Day 9 June 29, 2008

Our quaint little ‘village’ hotel was sadly departed with after a delicious Jordanian breakfast. Today we drove through Jordan on the road that Sadam Hussein built for shipping supplies from the Red Sea to Iraq. We had a photo contest to see who could get the best picture from the bus window. A bit of a challenge since most of what we saw was the rift valley ancient countries of Edom, Moab, and Ammon. It’s the same route Moses took because the Edomites wouldn’t let them take the Kings Highway. We stopped at Mt. Nebo to get the only view Moses had of the promised land. It was a hazy one so we didn’t see much but were told the dead sea, Jericho, and Jordan River were all in the picture. On the way down the road were switchbacks with a touch of rollercoaster up and down.

The best way to describe this next adventure is to imagine yourself driving a green Sedan up Mt. Nebo. You take a corner a bit to fast and just before you go off the cliff you over correct and find yourself upside down in the ditch next to the road. You crawl out of the side window and your passenger crawls out the other door. You look up the road at a stopped tour bus full of Mormon tourists taking pictures of you. A few hop out and help flip your car back on its wheels. Because you’re Muslim, you know it’s just not your time to go yet and the bus continues on its merry way.

We made it safely to the Jordan border. Crossing the Jordan River into Israel, it only took about an hour and a half to get through customs. We were overjoyed to be back on our favorite driver Eddie’s bus. We met our tour guide for the remainder of the trip, Roley! She’s a cute little lady. We went straight to Bet She’an, an ancient city archeological dig. There we were treated to Sarah G. soloing in the Roman Theater. We scouted out the baths, hills and our favorite, public latrines. It’s a cool place with fallen columns and mosaic floors.

Our hotel for the next three days is in a Kibbutz on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. A kibbutz is a community who share property, possessions, and money...basically it is a communist society based off the teachings of Marx. We are staying in the hotel portion of this Kibbutz’ business. It is so good to be in Israel. Our long Exodus to arrive here is finally over.

Day 8 - June 28, 2008

Amazingly today started with a great border crossing into Jordan. We crossed no mans land and were greeted by a pink polka dot bus. Many still struggled with leaving Egypt behind (intestinally). Many listened to the extensive history of Petra with their eyes closed as we drove to the ancient Nabataean city.

Petra’s buildings are carved into the rose colored sandstone. The slot canyon was very similar to those of Southern Utah. Some of the group rode into the area on horseback while others chose to walk. We arrived at the treasury, one of the most spectacular ruins, to the music of Indiana Jones.

We continued to explore and viewed tombs, an amphitheater, and dwellings. We met up with a young Bedouin girl named Ayat who worked her magic to take photos and sell rocks. Several other young children joined in and sold post cards and donkey rides.

We are staying at a unique hotel set up like a traditional stone-walled villa. The pool was refreshing after another hot day, and the food was delicious. We are looking forward to visiting Mt. Nebo and The Sea of Galilee tomorrow.

Quotes of the day:

“I have a message for your boyfriend…he is a lucky man.” Said to Liz

“Some Egyptians slept on stones made our of stone.” Brother Gunnerson (AG)

“See where it says restaurant to your right? That is the restaurant.” AG

“I just wanna try it and see if it works!” Lyndee over some dental floss

“I smell like a native…” Emily

“Thy guy with a ski mask worries me.” AG

“What do you call the people of Paris? Parisites?” Mandy

“You wanna hop your legs in the pool?” Michelle

“I am solid today!” Dave, the Doctor’s response of not being sick

“I think I look fat with a wide angle lens.” Mandy

“I am locked in the bathroom and I can’t get out.” Michelle (this was the second time…)

