We were all completely exhausted when we got back to Cairo. We didn't have much time to wash our faces and clean up a little before starting another day of site seeing. That morning was quite a blur but luckily I was able to find some energy for the famous Egyptian museum. What an incredible place! So rich with history! It tells the story of Egypt! I had a few favorite pieces.
There was a room for Akhenaten and Nefertiti (my favorite King and Queen!) and there was a small stone statue of Akhenaten kissing his daughter. I love it because that kind of intimacy had never been seen in Egypt and wasn't really accepted. But Akhenaten did things his own way and ocmpletely changed Egyptian art during his reign. I also loved the big statue of someone, possibly him, who is shown with big, curvy hips and small, narrow shoulders. It completely contradicts the normal Egyptian art but it was still beautiful and the ideas that he was trying to portray are especially meaningful. He emphasized family, love and unity. He was also the first to believe in one God, Aten, which was practically unheard of until him.
Another favorite were the statues of Rahotep and Nofret. They were able to be very well preserved because they were found in a tomb. The color is beautiful and the detail is amazing. My favorite were the eyes. Of course a foavorite would have to be the royal mummy rooms! There are 27 mummies at the Egyptian museum and I have never seen anything like it! They are so well preserved! I have no idea how the Egyptians learned to preserve the bodies so perfectly. A lot of them still have hair and nails. I got the see the face of Ramses the Third. Possibly the same face Moses looked into and said; "Let my people go!" The Egyptians also mummified lots of animals. Including crocodiles, big fish, baboons, dogs and cats. We got to see those mummies too!
The last place we visited in Cairo was the Mohammad Ali mosque. It ended up being one of the highlights of the trip for me. The Islam religion is so peaceful and unifying and you can feel that in their mosques. There is a very warm and spiritual feeling inside. We had a tour guide named Islam that went with us all through Cairo and Luxor and we got really close to him. It was so special to spend one of our last days together in a place that is so sacred to him. He told us so much about Islam and though most of it were things we have already known it was so neat to hear it from him because he talked about with such passion and sincerity. I learned so much from him. All of us felt a very special connection to Islam and it was sad to say goodbye.
Right as we were getting used to the craziness of Cairo we had to bid our farewells to the Pyramids and the Nile. We headed back up to the Sinai to stay in Morganland hotel which is in the middle of no where, next to Mt. Sinai. Our night didn't last long in Morganland because of our 2 AM wake up call to hike the famous Mt. Sinai. It was a great hike! We got to the top well in time for the sunrise and watched the beautiful scenery as different religious groups sang. It was a lot of fun. I can't believe I got to walk up and spend time on the same mountain Moses saw the finger of God on. The place where God gave us the 10 commandments.
Luckily we got a chance to swim in the huge Morganland Hotel pool and shower and eat before heading back to Jerusalem. I also had 35 Egyptian pounds to spend and I bought a purse from a man that sold different things that were homemade by his family. He was from one of the many Bedouin families that live completely off the land throughout the Sinai. We made a couple quick stops in the dessert on our way home to look at the scenery and we got to meet some Bedouin children. They all run around barefoot on the hot ground climbing palm trees and swinging on the palm tree branches. They were so cute! The 2 little boys were named Mohammad and Fareed (I think). They were 6 and 9 and completely adorable. I got some great pictures of them! They were loving the attention. They also had an older, 11 year old sister who was beautiful! She was very shy and sat under a tree the whole time. It's so neat to be able to interact with all the different cultures!
No comments:
Post a Comment