A Journey into Ancient Times on the Nile: Aswan to Luxor

Our vessel: The Sonesta St. George

Enjoying the very luxurious lounge while sipping at our welcome drinks.

A couple of the amazing flowers in the gardens of one of the Nile's islands in Aswan.

Once we reloaded the camera with batteries (after no pictures at a couple of the first sights, sorry), we got some great shots at Edfu temple in Edna.

After arriving in Luxor overnight, we began the day with Karnak Temple, the largest temple grounds in the world.

At 29 meters high, this is only the 2nd largest Obelisk still standing in the world. The obelisks used by the Ancient Egyptians were carved from one solid piece of granite in the Aswan granite mines and, weighing thousands of tons, were transported by boat down the Nile to their destinations. The largest standing Obelisk in the world, 45 meters, was just to the left of this one and barely out of the picture. From the ground you can barely distinguish a difference in their heights. It's amazing!

The next few are from the Luxor Temple, only 3 km. away from Karnak. There is an ancient road (now underground) that connects the two temples, and there are plans to demolish the buildings on top in order to uncover the entire causeway, creating what will be the largest visible ancient ruins in the world. 

The last day of the tour we began by touring the Valley of the Kings:

Inside one of the lengthy corridors of one of the tombs, leading to the burial chamber. The color that was on display both in the tombs and visible on most of the temples we visited is the original paint used when they were created. That makes nearly all of the paint 3,000 - 3,500 years old. Even with our technology today, it is difficult to get specially made paints to last more than a few years when painted on granite. Think about that for a few moments...

Here are several shots from Queen Hatshepsut's Temple... 

The temple's symmetry and use of angles and lines creates in the observer an irresistible urge to take pictures! 

This was funny. Tree? I didn't understand the sign (which is fairly common in Egypt, with poorly translated messages everywhere!), until I learned that Punt was a region south of the Ancient Egyptian empire, in modern day Ethiopia and Somolia.

 

Now in the Valley of the Queens, inside one of the tombs.

On the way back to the boat, we made a casual stop at these giant ancient statues. And now I think, how could a stop to view something as old and spectacular as this be casual?!!

And with that, our cruise on the Nile ended, and our boat sailed on its merry way to undoubtedly carry thousands of tourists in its future.

80s Night!

Our group of young adults from church recently had an 80's Night party. We didn't know what to wear, and didn't want to go out and buy anything since we're so close to moving back and are trying to get rid of stuff instead of collect it. Kerry ended up as the perfect stand-in for 80's era Madonna, and Marcus just went as an 80s punk rocker. 

Our good friends Clint and Tara, rocking the 80s. We will miss you guys!! 

More fabulous 80s fanatics!

Big props to Kelly G. and his group for making the night a smash hit! 

The Galilee

We took a bus from Jerusalem up to Tiberius on the Sea of Galilee.  Then we caught another bus from there to the Golan on the opposite shore.  Great scenery on the way!

The Sea of Galilee

We rented bikes and rode part way around the Sea, visiting the Jordan River (above), Capernaum, and some ruins of a Biblical village.  Marcus wanted the challenge of riding all the way around the Sea in one day, but we didn't.  He might be psychotic. 

This is a beautiful church at Capernaum on the northern shore of the Sea. It was renovated about 100 years ago, which accounts for how new it looks.

More of the Sea from its northern shore.

A failed attempt to walk on water. Guess it's not that easy.

This is the picturesque and peaceful place we stayed in a village called Ramot. And don't call it anything BUT a village or the locals get sensitive, as we learned in the local market. We relaxed in the hammocks, took an evening soak in the hot tub, and grilled outside with some wine. We recommend staying some place like Ramot if you're really looking for a place to get away for a relaxing holiday.

From Ramot we bused to Tel Aviv, then to Eilat, and ended our wonderful week in Israel. 

