On May 4 I received another visitor from America! My high school friend Amanda and I hadn’t seen each other since high school (she went to college in Pennsylvania), but facebook brought us together once again. J A few months back, she expressed an interest in stopping by Morocco on her way to Egypt (she is Egyptian-American) for the summer, and I expressed an interest in accompanying her to Egypt after Morocco. So we spent a week together in Morocco, seeing some of the typical sites in my area (Marrakech, Agadir, Tiznit), and also making a trip to Tafroaute, where Brooke (a Youth Development Volunteer) escorted us to the painted rocks of Tafraoute.
My host family LOVED Amanda, especially since she knows Arabic and is Muslim. Having her visit just renewed their thought that I too should be Muslim. I think they’ve given up again….for now at least.
On May 12, Amanda and I made the trek from Agadir to Casablanca in order to catch our flight to Cairo. Here is a bit of a picture story of my trip to Egypt.
Delicious Turkish coffee.
Another trip to Starbucks :)
On our private boat trip on the Nile.
Us with our wonderful hosts.
The boat!
The next day, at a desert resort near Cairo
We got to ride dune buggies!
The Nile
Hanging out at a cafe on the Nile.
The Citadel
Inside the Mohammed Ali mosque in The Citadel
Amanda and her lovely mother at The Citadel
Al Aharamat! (The pyramids)
They were way cool. And way old.
After trying to figure out how to do this on our own, we had a vendor take the pictures for us.
The Sphynx!
At the Egyptian Museum. Because we were with military officers, we were escorted to a room not open to the public that has Hatchepsut's mummy. How cool is that?
Cairo Tower
View of Cairo from the Cairo Tower
And I got to drive! Some people in Egypt actually have automatic cars. It had been so long, driving made me SO happy.
We got to have an amazing seafood dinner with some of Amanda's family
Some of Amanda's wonderful family
Amanda and I got all dressed up to see a belly-dancer..I haven't been this dressed up in a LONG time. Guess there's not too much of an opportunity in Peace Corps!
Dinner at the Belly-dancer show
Bdour, the Raqasa (belly-dancer)
A big market in Cairo, Khan al Khalili, with some friends of Amanda's family
We went to the Red Sea (the town is Ain alSoukhna) and stayed at a beachside resort.
My feet in the Red Sea.
The next day we went to Alexandria, on the Mediterranean. Way cool.
At our delicious seafood dinner in Alexandria
MMMMMM crabs. I impressed everyone with my crab-eating skills. Thanks to Maryland!
Another trip to Starbucks. :)
While we were in Alex, we watched the European Soccer Championship. People got WAY into it.
At the beach in Alex
Amanda eating some delicious Egyptian food
Half-way through my time in Cairo, I received word from my family in America that my sister is engaged!!!! It was so exciting to talk to Steph and Adam about the engagement, and start talking about the wedding right away. And can I just say I did a darn good job of keeping the secret since March! Yes, when Steph and Adam visited, Adam told me the approximate date of his proposal. And I didn’t even tell anyone! Whew, that was a hard secret to keep! So July 10, 2010 look out, Erin is getting a brother-in-law!
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