habla espanol?

I don't know if it's my dark hair and pale skin, or my green spanish-style scarf or my general European demeanor, but every vendor/scammer/hawker at Giza and in the bazaars of Khan al-Khalili is absolutely convinced I'm an espanola.

"Hola senora! Como estas?"

I never heard this much Spanish when I was covering Anaheim. Courtney got jealous and began conversing with the vendors in Spanish and telling them she was from Spain. I spoke Armenian just to see what reaction I would get. (Confused looks, for the most part.)

We spent the blazing hot morning and afternoon (high of 38 degrees celsius) at the pyramids in Saqqara and Giza. Pictures can't do them justice. The architectural phenomenon of such a massive structure built thousands of years ago is enough to give you some serious pause and reflect on the true meaning of hard labor.

That said, I still couldn't bring myself to climb down the narrow passageways inside the pyramids. I tried the first one in Saqqara and less than 10 feet down, I suddenly realized I couldn't bear the thought of going any further. Add claustrophobia to the list of Eleeza's irrational fears. Courtney and Freeha, meanwhile, bravely climbed down, around, into and above every nook and cranny they can find. For that, I salute them.

A word on food: Awesome. And CHEAP. In Khan al-Khalili (a massive bazaar spread across dozens of city blocks and narrow alleys), we stopped for tea and sheesha (nargeeleh/hookah) at El Fishawy a family-owned cafe since 1778. We got a bit hungry, so Freeha grabbed some foul from a nearby stand. They threw in some tahina and falafel and the total was 3.50 in Egyptian pounds. Roughly 50 cents. And that was a complete meal! If you're looking for budget travel, Egypt is the place to be.

Tomorrow is our last day in Cairo. Courtney and I catch the overnight train to Luxor around midnight. I'll catch up with you all down there.

P.S. In case you're worried about terrorist, apparently so is the foreign ministry. An article in the Egyptian Mail today quoted a foreign ministry official as saying that Egypt isn't doing enough to combat terrorist. What a relief, eh?