the third continent

19:50 16 August, Garden City Cairo

Cairo. Where to begin? It was only as I was descending over this largest city in Africa that I truly appreciated the size of the city. Leaking out from the Nile, Cairo is a city of the West Coast, urban sprawl variety. Its 6.8 million residents are squeezed into 214 square kilometers, making it the 4th most densely populated place on Earth (New York City, by comparison, affords its 8.3 million residents over 1,200 square kilometers). Another dubious honorific held by the capital of Egypt is its distinction as being the city with the worst air pollution in the world. Spending 10 minutes outside is enough to keep anyone from contesting this claim. Walking around, you can literally feel what the World Bank's 2008 report classified as "undissolved solids", especially in your eyes. Everything, indoors and out, will acquire a layer of dust within 24 hours of being cleaned, and this becomes especially obvious when washing your hands, face, and hair. Crossing the street involves playing a game of real-life Frogger, as cars whizzing by will not stop, and instead swerve dangerously and unpredictably in a half-hearted attempted to avoid hitting you directly. It is hot, and showering and thus use of deodorant is seemingly a phenomenon exhibited only by the Western tourists. The touts are aggressive, and the din of honking horns and city activity never stops, but at the same time, it's all enjoyable in a way I have difficulty explaining.

Looking out from my friend's apartment at the Nile at night.

The way of life is by far the most foreign I've ever experienced. Things are laid back, yet can burst into a hectic whirl at a moment's notice. There is an appeal to the city that one must visit to appreciate. While I could never, never, live here - mostly because of the pollution, and the strain on a New Hampshire-based political career - I'm glad to be spending four nights in the city.

Garden City Cairo by day. The trees you see are a phenomenon that exist only in this part of the city.

I'll have more on Cairo, and the adventures I've had since stepping off the plane 26 hours ago, but for right now, I need to head back into the mayhem and see if I can navigate my way on the only metro system on the African Continent.

13:49 15 August, Egypt Air Flight 738

There are those who have suggested that given the summer heat in the desert, I have chosen a poor time to visit Egypt. True, the mercury rarely drops below 45 degrees centigrade, and is usually well above 50 in Luxor and most of Southern Egypt. True, I am a northerner, adapted to deal with cold much better than heat. True, I insisted on wearing jeans when we visited the Grand Canyon, and can therefore be counted on for making bad decisions. But that my stop by Egypt just happened to coincide with some of the hottest temperatures I'll ever have experienced was a chance happening that I'm determined to make the best of. However, I've just learned that my timing will expose me to more than just the sweltering summer heat. Because of the arrangement of the Muslim calender, I will be entering Egypt just as the holy month of Ramadan begins.

Ramadan, the ninth month in the Muslim calender, is a time of fasting and reflection. Families gather together and fast during the daylight hours in order to, according to the explanations I've been given, appreciate the suffering of those who are without. What this means to me is that shops, business, and especially restaurants will either be closed, or have limited hours. While the summer months usually keep tourist levels low in Egypt, the combination of the heat and the holiday are expected to bring tourism in the country to a 20 year low. On the plus side, this will mean that the sites should be far less crowded, and I may get better deals on hotels and accommodations. I'll just have to wait and see.