The Giza Pyramids

Giza is to Cairo as Goleta is to Santa Barbara. According to Westmont's policies, we weren't allowed to enter downtown Cairo because of safety concerns. But Westmont didn't know we could basically see the buildings of downtown Cairo from our location in Giza. Oh well. Giza felt about as safe as LA--which means that you always run the risk of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, but there was nothing perpetuating a more violent society here than at big cities at home.

Our morning climb was rewarded with a delicious steak, mashed potatoes, and vegetable dinner and then a treat for our ears: hearing from one of the leaders of the Revolution! We listened to him speak about the planning and motivations for the Egyptian Revolution, which was led by a youth movement. Originally, they had just planned a protest in the streets. But as police violence increased, the revolutionaries realized they should ask for more rights and eventually, the removal of Mubarak as President. The Egyptian Revolution is noteworthy because it took place so fast--Tunisia, Syria, Jordan, and other places are still having street protests but no real results yet. Egypt's massive protests were successful in turing the tide for the Egyptian people. We also heard about how this is a decisive point for Egypt's future--if the wrong people come into power in the upcoming elections, it could be bad. That's why people are hopeful in the youth movement, because the youth tend to be less religiously-motivated and more socially and economically motivated. All in all, it was a fascinating talk.

After a night in the 5-star Grand Pyramids Hotel (I could see the pyramids from my room), and the best breakfast we had had in a long time the next morning, it was off to the Giza Pyramids! A dream come true for most of us, we took a billion photos and marveled at the HUGE size of the pyramids. We got to go inside one of the smaller ones, which was neat (and really stuffy). And we had a great group photo shoot with the three larger Giza pyramids and the city of Cairo in the backdrop. We also visited the Sphynx, which was super interesting. That's where we took our Freebirds photo. Look for us on the wall this summer!

Wrapping up our awesome day in Giza, we headed to the Iskander's apartment for dinner.