cairo, egypt:

From the ultra relaxed Nuweiba, it was off to chaotic Cairo by bus. Due to the revolution, security is pretty tight, so we had many check points and bag searches to make sure everything was ok.

I must admit, we didn't really want to leave Nuweiba, and the prospect of a frantic city didn't really appeal to us after staying by the Red Sea. However, upon arrival it hit us that we were in Cairo. Cairo! There is so much to see in this massive city, and we made the most of it before heading south down to Aswan and Luxor.

Of course the first thing on the list was the Pyramids. I can't describe the feeling you get when you first get a glimpse of them. Even though you see so many pictures and hear so much about them, seeing them in person is incredibly exciting.

Then there's the Cairo Museum, home to an AMAZING collection of Egyptian artifacts. You could spend days here, it is huge! I'm actually not a huge museum person, but this really was impressive. A highlight there was going into the Mummy Room. Here, you can see and are in the presence of many a mummified Pharaoh. It was both weird and intriguing to say the least! And I must admit, they were in pretty good condition considering they were thousands of years old! You could see their hair, eye lashes, finger and toe nails, it was really interesting! Unfortunately, no photos are allowed in the museum, but I cannot stress enough how incredible it was. We also just wandered the streets, exploring old Islamic Cairo and the Coptic Christian area. I'll post more photos in the next couple of days of our time in this amazing city.

Next: More Cairo and Aswan.