HEADING HOME FROM CRUISING THE NILE!

Our driver and Mohamed picked us up 

bright and early

to head to the airport!

We saw something you rarely see in Egypt....

empty streets (it was really early)

and a dashboard without fur! 

We bid farewell to Mohamed,

and entered the terminal at the Cairo Airport!

 

While having coffee in the lounge,

look who I ran into --

Mary Beth and Azza, friends from Dubai!

  

Once I got home to the Dubai Marina,

John and I walked over to JBR to have dinner

and saw this Rolls Royce --

a quick reminder that I wasn't in Egypt anymore!

JBR was filled with people.....

and cameras!

 

We sat outside and enjoyed dinner --

it was the first time it was cool enough to eat outside!

The weather was PERFECT (at long last)!

YEAH!!!

 

There were even street entertainers 

welcoming me home!

HA - not really!  They were celebrating 
(as we would soon be)

FORMULA ONE WEEKEND!

A great big THANKS to 

Mohamed, Mamoduh, Mariam, and Eman from the

 INSTITUTE FOR STUDY ABROAD - EGYPT

for organizing a wonderful trip to

CAIRO AND CRUISING THE NILE!

And Atlanta....these are for you:

"Crocodee"
"Let It Known"
 "JAPANESE!!!"
"Don't Pick Your Nose!"
"Long Live Obama!"
"Yankee Doodle All The Way!"   

Don't even ask.....you just had to be there!*!

CAIRO TWO: AFTER CRUISING THE NILE!

Atlanta slept in and

Mariam and I headed over to

to walk around the campus.

It was a beautiful morning with bright blue skies,

a nice breeze and plenty of sunshine!

I love college campuses

and Cairo University did not disappoint!

It had the same hustle and bustle that is found

on campuses all across the United States!

 (The palm trees were an added bonus to the college I attended in the good 'ol Midwest!)

After our college tour,

Mariam and I jumped into a taxi 

(with, you guessed it, a furry dashboard),

and headed over to see

THE PYRAMIDS AND SPHINX OF GIZA! 

After purchasing our tickets,

 a gentleman came up to us and said,

 "Let me help you.  No hassle.  No more moneys.

New system here at the pyramids.  Follow me!" 

He proceeded to take all kinds of pictures of us

and kept urging us to ride a camel, ride a carriage,

ride a horse......

Finally, I leaned over to Mariam and whispered,

"I don't think this guy is legit!  

I think he's just another haggler!"

Sure enough, after Mariam paid him off,

he left us alone!
New system at the pyramids -- what a joke!

But he certainly did take some great photos for us!!

 

The poor horses pulling the carriages

down the steep slope from the pyramids to the sphinx

had to "dig in" with their rear legs

to slow down.

This picture doesn't really do it justice. 

But believe me, it was really difficult to watch.

   

And, as always in Egypt, there was a shopping opportunity

at the base of the pyramids,

with plenty of "salesmen" urging us to buy
their one-of-a-kind merchandise!

 

A quick stop for lunch.....

....where I enjoyed my first falafel!

Hmmm Hmmm Good!

 

Later that afternoon

we grabbed yet another taxi (with a furry dash)

and headed to

HELIOPOLIS, an area that John had recommended.

  

As always, the traffic was bumper to bumper,

so it took us forever to get there!

But we enjoyed a nice Italian dinner, sitting outside,

with Mariam, Mohamed (IFSA) and his wife, Natalie.  

What a lovely day we enjoyed in

CAIRO: AFTER CRUISING THE NILE!

CAIRO: AFTER CRUISING THE NILE!

It sure was difficult leaving the Ramadis II!

It had been a great cruise

and I already missed my favorite

SUN DECK! 

But we had things to see in Cairo!

So Mariam (IFSA), Atlanta and I set off to explore

the Coptic Church Area.

 As always, I found the street scenes to be

fascinating!

 

Our first stop was the

SUSPENDED (or HANGING) CHURCH

and then we browsed through several other

Christian churches in the area.

I fell in love with this little gift shop

with an ancient tree

growing right inside of it!

Mariam found a perfect spot 

beside a monastery for us to sit and

enjoy a cup of coffee!

 

Then it was time to walk through the

Ben Esba Synagogue,

the only synagogue in all of Egypt.

(No pictures were allowed to be taken inside, darn it!) 
 

We laughed and laughed 

when Atlanta

pointed out the book that was definitely out of place! 

Can you spot it?

We arrived at the Amri ibn al As Mosque --

the oldest mosque in all of Africa!

 

As in all mosques that I have visited,

we had to put on abayas.

But these were Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle abayas!

YIKES!! 
 

Atlanta found a book

to take back to one of her favorite professors!

 

You wouldn't believe the things we saw 

on the streets of Cairo!

For instance, look at the tiny couch we spotted 

on some guy's dashboard! 

(Don't even ask!)

The traffic was bumper to bumper

all day long!

And the driving there was absolutely C.R.A.Z.Y.!!!!!

As we neared Tahrir Square

there were only a few peaceful demonstrators

camping along the sidewalks.

 

We drove past the burned out government building.

But, all in all, it was just a regular day in the 

downtown area of Cairo.

Mariam took us to this restaurant to have 

one of Atlanta's Egyptian favorites:

Koshry!

It soon became a favorite of mine as well! 

Our waiter (the only waiter, I think!)

was an old timer with a

raspy voice

that bellowed his orders across the restaurant!

He is an icon, to be sure! 
 

 

Later that evening

we were dropped off in the

Khan El Khalil area,

where Atlanta smoked shisha and Mariam and I 

people watched.

It was definately a COLORFUL part of town!

 

Then we attended a cultural show

of whirling dervishes!

And that concluded Day One

in CAIRO: AFTER CRUISING THE NILE!