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my arm and into my shoulder.
    “Is there anything I can do to repay you for your generosity?” I asked.
    “Yes,” the shopkeeper said. “Avoid the same fate as my grandfather. You are young. Too young to risk your lives. Be careful and pay attention to the warnings. I will pray that my grandfather will watch over you.”
    “Thank you,” Wyatt said. “You’ve been very kind, but we really must be going. Our expedition starts tomorrow.”
    “Travel safe,” the shopkeeper said, raising his hand to us as we made our way back out the window.
    “Thanks again,” I said. “Your grandfather’s piece is in good hands. I promise.”
    The shopkeeper nodded.
    “See, Wyatt,” I said as we climbed back onto the rusty balcony. “I told you that guy wasn’t going to rip me off!”
    Through the window, I could hear the shopkeeper laugh.
WYATT
    FEBRUARY 24, 9:28 AM
CAIRO, EGYPT
17° CELSIUS, 63° FAHRENHEIT
    This morning, I saw the Great Pyramids for the first time. There’s almost no way to describe the feeling you get when you first take in a sight so amazing, but I’ll try.
    Waking again to the day’s early morning call to prayer, I stepped onto the balcony. The sky was still dark. A handful of headlights zipped along the streets below, but for the most part the city was quiet.
    Taking a deep breath, I rested my elbows on the railing and looked over the rooftops towards the desert. As the sun began to light the sky, a few shapes appeared just outside the city. Faint at first, then becoming more distinct, were three triangles. Two of them looked to be about the same size, with one much smaller triangle to the left. Almost hard to believe, but there before me was one of the seven ancient wonders of the world. The Great Pyramids of Giza!
    The largest of the three, the Great Pyramid, was built by the Pharaoh Khufu around 2550 B.C. Originally 481 feet high, the Great Pyramid currently stands at 455 feet, thanks to years of erosion. It consists of 2.5 million limestone blocks weighing between 2.5 and 15 tons each, and covers over 13 acres of land. Archeologists believe that it took 23 years to build, which seems like a long time, but a simple calculation shows that the workers would have had to put one of these massive stones in place every few minutes, round the clock, to get it done in that amount of time. And that’s just hard to comprehend.
    The pyramid of Khafre, Khufu’s son, was built to be slightly shorter than his father’s, originally standing at 471 feet. Khafre also led the construction of the Great Sphinx of Giza. With the body of a lion and the head of a king, the Sphinx sits like a guardian at the base of Khafre’s pyramid.
    The pyramid of Menkaure is the smallest of the three, originally built to a height of 218 feet. To give some perspective, it’s about one-tenth the total size of the Great Pyramid.
    Even though we’re not exactly sure how they were built, we do know why they were built, as burial chambers for the Pharaohs. In a way, they’re kind of like the world’s biggest tombstones.
    “Gannon!” I said. “Get up! You have to see this!”
    From somewhere under his covers, Gannon responded without flinching.
    “I’m sleeping,” he said.
    “But the Great Pyramids are right outside our window!” Again, Gannon didn’t budge.
    “I doubt they’re going anywhere, Wyatt,” he said. “I’ll see them when I get up.”
    I shook my head.
    “I have no clue how you won this fellowship.”
    “Skill, intelligence, and a long list of accolades,” he said from under his covers. “That’s how. Now let me get some more sleep!”

    The Great Pyramids seen from Cairo
    After a breakfast of eggs, potatoes, toast, and fresh-squeezed orange juice with our parents, the van arrived to take us to the marina on the Nile River where we’ll board a boat to Luxor. In Luxor, we’ll get first-hand experience exploring a tomb Dr. Aziz recently discovered. Dr. Aziz wants us to have a solid understanding of proper