The Pyramids

Last Thursday we headed off for Egypt. Along the way we stopped at Beersheba, Sde Boker (the Wilderness of Zin Overlook), Tel Avdat, Maktesh Ramon, and we ended at Kibbutz Yotvata. It was amazing driving through such desert, and thinking of the stories from the bible. Like outside Beersheba is where Hagar was sent and wandered. To picture her having to survive out in that desert is unbelievable. The Kibbutz Yotvata was another different story altogether. I never knew communities like this existed. They took us on a driving tour of the Kibbutz, and the tour was... interesting. Our tour guide was a lady wearing a t-shirt with cactus cowboys on it, riding rabbits and pigs, and she loves her dates. She talked to us for a half hour on the process of growing and picking dates, and also how members are voted into the community, and occassionally, voted out. To become a member, one must apply, then a vote is taken. Sounds intense, eh? The Kibbutz pays everyone an allowance, but they also provide for all their needs: home, food, insurance, school, and they can even check out a car to use. Yes, that is right, they have cars to check out. During the tour our guide had the bus stop in the middle of nowhere to look at a battery. She then went on to explain how this battery is controld by a machine, to help read the fields. I don't think that stop was necessary. Lauren Magleby made designs out of leaves, and Hailey said, "I really just wish bird would poo on her!" We all loved it.

When our bus caught the first glimpse of the pyramids, everyone went crazy. People were standing up, yelling, cheering, and taking pictures. It really was surreal to by driving through the city of Giza, and have the pyramids pop up on the skyline. I always thought they were more in the middle of nowhere, but they are right outside of Giza!That night we went to a light show at the pyramids, and we really were this excited. We got our tour guide who would stay with us the rest of the week, Islam Said, and he started off with a bang. He named us Tut, but reminded us quickly that it is pronounced "Toot!" So everywhere we went he would say, "Come on Toot! Hurry up Toot!" We loved it. He introduced us to the pyramids by giving us some facts. The tallest of the 3 pyramids is 500 ft/149.4 m tall and each brick weighs 2 tons. There are 117 pyramids total and the last was found just about 6 months ago. The Giza pyramids are 4500 years old, and they are tombs, not temples. Lauren Ricks, Lauren Magelby, and I excited about the pyramids!

The lights on the pyramids were so cool. I was sitting there under the stars in Egypt, looking at the pyramids. Best line of the night was, "The world fears time, and time fears...THE PYRAMIDS". The program was great, L. Mags and I were cracking up.

The next morning we headed to the pyramids and got tickets to go up into the pyramid and see the tomb in the biggest pyramid. We climbed up a small shaft and it opened into the tomb, right in the middle of the pyramid. We continued to see the rest of the pyramids, and the Sphinx. At the Sphinx, Adri was lining up a picture of me looking like I was kissing it (of course, a must, right?). But the best part was the little boy who came up and started to try and help. He kept squeezing my lips to purse them together, and I couldn't stop laughing. Thus the picture is not posted, because I am just kissing the chin.

The Pyramids!!!