Happy Birthday, Marques Johnson. Love, Egypt.

A few months ago our friend, Marques Johnson, mentioned that he would like to meet up with us on our trip. We told him the dates that we would be in Egypt (apparently the dates that I told him were a few days off...oops!) and he booked his flight.

Three weeks ago, we received an email from Marques detailing his vision for his time in Egypt: he wanted to hit up every Hard Rock Cafe in the country. He invited us along. (We would be insane to not take up that challenge. Who wouldn't want to visit expensive American chain restaurants while traveling through foreign lands with rich culinary traditions?) Needless to say, we were up to the challenge.

Our first day in Cairo we set off to find a post office. While roaming the streets in search of an English speaker, or an expert at the game of charades, we ran into Hesham. We asked Hesham, a middle-aged watchmaker smoking on the side of the street, if he could direct us to the nearest post office. He then insisted on walking us to the post office and paying for Marques' international post stamps. He spent the rest of the day making our dreams come true: arranging for us to get motorcycle rides around the city (okay, that was just me), taking us out for a delicious lunch of falafel and chicken schwarma, and showing us where we could get the best (and cheapest) fresh-squeezed orange juice. We then parted ways for dinner. I guess he did not want to join us at the Hard Rock Cafe on the Nile. Weird.

After dinner, we called our friend that we met on the airplane (a lively Egyptian woman who insisted on having us stay with her family). We packed our bags and checked out of the hotel. After they saw Marques, however, we discovered that our overnight option was no longer possible (apparently her broken English and our limited Arabic left a lot of room for confusion). Mama Ebtesam has a 22 year old daughter and, in Islamic culture (according to her) it would be highly inappropriate for her daughter to sleep in the same household as a single man of Marques' caliber. Instead we dined with the family until the wee hours of the morning. (Egyptians are WILD: They eat lunch around 7 pm and dinner around 1 or 2 am. Children play on the streets far past midnight. Business people receive personal calls up to 3 am in the morning.)

The eldest daughter, Sara, insisted on giving Tessa and me an Egyptian make-over.

Around 3 am, we mentioned that we should probably head back to the hostel. The next day we had big plans: visit the pyramids of Giza and then head off for Dahab, a town on the Aqaba Channel (off of the Red Sea), where we could easily visit the Hard Rock Cafe.

We took the metro out to Giza and then caught a bus to the pyramids. On our bus ride, we ended up striking a conversation with the man next to us. This man told us that he knew a cheaper and more adventuresome way to view the pyramids. (Not until later did we learn that one is to NEVER, ever- according to Lonely Planet- let a local on the bus convince you to take an alternative route). He guided us to a few stables behind the pyramids. We sat down and participated in what is termed 'Egyptian hospitality'. We drank some tea (the Egyptians drink it with anywhere from 4-8 spoonfuls of sugar) and planned our pyramid viewing experience.

Here Marques and I are on our camels, Micheal Jackson and Mickey Mouse respectively, trekking through the desert. Tessa is a little further back listenting to our Egyptian guide share about how he is trying to get a third wife. Apparently, it is the same price to get an additional marriage as it is to get divorced. Our guide also informed us that the pyramids were constructed around 4600 BC. We double-checked that and the 25th century BC seems to be a little more accurate.

We were some of the few out there. Visiting the pyramids during the hottest time of the year- at the hottest time of the day- does have some perks.

We all decided to go for a sunset canter through the Sahara desert. Here Marques and I are kissing our trusty companion.

Late that night we set out for the Dahab (read Hard Rock Cafe). We arrived in Dahab to discover that it was a wonderful little Egyptian tourist town just 35 km or so from Saudi Arabia (we could see Saudi Arabia out across the water). We spent a few minutes locating the cheapest possible lodging: The Auski Hotel (under $5 a night for all three of us).

So, Marques may have fallen through the bed and Alisa may have had two or three troops of ants occupying her bed...either way, we were thankful for the cheap and friendly accommodations.

That night, we discovered that we were really close to Mt. Sinai (the alleged mountain in which Moses received the Ten Commandments from God). We decided we would hike it. We left the hotel at 11 pm in the evening and started hiking at 1 am.

Marques and Tessa made it to the top around 4 am. Alisa, took it a little slower, and made it up just in time to greet the rising sun (about 2 hours later). Here we all are together, with the moon in the background.

Our friend Heimen, who sat at the top of Mount Sinai, on the steps of the church, drinking beer and selling fossils. He gave us each a free fossil before we left. We gave him our hearts.


While atop Mt. Sinai we met a friend, Diaa el Din. He lives in Sharm el Sheik (the actual city in which the Hard Rock Cafe resides) and gave us a little tour of his town. He is really knowledgeable, and funny.



Marques' Birthday Dinner! Marques insisted that we all wear the same colors. Luckily, Tessa and I had our black dresses. We had to borrow a black shirt for Marques.



We feel like we have to take part in as many cultural activities as we can. The hookah is one of the staples of Egyptian society. Many Muslims do not drink but, according to an Egyptian friend, about 70% of Egyptians smoke. Any and every time of the day you can walk out and see little coffee shops filled with men (and sometimes a few women) smoking hookah. This trip was Marques' first time smoking hookah. As you can tell by my expression, he is a really good hookah smoker.



On our last day, we all visited the Egyptian Museum. Marques was interviewed before entering. The whole interview was conducted in Arabic! We entered the museum and were immediately overwhelmed. The Egyptian Museum is essentially a huge warehouse stocked with piles and piles (yes, piles) of ancient Egyptian artifacts. Tombs, sarcophogus', mummies, and travelers sitting on top of Pharaonic antiquities- oh my!