The Mediterranean Cruise Directory Egypt is “Misr” in Arabic. It occupies the northeastern corner of Africa, and is connected to Asia by the Sinai Peninsula. Egypt is bordered by Libya on the west, Sudan on the south, Israel on the east, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north. Egypt has a surface area of 386,662 square miles, approximately the same size as Texas. The population of Egypt is about 75 million. Cairo, Egypt's capital city, has a population of more than 17 million. This great metropolis is the meeting place of Africa, the Arab world, Europe and Asia. Cairo is the most important city in the country and is the political, cultural, and economic center. The oldest part of Cairo lies in the vicinity of the Khan El Khalili Bazaar and Al Azhar Mosque. The modern part of Cairo was built by a descendant of Mohamed Ali, in the 19th century.  Today a sprawling city, with its ever expanding suburbs, surrounds this historic core.  The most famous mosque, the Mohamed Ali Mosque, was built in Cairo in his memory. Cairo is known as the city of a thousand minarets due to the profusion of mosques. In approximately 3000 B.C., a civilization emerged on the banks of the River Nile. It reached a stage of development and sophistication that none of its contemporaries surpassed. The ancient Egyptians' ability to organize society, keep careful records, and maintain the continuity and advancement of their civilization almost without interruption for 30 centuries set them apart from all other civilizations. A land of motion within the stillness of centuries, the silent felucca sails in contrast to the chaos and cacophony along the Nile. Among today's monuments are the world's largest textile mill, one of the highest dams, and the largest manmade lake. Yet, all the noises of construction, cries of street vendors, even the braying of donkeys, in ever-expanding Cairo are absorbed by the eternal quiet of the deserts. Egypt is a country with many secrets tied to its past. It is an explorer's land, with places to find treasures such as antiquities, gold or jewels. It is a place to see palaces and bazaars, where the real and the reproduced can be considered. It is a land where flowers bloom in the desert and in the underwater gardens. For those who can “drink the water of the Nile,” the rewards are magnificent.

UNWTO: Revitalizing Tourism and Confronting Crises (Hospitality Net)
Tourism stakeholders' preparedness and effective and accurate communication are among the key factors to substantially mitigate potential negative impacts of crises on tourism. Effective crisis preparation was addressed during the ‘International Conference on Revitalization of Tourism and Confronting Crises' (Chengdu, China, 16-18 November). Through www.SOS.travel UNWTO assists its Members and ...

Hu departs Greece with key port deal in the bag (AFP via Yahoo! News)
Chinese President Hu Jintao completed Wednesday a three-day visit to Greece that bagged a key deal opening a major European gateway to Chinese products via the port of Piraeus.

Hu departs Greece with key port deal in the bag (TODAYonline)
Chinese President Hu Jintao visits the archeological site of Knossos in the southern Greek island of Crete. Hu completed Wednesday a three-day visit to Greece that bagged a key deal opening a major European gateway to Chinese products via the port of Piraeus.

No. 94/08 November 21, 2008 (European Union)
European Union farm ministers have agreed to further reform their common agricultural policy by removing some of the remaining intervention mechanisms and restrictions on farming, shifting more money into rural development and increasing milk production quotas before they are fully abolished in 2015.

Richard Black (BBC News)
Do we need one more environment summit?

Off Africa's coast, pirates 'out of control' (Tucson Citizen)
They come out of the darkness in the waters off the coast of East Africa, zooming up in speedboats to the sides of massive cargo ships, armed with grappling hooks, AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenades.

High Growth Forecasted for the World Travel and Leisure Market Brief (Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance)
NEW YORK----Reportlinker.com announces that a new market research report related to the Tourism industry is available in its catalogue.

EU prods governments to do more for secure energy (AP via Yahoo! Finance)
The European Commission told EU governments Thursday that Western Europe needs more power grids and pipelines to ensure reliable supplies of electricity and natural gas between now and 2050.

EU prods governments to do more for secure energy (San Francisco Chronicle)
The European Commission told EU governments Thursday that Western Europe needs more power grids and pipelines to ensure reliable supplies of electricity and natural gas between now and 2050. In a sobering assessment, it said "Europe's energy networks are no...

Power supergrid plan to protect Europe from Russian threat to choke off energy (Times Online)
A supergrid of power supplies to protect Europe's energy from the threat of a Russian stranglehold will be announced today.