To Egypt we shall go

Three post in a row because I've been without internet for a few days.

We are up very early today as we have a long journey ahead of us. Leaving Jerusalem at 7 am we journey back towards the dead sea and then head south following the dead sea toward the bottom most corner of Israel. Just before the border some 5 hours later we stop at El'ait for lunch. While there we receive news that this area has just had two missiles fired into it from some unknown location in Egypt. We have heard and seen nothing though as we get to the boarder we see missiles that have emerged from the dessert and are ready for action. We reach the boarder at Taba where we say goodbye to our driver from the last 17 days and walk from one side to the other. It takes 2.5 hours to complete the process of lining up at various check points, paying exit taxes, buying Egyptian visas and paying the boarder tax.

We meet our new arrival's agent and driver and head for a harrowing experience on the road toward Sharm 'Sharek. It's an another 4.5 hour drive but our driver at times is exceeding 130 on gravel like roads and passing aggressively. Some on the bus are very anxious, I decide to relax and ignore, The topography is totally different than I expected. Granite and volcanic rock from large mountains that we wind our way through. At the beginning we follow the gulf of Aquaba but then we wind more inland toward Sharm . The city is in the Red Sea and is primarily here to serve tourists mostly Russians who fly here for sun, gambling and night life. After viewing the large new mosque and the very large new orthodox church, we stop for dinner and then walk around the entertainment district while we wait for our flight to Cairo. Many in the group are tired and cranky but I'm fascinated by the makeup of this city. I walk with the guide and find out that almost all of the guides and shopkeepers speak Russian, and most live and work here for a month at a time, go back to their homes and families for two weeks and then return. 15000 workers reside here, sort of like the whistler of Egypt. We head to the airport to catch the 9:30 flight of our last leg of the trip to Cairo. We arrive in the dark, new agent, new driver, and off to the hotel. We can see very little around us as we go. It's been a long day and we are grateful for a nice hotel, crisp Egyptian cotton sheets and a scotch.