There was nothing quite like growing up in the 1980's. Honestly, in my opinion, any time before the invention of the internet and cell phones was a great time to grow up! The 1980's gave us music on cassette tapes that we listened to in our Sony Walkman. We watched movies on VHS tapes in a VCR on a TV without a remote control. We competed to see who could stuff the most Big League Chew in our mouth and then blow the biggest bubble. We carried our homework around in a Trapper Keeper. Without the internet, no one could figure out exactly how to solve a new toy called the Rubik's Cube. We were obsessed with baseball cards, scratch-and-sniff stickers, and metal lunch boxes. Our parents didn't care if our ass hurt after they spanked it repeatedly when we didn't act our age. And, in the 1980's, President Reagan actually made us all proud to be Americans!
Oh! I forgot one thing.....pegged jeans! Look how cool my Leonard looks in his new linen pants and the tight rolls above his ankles!
Most of you know how much Leonard hates wearing pants. These pants were specifically purchased for this trip due to the fact we would be visiting a few traditional mosques in Cairo. Egypt is a predominantly Muslim country, and while tourist areas may be more relaxed, it's considered respectful to dress modestly when visiting religious sites like mosques. Both men and women should wear clothing that covers their shoulders and knees.
Our first stop on our city tour in Cairo was the Citadel of Sultan Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi (Saladin). Go ahead and say that name ten times as fast as you can! It is among the most impressive defensive fortresses dating to the Middle Ages. Its strategic location on the Muqattam Hills gave it a formidable defensive position, and offered, as it still does today, an unrestricted panoramic view of Cairo.
The Mosque of Muhammad Ali is located inside the Old Citadel. This mosque is known as the "Alabaster Mosque", in reference to its marble paneling on its interior and exterior walls. The mosque’s twin minarets are the highest in all of Egypt, each reaching a height of 84 meters.
Our next stop on the city tour was the Sultan Hussan Mosque. This place wouldn't even let you in the door without confiscating your shoes! This is one of the largest and architecturally exquisite mosques in all of Egypt. The mosque consists of an open courtyard with fountain in its center. The courtyard is surrounded by four iwans (a rectangular space that is open on one side). Its proximity to the citadel ultimately resulted in its use as a fort by enemies several times throughout its history, as it was used as a platform to launch attacks on the citadel.
Moving right along on our city tour.....our next stop was the Hanging Church of Mary. The term "hanging" refers to the church's appearance, as it seems to be suspended or hanging in mid-air when viewed from a certain angle. The church's elevated location is a result of its construction on the site of the ancient Roman Babylon Fortress. This strategic placement was likely chosen to protect the church from potential flooding from the Nile River and to provide a vantage point for defense purposes.
One thing that's particularly striking about the Hanging Church is that, despite its age, it's still a functioning place of Christian worship. Services are held there regularly, and you'll likely see a mix of tourists and locals coming to pray or light candles.
One of the most notable features of the Hanging Church is the ceiling, which is constructed of domed wood and is intended to resemble the interior of Noah’s Ark. Another highlight is the marble pulpit, which is supported by 13 marble columns intended to represent Jesus and his 12 disciples.
Another thing I'll never forget about the 1980's......my mom would always make my brother and I go to church every Sunday morning. Ugh! I'm not sure why we needed to hear a Sunday sermon each week because my mom did a great job of putting the fear of God in us every day at home! And, we already knew we were both going to Heaven because our mom spanked the Hell out of us whenever we misbehaved!
After leaving the Hanging Church, our final stop on the city tour was the Egyptian Museum located in downtown Cairo. For the past century, this museum has been the home of the country's greatest archaeological treasures.
Due to chronic overcrowding, the Egyptian government decreed the construction of the brand new Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) in Giza, which is intended to be the world’s largest museum. While some of the more famous and larger artifacts, like Tutankhamun's treasures, will be moved to the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), this museum will focus on displaying recent archaeological discoveries and artifacts currently in storage.
This stop on the city tour reminded me of our visit to the Louvre in Paris. There was only one thing we wanted to see! The Mona Lisa. And, today, there was only thing we wanted to see! King Tut's golden mask. Due to the popularity of Tutankhamun, the most prized items of his tomb, including his golden mask, are displayed in a separate gallery under heavy guard. Other items in this tiny gallery included two of Tutankhamun’s golden sarcophagi and some of the more intricate items in gold, including his crook and flail.
Unfortunately, because of the golden mask’s towering reputation, no photograph was allowed without an advanced permit. Some of us attempted to get a photo from outside the gallery....and even then we had security guards hollering at us. This was my best photo attempt before getting scolded.
Yes! There are tons of photos of this mask and all of the other King Tut artifacts on the internet. As kids, we grew up seeing these ancient artifacts in textbooks and video documentaries in school. But, seeing these artifacts up-close was definitely memorable....and no photo can really showcase the radiant magnificence of these ancient masterpieces inside in a dark museum gallery. You haven't seen BLING until you've seen the King's bling!
Even Saturday Night Live played tribute to King Tut back in the 1980's....
Hey! How you DUNE? Get it? How you dune? I think this Egyptian heat is already making us delirious. Or maybe it was the three flights (17+ hours) to get here. Or maybe it was the thirteen hours we spent passing time in airports between Baltimore, Dallas, London and Cairo. Let's just say we are glad to finally be here. Our Trafalgar tour officially starts in two days, so we pre-planned a few adventures in the meantime to get things started. It seems our tour company does not recommend participating in any third-party activity where our safety is a liability. Sorry, Trafalgar!...but Egypt has lots of camels and I'm definitely planning to put my ass between some humps on this trip! A few other activities we deemed "must do" while in the desert included dune surfing, ATV's, and a desert safari ride. We accept full responsibility for dying in the desert this summer. We searched the Viator travel website in search of ...
The Egyptian pyramids have been on our travel bucket list for quite some time. Unfortunately, it never quite felt like the right time to hit up this part of the world. We have always been discouraged from going to this area due to safety concerns.....but, at this point, it's not even safe to live in the United States anymore. Egypt here we come! Once again....it's Jenesa who wants to travel around the world to international destinations. I continue to vote hard for "America First" but my vote obviously doesn't count in our household. There were two international options that we discussed for our upcoming summer vacation - Japan and Egypt. We researched several tour companies and what they offered for each destination before finally deciding to seeing one of the seven ancient wonders of the world and cruise on the Nile River. Egypt here we come! It was also reassuring to find a good tour company with great reviews for this spec...
How much does it cost ? You can't go anywhere with Leonard without hearing those five words! He's known to be quite the cheapskate back home, but I can usually get him to splurge a little when we travel. We both want to experience as much as possible on these trips.....and, it's no secret, nothing is cheap (except beer on the cruise ship!). A hot air balloon ride was not even an option heading into this Egypt trip. One of the couples in our tour group happened to mention this activity when we arrived in Luxor. The Trafalgar tour company once again discourages activities like these due to safety concerns.....but our tour guide wound up offering to book a sunrise balloon ride over The Valley of Kings for anyone who was interested. This was something Jenesa and I actually debated, because we had spent a lot of money on a balloon ride during a previous trip to the Australian outback ....and it was a little disappointing. The Valley of...
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