I was overwhelmed....and hot! Thankfully we had our egyptologist to guide us through the maze and make sure we didn't miss any of the highlights. The only room that was semi-cool was the Mummy Room. First, they would remove the brain through the nose, then the internal organs (except the heart and kidneys) are placed into 4 separate alabaster jars with different Gods (like Horus) on them. The body is dried with salts...this entire process takes about 70 days. Queen Hatshepsut and her servant (with hair and teeth!!) are here. The next amazing section was the Tutankhamun (from now on Tut) galleries. He only ruled for 10 years and died at the age of 18. The galleries hold the contents of his tomb which was discovered in 1922. We saw the famous gold death mask....but also golden thrones, his linen underwear!, weapons and jewelry. Next, we headed to the Citadel. The outer wall was built in the 1100s and the ruling families lived here until the 1870s!! It overlooks the city and houses a couple of mosques and museums. We went into the Muhammad Ali Mosque...not that Ali! This Muhammad Ali was from Albania and ruled in the 1800s. 
We had to take off our shoes and I had to wear a green cape. 
They thought my shirt was cut a little too low in the back. When we entered one of the guards was performing the call to prayer...there were a number of men praying...but also lots of tourists walking around taking pictures. Muhammad Ali's tomb is in plain sight here as well. The mosque was beautiful...lots of stained glass and intricate carvings. 
Outside of the mosque there were some amazing views of the city.
Our final stop was the famous Khan-Al Khalili.
This is a market place that has what seems like hundreds of storefronts in a congested little area in town. There is a main street that then branches off into little alley-ways with more stores. We were given our designated areas that we should stay within....and then we were off. In Khan-Al Khalili locals sell anything: knock-off watches (Rolex, Breitling, Gucci), silver, spices and souvenirs. This bustling market has some aggressive vendors. Imagine 20 different people trying to get you into twenty different shops at once. It can be very overwhelming! They will step in front of you and ask "How can I take your money today?", block your path or grab you by the arm and try to lead you to their shop. The truth is, if we weren't harassed so much, we probably would have actually shopped in more stores. It was an experience none the less. It is still a must see if you go to Egypt. After wandering through the market place, we stopped at a coffee shop (El-Fishawy). The coffee shops are equivalent to the bars in the US. It is usually inhabited by mostly males...talking about current events. We enjoyed a couple of well deserved fruit smoothies and watched the locals smoke Sheesha (flavored tobacco out of a water pipe)....We left the market place, met with our driver and ate lunch and headed back to the Cairo Marriott. We explored the hotel shops a little and headed back to our chambers to ready ourselves for the 13 hour flight on Friday.
Egypt was a really exciting trip! It was educational, picturesque and adventurous. There was always something to do and it never rained!!! The only thing that I would change was the time of year that we chose to visit. July is the hottest month of the year. Temperatures can reach 115 - 125f!! We were fortunate that we didn't experience 125....aside from that it is a must see. I never felt endangered once, the food was tasty and the accommodations were surprisingly lavish. If you can, I would suggest a guide....They are full of information and they can navigate you through this country with a populous of 75 million. Egypt comes highly recommended.
Thanks for reading,
D&N
Last Day in Cairo.... remains copyright of the author nioke, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.
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We left the factory, after bargaing for a couple of items and headed to the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut. This temple was truly amazing (sorry pic wouldn't upload). Hatshepsut built all of her stautes complete with a beard to show her power and she ruled until she died....From here it was back to the boat for lunch and to cruise down the Nile to Esna. When we pulled into Esna the ship was bombarded by salesmen in rowboats!!! 
They were throwing items, such as Egyptian style dresses, onto the ship and asking us to buy them. People were throwing these items back and forth for at least an hour. These men tied ropes to the ship and followed us for what seemed like miles. We then cruised some more down to Edfu where we are docked for the night. We had dinner and concluded our night with bingo....most of the day was spent onboard the ship travelling....
There were tons of statues of Ramses II in this temple. He was so dedicated to his wife Nefertari that many of his statues included her at his feet.
Dwayne ended the evening by watching a belly dancer! That's it for now...tomorrow it's off to the Valley of the Kings and Queens. Sorry this post is short on details....we're exhausted!!
The statue now serves as the main exhibit in Memphis along with some more statues and a smaller sphinx. The biggest surprise to me was that most of these statues are left outside exposed to the elements. These items are priceless, but day by day the details of these works are being weathered away by rain and sand. Go figure.
... We did like two of the fragrances and managed to bargain our price down...I still think we could have done better, but I guess they cant give the stuff away.
The lines were incredibly long...there was no way we were going up for a tour. I tried to post our photos at the Tower and along the Seine but it's not working! 
