Catching up from Cairo

It is now September 2 and I'm in Cairo. It's very hot and I'm not as exhausted as I had been earlier in the week. I reluctantly discontinued fasting. I was truly exhausted and am certain the fasting contributed to it. My brain, which isn't the sharpest to begin with, was becoming mush and I was experiencing disorientation. None of this will help me gain entrance to Gaza and I came to the conclusion I needed to eat on a regular schedule.

My hotel in Al Arish was a bit strange. I had wanted to stay in the Sinai Sun which is where our group stayed last year. I was over ruled...if not ignored.. and taken to an Egyptian Hotel in what seemed to be predominately a residential area. When we opened the door there were at least eight men gathered around the reception desk. By the time we'd made it up the three steps to the lobby the only people in sight were two men behind the desk.

The hotel was spotless, the building and I sensed something was out of place...and it wasn't me. I did wonder if there were women hidden away somewhere...and not necessarily with their husbands.

Once again, dinner consisted of chicken which I'd ordered when I checked in. It was wonderful..moist, a bit spicy and the bones were bare when I was finished.

Sunday morning I had a new driver who spoke no English but I can not complain, I should be speaking Arabic. We drove to the border crossing and followed the same routine as the day before. I handed my papers to the man with the power and took my place under the tree...a bit removed from the men. The three women were already in place, sitting on their blankets with their bags of almonds and dated in front of them. It actually felt very comfortable and normal being there.

The women's faces were veiled with only their eyes showing. However they weren't totally covered, loose cloth was over their heads and shoulders down to their waist and they wore long black skirts...they wore blouses that were visible when the cloth shifted. The senior member of the group had a leopard print blouse...very shiny and glitzy. She sold two bags of almonds to one of the men and needed to give him change, she reached inside her blouse, lifted up her  large saggy left breast, retrieved a bag of money, gave the man his change, replaced the money bag under her breast and proceeded to jiggle things around until she was comfortable. So much for modesty and covered faces. When it comes to retail...closing the sale is the most important thing.

The man with the power was in a horrible mood but didn't direct it at me...he ranted and raved at the guards, soldiers, policemen and people whose title I don't know. Some shoving matches developed; at one point I thought there was going to be a real fight. And those of you who know me, guess what I was thinking? "I'm going to step between them, stop the fighting" Fortunately for everyone they stopped on their own. Why in the world I have this little voice inside me that urges me to intervene in situations I don't know.

The day involved many phone calls back and forth with Mona and Mohammad. They were contacting people, trying to find someone who could plead my case; pull strings. Around 1:30 or 2:00 I checked in with the power man who made it clear I was again denied entry. I collected my documents and pass port and got in the car for the ride back to Cairo. When we'd been driving for a half hour Mona called telling me to return to the border my name had been put on the list.

So, we turned around; I once again submitted my papers the the power man and took my place under the tree. The men continued to encourage me with smiles, nods of their heads and thumbs up which I appreciated greatly. I sure they knew I wasn't going to make it through the gate to Gaza. I was holding out hope because Mona had worked so hard to get me in and if anyone could make it happen she would find them. So I sat!
Darned if I wasn't made to wait until the gate was locked and the "officials" were leaving