I will let Sam tell you about our time in the desert yesterday. (as you can see from the photo, we had a little fun at the pyramids of Giza) I will instead focus on the highlight of today. Sam and I joined 90,000 of our closest friends in Cairo International Stadium to cheer on Egypt as they competed in a football (aka soccer) game against Zambia. It was their opening game in what will be several games against other African countries. The winner of this group will move on to compete for the World Cup. If you think the US has crazy sports fans, you haven’t seen or better yet heard anything yet. We had to get to the game 2 hours early to make sure we got good seats. (no reserved seats!) From the time we sat down until the time we left, which totaled about 4 hours, the fans never stopped yelling, screaming, waving flags and chanting what appeared to be their team’s rally cry.
I can’t say that I have ever been a huge soccer fan. I would still say that I am not the craziest fan, but this game and the interaction with the Egyptian fans was amazing. The Egyptians are so hospitable and thoughtful. I hated to see it end especially with the score tied at 1-1 and given that fact the Egypt had so many more shots on goal throughout the game that had they more time I think they could have won.
Sam’s thoughts:
The pyramids at Saqqara where amazing. It may come as a surprise, but the Red pyramid at Saqqara is my favorite. Most people would consider the great pyramid at Giza their most favorite. I did visit the pyramids of Giza and don’t get me wrong, they are amazing. But the Red pyramid is the best preserved and the 3rd largest in the world. My dad and I climbed deep into the Red pyramid all the way to the burial chamber. It didn’t smell the best, but none the less it was spectacular. We also visited the Step pyramid which was built around 3200AD and the Bent pyramid which was built around 2800BC. The three pyramids at Giza (Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure) located just west of downtown Cairo also is where you can see the Sphinx and Cheops Boat. Cheops boat was uncovered in 1954 and dates back to about the same time as Khafre’s pyramid or about 2400 BC. Khafre was the king that had the boat buried in a 150 foot long pit carved out of lime stone. Khafre’s pyramid which is the 2nd largest in the world and built around 2400BC still has some of its outer casing. The outer casing is what made the pyramids smooth on the outside. After a long day of visiting 20 pyramids, we went to a papyrus store. Papyrus is a plant the ancient Egyptian scribes used to make paper for writing. We saw Papyrus paper being made and then toured a gallery where we saw beautiful drawings of various scenes.
Answers to the last questions:
1. A colossi is a large stone image or statue usually of a person or animal. They were used in front of a temple as an image of protection, to honor a king or a god. They often weighed more than 50 tons. We saw one of Ramesses II that weighed more than 200 tons.
2. “Tutankhaten” and he changed it because he wanted to restore Amun (a god) and the old religion to replace Aten who was a god his father created before him.
New question for 5th grade class:
1. Who built the Medium pyramid, Red pyramid, Bent pyramid (the same person built all 3) and in which pyramid (not mentioned here) was he buried?
I can’t say that I have ever been a huge soccer fan. I would still say that I am not the craziest fan, but this game and the interaction with the Egyptian fans was amazing. The Egyptians are so hospitable and thoughtful. I hated to see it end especially with the score tied at 1-1 and given that fact the Egypt had so many more shots on goal throughout the game that had they more time I think they could have won.
Sam’s thoughts:
The pyramids at Saqqara where amazing. It may come as a surprise, but the Red pyramid at Saqqara is my favorite. Most people would consider the great pyramid at Giza their most favorite. I did visit the pyramids of Giza and don’t get me wrong, they are amazing. But the Red pyramid is the best preserved and the 3rd largest in the world. My dad and I climbed deep into the Red pyramid all the way to the burial chamber. It didn’t smell the best, but none the less it was spectacular. We also visited the Step pyramid which was built around 3200AD and the Bent pyramid which was built around 2800BC. The three pyramids at Giza (Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure) located just west of downtown Cairo also is where you can see the Sphinx and Cheops Boat. Cheops boat was uncovered in 1954 and dates back to about the same time as Khafre’s pyramid or about 2400 BC. Khafre was the king that had the boat buried in a 150 foot long pit carved out of lime stone. Khafre’s pyramid which is the 2nd largest in the world and built around 2400BC still has some of its outer casing. The outer casing is what made the pyramids smooth on the outside. After a long day of visiting 20 pyramids, we went to a papyrus store. Papyrus is a plant the ancient Egyptian scribes used to make paper for writing. We saw Papyrus paper being made and then toured a gallery where we saw beautiful drawings of various scenes.
Answers to the last questions:
1. A colossi is a large stone image or statue usually of a person or animal. They were used in front of a temple as an image of protection, to honor a king or a god. They often weighed more than 50 tons. We saw one of Ramesses II that weighed more than 200 tons.
2. “Tutankhaten” and he changed it because he wanted to restore Amun (a god) and the old religion to replace Aten who was a god his father created before him.
New question for 5th grade class:
1. Who built the Medium pyramid, Red pyramid, Bent pyramid (the same person built all 3) and in which pyramid (not mentioned here) was he buried?
Be well and may all your travels bring you joy and adventure!
Barry and Sam
Barry and Sam,
ReplyDeleteHow amazing is this experience ya'll are having. Thanks for sharing with us during your journey. It is great to see ya'll truly enjoying yourselves. How is the food?
Be safe and know that prayers are with you.
Just another normal day with 3 generations of Engelman boys sharing camel rides in Egypt...Sweet!
ReplyDeleteThis is so amazing! Thanks for letting me join in your journey a little bit! I'll be praying for you guys!
ReplyDeleteHugs to you intrepid travelers! It's such fun to read of your amazing adventures. We miss you!
ReplyDeleteLots of love,
Grammy and Tim
I love sharing in some of your adventures --thank you! We miss you more every day and I know these two younger boys are about done being with mom. We were late this morning and I had my once a week early morning meeting to get to. On the way, we realized that Josh had not only NOT locked the door, but left the key dangling in the lock!!
ReplyDeleteNeedless to say, we are ready for you to come home!
Love you and praying for you everyday.