The Rest of Egypt...

Once again, sorry these are all jumbled!


Muhammed Ali's Mosque

The entrance area to Muhammed's Mosque

In side the his mosque

The new library of Alexander the Great

Side-street in Alexandria

The Mediterranean

One of the mosques in the citadel

Once again, the inside area of a mosque- so beautiful

Good ol' Sphinxy

Cairo city sunset

The Nile running through the city

St. George's Cathedral in Coptic Cairo

The Hanging Church in Coptic Cairo

Entrance to the 'Step' Pyramid

I couldn't help it :)

View from the highway of Giza

Giza

Due to lack of time, and probably boredom on the readers part, I am going to condense the last five days into one to the best of my ability.
Sunday (Day 3) was the day of pryamids! Kelsey and I tended to do our own thing without the touristy stuff, but seeing that transport to the pyramids is a little tricky we took our hostel up on a deal to have a tour of Memphis, Saqqara and Giza. Our guide's name was Hendt and she was so sweet. She took us first to Memphis then Saqqara and we ended at Giza. Seeing all the amazing structure and architectural feats that I have read and learned about for years was slightly surreal. I just couldn't believe that I was standing in front of something so massive, magnificent and historical. But the desert was a lot closer to the city than I imagined, and you can actually see three pyramids in Giza from the highway. There was a lot of tourist-happenings going on all around so it kind of took away from the moment, but it was incredible all the same. All in all, it was so wonderful and it still doesn't seem real that I was able to see them. It was funny, because after that great 'historical' experience we headed back to the hostel and right across the street was a McDonald's. Neither Kelsey nor I eat there back home, but lacking meat and potatoes in Ghana, it sounded like a delicacy. Who would have thunk? We then perused the streets and walk along the Nile. It was such a pretty time of day and nice to just walk in cool weather.
Monday, Kelsey, myself, and then a girl we had met the day before who was traveling by herself ventured to the Egyptian Antiquities Museum. In the museum were a large portion of the artifacts retrieved from the tombs and surrounding areas in Egypt. This included the mask of Tutankhamen, mummies, statues, jewelry, pots and everything in between. All of Tutankhamen's artifacts were all I imagined and more. Once again, standing in front of artifacts and the bodies of so many people I had studied was unbelievable. The museum was so huge and full of so many things to see, it was almost overwhelming. Once we got our fill of Egyptian artifacts, we just grabbed some dinner and treated ourselves to the new Indiana Jones movie. The theater was beautiful, yet a little odd to be watching an American movie in Egypt, with Arabic subtitles.
Tuesday was probably one of my favorite days. Kelsey and I had bought train tickets to go for a day trip in Alexandria. The train ride was about 2 and a half hours and so, so, so much fun!! It was great to travel in a different way besides tro-tro, van, or plane. Being able to see the country side outside of the city was really neat, and to my surprise, when we got off the train, it was even a little cooler there. It then hit me that it was that way because Alexandria gets a nice see breeze because it sits on the Mediterranean Sea! I have never seen anything like it. The water was incredible and I could see have this was an attraction for travelers from afar a long time ago. Alexander knew what was up. The original library of Alexander the Great actually burnt down sometime ago, but they have created a brand new one with several interesting exhibits. We went and walked around in the library for a while, walked around the city and along the water and then had a wonderful dinner at a little restaurant. The city itself was much calmer than Cairo and I enjoyed the buildings and sights so much.
Wednesday, Kelsey and I went to the Citadel, which encompasses several mosques, including that of Muhammed, considered one of the last and greatest prophets in Muslim beliefs. Once again, the architecture in each place knocked me completely off my feet. I could have stayed there for hours on end just thinking, looking and looking some more. The mosques had been turned into a governmental place where there was still some worship held there, but mostly it was for tourism. Muhammed's tomb was even in the central part of his mosque. Everything there was just so astounding and incredible. After that, we had heard of this incredible mall that held everything you could imagine Starbucks, so we decided to check it out for kicks. Again, it was so crazy being in a place like this, because it was so westernized and I don't think Kelsey or I were really ready for that. But none the less, a cup of coffee in my hand has never tasted so good. We ate at a Mexican place and were happier than little clams after NOT eating rice! haha.

Then Thursday came along and it was our last day. Our flight left later in the afternoon so we went back to Khan-El-Khalili for some last minute meandering and ate at this fantastic pancake house. We got one that was kind of like a pizza and then another with honey and nuts...yum!! Then we got our stuff because we had to leave the hostel by a certain time and headed to the airport to wait out our remaining time. To our glorious surprise, we were able to have one last cup of coffee and even a Cinna-bon! wooo!! Our flight back was safe and even though Egypt was such a wonderful experience, I can't tell you how good it felt to be back in Ghana. Being away from Ghana for that time made me realize the things I love about it and that I will miss so much when I leave. I feel so comfortable here and there is nothing like coming home to a place where your family missed you too. I can't even think about leaving them now- they are all so wonderful and have truly become my family in my heart (as cheesy as that sounds).

But, sadly, Rachel left on Saturday (my roommate) as well as almost the majority of my program. This marks the last part of my journey here in Ghana. I leave for Ho tomorrow and will be there for four weeks. It's going to be a lot different from my time here in Legon, but I know it will be great all the same. I will probably not blog, or if I do not as much, while I'm there because of lack of internet situation, but who knows.

I miss everyone so much and I hope all is well wherever you may be. Take care to all.