On To The Holy Land - May 29th

At last, after several hours of waiting, truckloads of ice cream bars, and searching through luggage (no body cavity searches this time—thank goodness) we made it through the border crossing from Jordan into the Holy Land. It’s the second week now, and those who have burned the midnight oil can often be seen tipping over into the isles of the bus or face down in their falafel.

Sergeant Gunnerson (we love him) commanded yet another 6:00am wake-up call today, for a 6:30am sacrament service (is the spirit up that early?) and 7:30am departure.

The sacrament service was beautiful—it was held on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, and included a beautiful choral number accompanied by Elizabeth on the oboe.

After inhaling some breakfast, now with more fiber since the Egyptian heebie-jeebies have left us, we scurried off to the first stop where Jesus was raised—Nazareth. Rolli, an amazing India-born Jewish convert, has taken the reigns as tour guide, and our fearless driver, Adnan (aka--“Fast Eddie”), who has been driving BYU students for 17 years, takes great care of us and secures us great deals on lunch. In Nazareth we visited a well excavated Nazarene village from the time of Christ, and there saw a wine press (FYI—done with bare feet as to not crush the bitter seeds), a garden watchtower, olive oil press (Scott P. made a great….…donkey), a large underground cistern, and a rebuilt ancient synagogue. In the synagogue Brother Gunnerson read some beautiful excerpts from the New Testament when Christ declared himself as the Messiah in the Nazarene synagogue and was subsequently thrown out.

Another highlight for many was holding a tiny white baby lamb.

Next stop (of five), Mt. Tabor, believed by many to be the actual Mount of Transfiguration, situated along the fertile Jezreel Valley. After a taxi-ride up a series of 5 mph switch-back U-turns, (not driven at anywhere near 5 mph; it seemed our driver’s principal goal was to get our van up on two wheels) we reached the top. There we enjoyed many spiritual moments and time to contemplate the sacredness of the area as Brother Gunnerson read multiple excerpts from the scriptures and then concluded with a short but powerful testimony meeting. Upon leaving the top of Mt. Tabor, Shay, straggling behind, was trapped by the electric gate in the Catholic convent. We barely rescued her from the nuns who had slapped a habit, robe, and knee-highs on her and were about to make her take her vows of celibacy.

Our third stop was Tel Megidda, or what we know as Armageddon. We first pounded down some falafel sandwiches, then proceeded to see the ancient ruins (dating from before the days of Solomon) through sweltering heat wondering why 25 civilizations had chosen this spot to build upon. We descended into a blissfully cool tunnel built underneath the city to link the outside water source into the city for times of war, quite an amazing feat.

Then off to the beautiful coastal city of Caesarea, the Roman capital of the area during the time of Christ. This huge metropolis, built predominantly by Herod the Great, provided numerous ruins, including a large theater and hippodrome, as well as beautiful costal views and breezes.

We had a cultural smorgasbord in the ancient Roman theater, started off by a monologue of Romeo and Juliet by Dakon, followed by an inspiring rendition of Bon Jovi by Brad, and then the grand finale, a duet to Greece’s “Summer Lovin’” by Brad and Jodi.

Alas we concluded our day by driving north up the coast to Haifa, and were finally able to frolic in Mediterranean Sea, engaging in a game of tag, Frisbee, and just a little chillin’ in the sun for some much needed R & R.

Scott P. sported his ‘Mediterranean bathing suit’, looking suspiciously like a pair of Hanes, and even received some gasps from the Europeans. On our way home ‘Fast Eddie’ made sure to show us the B’Hai gardens, driving the round about not once, not twice, but three times, to make sure we got some good shots………Thanks, Adnan!

Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Phosphate Miners - May 28th

The large portion of our day was spent riding/sleeping on the bus as we trekked from Petra in south central Jordan (known as “The SC” to locals) to Tiberius in northern Israel. The desert stretched away in all directions to the horizon--gravel crusted, arid and barren except for power lines. It was beauty unrivaled in the U.S. except for certain large airport parking lots. The tour guide pointed out two sights during the four hour journey. First, he woke our group of sun soaked travelers to inform us the train tracks on the east side of the road were used to carry phosphates from local mines to the coast.

