The Down East Seniors Club held its Feb. 22 meeting at the Blind Center of North Carolina in Washington. President Stewart Rumley led the meeting. Ed Hamrick led the singing of “God Bless America,” and Charles Smith gave the invocation. Dick Paul provided humor.

Bill Cheshire introduced member Philip Ninan, who told about his recent trip to Egypt. He flew in to Cairo, went up the Nile River to Luxor and the valley of the kings, then up to Aswan. The last stop was in Alexandria. He saw the pyramids and ancient temples. Ninan said the population of Egypt is concentrated in the Nile River area, with 95 percent within five miles either side of the river. The four major ancient civilizations all formed around rivers. They were the Egyptian around the Nile, the Mesopotamian around the Tigris and Euphrates, the Indian around the Indus and the Chinese around the Yellow and Yangtze. Ten percent of Egyptians are Coptic (their name for Christian), and the remaining 90 percent are Muslim. The current government is led by the military, so it is a police state. Since tourism is their major business, they provide a large amount of security for tourists. Ninan said he felt safe and welcomed wherever he went.

Ed Hamrick won the 50/50 drawing.