This was an essay I has to write for English. I have never actually been to Egypt, but,I have always wanted to. This paper displays my fascination with this amazing country!
Snow storms are a traveler’s worst nightmare. Air plane wings iced over, runways slick and slippery, heavy snow blotting out the word beyond your tiny window. As I sit in my plane seat praying to all gods known and unknown that we will be able to take off, the intercom in the plane dings on and the pilot says, “The runway has been cleared and the snow is stopping, please fasten your seat belts and within several hours we will be arriving in Cairo international airport.” I lean my head back on the seat which starts to vibrate slightly as the engine turns on and sigh. Soon I’ll be out of this infuriating winter weather, and into the heat and sun of Egypt.
Several annoying hours later we were in rotation to land in my favorite country which took yet another hour. Finally I was off the plane, out of the airport, and loading my luggage (which had thankfully arrived without delay) into a waiting taxi. Sitting in the twenty-year-old taxi rattling along to the Pharaoh’s Hotel, I think of the first part of my day and how it had affected my mood for the worse. Then in my mind’s eye I see the Sphinx and the Pyramids at Giza and I put my trip in the “bad experience file” in my mind and shove the draw closed, and promise myself not to open it again while I’m here.
My cab driver stopped in front of a small but charming hotel and told me how much the fair was. I paid, got my bag, and went inside to check-in. The hotel was beautiful. There were miniature palms in secluded corners, brown leather couches, mahogany tables with gold and turquoise vases artfully arranged with blue water lilies the color of a cloudless sky, and in silver vases inlaid with lapis lazuli inlaid were pink lotuses. I loved it at once. When I opened the door to my suite I nearly dropped my suit case. The room was obviously designed in the same style as the lobby but this was different. It was as if the designer had been to the ancient Palace of Thebes and tried to replicate its decor. I was very nearly in heaven, but then I saw out the window and this time I did drop my luggage with a gasp. I had a spectacular view up the Nile towards the Pyramids. The sacred river was lined with waving flowers and papyrus reeds. I could almost see Queen Cleopatra in her royal barge heading down the great river. Immediately I knew this was going to be one of the best vacations I had ever had!
The next morning dawned sunny and warm, quite different from the climate I had left the day before. The hotel had arranged for a bus to take guests to the Valley of the Kings that day so I decided to go along. I packed the backpack I had brought with some things like money and snacks, put on some sturdy clothes, laced up my boots, headed out front to meet the bus. As it later turned out the bus hadn’t been serviced in two years so it broke down half way there. Luckily the driver had a phone and was able to call a replacement. While we waited the driver told us a little bit of the history of the Valley (most of which I already knew). Finally the bus arrived and we were on our way again. Exploring the Pharaoh’s ancient burial grounds was fantastic! It’s a shame Nefertiti’s tomb hasn’t been discovered yet I would have loved to have seen that, but it was still an interesting day.
Back at the hotel I decided to go to the restaurant for dinner. I ordered fish grilled with honey and a salad made from fresh peas and beans. It was delicious! That night I slept like a queen, and awoke the next to find the sky as clear as it was the day before. However today I decided to go to the national Egyptology museum down town. I phoned to the front desk and asked if they could call me a cab, they said yes and that they would let me know when it arrived. Twenty minutes later the phone in my room rang and someone from the desk informed me that my cab was waiting. The taxi took me all the way to the museum. There were several cafes nearby so I got breakfast first. Then I bought a ticket for the exhibition and entered a world full of the culture and traditions of ancient Egypt.
The next day I decide to see the Sphinx and the Pyramids, but first I had breakfast at the hotel. The bus that had escorted me to the Valley of the Kings on my first full day was to again take us to Khafra’s great Sphinx and Khufu’s immense Pyramids. It was fairly warm that day so we rode with the windows open to allow the desert breeze to float in. Within thirty minutes we arrived at Giza. I won’t spoil it for you, but it was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. The crumbling limestone beast and the staggeringly large Pyramids are breath-taking. We stayed there till noon then returned on the bus, and this time the fifteen or so of us that were on the bus were relatively quite; we were all contemplating the man power, ingenuity, and time that the people of long ago had used to create such gigantic monuments. Later that evening I pack my things back up into my suit case and called the front desk and asked for a seven ‘o’clock wake –up the next morning. I was very disappointed to be leaving the amazing country filled with so much history, but I was beginning to miss my family.
The plane flight back was uneventful. All the while I was dreading returning to the cold, but all those thoughts vanished from my mind when I saw my family waiting for me; it was a very happy reunion. This was a trip I would never ever forget. And so ended my wonderful trip the Black Land.
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