Cake and ice cream and a party hat for Aaron on his birthday...how American!
Kim's birthday was celebrated with an even more American visit to Applebee's on the Nile
A visit to Aaron in Alexandria was a great weekend vacation.  Between the beach and the clean sky (relatively free of pollution), we really didn't want to return to Cairo.
Every evening at the end of the Ramadan fast, the streets are completely deserted while everyone is home sharing the iftar with their friends and families.

Five times a day, the call to prayer encourages Muslims to stop their activities and pray; some choose to do so in the streets in front of the mosques.
How NOT to make Egyptian wax!!
This section began as a fun tutorial on how to make wax, which we learned from our Arabic teacher.  Unfortunately, the experiment ended in disaster and has now become a different sort of lesson!
Step 1:  Combine a cup of sugar with 2 tablespoons of water Step 2:  Add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice Step 3:  Boil the mixture just to
 the soft ball stage
 
Step 4:  Drop the pan, splashing hot wax all over the kitchen and possibly onto the legs of the photographer (no photo available for obvious reasons) Step 5:  Immediately apply cold water (or frozen vine leaves and water bottles) to the burned leg and hands (note:  hands are burned from instinctively trying to remove boiling wax from leg in hysterical frenzy - wounds heal faster if this step is skipped)
We (finally) went to see the pyramids.

The first stop was Memphis, the site of the first capital of Egypt
The remains of a huge statue of Ramses II
At saqqara, the second stop, we actually went inside a pyramid to see all the pictures and heiroglyphics on the walls; the colors have faded, but are still visible on some parts of the walls.
Now that I've seen this landscape, I really feel like I'm in Egypt!
It would hardly be a visit to the pyramids if at least a few people didn't ride camels!
At Giza we saw the great pyramids and the sphinx
No wonder I can't breathe in Cairo...look at all that smog!
Near the pyramids, there are a number of "carpet schools," where children are taught to weave rugs by hand.  They make about 10 Egyptian pounds a day for 4 hours of work, which can be used to supplement their families' often inadequate incomes.
The khan is a bazaar where tourists can buy a lot of cheap stuff; it is also home to Feshawi's, a very well known coffee shop in Cairo