Explosion in Egypt tourist town

[muriel_volestrangler]

A large explosion has struck the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, witnesses have reported.

Residents said the explosion appeared to have taken place in a market area, which includes shops that are popular with tourists.

The blast shook windows some distance away, and smoke was seen rising over the area, residents said.

There was no immediate word on casualties. Last October, 34 people died in bombings in the resort.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4709491.stm

On edit: Sky News now have AP reporting 25 killed, 110 injured.

[Wetzelbill]

1. you have got to be kidding me!

The world has gone even more batshit than it was before.

[nevergiveup]

2. Thanks for the post

My wife and son are in Egypt this week......I must run and check their itinerary

[Katarina]

11. nevergiveup

have you heard from your family yet? My thoughts are with you all. Please let us know they are alright.

[cal04]

3. Explosions in Egypt Red Sea resorts-residents

A large explosion shook the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Saturday and two other explosions followed later, apparently from the nearby resort of Naama Bay, a resident said.

The first explosion, shortly after one a.m., was audible more than one km (half a mile) away, he said. It started a fire and smoke billowed over the town.

About 15 minutes later, two explosions were audible from the direction of Naama Bay, about six km (four miles) away, he said. Naama Bay has dozens of luxury hotels popular with divers and holidaymakers from Europe.

Another resident said one of the explosions came from the direction of the Moevenpick Hotel in Naama Bay and broke the windows of his apartment.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050722/ts_nm/egypt_explosions_dc_2

[Rhiannon12866]

52. From the British press, who are good about reporting any news...

Car bombs kill 36, injure 120 at Egyptian resort

Jonathan Steele in Cairo and agencies
Saturday July 23, 2005
The Guardian

A succession of car bombs rocked the resort of Sharm el-Sheik early this morning, killing at least 36 people and injuring more than 120, many of them critically, in the latest terrorist episode to strike at the heart of the Egyptian tourism industry.

The blasts ripped the front off at least one hotel and sowed panic among people heading home after a night out in restaurants and clubs of the Red Sea resort in the Sinai peninsula.

Early this morning, rescue officials were saying that 36 people had died. Police said at least four, perhaps seven, car bombs were detonated soon after 1am local time, one tearing through the bazaar and three shaking seafront hotels at the Naama Bay. Smoke and fire could be seen rising up from the district.

"Many of the injuries are very serious and the injured are in critical condition," said one doctor at Sharm el-Sheikh international hospital, who asked not to be named.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1534772,00.html

[moodforaday]

4. Big holiday resort

Sharm el Sheikh is a big holiday resort. You buy a trip to Egypt, it's very likely to be your destination. There have been attacks on tourists before in Egypt. A friend who vacationed there recently said when you go sightseeing in a guided group, there's _always_ a police unit right beside, on the lookout.

[HEyHEY]

5. Bomb blast in Egypt

CAIRO, Egypt -- A large explosion has rocked a popular Egyptian Sinai tourist resort.
Witnesses in Sharm el-Sheik say the blast shook windows far from the site and smoke was visible rising from the area.
There's no immediate word on casualties.
The blast appeared to have been centred at the Old Market area -- a main tourist strip in Sharm el-Sheik.
An Egyptian who is staying at a summer home several kilometres away says the blast shook his house.
(AP)
---

No link, that's off a newswire

[HEyHEY]

6. And of course no one gives a shit

[greatauntoftriplets]

8. Jeez, do you think I live online????

I give a shit.

More bad news.....

[CountAllVotes]

13. hey, I give a shit!

This is horrible. These horrific incidents must stop! It is likely over 100 people have died!

May god help them!


:kick:

[maddezmom]

26. I give a shit

and I'm sure I'm not alone

[Behind the Aegis]

38. Oh they do!

It just takes time. It is not like this terrorist attack was ignored here, say unlike the one on July 12 as seen here and here. Of course, there was this thread that did include a grand total of 8 replies and two were updates.

[Psephos]

41. You're wrong, A lot of people care, me included. n/t

[progressivebydesign]

75. I know what you meant... the outpouring and shock only applies to non-ME.

I really haven't seen the outpouring (DU not included) of shock and world sympathy as you would for blast in US or England. I guess people just assume that the Middle East blows up all the time. The fact that there were European tourists there does get some more notice, but I highly doubt there will be statments like 'the world stands with Egypt'. I noticed this when many were killed by a suicide bomber the day after the London blast, no one publicly stood with Iraq. Sad perception of the world.