“I am a tourist guide…not a terrorist guide.” Our Jordanian tour guide

“Don’t waste your money on tips, waste it on water!” AG

“There is a form of international sign language, but it is not spoken.” Heidi

Day 7 - June 27, 2008

Did we mention short? For Elizabeth it was 45 minutes of sleep. Three hours was about average. At 1am our wake up call was a hotel employee knock on the door (we mentioned this was ghetto right?). This is such an adventure really! A sense of adventure is one thing that can’t be left home on this trip. Otherwise, who in their right mind would do what we’ve been doing? On the bus at 1:30am we were and off to Mt. Sinai we went. This is a temple of the ancient world where Moses received the Ten Commandments. It was a special place. Someone said it was about 3.5 miles to the top. Most of us rode camels two-thirds the way to the seven hundred stairs at the last leg of the journey. It went like this. You stand in a single file line. A man calls over a camel ‘driver’ in his Bedouin garb and he leads you through the dark to a sort of camel parking lot. There rows of sitting camels are illuminated by the light of the moon. He helps, in some cases lifts, you up into the saddle that is usually ½ a meter long. There you sit for the next hour or so as he walks up by you calling the camel to hurry faster and teaching you some camel facts. Camels can go six days without drinking water, eat black beans for breakfast, and have a life span of thirty-five. Well, if you don’t make them climb Mt. Sinai it’s actually a little longer. The bible prophets all would have ridden camels. Nephi and Lehi would of as well. What a thought! Our cohorts who walked up had a great time meeting people from Indonesia and other countries along the way. As we were traveling up Emily had the thought “I woke up at 1 am today, I am riding a camel underneath the stars on the way to the summit of Mount Sinai”…wow! At the top there sits an old Monastery.

We sat on big rocks east of this and watched the sunrise and took pictures.

Coming down when we could actually see where we’d been climbing, we were grateful we’d done it in the dark. It was a bigger hike than we thought. Several of our group were sick (we mentioned the food right?) but they made it up and back anyway.

A quick breakfast (in the sticks Egyptian breakfast means some just ate bread out of fear) and we were on our way. We slept in the bus to the Egypt/Israel border. Never has a border experience so long and frustrating for our tour leader than this one! We were there for over three hours. They were just dinking around with us really. We met our new bus driver who will be with us the rest of the trip in Israel. His name is Eddie. He has driven President Hinckley and his wife around here. He also has been driving the BYU Jerusalem Center people around for years...twenty to be precise.

With no lunch, die hard members of the group went snorkeling in the Red Sea at 4pm. Remember we woke up at 1? Wow!!! It was worth it. Eilat Israel claims some of the best snorkeling in the world. The color of the Red Sea and the quality of the fish and coral beat Hawaii. It was also fun to gaze through the suns rays down to the bottom and think that there was once a time this was made dry!

Those who were not feeling well or chose not to snorkel were taken to the hotel. We instantly knew we were in for a treat! Some went to the beach while others went to the pool. It was so refreshing.

Dinner was not ‘in the sticks’ tonight! We are at a fancy hotel for the reason of the great buffet it affords. We ate like royalty and especially devoured the authentic American chicken nuggets and the fresh fruits. Absence makes the heart grow fonder!

It was an amazing, yet tiring, day!

Day 6 - June 26, 2008

What a treat it is to sleep in we cannot express to you now. This day started as a largely needed morning of sleep. The wake up alarm was not until 10 AM although many woke a little before to go grab some breakfast. It was a day on the road. We left Cairo just after 11am and headed east to the Suez Canal. We passed under the Suez Canal in a tunnel (which took 1 minute and 43 seconds) and then swung by a spot, swung not parked, to get a picture of the canal. You see, it is a military zone and so being typical tourists is not a good idea there. Many people fly, but Brother Gunnerson felt that a six hour drive through the desolate wilderness that Moses and his LARGE clan traveled would give us a visual for future reference.

How anyone could live in such a place is hard to imagine. It is so desolate that he started announcing the acacia trees as we passed them. They are “tree of life” trees that grow alone in the desert. Seeing this dry, dry place definitely gives you a new appreciation for Israelite feelings about their Manna. It is still dry, dry today as Brother Gunnerson pointed out when he said “Don’t expect much from dinner. Remember this is in the sticks Egyptian.” Egyptian food is still a struggle for the American stomach and the rural food of Mt. Sinai on top of that would add to its exotic turbulence. A lot of sleeping also occurred on the bus. Not much else happened except for two pit stops and a great lesson on Isaiah 18-19 about latter-day Egypt.

