 Throughout most of geologic time, there were only two primordial continents, Laurasia in the north and Gondwana land in the south, separated by the Sea of Thetis. Gondwana land consisted of Africa, India, Australia, South America and Antarctica. About 265 million years ago, this continental togetherness began to split. For 200 million years, the Indian subcontinent advanced at a record speed of 15 millimeters per year, before crashing into Eurasia. The collision forced the crust to buckle, creating the enormous crumple zone, the Himalaya. The collision is not yet over. The continuing movement of the Indian plate is putting tremendous pressure on the Asian continent. Serious consequences of these processes are the deadly earthquakes and tsunamis. The Gondwana land expedition would drive from the Indian Himalaya to Cape Agilhas, the southern most tip of Africa, across 17 countries of West Asia and Africa, traversing areas of importance in the evolution of the earth. It would give the expedition scientists an opportunity to conduct exploratory research and further their understanding of the earthquake geology and evolutionary history. All of Iran seemed to be out on the road, with their pots and pans picnicking, camping on the streets, celebrating the pre-Islamic Zoroastrian Noroze Festival as they had been doing for 3,000 years. We headed north to Shiraz, through the Zagros Mountains, folded and faulted beyond repair. The Iranian plate is still pushing into the Asian plate, raising the height of the Zagros Mountains and making the country terribly prone to earthquakes. Our stout-hearted scorpions climbed higher and higher, along tarring walls of ice, on roads wet with melting snow. For two days, we drove along the picturesque Lake Van, 3,750 square kilometers of extremely alkaline water, rimmed with a series of snow-clad volcanoes, now extinct. Crossing the river Jordan, the expedition entered the venerable city of Jerusalem. During the Sinai Desert and going under the Suez Canal, we entered the Africa of our dreams. Laksur, the ancient capital of Upper and Lower Egypt, is home to the 5,000-year-old Karnak Temple, the Goliath of pharaonic architecture. Adida Galgalu Desert was green and inviting at this time of the year, giving no indication of its deathly black bleakness during the dry season.