Egypt

I came into Egypt not really knowing what to expect other that a lot of tourists. Though I haven't been disappointed in that regard (or maybe I have) Egypt has turned out to be much more than I could've guessed. Start with the fact that it's *huge.* In Amman the highest buildings are 10, maybe 12 stories but most of the buildings are 5 at most. Egypts apartment blocks are all 15 -20 stories. The hotels are usually higher. The buildings are mostly European style, not the simple blocky Amman type, and covered in a thick coat of grime from the horrendous pollution. My punk rock sense was immediately assuaged after a month and a half in suburban Amman. They actually have a metro here which I will ride at the first opportunity because it's *awesome* their railroad too makes me feel very punk rock. The cabs are all ramschackle and don't run on the meter so you have to negotiate the price before hand. This can suck in that you end up by and large paying more but also can help because it's in their interest to get there as fast as possible. They drive very fast and are all black except for the many blue light accessories that they can buy. This has led me to sing "Black Cab" by Jens Lekman nearly constantly while I am in them. The roads are really well designed for their lack of proper planning and means of expansion. Basically they run two levels of traffic, a two lane road above and below plus parking and turning avenues between the columns. The constant sense of being under something also lends to the punk rock feel.
The other thing is that there's actually water here so there's lots and lots of green. And huge trees of all varieties. Honestly they don't have enough to filter out the pollution that is giving even me asthma.
We've met so far with the Grand Mufti (actually he only spent a few minutes with us because, as the most preeminent Muslim scholar in Egypt he has commitments) who was not very helpful but his assitant definitely was. The Grand Mufti and his assorted mufti assistants are in charge of issuing fatwas, which are literally 'non-binding religious advice' so essentially what amounts to chatting it up with a priest. About 250 people come in a day to talk to a Mufti, there's also a hotline and a webserver that issues fatwas. All told they probably issue about 1000 fatwas a day and they have a web based database for past fatwas, ordered by subject. Most of the fatwas relate to family advice, another big chunk to financia. So basically it's like a counseling session for many people, which is a very very good thing. However, as hard as I try I can't shake the image of the Grand Mufti and his little mufti elves making fatwas for all the good boys and girls.
We of course have done the museum/pyramids/holy buildings tour because that's what you do when you're in Egypt. Pyramids are big and apparently come from Uganda.
Do you remember that kid in elementary school who was really eager about everything and knew everything, usually a little pudgy, always had his hand up really high and acted with such naive purpose? Chances are, if I consider you a friend, you were this person, as was I, but he was also our tour guide for the Egyptian museum and the pyramids. It was great in that he could actually read heiroglyphics, knew extensively the history of everything, and set us up for hilarious commentary (for example he was discussing the bent pyramid and how the pharoah that built it had not given up because his first pyramid was bent, prompting about half the group to start quoting Monty Python: "So I built a second one, just to show 'em, that sank into the swamp, so I built a third one, that burned down fell over then sank into the swamp...") It sucked in that he moved very quickly and had a very loud and eager voice, and obviously mourned the loss of such a culture that could produce such wonderful things. I did appreciate a lot of what he had to say.
Our hotel rooms have balcony's. They've been employed for drinking as St. Patty's was last week. It was convenient that since green is the color of islam, all mosques have neon green lights at night. Therefore, they celebrate St. Patricks day.