After several days in Israel (see Part 1) and after a visit to the ancient mesa-top fortress of Masada, it was time to move on to Jordan and Egypt. First up, Jordan.
Crossing into Jordan — the Allenby crossing is named after Edmund Allenby — from the time this area was colonized by the British. If you saw the movie, Lawrence of Arabia, you may remember this character as one of Lawence’s commanders.
The Jordan River — where Jesus is thought to have been baptized.
There had been a lot of rains and flooding in the winter of 2018-19 and some the meeting pavilions had been damaged.
A lot of other church groups came to the Jordan River to be baptized where Jesus was. I think they were a little disappointed that the water was so low when we were there in March. It was kind of sad to see some of these sweet pilgrims laying in the water and splashing trying to get the full effect of being baptized where (and how) Jesus was.
After the River Jordan, our bus took us to the northern end of the Dead Sea to the Amman Beach Resort area.
A cute site in Jordan on our way to the Dead Sea….maybe a teacher with his students?
Me (in the blue swim cap) and my Sister Jill, floating in the Dead Sea. We were so lucky to have very warm, beautiful weather. We loved it and were the last ones out. We could have stayed an floated a lot longer than the hour or so our tour group gave us.
There were so many people in our tour group who, for whatever reasons, chose to forego this opportunity. It might be because they didn’t want to be seen in a swimming suit, to get their hair wet, or just go through the inconvenience of changing into a suit and then back into dry clothes. But, really, this is a once in a lifetime chance and I’m so glad we didn’t let our insecurities or inconveniences stop us from this really fun and memorable experience.
John and me at “The Jungle” restaurant, across the street from our hotel in Amman, Jordan
The beautiful lobby of Le Grand Hotel in Amman, Jordan
This is the ceiling in our Amman hotel room….after a bit of puzzling, I figured out that this is the marker for the direction to Mecca…so one will know in which direction to pray.
Petra, one of the New Seven Wonders of the World
The slot canyon on the way to Petra
It’s a nice little hike to get to the Treasury, the iconic building of Petra in movies like Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, The Mummy Returns and more. The day we were there, it was cold and rainy. Just the day before, at the Dead Sea — not so far away, it was so warm and sunny, but that’s what you get when you travel in March!
So, it was just five American dollars to get on the camel for a bit of a ride and some photos…well, my dreams just came true.
Flying over the Read Sea and the Sinai Peninsula on our flight from Amman to Cairo
We were on our own for dinner the first night in Cairo so we walked over the mall adjacent to The Intercontinental Hotel. Good grief, it was 8 stories of American-style commercialism…yikes! And, because Roger had been wanting an actual “cooked pizza” since we were in Amman, we picked up a Papa John’s pizza and took it back to our hotel room. We had been warned not to drink tap water or eat any raw food while in Egypt, so when Roger asked for a “cooked pizza” back in Jordan, we had to keep using that term when we talked about pizza — just some good natured fun and a brother in law’s expense.
The famous Pyramids of Giza. It’s surprising how these pyramids are really within the sprawl of Cairo
When at the Pyramids, one must go for a camel ride.
The Sphinx is right in the same field/complex as the giant pyramids.
I couldn’t resist.
After a day in Cairo, we flew to Aswan to begin our three day Nile Cruise.
Cruising on the Nile was a surreal experience. Growing up, I remember learning about Cleopatra, the Sahara Desert, the Nile River, camel caravans and oases. So, actually floating up river and thinking of everything that was in my head and actually seeing palm trees, farmers on horseback, groups of kids swimming on the shores, just brought me immense joy deep in my heart.
One of the surreal and dreamy experiences I’ll remember so fondly for the rest of my life was laying in bed during our cruise of the Nile River and listening to the late night and early morning “calls to prayer” being blasted from the minarets of the mosques on the shore. I absolutely loved hearing that beautiful, hypnotic singing/chanting from beyond the shores.
While cruising the Nile River, we visited several ancient temples.
We took a small boat ride to the Philae Islands to see this temple dedicated to the Egyptian goddess, Isis.
We visited one of the temples at night to experience a light and sound show within the gigantic ancient structure…it was pretty awesome!
To get to this temple, we rode little horse drawn buggies through a city that was bustling at twilight, on our way to the temple and was even busier later at night on our way back to our boat.
The Valley of the Kings was quite different than I imagined. It’s really just a smallish valley of dusty mountains with, what were, secret passages into the middle of them. Among these are the tomb of King Tut Ankh Amun (see above).
Typical dessert (at least for me)…a bit of honey pastry (similar to baklava), a little donut hole and some pomegranate seeds and an orange.
e The last night of our cruise, many on the boat dressed up in traditional Egyptian finery for our goodbye party. It was fun dressing up and dancing and now we have some nice loungewear for the house.
Who wants to stay at the Isis Hotel?
After three days on the Nile, we went to the Luxor airport for a quick flight back to Cairo.
The Cairo Museum
The final day of our vacation was spent back in Cairo for a visit to the Cairo Museum and then to the Saladin Citadel and Mosque.
The exterior of the Cairo Museum
King Tut’s coffin was sort of like a Russian nesting doll — Above is the OUTER coffin.
This is the second coffin — within the outermost covering above.
Within the two gold leafed wooden coffins above, was this solid gold coffin.
This is the Cairo Citadel of Saladin from Medieval times.
We all went into the Mosque while our Islamic tour guide gave us a nice briefing on Islam.
Looking back on this once in a lifetime trip, I’m filled with new understanding, knowledge and a broader perspective. Isreal is so rich in history and culture. It is in the thick of religious upheaval and history — past, present and future. Jordan and Egypt, both still feel ancient in so many ways even today. It was jarring to come back to the United States and see women’s legs, arms (and more) after weeks of Islamic fully-covered women and the mostly, very modest Jewish women I saw and met in Isreal. Except for the constand threat of violence, I feel like I could very easily live in Israal — especially as a Jew. I felt such a kinship to the Jewish people; my heart is touched by their history and their strivings and defense of a permanent homeland. Anyone who studies the bible, enjoys history and is aware of current world events, would love a trip like this to the Mid-East. And, I can say that, as part of a tour, with local guide, we never once felt even remotely insecure in any of these countries. Please don’t let any fears keep you from this rich spiritual and cultural experience.
The last night of our cruise, many on the boat dressed up in traditional Egyptian finery for our goodbye party. It was fun dressing up and dancing and now we have some nice loungewear for the house.
