Egypt

Sunday, 25 July Together with Cody, Elliot and Michael we walked to the Egyptian Museum which took us only about 15 minutes or so. On our way there a man tagged along trying to lure us into a conversation. Right away I thought: "Oh God, this guy wants ALL our money." It turned out that he just wanted to chat. He was bald and had rings on several fingers and was draped in necklaces with spiritual signs. All of a sudden he turned to me and said that I had a very strong aura and that my green pants and my hair would fit this aura. Huh? "You can be very direct and seem harsh sometimes but you have a very good heart. You are a very good friend although it takes time until one becomes one. You are angry a lot but on the other hand you are very helpful. Very helpful." Then he said goodbye and left. I was left a little bit irritated but my sisters laughed and couldn't agree more. At the museum we ran out of luck and snatched from all these guides that were offering their services the one whose English was deficient. Don't ask me how that happened because he seemed ok when we had bargained the price. A typical dialogue with him was like this: I would ask: "Where were these carriages found?" His answer: "Yes, yes." "No, I mean, WHERE-WERE-THEY-FOUND?" pronouncing each word for better understanding. "These carriages belonged to Ramses II...." "No, no, I want to know which city, which tomb, which temple did they find these." "Yeeeesss." He was definitely no Zahi Hawass, good or bad. I gave up and resumed to eavesdrop on other groups with their well-spoken English guides once in a while. In order not to be too obvious you have to pretend that you are bored to death and have way better things to do than to listen to other people's guides. Nevertheless the museum was amazing and understandably we were not allowed to take any photos. It was so fascinating to see all the tombs, wagons and jewelry that for moments I had a vivid image of how life in ancient Egypt must have been like. I could smell the perfumes of sandalwood and imagine sitting in those chairs and wearing those beautiful, meticulously done necklaces. I tried to imagine being one of the bystanders watching these glorious figures in their clothes and carriages pass by. After a short nap in the hostel we took off to the Coptic area with the metro. The Hanging Church was about to close but we asked nicely and the guard let us in. It was already 5.00 pm. The church is one of the oldest and most famous ones in Cairo and is called "Hanging" because of its location. After that we took it easy and just strolled around. The Coptic area basically consists of only one street but it is so beautiful there that we enjoyed the tranquility tremendously. Nille and Burcu bought also some of the famous Egyptian perfumes called Cleopatra and Nefertiti. For our mother we decided to get her the rose perfume, her favorite flower.