May 14 it must be Cairo Whatever we think about the world we live in and the continuous conflicts mankind can’t get beyond; I am pretty sure one of the weapons is population. Guess what; Europe and America are losing fast! Trust me, I am not suggesting we get in this fight but we do need to figure out how we deal with it in the future. Cairo is in the desert with only the precious Nile for water. The official population is 20,000,000. However, our guide says they really don’t have a clue and it is likely much more. I believe her. Watching people in every form of transportation, all on the same roads (buses, cars, VW microbuses (with 15 people on board), donkey carts and camels, lots of motorcycles) is high entertainment and we had a great driver. He never got ruffled. The JW Marriot in Cairo is literally and oasis of green in the middle of a high end condo development in the middle of the desert. We eat all of our meals in hotels. Everyone goes to see the pyramids and Sphinx at Giza just 16 kilometers from downtown Cairo. The construction is truly amazing especially when you think the Egyptian pyramids were build between the 6th and 2nd centuries BC. It was barely the Iron Age. Our guide was very specific about times and what not to do. That is: don’t speak to anyone, don’t take anything from anyone and don’t give anything to anyone and be back at the meeting point no later than the specified time or she’d leave you. Pretty simple, right? We broke all the rules. I was always late because I kept getting the SECRET and very private tunnel tour. Let me tell you, going into a hole in the ground surrounded by litter with a great big Egyptian can get your heart pounding. But, I did get to see and touch newly discovered (2 months) hieroglyphs. The great big Egyptian did not kidnap me and actually spoke very good English and as was everyone we me,t very helpful and appreciative. Then off to the Egyptian Museum. It is worth the trip just to see the artifacts knowing most of the tombs had been robbed in ancient times. Many modern discoveries still are in the hands of the English and French who whisked their finds out of the country before the local authorities could stop it. Or maybe they were complicit. At any rate give the stuff back. These people are very proud of their history and it is about all they have. The Tut exhibit is astounding. Conceder he was young and one of the poorer kings when he died. What must the rest of the treasure be like! Off to Dubai now; more later. Mercer