Christmas in the Middle East

One of the perks of living in Uganda is unique and affordable vacation destinations!! We were very excited to spend Christmas in Cairo with the whole family. We went for a boat ride on the Nile River on Christmas Eve and spent Christmas day riding around the pyramids on camels, it was an incredible experience!

Nile River

Giza Pyramids

Walking around the Mohammed Ali Mosque, one of the largest mosques in Egypt

Avin, getting a taste of life for a celebrity! It seemed almost everywhere we went in Cairo people would stop to talk to her, touch her hair, or even take a picture with her. She didn't mind!!

A few days before Christmas I (Shan) went to Dubai with Paul, Megan and Lizabee. It was a lot of fun to be in such a new and exciting city, especially coming from Uganda!!

The Burj Khalifa, the tallest man-made structure in the world, 160 floors!

 Here is a view from the observation deck, 124 floors up!!

We celebrated Lizabee's 40th birthday with tea at the Burj Al Arab, very fun! Not sure I will be able to top that!!

 Old Dubai

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Day 2010

The One Where they go to Egypt

Living in Africa opens up a lot of countries to visit that we wouldn't normally get the chance to see. We were really excited to plan this once in a lifetime trip with Joel and also sharing it with our good friend, Rachel!!!

Cairo was amazing, such a fast paced city! The people were so friendly, we didn't once feel out of place or uncomfortable. The amount of history and things to see was almost overwhelming though!! We didn't realize how much we'd learn this trip. 

We LOVED seeing the pyramids, although very surreal in the moment, looking back it was the highlight for sure!! 

We also loved taking the subway (where we realized we don't pay very good attention to the signs around us, Jeff rode with us in the GIRL car!) into Coptic Cairo where we saw beautiful ancient churches.

Jeff and Rachel were great tour guides!!

Nile River

An evening out in Cairo, searching for the nearest Starbucks!! We loved the city at night, it was always bright, loud and full of activity.

Islamic Cairo, where we went into a mosque and visited the Khan market. With so much shopping, coffee shops and people watching you could easily spend a whole day there!!

Lastly, a few days in beautiful Sharm el Sheikh on the Red Sea..

We are feeling rested and ready for TWO teams to arrive. The Mpigi team arrives in a few days and our PA Outreach team at the beginning of February!

WOW!!!

Just a few pictures from our first day in Egypt!!!