Catch Up

So I'm behind on this, and even more behind in my journal. I'm only through the second day of the Egypt trip! EEK! I have written since on selected days, but it is just taking me a while since I feel like I have to detail everything. Now I finally have some time to catch up on my personal stuff.

The week after we got home from Egypt we had two more field trips. The first one was a half day to Jericho. We got to visit a monastery that is on the side of the Mount of Temptations, the traditional spot of Jesus' fast and subsequent tempting by Satan. It is literally built into the side of a cliff. The other field trip focused on the Judges from the Old Testament, so we went to the five main valleys that connect the coastal plains to the mountain ridge where Jerusalem is located. It was fun to think that we get to just cruise around Israel. Who does that? I've updated my photos from the trips in the Jerusalem #2 album. On Sunday I went to the Rockafeller Museum in east Jerusalem and saw a lot of cool archaeological stuff about things we have been learning about.

My birthday was last Monday and I had a great day. My roommate made my bed for me and I got a card signed by all the students. I spent the morning with friends at the zoo and that was really fun. The weather was beautiful and warm! Then we spent some time in the Jewish market before walking home across town. I took the route through the Old City and got myself a birthday present: leather "Jesus" sandals that I have been eying since before Egypt. When I got back to the center my birthday packages from mom had arrived! I called home while I opened them. I got just what I wanted: eye makeup remover, ranch dressing, gummy bears, a laptop case and a few other wonderful things. I got lucky and we even had cake for dessert at dinner. And by cake I mean "cake", but it was more like cake as I know it than I've had in other places around this part of the world. It actually had sweetness to it! It was a good day and I felt good too.

The rest of the week didn't fare so well. I kinda wore myself out on my birthday and I didn't feel so well the next day. I'm in recovery though and each day I'm feeling better. It helped that it was rainy for a lot of the rest of the week so I didn't have to feel bad that I was missing out on nice weather. I had lots of schoolwork to keep me busy. We had a midterm today in our Jewish studies class and lots of other reading to do for other classes. I did pretty well on the test and spent most of the day getting ahead with other work. That about catches things up on this end. Hope you all had a very happy Valentine's day!

Another Casualty

So most everybody got sick before or during our Egypt trip. Only one case was because of eating unsafe food (to my knowledge). It's just a nasty cold that is passing around striking the students and teachers alike. I was quite triumphant to not have even so much as a sniffle since arriving in Jerusalem.... until yesterday. I've been struck. Fever, chills, aches, pressure in the head-- the whole bit. I feel like someone who went through the battle without a scratch, then died of disease afterward. It's really bad timing because we get nearly two days of free time between today and tomorrow. I think I'll spend it in bed trying to muster up enough strength to do something fun for my birthday tomorrow. Did I mention the bad timing?

“Welcome in Egypt!”

This is how my friend was greeted as he passed through the last checkpoint at the border to Egypt. Yes I am back, and yes it was amazing!

Day 1: We left Jerusalem and headed south to Tel Beersheba. Next we stopped at Ben-Gurion’s grave and the Wilderness of Zin (or Sin) overlook. The Wilderness of Zin is one of the areas the children of Israel wandered during those 40 years. We ended the day with a stop at Kibbutz Yotvata. We had a tour of the place, then continued to the town of Elat where we stayed the night at the Kibbutz Eilot.

Day 2: We left early for the Taba border crossing. There are usually problems at the border, but we were blessed and all went just fine and we got through in record time for this program. They don’t plan anything else this day because the border is so unpredictable. We drove though Sinai to Cairo and as we neared the west side we got our first glimpse of the Pyramids. We stayed in Giza in a really nice hotel.

Day 3: We started the day with a visit to the Pyramids of Giza. They are as cool as you’ve imagined, but bigger. We got to go inside Khufu’s pyramid (the biggest one) down to the burial chamber. They don’t allow pictures inside unfortunately. Then we went up the hill and all got to have a camel ride. Forget any pre-conceived notion you have ever had about Egyptian weather—it can get cold. And windy. I don’t know what it is but we have nasty weather wherever we have gone. It rained while we were at Yotvata, and they only get rain about once a year. I just wanted to let you know why we are bundled up in most of our pictures. We also went to Saqqara and saw the Step Pyramid of Zoser (or Djoser). We visited a papyrus factory and a jewelry bazaar where we were able to purchase cartouche pendants. That night we flew down to Luxor. I unfortunately got a migraine and got pretty nauseous and could not fully appreciate it, but thankfully I was better by morning.

Day 4: We took carriages to Karnak and then to Luxor Temple first thing in the morning. After lunch we took a boat ride out onto the Nile. We were supposed to go out on falukas, boats kind of like sailboats, but it was too windy (at least it wasn’t raining!). We went out on motorized boats instead and it was still fun. In the evenings we'd go bargain for souvenirs at the nearby markets. We're getting pretty good at it too!

Day 5: We crossed over to the west side of the river to visit the Valley of the Kings, Queen Hatshepsut’s temple, and Ramses III’s temple. After lunch we took boats back across to take camel rides though the countryside. That night we took the overnight train back to Cairo.

Day 6: Back in Cairo we first went to Memphis where we saw a giant statue of Rameses II. We also visited one of the oldest mosques in Egypt, then went to the Egyptian museum. The museum was awesome and I go to see King Tut’s gold, mummies of many kings, and other cool stuff I learned about in art history. Next we went to lunch at the Hard Rock Café and it was great to finally sink my teeth into a real American-style hamburger! We rounded up the evening with a drive though Cairo and an excursion to the Khan al-Khalili Bazaar, an open-market that dates back to medieval times.

Day 7: We went to Muhammad Ali’s Mosque which is huge and beautiful! It had the best view of the city of Cairo. Then we left Cairo and headed back to Sinai.

Day 8: Our day started very early at 2 am. All those able (and not sick, which were many) gathered and climbed Mount Sinai. We watched the sunrise from the top. It was pretty cold up there at 7000+ feet above sea level, but I was all right under my 6 layers! I’m still sore, but it was totally worth it and a lot of fun. That was the most beautiful day of the whole trip. After coming down off the mountain we gathered for a lecture on the Ten Commandments. After brunch we took off for the Taba border and then home via the Dead Sea shore. In that one day I saw the Gulfs of Suez and Aqaba, Egypt, Saudi Arabia (across the gulf), Jordan (also across the gulf and Dead Sea), and Israel. Wow!

I've included a link to a map of the areas we traveled. You can find on it most of the towns I've mentioned. For the couple not included: Taba and Yotvata are next to Elat, and we crossed the Suez Canal at Ismailia. Mount Sinai is south-central Sinai Peninsula.

This is a big post, but it was a big trip and I edited details heavily. Look at my pictures and you’ll be able to see and read a lot more of the specifics of where we went. My favorite part of the trip was seeing so many things that I have learned about in school all my life. They really do exist! As much fun as Egypt was, I’m glad to be back home in Jerusalem where I can drink the water, eat the fresh fruits and veggies, use the restroom for free, and flush my toilet paper!