Joshu fit de battle of Jericho!

And you know what happened next, don't you?
Yes: And de walls come a-tumblin' down.







And it came to pass that in the long hours before dawn, the desert wind came up out of the West, like unto the Lion of Judah, and smote upon the walls of the Egyptian Overlord until they didst break asunder! And there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth in the houses of them that dost toil.

The poor brickies must be close to tears when they think of all the sweat they lost, only to have to do it again. Before I got there, the bricks had been separated from the cement (which was left to be trodden into the road) and placed ready for the men to come and rebuild. My heart goes out to them.

West Bank wall?

I had heard, but struggled to actually believe, that there was to be a wall constructed around the desert on the West Bank! Well, it's true, and here are the first photo's of the foundations.



These trenches are about 2 metres wide and range in depth from about a metre to 1 1/2metres. I've been told that the actual wall is to be 3 metres tall and that a new desert road is to be constructed along the outside of it, with the only entrance gate being where the road turns off for the Muhareb Monastery.


Click on the pictures to make them bigger.

These pictures were taken from outside the Sunrise Quad-Bike Safari garage, the first one looking south, and the second north towards Habu Temple. The wall is roughly 40 metres from the original roadway, and the new road will run right past several houses, maybe to within half a metre of the house walls.
It's certainly going to mean a lot more work will have to be put in by the quad-bike lads. They've already had to build a small bridge, and because they are frightened to let their guests drive over it, they have to take all the bikes over themselves and bring them back after the trip is over. What a palaver?
Let's hope all the expense and trouble is rewarded with some astounding Egyptological discoveries!

Sorry, a missed photo opportunity!

As is my wont, I was reclining on a dikkeh on the edge of the desert on the West Bank this afternoon. I was finishing reading my latest fascinating book (An Islamic Perspective on Legislation for Women, Part One. by Dr. Magda Amer) when one of my colleagues started to tell me about his friend who had just been killed yesterday in a road accident on the outskirts of Luxor. Sadly, I quickly realised that I knew the young man in question, and that he had an English wife who was a good friend of ours! Had someone told her? No-one in the family had her English phone number. I rang Freda to give her the sad news and she volunteered to break the news to our friend in England. It was obviously a thankless and very difficult task, and involved getting another of the lady's friends to be with her when the dreadful news was passed on. Our thoughts are with her as she struggles to come to terms with his untimely death.

Back to the book, as I couldn't yet leave the West Bank. After some short while I heard someone hailing "Salam Aleykum". "Aleykum Salam", I replied, as if I knew what I was talking about. I looked up to see two scruffy looking Sayeedis (country bumpkin types) approaching on equally scruffy looking donkeys. My two Egyptian companions exchanged greetings with them with a flurry of "Ak Barak"s and "Ham dul Allah"s then one of them was obviously addressing me and gesturing as he walked back to the donkey. "Cobra, Snake" then miming taking a picture! He was the snake catcher, wasn't he? It was only then that I noticed the two or three plump sacks fastened onto the donkey. Of course, being the numbskull that I am; I just waved him away, even though my camera was in my bag, not two feet away from me! One of the boys then went over to him and gave him some small backsheesh, as it seems to be very unlucky to let these types pass by without helping them on their way. It wasn't until I was recounting the tale to Freda this evening and her berating me for not getting a picture for the blog that I realised the missed opportunity, how stupid can I get?
Anyway, I just thought that you might like to know that Danone (I know, they're French!) are producing a very nice "Fruit Pieces" pineapple yogurt, and it tastes exactly like pineapple "Spangles" from my chidhood! The other week I had some Weetabix, from Hurghada, which also jerked me back 50 years or so. The taste was another taste from childhood days, I hadn't realised that Weetabix had changed at all, but when you taste the "Original" (as they were labelled) it comes as quite a shock!
If you're a person who prays, I would ask your prayers for our dear friend in the NE of England as she mourns her dead husband from 2000 odd miles away, please? I don't want to even try to imagine the pain she is experiencing.