One of the last things we did in Egypt was something that Snake was the most interested in but the rest of us thought it sounded fun as well --- taking quad bikes (ATVs with 4 wheels instead of 3) out into the desert. After being fitted with
head scarves to wear over our mouths and faces to keep out the dust, we boarded our quads. Right away I noticed the sticker that indicated no one under 16 should drive but I am sure they didn't really mean Snake. Every insurance-filled-bone in my body should have been screaming out "hey what are you doing?!!" but I went on. No real instructions, just get on and go. I have to admit I was a bit nervous and probably over cautious, which is why I was at the end of the line. I could go as fast as I wanted, although I was encouraged, or nagged, along by our tour guides.The ride is on sand, not paved road, and it was pretty bumpy. The sand flies in the
air all over the place. It is tricky to keep pace, you want to be close enough to keep up but not too close to have to deal with all the dust the quad in front kicks up. Between the scarf and my sunglasses, I managed not to swallow any dust or get any in my eyes. We rode for about an hour and then you come to an area where there is an open air little cafe, where there are hundreds of the same kind of bikes parked. Apparently this is a very popular excursion in the area. We were directed to a small area where we sat and had some tea, took a load off. We were lucky there wasn't another group in our area and we had the place to ourselves. The kids and Bruce tried some shisha which is a fruit based product smoked through a water pipe. (Oh, I can see the disapproving looks --- it's not like we gave them heroin. It is part of the experience, the culture.) It was fairly obvious neither of them had smoked anything before, not much inhaling going on. I don't think I am going to have to drag them out of the shisha bars on Edgeware Road.While we were sitting around drinking tea and smoking we got to talking to our Egyptian guide Abdulla. He asked where we were from. One interesting thing we noticed was that Egyptians didn't really seem to be able to differentiate between English and US accents. Very often they would think we were from the UK. Anyway when we mentioned the United States, he told us that he would love to talk politics with us but the tour company didn't really like him to. Of course, that was all we needed to hear and so we really encouraged him and encouraged him and encouraged him. Finally he agreed. I thought we would be discussing presidential politics because as I mentioned previously, Egyptians for the most part seem to have quite a good grasp of what is going on in that area in the US. However, that wasn't what he wanted to talk about. He was more interested in talking about the war and the perception of US citizens about the people in the Middle East. He believes very strongly that the US people hate people from the area, Egyptians, Iranians, Saudis etc. He thinks we all lump them into one group; ironically while doing the same himself. This viewpoint is encouraged and perpetuated by the local media. Abdulla professes not to understand why the western world, lead by the United States interjects itself into the region. Then came the most amazing statement of all. He doesn't believe that Middle Easterners orchestrated and carried out the 911 bombings for several reasons. First, all of the "alleged" bombers were Muslims. He believes that Muslims would not purposely cause the death of innocent people because of their faith. His second reason is that this plot was too sophisticated, too complex for a Muslim to conceive let alone carry out. He believes his fellow Egyptians and the Muslims from other countries in the region to be too simple, too pure in thought and deed to come up with something so dastardly. At first I thought maybe he didn't believe 911 happened but that was not what he was saying. He does think it happened, and get this - he believes that Israel (or the Jews as he kept saying) and the US orchestrated it together so the US would have a reason to attack the Middle East. Wow! Where do you go with that? I asked him if he knew other people who shared that belief. He told us that most of his friends believe similarly. I had read before that there were people in the Middle East who didn't believe 911 had happened but I hadn't heard this before. It was really fascinating listening to him talk. He wasn't lecturing, yelling, aggressive or upset. It is his genuine belief that Israel had something to do with this. It took me off guard but after reflection, I think it is very typical of the area. Over our past few days I had heard more than one reference to the different Israel/Egyptian conflicts and other comments about Israel or Jews. Adbulla was sincere and straightforward and I think he really believes what he is saying. Chizz and I found it fascinating and we talked to him for some time. It was really interesting getting a perspective on the whole war thing from this part of the world. We (meaning the US and our partners in these endeavors) may like to think that we know what the people here want but I don't think we have a clue. As incredible as it may seem to us, not every country or every people wants to be like America or Americans or have what America has or Americans have. It is way too complex to boil it down to "democracy or bust".
After our great conversation and a quick bit to eat, we wandered over to a Bedouin
encampment. I think the idea is that you get a feel for the lifestyle. I am not so sure these people live right here but apparently not far away. There were the ever-present camel rides. The kids and Chizz went, I politely declined. Hey!! I have ridden 2 camels in my life which I am willing to be is about 2 more than most of you - so off my back!!! Besides, someone needed to take pictures. We got a view of how the women make bread on an open fire. It was actually like a little tortilla. They managed to cook the bread, offer a sample and watch their 
children, who were playing nearby, all at the same time.
There was a cool demonstration of weaving on a very complex loom kind of thing.
Kiki made friends with the little boy hiding by the loom. She scooped him up and carried him about for a while. He kept wanting to kiss her. Adorable.
So we watched the sunset from the desert and it was brilliant. We climbed up a little hill so we could see it better.
Afterwards we got back on our quads and headed back for our 1 hour ride back to the base station. This time however, they wouldn't let us wear our sunglasses. Being a contact lens wearer, I was more than a little worried I would get sand and dust in my eyes and it would be all over. But the guide encouraged us and we went on. To be on the safe side, I squinted all the way back. I am so going to blame my crow's feet on this adventure, regardless of the fact that they were there before this trip. It was much scarier going back because it was dark and it made it more difficult to see the rocks and other debris that you should try and avoid. I stayed much closer to Kiki who was in front of me this time so I could see what she did. So, to mock an old parental saying, if she had driven off the bridge so would I. But much to my relief, she is a good driver and led me home (sort of).
We were so dust filled, that the black capris I was wearing looked light brown. Our showers that night ran very muddy for quite some time. I think that is the sign of a good outing, don't you?
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