All is well here in Egypt. Days have been long and intense work, but it makes the wonder of the experiences all the better.
The students are really good sports, even after 12 hour days of hiking,
crawling through tombs, fending off aggressive vendors, and wrestling
with gurgling stomachs. It is balanced by the mind-blowing sights and
experiences. Art students are the best travelers! When photos are not
allowed--often, especially in tombs & pyramids--many people sketch
what they see. They're always taking notes.
Last night, as we were exploring the Luxor temple, I looked up in
appreciation for making it through a hard day. Just then, a shooting
star crossed the sky! No one else in the group saw it, but a little
girl across the plaza jumped up and down and cheered.
We just returned from a sunrise sail over Upper Egypt in a hot air
balloon. After visiting Karnak this afternoon, we embark on our Nile
cruise. It will be great to sleep in past 6am!
We have an amazing guide, Amany. She is tremendously knowledgeable on
ancient history, but also offers perspectives on modern society as
well. It's been great for us to have both. Especially with a group of
15 girls.
Some experiences we've had are so off-the-beaten path. We "negotiated"
with some folks to let us explore sites that are not open to the
public. We hiked the mountain between the workers' village and Kings'
Valley in Der El Medina. We climbed through hills and hills of broken
pottery in an ancient labyrinth. We rode through Middle Egyptian
villages along the way. Amany said that some of those places haven't
seen a bus in maybe ten years, and in some villages, we had police
escorts and/or a convoy of vehicles surrounding our group.
Of course, we've also enjoyed more traditionally touristy things that
are just as amazing! Crawling through the great pyramid at Giza, riding
camels to the second, visiting the Sphinx, even (some) hookah smoking
in Cairo.
I mentioned this in an earlier post, but one of the most mind-blowing
realizations is that everything was in vivid color, not this sandy
stone color that I've always assumed! Some of the tombs look like they
were painted yesterday. Blues, yellows, intricate detail and textures.
Even the stones used to build temples and pyramids were black basalt,
red granite, or white limestone. I'm sure descriptions do not do it
justice. I wish pictures were allowed!
- Mb