[HEyHEY]

7. Please lock, better story on other thread

[HEyHEY]

10. 25 dead

We're really into now.

[NYdemocrat089]

9. Blasts shake Egyptian resort area

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8671549/

[maddezmom]

12. from link: 20 killed....100+ wounded

At least 20 killed in Egyptian resort blasts
Dozens more wounded from four car bombings in Red Sea area
NBC News and news services
Updated: 7:43 p.m. ET July 22, 2005
CAIRO - Multiple explosions, possibly as many as seven, rocked the Egyptian tourist resort of Sharm el-Sheik in the Sinai Peninsula early Saturday, targeting several hotels and severely damaging at least one hotel, witnesses said. At least 20 people were killed and more than 100 wounded, according to police and rescue workers.

The blasts, the first of which went off about 1:15 a.m., shook windows, and smoke and fire were visible rising from Sharm's Naama Bay, a main strip of beach hotels, witnesses said.

[Tripper11]

14. Update from Reuters.....

http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2005-07-23T000849Z_01_SCH281600_RTRUKOC_0_EGYPT-EXPLOSIONS.xml

30 Dead now.....

[KarenInMA]

15. exposions in Egypt... breaking..

Three explosions reported early Saturday in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh, according to Nile TV


cnn.com. breaking..

[Scurrilous]

16. At least 20 dead in blasts in Egyptian Red Sea resorts

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/603642.html

<snip>

"Explosions in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh in the early hours of Saturday morning killed at least 20 people and wounded about 100, a rescue official said.

Police said the explosions were caused by four car bombs in Sharm el-Sheikh and the nearby resort of Naama Bay.

The explosions caused pandemonium in the resort as people rushed to go home for fear of more car bomgs, said one resident, who asked not to be named.

The first explosion, shortly after 1 A.M., was audible more than 1 km (half a mile) away, a local resident said. It started a fire and smoke billowed over the town."

[janedoe]

17. So, what happened to the 4th one?

Isn't that the signature of events?

9/11
Spain
7/7
7/20

[ZR2]

18. So Egypt should pull it's troops

from Iraq now ?

[Frederik]

19. Egypt has been a target

since the murder of Sadat in 1981. The aims of the Jihad International is twofold: To end Western interference in the affairs of Musim countries, which is obviously why the US and the UK are the main Western targets, and to install "true" Islamic/Islamist regimes in the Muslim world. The regime of president Mubarrak in Egypt is seen as corrupt, un-Islamic and pro-Western. Attacks on tourist resorts like Sharm el-Sheikh - this isn't the first time it's been bombed - hit one of the main sources of income for the regime.

[ZR2]

20. Anybody who doesn't follow thier exact form of religion is a target

Been that way for a thousand years, will be that way for a thousand more.

[Frederik]

23. Nope

Radical, political Islamism is a very modern phenomenon. It can be traced back to Hasan al-Bana's creation of the pro-fascist, later pro-Nazi Muslim Brotherhood in 1928 and to the merger of the Brotherhood with the Wahhabi sect of Saudi Arabia in the 1950s, after Nasser kicked them out of Egypt. They didn't resort to terrorist measures before 1981. Their main ideologue is the Egyptian Sayyid Qutb, who wrote his most important book in the 1960s.

[Karenina]

68. That is correct.

http://www.nhbz.org/sermons_detail.asp?sermonID=85

[Lefta Dissenter]

24. bullshit. (eom)

[Henny Penny]

69. I can't agree with your analysis...

it implies that the problem is insoluble so there is no point in trying to find any underlying cause (like an unjust war?) that might be removed.

[Stella_Artois]

77. An unjust war ?

And the bombings that happened before the unjust war ?

Some other perceived injustice ?

[Henny Penny]

78. yes.

[Stella_Artois]

80. Do you understand what you are implying here ?

If resorting to murdering innocent civilians wholesale is an acceptable reply to a perceived injustice visited upon Arabs or Muslims in general why is it not acceptable that the Americans murder civilians wholesale as a reply to the perceived injustices of 9/11 and a number of other attacks pre Iraq / Afghanistan ?

