Day 2: More Giza Pyramid Pictures

Day 2: Riding a Camel--another dream fulfilled

If you've been reading my blog for any length of time, you would know that I have this thing for camels. I have also longed for years to actually ride a camel. Last spring at the Jandriyah festival my boys rode camels, but they weren't letting ladies ride, so I wasn't able to ride with the boys. I was sad, but not exactly surprised. I had hoped that I would get to ride a camel, but didn't plan on it. Imagine my delight when we drove behind the pyramids and then were able to ride some camels.

I was wearing a skirt and had trouble actually getting on the camel. Somehow, when I tried to swing my leg over the camel, my leg got stuck in my skirt. About that same time, the camel thought he was supposed to stand up. Which put me a bit off-balance. However, years of riding horses stood me in good stead. Once I was sure the camel wasn't going anywhere, I freed my foot and got it over the camel.

Miss B was so scared and started trembling with fear. I kept reassuring her and reminding her that she had ridden a horse before. I told her to relax. The guy leading the camel overheard our conversation and we talked about riding horses and camels.

We walked a little bit and then stopped and got some great pictures.

When we turned around to go back, the guide let me actually "drive" the camel. There isn't really that much to it. Camels are glorified pack animals and pretty much follow the leader. Camels follow a lead on the reins and stop when you pull back on the lead. They also move when you kick them on their stomach. They respond to clicking with your tongue.

I don't have the best posture, but I don't usually look that hump-backed. I was leaning forward because the lead was really short.

Anyhow, I am blissfully happy about being able to ride a camel. Another dream fulfilled.

Day 2: Brent vs. the camel owner (and where I fail as a wife. . . )

Our guide warned us that the vendors were ruthlessly aggressive and to avoid them at all costs. This was good advice, but not always easy to follow when you have a single-minded toddler. After we had climbed up on the pyramid, we wanted to explore for a few minutes. But Bubba J was determined to pet a camel. He adores animals and loves petting them. He begged to get off the pyramid, so Brent took him down, where Bubba J made a beeline for a camel. Brent went to pay the guy for letting him pet the camel, but only had large bills.

The camel owner said he would exchange the money, but took it and kept insisting on more money. In the end, the guy basically stole money from my husband. My husband was furious and was arguing with the guy when I saw that something was happening. I didn't think my husband was going to get anything out of the guy short of tackling him or calling the police, so I insisted that he and Bubba J take a ride on the camel, just to get something out of the whole transaction. My husband was really angry and didn't want to ride the camel, but did so anyway so that Bubba J and Miss B could get a camel ride. (Neither my husband nor I knew that we would ride camels later, so we thought this might be our only chance. Had we known that we were going to ride camels later, we would have walked away.)

Reluctantly, my husband took his camel ride. Sadly, the whole thing was unpleasant with the exchange and everything. But the pictures looked cool.

Day 2: The Pyramids of Giza

The Pyramids of Giza are iconic and for good reason. These structures have stood in the desert sands for thousands of years. The pyramids once had smooth surfaces but the years haven't always been kind to the structures. We visited the largest and oldest pyramid, The Pyramid of Khufu which was completed around 2560 BC. Can you even wrap your brain around that? Consider that many of our buildings in structures in the United States are awfully new, some date back to the 1600's and 1700's. But four hundred years in comparison to millenia--not much of a comparison. Even in Lund, Sweden, where I lived for several years, has buildings that are quite old, but none can even compare to the age of the pyramids.

We didn't go inside the pyramid because of time constraints, but according to Wikipedia, the pyramid contains three chambers. The pyramid of was constructed of approximately 2.3 million sandstone blocks. Then casing stones were placed on the outside of the pyramid to provide a smooth face. The casing blocks are no longer there, but the structure is still incredible. At its completion it was 481 feet tall and remained the tallest man-made structure in the world for almost 4000 years. It has lost a few feet and now stands 455.5 feet tall.

