one more from Cairo

Or, should I say, "una mas de Cairo." I think more Egyptians speak espanol than the average OC soccer moms. In the Coptic district we saw whole stores advertising in Spanish (No English to be seen.) We're accosted by constant: "Hola! Como estas? Cola frio!" etc.

We're living in a truly global world.

We got a taste of every major religion today (and hence probably ran the gamut of conflict in the Middle East.) In the Coptic district, we visited the Hanging Church (Al Muallaqah) and then the Ben Ezra Synagogue, which is allegedly the site where the pharoah's daughter found Moses hiding. It's a small synagogue that looks like an orthodox church from the inside, save for the torah on the altar in the middle. That should serve the roughly 200 Jews left living in Egypt (according to our guidebook.) Then we caught a cab to the city's massive Citadel, home to the even more massive Mohammed Ali mosque. I wore a knee-length skirt and t-shirt, which apparently was enough to require me to don a green smock. Ladies in t-shirts and capris got through unscathed. Don't worry, I took a picture. Yes, I PROMISE I'm about to look for a place to download my pictures.

Security appears to be tighter today. We actually had the tourism police all but escort us through the metro station and there were several metal detectors and pat downs to enter the citadel. Luxor should be quieter, though Sharm el-Sheikh ought to be pretty tight, too.

Another word on food: We've given up on overcharging at restaurants and are sticking with falafel and foul (pronounced fool) and koshary (a vegetarian noodle dish) from street vendors. A complete meal for the three of us, with fresh mango and strawberry juices cost $2 and was infinitely tastier than the kebabs in the restaurants (which, for me, are all too familiar.)

Freeha left us today and should be at the airport by now. Courtney and I will finish our last night in Cairo with a boat ride down the Nile before catching the 12:30 a.m. train to Luxor. It's a 12-hour ride. Should be interesting...