Some time later he motioned to the distant horizon to some small piles of dirt. These, he informed us, were phosphate waste piles. Other than these Jordanian tourist attractions The SC offered very little in the way of sites.

The road on which we drove was once a major trade route known at times as the Desert Highway or the Kings Highway. Thousands of years ago it served as the backbone of a vast and complicated series of roads connecting merchants in China and the Middle East. In its current iteration it was built in 1978 as a joint venture between Jordan and Iraq to serve their joint military needs while fighting against Iran. Today we use it as travelers have for millennia—to get through this area in as direct a route as possible.

Our guide, Hasan, entertained us with the story of meeting his wife. It was the classic Jordanian love story. Boy meets girl, er, boy’s sisters meet girl. Boy’s sisters obtain girls phone number. Boys mother and sisters visit girl and check (among other things) whether she has strong teeth and real hair. They also check the cleanliness of her bathroom and kitchen. Upon passing all tests the girl is then given the OK to serve coffee to the boy and his parents. Apparently this is an important step as the two potential lovers are able to steal their first few glances of one another under the watchful eye of parents. When the parents have determined that the young couple might make a suitable match, the fathers make preliminary arrangements for an engagement. As described to us this is much like any business negotiation—boy will rent apartment, pay the rent, buy food, etc. When this contract is signed the boy pays the first dowry of $3,000 in order to allow the girl to go shopping for new clothes. For the boy’s part in this scene, he then drives through the girl’s neighborhood with fifty of his friends honking their horns and flashing their lights. This informs the neighbors that the girl is now engaged and the neighbors are now on the look out for other boys in her company.

Now that the engagement is complete the couple may date openly until the wedding. At this point in the story our guide committed us to secrecy. The following detail apparently should not be shared outside of Jordan. After the wedding, the bride and groom drive to a prearranged destination in order to consummate the contract. The mothers of both parties tag along. Once the bride and groom are in the bedroom, the mothers sit outside the door facing each other until the groom indicates to them that the contract has been consummated.

We made a short detour in order to visit Mt. Nebo.

This location indicated in the Bible as the spot where Moses first saw the promised land of Israel is located in northern Jordan. It has a cobble stone path to the top and is maintained by some Franciscan monks.

On a side note, this is also the supposed location of the biblical incident involving Balaam and the “talking ass.” (Num 21:21-31) After a smooth and quick border crossing, we arrived at our Kibbutz in Tiberius.

A Few Blog Notes

We'll have all new tales from Israel to upload tomorrow, but in the meantime we thought we'd give you a few notes on how this blog is done...

- Each day two trip members are asked to keep the journal for the day. While you may think the creative writing is done by one poetic genius, it's actually the work of many. We're a very talented bunch.

- Unfortunately Internet access isn't as easy to come by in the Middle East as it is in the lovely US of A. Hence, the delay in posts at times. The journal is still kept each day, but it's been taking us a few days to get things ready for prime time viewing.

- We love your comments so keep them coming! They're actually a highlight for tour goers to read / hear as we travel around on our bus from location to location.

Until tomorrow...the Blog Master.

Choose Your Own Adventure Day - May 27

Good walking shoes…check. Sunscreen…check. Water…check. Good-bye Eilat, Israel with all of your Western World comforts: soft pillows, comfy bed, semi-familiar food, and high-pressure showers. We are crossing the border between Israel and Jordan but should be back sometime tomorrow.

We arrive at Petra after traveling on the winding Desert Highway. Petra is an ancient Nabateyan settlement created between the 100 BC and 100 AD...or as you Indiana Jones fans know the setting for the final scenes of “The Last Crusade.” Unlike Harrison Ford we don’t face a series of tests for strength, intelligence, and courage, but enjoy a tour given by our new guide Loay (pronounced Louie).

The city was carved out of sandstone and features faint outlines of man made carvings as well as natures marks of change over thousands of years.

Now the tour is over and we are given many options for our personal pleasure or pain.

1. Burn Group: enjoy a steep hike to the monastery or to the high place (sacrifice alter) while feeling the burn of the sun and their calves from climbing.

2. Savor Group: enjoy some R&R while eating a savory authentic meal at a restaurant and shopping with the vendors advertising strategies such as “jewelry for your mistress or 2nd wife.”

