Tomorrow all twenty-three of us and a few staff members leave Amman for yet another big adventure... this time to Umm Al-Duniyeh (أم أدنيا), aka EGYPT. Umm Al-Duniyeh translates to Mother of the World which is what many people in the Arab World know Egypt as because it is known as being a place where one can find everything... the extreme contrasts between tradition, modernity, excessive wealth, extreme poverty, new development, ancient ruins and holy sites, and of course, the Nile River. We will be there for seven full days that are mostly scheduled by SIT but we have one free day to do as we wish. My plan is to take a little day trip to Alexandria which is not very far by train and is situated on the Mediterranean Sea. I want to venture outside the mega city of Cairo at least once so that I do not have that experience as my only impression of such a diverse country. We'll also be visiting the Pyramids, of course.
That is all for now as I am truly making this blog a quick update! More to come after Egypt! Love and miss everyone dearly!
... just some fresh fig eatin'
I can't wait to hear about your experience in Egypt. I spent almost a month there back in 1990. Not long after I visited Queen Hatshepsut's temple, 56 japanese tourist were killed by a group lead by Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri. Alexandria is a great idea. They've uncovered an entire city in the bay as well. I think it was destroyed and sank from an earthquake, but I'll wait to hear what you've got to say. Don't forget to bring lots of Backshesh! Have Fun! - Mike Girouard
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