Look how big Michael's feet are getting!

For those of you who read this blog simply to hear about our adventures, you might want to skip this one.

You will not BELIEVE how long Michael's feet have become! I have a size 9 foot...here is his compared to mine:





He's going to be ten years old in a few weeks. Where does the time go?

Yallah! (The Great Pyramids and the Sphinx)

It was the day we'd been discussing, planning for and dreaming about for over a year...the day we would finally go to see the Great Pyramids in Egypt. It was the fulfillment of a promise made to our children when we told them we were moving overseas, a promise likely on the same scale as the Obama's White House dog promise.

We started the day out with barely disguised excitement. That same excitement was reined in pretty quickly when our tour guide announced in van that we would be making the Pyramids and Sphinx our last stop of the day, due to hazy air that morning. Better for pictures, he declared. The effect it had on the boys was like taking a pin to a couple of balloons. We could add another lesson learned to the list...never wake a child up with the words, "This morning we get to see the Pyramids!" unless you are absolutely certain you will be going that morning!

Later that day as we made our way through the horrible Cairo traffic toward the Giza area, our guide asked if we wanted to ride horses to get to the Pyramids. The horses would take the long way, over the dunes and come up behind the Pyramids - rather than the van dropping us off in parking lot in front. We felt the only thing that could make this experience even more memorable would be riding the horses: we HAD to do it. Tom and Dolly had enough horse rides in Petra, so they opted for a carriage ride instead.

We were taken to the stables to negotiate a deal. While Steve bargained long and hard to get a price we were willing to pay, I took a good look around. The "stables" were under the homes of the horse owners. It somewhat reminded me of the Kvande's home in Maryland, where the garage was under their townhouse. Instead of storing junk or parking a car, the Egyptians who were fortunate enough to live close to the Pyramids had the foresight to buy horses and stable them in their "garage," where they could make big bucks renting them to tourists. There was tack hanging on the walls, the mixed scent of hay and "road apples" in the hot stale air, and a thick layer of dust covering everything. Outside the stable, horses and carriages were being lined up in an adjacent empty lot. Beggars, including a woman holding an infant, mingled amongst us. It was crowded, dirty, chaotic, and not at all unlike a scene from a third world country.

Once we were finally off, we had a blast! A man and a teenage boy walked along side of us, grabbing the horses when necessary and giving us the world's shortest horse riding lesson. "Yallah," along with a quick jerk of the reins and a light kick to the horse's ribs meant GO! in Arabic. Pulling the reins to one side or other was the steering. We had no idea how to stop, but it didn't matter because the horses seemed to know where they were going!

We took it slow and easy as we wound through the streets to the sand dunes. Now and then along the way, "entrepreneurs" would offer the boys already opened bottles of orange soda, presumably as gifts, then demand payment once they were drank. Shoeless children in dirty clothes occasionally ran along side of us, calling out ever word in English they could think of (thankfully nice words). We finally came to something that resembled a crude security gate, and after a couple of armed guards checked our backpacks, we entered the fenced, sandy expanse.

YALLAH! YALLAH! YALLAH! The boys took turns getting the horses going. It didn't matter who yelled it...all the horses took off at the signal. It was impossible to take pictures during our trek over the dunes: I couldn't take my hands off the horn(?) of the saddle for fear of the horse unexpectedly responding to a YALLAH!

(Just a side note: As I have said before, I was really disappointed with all the trash that was in this area behind the Pyramids, out of view from most of the busloads of tourists. When I look at the pictures we did manage to snap from horseback, the sand looks pristine and rubbish free. I'm not sure what's up with that, but at least it doesn't look like we were galloping through a dump. )




After about 45 minutes on the horses, we noticed that Jake was really rubbing at his eyes. Thinking it was sanding blowing in them, we gave him some sunglasses to wear. Taking the glasses off later, we were shocked to discover that his eyes were now very swollen. It never dawned us to that his allergies to dogs/cats would extend to horses as well. As miserable as he looked and probably felt, you would have never known it by the smile on his face.


As we got closer to the actual pyramids, we noticed that they are not smooth anymore, except for a small section at the top. They were made of stacked blocks, obviously, but then covered with clay or something that gave them a smooth finish. Time and nature have reduced the outside to loose looking blocks. Here is a close up of the smooth top contrasted with the lower, rubble-like bottom. It's also a very good example how just how massive these monuments are!


We continued on, making our way over the rolling dunes to the "tourist" area. Eventually we met up with Steve's parents, and they kept me company on the outside while Steve and the boys actually went down inside one of the pyramids! Call me claustrophobic, but there was no way I was about to go inside. Turns out the only thing I missed out on was bragging rights: They said it was very hot, smelly and cramped (they had to crouch most of the way in, especially Steve). Not only that, but when they got to the end of the passage, there was absolutely NOTHING there to see, just an empty room. Still, let it be said that it was an experience that made a huge impact on the boys - so much so that the experience of going inside the pyramid was the very first thing Jacob wrote in his journal when he returned to school!

On a side note...we were given tickets at the stable to go down inside once we got to the pyramid. It turned out that they weren't the right tickets (imagine that!), and we needed a special tickets for that. Unfortunately, the special ticket booth was at the front gate which was quite a distance from the site and we wouldn't be able to make it back before closing time. Desperate to fulfill his promise to the boys of going inside, Steve begged and pleaded with the ticket takers to let them in. Begging and pleading didn't cut it, but a discreetly passed wad of Egyptian pounds did the trick! Oh, the joys of traveling in third world countries!

