Tuesday – Cairo - return to Tut
▲ ▲ ▲ Up early and we have our buffet breakfast of fresh fruit etc downstairs at the hotel. The food is great and the apricots are to die for. I have eaten just about everything on this trip and still no sign of Mummies Tummy. Brilliant. Either I have a cast iron stomach or the ‘medicinal’ alcohol has done the trick. This morning we are making a return visit to the Egyptian Museum. Kylie and I are the only 2 in our group that have been there before so we are one up on the rest. Hopefully Mohamed will let us do our own thing after the mandatory talk. Somehow I do not think he will want to cross paths with Sekhmet. We are glad we arrived a day early and went here before as really there is not much time to look at things today and now we can concentrate on what we missed first time round. We are only going to spend about and hour and a half here.
When we arrive we tell Mohamed that because we have been here before, we will do our own thing and we will meet him at the arranged time and place. Before he has a chance to say anything we are away – leaving Mohamed in charge of 4 persons – I don’t think Britannica was too pleased with Kylie and me departing – but hey – too bad. One does not argue with Sekhmet. We get to see the pieces from Tutankhamen’s tomb that we missed before so that was good.
Above is the tomb of Auguste Mariette a Frenchman who was the foremost Egyptologist of his generation and the founder of the Egyptian Museum. The museum is just as intriguing as it was first time around.
When we meet up with the rest - Mohamed hurries us along and we set off for The Citadel of Salah al-Din. Interesting, but I am not really into middle eastern religion. However, it is a very ornate place. 
I would have preferred to stay the day at the museum instead of hearing about Islamic culture. We even had to pay LE1.00 for an Egyptian to look after our shoes so that we could go inside. It’s a shame that we had to see this place after the Museum. If we had seen it first we could have stayed the rest of the day at the museum and walked back to our hotel. When we get back to the hotel we decide to walk across Tahrir Square to check out the life in Cairo. Well, there’s not much going on, except for a few street beggars and the usual lots of traffic so we decide we’ll get some late lunch. Not being too adventurous and craving for some junk food we see a Pizza Hut and decide that’s for us. Actually the pizza was delicious – and after having a bit more of a look around we go back to the hotel – going through the security scanners and showing our hotel passes. Another swim and relaxation therapy.
Today is a public holiday and celebration. It is the 25th anniversary of Armed Forces Day (commonly called October Day).
HISTORY LESSON : Shortly after midday on Saturday, October 6, 1973, the October War began when Egypt and Syria launched a combined surprise military assault on Israel. 
They timed the attack on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. During Yom Kippur, most Israelis were in synagogues praying and fasting. Due to the surprise attack, Egypt successfully crossed the Suez Canal on October 7 and Syrian forces advanced on the Golan Heights.
Above left is part of a procession over the Tahrir Bridge which is practically right under our balcony. I am glad that we arrived back in Cairo today so that we can sit on our balcony and watch this once a year event unfold before our eyes. There are even fireworks that are a brilliant finish to the parade!
Highlight of the day : Tutankhamen’s priceless throne.
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