The Cairo Diaries

Have you wanted to float down the Nile in a felucca or shop till you drop in a souk? Whether you're a seasoned traveler who always goes first class and loves the view from the roof of the Nile Hilton, a backpacker who wonders what it's like to wear a galabeya, or a travel reader who dreams of the dark inside a pyramid from the comfort of an armchair, we invite you to share the fascinating experiences we had living in Cairo.

These diaries began as e-mail messages to friends who encouraged us to expand them into the book you're holding. We describe the wonderful people we met (an art gallery owner with jokes about Bush), the funny experiences we had (falling off a donkey in the desert), and the insights about Egyptian politics and culture that we gained in our wanderings and in our ex-pat life.

"Are you safe?" we were asked by friends in the States, and we answered, "Cairo is the safest city we have ever lived in." The friendly, honest, and generous Egyptians were only one of our amazing discoveries. What we learned about America was another.