The trip to Egypt came about this way. I was dating this blonde haired blue eyed guy in Memphis. He was finishing his audiology degree and I was finishing my Y2K project with International Paper.

We had been dating about a year. He is a sweetheart. For his graduation present to him (and to me) I arrange a trip to Egypt with him. Here is the twist. He speaks Arabic fluently. His first degree was in linguistics. He speaks 5 or so languages. He lived Syria and Jordan post his degree.

The Great Pyramids are truly impressive on the outside. The inside is another story. they have been completely stripped of everything. There is not even a drawing on the walls.

The mosques on the other hand are very beautiful. For a Moslem to enter to pray he must remove his shoes. Also he must wash his hands. If he is licked by a dog, he must wash his hands 7 times. There are dogs all over the place.

The Ottoman empire controlled Egypt at one time. The balcony with the lattice work was where women would look out into the world. They were not allowed out of the house very often. Men did all the shopping. Women basically were bearfoot, pregnant, and in the kitchen.

The picture that is from the underside of a balcony is part of our hotel. We stayed in a traditional Moslem small hotel. After I got use to being right next to a Mosque and being woken up for early prayers.