THE SPHINX
Next we got in the van and went over to the Sphinx which was a very short distance to the south east of the Great Pyramid. It was also majestic as it has been sitting there in all it's glory for some five thousand years. The sun had gotten a little higher in the sky and the temperature was rising. We had to walk a short distance to get to the Sphinx, but my legs were like rubber from my little climb in the Great Pyramid. They would remain sore for the next four days. I kept going with out complaint.

BAZAAR
Next we were off to a bazaar which was housed on the first floor of a large building. I wanted to stay in the van because my legs were sore and my energy was sapped. The guide brought me a small coke in a glass bottle thinking that the sugar in it would restore my energy. I was still adjusting to the weather change. I had just come in from the State of Washington where it was sunny when I left but, but the difference between the two climates was quite extreme. After I drank the coke I still didn't feel like going into the bazaar. I didn't want to buy anything in there anyway because I was sticking to my plan of only buying CD's, postcards and inexpensive art. The guide was having none of this. He was bound and determined to get me in there at all costs. He wasn't taking no for an answer. Finally to get him off my back I let him think he persuaded me to go in. He had an invested interest in getting me in there. I think he felt that if he could just get me in there I would buy something. I came out of the van willingly wincing from the pain shooting through my legs. He guided me into the lavishly stocked room and waited until I got my balance and then he left. There was everything you could think of under the sun in there: statues of ancient gods, fine cloth of all kinds, every kind of knick-knack and souvenirs of every shape and size and price. It was all very nice but all very expensive and I didn't want any of it. I looked around. I didn't see him so I left. I went back to the van. The muscles in my upper legs were in pain. That was the best pain I ever felt though becaue now I have the memory deeply planted in my mind for ever that I just went into the Great Pyramid and went to the King's Chamber and saw the Sphinx.
Sphinx RESTURANT
Our next stop would be the oldest resturant in Cairo owned by an Englishman. Here we had our first taste of Egyptian cuisine. Here is some of what we had;
White beans
Humus
Vegatables
Water melon
BBq chicken

We spent two hours in there relaxing. It was a much needed rest.

AROMA THERAPY
From there we went to a place where they demonstrate and sell oils and fragrances. The salesman spent a litte time talking about the properties of these essences and products and then we were given an opportunity to buy something.

CAIRO MUSEUM
Later in the afternoon we went to the Cairo Museum. Our guide Mohammed teaches school and has a degree in Egyptology. Dispite being a little pushy he was very knowledgable in this subject. I learned alot from him and he was very good at it.

Housed in the museum is the entire collection of Tutankamen's treasures including his shoes, underwear and socks. We spent quite a little time looking at these objects while listening to Mohammed tell about it and answering all our questions.
One of three coffins of Tutankamen (this one is housed at the Cairo Museum) Apparently Tutankamen died when he was nineteen years old allegedly from a fall when he was thrown from his carriage and hurt his leg. The leg got infected in a few days and he died from it a little while later.

At an early age he married but the union never produced children and therefore no heir.

There are many stories swirling around about Tutankmen's life and early death. All I know is that his father in law was the pharoah Akhenaten. Some say Akhenaten was his father and he married his sister. How he became pharoah is unknown after Akhenaten died and is a great mystery. He inherited the gold of many generations of kings and emperors. That is why there was so much gold in his possessions and in his tomb. He had gold thrones, chariots, jewelry etc: I find the whole subject of King Tut very interesting, but to come right down to it not much is known about his life. Most of what we find in books is guess work, conjecture, theory and just plain made-up stuff. I guess we will never know unless something is found.

ROYAL MUMMIES
After listening to Mohammed talk about Tutankamen for awhile we were asked if we would like to see the royal mummies. It costs extra to go there. I decided to go because I felt that I would probably never get the change again. The room where these mummies are kept is at a very low temperature. These are the mummies that reside in this cooled room; Ramsese 2, Hapshepsut Seti 1 and a few more that I don't have the names of at the moment. I'll have to do some research.
After this we swept through the rest of the vast collection of artifacts in the museum. There is no way you can take it all in in a few hours.

One little snippet of information Mohammed gave while we were there was, "when a pharoah's beard is curled on a statue it means that the artifact was made after his death. If the beard is straight on a statue or relief, it means that is was made during the lifetime of the pharoah".

PAPYRUS DEMONSTRATION

Demonstration on making paper from papyrus We drove around for quite awhile then went to a place where they showed a demonstration on how a primitive form of paper is made from papyrus. After the paper is made an artist comes along and paints a picture on it. People are selling these all over the place in Egypt. I bought quite a few of them in an Egyptian store where I live. I like them.

BACK TO THE HOTEL

After a full day of touring we were on our way back to our hotels. We were all staying at different hotels. Since my hotel was the furthest away it took me the longest time to get back. The traffic was terrible since the next day was the start of Ramadan and people were out en-mass trying to get to their families. This is the custom in Egypt. When I finally got back to the hotel I was tired but not too hungry. I walked passed the dining room where they had all kinds of food spead out. I went to my room and took a shower and laid out all the clothes I would be wearing the next day and went to bed and fell immediately to sleep and then woke up at one am. The alarm went off at one thirty. I got ready and was in the lobby by two forty-five. The front desk gave me a boxed breakfast which I ate while sitting in the lobby waiting for the van. Shortly after that the van came. I got in and we were off to collect the other tourists at their various other hotels then we were off to the airport.

ON THE PLANE (Egypt Air)

Once we were on the plane the pilot came over the inner-com and announced that there was a delay of about a half hour. He didn't mention what it was. So we waited a half hour and then flew out of Cairo...destination Luxor.