Cairo, Egypt

Thanks to everyone who sent me news updates. I was mainly concerned about the possibility of violence in Lebanon, since I was considering going there if the coast is clear. Now I'm very unsure. Today I finally managed to find a copy of the supposedly well respected English expat newspaper. Unfortunately, the headline read "Palestinians refuse to surrender in the face of flagrant Israeli war crimes" and the rest of the paper was filled with nothing but anti-Israel and anti-US propaganda. Today was Friday, the Islamic holy day. Every mosque has a loadspeaker and they just broadcast the entire service so everybody can hear. All around the city they just put down huge mats in the streets and people gather to worship right in the streets of Cairo, so it was impossible to escape the sermons. Of course I can't understand a word they said, but in every corner of the city was a seemingly angry preacher delivering a harsh, violent sounding message to his flock. I'm sure they were all preaching a message of world peace and love of Americans and Jews, but the tone allowed me to easily imagine otherwise.