The Amanxing Race family was saddened to hear of the death of Prince Ahmed bin Salman recently at the untimely age of 42. The Prince was the owner of War Emblem and hosted the Amanxing Racers overnight in Saudi Arabia in this episode, which we are presenting in his memory. Our condolences to his family and to War Emblem.

Remaining teams: Bella and Douglas (Chicago Cats) Climber and Pinta (Brown County Cats) Ernie and Socks (Rejected Presidential Cats) F.F. and C.B. (Friskies Spokesperson Cats) Hedley and McClurg (Skunks) Mei Xiang and Tian Tian (Panda Bears)

Phil makes an announcement after every pair has arrived at the Cairo Pet Stop: For the next leg of the Amanxing Race, each female racer must wear some sort of head covering. Bella has brought her own straw-flowered hat; Climber and Pinta make scarves out of a camel blanket; Douglas lends (Panda) his Douglas-plaid scarf, which she wraps around her ears. F.F., predictably, hisses at Phil before consenting to wear a silk scarf that C.B. has to go into town to buy. C.B. is not terribly happy over the lost time he could have spent resting, and sulks.

The rejected presidential cats, Ernie and Socks, are the first to leave the shadow of the great Sphinx. Their instructions: Fly to King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and go immediately to the Al-Kindi Plaza in the Diplomatic Quarter

The four cat pairs once again receive preferential treatment from the Egyptians, but in another stroke of luck, all six remaining teams get on the same flight into Saudi Arabia.

At the airport, each pair must get a taxi to the Plaza. Bella and Douglas go right away, as do the skunks and pandas and Socks and Ernie. Climber and Pinta, the all-female team, are having trouble. F.F. is refusing to wear her head covering.

Bella and Douglas are the first to arrive at Al-Kindi Plaza and are very surprised to find Phil waiting for them. As each pair arrives, they begin to realize something must be up.

As you know, the Middle East is a very unpredictable region. We are having some trouble setting up the next leg of the Race. All the racers will have to make an unexpected Pet Stop for the night in Saudi Arabia. Fortunately, Prince Ahmed bin Salman, owner of fellow racer War Emblem, has graciously opened his home to all the teams for a party. Teams will stay here for 24 hours, then leave in the order they arrived into the plaza.

At the Prince's house, a fancy feast of Middle Eastern food awaits. Tian Tian eats felafel; Douglas enjoys baklava; Hedley tries grape leaves; F.F. turns up her nose at hummus. Everyone is glad to see War Emblem again.

After the feast, the cats (excepting you-know-who) go out and play in the sand until dark, when the racers enjoy a double feature of "Aladdin" and "Lawrence of Arabia." Bella falls asleep.

Nobody wants to leave the next day, but Bella and Douglas are the first to open their clue: Fly to Tehran, Iran, and go to the Tehran Bazaar and look for the flag in the rug shop. The pandas, skunks, and F.F. and C.B. all go next and end up on the same flight. Climber and Pinta get a flight an hour later along with Socks and Ernie, who overslept and missed their original cue.

The enormous, chaotic Bazaar gets more chaotic as the animal pairs search. This time, F.F. is the local favorite. Someone directs her straight to the flag, and she actually doesn't hiss at him or at C.B. for that matter. They open their next clue: to find the Golestan Palace, the night's Pet Stop. They arrive at the Palace first and find Secretary of State Colin Powell holding a Persian cat, which F.F. hisses at. "Welcome to Iran, formerly Persia," he says.

Back at the Bazaar, Douglas and Bella have found the wrong rug shop. Douglas suddenly realizes he ate too much baklava last night and, oh no, a fine Persian rug is ruined. They run away, and see Hedley and McClurg walking away with the clue. The skunks are second at the Palace, followed by Team Chicago and the pandas. Pinta and Climber panic, thinking they're in the wrong place, but they find two women who help them find the flag.

Iran proved to be the downfall of President Carter, and now it proves to be the downfall of President Clinton's rejected cat, Socks, and President Bush's rejected cat, Ernie. "Socks, Ernie", announces host Phil Kiwi, "You've arrived last at the Palace. I'm sorry, but you've been eliminated from the Amanxing Race." Holding American flags in their paws, they exit with heads held high.

Written by Becky Banfield

Next time, on THE AMANXING RACE: It's all downhill! And, Fancy Feast gets an official scolding. Plus Climber meets her most famous human counterpart.

On to episode 9 ->

More pictures will be added - check back again soon!

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