A Sobering Experience

This happened in Jerusalem, in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, and I wanted to share it.
The Church of the Holy Sepulcher was built over the traditional site of the hill on which it was believed that Christ was crucified, as well as the stone tomb. Marcus and I were inside, wandering around, looking at the different parts. Of course it's always a little interesting for us to go into churches that are dark, incense-filled, and gothic in style. Although they have a strong sense of history and tradition which is intriguing, it's hard for us to find a strong spiritual connection because they are so steeped in orthodox traditions that are different from our own denominational upbringings. There are many different Christian sects that are represented in this particular church, which to me is shown through masses of men in different robes, hoods/caps carrying staffs marching around for various purposes. I definitely respect these traditions, but don't completely understand them so it's a very interesting experience.
We stood in line for quite a while, waiting to go inside the huge stone and wood structure that is traditionally the site where the tomb once was. Of course, inside there is a gold covered alter, and that's about it,.. it looks nothing like the tomb described in scripture but the original church has been destroyed several times and therefore nothing looks exactly like it did in the 1st century AD.
Anyway, we ducked inside, and then out and stood a few meters away, taking it all in. There was an American family who obviously were tourists, exploring the region. The mom had stood in line in front of us with the grandparents, and there were two kids, one about 12 (boy,) and a girl about 15. After we'd been inside, the grandpa was standing in front of us and the boy walked up to him. He asked his grandpa, "So, where's the body? Is it really inside?" And without hesitation, the grandfather turned to his grandson and said, and I kid you not:
"Oh no, the body is not inside, it's down underneath the tomb." "Oh," the boy replied. And they walked off, before I could say anything. I looked at Marcus, stunned. Here this family had come all the way from the States, to visit the ancient city of Jerusalem, holy to millions of people, to explore all the ancient historical sites, had come to the Church where Jesus was believed by some to have been killed and buried, and they missed the ENTIRE point:
HE IS NOT THERE! The entire message of Jesus, the Good News that his followers spread all over the region, the good news that has spread all across the world is that Jesus died, and then rose again, the tomb is empty was MISSED completely by this family. If Jesus' body had ever been found, dead, if he hadn't been seen by hundreds after he rose from the grave, all of Christianity would mean nothing, and Jesus would have been nothing more than a good man who cared for people and managed to perform a bunch of miracles. The entire point is that being without sin, he was able to conquer death, and provide a way for us to spend eternity with our Father in heaven by rising from the dead.
I can't tell you how sad, how heartbroken I felt after hearing that man speak ignorantly to his grandson. Even if he himself didn't believe that Jesus had risen from the grave, he didn't even have the historical or "religious" knowledge to even say to his grandson, "well, Christians believe Jesus rose from the grave, so it's impossible that the body is there in the tomb. Maybe it was hidden somewhere else," or something like that, (which of course the body wasn't hidden somewhere else, because none of Jesus' followers would have gone to the grave declaring that Christ had risen if they knew it was all a lie.)

Friends, please do not miss that good news: there is no body. There was only a body in the grave for those few days after he was crucified, and then, he rose, and was seen by many. Please do not be like that family, and live your whole life ignorant of the truth of Christ's life. Consider the historical facts, consider who Jesus was, and what he did with his life, consider that maybe, just maybe he is who he said he is, and make a choice. But don't, please don't try to ignore the question of Jesus.
Carefully consider, and then decide who Jesus is to you. Ignoring IS a choice.
I just pray that that young boy doesn't go back to his "normal" adolescent life really thinking that Jesus died, and is still some rotting bag of bones under an old, dark, stinky church over in Jerusalem, but that someone comes into his life and shares the truth: the body isn't there, and the life-changing significance of that.
I pray that this can be a message of significance to you, because I share this story out of the heartbreak I felt, and the desire that I have that everyone know the truth about Jesus Christ.
Blessings,
Kerry

Happy Easter, Africa style!

Taking a short break from our Jordan/Israel adventure, here is a little video from our Easter service.  This is how we jive for Jesus. Love to all!

The Holy City - Jerusalem

From Petra we took a bus up to Amman, took another bus across to the other side of the city, shared a private car to the King Hussein border, crossed into Israel on a border crossing bus, then took a shuttle bus into Jerusalem. There was room for us at the Inn (joke) where we stayed 3 nights. In two full days we saw as much of Jerusalem as we could. There are so many meaningful things to see that all of this should really be broken down into "subposts".

The Old City

These are pictures taken inside and from the Citadel by the Jaffa Gate. Like the rest of the Old City walls, it is composed of stone blocks from several different dynasties. Built once, then destroyed, rebuilt, touched up by Herod, then destroyed again, then rebuilt again by the Turks, etc. etc.

The famous Western Wall.  This is the only part of Jewish temple that the Roman general Titus left standing.  He left this one massive wall as a testimony to the might of Roman power, since they were able to destroy the rest of the city completely.  The Jews were expelled from the city of Jerusalem for many years, but now pray at this wall because they believe that being closer to the actual temple site provides a more likely chance that their prayers will be answered.  

