I'm here, and for the first time in three days, I have internet access! This trip has been amazing.
I flew into Cairo, got in around noon, then we drove out to the Mena House to check in. This hotel is right next to (as in RIGHT next to) the pyramid complex at Giza. That night, we walked from the Mena House through a village to a restaurant, about 20 minutes each way of concentrated Egypt to get us acclimated. The people are incredibly friendly, and my arabic is getting better.
We went to Shakkara the next day and actually went all the way into the step pyramid, the oldest of the pyramids. We stayed until after dark with special dispensation, and it was fascinating to hear the call to prayer as we came up out of the pyramid, drifting across the desert.
Yesterday we got into the Giza complex before dawn with special permission and watched the sun come up while sitting on the burial complex in front of the second pyramid. We then spent an hour or so at the Sphinx, actually touching it and getting up close and personal. The roman-period restoration and the original construction is very striking.
Last night, we got onto a train at the El Giza station in Cairo and took sleeper cars across the country to Aswan, where we arrived this morning. I'm at the Movenpick hotel on an island across from Aswan at the moment. We'll be sailing to a temple in a couple hours.
I'll have pictures up soon, this is astonishingly great!
