Your video got me extremely stoked for the trip, Indy99!
Indy99 said:
In Cairo, do NOT miss the Egyptian museum. It is unbelievable, and has TONS of great artifacts, not the least of which, the treasures of Tut's tomb.
We were in Egypt 11 days, but only in Cairo for 2, so I didn't do much else there. Visited a couple mosques (The Citadel - built by Saladin in 13th Century!) Wait till you experience the traffic!!!
Managed to do visit both of the those. The museum blew me away. Obviously, the Tut displays were eye-popping but what struck me the most were some wooden sculptures of people that were proportionally & anatomically impeccable. There were also some hieroglyphs that were so sharp and consistent they looked as if they'd been made by a set of cookie-cutters.
The Military Museum at the Citadel was a highlight for me but I was disappointed at the complete and total absence of anthing related to The 6-Day War or Napoleon in Egypt. The traffic? Nuts! We took many cab rides and I shot loads of video footage of just the traffic and noise. I've driven in Sicily and it can get pretty hairy but Cairo roads are lawless!
Would love to try driving them one day...
Le Saboteur said:
It's funny that you should mention Gertrude Bell. I was thinking Freya Stark!
Nice pictures all-around; at least somebody felt like dressing for the occasion!
Doesn't look too crowded, either; much different than my last trip out that way.
I had to look up Freya Stark. Wow. I wonder if she and Bell ever crossed paths?
Thanks for the name-drop, Saboteur.
The pyramids were not crowded at all when I was there. It was the day after Obama had been guided around (by Dr. Zahi Hawass) and it was a weekend during the off-season. There were almost more vendors than tourists! Did you or Indy99 go inside? Thrill of a lifetime! I actually wore something special at Giza, too (not Indy). My girlfriend was embarrassed but my friends loved it. Will post some photos in the
Trip to Cairo thread.
Anyway, I didn't get to do all the things that Indy99 managed to do but it was a blast exploring Cairo and one of the best times of my life.