An Anticlimactic Day to Follow Egypt

Saturday morning I tried to sleep in but did not do a very good job of it. The six of us went over to the Turkish side for lunch where we had "cheese boats." They are Halloumi in pita with tomato, cut in the shape of a boat! It was very delicious but Alex had to finish mine because it was so much food! After that I took a nap at my apartment before we all headed down to the Brickyard to watch the futbol game, Germany vs the Argentina. I really expected a closer game but Germany dominated 4-0 and will go on to play Spain in the semifinals. The evening was quite relaxing but almost too relaxing considering the past few days have been go-go-go! Time is starting to wind down, it's crazy to think we will all be leaving so soon.

Walk Like An Egyptian

Words cannot accurately describe my experience in Cairo, Egypt over the past few days. When I called my mother I was literally speechless. But, I will now try to describe my amazing time in Egypt..

When our plane landed Wednesday evening, our guide Karim was waiting for us. We paid for our visas, exchanged our euros for Egyptian pounds and grabbed our bags. At the airport we did see the US Olympic Volleyball Team, which I guess was pretty neat. They all looked very tired though. We then boarded onto a minibus to bring us to our hotel. The drivers in Egypt make those in Cyprus look tame. I was scared for my life at moments during the bus ride, and during any travel while in Egypt concerning vehicles. There were technically three lanes of traffic, but there were in reality five lanes of traffic. When we arrived at our hotel, the Triumph Hotel, we were all in shock. This hotel was gorgeous! The entrance way greeted us with a very large lit up chandelier and two smaller ones leading down the hallway. We checked in and were offered an Egyptian drink, which was fruity and tasty. Since it was very late, we all then explored the hotel and then settled into our rooms. All 12 of us then went to sleep so we would all be ready to take Egypt by storm.



We ate breakfast around 8am Thursday morning and boarded the bus at nine. Our first stop was Cairo's archeological museum. Photographs were not allowed inside the museum, and we actually had to check our camera at the gate and pick them up when we left. They really did not want us to take photos. Our tour guide Rhania took us through the Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms - viewing the most important pieces in each. There are over a million items on display on the two floors and clearly we would not be able to see everything. Six of us entered the Royal Mummy Room, containing 11 royal mummies, including King Rameses II. It truly is incredible how well ancient Egyptians preserved the deceased. Hair, fingernails, skin wrinkles, eyelashes were all visible. We saw the mummy of what is suspected to be Queen Hatshepsut due to her "obese body and bad teeth." The description of such an important woman in Egyptian times amused me. We also saw the animal mummy room. Animals that were mummified fell under four categories: pets, food in the afterlife, religious symbols, and sacrificial. We also visited King Tut's tomb. Although his body is laid where it was originally found, the tomb was quite impressive and elaborate. There were four layers to the tomb, one inside the other, each more adorned than the previous. Inside his tomb were three coffins - two made of gold and one wooden. He is depicted with his arms crossed as that is how royalty were buried.

After the museum, Rhania took us to a perfume shop where we sampled perfumes that are only made in Egypt and are not exported. Then, we set fourth to a restaurant for lunch - with a view of the pyramids. The food was quite delicious. Most of us got the chicken with rice and ice cream for dessert.



It was then time to head to the pyramids! We stopped at the largest, the Great Pyramid, to take pictures before heading onto a place known for its panoramic view of the main three pyramids. There are nine total: 3 representing the Grandfather (Pharaoh Khufu), Father (Pharaoh Khafre), and Grandson (Menkaure). Each pyramid is a smaller than its previous as a sign of respect for the elders. There are six surrounding those which are for their wives.

Great Pyramid of Egypt belongs to Pharaoh Khufu. It was 146 meters high when built but was worn down 10 meters through the years. Pharaoh Khafre's pyramid - 10 meters shorter than the Great Pyramid out of respect for Khafre's father. This pyramid is also made of limestone so in the day you can see the white top. Menkaure's pyramid is the shortest of the three. It was not complete when Menkaure passed away, but his song finished it in his honor.

All twelve of us then decided that we really wanted to ride camels - so we did! We chose a half-an-hour trip in the Sahara with a very nice view of the pyramids at the turn-around point. My roommate Elise and I shared a camel, whose name is Michael Jackson. Michael Jackson was quite slow, though, as Elise and I were the last people to get back. At the viewpoint, the little boy leading our camel took my camera to take pictures of Elise and I on the camel with the pyramids in the background. The camel riding was so much fun!

After all that excitement, we went to a shop where we learned how papyrus is made. Also, most shops scam people by using banana leaves instead of papyrus, but banana leaves are not as sturdy. This place used real papyrus, but I didn't buy any of the art. We also went to an Egyptian cotton place but everything was too expensive for my taste.

We arrived at our cruise on the Nile for dinner, which was buffet style, and saw a belly-dancing show followed by a performance of a really cool man who continuously spun. Overall it was very entertaining. It was so nice to be able to be on the Nile and see the Cairo skyline at sunset.