The Dome of the Rock, built on top of the location of Solomon's temple.  It was here that Muslims believe Abraham was going to sacrifice Ishmael and God provided a ram instead, and they also believe that Mohammed ascended into heaven on the rock inside.  It makes you kind of wonder though, why did they have to claim this exact site, of all the places in the Middle East as a holy site for them as well?  It just seems to have added much strife over the centuries, as now the likelihood of the Jews ever rebuilding the temple is over.  Christians, however, have an incredible role to play in the midst of this angst: reconciliation.

This blocked in gate is called the "Golden Gate," and was at one time a major entry and exit point to Jerusalem.  This is actually the gate where Jesus entered the city on the donkey on Palm Sunday, and was probably Kerry's favorite site in Jerusalem because of its significance.  The Jews are still waiting for their Messiah to walk through this gate.  We believe He already did!

We walked the Via Dolorosa, the route that follows approximately the path that Jesus was forced to follow, from the place of his trial (The Roman fortress called Antonia,) to the alleged place of the crucifixion where the Church of the Holy Sepulchre now stands.  Here is Marcus inside the Church, walking up the stairway to the spot they think Jesus was crucified.

Old City walls (above) and Jaffa Gate (below)

The Garden Tomb

Many Protestants believe this newer claimed site may actually be the hill of the crucifixion. You can't tell from the picture, but the caves in the cliff on the side of the hill resemble two eyes and a mouth, in a skull-like way. Golgatha, where He was crucified, meant 'place of skull'.

The British organization that now owns and operates the garden (strictly by donation and volunteers) have done a marvelous job. The greenery and flowers are striking, and really make it look how it is described in the gospels.

An ancient wine press within the garden. They also discovered an enourmous cistern under the garden, which exemplifies the wealth of the original garden owners.

The entrance to the tomb

Although the similarities between the scriptural account of Christ's tomb and this Garden Tomb site are numerous, scholars couldn't say that the garden tomb is the actual site of Christ's death.  I think that most Christians of the non-Orthodox variety can find a spiritual connection to this place that is stronger than what is felt in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre because this place is so peaceful, looks like it might have looked back then, and is so serene.  You can imagine the events unfolding here, where it is difficult to imagine the events taking place in the Sepulchre site because it's covered over by a massive, dark church filled with incense and hanging gold things.  There are many places to sit and meditate, or have a service with a group of people (lots of church groups visit the site,) so it was one of our favorite places in Jerusalem.  The docents will tell you though, and we agree, that the most important thing isn't whether or not this is the actual site, it's that HE'S NOT THERE!  HE IS RISEN!  

Mount of Olives and Garden of Gethsemane

The garden, with amazing knarled olive trees that most botanists date to be 2,000 years old or older.




This huge Jewish cemetery covers the side of the Mt. of Olives and lies next to the Garden of Gethsemane. It is said to be the oldest still used cemetery in the world.  

We stumbled upon the tombs of the prophets by accident, and went underground to explore. Since there are tombs that date to the times of Haggai and Malachi, they are claimed to be the location they were buried, but it's unlikely that that's really true.

A view from inside a more modern Church commemorating the traditional spot where Jesus wept over the Jerusalem, as he predicted its destruction which happened in AD 70 by the Romans. I like this picture for its symbolism. The funny thing is that I was shown an article this morning printed from the internet, and on the advertisements on the side margin of the article there was a short list of pictures with links to other things. Incredible! One of the pictures was taken from this exact place through this window and also had the cross covering the mosque of the Dome of the Rock! It was bizarre.

Looking toward the Mount of Olives.  The large church on the bottom is dedicated to the Garden of Gethsemane.  This was built and rebuilt (destruction in between by Persians, etc.,) by the Byzantines, then the Crusaders, and finally as it is now in the 20th century.  

This is the valley and hillside (right) where David's original ancient city of Jerusalem was located.

And here are ruins from Solomon's expansion of Jerusalem and from the 2nd temple period after Nehemiah rebuilt the city ways, located between David's ancient city and where the Herodian Old City walls stand today.

These two pictures are on Mount Zion. Kerry from the roof of a building looking at the Church of the Dormition, dedicated to where it was traditionally believed that Mary went into eternal rest, and Marcus in a room remade to commemorate the upper room where the Jesus' Last Supper with his apostles took place.  The original room was destroyed, and this Gothic room was constructed by the Crusaders.  I was really surprised at how much they built!  Anyway, it was later converted into a mosque, as you can see the Mihrab pointing to the direction of Mecca is behind Marcus.  The Crusader/Muslim look kind of takes away any feeling of what it would have really looked like!  Oh well.

We'll finish our Israel posting soon with one from our time in Galilee!