Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Camel anyone?
One of the afternoons in Luxor we took a Faluka (sailboat) ride accross the Nile and met with a camel "caravan"! We all saddled up and took a camel ride down a path adjacent to the river Nile!!! We each had a camel leader, all under the age of 17. My guide was 13 year old punk named Mustaf. These boys were hilarious! They would hand us the reigns, then run down the line to a buddy and get a cigarette or a sip of beer or something. All the men (shop keepers, security guards, kids, you name it) try their darndest to flirt with us, perhaps in the hopes that one day they may score a wife and ticket to America, but it is rather hilarious and obnoxious. If I only had a dollar for everytime my eyes were beautiful or i was more beautiful than Cleopatra! These kids had it down to an art. We rode right at sunset and it was beautiful- right out of Arabian nights- incredibly romantic. Maybe if Mustaf had a few more years under his belt.... Just kidding!
Apparently i was a natural at camel back so Mustaf told me to sit like an Egyptian; cross legged atop the camel. I was all over that, espcially after he handed me the reigns. He smacked the camel's rear and off we went- me bouncing comedicaly up and down on the camel. What completed the picture was the fact that I was wearing a skirt that was billowing in the Egyptian breeze. ha! ops... I would have worn pants, but the only pair I brought had a whole the size of a watermelon in the crotch from doing an ultimate punch of the pyramid. Totally worth it! All in a day in Egypt!
Apparently i was a natural at camel back so Mustaf told me to sit like an Egyptian; cross legged atop the camel. I was all over that, espcially after he handed me the reigns. He smacked the camel's rear and off we went- me bouncing comedicaly up and down on the camel. What completed the picture was the fact that I was wearing a skirt that was billowing in the Egyptian breeze. ha! ops... I would have worn pants, but the only pair I brought had a whole the size of a watermelon in the crotch from doing an ultimate punch of the pyramid. Totally worth it! All in a day in Egypt!
Friday, September 25, 2009
LUXOR-THEBES
O and on eating- we were advised to not eat anything that wasn't hot and cooked. We could only drink bottled water and drinks.
Ok We took a plane to Luxor from Cairo and checked into the Sheriton Hotel overlooking the Nile. HOLY COW. the NICEST hotel I have ever been in! It was beautiful! as fun as it was to share a room with two friends, it would have been so much more fun to share it with someone else... So romantic. We had a balcony overlooking the nile- even pictures will not do the place justice.
We hit the valley of the kings in the first morning. I saw Ramses 9, Rames 4, Horemtep, and Tutenkamen's tombs. holy cow! it is unreal how well these places are preserved. The valley of the kings is incredibly narrow- all the tombs are literally next door neighbors. The tombs are hewn from the rock and many go hundreds of feet into the rock with all sorts of chambers, passageways and tombs. My favortie was Horemteps. He died unexpectedly, so his tomb was not completed before they had to seal it up. consequently, you can see the process they used to create the tomb and the hieroglyphs and the paintings. it was incredibly! It put personality into the dead culture. You could see the sketches on the walls, then the fine chiseling, etc. This process could be witnessed in room after room. The granite tomb inside is massive- well over 8 feet tall and 12-15 long. The wealth of this ancient nation is unfathomable, but in contrast, the poverty of the nation now is undescribable. sad! King Tut's tomb is really small, but his mummy is there! I saw king tut! he is very small- 4 foot somethin small. There were only 2 main rooms in his tomb but the wall hieroglyphics were vivid.
We next hit up the temple of Hatshepsut and the pit tomb 33 where the mummy containing the papyrus of Abraham wrapped around his chest, was probably found. We had a really intriguing mini-fireside there. From Hatshepsut's temple, the contrast between the fertile land of the nile and the sourrounding desert is apparent. You can literally walk 3 feet from lush to arid. No wonder the obsession with Nile life and fertility in the culture! The Nile basin and flood plain are GORGEOUS though. I didn't quite expect that, but is is the most fertile land on earth.
We got back in time to go out on the town!! Driving in Egypt is very different than anywhere else I have seen. Rome driving was insane, but now through in HUGE buses, donkeys, carriges, pedistrians, camels, street vendors.... ha it is comedic. We had to go out with at least one guy and good thing they told us that becuase it would have been a nightmare otherwise. The street vendors are desperate sharks who live dollar to dollar. It takes so much energy to enter a market, a shop, or even to walk down the street. Vendors will follow you for streets yelling in your face, saying lewd,rude, or hilarious thing, grabbing your arm, etc. Luxor was just as bad as cairo, which makes sense since 50% of the coutry's income is tourism, and the literacy rate is 49%. yikes. Little children swarm around Americans and beg for money with their beautiful eyes and scrawny arms. It breaks my heart! My friend gave one such little girl a granola bar. She looked at it, then threw it on the ground and held her hand out for money instead. This country has serious problems.