[Henny Penny]

81. determining the underlying cause for an event is not the

same as justifying that event.

Murdering innocent civilians wholesale is never acceptable... but then neither is closing your eyes to factors leading up to it. Factors that might easily be removed from the equation once they can be identified.

[Stella_Artois]

82. Who said this again ?

The mark of an educated mind is being able to entertain an idea without accepting it ?

Plato, or perhaps Ghandi ? hmmmmm

[MnFats]

21. AP now says 25 dead, 110 hurt ...n/t

[sabra]

22. Forty-nine killed in three Red Sea bombs - governor

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L23147959.htm

Forty-nine killed in three Red Sea bombs - governor
23 Jul 2005 01:15:56 GMT

Source: Reuters

CAIRO, July 23 (Reuters) - Forty-nine people were killed in two car bombs and another explosion in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Saturday, the governor said.

Mustafa Afifi, governor of South Sinai province, said one car bomb exploded in front of the Ghazala Hotel in Naama Bay, the site of most of the resort's luxury hotels. He was quoted by the state news agency MENA.

Another car bomb exploded in the old market in Sharm el-Sheikh town, about six km (four miles) from Naama Bay. "The third explosion, in a car park at the entrance to Naama Bay, could have been a bag of explosions," he added. (Writing by Jonathan Wright, Cairo bureau: [phone]/1))

[Rockholm]

25. But Natalie Holloway is missing on Aruba!

[Psephos]

42. Try a different subject for your sarcasm next time, please. n/t

[Rockholm]

72. Why? That was MSNBC was covering last night.

She was drunk and was out to sea. End of story. Her disappearance is a LOCAL matter, not a national matter.

[Hissyspit]

27. NYT: 45 Dead, 200 Hurt in Egyptian Blasts

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Egypt-Explosions.html?hp&ex=1122091200&en=7ee7762409b7cfb5&ei=5094&partner=homepage

45 Dead and 200 Hurt in Egyptian Blasts
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 9:07 p.m. ET

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) -- A series of explosions, including four car bombs, struck luxury hotels in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik early Saturday, killing at least 45 people, witnesses and police said.

Saturday's explosions -- the deadliest attack in Egypt in nearly a decade -- shook windows more than five miles away. Smoke and fire rose from Naama Bay, a main strip of beach hotels in the desert city at the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, which is also popular with European and Israeli tourists, witnesses said.

Dazed tourists milled about the darkened streets as Egyptian rescuers searched for dead and injured and ambulances sped away with victims. ''There seemed to be a lot of bodies strewn across the road'' near one cafe, British policeman Chris Reynolds, visiting from Birmingham, England, told the BBC by telephone. ''It was horrendous.''

At least four car bombs were used in the 1:15 a.m. attack, said a security official in the operations control room in Cairo monitoring the crisis. One went off in the driveway of the Ghazala Garden hotel, a 176-room four-star resort on the main strip of hotels in Naama Bay, the governor of South Sinai province, Mustafa Afifi, said.

MORE

[sintax]

28. Updated to 45 Dead 200 Hurt

45 Dead and 200 Hurt in Egyptian Blasts


Saturday July 23, 2005 2:46 AM

AP Photo NY117

By LEE KEATH

Associated Press Writer

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - A series of explosions, including four car bombs, struck luxury hotels in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik early Saturday, killing at least 45 people, witnesses and police said.

Saturday's explosions - the deadliest attack in Egypt in nearly a decade - shook windows more than five miles away. Smoke and fire rose from Naama Bay, a main strip of beach hotels in the desert city at the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, which is also popular with European and Israeli tourists, witnesses said.

Dazed tourists milled about the darkened streets as Egyptian rescuers searched for dead and injured and ambulances sped away with victims.

``There seemed to be a lot of bodies strewn across the road'' near one cafe, British policeman Chris Reynolds, visiting from Birmingham, England, told the BBC by telephone. ``It was horrendous.''