We arrived in the Mt. Sinai area, checked into our hotel which was pretty ghetto, and emailed home. Some people couldn’t get their hotel doors to lock, others couldn’t get them to unlock. We all had a nice short night of sleep regardless.

problems with internet...

hello all that are reading this. We are alive and well. We've had a few logistical problems and will try to post again soon!

Day 5 - June 25, 2008

Terilyn and Charlie finally received their missing luggage. Terilyn hugged her luggage and we got a picture of their emotional reunion.

Today was a day of singing. We sang “Happy Birthday” to Monica and then our guide Gabriel and Egyptian driver and security guards sang her their Arabic version of “Happy Birthday.”

We then drove to the Pyramids of Giza. We did not arrive till nearly 9 AM. Our guide Gabriel arranged for us to be able to climb to the middle of the Cheops’ pyramid. This was extra impressive as only 200 people are allowed to climb the pyramid each day. On a normal day Giza has about 8,000 visitors. They warned us about claustrophobia, but we all went inside. It felt like we were waiting in line for the “Indiana Jones” ride at Disneyland, but instead we were inside a real pyramid. We climbed and climbed to the center of the Pyramid and we saw the sarcophagus of Cheops. We were all alone as a group in the sarcophagus room and we sang “I Am a Child of God.” With the amazing acoustics we sounded like the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Charlie got an illegal picture for us from inside the Pyramid…and this time he didn’t get caught.

Next we took a group picture in front of the Giza Pyramids for a newspaper article on Mormons visiting Egypt. We each took a turn getting our picture taken on top of a camel.

Next we visited the Sphinx or as our guide calls it the “Sphinx-us.” We were looking at a cache “wishing well” where people had thrown in money for good luck (including a $50 bill) and Cheri accidentally dropped in her chapstick lid. We all laughed and told her she was going to have the opposite of good luck. Ha ha!

We visited a pay toilet and only paid $1 for 5 people. Amazing deal for you!

At Memphis we saw a huge statue of Ramses the II. Memphis was the capital of Egypt during time of Alexander the Great. It was a center for musical performances. We thought this was funny as Memphis TN is one of the USA homes to music.

Eating authentic Egyptian lunch of shish-kabobs BBQ lamb and chicken, French fries, rice, watermelon and fresh flat bread with dips like Tahini and egg plant concoctions was truly an adventure! “This is the best food we’ve had here in Egypt.” There was a little Egyptian band as we walked to and from the bus that sounded like snake charmers. We are a little concerned that the watermelon may have been injected with Nile water. We’ll keep you posted as to who gets sick!

We visited a Cairo marketplace which was one of the oldest and most famous in the Middle East. Our security guard (aka our GQ body guard) stayed close to us and we felt more secure knowing that he had a gun on his belt. We felt like celebrities having a constant body guard and police escort. Our security guard today was very suave as he wore his dark suit all day in the hot desert. We even saw him shine his shoes at one of our stops. We are grateful for his protection!

Then we said an emotional good-bye to our excellent guide “Gabriel.” He played his Egyptian cell phone ring for us one last time. Tears were shed as we sang “God Be With You Til We Meet Again.”
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Quotes of the day:

“For you…one dollar and one kiss.” Street vendors

“Is that chocolate mousse you’re eating ‘cause I thought you were eating hot chocolate with a fork” Michele Furniss

“I have been parking…kind of and he was cute! Too bad he was filling out paperwork.” Heidi

“And then I jumped back because I didn’t really want the camel to kiss me.” Michele Furniss

“He can do anything.” Mandy talking about out guide Gabriel.

“I’m okay. I’ve got a hard head.” RaeAnn after bonking her head on the bus window.

Favorite quotes from our tour guide Gabriel…“Egyptians are sweet because they eat a lot of sugar.”

“Now we use tractors instead of camels…”

“These are not tourists. These are Mormons. We have to teach you what this picture (Abraham facsimile 2) means.”

At Luxor Brother Gunnerson said “We have sunstones on our temples.” Gabriel answered “Take some from here!”

Question: “When did they find this pyramid?” Gabriel: “Most of them are already visible.”

