More On Egypt

Yes...I am still in Egypt. My flight out of here is delayed till the 20th!! I thought my flight out of here was today, but the airline lady in Nairobi had apparently put me on the waiting list. All this time I thought it was Okayed, that's until I called to confirm my flight. Arhhh....Get me out of here. The place is like 40 deg C out there, my only refuge is this Internet cafe (with air conditioning!!).

Cairo, is a very nice city, but after seven or eight days, I had seen all the sights, stroll around the city more than anyone I know... I am just tired. Tired of the heat, tired of the flies (I called it the "Egyptian Alarm Clock", since they usually wakes you up before anything else). Went to see the Camel Market outside the city yesterday. Interesting place. "Not one for the animal lovers" said in the guide book. I have to admit, they are right. Tying up one of their legs, so they walk slower is one thing, beating them with a stick is another, jabbing a stick to their genitals to wake them up from exhaustion is one that will make a lot of people cringed. And then there are the rejects (diseased, injured...) outside the markets, with a reject sign painted on them, and flies hovering their wounds....

You always hear about this incredible bond between the horseman/nomads and their horse/camels, but after seeing horsemen (in China) throwing rocks at their horse's genitals just for fun and then the camel market in Cairo, I think I got a feeling some Victorian writers (or National Geographic, for that matter) just made those up for good reading.

A good place for a bit of reality, after weeks of tourist attractions. I think I am ready to watch a bull fight in Spain now... If I have time...I'll still be going home on the 25th, as planned. Days in Spain just got cut shorter and shorter still.