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Sharing Egypt
By Jimmy Dunn
I have been to Egypt quite often, all things
considered. After all, it is my job to know the country, and
I spend considerable time each day answering questions of one
nature or another.
My wife and stepson have never been to
Egypt. However, to my credit, I might mention that I was
only married to Joanie a little over a year ago, so they have not
had much of a chance, until now.
In May, they will be going with me for the first
time, and I am very much looking forward to the trip. And
just to spice things up a little, they have actually never been
out of the United States, so the whole thing will be quite and
experience.
Egypt truly is a country to be enjoyed with loved
ones. I remember just my last visit, while actually
attending a business dinner on the Nile Maxim, one of the grand
restaurant boats, thinking how romantic it would be if Joanie were
with me instead of Nazmy Amin, our ETA contact. No offense
Nazmy. Its just that the setting kept reminding me of my
wife, as I felt she would have enjoyed it.
There are so many romantic settings in
Egypt. Sitting in the bar of the Mena House sipping a cool
drink with the Great Pyramid filling up the window by the
table. Cruising down the Nile past ancient sites, and the
exotic modern day culture. Even sitting on the terrace of
the Longchamps hotel, overlooking the gardens of Zamalek. I
can hardly wait.
I can remember my first trip to Egypt, meeting
the people, and their unexpected friendliness and welcoming nature
so different than what many westerners are led to believe.
They, the people of Egypt, were who I fell in
love with, not the monuments and antiquities, not the desert or
the fertile, green Nile valley. Egyptians are citizens of the
world like no other people on earth, because the world comes to
their doorsteps. Be they Americans or Russians, Chinese or
Hungarians, Brazilians or South Africans, they all come by the
thousands and for hundreds if not thousands of years, they have
been welcomed by the world's most gracious hosts.
This is the experience I most wish to bring to
my family. The Egyptian people are some of the most friendly
people as a whole that I have ever encountered, and their attitude
towards visitors is what defines an "Egyptian
experience" more then the antiquities or the exotic culture.
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