MIDDLE EAST
EGYPT
The Nile River sweeps through Cairo still bringing life to modern Egypt. The Hilton is at the right with sailboats for hire along the banks. We chose to begin our World Tour 2000 here; at the beginning of mankind's recorded events on this Earth, our shared planet. We arrived on Good Friday and stayed for all of the Easter services. Exactly two thousand years after Jesus' teachings. Greek and Roman Catholic, Egyptian Coptic, as well as Protestant Churches remain today. Severe Government restrictions and frequent terrorists attacks make Egypt a hostile place for Christians living here.
The lovely Mena House Hotel at Genza. This is the view from the swimming pool area. A close look at the buildings shows two of the Pyramids seemingly amongst the hotel grounds. We spent a lovely afternoon here enjoying the view, the gardens and a fine mid-eastern lunch. The next day we took the American Express tour from the Nile Hilton which included a visit into the center of the pyramid itself. Ancient Egypt and Modern Egypt can be seen at the same instant.
Melody deep inside one of the tombs at The Valley of the Kings, Luxor. She is posing with a friendly Tomb Watchman. Note the ever-present drinking water bottle, a necessity in the Desert. The color inside the tombs is incredible. It appears as if they were painted yesterday and not 3000 years ago. It is still unclear how they accomplished this. The glass on the columns and walls is an attempt to prevent damage. This location is well underground and is lit by electric lights. A system of mirrors flooded the passages with sunlight during construction. What a concept! As you can see the ceilings, walls and columns are elaborately painted with most exacting detail. It all tells a story.
Dahab, Egypt. This delightful, rustic, sleepy town was one of our many surprise finds. Located on the Sinai Peninsula near St. Catherine's Monastery on Mount Sinai, it is right beside the crystal clear water of the Gulf of Aqaba. We spent 5 days here, snorkeling and eating at waterfront "tent" restaurants where everyone sits on carpets spread in the sand. Pictured here from our hotel balcony, we generally enjoyed the softness of the place.
This is the view from our hotel window in Dahab. The sun is rising through our open balcony doorway. Behind the gulf are the foreboding hills of Saudi Arabia in the distance. On our visit to Mount Sinai, locally called Moses Mountain, we joined in the custom of climbing to the peak during the night, sleeping there and awaking for the sunrise. About 10 p.m. we started out, wandering, stumbling and falling in the pitch darkness lit only by brilliant stars. It was a tiring and dangerous climb. When we reached the 2,250 meter summit around 2:00 am we were well supplied with blankets, hot chocolate and coffee by the local Bedouins. At sunrise we were joined by other pilgrims, singing familiar religious tunes in different languages. It was a wonderful spiritual awakening for us, one of many on our world tour 2000. The Pope had visited the mountain and monastery just a few weeks before us, but by helicopter.
This striking stained glass mural caught my eye at a Protestant Church in Alexandria. The Lower Panel of the cross shows the word LOVE in English, Arabic, Greek Hebrew and Hieroglyphics. The Egyptian Minister granted me a most revealing interview about being a Christian this predominantly Moslem country. Please include these people in your prayers. They will be grateful for your love in whatever language of expression. Now we were clearly Pilgrims, seeing our lovely planet earth 2000 years after Christ.
ISRAEL
Overlooking the fabulous "Walled City" of Jerusalem, as viewed from the grounds of the King David Hotel. We arrived at the dining room right at sundown on Friday and were not able to get a hot meal. Preparing a hot meal is considered "work" under the Jewish Law and is not allowed. Cold food is O.K. Inside the wall at the left is the Christian section. At the far right and outside the wall is Mt. Zion.
View from the Mount of Olives, Jerusalem. Looking west toward the "Walled City" with the gleaming "Onion Domes" of the Russian Orthodox Church. We took a local bus to a small community at the top of the mount and walked down the hillside, following in Jesus footsteps. There are now seven or eight major churches along this route, passed the Garden of Gethsemane. The churches are independent of one another and have their own staff and opening times for Pilgrims to visit. Tour busses with their guides dominate the sites and speak in many languages. We found this to be quite an emotional experience. We had a picnic lunch on the grounds of a tourist hotel near the top. Magnificent views are everywhere.
