Last day in Cairo

Last night, we were told that our tour would start at 9am.  We didn't end up leaving until 10:30am!!!  So we took a really long breakfast at the hotel, half of which I am not sure what I ate.  But it was pretty good.

While we were waiting in the lobby, we overheard a girl saying to some other people that she couldn't wait to leave Egypt and complaining about her experience so far.  Michelle and I looked at each other and were like, "Debbie Downer..."  We hoped she wasn't going to be on our tour for the day. 

Well, she was.  It wasn't long before we heard about her bad experiences.  We were sorry to hear she was having a bad time, but hoped that she would make the most of the rest of her time in Egypt.  I mean, we're in EGYPT!  Enjoy it!  We were also on a tour with a family that had about 3 kids.   It was definitely a change from our day yesterday where we had our own guide!

Our tour guide for the day was named Dahlia...she was very sweet and knowledgeable.   I liked her immediately.  Our first stop of the day was the Egyptian Museum, which was pretty incredible.  I have been to the Museo Egizio in Torino, Italy (the biggest Egyptian museum after the one in Cairo), but I wasn't prepared for this one!  It was almost overwhelming.  Seeing King Tut's treasures was my favorite part.  Michelle and I opted not to see the mummies and instead decided to wander around the rest of the museum. 

After that, we went to the Citadel, which apparently no one wanted to see except me, Michelle, and the oldest daughter of the family.   Debbie Downer said it was too hot and she didn't feel well, so she didn't want to see it.  The rest of the family was tired.  Whatever, I was in Egypt and I wanted to see as much of it as I could!!  We went inside the Mosque of Muhammad Ali, where we sat inside and Dahlia told us the history behind it.  The mosque is absolutely beautiful, we were in awe.  Its courtyard is equally beautiful and it offers a nice view of Cairo below.  We went inside the Palace, where the guest bedroom was as big as my entire NYC apartment!

We then went to the Coptic area of Cairo, where we got to see the Hanging Church and Jewish Synagogue.  I really don't have much to say about either one, sorry!

Our last stop of the day was the Khan el-Khalili market, which is intense!!  I did not like it and that was the only time in Egypt when I felt uncomfortable.   The store employees are so aggressive hawking their stuff, and it gets to the point of almost annoying!  It was definitely an experience though, and I am glad that I went.

We decided to take a nap when we got to the hotel because guess what?  We had a 3:45am (yes you read that right....3:45 in the morning) flight to Athens.  Our driver was going to pick us up at 1:00am to take us to the airport!  

I enjoyed my time in Cairo, and hope to return to Egypt someday.  Next time, I want to visit Aswan, Luxor, and Alexandria!   My advice to anyone visiting Cairo is to keep an open mind and try to experience as much as you can...it was definitely a culture shock for me, but the experience and the people made it all worthwhile.