EGYPT, DAY 1
			Tuesday, February 18
			12:45 AM - Well, we are now in Cairo.  More specifically, Giza.  Our flight lasted around 2 hours and Josh, Mary Catherine and I were fortunate enought to have seats in the emergency exit, thus providing a very comfortable flight and ample legroom.  Anyway, when we left Athens it was very cold, rainy and windy.  When we stepped off the plane at Cairo International Airport, we were greeted with an outside temperature of 22 degrees Celsius (that's roughly 72 F)!  Keep in mind that it was 10:30 pm.  So, we all immediately liked Egypt.  As we entered into the arrivals portion of the airport we were suddenly in the midst of a frenzy.  The Haj, the pilgramage to Mecca, had just ended the day before, so the airport was filled with the returning Muslims.  It was definitely a shock to be suddenly in chaos, with all kinds of people milling about with their Eastern garb on and guards posted with submachine guns.  It felt a little unnerving to be in a clump of 58 Americans right in the middle of it too, but we finally collected our bags and made our way to the buses for the ride to the hotel.  One of our guides, Harry (doubt that's his real name) told us a bit about Egypt on the way.  He was a riot and probably would have a decent future in the stand-up business.  He cracked more jokes than anything else, but did provide some interesting insights into the country.  Egypt is 80% Muslim and 20% Christian and is the second most populated city in the world, with 18 million people living in an area of 1,600 square miles.  Because of this, it is also the second most polluted city in the world.  The main road, Sala Salem, runs 45 km from the Airport to the feet of the pyramids at Giza and is the longest road in the country.  Our hotel, the 5 star Movenpick Resort, is located just 200 meters from the pyramids, which can be seen through the massive dining room windows.  It is the most awesome hotel I have ever been in.  Our rooms are bungalows and are very well furnished.  Right now, Bolls, Markos, Daniel and I are sitting on our porch and enjoying the slight breeze and full moon.  After we finish our journals, we are going to play a game of cards before we hit the hay.  Our wake-up call is at 7:00 and we will visit the Egyptian Museum and the Great Pyramids at Giza.  Then after dark we will return for a laser light show in front of the Sphinx.  That's all for now...
		9:20 PM - Today was incredible.  Daniel and I woke up around 7:30 and the breakfast was phenomenal.  This is truly a 5-star resort.  I looked on the back of the door and the rate per night for our room is listed as $240 US, not including meals.  I don't know what kind of rate Harding pulled off, but I do know that this is definitely a once in a lifetime trip-- I will most likely never be able to come here again.  The sites we are seeing are unbelievable and our guides are so professional and insightful, and best of all, we don't have to do any planning or thinking for ourselves.  We can just go with the flow and trust that they have it all under control.  After breakfast, we headed to the museum, which houses and enormous collection of mummies, statues and artifacts from ancient Egypt.  The most awesome section had to have been the first floor, which is dedicated to Tutankhamun-- King Tut.  He was one of the most insignificant pharoahs ever, yet his posessions are world famous.  The amount of gold in the tomb was unbelievable.  His sarcophagus alone is made up of 300 lb of solid gold!  His body was found behind at least 4 or 5 walls covered in gold and everything he was buried with in the 14th century BC was still intact and undisturbed upon its discovery in 1922. The outer rooms of the exhibit are filled with the more than 1700 items found in his tomb in the Valley of the Kings.  Just inside the entrance are a pair of identical life-sized statues of the young pharoah, carved in wood and painted black (the guy was pretty puny if you ask me).  Anyway, further in were Tut's golden throne, royal chariot, and sheets of papyrus with ancient hieroglyphics on them, all of which were very impressive.  Finally, we came to the end of the exhibit, where inside of a large, dark room where Tut's three sarcophagi and death mask are on display.  The 25 pound mask and massive sarcophagus were more incredible than pictures can capture.  Anyway, the rest of the museum was impressive as well.  In a room dedicated to the Old Kingdom of Egypt sits a larger than life statue of Chephren, the builder of the second pyramid in Giza.  Next to the statue is a carving of Ka-Aper, which is made entirely of one piece of sycamore wood.  It is the oldest wooden statue in the world.  Actually, it is probably safe to say that everything in that museum is the oldest of its kind in the world, since the Egyptian empire dates back 5,000 years.  Another impressive exhibit was the room of Aken-Aton, which housed the giant statues of Amenhotep and his queen, both interestingly enough carved to be the same size.  Aken-Aton was the Pharoah who was monotheistic and tried to change the face of Egyptian religion.  Also in the room was a large stone which mentioned, in hieroglyphics, the Isrealite people.  Some believe that Aken-Aton's notions of one god came from Abraham and his descendents.  Anyway, before heading out we saw some mummies, (one of which is the oldest ever found) and then got on the bus for the ride to lunch.
