Our trip to the Sinai Wilderness was a pleasant break from 'round-the-clock work and study. The sea was beautiful, as was the desert, but I have no doubt whatsoever that when Moses led the Israelites into these parts, manna was not a luxury. Here's a typical shot of a landscape that goes on for hundreds of miles.



Speaking of Moses and his rod. . .



. . . only this time the sea stayed put. As you can see in the shots above and below, the other side of the gulf is quite a distance away. Moses' crossing point was probably a bit to the north where the gulf narrows.



The food along the way was excellent, including a stop for frekh and kufta here in a resettlement village. (By the way, as I think I mentioned in an earlier post, all these pictures will expand to a larger size if you click on them. Then just click the "Back" button to return to this screen).



This is Bedouin country, and we encountered quite a few, although I didn't feel it was appropriate to take their pictures. There's a bit of unrest from time to time, but the Egyptian version of the "Mounties" keep it pretty much in check.



The countryside was hot and dry, but the traveler occasionally stumbles upon an oasis where one can take advantage of the shade and the breeze.



The silence and serenity of both the desert and the seaside were a welcome departure from Cairo's unceasing hustle and bustle. I'm thinking the Sinai Bedouin would be excellent folks with whom to develop cross-cultural encounters . . . !

A City of 20 million people covering some 200-odd square miles is hard to describe in a line or two. But since you, the busy reader, don't have time to read a treatise on the subject, I'll refrain from expounding and will allow a few pictures do the talking. As they say, each picture is supposed to be worth a 1000 words.

Much can be said about what Cairo is, but I'll start which a general statement about what it's not: It ain't Clinton, Mississippi. For country folks, the change in scenery has been impressive. Here's the view out our dining room window (click on the picture to see it bigger):










Compare that to the dining room view in Clinton (see below), and you'll begin to see what I mean.



























Down at the street level, life is lived at close quarters.




















In contrast with the frantic bustle of life in the USA, the folks here tend not to take clocks very seriously. There's always time for palaver with friends over a cup of 'ah-wah or a sheesha pipe.




















And things tend to be a bit older here in Egypt than you typically find in Clinton. "Old" in Clinton is what existed in your grandfather's day. "Old" in Cairo is . . . well, the pyramids come to mind.

Relatively "new" is the stone wall pictured below. This fairly "recent" addition to the city's scenery was constructed by Salah Al-Din, the great Kurdish warrior from Tikrit, Iraq, who defeated the Crusaders in the 1100's.



















Perhaps most striking is the comfortable intermingling of old and new here in Cairo. Cairo is a study in extreme contrasts (one that will warrant an entire future entry in the Blog, in sha'allah). A prime example that needs no explanation: