More Rainy Days...

Dublin Castle...



















We arrived in Cork a couple of days ago, and have enjoyed staying in one place for a few nights. The hostel is great and the staff has been very helpful. Yesterday we took a bus trip around the Ring of Kerry, which is beautiful! We stopped in Killarney for about an hour. Rebecca and I walked for a little while before enjoying rhubarb tarts and tea for two at a little bakery we found. The drive was interspersed with various stops and we had fish and chips at our final stop of the day in Kenmare. It rained off and on throughout the day, and I think some people were rather disappointed in the tour because of that. We actually like the rain and thought the fog made the view even lovelier.


























We woke up earlier today to drive to the Cliffs of Moher, stopping in the town of Limerick to change buses. We took some photos of the castle and laughed at the swans fighting with each other in the lake.















A brief stop was also made in Durren where we opted out of lunch in favor of more walking. The cliffs were gorgeous, although due to the fog it wasn't easy to get some decent pictures. We managed, though. And tomorrow we will visit Blarney castle, and hopefully, if all goes well, kiss the stone apparently. 'Ta for now.

Questions

Okay, let me see if I can answer a few questions.

1. Our trip lasted 20 hours, including the time we were in the Tel Aviv airport. We went there really early because we had decided not to get a hotel for the night (we felt it was pointless since we were leaving so early). I count that time because sitting in an airport isn't fun.

2. We looked for Garrett, but didn't see him. Of course, there are lots of musicians and not everyone plays every night.

3. Blarney stone...here we come!

4. We finished up in Dublin and are heading to Cork next.

5. You remember Dublin Castle...we caught the tail end of a tour there and went down into one of the rooms that they won't let you in if you're by yourself. We have pictures. Oh, it's also where we stood in the two little guard houses (or something like that) and took a picture. I took one of Rebecca there.

6. Time difference- 7 hours later than you.

7. Riverdance- We weren't planning on it, but it actually is playing until the end of August, so we might.

8. Your blog- yes, we check it when we have the chance! : - )

I think that's all, folks! 'Till next time...

Rainy Days...

Yup...we're in Dublin. Last time I was here we had a beautiful week full of sunshine. It only sprinkled once. This time around I'm getting the true Irish experience. It's been raining pretty much all day. We checked into our hostel yesterday after a mere 20 hour trip from Tel Aviv (nothing compared to the 40 hour trip from Pittsburgh to Cairo). The only frustrating part of the trip was passport control in Dublin. There was a group ahead of us without the authorization to enter the country. Unfortunately, they were quite adamant about getting in and were spread out to all of the immigration windows. This meant that the rest of us stood in line for a very, very, very long time waiting for an immigration officer to become available. Once we finally made it through, we collected our bags and took a bus to our hostel. Last night was spent enjoying the Temple Bar area. Today we ventured forth into the rest of the city, stopping briefly at the Guinness Storehouse (no tour this time), a couple of cathedrals (St. Patrick's and Christchurch), and Dublin castle. We spent some time at Trinity College where we saw the Book of Kells, which was really neat! (Although, it's only from 800 A.D.- barely 1200 years ago- bah!) We've joked that seeing the ancient ruins in Cairo and Israel have given "old" a new meaning! We ate lunch as we strolled through St. Stephen's Green before coming back to the hostel to change rooms (our beds from last night had already been reserved for tonight).

One Month

We've said our goodbyes to the many people we met on the tour, but as they have prepared to go home, we have prepared to go on. It has now been one month since we left Salt Lake. In some ways it seems much longer, but in other ways the time has flown by, as I imagined it would. We are officially 1/6 of the way through our trip, and as of tomorrow I will have been gone longer than ever before. Ahh, a milestone. Part of me feels strange not to be at school, getting ready and preparing for a new year. But then again, I feel like I'm in a completely different world and the summer is just extended. It can't possible be the end of August already. Anyway, just decided to share my thoughts...

On We Go!

Well, we’ve arrived in Jerusalem! We spent one night at the Dead Sea before coming here. It smelled suspiciously like home there. We went down to the beach and enjoyed a float before dinner.

We’ve been very busy every day, but it’s been worth it. We visited the place where they found the Dead Sea Scrolls and got a little history lesson. It’s amazing what they’ve found and are still finding there. We also visited Masada, which is where the Jewish Rebels took a last stand against the Roman soldiers in about 70 A.D.

Arriving in Jerusalem has been nice if only to stay in one place for a few days. We had a really nice communion service on the Mount of Olives one night and as much as I’m enjoying all of the sites, it is these quiet times that mean the most. We visited Bethlehem and spent some time in the church that has been built over the place they think Jesus was born. It’s loud and crowded with tourists jostling each other and pushing just to touch the place where the manger may have been and to take a picture of it. It’s difficult to think and reflect on the meaning of that event while you’re there.

We’ve visited the Temple Mount and the Wailing Wall. We also walked the Via Delorosa. We don’t know exactly where Jesus carried the cross and was crucified, but it is a traditional walk and something that can be very meaningful if you take the time to consider what it is you are remembering. Our guide, Micky, reminds us that we are the Temple of God and while visiting all of these “Holy Places” it is good to remember that we don’t worship a slab of rock or stone because the Holy Spirit lives in us. As we visit some of the traditional sites (traditional sites being where certain events are remembered and historical sites being where we know things actually occurred), I find myself very skeptical that one specific location could be “holy.” But then I remember that there really were Holy Places back in the days of Jesus. There was a specific place where God’s glory was. It makes me realize what an amazing work Jesus achieved with His death and resurrection...to make us a holy place where the spirit of God could dwell.

I think one of the most meaningful things we’ve done was at the Pool of Bethesda. No one else was there when we arrived and we went into the church where one of the men in our group sang How Great Thou Art. He has a beautiful, beautiful voice and the acoustics were incredible in there. After he sang, we all just sat there for a good 5-10 minutes, singing together and praying. With everything that we’ve been seeing, it was those minutes of silent reflection that make it worthwhile.

We got up early one morning to go to the tunnels underneath the Western Wall of Temple Mount. Because so much has been built up over the last 2000 years, the tunnels used to be streets and were probably where Jesus walked. After the tunnels we visited the Temple Institute, which is a group of people preparing to rebuild the temple. It is fascinating to see what they have done. They have all of the main vessels made exactly as they are described in the Bible and are ready to move as soon as they can. They believe that the Ark of the Covenant is underneath where the temple should be, but for obvious reasons cannot excavate there.

Following the institute, we had lunch and strolled around the area a bit before heading to the Israel Museum where we saw the Isaiah scrolls and a really neat model of Jerusalem from the times of Jesus. Our last two stops of the day were the Garden of Gethsemane and a lovely view of the city from the top of the Mount of Olives.

We are now preparing to leave. We’re done with our tour and now comes the time when we set off on our own. On the up-side, there will be more freedom, but on the down-side, we’ll have to arrange everything on our own.

Today we started out at the Garden Tomb, which is another possible burial place for Jesus. There are several reasons why this is a strong possibility, but as our guide reminded us, it doesn’t matter where. What matters is why.

We also saw the Holocost Museum, which was very moving and our last stop was Abraham’s Tent. We arrived at a location in the desert and were greeted by “Eleazar,” the servant of Abraham, who had come back in time 3800 years to find guests for his master. We put on tunics and walked (or rode camels) down the road before being met by Abraham and sitting at low tables for a traditional meal. "Abraham" has a few modern facilities, such as restrooms, and apparently knows all about Moses as well. I'll bet you didn't know that! Anyway, it was a really fun experience and a nice way to end our time in Israel.

Well, that's all for now! Next stop...Dublin...

P.S. By the way, these pictures are of Masada, the Dead Sea, Pools of Bethesda, Temple Mount, and the southern wall of what once was the temple!

Where Jesus Walked!

We began the day with a trip to Capernaum, where Jesus often stayed at Peter’s house. A church has been built over what was once Peter’s house, but you can still see the remains of what were once many rooms. This was also the town where Jesus healed the servant of the Roman Centurion. Our guide then threw in an extra tour that was not scheduled so that we could see the remains of yet another ancient city. What set this city apart was that in the synagogue they had actually found the seat of Moses, from which the Rabbi would have preached. Following this we went to the mountain where Jesus taught the Sermon on the Mount, and fed the five thousand. At each stop, our guide or pastor leader reads a portion of scripture related to the sight and we consider Jesus’ words and meaning during his ministry.

We had a quick, boxed lunch at the next location, which was Caesarea Philippi, before heading down a path for a short hike. Caesarea Philippi is where Peter confessed Jesus as the Christ, or Messiah. Our last hike of the day was at Dan. At each stop, we see more ruins from thousands of years ago and it is exciting to imagine Jesus and the apostles walking from place to place, preaching and healing. Our last stop was at a museum that houses a 2000 year-old boat that was found in the Sea of Galilee. It was quite a find and took enormous effort to bring it up. We weren’t able to sail on that boat, of course, but we did take a 1-hour ride across the Sea of Galilee before ending the day with a swim in the lake, dinner, and a stroll through the streets before bed.

Visiting all of these places is amazing, and I’m loving it, but I think the biggest impact on me has been the lack of awe I’ve experienced. Of course it’s incredible to stand where Jesus may have stood, but my connection to Jesus and His followers is not in standing where they stood, but in knowing, serving, and loving who they knew, served, and loved. Dan read from Romans 12 the other day and emphasized the part about being surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. But I am not connected to people like Elijah and Peter by the physical ground we’ve walked on as much as the spiritual journey to follow God that we’ve chosen.

Un-Thought Title

This morning we were up and gone by 8:00 am. We met our guide, Micky, and proceeded to our first stop, Caesarea. There are lovely coastal ruins there and we enjoyed the breeze coming off of the Mediterranean. It wasn’t until the book of Acts and early Christians began to take the Gospel message to the Gentiles that this city was mentioned. In fact, Caesarea is the city where Cornelius called for Peter and he and his entire family accepted Christ. It was brought up by our pastor leader, Dan, that the very fact that we were there was due in large part to that encounter.

We followed this city with a visit to Mount Carmel, where Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal. We took our lunch a few minutes from this site, enjoying falafel. Our afternoon stops were Megiddo and Nazareth. Megiddo is the location of 25 various ancient cities, each built on top of the other. Until something destroyed it, there was a spring there, which made it prime real estate, as well as the fact that it was an important trade route between Babylon and Egypt. Anyway, the remnants of each city have burn marks, indicating a violent end over and over for this piece of land. It is believed to be the location of the final battle, and the term Armageddon is derived from it.

Our last stop of the day was Nazareth. We visited Nazareth Village, which is a recreation of Nazareth during the days of Jesus, complete with sheep being led by a shepherd, donkeys grazing here and there, a carpenter and weaver working in their respective homes, and even a synagogue.

At the end of the day we finally arrived at our hotel by the Sea of Galilee. We have a gorgeous view outside our window, which is one full side of the room. We get to stay here for two nights, which will be really nice!

P.S. A pyramid is a tomb, not a temple...in response to a comment from a few posts ago.

Arrival in Israel

Wow! We do so much and I'm usually exhausted at the end of the day. We crossed the border into Israel today. Jordan was fun! We visited Petra, which was amazing. You can't see it until you're in it. We walked along the narrow canyon and after about an hour it was just there. Then yesterday morning we began the drive to the border, stopping along the way to visit Mount Nebo, where Moses saw the promised land before he died. The border crossing this afternoon went smoothly and we are now staying at a guest house in Israel. We're only here for a night, which is too bad. The grounds are really beautiful so we strolled around a little before dinner, watching the sunset and eating grapes from the vine in the gardens. We're sad to leave this morning, but we have a pretty exciting day ahead of us!

Explanations for Pics Below

The Temple of Edfu shown below is known for being the most preserved temple. Our cruise family consists of (from left to right) Elizabeth, Brad, Dan, Mohamed, Lou, and Rebecca.

Nile Cruise

Cairo and the Nile Cruise

We met our group leader and the two other gentlemen we will travel with for the next couple of days. We will have a fifth person join us for the Nile Cruise, and then everyone else will join the tour after that. Once everyone is there, we will have about 30 people on the tour. One of the men we met for this portion of the trip is a Lutheran pastor from Colorado and his brother-in-law is a doctor from Tennessee. They seem very friendly and it should be fun to travel with them. Our group leader's name is Tommy and he has already been very helpful. Our guide's name is Shereen, and she will be filling our minds with the history of Egypt.

We started our first day together by driving to the Coptic churches, and arrived during their Sunday mass. It is similar in many ways to the Greek Orthodox Church, but they still distinguish themselves as the Egyptian Orthodox Church and have a pope of their own. We saw the hanging church, which is a church that was built on wooden boards laid across the gap between two towers. When you walk inside, there are a couple of places where they have clear glass in the floor so you can see there is nothing underneath you.

After tours exploring Memphis and Sakara the following day, we flew south to Luxor to join our cruise boat. We were met by Mohamed, who would be our guide for the duration of the cruise and our numerous stops at various temples and tombs.

More Cairo and the Start of the Nile Cruise

Quick Update

Internet is expensive at our new hotel, so we will be limited for a while now. We hope to post a couple of longer blogs tonight, so you can look forward to that. To answer people's questions, Mohamed is studying to be a tour guide, not a tourist...heehee. Yes, we are completely fine. The bumps from the accident were little. Love you all!

Egypt!!!

Upon arrival in Egypt we were brought to a tourism company that had an office at the hotel. The gentleman who met us was very helpful and arranged everything for the two days we would be in Cairo prior to meeting our tour group. While it might have been cheaper to attempt to arrange things ourselves, we still felt that we received a good deal. We essentially paid $150 each and that included transportation to the hotel, to nights stay, transportation and entrance into the sound and light show that night at the Pyramids, transportation and a guide the following day to Alexandria, and then transportation to the hotel where we would meet our tour group. It was great to get all of that taken care of at once. It has made the last two days much more relaxing and enjoyable. So, about Egypt...

Papyrus

Prior to the Sound and Light Show, our driver and tour guide took us to see how papyrus is made and we were given the opportunity to purchase some artwork there. Papyrus is one of those things that is very unique to Egypt, and once it was rolled up in a tube, very small and lightweight, making it the perfect thing for us to take along with us on our trip.

Perfume

Following the papyrus, we were taken to a perfume shop and introduced to many of the fragrances that are sent to France, there mixed with alcohol and sold for lots and lots of money. Unfortunately, we had to decline buying any of those, but the presentation was really fun.

Sound and Light Show

The English Sound and Light show was at 9:30 on Wednesday night. They use lights to illuminate the pyramids and the sphinx while projecting images to accompany the presentation on Egyptian history. It was very beautiful and interesting! AFterwards we went back to the hotel and a nice bed.

Egyptian Driving

Okay, now I've been in other countries where driving was a bit scary. I wasn't surprised to see that they really have no traffic lights and everyone pretty much bullies their way into traffic. What did surprise me was that they did the same thing on the freeways at incredibly high speeds. Weaving through people and scooting between cars while going 140-160 kilometers an hour can be disconcerting. Our guide, Mohamed, did a great job, though. He is 21 and in school to learn to be a tour guide. When he graduates in two years he would like to start his own business. A Chinese woman recommended that he create a website so people could find him on google. He laughed when we told him that we'd found our tour on google. By the end of the day, it was very clear why he wanted his own business.

On our way to Alexandria, we noticed that Mohamed was zipping through traffic, but seemed to always stay behind a certain white van, unwilling to pass them. We were curious as to why and so eventually I questioned him about it. Apparently there are various places where the speed is enforced by radar and this particular van was from Alexandria and the driver knew which areas had the radar and which did not. Mohamed was using him to gauge when he could go fast and when he had to slow down.