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5161029,00.html

[maddezmom]

32. prayers to all

the world has gone nuts :(

[Hissyspit]

34. Have updated original post (toll may go up yet again) n/t

[meganmonkey]

29. Oh shit

That's hardcore


:(

[Lefta Dissenter]

30. and my son is leaving for Cairo

in three weeks. :cry:

[Straight Shooter]

31. Jeebers. It's just getting worse and worse. eom

[bemildred]

33. A blast from the past:

http://english.people.com.cn/200410/09/eng20041009_159491.html

[Coastie for Truth]

35. The Egyptian National Park - Zoo in Sinai is the home of the only

Sinai Desert cats bred in captivity.

"Sand Cat" felis margarita - cute but mean. The zoo in Sharm el Sheik has the only "zoo" breeding colony of these litlle kitties.

<><>

Interesting point - North African Muslims (Algeria, Libya) say that Mohammed's kittie cat, Muezza was one of these little kitties. Mohammed's favourite kittie, Muezza, was curled up one day on his robe sleeve when the call to prayer was sounded. Mohammed had to leave, but instead of waking Muezza, he cut off his sleeve and sneaked out quietly. When he returned, Muezza woke and bowed to him in thanks. In return, Muezza was guaranteed a place in heaven.

According to the Hadith, which is an official collection of the sayings of Mohammed, he is said to have condemned the practice of selling cats and spoke of a vision in which he saw a woman being attacked and disfigured by her cat in hell after she starved her cat to death.

"You neither fed it nor watered when you locked it up," God told her, "nor did you set it free to eat the insects of the earth."

[H5N1]

74. Excellent post.

[Erika]

36. It may very well be coming here shortly

"They" have been bombing all over the world.

Bush has done such a poor job of securing us here that we are like sitting ducks. Our borders, our reservoirs, our power plants, etc have little, if any, security.

Checking backpacks of every 5th person on the subways in NYC is asinine as a form of protection.

[Spider Jerusalem]

44. There very well MAY be bombings in the US, sooner or later...

but at this point I wouldn't think that these bombings are related to what's happened in London or to what's going on in Iraq; there's been quite a bit of political tension in Egypt recently. Resentment of Mubarak's position vis-a-vis the US may be part of it, certainly, but I'd suspect that whoever did it and whatever their reasons, it'll turn out not to be connected.

[Hissyspit]

37. Hmm, headline now says 'at least 36' n/t

[VegasWolf]

39. Humm, glad I passed on that trip to Giza to see the pyramids. nt

[ECH1969]

40. Update

At least 50 dead.

http://www.outlookindia.com/pti_news.asp?id=312224

[osaMABUSh]

43. Every day it gets more like the movie "Brazil"

where people barely turn their heads when a bomb goes off.

Sure feels like the USA is going to have one anyday.

[Flying Dream Blues]

45. I think about that movie all the time. nt

[canuckforpeace]

46. CNN: Egyptian Resort Town Blasts Kill 30, Wound 107

http://www.cnn.com/

Three explosions ripped through the night in a popular tourist Egyptian resort city on the Red Sea, killing at least 30 people and injuring dozens more, the Egyptian Interior Ministry said. One employee at a hotel in Sharm el-Sheikh said she felt the whole building shake.

[NMDemDist2]

47. yikes!! guess we've got them terrorists on the run huh??

:cry:

[Kool Kitty]

51. Yep.

Got 'em running all over the place, blowing everything up. But, you know, at least we're not fighting them here, right, W?

[dweller]

48. 49 dead according to the BBC just now n/t

dp

[Oversea Visitor]

49. Moderate Islamic Government

losing ground. Sad but clearly the results of American foreign policies.
One step away from madness. The world political landscape changing like never before. War on Terror is now a reality. But think, who is winning. World now subjected to terror attack. Pandora Box of Bush unleash terror backlash, when this going to end. Bush sow the seeds of terror... now its being harvested.

It is too late? Is this direction reversible? Is this the future you want for your children?

You American need to ask these question. These are the choice you have to make now or pay for it in the future. Reality is America cannot win this scenario.

Welcome to Bush America... War on Terror
Changing the meaning of United Sates of America to
Under Siege Always...... The country of perpetual fear, living in an environment of constant war, losing the freedom of security, the right to travel around the world safely. Welcome to Bush Reality

[roguevalley]

50. Lord. I am sorry for this. My condolences to any Egyptains on this

list. I am so very sorry for this to happen in your country.