3. Tired/Tuckered Out: find their way quickly back to the bus. All use one or more modes of transportation: donkey, camel, horseback, carriage ride and own two feet.

As you can imagine the afore mentioned animals presented a few droppings that were dodged with careful selection of foot placement. For those unfortunate folks not watching their already dusty feet added a bit of smell to endure. As in “choose your adventure” any of these options could be combined or changed at any time to make your very own Petra Adventure.

To our enjoyment the night continues at a 5 star hotel in Taybet, near Petra, made from the remnants of an old village with a labyrinth of rooms situated in random fashion with cobblestone floors.

Choices for entertainment include:
1. Swimming
2. Turkish Bath (steam room, body scrub, and massage): Becky, “I’ve never been bathed like that since my childhood” Mike, “That was weird” Ben, wide-eyed, no words, Micheal V. “Totally Awesome!” [Sorry...no pictures allowed]
3. Buffet Dinner: mashed chickpeas fried, lamb with oriental rice, fried pita bread, hummus and half a dozen desserts.
4. Shopping: henna, spices, jewelry, gypsy skirts, and frank or myre incense.
5. The filming of a Swedish TV show.
6. Last but not least sleep. Phew!

Sigh for Sinai - 26 May

Just when we thought our sleep deprivation couldn’t get any worse, we rose to a record 1:00 am wakeup call, to prepare for our hike up Mt. Sinai. We were out of the dock by 1:30 am, anxiously hoping to beat the Japanese to Mt. Sinai. We were one of the first groups to arrive at St. Katherine’s Protectorate to begin our trek, which meant that everyone who wanted to take the easy way to the top by camel would get one. Each camel was lead by a Bedouin boy, most likely named Mohammad. However, there was a small contingency of trekkers, who wanted to huff and puff their way to the top and relished being among the first to arrive and check out the mosque and small Christian church standing side by side.

Rising to the top of the mountain, some witnessed amazing glimpses of shooting stars and the feeling that they were so close to the constellations they could almost reach out and touch them. Others were more excited by the opportunity to buy Mars bars from at least six different locations along the way. After reaching the top, many huddled under blankets gazing up in awe at the star-studded heavens. One can certainly understand why Moses came to such a place to talk to God.

Bedouins walked about shouting out offers for blankets and mattresses with which to enjoy watching the sunrise. But, if you managed to side step these shout-outs, you could have heard the story of Moses being read and the singing of a faint rendition of “Nearer my God to Thee.” In contemplating the beauty that surrounded us, and the miraculous events that took place in that area where Moses spoke with God face-to-face, the spirit became overwhelming—almost tangible.

When the sun finally peaked above the horizon, there was a collective moment of silence, then all the cameras went off in unison to capture the splendor.

The trek down didn’t go quite as smoothly, with a sprained ankle, some new targets of the GI virus moving through the group, and other aches and pains.

After coming down the mountain, we headed back to the Morganland Hotel for a quick breakfast and then we were on the road again where much of the bus did a fabulous impersonation of the bobble head dolls.

It wouldn’t do us justice to say that we crossed the Israeli border uneventfully. We woefully watched Israeli nationals and other foreigners pass through without problem, while we were singled out to have our luggage searched, be questioned unnecessarily, and be frustrated at the two-hour long border crossing.

Once in Eliat, the group enjoyed the Red Sea at Coral Beach through snorkeling, scuba, and sunbathing. A number of crazy creatures were reportedly seen such as sea horses, eels, and sea snakes.

The little things on the road really make a difference, like the collective appreciation of our Israeli coach bus, which was devoid of many of the smells and discomforts of our Egyptian coach complete with bigger overhead compartment, and a rumored two inches more leg room.
The rest of the evening was spent with a great buffet at the Rimonim Neptune Hotel which exceeded all of our expectations.

Many delicious plates of food were eaten and savored, as we enjoyed a far superior buffet to anything we partook of in Egypt. After dinner, many went out for a walk on the beach or a little shopping. To sum it all up, we went from the top of Mount Sinai to the bottom of the Red Sea in less than 24 hours.

Rolling, Rolling, Rolling - May 25th

Everyone is dying. According to Michael T., we've got the high-steppin-side-windin-Egyptian-hebie-gebies (i.e. diarrhea) and Holy-Land-Body-Rot (i.e. fly bites). The healthy people are eating ice cream and the diarrhea toll continues to rise. Those among the victims are: Heidi, Raymond, Janae, Mandi, Amy, and Brother Gunnerson. Okay so it's not quite that terrible, but a lot of people are sick.

