Meri's Musings

This morning, thanks to the relentless door bumping of my cats who thought I was a laggard, I was up before the sun. On a wet Pacific Northwest morning, with heavy overcast and leaking clouds, there is scant reward for being up so early, except not having to hear the cat thumps and bumps. Ah, but in Egypt it's a different story. "Luxor Sunrise" © 2009 Meri Arnett-Kremian No matter where you are, no matter how gloomy the skies, I wish you the colors of a Luxor sunrise.

Our Egyptian tour guide gave us a special treat one night, a tour of the streets of Luxor that tourists don't generally see. These goats have taken up residence on the street where he was born and where his parents and grandparents lived before him. This house is painted with scenes showing the sights the owner saw on his pilgrimage to Mecca. This is the way that people tell others about their holy pilgrimage, publicly reveal their devotion to Islam. The end of his old childhood street used to be walled off so there was no direct access to the market area. They had to take a several-block-long route to reach the market. The wall of the neighborhood barber shop tips us off as to the proprietor's religious affiliation. A wide variety of goods is available in local markets. The horse, by the way, is pulling the cart upon which we were riding, Seeing American tourists riding on a farm cart was a source of great amusement to the citizens of Luxor. We were more than happy to have the...