Beirut Cairo

... city in Africa and the Middle East with a population of 18 million. It is infinite and inexhaustible. Different religions, different cultures – sometimes, it seems, even different eras – coexist amid the jostling crowds and aging monuments gathered here at the Nile delta. After crossing the majestic and mighty Nile, which cuts through the city, we continued to the Giza Plateau. Here stands the only remaining Wonder of the Ancient World, the Great Pyramid of Cheops, the ...

... including a university professor of sociology and anthropology from Agadir, Morocco, and his one-year-old son, Soni.<br><br>When we arrived in Casablanca around 3pm, we thought we would stow bags in the station's "left luggage" facilities and head out to see a few hours of Casablanca (namely, the Hassan II Mosque) &#8211; but guess what? It turns out that Casablanca&#8217;s train station is about the only station that ...

... countries that are the most advanced and developed are not immune. <br><br>For example, South Africa is hosting the 2010 World Cup next June and July and has been upgrading facilities and infrastructure and constructing new facilities (stadiums, rail lines, border crossings). While the facilities and infrastructure are going to look great, South Africa is likely to still have the same inefficiencies in service, systems and ...

... as they were not sans tackle and strutted themselves about accordingly. Unlike the south of Italy, Roman dogs must be on leads and when in a resataurant, deport themselves appropriately!<br><br>Well, I'll sign off now - spent a lovely hour in the beautiful Museum of Islamic Ceramics near the hotel - the building was modelled on Alahmbra in Spain and was worth the entrance fee all by itself. Will try to write again before we leave Cairo - take care, all - inshallah<br><br><br><br><br><br><br>

... into where we were allowed 30 minutes!? <br><br>Admittedly there was some lovely work available in this shop but the commercialism was the overriding and off-putting feature of the day. There is a tackiness about the Egyptian custodianship of one of the wonders of the world which leaves a bad taste.<br><br>We had lunch at the Meridien Hotel in a very large dining room where the food was excellent and wine was included. We were then loaded on to the bus ...

... as we would have been in seats on the train, not beds, so comfort wise it would be about the same.<br>Before leaving for our 13 hour bus journey, we stopped at a huge shopping mall on the outskirts of Cairo. We could stock up on snacks for the bus and eat dinner before leaving. We were at the mall on a Sunday night, from about 9:30pm to 11pm and what surprised me is that it was open. Where would you find a mall open at that time back home? And on top of that, the ...

... viewpoint before the pyramids closed, and, as cheesy as it sounds, there was a bit of an appeal to riding around the pyramids on a camel. We foolishly paid up, and mounted our camels for our tour. The camels were actually a lot bigger than I expected or remember seeing in Aladdin. But I soon realized that this wasn't the only way to get out to the distant viewpoint before the pyramids closed, as the camels walked at about 80% of the speed of ...

... 9: Roman theatre - the Arqueological Museum &#8211; Jerash - Artemis Temple<br><br>Breakfast at hotel- Enjoy an excursion to visit the Roman theatre, the Arqueological Museum, King Abdullah I Mosque then visit Jerash, Nemphyum, Artemis Temple, North theatre, St.Cosmos &amp; Demeanors church- Drive to Petra or Rekem (The ancient name for Petra) - transfer to your hotel. Overnight in Petra.<br><br>Day 10: Red Rose Rock city or the lost city - Kasr Al ...

... take us to the Temple gates, which turned out to be a 5 minute drive, and come back and take us home after an hour and a half. <br><br>Joe liked Obama. He hadn't heard the speech yet because he'd been waiting outside the hotel, but he was going to watch it that night. To him Obama was a good man and much better than Bush.<br><br>We did fine at Karnac temple on our own. Melissa read from Alice's lonely planet guide book and we walked around for an hour and a ...

... Dressed in their formal black uniforms, they looked even more uncomfortable than I felt. I tried to not imagine how long they had been standing there nor how long they would have to remain at attention without rest or water. I noticed that none of them carried their normal arsenal of second-hand AK-47's, AK-74's and dusty shotguns. Apparently they could not be trusted for actual security operations, but were useful enough for the spectacle of security. As I neared the building, the ...