I appreciate my brother, His Highness Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the U.A.E. and Ruler of Dubai, and the Council of Ministers, who face every morning challenges, but plan and remove all obstacles to score achievements.

"No, I don't believe it," Joseph said. "From listening to my father and grandfather talk about El Shaddai, I think he's different from the Gods of Egypt. I think that none of us could ever be good enough for God. I think of Him as being so good that a human can't even enter His presence. A man would die if he did. I think God's merciful, Rashidi. I think he forgives us because he loves us, just as we forgive our children because we love them.

Then there were the shabti, magical figurines that were supposed to come to life when summoned. A few months ago, I'd fallen for a girl named Zia Rashid, who'd turned out to be a shabti. Falling in love for the first time had been hard enough. But when the girl you like turns out to be ceramic and cracks to pieces before your eyes-well, it gives "breaking your heart" a new meaning.