[Hissyspit]

53. Reuters now reports at least 62 dead.

http://today.reuters.com/news/NewsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2005-07-23T074226Z_01_N23469443_RTRIDST_0_NEWS-EGYPT-EXPLOSIONS-DC.XML

[Spider Jerusalem]

54. Death toll now 75, per BBC News 24 (n/t)

[liberalismresurgent]

55. Blasts in Egypt Kill at Least 59 at Sinai Resort

The blasts were apparently caused by car bombs at hotels and a market that catered largely to European and Egyptian tourists

link

Funny how President Mubarak prophesized about this attack 2 years ago:

"When it is over, if it is over, this war will have horrible consequences," Mubarak told Egyptian soldiers in the city of Suez on Monday.

"Instead of having one (Osama) bin Laden, we will have 100 bin Ladens," he said.

[Erika]

56. So when are we going to invade and occupy Egypt?

We need to take the fight to the terrorists themselves rather than fighting them here. The terrorists are in Egypt. Oh, we would also need to go to England. We need to fight them there also. If necessary, we will invade and occupy. We must fight them abroad rather than here. That is Bush's foreign policy.

Now what are we doing in Iraq, again? Now who is against us or for us? Bush's foreign policy gets so confusing.

Some would think we have an idiot as a "president" (elected or stolen)

[Skittles]

57. try more like THOUSANDS of bin Ladens

lord what a MESS

[Erika]

60. Yes it is a mess

Paid for by our kids lives and our taxes as Bush flounders about. But, know one thing for sure, every property that is blown up will need rebuilt and additional security will be required....and Bushco contributors to the rescue will be there to reap the profits.

[saigon68]

58. "BRING EM ON" shouted the AWOL CHIMPANZEE

As his mommy and Valerie Plame prepared to change his urine soaked diaper.

[Swamp Rat]

61. Jackal spawn...

[saigon68]

64. Great Photo

[norml]

59. Egypt bombing death toll rises to at least 62

Egypt bombing death toll rises to at least 62

SHARM EL-SHEIK, Egypt -- Three car bombs exploded in quick succession in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik early Saturday, ripping through a hotel and a coffeeshop packed with European and Egyptian tourists. The government said at least 62 people died in the deadliest attack in Egypt in nearly a decade.

The reception hall of the luxury Ghazala Gardens hotel collapsed into a pancaked pile of concrete, sending terrified guests fleeing for safety, according to an Associated Press reporter at the scene. Rescue workers hours later said they feared more victims may be buried in the rubble.

At least 62 people were killed, Health Minister Mohammed Awad Tag Eddin said. The interior minister earlier said 119 people were wounded and that at least eight foreigners were among the dead.

Interior Minister Habib al-Adli pinned the attack on Islamic militants. "This is an ugly act of terrorism," al-Adli said in a statement carried on the government news agency. "It has nothing to do with Islam, they are only acting under the slogan of Islam." (AP)


snip


http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/national/news/20050723p2a00m0na016000c.html

[Erika]

62. Bush has destabilized the ME

and made one heck of a mess of it. His own father chose not to interfere because of the probability of throwing the ME off kilter.

W could have chosen dialog and debate. In his egotism, he did not. He needlessly invaded Iraq and then taunted the fanatics with "bring it on".

He needs to be impeached for his incompetency as soon as possible.

[existentialist]

67. Incompetency

by itself is not impeachable.


But lying the United States into a war is if anything is.

[Rhiannon12866]

63. I read about it in the British press. They're more forthcoming

When it comes to reporting almost anything.

Car bombs kill 36, injure 120 at Egyptian resort

Jonathan Steele in Cairo and agencies
Saturday July 23, 2005
The Guardian

A succession of car bombs rocked the resort of Sharm el-Sheik early this morning, killing at least 36 people and injuring more than 120, many of them critically, in the latest terrorist episode to strike at the heart of the Egyptian tourism industry.

The blasts ripped the front off at least one hotel and sowed panic among people heading home after a night out in restaurants and clubs of the Red Sea resort in the Sinai peninsula.

Early this morning, rescue officials were saying that 36 people had died. Police said at least four, perhaps seven, car bombs were detonated soon after 1am local time, one tearing through the bazaar and three shaking seafront hotels at the Naama Bay. Smoke and fire could be seen rising up from the district.

