My last days here are rapidly coming to an end. It's been an exciting and crazy and amazingly short semester. I definitely want to come back someday, although I have no idea when. But Cairo is too unique to just be experienced once.
Two days ago, Thalia and I went on a horse-ride through the desert - it was supposed to be an epic journey to Saqqara but we decided to make it a shorter, more efficient one. Still, riding around the pyramids, sipping tea at a Bedouin camp and generally enjoying the desert. It's a really interesting place, I love it much of the time. It's starting to get unbearably hot, though, and I'll be glad to miss out on July in Cairo.
We had a going away party for one of our friends, which was nice but a bit melancholy. Of course, there will be several more of those in the coming weeks. People are drifting away sort of piecemeal, which is always a little frustrating - I'd rather there be a big get-together where everyone says goodbye.
We've also done a lot of sight-seeing these past two days - visiting the 9th-century Ibn Tulun Mosque, the 14th-century Sultan Hassan and the 20-th century Imam Ria'f mosques. It's really cool to see how the architecture has evolved from century to century and dynasty to dynasty. So many different peoples and empires have left their mark on this city, it's incredible. It might have some of the most diverse architecture I've ever seen.
Finally, we did some shopping in the markets and the Khan al-Khalili, just getting another taste of the crazy, hassled streetlife of Cairo. I'll post pictures as soon as I get some uploaded.
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