FOR the American journalist, Cairo ranks as one of the most fascinating, challenging--and frustrating--capitals in the world," says World Editor, Ronald Kriss. All three elements were in play last week for Kriss, who returned from a visit to Egypt and Israel just in time to edit the current issue's cover story on Anwar Sadat.

While in Cairo, Kriss interviewed a number of government officials and came away impressed by Arab officialdom's penchant for privacy. "Getting permission to take a picture anywhere in Cairo," says Kriss, "can be a feat in itself." Beirut Bureau Chief Gavin Scott, who did most of the reporting for the cover story, has become inured to this sort of thing; last week he was making his 25th visit to Cairo in 18 months. "Blind censorship is rigorous," says Scott. "You never know what's been subtracted from outgoing cables--or added for that matter. Despite such hazards, I find the Egyptians a very engaging people. Behind the Arab rhetoric is a pacific and even tender nature. They are, after all, Mediterraneans."

Associate Editor, Spencer Davidson, who wrote the cover story, specializes in Middle East affairs. He is now getting a new look at the region. Soon after finishing his cover story, Davidson took off for another tour of the Middle East.

The sheikdom of Abu Dhabi is not one of our heaviest circulation areas, but TIME has had an impact on the Persian Gulf state of 50,000. An article we ran four years ago described efforts by University of Arizona scientists to grow vegetables in the desert. The story so intrigued Sheik Zaid bin Sultan al Nahayan, that he gave the university's Environmental Research Laboratory more than $3,000,000 to build an experimental "controlled environment greenhouse" on the tiny island of Saadiyat off the Abu Dhabi coast.

The semicylindrical structure, which covers five acres and daily devours some 70,000 gallons of desalinated sea water, went into full production last week. Eighteen varieties of fruit and vegetable were planted, including cabbages, watermelons, turnips, lettuce, tomatoes and squash.Sheik Zaid confident that there will soon be enough home-grown produce to satisfy his domestic market, can now entertain the notion of exporting fresh Abu Dhabian vegetables to his neighbors.

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