Egypt - First Full Day of Touring

We were photo bombed! Mollie is on the left, then me, then Laura R., and Laura E. This was our first morning in Egypt and we were about to find out just how hot it is in Egypt . . .even in October.

We headed to see the statue of King Ramses II.

Here he is -- he was carved from only one block of good limestone. He was discovered in 1821 AD. The building is built around him.

We then exited and the view below us was of lots of small tented booths selling all sorts of things.

We are already looking for shade.

I took a picture of the statue below . . .and said I was going to enlarge it and use it in the bathroom. It looks like the bottom half of a person sitting on a toilet!

It was interesting to see these huge stones sitting on these wooden beams -- it was a way to transport the heavy stones.

He really liked statues of himself!

I was trying to get a quick shot -- motorcycle pulling a cart full of fruit.

The sheer size of columns and statues was amazing.

Here we are at the step pyramid. It was HOT! The step pyramid is 204 feet tall with six stepped layers.

We were so blessed to travel with so many good friends. We are in a supper club with these folks (and were wishing the rest of the group had traveled with us). Terrie and Duane, Laura and Allen, and Mark and me.

This photo is out of order, but it is the insde ceiling of one of the pyramids. Those are stars all over the ceiling.

You can tell how hot we were. My hair is plastered to my head with sweat. Our neighbor, Dave, was sitting behind me!

These are slightly out of order . . . We then went to a carpet school. There are shifts for the kids to go to public school. Some go in the morning and some go in the afternoon. May are learning a trade, too. These children were in "carpet school." I kid you not. They were hand making these rugs and their fingers were flying. I had very mixed emotions about the child labor.

The yarns were beautiful.

There were some adults making carpets/rugs, too.

We ate lunch at the Sakkara Restaurant. There was this opening on the street and we went down some steps . . .

and were introduced to a wonderful woman making homemade bread. We were actually given a piece - yummy!

We walked a little further and entered the restaurant.

The photo below is fuzzy - but we were seated at long tables.

Look at the rice -- it was in the shape of a heart! We were served lots of rice and chicken and "meatballs" over the week.

There were stray animals everywhere and the cats ate most of my lunch. There was one momma kitty who was obviously nursing some babies and she was sooooo thin! 

Mark and Lu were looking at the drawings - unbelievable.

Here I am with Laura E. I love her!

We were able to go down into one of the pyramids. I was literally dripping sweat onto the floor at this point. I'm only 5 feet 5 inches tall and I had to bend over this much to go down and up. The taller guys (and girls) had to bend much farther.

The Great Sphinx of Egypt is behind us. They think it was made in the 2500's BC! It is massive - 240 feet long and 66 feet high.

We were exhausted and went back to the hotel and ate dinner and crashed.

Have you been to Egypt? The pyramids and the Sphinx were on my bucket list.