Jet lag is a real thing. We took turns having a mind today, maybe by tomorrow, we’ll have two again. Egypt has most of the antiquities, and most of those that can be moved are in the Cairo Museum where we spent much of the day. The famous mask of Tutenkhamen is just a piece of what was in the tomb when it was found. It and all the rest are in the cavernous museum [which itself is an antiquity in need of restoration]. The streets of Cairo are as interesting as the antiquities. Tight fitting designer jeans with Moslem headcoverings predominated. The men are arm and arm, but couples display little affection in public. The call to prayer blares from speakers periodically apparently replacing the imams in minarets. Best I could tell, it didn’t affect the people who continued on laughing and talking.
We learned many things about ancient Egypt, but there were modern things too. 25% of Egyptians live in Cairo [20,000,000]. The government is being moved out to decrease the population by 3 million or so. But Egyptians all live along the Nile, everything else is desert. So, they’re building "another Nile" to the West from Aswan north. That will increase their usable land from 4-5% to 25%. The plan is for another 8-9 Million people to move from Cairo to the "another Nile." Everyone is being moved from Luxor [where the Valley of the Kings is located], in part to preserve their antiquities. Apparently, the rank and file Egyptians have never lived in prosperity, even in antiquity. This massive re-engineering the Nile is seen as a step towards general prosperity for all Egyptians for the first time ever.
We passed a "demonstration" [attended by more riot police than demonstrators]. It was the telephone workers wanting higher wages. Our guide said [almost with pride], "this is something new – demonstrations. It’s the first step to democracy. You all know that democracy is a hard road." I guess I never thought about it that way, but it sounds good to me.
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