In southern Egypt, where the official baby-sitters prove extremely bothersome, Simon visits the Aswan dam's giant lake, pharaoh Ramses II the Geat's Abu Simbl monuments, the modern Nubians. Further east, Bedouin nomads who abandoned desert...See moreIn southern Egypt, where the official baby-sitters prove extremely bothersome, Simon visits the Aswan dam's giant lake, pharaoh Ramses II the Geat's Abu Simbl monuments, the modern Nubians. Further east, Bedouin nomads who abandoned desert life because of global warming and the Red Sea, a unique, still relatively well preserved marine biotope, under threat from tourism development. In Saudi Arabia and the UAE, on the oil-rick Arab peninsula, Simon studies the mix of Islamic conservatism and western affluence. He meets a luxury sports cars street race gang in Jeddah and shopping, veiled wealthy women in Riyadh who feel far from oppressed. In Dubai, he contrasts the tax-free citizens' luxury with the misery of migrant laborers, who build the world-class infrastructure. Written by
KGF Vissers
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