Adventures in Egypt

As you can see, we had a wonderful time visiting Ashley in Cairo. We laughed a lot and thoroughly enjoyed being with her and her friends. The language barrier takes on a whole new meaning when symbols are used, and you can't even begin to determine what the word is. Therefore, you rely heavily on pronunciation and pray that whomever it is you are speaking with will be able to understand you. We spent 10 days in Egypt, and, by the end of our trip, we felt comfortable enough to ride in a taxi without Ashley being with us. Just to clarify, she lives in Maadi, which is a suburb to Cairo. We knew our way around her neighborhood and how to get to church. So, when I say we took a taxi, I mean, we went within our familiar surroundings.


Description of pictures (starting top right): Mt. Sinai, Hiking up Mt. Sinai at 4 a.m., Giza pyramids, Floating on the Nile River in a felucca, Camel riding at Giza, Mt. Sinai, Me and Michael at Desert Fox-base camp at Sinai, Sunset picture on the way to Sinai, Man making alabaster, Alex-the camel, Panoramic view of Giza Pyramids.

Consider this an educational blog as well, since I will teach you the Arabic words we learned to love:

Right-Yimiin (ya-mean)
Left-Simaal (sha-mell)
Straight-alatool (a-la-tool)
Thank you-Sukran (show-chron)
Yes-Awya (Iowa)
No-La (la-ah)

Lastly, I leave you with this video of me and Michael riding Alex when we visited the pyramid. Ashley was kind enough to capture this moment for us, and she even provides some nice commentary to keep you entertained. Watching Michael "mount" the camel makes me laugh out loud; actually, we both laugh hysterically, and I'm so glad we were able to enjoy the trip together.