EGYPT  2001:

After a much needed rest to reduce the effects of jet lag, we were on our way the next day for some sightseeing.  That morning we met our guide who was to be with us for the entire trip.  His name is Fathy Yehia, an Egyptologist and curator of the Egyptian Museum.  The first place Fathy took us was the famous Mohammed Ali Alabaster Mosque.  When our group reached the entrance of the Mosque, everyone was asked to take their shoes off in respect of the Islamic religion.  Two of the girls in our group were asked to wear some kind of long green covers because too much of their arms or legs were exposed.  We all sat in a circle on the beautifully hand made carpet and listened to Fathy explain the practice of the Islamic religion.  He explained the daily life of a Muslim and how they prayed around five times a day.  He told us many very interesting details that I cannot remember about the washing practices, fasting, diet, and separation of men and women in the Islamic religion.  At this time I realized that Fathy was extremely knowledgeable and full of many facts and details.  If I would have known this in advance, I would have packed a small hand held tape recorder and many tapes.

The next stop on our trip was the Cairo Egyptian Museum.  This museum is so large and full of artifacts that a person could spend weeks in there and not see everything.  We only had a few hours inside, so we missed the majority of the stuff.  I understand though, because our schedule of events was so full of things to see that we had to sacrifice spending a long time in one place.  After all, we only had two weeks to see almost all of Egypt.  From working at the museum, our guide Fathy seemed to know just about everything there is to know about everything in the museum.  Too bad I didn't have a tape recorder.

Below are the pictures from the Mohammed Ali Mosque and the Cairo Egyptian Museum.  The pictures show the beauty of the architecture of the Mosque.  Note the picture of the group going through the metal detector upon entering the museum.  This picture is very common in any tourist site in Egypt.  If there were no metal detectors, we were asked to open our bags so armed security guards could go digging through them to look for weapons.  I understand that the Egyptian government is very careful when it comes to the security of the tourists because tourism is a very large part of Egypt's income.  The last few pictures are of the famous King Tut display.