Day 4 - Exodus Route

Tracing the Route of the Biblical Exodus, we made our way through the Land of Goshen, stopping at several significant places. What took Moses and the Israelites 3 months by foot, we did in 8 hours, by bus.

As we were driving through the desert, we sure understood why God gave camels the ability to withstand long periods without water. All we saw for miles and miles and miles, in every direction, was dry, barren land.

1½ hr. after we left Cairo, we were driving under the Suez Canal – leaving Africa and going into Asia. Egypt is one of 3 countries in the world that is located in 2 continents. Biblical Stops along the way -
1st - Elim, the desert oasis where the Israelites camped - Exodus 15:27; Numbers 33:9 The 12 springs (although dry), as well as the 70 Date Palm trees are still there.

2nd - Wadi Fieran, where God promised the Israelites Manna and Quail. As we were reading Exodus 16, I was trying to imagine what it must have been like to wander around in this dry, desolate place for 40 years.

3rd - Mt. Serbal – the area where the children of Israel fought against the Amalekites while Moses held up his arms for victory.

4th - Wadi el Raha - where the Israelites camped and the golden calf was forged - Exodus 32.
In the mountain close by there is a very interesting natural place in the mountain that resembles a calf.

5th - At the foot of Mt. Sinai we saw the burning bush where God spoke to Moses. This bush is the only one of its kind in the world. They have tried planting roots from it in other places around the globe, but it will not grow anywhere else.

Not far from there is the well where Moses first met his wife. Water is still drawn from it daily. We began the day by watching a very interesting demo of making papyrus paper – what the original Bible was written on.

After the papyrus stock is slit into small pieces, and soaked for quite awhile, it is rolled out quite thin.

Then it is laid on something flat, and weighed down for a couple of weeks.
End result which is now used for beautiful paintings.
We ended the day by enjoying a Bedouin meal in a Bedouin tent - a fun cultural experience.

Then off to bed for a 2 hour sleep.

Day 3 - Camel Ride by the Pyramids of Giza

Wake up call at 6:00 - which basically became the norm – then on to a day exploring Cairo. There was a lot out there to see so we needed to get moving.FAMOUS HANGING CHURCH – or Suspended Church – dating to the late 4th Century. It was built on top of the South Gate of the Fortress of Babylon. Our arrival happened to be when there was a Greek Orthodox meeting taking place in the Coptic Language.

EGYPTIAN MUSEUM – We enjoyed viewing the greatest collection of Pharaonic treasures in the world. It would take at least a week to see everything in there, but our guide showed us the main things including several mommies, lots of items made from gold, caskets and much more.

We squeezed in a yummy lunch of grilled bass in Egyptian Pita Bread and cooked dates before going on to the -

PYRAMIDS OF GIZA – it was amazing to be standing in front of the Pyramids for picture taking, strolling around them, and exploring the burial chamber with a polished ceiling and pink granite floor.

The stones used to build the Pyramids were HUGE.

CAMEL RIDE – a once in a lifetime experience! I appreciated the power and beauty of these creatures as we swayed from side to side on his back - getting on and off the camel was also part of the adventure.

NILE RIVER DINNER CRUISE – the day concluded by enjoying Egyptian cuisine while gliding past Cairo’s illuminated skyline, along the Nile banks. We also enjoyed chatting with a father/daughter team from England, and a Filipino couple who we just happened to sit beside.

Day 2 - Welcome to Egypt

Ahlan Wa Sahlam – Welcome to Egypt – the Land of Pharaohs The 3½ hr. flight from Zurich to Cairo went by quickly. Soon we were walking on African soil for the first time.

We were met by an Egyptian Representative at the airport, who helped us buy an Egyptian visa - $15.00 each - a sticker that he put in our passports. He quickly led us thru Immigration and we were soon on our way to pick up our suitcases. We chuckled to ourselves when he first looked at our hand carrys and asked us if we had any more luggage. I would love to see the day I had learned the art of packing for a 2 week trip (including warm clothes for climbing Mt. Sinai and swimming gear for the Dead Sea) in a small hand carry!

new modern Cairo

the old city

Soon we were at our Hotel in Giza (separated from Cairo by the Nile River) and meeting other members of our tour group. We were 25 in all – the other 23 flew in from USA. I learned there was no time difference when I saw a clock and thought the battery must have died, but the next one I saw had the same time. Wonderful surprise – no required jet lag! Watching a Sound and Light Show right in front of the Great Pyramid of Giza (the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still standing) was a perfect way to spend our first evening. We studied ancient history of Egypt as the pyramids and skies lit up with multicolored lights - a great beginning to our few days in Africa.

Day 1 - Into the Promised Land

Dream of a Lifetime
We had talked about it for years and often dreamt about it, but in the back of our minds we really thought that is all it would ever be - a dream. Wouldn’t it be great to walk where Jesus walked, see the place where he was born, performed miracles, lead His disciples, died on the cross and rose again? Wouldn’t it bring on new meaning as we read our Bibles?
Can you imagine our excitement when we knew we really were going to make this trip - and celebrate our 35th Wedding Anniversary in Jerusalem?!?! We had a fantastic time, enjoying every moment of it, learning lots and still processing much more. We are very, very thankful!! Jerusalem in the background. Can you see the Dome of the Rock?

Lots of you have asked us to share our experience with you, showing you our excursion through photos. So over the next few weeks, I’ll try to add an update of each of our days there, taking you on our journey ‘Into the Promised Land’ via Egypt and Jordan. If you have been there and seen this great place yourself, or find this too much detail, come back to Niclasen’s Notebook in the new year. It should be back to ‘every day’ life by then.

Jaffa orange tree in Jaffa, Tel Aviv.

 By the Sea of Galiee

The first leg of our trip took us to Zurich, Switzerland where we spent the night with the parents of one of our Swiss students. She met us at the airport with a big smile, and although we had never met her before, treated us like long lost friends. Putting her gift of hospitality to use, she had thought of everything - the guest room was fixed up so nice, even with chocolates on the bed, as well as more for the trip.

We enjoyed chatting with her over our late night snack of Swiss Bread, Swiss Cheese, Swiss Grapes and Swiss Apple Juice - and again in the morning as we tried Swiss Muesli for the 1st time. Lots of fruit and orange juice instead of milk - we loved it.

We just have to believe them though that the view from their front window, overlooking a lake with mountains in the background is beautiful, since we arrived at 10:30 p.m. and were on our way back to the airport the following morning at 6:45.
Barbara Keller - the perfect example of a wonderful hostess.