Hello Everyone,

I hope you are all doing well. Last night I got back from our trip to Siwa, a desert town about 10 kilometers from the Egypt/Libyan border. It was an amazing trip and the best excursion we have gone on so far. After an 11+ hour bus ride we finally arrived around 2:30 am on Thursday to our hotel called the Desert Rose. The hotel has no electricity and all of its water comes from a natural spring. Also it's the first time I have ever used a mosquito net.

After sleeping in and eating some breakfast we rented bikes and explored the city of Siwa on our own. The town is built on an oasis in the middle of the desert. It is also historically significant because Alexander the Great visited an oracle there in of the temples. We visited several ruins including the temple that Alexander visited, a mountain of ancient tombs and some ancient Egyptian art and hieroglyphics. We also went to one of the large natural salt lakes that Siwa has. Some people actually swam in the salt lake and then washed off in a natural hot spring nearby. Then we came back to the hotel, ate dinner, and enjoyed traditional Siwan music by a band that came and played for us. It was definitely a fun night of dancing, singing, and laughing.

So then the next day we packed up some of our stuff and headed out to the desert in jeeps. We went off-roading through the desert and over sand dunes, went sand boarding down the dunes, and then cooled off in a cold spring. After all of that running around we drove to a small camp site run by Bedouins. We hung out there and ate chicken that they cook underneath the ground. They developed a system where they put the meat on skewers and hang them in this metal box with a lid. Then they cover the box with sand and put out coals on top. Needless to say the food was delicious. After that we talked, played games, and went to bed. The next morning we got up and drove back to the hotel, cleaned up and then left.

That was the condensed version of my time in the desert. The only bad thing that came from that experience was the 20+ mosquito bites that I now have on my legs, feet, arms, and hands. Now I am preparing for living with my homestay family which begins tonight, which you will hear about next week. I hope you all have a wonderful rest of your weekend. Ma' salaama.

Scott

P.S. There are new pictures up.