The pyramid is believed to have been built by the Pharaoh Khufu who was the second pharaoh of the 4th dynasty. Very little is known about this pharaoh. The only complete likeness of the king in known existence today is a 3-inch high ivory statue that is displayed in the Egyptian museum.

We climbed up on the pyramid, had pictures taken and enjoyed the view of Cairo from the pyramid. Dozens of vendors aggressively hawked their souvenirs to us. The only way you could get through the crowd unscathed was to totally ignore them and pretend they didn't exist.

Day 2: An International Breakfast

The breakfast buffet at the JW Marriott is truly international in its scope. There was Middle Eastern food with breads, beans, etc. The pastry bar was a sight to behold and I especially enjoyed the chocolate croissants, there were plenty of cereals to satisfy your average American kid. The British traveler would be pleasantly surprised with the boiled eggs, beans, grilled tomatoes, etc. If you are into hearty American breakfasts, look no further than the omelet bar, made to order. Then there was the Asian foods with rice, sushi, and miso soup.

My children are adventurous eaters, which is a very good thing considering our penchant for traveling. They each found something to interest them. My eldest son's food choices were the most eccentric though. Each morning, he enjoyed American pancakes with chocolate and fruit sauce and a healthy helping of . . . sushi.
At least he was happy!

The First Day: Our Journey Begins

We sent the children off to school early on Monday, October 22nd. While they enjoyed class parties celebrating Halloween, my husband and I packed and prepared for our trip. My husband picked up the kids at lunchtime and then the compound limo took us to the airport.

At the airport, we met our fellow travelers, the C family. The kids were so excited to travel with friends. Our flight to Cairo was a short 2 1/2 hours. I'm not used to such short flights, so this was a pleasure. We traveled with Saudi airlines and they surprised us by serving a full meal. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Saudis like to eat.

When we arrived in Cairo, we saw a group of Hajjis boarding their flight to go to Mecca for their sacred pilgrimage.

We were met by some representatives from our hotel who got our visas processed, helped us collect our luggage, and then got us out to our mini-bus. I'm glad that we had someone to help us because the crowd was crazy, with lots of noise, people crowding in on us, and people that were trying to "help" us by pulling our suitcases, which we refused. I don't think they would have stolen the suitcases, but were expecting us to tip them for their "generous" service.

Once in the mini-bus, we relaxed as we drove to the hotel. We stayed at a resort close to the airport, so it didn't take us long to arrive. Near our hotel, we had to go through a roundabout that astonished me. People were walking around on the street while cars zipped around the people. There was even a butcher stand set up so you could pick out your favorite cut of meat for dinner. It was chaotic and energetic.

The Trip of a Lifetime: Egypt

I've long had a dream to visit Egypt but never knew if my dream would be realized. This October our family traveled to Egypt with another family and explored some of Egypt's greatest wonders. It was an amazing trip that I will never forget. I will document the trip on this blog, so please check back often for updates about our adventures.

It was a very good thing that we experienced Egypt after living in Saudi Arabia. There were many things that would have been terribly shocking if I had traveled to Egypt from the U.S. For example:

1) The bathroom situation in Egypt would have been appalling without prior experience to Saudi toilets. I keep meaning to write a blog post about toilets in the Middle East. I just never think to snap pictures of the holes in the ground and less than ideal facilities. Anyhow, it didn't faze me to see water on the floor of the bathroom--spray from the bidet. Just wipe down the seat and do your business. No toilet paper is no longer a problem. I just deal with it.

2) The traffic in Cairo is really horrendous, but not much more frightening than Riyadh traffic. We weren't really bothered by the delays and the crazy things we saw on the road. Heck, I see crazy stuff on the road everyday in Riyadh. It no longer even scares me when I see a car driving the wrong way on a road.

3) Seeing the trash in Cairo didn't really shock me, though I think Egyptians do a better job of maintaining things.

I can't wait to share our adventures with you!