We were able to sleep in this blessed morning and are now on the bus trying to escape the streets of Cairo. We are filling up with gas and then it is a six hour dive to Sinai. Priesthood holders are assisting the sick by administering blessings to those who are sick. Okay, so we just left someone for dead—we felt it would be easier to run for the border if we left someone as bait for the Egyptians. So, when Melissa got off the bus to get some Sprite we drove off and left her behind. To tell the truth she came out of the store and our police escorts picked her up and brought her to us.

We’re still driving (there's been a lot of that today…) and listening to Brother Gunnnerson educate us about the Egyptian endowment--fascinating. Jody shared a really cool story about how she taught the hotel manager a discussion and gave him a Book of Mormon.

We drove under the Suez Canal and had lunch and got ripped off. We continue to wind through the barren mountainous wasteland of the Sinai Peninsula and reaching our final destination for the evening—the Morganland Village just outside of St. Catherine’s Monastery. What a place to wander for 40 years!

Where's the Good Stuff ?!?!?

If you have a delicate constitution or are afraid to test “tried and true” historical norms, please stop reading now. The morning departure was scheduled for 7:15 for Giza. Due to the usual stragglers (they know who they are) we started after 7:30. After a tense drive through Cairo traffic, we arrive at Giza to see, ho hum, the Pyramids of Giza. Little known fact: the pyramids were built by aliens and delivered intact in 1921. (Most of what you know about Egypt is a “ruse.”) This is not something well publicized outside of certain underground circles in Egypt due to the obvious impact the news would have on the tourist trade.

Our guide Hassan tells us everything we want to know about the pyramids but we’re afraid to ask. He finishes in 11 minutes (not surprisingly he fails to tell us the news about the aliens). The Great Pyramid (Cheops - the largest and oldest of the three main pyramids at Giza) is 450 feet tall; the original height was 481 feet.

It is also the oldest at just over 4,700 years old (if he only knew the truth). It is the only remaining of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. We enter the great pyramid and walk upright down a short stone hallway—no problem.

We come to the bottom of a ramp. The ramp is over 100 yards long and rises at an incline of 26 degrees. One other drawback—for most of the length of the tunnel, it is only 3 feet, 11 inches high. Apparently the aforementioned aliens were only 3 ½ feet tall. The end of the tunnel is the burial chamber. It is a stark room about 20 feet long and 15 feet high and wide. It is lined entirely with granite. When filled with over fifty people the echo of voices and the humidity (no ventilation) can be stifling. The trip down is much easier. Also at Giza, we see the other pyramids and the Sphinx. (You don’t want to know the true story about the origin of the Sphinx.) The big pyramid blocks prove a perfect spot for our first group photo...until the pyramid police chide us for clibming too high.

At the 5,000 year-old Sphinx we learn of an "open mouth" ceremony to purify the dead - not exactly our cup of tea.

Wherever we go, we run into Egyptian merchants eager to sell us souvenirs of our trip. They are savvy marketers. These pervasive purveyors of postcards and other Egyptian paraphernalia have a number of clever attention-getting techniques including “How are you?” and “Are you American?”. If you ignore them and keep on walking you can successfully run the gauntlet. If you make eye contact, you are sunk. Members of the group give some impressive advice for confusing the vendors and escaping their spell. “If you speak to them in a ‘foreign’ language like German, French, or Japanese you will confuse them and give yourself time to escape.” (It’s a good thing no one from Germany, France, or Japan ever visits Egypt, because these Egyptians couldn’t possibly understand those languages.)

The remainder of the day we spend visiting others sites with the handiwork of Imhotep, who some refer to as “The Father of the Modern Pyramid”. He lived about 5,000 years ago. We visit the “step” pyramids and other early designs. He started small but given the amazing size of Cheops and its neighbors, it didn’t take him long to get it right.

The city of Memphis boasts two large statues of Ramses II and a broken statue of Hasan's favorite the "God of Fun" -- a short, fat, naked man with the name of Bas.