“I carve you into my heart.”

Day 4 - June 24, 2008

Today we got to sleep in until 6:30. Thank goodness because it was non stop the whole day. We got a real taste of Luxor as we drove along the Nile passing charming farms and ruins. Our first stop was the Colossi Memnon, the grand entrance to the City of the Dead. We continued on to the Valley of the Kings where we saw the tombs of Ramses IV, VII, I and King Tutankhamon. Awesome sights but painfully hot within. The paintings and hieroglyphics were impressively well preserved. We saw the mummy of King Tut. He looked pretty good someone who was over 3200 years old.

We next got a private showing of how alabaster is mined and made into beautiful décor. At the Alabaster factory our tour mate Emily was offered 10,000 camels for her sister Liz’s hand. Ahmed was quite nice and rather attractive. Emily decided not to take the “deal” so she will return home without a future brother-in-law.

We continued through to the Valley of the Nobles where we could view the Tomb of Queen Hatshepsut. However our main interest in this area was Pit Tomb 33, where it is believed to once have contained the manuscript that we now know as The Book of Abraham. Our excellent guide Gabriel finagled the workers into letting us get up close to this normally prohibited area.

Our next stop was the Rameseum Temple, where we found the name “Lebolo 1820” engraved in the stone. Lebolo’s nephew, Michael Chandler sold four mummies to Joseph Smith. Little did Chandler know that Joseph would find papyrus scrolls we now know to be book of Abraham in the Pearl of Great Price. After which we were able to learn how to make papyrus. It is amazing stuff and nearly indestructible. Next we sailed across the Nile River in a felucca, which is fancy word for sailboat. We also learned we had a celebrity in our midst. Gabriel was found in the Luxor Newspaper.

After a quick lunch at the hotel, we got to explore one of the ancient wonders of the world, the Temple of Karnak where we explored the pylons, admired the obelisks, and deciphered the hieroglyphics along the way, and who could pass up a chance to gain some extra luck to by running around scarab three times. This place is super amazing.

After the amazing Karnak we had a pleasant evening wondering through the Temple of Luxor as we imagined what it might have been like to be there during the glory days of Egypt.

We ended our day by racing through the streets of Luxor in carriages, 2 dollars a person “just for us,” who could pass that up. We all agree that Luxor is a charming and enchanting city.

After the fun carriage rides we went back to the hotel for more food. We felt like all we were doing that day was walking, eating, and drinking (bottled water). With a quick bathroom run we were off to the airport for our 11:15 PM. We arrived at the airport and were able to rest for a few minutes prior to our flight. Pretty much we all slept the one hour flight and the next thing we knew we were approaching Cairo.

We got back to our hotel 1:00 a.m. to catch a few hours of sleep before starting again.

Day 3 - June 23, 2003

It’s rough to get out of bed at 6 AM when your body thinks it is 9 PM (for our Salt Lake friends), you’ve been homeless for two days, and let’s be honest…you probably smell a bit! Wake up calls included the holiday favorite Kenny G’s “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” The beautiful fruit at breakfast was tempting, but unless you wanted to have possible stomach upset you chose from the following: Egyptian style waffles, eggs, omelets, some sort of bean dish, couscous, yogurt, a variety of breads, or cold cereal. Some of our group even enjoyed hot chocolate despite the heat. Bringing your own bottled water is a must everywhere you go as the Nile water has the potential of creating a colony of your very own bacterial friends!

We held Sacrament meeting at Concorde El Salam Hotel. Brother Gunnerson told us that we had special permission from the First Presidency to have two sacrament meetings on our own. We had one of the shortest sacrament meetings that was quick yet effective. We also had formal introductions as this was the first time our entire group was together. The lesson for the morning was all about Egyptian temples and the Egyptian Endowment.

The bus traveling began shortly after 8 AM. Our local guide, whose name is Gabriel, reminds us of a well fed Gandhi. He has a degree in Egyptology and thus is very knowledgeable. At the Muhammad Ali Alabaster Mosque we were required to remove our shoes as we were entering a sacred edifice. We learned about the basic beliefs and practices of Islam. A great view of the city was also seen from the heights of the mosque. Brother Gunnerson also commented on how the 5 pillars of Islam are very similar to our beliefs.

