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Schedule
Day 1 - May 16th: Depart US
Day 2 - May 17th: Arrive in Cairo, Egypt
Day 3 - May 18th: Egyptian Museum, Ancient Egypt Discussion, Welcome Dinner
Day 4 - May 19th: Cairo, Fatimid Cairo, Gayer Anderson Historical Art Museum, Khan el-Khalili, Modern Egypt discussion
Day 5 - May 20th: Cairo, Optional Memphis & Sakkara tour
Day 6 - May 21st: Cairo, Luxor, Embark Ship, Luxor Temple
Day 7- May 22nd: Luxor, Valley of the Kings, Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, Colossi of Memnon, Hieroglyphic & Arabic language discussion
Day 8 - May 23rd: Qena, Dendera Temple, Luxor, Life on the Nile discussion
Day 9 - May 24th: Luxor, Optional Balloon Ride over Luxor, Karnak Temple, Esna
Day 10 - May 25th: Edfu, Kom Ombo
Day 11 - May 26th: Aswan, Philae Temple, Felucca ride
Day 12 - May 27th: Aswan, Optional Abu Simbel tour, Spice Market visit
Day 13 - May 28th: Aswan, Disembark ship, Cairo, Sunset motorboat ride
Day 14 - May 29th: Cairo, Pyramids & Sphinx
Day 15 - May 30th: Cairo, Old Cairo, Citadel
Day 16 - MAy 31st: Cairo, Egypt, Alexandria
Day 17 - June 1st: Alexandria, Catacombs of Kom el Shuqafa, National Museum
Day 18 - June 2nd: Alexandria, Royal Jewelry Museum, Library of Alexandria, Montazah Gardens & Haramlek Palace
Day 19 - June 3rd: Alexandria, Cairo
Day 20 - June 4th: Cairo
June 5th-July 8th: Jerusalem including a two week participation in the ZION GATE DIG!!!
Hi all....spent the afternoon at the a Temple Mount. I have sent lots of pics. They open twice a day for non-Muslims....8:30-10:30am and again 1:30-2:30pm , Sunday thru Thursday. There is no charge to enter...security high...everyone searched and scanned....police and guards everywhere on the Mount. Women must be covered head to toe, men must also be covered. Skirts and tops are provided for both. There are people at the entrance checking your clothing....they are very strict. Couples were taking pictures of themselves with their arms around each others waist and the guards came over...no touching.....everyone was reasonably respectful of each other on both sides.
There were many Muslim families there having picnics and enjoying the enormous
grounds. There is a "Muslim only" entrance in the Muslim Quarter....not sure how they know if you are Muslim or not....I saw many people turned away there yesterday and i really couldnt tell! The Non Muslim (me) entrance is by Western Wall over a bridge that you can plainly see at the Western Wall.
Hope you enjoy...I did...this was my third time there and i see something new every time....it is a beautiful place to sit and contemplate what happened here 2,ooo years ago and over the centuries.....there are no signs of Christianity or the Jews being there...
they could turn you away if you are wearing any other religious symbol...Jews are going there, but there is a sign of warning from the high rabbi that acording to the Torah, Jews should not set foot on the Temple Mount as it is forbidden to enter the Holy of Holies and no one is exactly sure where it was.....praying is not allowed...but how would they know?
Love, k.
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Hi all...today I winged it and went outside the Old City up Jaffa Street!....beautiful and VERY DIFFERENT from the Old City!..clean, modern ( sort of) and went to Yehuda Market..(they told me to follow the tracks of the trains abut 1.5 miles)....I did and its a must to see as pics will show.....this is where the population shops for fresh food!..Wow!...I feel like a local!
Got my supply of bananas and you will see at the end of these pics what I am eating and where I am staying....my daily diet is breakfast (included) and then bananas with peanut butter and tibouli (salad made of parsley, tomatoes, onion and olive oil) that I get from a small vender just around the corner!...good stuff and easy on the budget!!
Tomorrow....JERICHO and some surprises!! Love, k
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We left Jericho and went to the baptismal place on the Jordan of Jesus by John the Baptist. This is the true traditional place of baptism....it was closed for a long time because of war and land mines....a path has been cleared ( and you do not want to get off that road because of the mines!)...the Jordan is very muddy here, but I stepped in and baptized myself at this place...there are pics showing this place....one has to use their imagination and contemplate the times of Jesus and John to understand this place now.
took tram up the mountain above Jericho to a monastery where it is said Jesus was in the wilderness for 40 days and tempted..it is a very bleak area.