				The ride to lunch was interesting.  On the highway, we came to a stop and to our amazement, cars in front of us actually turned around and were heading against the direction of traffic.  We were remarking among ourselves just how crazy the drivers in Egypt are, and we finally saw the cause of the hold-up.  A truck filled with cigarettes somehow caught fire and the smokes were burning all over the road.  People were getting out of their cars to help the unfortunate driver, who was crying because it was probably a couple of months of income burning away before his eyes.  After the fire was extinguished, we made our way to lunch and then on to the pyramids at Giza.  The weather was gorgeous, however to our amusement the locals were wearing heavy coats while we were in t-shirts.  I guess it was cold for them.  Anyway, the pyramids were monstrous--much larger than I expected.  They took over 20 years to build, with the Egyptians working on them only during the summer months when the Nile flooded, leaving them without work.  The massive structures were built for one purpose--to honor the Pharoah, who at that time was revered as a god.  The site has three main pyramids.  The largest, dedicated to Cheops, is made up of an estimated two and a half million stones, each weighing an average of 3 tons!  That is enough rock to build a 10 foot high wall around all of France!  The pyramid of Cheops is also the only man-made wonder of the world left today.  The second pyramid, almost the same size as the first, stands 137 meters high and was made by the Pharoah Chephren.  The unique part of Chephren's pyramid is the limestone covering which still remains at the pinnacle of the structure.  The smooth outer shell originally covered the entire pyramid, giving it a gleaming look; however, the limestone was stripped away when later Egyptians used it to build their mosques and palaces.  The third and less significant of the three is that of Mycerinus, which is the only pyramid on the site with an open entrance down into its caverns.  The atmosphere was nearly spoiled, however, by all of the annoying peddlers on camels who relentlessly tried to sell us their trinkets or take pictures of us for a tip.  They would go so far as to get in our pictures until we acknowledged them in some cases and were really quite a nuisance.  But, the pyramids were incredible and are a memory i will not soon forget.  After a short stay, we drove around the site where we could see the Sphinx, the part lion, part cobra, part Pharoah which was meant to guard the tombs and scare away grave robbers.  It was very cool, but much smaller than I pictured.  Before we left the complex at Giza, we all had a chance to ride a camel for about 15 minutes, which was pretty crazy.  Our next stop was at a Bazaar, where many of us bought cartouches, necklaces with our names in hieroglyphics.  The day wasn't quite over.  After dark we drove back to the Sphinx, where we saw the Light and Sound show at the pyramids.  The lights were pretty cool, but the sound got pretty old after about 10 minutes.  It was narrated by a voice claiming to be the Sphinx, so that tells you a lot right there, plus it wore on for an hour.  It was great to see the pyramids again though, and I tried to soak it all in as I sat there.  I still found it hard to believe that I was sitting there, in EGYPT, in front of the PYRAMIDS!  I just feel more and more blessed as this semester goes on.  The veal buffet dinner that followed only capped off the day, and I had better get to bed.  We wake up tomorrow morning for a 4 am departure for Luxor and a 3 day cruise of the Nile!!!