The land of my dreams

Well, some 8 months after first setting foot in the land of Egypt, I am back, to a land that feels more like home than home does.   After an overnight flight from London to Cairo and on to Luxor, here I am, in the city that somehow captured my imagination back in January.

Just days before the Revolution that has seen much change in Egypt, I walked the streets of Luxor, Aswan and Cairo, drinking in the history and culture each has to offer, and became totally intoxicated and charmed.  Some would say by the sun, there is an element of truth in that, some would say by the history, and there is an element of truth in that too, but for the most part, I was charmed by the people, a people who are happy despite the difficult circumstances in which many of them live.  Poverty takes on a whole new meaning in Egypt, and in many respects, matches that of places like Soweto in many neighbourhoods, particularly in Cairo and Luxor.     People who earn less in a week than many of us would spend in Starbucks or McDonalds in one visit, that gives life a whole new perspective, yet always people are smiling, and satisfied with their lives, or at least they don't constantly complain about what they don't have, this for me set them apart from the British people that I have lived among for a lifetime.

Within days of my returning home in January the Egyptian Revolution had began - teaching me that 'happy' is relative.  It was very apparent that all was not well when I was here, it didn't take much of a genius to see that basic foods were out of the reach of millions of ordinary people, and when that happens, something has to give.  Most people who know me will know of my utter admiration for the demonstrators during the revolution, to see a people literally take their future into their own hands and demand change, even to the point of death.  Being back amongst the Egyptians, you can sense their pride at their acheivement back on 11 February as well as their frustration at the slow progress since then, so it will be with great interest that I will watch the future unfold.

Back to my being in Egypt, today is day one, 'officially' I am here for 18 weeks - but, we shall see.  One thing I know, is that I plan to enjoy every minute.