The monastery is a Greek Orthodox site carved into the mountain with lots of caves surrounding it. In 300 ad or so hermits lived in the caves and this was the start of monastic Christian living in Israel as it was with Anthony in Egypt with the Christian Coptic desert fathers and mothers...I am sending pics of the caves and monastery. Jericho old city remains were not impressive although the remains go back 10,000 years....just not much left to look at!...one has to read the Bible to make sense of the remains.
We left Jericho and went to the baptismal place on the Jordan of Jesus by John the Baptist. This is the true traditional place of baptism....it was closed for a long time because of war and land mines....a path has been cleared ( and you do not want to get off that road because of the mines!)...the Jordan is very muddy here, but I stepped in and baptized myself at this place...there are pics showing this place....one has to use their imagination and contemplate the times of Jesus and John to understand this place now.
It is green right by the Jordan, but walk 50 feet away from the Jordan and it is dry, bleak, hot desert.....a good day to be alive and see what I am supposed to see and understand....the last pic is of the muddy Jordan and the church that stands at this place....the river is VERY SHALLOW AND NARROW HERE.
Tomorrow I rest....see you soon...kxxx
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HI all.......went to see Oskar Schindlers final resting place in the Protestant Cemetery just outside the Zion Gate and close to the Dormitian Church. As you may remember, Schindler saved over 1200 Jews during WWII...his grave site was very moving as there were candles, pictures of possibly someone he rescued and has since past, and flowers..... there is a tradition of placing a stone on the grave as a recognition of visiting the grave. He has had many visitors. The site of his grave was very hard to find, again not well marked as to directions among the hundreds of graves. But for me it was very worth the time spent to find and to honor this extraordinary man.
Time this Sunday afternoon was spent in a beautiful park just outside the Old City Wall, sitting on the grass, reading and watching the world go by....
Love, k
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Hi All.
After a much needed day of rest, today I went to Bethesda Pool where Jesus healed a man....it is located in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City, close to the Lions Gate which is the beginning of the Via Dolorosa. The pool which is dry now is VERY DEEP and surprising to see. One needs to use a lot of imagination to try to understand this place. There is also a church there called St Anns which is the traditional birthplace of Mary Mother of Jesus. There are pics of the pool, church, and birthplace.
Afterwards I went to the second station of the Visa Dolorosa, the Church of the Flagellation, which is under the care of the Franciscans. While there I went through their museum...excellent!!!!....and it should be as this is also the Franciscan Institute of Archaeology as well. I had the privilege of meeting Fr. Allegra who is an archaeologist and curator of the museum. The Franciscans have been an amazing order of the church in their excavations and protection of Holy Sites throughout Israel and are still very active in excavations and preservation ....a must to see and support.
More tomorrow!....k
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Hi all...
This morning I went into the Russian Compound (no one stopped me!!) and found a beautiful Russian Orthodox Church....I stayed for the service which was in Russian......the chanting was done by the nuns and it was angelic!....there are many pics to share below...
Later I went back to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to find the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. It is located behind the tomb of Jesus in the Rotunda. I never realized that Josephs tomb was here, and there are many others as well who visit this church that don't know! It was a very dark cave and one needs a flashlight. I was very fortunate to have help finding this tomb.. I found the Chapel of the Copts, and as I had just been to Egypt we had a wonderful conversation. Their chapel is attached to the rear of Jesus tomb. There is a spot that is exposed of the rock cut bench where Jesus was laid. They provide a place to kneel and touch the stone. The chapel of the Copts dates back to the Crusades and there is only room for three people in there, but no one really realizes they are there! Thousands of people around me and I was the only one in their chapel...
The Copts were very kind and helped me to find the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea.....I was guided once again......
Love, k
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Hi all...well today was a hike!
Went to the Albright Archaeological Institute and made some great connections for future studies...they were involved in the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls....
Afterward hiked up the Kidron Valley and further up again to the Mt of Olives. Walked down the large path that Jesus is said to have taken to Gethsemane. Stopped at the Franciscan church of Dominus Flavious (oh dear, spelling) and saw a beautifully view of the double Golden Gate, which is the gate that Jewish tradition has the coming Messiah walking through. It is walled up (done during the 15 the century under the Ottoman (Muslim) occupation. Today there are Muslim graves all along the Eastern wall, including in front of the Golden Gate, facing all the Jewish Graves on the other side of the Kidron Valley where Gethsemane is.....a very interesting site to contemplate!
Walked back up the Kidron Valley to the Dung Gate and the Western Wall. Enjoyed about an hour of watching people and just being there.
Here are some pics from today....
Bye for now....dig starts in a few days!!
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