Tuesday, January 1, 2008

We have Arrived

All of our group has arrived safely in Egypt. All of the flights were fine, but two of us have had to live without luggage for the first day while the bags are tracked down. Those students were compensated with a free supply of toiletries!

We started today by visiting the Egyptian Museum, which is simply amazing. I thought Dr. Walls put it perfectly when he said, "You know, these are the kind of things you usually only see in pictures." I have wanted to visit the Musuem since I was a kid and saw a National Geographic photo layout on King Tut. Getting to see all of that in person was an incredible experience. I don't have any pictures from the Museum because we were not allowed to take cameras inside. Our tour guide for the trip's name is Amr (pronounced like hammer without the H), and if today is any indication, he is going to be a great tour guide.

Our museum visit was followed by lunch at a "real" Egyptian restaurant and consisted of pita bread with various kinds of toppings.

Tonight is a free night, and I think a group of us are planning to go to Giza for the "Sounds and Lights" show at the pyramids.

I have turned off comment moderation, so you all can post without waiting for me or Laura to approve the post.

1 comment:

WFUDS Egypt said...

The Egyptian Museum is a great place to learn about Ancient Egyptian history. One important fact we learned is that King Tutt was an insignificant king. He became well known when his tomb was discovered in 1922. Also, learning about the mummification process was fascinating.

At Giza,we attended a light show which was interesting. Yet, the one pharoah I was impressed with was Akhetaten (el-Amarna). He changed the state religion to become monothestic in nature. During the light show, narrators quoted one of his prayers. Akhetaten gave praise and thanksgiving to God (Aten). I began to understand that the ancient Egyptians realized and acknowledged God as an important part of their life. Even though Akhetaten beliefs lasted only during his lifetime, his radical movement to change the way the country viewed God is powerful.
- Azuree