It's been so long since I've written, but SO much has happened. Okay... so on May 2nd my Israel and the Environment class took us on a jeep trek through the desert, which was very cool. We got to see some really remote parts of the desert including a random monastery hidden in a mountain! The next Thursday my friends and I went to Haifa and Acco. Haifa is the 3rd biggest city in Israel, but its main attraction is the Baha'i Gardens, which were absolutely beautiful. Acco is a really old city and it has some historical and beautiful sites, but unfortunately it's gotten really run down lately.
That weekend my program took us on a trip to the north--the Galilee and Golan Heights. I think these are my some of my favorite parts of Israel... everything is sooo beautiful. We did a lot of hiking, rafting on the Jordan River (more like waterfighting on the Jordan), and we had a bonfire where we made our own pita.
Those were both really fun trips, but those stories were lead ups to this one--I WENT TO EGYPT!!! I have literally been trying to put this trip together since before I got to Israel, and I'm so happy that it worked out and lived up to my expectations. Amanda, Christy and I decided to take a tour of Cairo, which would save us from a) planning and b) worrying so much about safety. The tour picked us up at 5:30 AM from Eilat, at the southern tip of Israel, and drove us 5 hours through the Sinai Peninsula to Cairo. When we got there our tour guide brought us through the Egypt Museum--at first I felt so exhausted and didn't think I could handle a museum, but it was SO COOL!! Of course I couldn't take pictures of anyway, but we saw about 15 mummies (some still had hair, teeth and fingernails) as well as everything that has been excavated from King Tut's tomb. It's so amazing. King Tut's mask looks exactly like the pictures in real life. Overall: Ancient Egypt-100000 points, Modern Civilzation- 0.
After the museum the tour took us to a store to see how the ancient Egyptians made papyrus. This was partially a ploy to get us to try to buy stuff, but it was cool at the same time. We found out that we weren't seeing the pyramids until tomorrow, and at first I was disappointed, until I realized that we could see them driving on the way to our hotel! I'd had no idea they were so close to Cairo.
The hotel they put us in was actually right across from the pyramids, and after dinner we had free time. Unfortunately when we asked the concierge if there was anywhere to go around the hotel his answer was, "For three girlies? No." So instead we made friends with some of the people that worked in the hotel and I actually had a really interesting conversation about Egyptian and Muslim life with one of them. We exchanged email addresses, now I have a pen pal. :)
The next morning was the pyramids!! They are even bigger than you imagine. We got to go inside the second one, which was an experience even if there wasn't a lot to see. The passageway was extremely narrow and cramped, you had to walk down a ramp while hunched over. At the end there was a chamber that had contained the tomb, but now it was empty except for the empty coffin. There wasn't a lot of air and it was hot, but still a cool feeling of being inside a PYRAMID.
We rode camels from the second pyramid to the third--always an interesting experience. My camel bit Christy's in the back of the leg, so our guide had to take mine specially, haha. After the third pyramid we got back in the van and drove around to the Sphinx, which you can't see from the road. At first we were all a little disappointed, because it looked so small compared to the pyramids, but when we got closer we realized how huge it actually was. They're doing some restoration work on it now but even without it, it looks incredible.
After that they took us to another store, where they showed us Egyptian oils that are used to make perfume. Then we went to the bazaar, which was really crazy and cool of course, but very similar to other bazaars I've been to... whether you're in Egypt, Turkey or Israel, these places all sell the same exact stuff!
We also went into the Old City of Cairo, where we saw an old church, a mosque, and even a synangogue. It was cool, these parts of the city were old as in from the 12th century, rather than 4500 years old, but it was still impressive. Our tour guide explained some of the basic principles of Islam at the mosque, and I was excited that I knew everything he told us (one of my classes this semester was Intro to the Religion of Islam).
Anyway we came back to Tel Aviv on Sunday, had a short final week of classes and we have today off for Shavuot. Yesterday was my Hebrew final as well as the School of Overseas Students final party, which was surprisingly a lot of fun! It was also Laila Levan, which is basically a night where all of Tel Aviv parties until it's dawn. This country has more holidays/excuses to party than anywhere I've ever been! Some friends and I hung out at the beach, but sadly we didn't make it til dawn, although there were birds chirping when I got into bed.
Now that the semester is winding down I just have finals, a last trip to Jerusalem, and my birthday to look forward to! I'll be home in about 10 days--can't believe it! I'm both excited and soooo sad at the same time. Mostly I'm panicked about packing...
And of course, a month's worth of pictures!
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