11-27 (Tuesday) Siwa Oasis

Siwa is such an interesting place. It is out in the middle of nowhere in the western desert near the Lybian border. The streets are unpaved (dirt) and almost everyone gets around on donkey cart. There are few cars or motorcycles. You see very few women because they must get permission from their husbands to leave the house. The women are fully covered unlike some of the women in Egypt. It is a fasinating culture. I wish I could have spent more time there.

We are staying in a really cute place but there is NO heat and it gets so cold at night. We have great camel hair blankets on our beds but taking a shower is no for sissies.

We met such an interesting family today: Penny (mother) Duncan (father) and children Sasha-15 and Claudia-11 (there's also a son-10.) They are from London but have been living in Siwa for two years. They own a "villa" outside of town which is a hotel. They also own property in Sri Lanka and Romania. They spend their summers in Romania. The children (and adults) speak Arbic and Romanian. Penny has a shop in town, where we met her. Duncan was a photographer with some big newspaper in London when they decided to throw in the towel and see the world.