Thoughts while flying to Egypt

From Dammam to Cairo - a bird's eye view

Flat sand as far as the eye can see
Ripples in the sand - as if a side-winder has moved along the dunes
Irrigated crop circles near the western border are the first sign of civilization
Mountains rising up from the desert are black and gold, looking like volcanic remains rounded by the wind
Sun glinting off the water as we leave Saudi Arabia and cross the Red Sea to the Sinai Peninsula
Clearly spotting the Straits of Tiran, and identifying Mt. Sinai - the tallest peak
Then sculpted sands and scrub desert to the Red Sea again - a huge expanse
Looking back to the jagged coastline of the peninsula
Huge barges and tankers waiting off the coast of Egypt
Planned beach front community -- a green oasis with houses set in the shape of a flower - first sign of civilization in Egypt
Mining making craters of white in a mountain, then flat terrain filled with houses, highways and industrial parks before we touch down in Cairo.

--Barb

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Riding the Bus often

From 201010 Saudi scenes It is ironic that this land of cheap gasoline has so much group transport -- buses. From 201010 Saudi scenes Our housing compound has a Toyota-Coaster bus that takes some to/from school (we usually go earlier and return later, on a similar bus that the school provides). Driver Yahya takes residents on the 90-minute trip down to the Big City shopping every Thursday morning. The above picture shows our group one Thursday, usually going to Ikea or the new Lulu's Hypermarket , or the Dhahran Mall. Coleman rides a different bus every day to and from school -- usually 100 minutes there, 80 minutes back. His bus is evidently an old tourist bus, usually comfortable but a bit dusty. The air-conditioning usually works too well. I've ridden it with him several times, to attend business meetings at the district office. From 201010 Saudi scenes There he is, at 5:45am every morning, at the start of the bus run. Fortunately only about 20 stu...

Above the Salt

Above The Salt, a novel written by Katherine Vaz. Notes by Jeffrey Thomas, 14 April 2026. Report for the Book Group at StJames Anglican Church. An epic historical novel that sweeps through 80 years, from Madeira and all around the United States. The term “above the salt” refers to an old English tradition about the placement of the salt-cellar on a large dining table – people seated closer to the host were “above the salt", socially-favored; by exclusion, those below the salt were on a lower social level. This expression is reflected in the narrative indirectly, in its theme of social distinctions that affect lives in tragic ways; and the author refers to salt often, in relation to tears and to the ocean. I was drawn to the novel by its Portuguese connection, and I enjoyed the language and culture references; but the romantic love stories and the evocation of life in the 1800s propelled the narrative. Occasional poetic metaphorical passages evoked the emotional state ...

String Quartet Broken String

We attended a marvelous concert last night, at the Porto Museum of Casa do Infante , a beautifully-renovated 1325 building near the river. At one point it served as a customs house. The government sponsors Portuguese musicians to return from other European orchestras to perform in their homeland. We heard and saw this group play a traditional piece – Haydn string quartet Opus 20 #2. Then the modern Benjamin Britten's Three Divertimenti – the stunning last movement of which they performed as an encore. They performed (and I recorded) the Shostakovich Quartet #9, during which the first-violinist broke a string (it features several strongly-plucked chords!) and had to retreat&repeat!

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