Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Travels: Egypt

This is a photo I took of one of the pyramids of Giza (just outside of Cairo) when I traveled to Egypt in December of 2006. It's crazy, Egypt was one of those places I read and studied about in school but I never thought I would go there. Ever. It never seemed possible but, thanks to my job I was assigned to go to Egypt on business! I have always been very interested in archeology and history, so to see the pyramids and the artifacts of King Tut's tomb was huge for me. It was like studying a piece of art and then seeing it in person, right there in front of me. No matter how much I thought I knew about it or how closely I had examined it in books everything looked a little different in real life. A few things surprised me about the pyramids of Giza. The first was the size - the enormity of them! They. Are. Gigantic. The next thing that surprised me about the pyramids was the rough, step-like texture. Even though you can see this in pictures, in my mind I have always imagined them as they originally were, with a completely smooth limestone surface. The surface used to be highly polished and reflective. Also, they would have been topped with capstones that may have been made of gold. I was also surprised when I entered the inner chamber of the Great Pyramid. I thought it would be cool like a cave but it was clammy and stuffy like I was breathing the same air that had been trapped there thousands of years ago when they sealed the entrance. Only after seeing them myself do I fully understand why they have held our fascination for thousands upon thousands of years. (And why some people think aliens built them!) My advise? Go see them for yourself!

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Photos

To be honest, I'm not much of a writer but I do love taking pictures. So I'll use this blog to post my photographs and write a little about them. Last February I started a photography project. The goal was to take a picture a day for year. I was doing really well until my camera broke in July! I have a new camera now and I'm thinking about starting the project over again beginning January 1, 2009. We shall see. Meanwhile, I'll post some of my favorite photos and hope everyone enjoys my photo blog!