Christmas, Part 2: CAIRO

It was an interesting switch to go from Dubai, brand new city barely several years old, to Cairo, city full of culture and ancient history. While the Middle Eastern feel was still there, it was seen in buildings thousands of years old rather than a couple years old. We found the city to be very dirty (evidenced by the thick grey dust covering our feet at the end of each day) but parts of it also very beautiful.

The hotel we stayed in was amazing, and with the lobby beautifully decorated for Christmas we still felt we were at least getting somewhat of a Christmas experience (although not one like any Christmas we've ever had!)

View of the city from our hotel room

Coptic Cairo

On Christmas Eve in the morning, Lizabee, Paul and I walked from our hotel to Coptic Cairo, an old area of the city where it is believed Mary and Joseph fled with Jesus when they were seeking refuge from Herod. We even went inside the church where they are said to have hidden!

Khan El Khalili

Our next stop of the day was the Khan market, which (side note) our zero-English-speaking taxi driver was confused about until we got a random pedestrian to translate for us, at which point the driver explained that it is pronounced with a phlegmy kg at the back of the throat. That made me want to learn Arabic.

At the Khan market we enjoyed some Egyptian food...

This is what I look like with a shwarma stuffed in my face

...and some shopping and bargaining! The alleyways were packed with people, most of whom were trying to get us to buy things from them, or at least look in their shops...everything from jewelry to spices to clothes, scarves and Egyptian souvenirs.

Felucca

At sunset we headed down to the banks of the Nile for a ride on a felucca - a traditional Egyptian sailboat.

Christmas Eve Dinner

When Paul and I were in Mombasa in June we met a couple there on their honeymoon from Cairo. We've kept in touch with them since then, and they booked all our Cairo sightseeing for us before we arrived! On Christmas Eve they picked us up from our hotel and took us out for Egyptian food, which was SO delicious! We ate too much.

The Pyramids & Sphinx

Christmas Day takes the cake on our sightseeing.

Driving up to the pyramids is surreal. One second you're in the city and the next the pyramids are towering overhead. It's completely amazing to be standing in front of these structures that were built in 2600 B.C. - that's over 4,000 years old!

Riding a camel was a must on our list of things to do at the pyramids! We felt like the wise men taking a journey through the desert. (A 20 minute journey, but a journey nonetheless!)

We also got to go inside one of the pyramids (which wasn't a good match for claustrophobia, but I'm glad I did it!) No photos of that, for obvious reasons.

Right next to the pyramids is the sphinx, which I hadn't even thought about until we actually got there.

The rest of the afternoon was spent at the Egyptian museum, where all the artifacts originally found in King Tut's tomb are on display. Jewelry, furniture, weapons, fabric, and his famous solid gold mask...it's amazing what has been preserved over thousands of years! We also visited the mummy display - the mummies still have hair on their heads and fingernails!

No turkey dinner for us that night. Instead, Italian food with the Dyck's at one of our hotel restaurants!

Citadel

Our last sightseeing stop before heading to the airport was Citadel, a historic site containing the Mohammed Ali Mosque and palace, surrounded by a medieval fortress.

The Mohammed Ali Mosque

So to state the obvious, we had a pretty amazing and unique Christmas that we will never forget! Living in Uganda has it's perks and traveling to incredible places is definitely one of them!