Old Man in Marsa Matruh

Our tour group of 15 is a disparate one: some young, some old, some eccentric and others like his Lordship and me fairly normal as we see it.
Because of a kidnapping which happened in the area a year or two ago,we have had a police presence with us in the shape of a man with a machine gun strapped to his side, and also this morning we had a police escort part of the way from Marsa Matruh to Siwa.It certainly looked good but made you feel a little threatened too.

The drive from Marsa Matuh to the desert oasis of Siwa was long and hot, through a desert of sandstone rocks and sand. It was such a wonderful sight to suddenly come upon the greenery and dwellings of Siwa. The population here is very Muslim and the women are not seen on the streets. We have been warned not to take any photographs of people.

Our hotel is a series of chalets and really rather comfotrtable considering the situation. It boasts a swimming pool which I tried - It was very cold but not as bad as the North Sea.

Before dinner tonight, we climbed up to the ruins of a 13th century village Shali to watch the sunset.
It's now 8:30, we've had our meal and it seems like there is nothing left to do but go to bed
How on earth does one try to sleep at this ridiculously early hour. I will have to resort to reading with a head torch.