The Mermons Meet Luxor -

...on May 23...We arrive in Luxor around midnight, and arise to a 6:30 wakeup call. Wow, what a day! This may not be the busiest, hottest, or longest day of the trip, but it is definately in the top 3. We are all acting a bit punch-drunk due to the schedule we are sticking to...at least that is the story we are sticking to.

The day starts with a bang when someone (we'll let you guess what part of the bus) erupts with, "we can't hear the speaker" in the middle of what turns out to be the prayer. Our guide, Gabriel, expresses his love of Mormons early and often throughout the day. His cry, "Mermons come" keeps us on the move throughout the day. Gabriel begins our tour of Luxor by telling us about the city's ancient name - Thebes. He dubs Egypt, "A gift of the Nile." Without the Nile, civilization, water, irrigation, and agriculture would not exist.

At the first stop (supposedly a short one), two 52 1/2 foot-high sandstone seated figures seem to be guarding the gigantic Necropolis.

In Hellenistic times, the "Colossi of Memnon," as they are called, were thought to represent Memnon, who was slain by Achilles at Troy. We learn that the figure on the right use to emit a strange whistle when the wind blew, due to degradation of the statue, and the whistle was called "Memnon's voice." Our issue of the day is getting through sites "quickly." The visit to our 52 foot friends starts the pattern. The short "five-minute" stop quickly turns into 30. Some authentic sheik-looking characters are milling about and "kindly" offer to be part of our pictures and then "require" payment in "dollari" for their services. We run to escape.

Next stop. We visit the Rameseum, the mortuary temple of Ramses II.

It has been through some rough treatment at the hands of Greek and Roman Christians as well as some 19th century explorers. The Christians, after taking over the area, cut off the heads of most of the Ramses statues. We find names of 19th century explorers, including the famed Lobollo who was thought to have discovered the Abrahamic Scrolls, etched everywhere all over the temple. Although tempting, none of us sketch our names into the stone. However, hieroglyphics with original paint and intricate carvings influence our group to reinact some of the ancient scenes.

At the next stop, we ruin our schedule for the rest of the day as we gauk at authentic papyri of the Abramic figures from the Pearl of Great Price. Gabriel is proud of us "Mermons" as we all get in line and buy the set. We hope we aren't ruining the surprise for some of your gifts (not everyone bought the same kind). Unfortunately, the store only has one cashier. Two hours later, we are way off schedule, but proudly carry our "Mormon Papyri" onto the bus.

Next stop: Valley of the Kings at high noon.

Most people avoid Valley of the Kings, in the middle of desert at high noon, but we've got papyri and push through anyway. We get the place almost to ourselves. IT IS HOT!!! We enter tombs of Rameses IV, IX, and Tut. They are empty except for the occasional sarcophagus, but are covered by intricate hieroglyphics and drawings. Surprise, the mumified King Tut is still in his tomb.

We travel some more on the bus and arrive at some unidentifiable spot in the middle of the desert. Amazingly, it turns out to be Pitt Tomb 33.

"No one is allowed here except for the Mermons," assures Gabriel. This is the spot where we believe Antonin Lebolo found the mummies and Abramic scrolls. The scrolls were later sold by Michael Chandler to Joseph Smith, to later become what we now know as the Pearl of Great Price. We all feel a greater connection to Egypt.

Now the heat exhaustion and general weariness start to set in.

We pass an Alabaster factory. Just the thing to cure our weariness (slight sarcasm from our director in memory of the Papyri factory)! One man demoes the beauties of alabaster by throwing it on the floor. Not too many purchases here.

We recharge with a beautiful sailboat ride across the Nile. We sail to the restaurant, which surprisingly turns out to be our hotel. Not many were lucid when we left the hotel in the morning.

After lunch we bus to the Karnak temple. This quickly becomes the highlight of our afternoon. We feel like we are stepping into ancient Egyptian history.

Alan touches many of us by drawing parallels between the religious hieroglyphics on the walls and our modern day temples. Pictures can't do this place justice, but here are a few.

We end the our excursion at the temple by the sacred lake which was historical used by the Egyptians to perform washings, purifications, and other religious rights.

We finish an exhausting, but amazing day, with dinner (Happy Birthday to Shay, Susanne, and amazingly a third - Kristen) back at the hotel and a late night flight back to Cairo.