Alexandria

First day that we didn't travel around in a big bus. Only 3 of us went to Alexandria today and no we didn't travel in one of the 3 wheeler taxis. We had a van to take the 3 1/2 hour trip up north to the Mediterranean Sea. Saw the countryside along the way (and snatched some zzz's). The coast was beautiful. Alexandria is a more liberal city were the scarves on the heads of the women were in wonderful colors, some even shot with silver threads or sequins.
We visited the new library - the old one, the most famous LIbrary in the world was burned down when the Muslims invaded in 646. This is a resurrection of the library, but very modern. Go to www.bibalex.org to see the library. For free you can read many books, view and download pictures and maps from antiquity and from now, and watch videos. It is fascinating.
Alexandria is where the disciple Mark spread the word of Jesus. He preached in the old library until the Romans killed him in an awful way. He was the one to start the Coptic Christian Church.
The  Israelites lived in the region, in Goshen. It has the most fertile land in the world. As I contemplate this area, I can't help but see why they had such a difficult time leaving that to go to the Sinai and then on to Israel. They left so much behind - and yet gained so much, including a close relationship with God.

Home tomorrow. One more pic.
Prayer: Lord watch over travelers all over the world and help us to see with your eyes. AMen

Floating!!!

Here we are as we are sailing down the Nile River. What a great morning. That's Nassir our captain, first mate, and .... He's it! We even saw the bullrushes that Miriam hid in as Moses floated to the princess. Look at these great date palms. The dates are in big bundles hanging under each      spray of leaves.

Then we entered an unbelievable Coptic church called the Hanging Church because it is actually built without a regular foundation. It is balanced on top of a Roman tower that had been broken down. You can even see through a part of the floor to the bottom - several feet down. The next church we went to you couldn't take pictures in. It was the Coptic Church of the Holy Crypt. This was built over the crypt, or room, that the Holy Family fled to when they left Bethlehem. Jeremiah had started a synagogue in the 6th century BC in the area and there were many Jews in the area of the church. It used to be a synagogue, but the church bought the area from them. No pictures, just postcards.

The history here blends with and spurs stories from the Old Testament and the New. I certainly will be looking with new eyes at the scriptures. And Jesus said, "Come and See." I pray that you are getting a tiny bit each day that helps you to expand your vision with Jesus and deepen your faith.

HOT! HOT! HOT!

We drove 70 miles south to Fayoum. I know it doesn't sound important, but this is where Joseph was probably keeping the grain. As a matter of fact, in the middle of the desert - well, not quite in the middle - there is an irrigation canal off the NIle that is named Joseph's Canal. The belief is that he had it dug so that this area, which was the capital during his time, could grow soooo much, and it still does. Organically. The animals graze on the stubs of the harvested crops and leave their waste that is then fertilizer.

Then we went to the first stone structure in the world, a step pyramid that was built with mud bricks covered with stone. Incredibly, next to it was a tomb of Princess Idot that the paint was still on the wall. Both were from 2600 BC, 4600 years ago! And the temperature, there in the Sahara by the way, was 120 degrees.


We discussed the different scholar's opinions of what the exodus actually looked like, where they crossed the Reed Sea and why.... More later. It's HOT here. We seem to be having a heat wave. Floating down the Nile tomorrow.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for leaders like Abraham and Joseph and Moses who helped us come to you. Amen

WOW

We started off the day in Giza. That meant a trip to the pyramids. What a strange feeling to look over the buildings of town and see the pyramids right there. How must that have been for Abraham to come to Egypt - they were 600 years old at that time. How amazing that he was able to keep his faith in the unseen God when so obviously the god of Egypt must be massive because the pyramid was built to be the home of the god who had died in his human form, but was very alive in his god form. And yet Abraham stayed faithful. Not only that, he told of his faith and changed some of the thought in Egypt. King Akenaton in 1351 actually changed Egypt by saying that he was a man, not a god and there was only one god and shut down the various temples except the sun god. He was killed for all that and his son became king, King Tut.

Here we are on camels again! Let me tell you, we are in the Sahara here and in the middle of a heat wave! 112 today. We really felt like the next pic at the end. Things here are soooo ancient. Indeed Joseph came during the middle kingdom - will go see Joseph's place another day - and all theories point to the exodus as during Ramses' reign about 1250. His son even wrote about wanting to follow the Isrealites and wipe them out. Ramses died with an emense amount of salt in his limbs and with his arms looking like they still had the reins of a horse in them. Believed drown!

