Merowe Pyramids!!

This was the weekend. We drove 4 hours north to see the pyramids of Merowe. It was so amazing. We camped among the ruins and walked over to the pyramids to take pictures and enjoy the sights. The camping trip was fun and about 30 faculty members came on the trip. We had a campfire, guitars and sing alongs and sheesha pipes. There was also a dust storm in the middle of the night so my original plan to sleep outside didn't work for long. The night started out clear with out a moon so you could see so many stars. Then the wind started to pick up and soon I could constantly feel the sand grit in my teeth. So I went back to my tent which actually had started to blow away. We had to turn the tent so the door faced the wind that way it wouldn't get blown over. Those were some strong winds! The dust storm made it so that in the morning the sun was not as intense...since dust was still hanging low in the air. It was a great trip and here are some fun pictures from the weekend.

desert camping

So last week we tried to go to Meroe to see the pyramids. I went with a small group (Connelly's and Jon) and we drove up north a couple hours. When we got to a checkpoint and gave them our passports we were denied entry. No matter the negotiations they wouldn't let us pass. Somehow we didn't have the right permits even though we checked with our security liason before leaving. So after an hour of that we drove 1/2 way back to Khartoum and camped near the cool rock mountains.

It was sooooo wonderful to get out of the city. I forget how much I love to just be in nature, in the quiet away from noise and buildings and lots of people. It was a full moon so the night was bright and there were cool rocks everywhere for us to climb. We had fun with the slow shutter speed camera, a tripod and flashlights. Check out the pictures!

We will try for Meroe again, in 2 weeks. This time with the correct permits!
As we say here in Khartoum...you never have an adventure unless you leave he house! How true it is~