Chapter 31 bone-chilling cold

Our colleagues in Egypt knew that our cross-country investigation had only just begun, and the road ahead would be long and difficult, so they insisted on doing it for us. A farewell party was held in front of the pyramid yesterday evening.We were introduced to the stage as heroes and applauded by our Egyptian friends.Xu Gehui was dressed up as Cleopatra and carried before the Pharaoh, which is very interesting. It is natural for my wife to perform. She has experienced many stages, but she did not expect to perform in front of the pyramids and the Sahara desert under the sunset. In addition to singing classic arias, she also volunteered to add an Egyptian song that she would sing when she was a child: The sun climbs up The high hills, the golden light of the Nile River, the Egyptian band was surprised at first, and then excitedly followed the accompaniment.

My wife can sing Egyptian songs, which is related to China's support for Egypt's recovery of the Suez Canal. Even when I was a child, I lined up in the street for this incident.This morning, we were finally allowed to take a boat to visit this canal that we have been shouting for countless times since we were children, and then go through its river tunnels, but everything must be under the supervision of their army. The Suez Canal connects the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, and actually connects the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean. It plays an important role in the world shipping industry, and its economic income is also very considerable.In addition to the ancient monuments in Egypt, the most proud thing in modern times is this canal and the Aswan Dam. Of course, it will defend it at all costs.I once read in a book written by two diplomats a line from a poet from the Suitu region:

Egypt, my country, you left too little, Lost too much. I am your son, Turn your wishes into battle songs. The sincere and simple sentences illustrate the inevitability of war from one aspect.After all, the loss of ancient times and the loss of modern times are emotionally connected.Many disputes in the world have historical honors in addition to real interests.Even if some ancient civilizations don't say it in their mouths, they care very much in their hearts. After crossing the river is the Sinai Peninsula, which is already the ground of Asia.This peninsula is also an important topic in modern international politics. It was occupied by Israel in 1956, and Egypt tried to take it back in 1973. After several seesaws, it was finally returned to Egypt.I remember the war in 1973. Israel spent more than 200 million U.S. dollars to build a defense line on the other side of the Suez Canal. In addition to the natural obstacles of the canal, it was really impregnable. Unexpectedly, the Egyptian army came up with the idea of ​​using a high-pressure water spigot to wash it away. The unique trick, the defense line collapsed, sounds very enjoyable.

We started walking on the Sinai Peninsula after lunch, and we didn't arrive at St. Catherine Town in the south of the peninsula until 9:30 in the evening. We walked 470 kilometers. This peninsula is the front line of defense for Egypt, so there are many military camps, but otherwise it is sparsely populated, and we hardly saw a person for several hours.On the watchtower, the machine gun stretched out its head, but the sentinel's face could not be seen.After finally arriving in a small town, not only was there no one on the street, but there was no one in the window.Occasionally, I saw clothes drying on one or two balconies, so there were traces of people living there, but it may have been more than half a year, and the owner did not come back.Walking on such a land, my heart is really hairy.

There are only two or three uninhabited towns in total, and the rest are all deserts.The desert under the moonlight has a strange shocking power. The backlight is as black as a tranquil sea, and the surface is gray and silver, but there is a bone-piercing coldness.This kind of cold has nothing to do with temperature, but refers to the color and state of light, so it makes people shudder even more.It's like, one side can still perceive the coldness of ice, but how can one face a cold face that ignores everything in the world? The scorching pyramid is protected by such a vast cold soil in front.

What surprised me even more was that the battle for which the whole world had been watching closely was actually for such a barren and uninhabited land.Just as many battles for wealth are only concepts on paper, so many battles for territory are only concepts on the map.Paper things are the easiest to make people excited. October 22, 1999, Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, overnight at El Wady El Mouguduss Hotel