After our cruise, three of us headed off to the light and sound show by the Sphinx and the pyramids. We were unable to get into the English speaking show because there were a few ticket mixups. On the other hand, we did get into the later show, which was in French, but we received free headsets to listen in English. The light show was incredible and so beautiful. I probably took too many photographs. The three of us did not get back to the hotel until 1:30 in the morning because traffic was so bad, since the weekend starts on Friday for Egypt.

It was a bit tough to get moving Friday morning because of our late night, but we managed to eat at 8 and board the bus at 9. We went to a citadel and the mosque of Muhammad Ali, the founder of modern Egypt. The architecture was beautiful and the inside was even more elaborate. There was a large chandelier in the middle and large hanging candle bulbs in circles around it.



Our final stop while in Egypt was a bazaar. Let me tell you, it was quite bazaar. The streets were very narrow and everyone wanted you to buy what they had. We had plenty of time to kill so we went into many of the shops, but no one really bought anything. Also, Alex was with us, and he is the only guy, so everyone was cracking jokes at him about how he is one lucky man to have multiple wives. It was quite amusing! Also, our friend Sarah has blonde hair, and Egyptians are fascinated with blonde hair - no joke. She was proposed to multiple times and hit on by almost every shop keeper and his son. At one point someone did ask me to marry them and another guy said he would fight Alex for me. It was pretty intense but very amusing.

We arrived at the airport extremely early so we all got something to eat and sat around talking. Sarah drew on us with Alex's pens and we all got mini intercoms on our hands to "speak" to one another. We tried to play spoons by sticking our our tongues, but it was so difficult to tell who was the last one. We played one round with granola bars as spoons, but that ended with cards flying across the room and us being a bit too loud. Eventually we boarded the bus which took us to the plane and then flew back to Larnaca. Our bus ride back to Nicosia was quite fun and it only consisted of six of us, because the other six went off to Agia Napa for drinking and partying for the weekend.

In the end, when I found this trip information to Egypt, it was called the Cairo Spectacular package. I must admit, this truly was spectacular. We were able to do so much in so little time and I'm so glad that everything went smoothly. I do not know if I'll ever have the need to return to Egypt, but now I can check off that I've been to Africa, touched the pyramids, rode a camel, and cruised on the Nile - all in under 60 hours.

Today was the first day that we were able to sleep in because we had no classes. Unfortunately, my body was so used to waking up early that I naturally woke up at 7am. I meandered around until after lunch when Angie and I went to a veterinary clinic in town to watch surgeries. We saw two dentals, a dog who opened his stitches, a hernia operation, and a reconstruction of the right hind leg of a kitten. After the clinic, we came back and meandered around until after dinner. We then went and got gelato and a bunch of us hung out. It was a relaxing day. Tomorrow we are off to Egypt for three days and I will not have internet.

Graduation Night

Today was the day of our final exam. I got plenty of sleep last night (while others only slept for 3 or so hours). The exam was not easy, but it could have been way worse. The fate is no longer in my hands, so I'm not going to worry about it too much. After lunch we headed into downtown Nicosia to finish up some shopping, pick up the tickets for Egypt, and buy some long sleeve shirts for Egypt.
In the evening we had our graduation ceremony and then went to the restaurant, that we ate at our first night here, for dinner. The food was delicious and the dessert even more! After dinner and pictures, we went to the park to swing and hang out. We then stayed up as long as we could to say bye to Rachel, because she leaves for the Mediterranean in the morning and we will not see her again, until she visits us of course! It's weird to think how everything is slowly winding down to the end.

A Weekend in Polis

This weekend the Summer in Cyprus group went to Polis. Although we had to study for our final while there, we still had an amazing time. Friday morning was a bit difficult for me as I got to bed at 4am and had to be on the bus by 8am. I slept the entire bus ride to Polis and we got to the hotel around 11am. Angie and I roomed together and our apartment room was literally right next to the pool! We dropped our bags and went to get lunch on the boardwalk right outside the hotel. We then continued our walk along the rocks and I took a lot of pictures. Angie and I got sunburned - oops. Angie, Alex, and I then went in the pool, which was pretty amazing. It had a water slide, a bridge that was very cavelike, and a small waterfall cave with water jets for a lower back massage. We then played cards with Sarah and Akanksha. As the sun began to set, I dragged everyone down to the beach to take sunset pictures - which came out beautiful and totally put a smile on my face. That evening we ate at Y&P restaurant, which is our GLS advisor's favorite place to eat in Polis. I had sheftalia, which are traditional Cypriot meatballs. We then all bought dessert and traded so we could have a little bit of everything. I understand why this place gets good reviews - the food was delicious! We then went to a bar to watch the futbol game, although the majority of us did not buy any drinks. Angie and I left early to head back to our hotel room for the night.