Cairo Museum was our next stop. It was hot and stuffy! We loved the air conditioned rooms for jewelry and lingered as long as we could. King Tutankhamen was the main attraction. Over 5, 000 artifacts that were found in his tomb were on display. Tomorrow we will have the opportunity to see his actual tomb. One stone described Pharaoh “kicking” Israel out of Egypt. The Bible is true! We had the grand opportunity of using the little girls and boys rooms (aka the toilets) at the Cairo Museum. To our surprise we were handed some toilet paper from the toilet paper lady. It was free, but the TP lady expected a tip…just for handing us a couple of squares! We have a new title from our local guide Gabriel…Holy Family. Anytime he wants to get our attention to start moving he uses this new term of endearment.

We were happy lunch eaters at the Happy Dolphin, a restaurant on the Nile’s edge. Cool river.

A quick stop at a local Jewelry store filled the need for those who wanted to purchase a Cartouche with their name inscribed in Egyptian. While some were purchasing their jewelry others were taking pictures and talking to the store employees. The best pick up line we’ve heard thus far from an Egyptian male friend was “Wanna kiss a live statue?” This gave us a good chuckle!

On our way to the airport we stopped at the Anwar Sadat memorial. He was the President of Egypt who back in the 1970’s made peace with Israel. It cost him his life. He was assassinated by militants as he sat watching a parade. The memorial sits across the street from bleachers, the scene of his death, and consists of a hollowed out pyramid guarded by six soldiers. As you walk towards the tomb, each pair of soldiers you pass wears different uniform, starting with more modern and ending with the garb of ancient pharaoh’s guards. Sadat’s favorite scripture was Isaiah 2:4. Check it out.

Quick stop at a store for Charlie and Terrilyn who joined us in Cairo as their luggage has still not arrived.

We took a one hour flight to Luxor and just ate dinner at our hotel. One of the waiters said “Enjoy your meal” as he cleared the plate from the table. Was that a greeting, salutation, or question? Funny.

Day 2 - June 22, 2008

Day 2 started en route to Paris. The plane took us right over Normandy, which made Jena happy. One of our Baptist friends shouted out a big “Hallelujah!” when the plane touched down.

The flight was delayed twenty minutes getting to Charles de Gaulle so our anticipated potty or snack break didn’t happen. Emily, Liz and Heidi were the last to get through security (which on a connecting flight shouldn’t that be unnecessary anyway?) and ran up to the gate when they were about to close last call.

June air in Paris is chewable, and between the long security line and the stuffed bus ride out to the plane on the tarmac, most weren’t impressed with their only breath of French air.

More to come tomorrow, but we’re all safe, well, and tired. Night!

Day 1 - June 21, 2008

There are controversies as to what exactly was Day 1. Most of us included a jaunt to New York on our way out of the country as the start to our trip. We hit H&M, Central Park, Starbucks (the non-coffee stuff), Battery Park, Times Square, Tiffany & Co., Grand Central Station, 5^th Avenue, Serendipity, and St. Patrick’s Cathedral, to name a few of the sites.

We hustled back to JFK to make the 10:55 p.m. flight to Paris, which turned out to be a seven-hour, cramped, hot, sardine experience. It was the second, fourth, and even fifth leg for some people, and we were already tired. Roena trekked the furthest, hailing from Oahu, Hawaii.

We panicked a little when, ten minutes before the flight left, two of our party, Jamie and Julie, hadn’t showed up yet. Turns out their later flight from SLC took off an hour and a half late, then had to divert to Atlantic City when it ran out of fuel. They made it, but not without a little sweat.

But a Baptist choir group overtook a third of the plane, so we figured prayers had us covered. We tried to get a few ZZZs, but were for the most part unsuccessful.

Getting Ready!

Our group met for the first time last Saturday. Most of us will be leaving on June 21st from NYC. We are all excited yet realize there is still much to do! We hope to be able to post our happenings each day so continue to check back to see where our adventures take us.