RANSVESTIA

they had to give it the once over lightly type of a highlighting trip. So the next afternoon when others were sleeping or off shopping I went back by myself and wandered at leisure into the nooks and crannies we had not visited before. I was fascinated by the representations of life in those days that were left in the tombs. Complete miniatures of houses and the tasks being done by the residents and slaves out in the yard. Cases after cases of the artifacts of the time, the tools, amusements, hobbies, artwork, crafts, instruments, etc. used by these ancient peoples. Some of them were pretty much like what we use today and erroneously presume were in- vented within the last 2 or 3 hundred years. They had chess sets, cribbage boards, dice-even 12 sided (dodecahedral dice) and various board games like we have. The human species really hasn't changed so fundamentally in the last 4-5000 years, he has just invented a lot of complications and techniques and systems which make life more complex.

One final observation about Egypt. It is a nation of beggars. "Back- sheesh", which is the word for a handout, is said by all sorts of people, kids to old men. If they do anything for you-at your request or if they volun- teer information or assistance or even if they don't do anything at all, the open extended hand and the cry of “backsheesh" is everywhere. Then there are the flies crawling around the eyes of all the kids, and every male old and young wearing a disreputable old nightgown-like garment. It wouldn't be much fun being an FP in Egypt unless you were part of the snobbish upper crust of Cairo society.

The next stop was Amman, Jordan but I think this is enough for one issue, so I'll leave you breathlessly (?) awaiting the concluding installment in the next issue. Will Virginia finish the trip without being read? Will she be thrown into an Arabian prison for being so outspoken in her views? Will she be drafted into the Israeli army as a spy? Will she ever get back to her new Mercedes in Vienna? These and other fascinating details will be revealed in TVia No. 81, same time, same station. Be here! Bye for now.

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