Egypt - an Arabic country yet a country with a well-known history. I had the honor of visiting this country along with 29 youths from around the world, through Rotary. What is Rotary you might ask? Rotary is a global network of 1.2 million neighbors, friends, leaders, and problem-solvers who see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change – across the globe, in our communities, and ourselves. The camp was of 11 days inclusive of the day of arrival and the day of departure. For us, our camp started the day we all left our homes to travel to Cairo. The whole day, we were welcomed in the groups and taken to the hotel we about to stay. The main event - the next day. We first and foremost visited Bibliotheca Alexandrina, located in Alexandria, Egypt. The Great Library of Alexandria in Alexandria, Egypt, was one of the largest and most significant libraries of the ancient world. The Library was part of a larger research institution called the Mouseion, which was dedicated to the Muses, the nine goddesses of the arts. The idea of a universal library in Alexandria may have been proposed by Demetrius of Phalerum, an exiled Athenian statesman living in Alexandria, to Ptolemy I Soter, who may have established plans for the Library, but the Library itself was probably not built until the reign of his son Ptolemy II Philadelphus. The Library quickly acquired a large number of papyrus scrolls, due largely to the Ptolemaic kings' aggressive and well-funded policies for procuring texts. It is unknown precisely how many such scrolls were housed at any given time, but estimates range from 40,000 to 400,000 at its height. The next thing on our days of exploring Ancient Egypt was the Great Pyramids of Giza, Sphinx, Egyptian Museum and shopping spree at Khan el khalily! All 3 in 1 day! We all know the story of the pyramids but still, for anyone who wants to know, the Giza pyramid complex, also called the Giza Necropolis, is the site on the Giza Plateau in Egypt that includes the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Pyramid of Khafre, and the Pyramid of Menkaure, along with their associated pyramid complexes and the Great Sphinx of Giza. All were built during the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom of Ancient Egypt. The Great Sphinx of Giza (English: The Terrifying One; literally: Father of Dread), commonly referred to as the Sphinx of Giza or just the Sphinx, is a limestone statue of a reclining sphinx, a mythical creature with the body of a lion and the head of a human. Facing directly from West to East, it stands on the Giza Plateau on the west bank of the Nile in Giza, Egypt. The face of the Sphinx is generally believed to represent the pharaoh, Khafre. Like every city in any country has a local bazaar where the things are sold at a cheap cost, for Cairo, Khan el khalily was that place. We had the Rotary meeting where we thanked the sponsor club in Egypt for having us there and also the Rotary International District 2451. We did a fundraiser stall to collect funds which we later donated to Magdi Yacoub Heart Center in Aswan 2 days after the Rotary meeting. While we were at the center, we learned how the doctors, surgeons, and the research team find out the problems with one’s heart by different methods and charge nothing from the patient, reaching out to the population which doesn’t have money to go for the treatment. We also visited the temple of Karnak and Philae both were dedicated to God Amrunra and Goddess Hector respectively. Philae temple is built on an island in Aswan which was originally connected to the mainland but due to the building of the Aswan Dam, the River Nile surrounded the temple. Karnak means castle in Arabic. This temple has the contribution of 65 pharaohs which also include Queen Hatshepsut. The temple is a whole complex that was never finished. We all also asked for 3 wishes walking anticlockwise around the scrub. Though we did learn more about this beautiful country, by the end, we all learned something or the other of the other 16 countries along with Egypt. We all are on the tracks of our lives but this camp will stay in our hearts and memories forever. rotary.org