This is the church where Jesus was condemned to death by Pontious Pilate. It is the first stop of 14 on "The Way of the Cross", the route Jesus was forced to take while struggling to carry his wooden cross of Crucifixion & wearing a "Crown of Thorns". Each Point has a marker and explanation of the event. Every Friday afternoon the priests from this church lead a re-enactment with stops at each Point. This is inside the "Walled City" in the Christian Section.
On Mount Zion, the Cenacle or Upper Room, built on the sight of Jesus' Last Supper with his disciples.
The walls of this lovely chapel are inscribed with the words of the Lord's Prayer in over 180 different languages. It has been built over the hallowed STONE GROTTO where Jesus often taught his disciples. We were overwhelmed to be in such a historic place, two thousand years later, and could 'feel' the power here.
The Grotto of Gethsemane. May 2000.
TURKEY
The mighty Bosphorus River winds through Istanbul (formerly Constantinople) joining Europe with Asia.
Modern tram near our hotel in the Sultanahmet district of Istanbul. Is this nice or what? We spent five days. They have wonderful McDonald's with clean toilets, something most appreciated by all ladies throughout the Middle East.
This beautiful mosaic of Jesus is inside the wondrous St. Sophia Church of Istanbul. The 14th century church is badly in need of repair, but scaffolding indicates on going efforts to maintain it. Many of the elaborate mosaics were in the process of restoration, but this artist, several hundred years ago, showed us Jesus as if we were seeing him in person 2000 years ago.
Plenty of smiling faces in this Pizza Place. The small Turkish style pizza is made with spices, not cheese & sells for about $1 US. One delicious option is rolling them with fresh lettuce & vegies inside.
In central Turkey, near Cappadocia , the terrain if covered with these volcanic rock formations which look like fairy castles. Notice the openings in the rock structures at lower center. About 700 years ago, Christians lived here to avoid persecution. They carved dwellings, churches, and entire cities within the soft stone. One such city we visited was dug seven stories deep, complete with living areas, stairs, ramps, as well as light and air shafts. It's possible that two such cities are connected underground by this incredibly ingenious system. The excavation continues.
We traveled across Turkey on board these luxury Mercedes busses, with satellite TV and food service attendants like airlines. It was so pleasant that we chose to continue from Istanbul to Athens, even though a portion of that route was included in our Eurail passes. While on this leg of the journey, we watched the Turkish soccer team win the European Cup in a shoot out with England. Of course, the entire bus erupted in joyous celebrations. It was quite a cultural experience.
GREECE
From the Acropolis we look across downtown Athens to Lycabettus Hill, with the 2004 Olympic Stadium near the base. To get to the top of the very steep Lycabettus hill, we started walking, tried to catch a bus and ended up with a taxi to the incline railroad. The steep rail trip is short, but dramatic, with wonderful views at sunset time. We had a long, spirited walk DOWN on our visit there. Far below, the new subway stations have unusual artifacts on display where they were unearthed during the construction.
This is the center hub of Athens, Constitution Square Government House with its Greek honor guards at the right. At the top center, just above the tall trees, stands Lycabettus Hill with it's pretty churches and great views... Shops and many restaurants fill the other three sides of this square, a favorite place for Americans. We stayed a few miles away at the seaport city of Pyreas. From there we joined the day cruises to the Greek Isles that departed just a short walk away. Auto traffic was a jumble with parking allowed on the sidewalks, an added difficulty for walkers like us.
Our most spectacular train ride was through the hills of southern Greece. Most people skip this delightful narrow gage rail line from Athens to Karamata, across the Corinth Canal, and around to Patras to meet the ship to Brendisi, Italy.
An overnight at the southern tip of Greece resulted in a visit to the ruins of ancient Messina, a village mentioned in the Bible.
It has been said that in order to study Greek history you must visit Asia Minor, where the ruins are well preserved. Here we visited an ancient forum, and coliseum and a fabulous surrounding wall, complete with guard towers similar to the Great Wall in China.
This magnificent Roman Aqueduct is in a small town near Athens. Could those people build or what? By starting our journey in Cairo, the Civil Engineer in me saw the change in structural design methods, starting in Ancient Egypt, up through Asia Minor, (Greek territory before it was taken by the Turks) through Greece and into Rome itself. As a Structural Engineer, I saw more than simply stones, It was a marvelous way to trace history.