Egypt’s Monuments: The Great Pyramids of Giza & The Great Sphinx

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Nosimat Salami

<i>Pronouns:</i> She/her/hers <i>Home Institution:</i> Gettysburg College <i>Expected Graduation:</i> 2024 <i>Major / Minor:</i> Health Science and Public Policy / Educational Studies <i>Study Abroad Location:</i> Cairo, Egypt <i>"Hello" in your host country's language:</i> As-salamu alaykum <i>Program Provider:</i> The American University in Cairo <i>Identity:</i> African American/Black, First-Generation College Student <i>Future Career Goals:</i> My ultimate career goal is to start a nonprofit organization whose primary aim is to enhance access to and awareness of wellness options available to Latinx and African populations worldwide. Areas I want to concentrate on are preventive healthcare and education, which includes having access to better food options and health education. Lastly, an essential component of my organization would be to change or create new health policies that would allow underdeveloped communities access to housing, education, and employment. <i>Top 3 Goals for your time abroad:</i> 1. My first goal is to be more open-minded; this includes trying local food, being proficient in Arabic and engaging with the community. 2. My second goal is to go to the Bayn al-Qasrayn, this is one of many monumental buildings I want to go to. But I am really excited to see and learn about the history of Egyptian architecture. 3. Lastly, my third goal is to find research opportunities within the Global Public Health programs offered at AUC

Before getting here, I created a checklist of all the places I wanted to explore and both The Great Pyramid of Giza (Ahrฤmฤt Al-Jฤซzah) and The Great Sphinx, were the top of my list. The pyramidsโ€”Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure, correspond to the kings for whom they were built for. And The Great Sphinx, is a prominent mythological figure with the body of a lion and head of a human. Fun fact about the Great Pyramid of Giza, is that it was the tallest building at 455 ft. tall for almost 3800 years! Being up-close and actually going through the pyramids felt surreal, it was truly an amazing experience.

After spending about two hours exploring, my orientation group and I went to 9 Pyramids Lounge Restaurant. Where I had the best Koshari, which is a traditional dish mixing chickpeas, pasta, fried onions, and zesty tomato sauce, served on top a bed of rice and brown lentils. And for dessert I had Riz bi Haleeb which is an Egyptian rice pudding desert that was amazing as well.

Overall, it was fascinating to be able to visit and experience an ancient Egyptian monument that has stood through many years of time.