Exodus revisited

We entered Egypt finally, but the first hotel had no Internet so....
We are now in Cairo and the computer here is soooooo slow I can't down load a picture. sorry.
Our trip through the Sinai was unbelievable. I always pictured the Sinai, and there for the exodus led by Moses to be over a flat desert. That's not at all what it is like. It has extremely high mountains in the interior. The coast of the Gulf of Aquba and the Suez Gulf are flat sand to the sea on one side of the road, but the other is high mountains right up to the edge of the road. That exodus was undoubtedly winding through the mountains from water hole to water hole. It would take forever to walk the peninsula or maybe just 40 years.

St. Catherine's monastery was awesome. We were not able to visit inside the chapels, but walked through the monastery where visitors could go and saw the burning bush. Is it real? Only God knows, but the bush dates back centuries and people have tried to grow parts of it elsewhere and it has not been successful.

Our hotel was right there. Last night we (Jan, Mary and I) went outside the hotel to visit a Bedouin tent. We had chai (hot spiced tea) sitting on carpets on the ground. Jan and I were dressed up as dancers by the Bedouins - much to everyone's amusement!

I looked out my window in the morning to see the sun come up over Mt. Sinai. Right there where Moses met his wife, where Moses talked with God at the burning bush, where Moses went up the ;mountain to bring back the 10 commandments, where he came down to find the golden calf. WOW!

On to Cairo today. We arrived in time for dinner and will go to the pyramids tomorrow.

Pray with me: Lord give us the strength to see the other as your child. Amen

Last Day in Israel

We started the day at the Garden Tomb. Though this is not where Jesus was buried, it gives a good representation of the tomb. We celebrated communion with the Presbyterian group from South Carolina that we have been traveling with. Rev. Sloan and I shared in the consecration of the elements and then served the group. Wonderful sharing.

We then traveled to the believed site of the birth of St. John the Baptist. Beautiful church built by the Spanish Franciscans. The interior is covered with blue and white tiles. Is this the site of his birth? If not here then somewhere close. This church was built in the 1200's on top of the church built in the 500's.

Later this evening Jan, Mary Lou, and I went into old town Jerusalem by ourselves and found our way to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher by ourselves  and then found that the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer was right across the street! What a find. It was really exciting meandering through the narrow streets to Golgotha on our own. The bazaar that we found was undoubtedly the same in the time of Jesus. People from all over selling their wares. The smells - coriander, cinnamon, rosemary, and ginger - along with the sounds of music and bartering, everyone coming to shop for their daily needs. Can you imagine Jesus walking along these narrow streets talking and eating leading a crowd down the streets. What a commotion it must have caused as his many followers filled the streets, talked with the merchants and their customers, as people were healed on the streets and watched as this man whose reputation had preceded him walked among them. And then he came in on a donkey through the Eastern Gate, Solomon's Portico and rode onto the Temple |Mount.

Now we are off to Egypt in the morning. 5:30 wake up call.

Pray with me: Lord help us to see with your eyes that we might never see an us and them, that we might always be a blessing to those we meet. AMEN

By the Sea

We drove through the Judean Wilderness (desert) til we got to Masada.

To get to Masada we had to ride the cable car up! It is at the top of a mountain. Herod built a huge palace and fortress up there that would hold 1000 people. The sad part is the story of the Jewish Zealots - call them terrorists of long ago. They wanted the Romans out of Israel so these men would attack soldiers... and kill them. This started the Jewish War of 66 AD culminating with the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. The leaders ran off to Masada with their families hoping no one would find them, but the Romans did.

They stayed up there quite a while, until the storehouse was empty and the Romans had breached the wall. Faced with sure slavery the next day when the Romans would advance in, the leaders decided that death was better than slavery and killed first their children, then their wives then each other with the last falling on his sword. The Romans came in to find all dead.

View from Masada

Then we were off to the Dead Sea, which you see above from Masada. Here we floated on our backs in the water and then put the black mud on ourselves. What soft skin we got!

Psalm 23 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside still waters. He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for my name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies. Thou annointest my head with oil. My cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

On the way home we stopped to see some Bedouins - but also to see the Valley of the Shadow of Death. Unbelievable. This is the valley people walked between Jericho and Jerusalem.