One night in luxor, we crammed 8 of us into a little horse drawn carriage and headed for a market. we were taken on quite the ride! How do millions of people not die every year from traffic problems?? No idea.
We also saw Karnak and Luxor temples- the number one thing I was looking forward to. These 4000 year old structures are massive. detailed. preserved. AWESOME. Sorry my descriptions are lacking a bit... i will add pictures that will help!
Ok We took a plane to Luxor from Cairo and checked into the Sheriton Hotel overlooking the Nile. HOLY COW. the NICEST hotel I have ever been in! It was beautiful! as fun as it was to share a room with two friends, it would have been so much more fun to share it with someone else... So romantic. We had a balcony overlooking the nile- even pictures will not do the place justice.
We hit the valley of the kings in the first morning. I saw Ramses 9, Rames 4, Horemtep, and Tutenkamen's tombs. holy cow! it is unreal how well these places are preserved. The valley of the kings is incredibly narrow- all the tombs are literally next door neighbors. The tombs are hewn from the rock and many go hundreds of feet into the rock with all sorts of chambers, passageways and tombs. My favortie was Horemteps. He died unexpectedly, so his tomb was not completed before they had to seal it up. consequently, you can see the process they used to create the tomb and the hieroglyphs and the paintings. it was incredibly! It put personality into the dead culture. You could see the sketches on the walls, then the fine chiseling, etc. This process could be witnessed in room after room. The granite tomb inside is massive- well over 8 feet tall and 12-15 long. The wealth of this ancient nation is unfathomable, but in contrast, the poverty of the nation now is undescribable. sad! King Tut's tomb is really small, but his mummy is there! I saw king tut! he is very small- 4 foot somethin small. There were only 2 main rooms in his tomb but the wall hieroglyphics were vivid.
We next hit up the temple of Hatshepsut and the pit tomb 33 where the mummy containing the papyrus of Abraham wrapped around his chest, was probably found. We had a really intriguing mini-fireside there. From Hatshepsut's temple, the contrast between the fertile land of the nile and the sourrounding desert is apparent. You can literally walk 3 feet from lush to arid. No wonder the obsession with Nile life and fertility in the culture! The Nile basin and flood plain are GORGEOUS though. I didn't quite expect that, but is is the most fertile land on earth.
We got back in time to go out on the town!! Driving in Egypt is very different than anywhere else I have seen. Rome driving was insane, but now through in HUGE buses, donkeys, carriges, pedistrians, camels, street vendors.... ha it is comedic. We had to go out with at least one guy and good thing they told us that becuase it would have been a nightmare otherwise. The street vendors are desperate sharks who live dollar to dollar. It takes so much energy to enter a market, a shop, or even to walk down the street. Vendors will follow you for streets yelling in your face, saying lewd,rude, or hilarious thing, grabbing your arm, etc. Luxor was just as bad as cairo, which makes sense since 50% of the coutry's income is tourism, and the literacy rate is 49%. yikes. Little children swarm around Americans and beg for money with their beautiful eyes and scrawny arms. It breaks my heart! My friend gave one such little girl a granola bar. She looked at it, then threw it on the ground and held her hand out for money instead. This country has serious problems.
One night in luxor, we crammed 8 of us into a little horse drawn carriage and headed for a market. we were taken on quite the ride! How do millions of people not die every year from traffic problems?? No idea.
We also saw Karnak and Luxor temples- the number one thing I was looking forward to. These 4000 year old structures are massive. detailed. preserved. AWESOME. Sorry my descriptions are lacking a bit... i will add pictures that will help!
Giza
On the way to Egypt, we stopped in lots of biblically and culturally significant spots. You know how it says that the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness for 40 years?? ok remove wilderness from your mind and instead think of mars with oxygen, or better yet, Hades wasteland of death and despair. The Zin desert/wilderness is amazingly hot and awful- and i was in the bus for the greater part of it. ha. We stayed at a Kibutz (a socialistic Israeli agriculture commune society) becuase it is about a 12 hour drive to Cairo. Approaching Cairo, we saw thousands and thousands of empty, half built buildings. They look like abandoned cities that have never been lived in. Just half built and abandoned. Seriously miles and miles of these lining the roads as far as one could see. It was really bizarre and ghostly. Once we entered Cairo, nothing changed. no building is finished and 99% of it lookes like crap. ha. I asked our guide a few times why on earth it is like that and he said it is a cultural thing here in Egypt to build as much as you can with all the money you have becuase metal, cement, etc are just getting more expensive, so you build your level to live in, then as many levels above as you can for your sons and their families, until you run out of money. Everyone does this, making the country look like a trashy construction sight with homeless people living in some areas. hmm.
The pyramids can be seen all over Cairo and Giza (which are seperate cities) and loom in the hazey distance. When we first caught side of them, everyone in the bus went crazy. the pyramids!!! they exist! they weren't a hoax! To be honest, I teared up a little. This has been my dream for as long as I can remember. I was the little 8 year old girl who would go through National Geographics and cut out everything having to do with Egypt and make posters. After checking into our hotel "The Oasis" (the name fits the place believe you me! it was beautiful), we hit the sound and light show on the pyramids and sphinx. Even though it was a lame show, it got us so excited for the next day!
