Egyptian Museum 

The bus ride from Dahab to Cairo was interrupted by 2 or 3 unnecessary visa checks that prevented any sleep. I say unecessary because each time they saw my American passport, they didn’t even bother to see if my Egyptian visa was valid. I shared a taxi with a cool guy from Argentina and we dropped our bags off at this awesome hostel downtown.  Check-in wasn't until noon, so we sought out the Hardees I had seen on the way, but eventually settled for the Golden arches  when my navigation skills failed us.  We parted ways after breakfast as he went souvenir shopping and I went to see the mummies at the Egyptian Museum.

For the museum to look so impressive from the outside and to hold so many unbelievable things within its walls, the interior is quite pathetic,   This isn't a matter of opinion...  Fortunately, there are plans to build more modern facilities within the next few years.  My personal opinion is that many of the sarcophaguses should be moved back to the tombs  where they were found now that the areas are secure.  Moreover, there are so many of them stacked up in corners of the Egyptian Museum that putting them back in the tombs for display would be more authentic and wouldn't take away anything from the Egyptian Museum itself.   The mummy rooms were my favorite part (outside of seeing King Tut's golden mask).  King Ramses II was particularly impressive with his visible teeth and yellowing hair.  Photos weren’t allowed anywhere and there was a rule of silence enforced by a museum worker who fittingly yelled “silence… respect the dead”  every few minutes.   I suppose I could be wrong, but I highly doubt the Pharos idea of respect was being unwrapped and thrown into a class case so the entire world could witness their decay.  But I guess it’s okay because we were silent.

I was running entirely on fumes and my 2 egg McMuffin sandwiches therefore my memory of the museum fades towards the last hour.  Feeling exhausted and grumpy, I angrily pushed my way through the crowds and made it back to my hotel for some sleep.  I got a room by myself on the third floor of this incredible building.  It was over a century old and my room had a ceiling that was at least twenty feet high.  There were two balconies overlooking a boulevard that looked very European.  It was the best room $20 has ever bought me.  Unfortunately, I was too tired to enjoy it's awesomeness  and was out as soon as my head hit the pillow.  

The room in Cairo. The view was awesome, but I
guess sleepiness discouraged me from taking a picture. 
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