The Idiot accompanied a high-level-under-the-radar delegation from the European Union on a MedTrekking visit to the Great Wall of China this weekend.

Why is the Idiot smiling about the creation of a Great Mediterranean Wall?

The objective of the mission by members of Europe’s ruling dynasty was to evaluate the construction of a second Great Wall around the Mediterranean Sea. The fact-finding trip was the result of a suggestion in “The Idiot and the Odyssey: Walking the Mediterranean” concerning the numerous benefits of a continuous walking path around the entire Mediterranean.

A wall like this could soon encircle the Mediterranean Sea.

Upon completion, the 16,000-kilometer Great Mediterranean Wall will be three times as long as its China counterpart and adorn the seaside in every country in the Mediterranean Basin.

Discussions underway in Beijing this month involve the finalization of a long-term 243.45 billion euro interest-free loan from China that would enable construction to begin simultaneously in sixteen Mediterranean countries as early as 1/1/2011. Chinese labor on the project will be limited to 100,000 workers and Europeans will maintain, service and patrol the wall after its completion in 2032.

The Great Mediterranean Wall will feature a watchtower every two kilometers.

Medieval-like watchtowers will have state-of-the-art views and fanciful names, like Homer's Lair or Odysseus' Outpost.

EU delegates enumerated the economic, social, fiscal, environmental and physical benefits of the Great Mediterranean Wall at a conference at the XiaoXiang Hotel in Beijing last Friday.

They stressed that jobs created by Europe’s largest infrastructure project in the 21^st century will stimulate EU economies and have a positive direct and indirect impact on virtually every industry, from agriculture to tourism.

“The construction of the Great Mediterranean Wall will eliminate, rather than increase, our debt,” insisted a Greek delegate. “It will finally enable Europe to be on a par with China.”

Sign makers will be among beneficiaries of the Great Mediterranean Wall.

Fruit vendors, like these at the entrance to the Great Wall of China, will be among beneficiaries of the Great Mediterranean Wall.

The Great Mediterranean Wall, which will help prevent both illegal immigration and soil erosion, will provide a boost to the long-distance MedTrekking industry. Its promotion of the importance of physical exercise on a spiritual path is expected to reduce healthcare costs in the EU by 23 percent by 2050. Visitors will pay a 7-euro fee, or 100-euro annual membership, to MedTrek on the wall and a number of revenue-earning projects are in the planning stage.

Subtle advertising, like this plaque in China applauding Germany’s Henkel group, will be encouraged.

The Great Mediterranean Wall will not only further consolidate and improve relations among members of the EU but will also underline the key relationship between Europe and China. One French delegate claimed that President Obama strongly supports the project and reportedly told his EU counterparts in Toronto recently: “Europeans, put up that wall!”

“Europeans, put up that wall!”

The Great Mediterranean Wall will NOT have rugged hiking patches like its counterpart in China.

Text by Joel Stratte-McClure

Photos by Joel Stratte-McClure and Lex Hames (2)

Follow

About Joel

Joel Stratte-McClure has been a global trekker since the 1970s. He lived in France for over 30 years, working as a journalist, before he turned his attention to a unique life-time-project of walking the shores of the Mediterranean. The first 4,401 kilometers are explored in his inspirational and entertaining first book "The Idiot and the Odyssey: Walking the Mediterranean." The next 4,401 kilometers are covered in the gods-filled sequel, "The Idiot and the Odyssey II: Myth, Madness and Magic on the Mediterranean,” published on Valentine's Day 2013. The last 4,401 kilometers will be discussed in the last book of the trilogy currently entitled "The Idiot and the Odyssey III: Alexander the Great Walks the Mediterranean."