On Saturday, six of us woke up early to go for an "easy hike." I had forgotten my sneakers back in Nicosia which meant that I hiked the mountain in flip flops - yup, flip flops. It was not that bad of a hike. Sarah only had boat shoes, and me in flip flops, but we were sprinting up the mountain ahead of the rest. Originally, we meant to take the Aphrodite Trail, which leads to the peak and then comes back down the opposite side. To be completely honest, I have no idea which trails we actually took. We started out on a path which brough us by the site where Aphrodite bathes and then ended up on a road. Then, a rainstorm hit us so we were trudging along slower in the rain (and me in flip flops). The rain eventually subsided and we found a path which we believe was the Aphrodite Trail. We summited around 11am and the view was beautiful. On our way down, we got completely lost on the trails, but managed to find an old church, the Adonis Trail, and a dried up river bed. We also climbed a bunch of trees and got some amazing photographs. Eventually we returned to where we had started - five and a half hours later. We ate at the closest restaurant we could find, and ate like savages. The bread and butter was gone within seconds and when our waiter came back to give us our water, his facial expression was hilarious. I think he could not believe that we had already consumed a loaf of bread. With six people and a 5+ hour hike, the bread was gone. Once we got back to the hotel, the majority of us fell asleep. I sat outside and studied for my final until the sun began to set. Alex, Angie and I went to the deck at the hotel restaurant to watch the sunset. It was not as impressive as Friday's and was also much more cloudy, but the photographs still turned out beautiful. The group then headed down to a restaurant on the boardwalk for dinner. I had a traditional Cypriot pork kabob and was sort of hit-on by the Hungarian waiter, which was amusing to say the least. He offered us two bottles of wine on the house, but we had to break it to him that we don't drink. After that, we headed over to meet up with the other GLS students at a bar to watch the futbol game, US vs Ghana. It is disappointing that the US lost, even more that the entire bar was cheering for Ghana and not the US. No worries though, the GLS students certainly cheered on the US. After the game was over we headed back to the apartment for bed. Surprisingly, my feet didn't hurt as bad at I thought they would. Although, one hike in flip flops is enough for me. Now I never have to do it again!



Sunday morning Angie, Alex, and I ate breakfast and then watched a stupid, but cute, kitten for about an hour. The mother was trying to get the kitten to climb up a tree, and the kitten was just not paying attention at all! Checkout was at noon so we all studied in the lobby area until we left to come back to Nicosia. We did not get back to Nicosia until about four hours after we left - long story, you will hve to ask me in person. We grabbed dinner and then I studied for the rest of the evening.

Wednesday June 23rd

Today we had our last field trip in the animal science program. Our first stop was to a meat cutting place. We were all so worried that the place was going to be pretty disgusting like in the past, but this place was really nice. The place smelled so good too; smoked pork and lounza, mmmm delicious. Everyone was given a sample to try, and I didn't particullary like the lounza, but almost everyone else did.


After the meat place we went into the Troodos mountains to a local fishery. We had to do a bit of hiking because our bus dropped us off about a half a mile below the fishery, but it was completely okay with me. It was nice to be able to enjoy the fresh air. At the fishery we were given a tour and shown the different fish, a breed of trout and another breed that looks like a shark and is used for caviar. The owner showed us how the weed out the small trout from the larger trout in order to catch them. He then allowed us to try to catch fish with our bare hands. Some of us were able to do so, altough they were quite slippery. I caught one but do not have any photographs to prove it. The owner also invited us to lunch where we were served some trout - delicious! Before we headed to lunch, though, we went to an area with mouflon (the Cypriot sheep/goat mix). My friend Sarah and I went ahead of the group because we were ready for the hike and found one mouflon. I have pictures but he was so far away that you can barely make out the horns in the picture. The area that they were in was fenced off, and at one point during our hike Sarah and I saw an open gate. It took us awhile to figure out that this gate was safe to go through and didn't lead us into mouflon territoy. Everything about this place reminded us of Jurassic Park. After the hike, the class continued onto a very old mill run by water, which was pretty neat to see.

Lunchtime finally followed, and we were all quite hungry. We downed the bread and salad, and the trout was very tasty. The cook even made mine without garlic! I love Cypriots!
After lunch we headed back to Nicosia. I studied a bit in the evening before going out with some of the girls to a club. I'm still not so sure about this whole clubbing thing, considering that I did not get back to my apartment until 4 in the morning, and the bus for Polis left at 8am. I still earnestly believe that the only way to have fun at clubs here is to be drinking/drunk, and that's just not who I am. It was open bar though, so I drank my ticket-worth in Coca Cola and Sprite!

Tuesday June 22nd

Today was the last day of classes. It's so nice to finally be done with lectures. All we have to do now is study for our final! During our break between classes we went downtown to book our trip to Nicosia. We then got some gelato before returning for the final lecture. We are going to Egypt in a week!!!!!