Egypt: Tales of the Unexpected, Part I

It was a perfect, calm day, with the sun shining on the desert and the Red Sea as I touched down in Egypt for the first time. On arrival, even before leaving the airport, I had caused a stir. The officers at Passport Control seemed to think that that my being Irish was the most interesting thing that would happen to them all morning.

“Irlanda,” one called to the other, pointing at me and for the next quarter of and hour, all worked stopped on both of their queues, as the boyos started quizzing my knowledge of Arabic. Just why they assumed I knew any Arabic for the mere fact of being Irish, I never quite grasped. However, the looks of the faces of the people behind me being held up due to all these shenanagins was priceless.