There are MANY pyramids in Egypt, but the three biggest are here with the Sphinx . The Sphinx? According to Wikipedia, The Great Sphinx of Giza is a statue of a reclining lion with a human head that stands on the Giza Plateau on the west bank of the Nile, near modern-day Cairo in Egypt. It is the largest monolith statue in the world, standing 73.5 m (241 ft) long, 6 m (20 ft) wide, and 20 m (65 ft) high. It is the oldest known monumental sculpture, and is commonly believed to have been built by ancient Egyptians in the third millennium BCE. The Great Sphinx faces due east and houses a small temple between its paws.

Because of the two hour horse ride and the late start in the day at the site, we didn't get to spend as much time as we would have liked exploring the temple under the Sphinx. We ended up seeing so many temples later in the trip that it probably would have just gotten lost among the memories anyway. We did take a few minutes to dash through it and pause for some pictures before being chased out at closing time.

There are few vacations that we will ever make that will rival the experience we had that afternoon. It really was a once in a lifetime trip, and we are so thankful to have been able to have had the opportunity to go.

Walk Like an Egyptian

Egypt. I've spent a few months putting off writing this post, trying to think of a way to write it without giving a negative impression of a very cool trip.

It was by far the most fantastic trip we have been on as a family, but it just didn't knock my socks off. Yes, the sites were amazing - everything you imagined them to be, and then some. The weather was perfect - very mild and no rain. The tour guides were knowledgeable and all the connections were smooth. Overall, it's hard to argue that it was anything but a great trip. Yet at the end of the day Egypt, and in particular Cairo, ended up being one of those places that I'm glad I visited but never want to go back to.

I suppose the bad taste in my mouth came down to a number of things. We went to Jordan first, where we absolutely fell in love with Jordan. The people had a laid back, genuine friendliness that was refreshing. Tourism is only beginning to develop there and in our opinion still had an air of innocence about it. Sure, our driver would stop for bathroom breaks at obvious "tourist stops" with souvenir stores, but absolutely no one pestered us to buy anything. Egypt, on the other hand, was practically overrun by tourists and has been for decades. The beggars, souvenir merchants and "helpful unsolicited guides" were pushy, desperate and in a sense ugly. The open palm was everywhere: anyone who took a picture for you or opened a gate or gave directions...drivers, boat captains, tour guides...all expected and sometimes even demanded substantial tips. It was like going from a quaint, small town atmosphere where you are shown around by your relatives... to a large crowded city where few take the time to ask your name and you are accosted on every corner by panhandlers.


I was also quite disturbed at the way that the Egyptians are managing the their treasures. There was a fair amount of trash around the Great Pyramid site in Cairo, particularly coming in the back way over the dunes on the horses. Flash photography was allowed nearly everywhere we went, inside and out. The Egyptian Museum, despite housing priceless King Tut artifacts and other ancient pieces large and small, was very run down and dirty. It was said that if one slips the guards some cash on the side, they would allow you to touch some of the King Tut stuff! Many of the temples and other structures have been dug out of the sand and opened to the public with no plan in place as to how to preserve the hieroglyphics from the elements. There is an unfathomable amount of tourist money pouring in daily. Not even a portion of it appears to be going back into the maintenance and preservation of these things. And judging from the looks of the homes we saw, the money doesn't appear to be going back to the Egyptian people either.


Finally, I'd have to say that the food situation in Egypt was less than desirable. As I said before, we had just spent five days in Jordan before going to Egypt. While we enjoy Middle Eastern food, it was definitely beginning to all look and taste the same. Not only that, we had been told by many sources that everyone who goes to Egypt gets sick, aside from a few rare cases. And I mean really, really sick. Memorable sick. Wish you were dead sick. Foods to avoid included uncooked vegetables, fruits that could not be peeled, ice, any drinks that were not bottled or canned or boiled, ice cream , street food, and probably more I can't remember. Although we were desperate to eat something other than the "safe for tourist buffets," we were to afraid to. Personally, I was most worried about the kids. Turned out that the boys only ate bananas and bread for eight days, and it was the adults that got sick. Thankfully, we didn't succumb until the very last day and the worst of it came once we were back in Saudi. Nonetheless, the inability to try new and interesting foods in a foreign country was a damper for "foodies" like us.

All of that said, are we glad we went? ABSOLUTELY. It's something that should be on any one's "bucket list." And it's only fair to say that there were things that we very much enjoyed about Egypt, such as the playful waiter on the Nile cruise ship that presented Michael with puzzles/brain teasers at every meal. And the delightful driver of the horse cart in Luxor that told us about his family.

This coming week I'll write a up a couple more posts about some of the specific places in Egypt that we enjoyed. Until then, here is one of our favorite quote from a guide in Cairo:

You have Memphis, TN and Elvis.
We have Memphis, Egypt and Ramses.
No difference: we both have a King.

Moving into Mundane

I realized this morning that it's been well over a month since I've posted anything but pictures. Mostly, nothing interesting or new has inspired me to write. I suppose this is a sort of milestone in our adventures here. Or maybe I'm just in a rut. I'd like to believe the former, that we have settled into ordinary life here.

What have we been doing that could be considered "ordinary" in Saudi Arabia? Probably the same thing you've been doing: Working, going to school, laundry, meals, parenting, laughing and loving. Everyday life seems to be the same, no matter what your zip code is.

I've been trying to incorporate more structure and routine into my days and hopefully once the kids are back to school on Saturday (they've been off since March 25) I will get my muse back. We just returned from a week at the beach in the United Arab Emirates and I have some thoughts on that relaxing trip. I still have drafts about the Camel Market in Hofuf, the rest of the Egypt trip, and Skinny Cats. And Steve has started a post as a guest contributor about our evening with the Bedouins in Wadi Rum (Jordan).

So now, if you will excuse me, there's a huge basket of clean laundry to fold sitting beside me and I've got to figure out something for dinner tonight...