Monday, January 31, 2011

Lane lines are for decoration. Egypt part 1.

I just returned from one of the best weeks of my life spent in Egypt! You may have heard about the protests and riots there. Although it was exciting to be in Cairo during all of that, it really didn't affect us and we were in very safe hands.
The first day along the drive we saw tels and ruins in Beersheba and Arad. Then we stopped in the middle of nowhere and had what we affectionately call a desert and sand dune experience! There were incredible sand dunes, where the sand was so fine it has properties of water. We ran and slid and jumped down them. I didn't want the sand to ruin my camera, but really only pictures would do it justice. Then we went off on our own and had some time to sit in the desert alone and write some of our thoughts. It was so beautifully silent. The landscape was just the sand and the sky as far as the eye could see. I felt so un-alone there. Everything around me testified of Christ and it felt so good to sit and ponder alone there. Then we got into small groups around bonfires and told each other some of the things we thought about while we were alone. We sang hymns and just had a wonderful time together.
We then drove to a kibbutz where they made us hamburgers in a pita which were really good. We learned all about kibbutzim and how they work, it was really interesting. We stayed the night there.
The next day we crossed the border to Egypt! We drove under the Red Sea via the Suez canal and drove into AFRICA! If you know me, you know Africa has been my dream for ages. Dreams come true!
Then we drove into Cairo--the third largest city in the world with about 18 million people. It is infamous for its traffic and I understand why. Why only have one car per lane if you can have two or three? Then, we turned a corner on the busy highway and BAM! We saw the pyramids peaking from behind the buildings of the city. Our bus exploded with excitment and we played the Circle of Life. Every single person on the bus was so happy at the same time. We watched a red, beautiful sunset and drove straight to the pyramids for a sound and light show there.
The next day we arose in our spoiled-rotten fancy hotel where we don't even have to share our king-sized beds with Egyptian cotton sheets. We returned to the pyramids which were even better in daylight. It was so dreamlike. Even though it looks like I could be standing in front of a paper backdrop, I promise I was really there! I even sat on a pyramid and got a picture before the tourism police got after me.
I'd like to thank Greg Hudnall for the inspiration and capturing of these photos.

I love Egypt.

He sphinx I like him.

We also saw the Great Step pyramid, which is the oldest one built by Snefru. We also saw some huge artifacts from an area called Memphis, and some incredible hieroglyphs inside the sakara temple.
It was an incredible day, and just the beginning. I'm feeling pretty blessed!

4 comments:

  1. Don't get caught up too much in this new romance--he sphinx everybody likes him!

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  2. Love the pics and the commentary, I can almost picture it myself!

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  3. That's so awesome! I have been wondering if you were in Egypt as I watched the news if you were in Cairo, glad to hear the political issues/riots didn't impact your trip. Great pictures! Very interesting also what you said about the sand being so fine that it has some of the properties of water.

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  4. You'd better watch it Faith- That rock has been playing girls for millenia.

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