The Sights and Sounds of Egypt

We've been here in Egypt for a little over a week now.  About half of our time was spent in Cairo and the other, slightly larger half here in Luxor.  The heat this time of the year is stupendous and some monuments we've visited are listed among the hottest places in the world!  Egypt itself has a very well developed tourist infrastructure.  In fact it's so well developed that it's hard to catch much else going on in the country other than in Cairo.  

The Pyramids of Giza are located just outside of Cairo, and it's hard to believe just how close the suburbs of the city have come.  It's also hard to believe that you're there when you're there, and they are truly amazing to see.  The other big stop in Cairo is the Egyptian Museum which is more of a stock pile of unlabeled and fascinating ancient artifacts.  The best thing to see there (and the only thing actually cared for) are the mummies.  Well worth the extra US$ 20.

Luxor is the ancient capital of Egypt (or at least for a while) and there are truly spectacular ruins and tombs to see here.  The Valley of the Kings is probably #1 on the travel site list but I found Deir el-Bahri to be nearly as amazing as the pyramids themselves.  Medinat Habu was another very interesting stop and our last on the West Bank here was the Colossi of Menmom (spelling?) that I can't seem to find the link to at the moment.

We were lucky to find a good taxi driver that took us to see the exact places we requested.  Of course, this wasn't without some hassle from a guide and a bunch of people claiming to be our driver's brother (also happened to be filling in for him).  Sure enough, our driver was always exactly where he said he would be.

Not much else to report other than I've made friends with the guys at the local internet cafe playing Fifa (a soccer video game).  Off to Sinai tonight to start some more diving tomorrow!  I'm hoping to complete an advanced course so I will be able to have guided dives to 30 meters (100 feet).  Hurray!

Adios.