well, we're on the way home. i'm in germany, waiting for the connecting flight to jfk, then on to dulles. i'll be home by 1:00 AM.

we had a great time in pakistan. latif's family took great care of us. we visited lahore, then went to islamabad, stayed in a mountain district of bhurban, and visited taxila the next day.

taxila was neat. the city is very old - alexander the great came across it when he was going down the indus river. it was a greek city for 200 years, and faded out of existence around 600 ad. it was rediscovered by the british in 1913. they dug up lots of gold, hauled it away to england, and placed a museum on the spot. neat place!

in lahore, we visited fort lahore (built by shah jehan, the same one who built the taj mahal), and badshahi mosque, the world's largest historical mosque. these were just beautiful - there are many similarities in the decorations between what was done at the taj mahal and the fort. shah jehan had great taste - he put up lots of mirrors, warm baths, beautiful overlooks. no wonder he had 14 kids with his wife! very romantic place.

due to the violence in karachi, we decided to take a later flight from islamabad, and forego any visit to the city. we stayed in the airport, where we met latif's neice and family. then we flew on to dubai in the united arab emirates for the trip back to frankfurt. which is where we are now.

i've enclosed the following pictures:

1) a picture of a typical pakistan bus. these are true double deckers! they charge extra to ride on the top: fresh air. it's pretty crowded inside. these are privately operated buses.
2) me at taxila. i'm holding some "original" coins which i bought from the guides. they were selling them at the gate - said that farmers had found them and dug them all up. probably they're all fakes, but i had a lot of fun bargaining with them!
3) restroom sign in dubai. so you know which one you are.... the people really do dress this way in the middle east.

dennis