Siwaaaaaaat? Oasis

We took a weekend to go to the Siwa Oasis.
See it on the map???

If you are ever in Egypt... we highly suggest taking a weekend trip to Siwa.  It is totally worth it.  It was probably the greatest trip Andrew and I have ever done.

We left right after Friday church and drove 10 hours to get there.  We could have walked to the Libyan border, but to reduce the risk of being sex trafficked or kidnapped by terrorists, we stayed at our camp.  And a great camp it was!!!  We were with a Bedouin tribe in the middle of nowhere.
We all sat on the ground inside this huge tent and ate delicious food, and then they threw us a party at 2 am with lots of music, dancing, and tea.
And then, we slept under the stars.  GAAAAAAAAH, those stars!!!!!!!!!!  I can't even begin to use words to describe it.  It was the clearest night sky I have ever seen in my life.
Just try to imagine being in the middle of the Western Sahara Desert, where there is no pollution, haze, or lights.... we could see every single star in the universe.  Ok, I'm exaggerating, but you get the point?  Seriously though.  Every star.
We couldn't sleep because we were all so in love with the sky.

Anyways, we woke up, got into our Safari jeeps and took off to play in the natural springs, see the ruins in Siwa town, and ride the dunes of the great sand sea.  Really.  Best trip ever.

And here is a serious picture overload.  Good luck.

Inside our tent.  And there's Becca, taking a nap.  Don't let her fool you though, she slept outside under the stars too!

The outside.  Clearly the inside is much more lively and colorful.

The natural hot spring at our camp.  The Bedouins bathe in it every morning.

Campsite!

Our lil' Safari Jeep!

Jumping into Cleopatra's Bath, the most famous Oasis in Siwa!  It's ancient people!!!

Us, being naked.

The ancient Temple where Alexander the Great came and was told by the oracle that he was the son of God. Pretty cool if you ask me.....

Dare devils!

The city of Siwa, and part of the ancient fortress.

MegAndy on top of the Mountain of the Dead... all of those holes below us are tombs in the ground.  We found bones and everything.

Inside one of the tombs at the Mountain of the Dead.

Just us, our jeeps, and the great Sand Sea!

I bought that shirt for $5.  It is an XXL, and the sun has faded the color in some spots, but I am in love with it.

This is our jeep pointing straight down.  Literally.  I thought we were going to die more than once on that ride.  Those dunes are steeeeeeeeep.

This is not a mirage.  That's a lake.  In the middle of the DESERT.

Andrew, sandboarding down a ginormous dune.  The second time he went, he got going so fast that he crashed into the sand at the bottom.... he's had a scab and a black and blue and purple eye for about 2 weeks now.  He is proud of his battle scar.

This is me, and the Western Sahara Desert.

The perfect sunset to end the perfect day.

We love you, Siwa!

M.

Picture Post: The pics you've all been waiting for.

"Man fears time, but time fears-- THE PYRAMIDS."

[Actual quote from the super tacky Sound and Light show the Pyramids put on every night...]

I've been hearing horror stories about the Giza Pyramids for a few months. 

They're not even that big.
You'll be attacked by men trying to scam you and take your money!
It's too hot!
I didn't like them... they were underwhelming.

While all of those things may or may not be true, my personal Pyramid experience was one for the books.
It was PERFECT.

The weather was the coolest it had been for weeks.  I never once broke a sweat or needed water and there were dozens of clouds dotting the sky- that's right- clouds!  In Cairo!?!!

We went on a Friday and late in the afternoon near closing time, so there were barely any people there, tourists and merchants and camel drivers alike.  Who can beat having a tourist attraction like the Pyramids all to yourself??

We had a nice, long camel ride and paid a decent price for it too.  The only downfall was that one of the camels was rabid, but that's another story for another post.  Oh, and my crotch hurt for 3 days- riding those things was terrifying so I must have had a death grip with my thighs trying to stay on.  Man, was I soooore.

I think they size of the Sphinx and the Pyramids was just right.  The 4th grader inside me who once dreamed of seeing the Pyramids in real life could not have been happier.
Alhamdulillah.

Here's the fun we had:

Good weather, good times, and good friends, what more could we have asked for??

Here's to more adventures.  Cheers,

M.

Luxor Trip

A few weekends ago, the +50 peeps in our study abroad group made a mass exodus to visit the ancient city of Luxor and it's surrounding tourist attractions. 
It was great.

Here's the proof.  (Please note- blogger takes 4 EV ER to load my pics, SO if you're dying to see the pleathora of shots we captured from our trip, feel free to look on facebook ...or add me on facebook if we aint frenz yet.)

First stop... the Temple of Karnak

Together in the Karnak ruins

The Luxor Temple

A felucca ride down the Nile.

The Colossi of Memnon

Ramesseum Temple (my personal favorite.)

Valley of the Kings

Al-Deir Al-Bahari Temple

Last stop- Hurgada for some more Red Sea fun.

It was a great trip couple of days and I thoroughly enjoyed the sites we visited, even in the 105 degree weather.  I wish we could have gone to Aswan and Elephantine Island, but we'll save those for the next time we're in Egypt.  When YOU come to Egypt, I highly recommend touring Luxor, but make sure to plan accordingly- we were up at 6am everyday trying to hit the sites before the hellish heat really turned on by 10 or 11.  I think I would have loved it even more if we came in the cooler season and had more time/energy to really explore our surroundings.  Still, what a great trip!  

Happy travels,

M.