest of the Pyramids. You can see it from outside the fence, but it's much cooler when you go in. It's fenced off because it costs an additional 60LE per person to enter the fence. I told my parents not to worry, last time some kids helped us get in for free. Well this time, the kids didn't need to help, I talked to the tourist police officer and he let us in. Afterward he followed us to get a little tip, but hey a 20LE tip compared to 180LE entrance fee, I'd say it was well worth it.

This round of site seeing in Cairo is over for my parents. They're off in Luxor and Aswan doing a tour by boat down the Nile. I can't wait to see pictures. They come back to Cairo Friday night, then we're off to Alexandria for the weekend and then back to Cairo for 2 days before they head back to cold Buffalo.

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