Egypt Days 3 and 4

The third day we all were in Egypt we went to the famous National Egyptian Museum, which holds millions of artifacts from ancient Egypt and the King Tut exhibit. Obviously the Tut exhibit was the highlight of the museum. Inside we saw the famous Gold Mask that the king was buried in and thousands of artifacts that were found in his tomb, that was discovered in 1922. He was known as one of Ancient Egypt's greatest rulers. Unfortunately, no flash photography was allowed, hence no Tut photos, I suggest you Google the Egyptian Museum if your interested in everything I saw.

After looking at mummy's, tombs, jewelry and learning more of the history of Egypt, we were all pretty pooped, so we headed back to the hotel for some R and R. Again, thanks Dad for the sweet hookup.

Our last day in Egypt was only a half day, we headed to "Old Cairo" and viewed the Coptic part of town. This area is VERY traditional so we all had to wear appropriate clothing and cover our heads during certain points. Coptic Cairo was an area for Christianity before the Islamic Era, the churches were absolutely beautiful as were the gardens and graveyards. We visited St. Georges Church, the monastery and a Muslim mosque. The mosque was the highlight for me, it was amazing to see people worshiping, kneeling on the ground, giving praise in such a different way. In Egypt you often notice men with bruises on their foreheads, it's a sign of piety and devotion to Allah. Basically, these people pray so hard (true muslims kneel and bow to the ground, 5 times a day) that they bruise their foreheads from touching the ground. It's very typical to see men in Egypt with these bruises, and also very respected. I really enjoyed going into the mosque, even though I only saw a small part. (Men and women pray separately and the women's side is much much smaller).

After our adventures in Old Cairo we headed to the airport and flew back to Amman. I really enjoyed my trip to Egypt, I saw a great deal and was in good company. I am also very thankful to be back in Amman, where life moves much slower and people are not always in a rush. I hope everyone likes my pictures as well as the posts. Please, please, please read more about the places I went if you're interested, it's amazing how much history there is in places like Egypt, we often forget our young America is in the big scheme of things.

I'm happily spending the rest of Eid in my aparment in Amman, tomorrow we all are going to go out and explore the city a little. Maybe try and visit a souk downtown sometime later this week. All I know is everyone is excitied to be able to EAT and DRINK in public, finally everything will be opened! It's crazy to think I've been here for almost a month (gasp) the 25th will make it official. I hope all is well at home, I miss everyone and everything more than you all know. Everyday I am thankful for what I've been given, this experience has made me realize how easy my life is back home. Although I miss everything, I'm looking forward to life in Amman, "post Ramandan style", can't wait to experience so much more here. I'll post again soon. Ma'salaama!