We had to wake up early in order to get in line to get tickets to go inside the largest pyramid! Apparently Americans are the only people in the whole world who really stand in line. You don't understand. Lines in the middle east are not obligatorialy, and not necesarrily even an option! our guides kept yelling at us to kick people out of the line, be rude, and squish in. As a result, we have all become much ruder line standers! :) After forever (Egypt has had 6000 years to perfect the art of Beaurocracy and boy have they), we got to climb up indside the 400 foot pyramid! THEY ARE MASSIVE. One block is a little shorter than I am. There are lots of blocks. There is not much to see inside, and someone claustrophobic would have a rough go, but it was fun to lay inside of Pharoah Keops' stone coffin. hehe it was my idea and after everyone did it too. We weren't allowed to take pictures, but i'm sure imagination would do better in this case anyway.
We explored the sphinx and necropolis too. Prof Brown (the most expert man on every subjuct i have even known) talked to a small group of us about the relgion of Egypt. It sounds foreign and kind of bizarre, but really it hits very close to home. He spoke about the cleansing and purifying process the Egyptians had and how concerend they were with moral worth and ethics and the importance of imortalilty and eternal life. They built these grand edifices, the pyramids, as a visual reminder of what they needed to be aiming for. He put many ideas in my head concerning all that; gaining this perspective really set the tone for the whole trip and made it worthwhile on a completely new level.
The pyramids can be seen all over Cairo and Giza (which are seperate cities) and loom in the hazey distance. When we first caught side of them, everyone in the bus went crazy. the pyramids!!! they exist! they weren't a hoax! To be honest, I teared up a little. This has been my dream for as long as I can remember. I was the little 8 year old girl who would go through National Geographics and cut out everything having to do with Egypt and make posters. After checking into our hotel "The Oasis" (the name fits the place believe you me! it was beautiful), we hit the sound and light show on the pyramids and sphinx. Even though it was a lame show, it got us so excited for the next day!
We had to wake up early in order to get in line to get tickets to go inside the largest pyramid! Apparently Americans are the only people in the whole world who really stand in line. You don't understand. Lines in the middle east are not obligatorialy, and not necesarrily even an option! our guides kept yelling at us to kick people out of the line, be rude, and squish in. As a result, we have all become much ruder line standers! :) After forever (Egypt has had 6000 years to perfect the art of Beaurocracy and boy have they), we got to climb up indside the 400 foot pyramid! THEY ARE MASSIVE. One block is a little shorter than I am. There are lots of blocks. There is not much to see inside, and someone claustrophobic would have a rough go, but it was fun to lay inside of Pharoah Keops' stone coffin. hehe it was my idea and after everyone did it too. We weren't allowed to take pictures, but i'm sure imagination would do better in this case anyway.
We explored the sphinx and necropolis too. Prof Brown (the most expert man on every subjuct i have even known) talked to a small group of us about the relgion of Egypt. It sounds foreign and kind of bizarre, but really it hits very close to home. He spoke about the cleansing and purifying process the Egyptians had and how concerend they were with moral worth and ethics and the importance of imortalilty and eternal life. They built these grand edifices, the pyramids, as a visual reminder of what they needed to be aiming for. He put many ideas in my head concerning all that; gaining this perspective really set the tone for the whole trip and made it worthwhile on a completely new level.
Back from Pharoah Land!
Ok after 8 days I returned home! It is strange that the Jerusalem center is now home... I miss my legit home and family, friends, puppy, etc, but I really feel like i'm supposed to be here- especially after the amazing adventures in EGYPT!!! I guess I will just go through site by site...
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Next stop.... PHAROAHS
I'm headed to egypt for eight days!!! we are leaving right now!!!!! Just thought i would brag for a second there... the top concerns are heat, diarhea, and dyhydration...we'll see how I fare...
Monday, September 14, 2009
Cave Slugging!
On our field trip today, I had an EPIC ADVENTURE. We went to "Micah's Cave" (so named because Micah was born in a town nearby) about 30 miles south west of Jerusalem. It was the last stop on our awesome, but tiring, day-long field trip, so when we first got there, not knowing what we were in for, we were not super stoked. Three seconds in, however, and I was JAZZED. We crawled (army and hands-n-knees) through maybe a 30 foot tunnel into a larger room carved into the chalk/limestone, then could pick a variety of side rat holes to explore! I was the leader of our little adventure group and led the way through dozens of winding, twisting, tight, birth canal-like tunnels. They were SO small! There were spots where my shoulders barely fit through while I simultaneously ate a spider web and hit my head on the ceiling. It was the coolest (can i say that? i think yes.) thing I have done here. EPIC.
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