Egypt

Tis been a while since we last talked, and I now find myself in Egypt!

It is amazing, beautiful, wondorous, mysterious, and unbelievable!
First off, before some of you gasp for breath, this place is safer than Baltimore! I can rome the streets at 4:00 in the morning without fear!! The people here are kind, welcoming, beyond helpful, and have a great sense of humor--I feel right at home! Egyptians are so beautiful in every sense of the word as is their language, the only danger I am in is staying here forever--and even then it would be paradise!

Myself and two girlfriends left Kenya, had a SURPRISE (and I mean surprise) layover in Sudan (yikes! civil war! run away, run away!), and then off to Cairo landing at 12:30 a.m. Again gardians were watching out for us, a man sitting right in front of us, smiled and said "Welcome to Egypt." He then took it upon himself to adopt us and make sure that we were taken care of. He took us through customs, got us a taxi, got us a hotel, and gave us his home number to ask him or anyone in his family for any favor we might need anytime of day or night! That was our introduction to the people of Egypt.

Cairo is AMAZING!! It was 1:00 in the morning and the city was bursting with life! Further more their soccer team had just won a game and thousands of men were happily celebrating in the streets--we had a ton of fun our very first night.

Oh, and on one toast to moms, cause they think that I'm Egyptian!!! I love it!

The next day brought us to the incredible Egyptian museum and a boat ride down the Nile. From there we took a spectacular horse ride through the desert and around the pyramids--I'm in love with this country! Police on camelback came to greet us and rode with us part of the way, we circled the pyramids which are some of the most beautiful structures I've ever seeen in my life! We wove our way through local markets and explored the less touristic and more residential parts of towns, met some wonderful people, and then found ourselves at a soccer game!

Yep, at the last minute, we got tickets to this huge game--no big deal really, just three little american girls in a sea of 18,000 men at the finals!!! There were police, undercover police, tons of men with riot gear, muzzled dogs, it was a scene to say the least! The turned out to be great fun, we made friends easily and they were very good about protecting us when a flag burst into flames a row below us, when a fight broke out right next to us, when someone with some kind of torch or flame thrower decided to throw flames RIGHT above our heads, or when the riot broke out two rows above us and all the secret agents and riot geared men burst on the scene causing all these men to fall down several rows of seats. Other than that, not much happened excpet for a really exciting game! :)

Onward to Mt. Sinai and Sharm El Sheik and the Rea Sea--I woke up at 5:30 on our night bus. There higlighted by the deep orange light of dawn were the most dramatic desert mountains. Severe, jagged, harsh looking, carved by sands, winds, and time, they were beautifully set off by the warm light of the rising sun and the surrounding dunes of sand. From high above sea level, we could look down into the distance and there was an oasis, a town carved out of the desert that kissed the sea.

Now I'm aware that there is some story i can't fully remember about way the Rea Sea is in fact called the Red Sea, but I swear to you it is the bluest water I have EVER and will EVER see!! I am CONVINCED they dye this stuff--colors this vibrant and true are simply not possible!!!! This is suppose to be one of the best scuba diving sites in the world, and through I have never dove before, I couldn't let the oportunity pass me by. Let's just say I now plan to get certified--IT WAS OUT OF THIS WORLD! The coral reefs are ever color, type, size, and shape, holding the most wonderous sea life that seemingly floats, flys, glides, darts, and dances through the water! Every type of fish, the most vibrant colors, tiny angle fish to groupers half my size, parrot fish, sea turtles, white tipped sharks, eels bigger than me, and schools of dolphins--in all my travels I have been blinded to the magical world of water! There is so much beauty in this world.

There is so much beauty in this world.

I am happy we came here for more reasons than one. I have had the opportunity to sit down with many Egyptians who have told me how sorry they were for what happened in Spetember, and just how sad they have been that we are the first Americans they have seen since. It's been wonderful to talk to them and to experience first hand how much we HAVE TO let go of our fears and live.

From here I head inland to Luxor, the Veley of the Dead, the tomb of Nefertiti andof King Tut, and then we will head up the Nile back to Cairo where we'll meet a lovely English lady and her really sweet Egyptian husband for a night ride in the desert.

I think I won't be too sad when I leave this land becauseI am certain I will see this place again--there is something that I can't explain that pulls you here...


all my love and best wishes from across the way,
aisha