A few minutes later, we had a slight mishap. A driver ahead of us had car difficulties and rather than pulling off to the side of the road, he stopped in the middle of it. Another car stopped behind him and Mohamed barely stopped quickly enough to avoid missing it. Unfortunately, the cars behind us were not so quick on the reflexes and we were rear ended by another car who was, in turn, rear ended by the one behind him. Mohamed got out of the car and a yelling/screaming match ensued between the various drivers and a large crowd of people that had gathered. It seems, by the way, that rubber necking here can get pretty crazy and everyone likes to get involved. Before long, a large crowd had congregated around our car, and one of the other drivers was standing in front of our vehicle to keep us from leaving, while banging his hands on the hood and screaming at Mohamed. Now, you might asked, was I scared? And the answer to that question is, no. I was actually thinking two things. First, I was thinking that they had better not be blaming Mohamed for something that was clearly not his fault, and secondly, I was thinking that I hoped this wouldn't take too long because I was going to need a toilet pretty soon. Anyway, we were eventually able to get away after Mohamed told the others that he had tourists from the U.S. and if they didn't let us go we were going to text the embassy and they would all be arrested. I don't actually know the number for the embassy, but apparently they bought it because we were off. After stopping briefly so Mohamed could calm down, we were on our way again.

More later, but for now our driver is here to take us to the next hotel!

The Four "ations"

Which one of these is not like the others?
-Starvation
-Sleep Deprivation
-Dehydration
-Smoking
-Elevation

Okay, so this little quiz isn't completely fair since I practically gave you the answer in my title. Anyway, let me explain my 40 hour trip from Pittsburgh to Cairo...

1. Elevation: I never would have described myself as one to get airsick. However, I it seems that whenever I fly I feel slightly nauseated. I don't know if it is due to the elevation or something else, but I always feel just a little strange and sick when I travel, especially for 40 hours.

2. Starvation: Since I don't tend to feel well during long flights and lengthy layovers, my stomach rejects the thought, smell, and taste of most food, primarily that prepared on an airplane. Not eating makes me even more sick.

3. Dehydration: Especially in countries where tap water is suspect, I find bottled water difficult to come by. Of course we buy some in the airport, but when you're paying for water you are less likely to gulp it like your dying. You can't fill up a water bottle with tap water ahead of time and the flight attendants are very busy and cannot devote themselves to bringing a never-ending supply of water. Therefore, good water is limited and I probably get a bit dehydrated. This just adds to the icky feelings.

4. Sleep Deprivation: I try...I really do. And I usually end up getting a little snooze here and there. However, overall there is very little REM and unfortunately, when you're feeling poorly, you really just want to lose consciousness for an extended period of time and forget that you're hungry, thirsty, and sick. Too bad that's so difficult when you can't even lie down!

Overall, I don't like 40 hour trips on airplanes combined with long layovers. Oh, also, my feet and ankles got really swollen. It was actually kind-of funny and I found it entirely amusing to stare at them. So much so that I took a picture to remember the feeling.

Okay, so now for the smoking. The Tel Aviv airport was very strict with security. We went through several checkpoints, searches, luggage x-rays, and were asked numerous questions. The airport as a whole was very professional and similar to most others I have been in. When we got to Jordan, however, we found a very different atmosphere. For instance, as is typical in an airport, there were signs and announcements clearly stating that smoking was not allowed. However, we personally witnessed at least four different people sit directly in front of the non-smoking sign and light up. We moved a couple of times because inhaling second-hand smoke did not seem appealing. Interestingly enough, airport staff and security were right there. Furthermore, the trash can lids throughout the area had dozens of cigarette butts on them, having been used as ashtrays and no one seemed to mind. Our conclusion: no one really cares about that particular rule. We were just grateful that the actual flight was legitimately smoke free.

We did, however, meet a man from Texas in the Starbucks there. He was on his way to Baghdad to supervise work and had lots of interesting tales to tell, not to mention some good advice. That was the high point of the Jordan airport. We chatted with him for a couple of hours in the early morning before our flight. I will say this for Jordan, though. The airport may have been annoying, but the flight was very nice. The flight attendants were wonderful and I had a nice conversation with a woman who was finishing up a tour of Egypt and Jordan, and had some great advice!

More very soon...I have lots to say about Egypt!