| In 1972, my family was living in Cambridge England. My big sister took myself and my two older brothers to the Tutankhamen exhibit at the British Museum in London. It was the first time the collection had travelled outside of Egypt. I was so in awe of the collection, and still remember gazing at the boy king’s golden mask and his gilded throne. Ever since then, I had dreams of visiting the land of the pyramids and pharaohs. My dream came true in the early spring of 2022, My husband (who speaks pretty decent Arabic) and I booked a tour and flew to Cairo. As you can imagine, we did have some reservations about traveling to this gem of a country, considering the history of unrest in 2018 and 2019. Also, as a woman, I was cognizant that I couldn’t just put on my spandex and go for a solo morning jog through city streets. Reservations aside, the trip was a once-in-a-lifetime journey. We saw the Great Pyramid, the Sphinx, Saqqara, the Bent Pyramid, we visited museums, walked the bustling streets of Cairo, explored the temples of Luxor, Philae and Kom Ombo and took a boat ride on the Nile. We toured the Valley of the Kings, marveled at King Tut’s tomb, and eventually made our way south to Aswan and the massive temple complex at Abu Simbel. Our visit was not just one of visiting world-famous architectural and artistic wonders, more importantly, it was one in which we made friends. We enjoyed learning about the culture and lives of our guides and those people we encountered. Everyone we met was welcoming and friendly, and as our guides pointed out, Egyptians pride themselves on their hospitality. My husband and I have traveled to Asia, South America, Europe, and Central America. What continues to amaze me about travel is that even though languages, religions and cultures differ, we really all have more in common than not. We all want to be happy and be at peace, we all want to have a roof over our heads, food on the table, and surround ourselves with loved ones. “Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.” – Maya Angelou |  |