"Many of the injuries are very serious and the injured are in critical condition," said one doctor at Sharm el-Sheikh international hospital, who asked not to be named.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1534772,00.html

[Erika]

65. Bush's foreign policy results n/t

[Rhiannon12866]

71. Agreed. n/t

[psychopomp]

66. NOthing funny here

God rest their souls. I hate this stuff...

[sintax]

70. Update- At Least 83 Dead

83 Die in Car Bombs at Egyptian Resort


Saturday July 23, 2005 12:16 PM

At Least 83 Die As Rapid Series of Car Bombs Rips Through Luxury Hotel in the Egyptian Red Sea Resort

By SARAH EL DEEB

Associated Press Writer

SHARM EL-SHEIK, Egypt (AP) - A rapid series of car bombs and another blast ripped through a luxury hotel and a coffee shop in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik early Saturday, killing at least 83, a hospital official said. Terrified European and Arab tourists fled into the night, and rescue workers said the death toll was almost certain to rise.

The bombings, Egypt's deadliest terror attacks ever, appeared well coordinated. Two car bombs, possibly suicide attackers, went off simultaneously at 1:15 a.m. some 2.5 miles apart. A third bomb, believed hidden in a sack, detonated around the same time near a beachside walkway where tourists often stroll at night.

Dr. Saeed Abdel Fattah, manager of the Sharm el-Sheik International Hospital were the victims have been ferried, said 83 people were killed in the blasts.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5161524,00.html

[norml]

79. 88 lives taken in city of peace

88 lives taken in city of peace
By Tom Perry in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt
24jul05

TOURISTS have told of the terrifying moment when bombs ripped through a popular Red Sea resort, killing at least 88 people and wounding 200 in Egypt's worst attack since 1981.

The bombers struck in shopping and hotel areas yesterday.
Shaken tourists spoke of mass panic and hysteria as people fled the carnage in the early hours, with bodies strewn across the roads, people screaming and sirens wailing.

The regional governor said two car bombs and possibly a suitcase bomb had rocked the resort, popular with divers, European holidaymakers and statesmen who have attended world summits in the place Egypt has called "the city of peace".

One blast tore the front off the Ghazala Gardens Hotel in Naama Bay, the site of most of the resort's luxury hotels. A car broke into the hotel compound and exploded in front of the building, South Sinai governor Mustafa Afifi said.


snip


http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,16032063%255E1702,00.html

[Jara sang]

73. Blasts kill 83 in Egyptian Red Sea resort

http://today.reuters.com/news/NewsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2005-07-23T124308Z_01_N23523282_RTRIDST_0_NEWS-EGYPT-EXPLOSIONS-DC.XML

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (Reuters) - At least 83 people were killed and 200 injured when car bombs ripped through shopping and hotel areas in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Saturday in the worst attack in Egypt since 1981.

Shaken European tourists spoke of mass panic and hysteria as people fled the carnage in the early hours, with bodies strewn across the roads, people screaming and sirens wailing.

[onager]

76. I'm in Egypt right now...

...working. Have been here for a couple of weeks and have a couple more to go. I'm staying in Alexandria but working out in a rural area. We go thru villages every day where most people have probably never seen a Westerner. Those folks are very friendly. They look at us with curiosity but no hostility that I can detect.

The bombers probably picked this weekend because Saturday is a national holiday and most Egyptians had a three-day weekend off work. (Egypt follows the Muslim "weekend" of Thurs. and Fri. off, except for the Xian minority who take Sunday off.) The holiday celebrates the 1952 coup that took out King Farouk and replaced him with the military officers led by Nasser and Sadat. The Egyptians like to point out that Farouk was an Albanian.

I spent today moseying alone around Alexandria, where the beaches are packed with crowds in town for the holiday weekend.

My wanderings took me to Pharos, site of the Alexandria lighthouse that was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and past the rebuilt Library Of Alexandria...which an earlier group of religious fanatics burned to the ground, reducing a huge store of REAL human knowledge to ashes.

That's real knowledge, as opposed to non-knowledge about Invisible Men In The Sky who like it when humans kill each other for their greater glory...