Paws

Over the course of my travels my feet have changed. In the Western world men always cover their feet with socks and shoes or trainers. Everywhere we walk the feet are sheltered from danger. I have only worn proper shoes twice in the past 6 months and they are starting to show the wear. Ive gone from baby skin soft to rough and callased. Its amazing how fast they transform from tender to battle hardened. Though I must admit Ive had a lot of painful moments breaking them in.

Hammam

I just had my fırst experience with the Turkish Bath. After the separation of the sexes they usher you into a private room where you strip and wrap yourself in the provided towel. Then you enter a giant steam room with a huge marble stone dominating in the center. It is heated from below and as soon as you lay on this disc you immediately begin to sweat. After 20 minutes of this a large Turkish man begins your scrubdown. First the exfoliation then a bubbly scrub as you flip over a few times. After a brief massage he takes you to the outside edge for your shampoo-face wash-head rub combo. Finish with the cold rinse and some fresh towels. Ahhhh.

Overall a great experience and not a bad way to spend an hour. It comes highly recommended to all!

Pyramids

I know I've been getting down on Egypt in the last few posts. But it really is an amazing country and so much more inviting that some of the other Middle Eastern destinations I have visited. Lots of hieroglyphics, tombs, ruins and of course the pyramids. They rank up there as one of the most amazing things I have seen on this trip. According to our tour guide it is the last surviving wonder of the ancient world. It will still take some centuries yet to crumble them to oblivion. These structures are of a monumental scale that pictures can never do justice. The Great Pyramid is comprised of boulders that weigh over a metric ton each. It is said that if all the stones were taken from the Great Pyramid, they would build a wall 3 meters high and circumnavigate France! I'm telling you now: you've got to see it to believe it.

Baksheesh

This is the Egyptian word for "tip." It is requested for almost anything. Picture with a camel, picture with a guard, ride on a horse, pointing out a hieroglyph, looking in a tomb, handing you a paper towel. Everyone wants their baksheesh. Seriously, can't they just raise the admission prices a bit and pay these gentleman a decent wage? The worst part of this system is that there is a shortage of 1 and 5 pound notes throughout the country. You just can't get them. Banks won't give you change. Shops would rather you walk out without buying anything than break your 10. Even though 10 pounds is only 2 US dollars!!! Where are all the notes? Are people wiping with them and throwing them away. I don't and probably won't ever get it.

Asswipe: AKA the town of Asswan

Never before have I seen such a collection of touts, hoodlums, hustlers, scammers and hawkers. This could possibly be the worst town in Egypt. It lies near the bottom of the country in the Nile basin and has the tourist friendly quality of a hungry pitbull. It was feeding time and I felt like the prey. Of course there is the usual T-shirts, tours and spices. But here, the main money maker is taking you somewhere in a vehicle, whether that is a boat, horse or cab. In the previously mentioned order: If I hear the words "faluca?", "carriage?" or "Taksi?" again, I might truly scream.

A bottle of water costs 2 Egyptian Pounds everywhere in the country. I walk up to buy 2 and we actually had a guy straight-face us, look directly in my eyes and say "30 pounds." Are you F'in kidding me? I bought them for 4, but the debate to do it is 1.5 minutes of my life that I will never get back and should never have been spent on such a thief.

Hosni Mubarak

It's election time in Egypt. But aside from the banners everywhere (all displaying the incumbent and his message) you wouldn't know it by asking the man on the street. Officials estimate that as little as 30% of voters actually turned out at the polls. The problem is that everybody already knows who the winner is. Voting against this guy would be like placing a bet on last years world cup loser.

This is in fact the first actual multi-party democratic election in Egypts history. Mr Mubarak, who has been in power for 24 years, is running for another six-year term against eight other candidates. His chances of losing are slim. Despite the Egyptian Judiciary committee overruling the ban: International monitors were not allowed to observe the elections! As you can imagine there are already reports of widespread abuses.

But even if people were motivated to vote I'm not sure they would change their leadership. In such a turbulent region can you really blame anyone that just wants a little stability?

On the Road in Petra, Jordan

CATS

No, we’re not talking about the Tony award winning Broadway musical here. Even more annoying than show tunes is the ever pervasive stream of feline accompaniment when one sits down to enjoy a meal in Egypt. You can well imagine all the wonderful Egyptian symbolism the cat evokes in people. For most of us it’s been cultivated through a steady diet of National Geographic and the Discovery Channel. But I never realized how it would translate into real, everyday life. There are cats here in Egypt - lots of them. The majority - as you can imagine - have no home. They carouse at your shoes and swing from the rooftops. Quite literally they are everywhere. In many ways it is a sad testament to a country without an animal control service. In others – these cats are living as wild an existence as humanity affords. They use their cunning and wit to forage for food, find suitable shelter, breed at will and basically survive in the world to which they were thrown. There are quite a few Broadway musicals that could learn a thing or two from these beasts.