Egyptian money honors both its Pharaonic past and its Islamic present. One neat side trip was to Shalaten, the most southerly Egyptian city in the Eastern Desert. Camel owners from Sudan, dressed in their violet robes, make a lively market six days a week. The town itself is a huge bazaar for this corner of the world with goods and prices comparable to Cairo. Once bought, the wonderful beasts are loaded into trucks and sent up to slaughterhouses in Cairo.
Camel meat is a staple in much of the Middle East.
My next major stop was Ghana, where I could rest my eyes on greenery. I stayed with my friend Orlando. This is a shot out his window. It honors three important Ghanaian industries timber, cocoa and gold mining. The country was once called the Gold Coat and Ashante Gold Fields was the first African company listed on the New York Stock Exchange.