Is THIS more like the Egypt you were expecting?

The desert has a certain beauty to it. Perhaps that’s because I grew up in New Mexico. So I know how to appreciate the desert.

One of the things that surprises many visitors is the openness, friendliness, and tolerance of Egyptians. My new friend Islam showed me some of the off-the-beaten path sights around Cairo. We visited one neighborhood where there were seven Christian churches (six Coptic and one western), two mosques and one Jewish synagogue all within a ¼ mile radius. Every one of them was peaceful, welcoming and completely tolerant of the wonderful diversity of this vibrant city.

(For those who know less than nothing about Islam — the religion, not my friend (Islam is also a relatively common first name in Arabic) — Christians, Jews and Muslims all worship the same god. They may call him by different names but the only real difference is how they worship and the path each takes to get there.)

Is this the Egypt you were expecting?