March 21, 2007/Wednesday
11:40am EET
We visited the Pyramids today. They were quite magnificent. The largest one is about 450 feet tall. This Pyramid was built as a tomb for King Ceopis. There are 9 Pyramids at that particular location. The largest one has 2.3 million stones that weigh about 2.5 tons each. They were actually cut so that they can be placed very close together. There is 1/50 of an inch between each of them. There isn’t enough room to get a razor between them. We also saw the Sphinx.
Gas in Egypt is .20 per liters. This is approximately .60 per gallon, not bad.
6:06pm EET
We just visited the main museum in Cairo. It is the one that contains King Tutankanhum’s treasures. King Tutankanhum’s tomb was actually found in the area of Luxor where the Valley of Kings is. All of the contents of that tomb are here at the museum.
I saw more gold in one place than I have ever seen at one time or in my life total. I saw more detailed jewelry and art than I have see in a while also. Some people may not appreciate the artistic value and the historical value of what we saw today. I don’t see how. It is overwhelming to me.
I found myself looking at the mask, sandals, and jewelry of King Tut. All of these years I have seen this Egyptian motif and art in books and on documentaries. I have seen shows that exhibit and display the jewelry and dress of the Egyptians. Suddenly I realized that I was now seeing it right before my eyes. You know what I mean. You have seen the painted eyes, the gold bands, the cobras, and the things that make you think of Egyptians. Today, I was standing two feet away from King Tut’s mask. I placed my hand over the very sandals that once adorned his feet. His jewelry was there. We saw more than this today.
I was in the royal mummy room at the end of the tour. Prior to entering, our guide told the story of Moses being picked up out of the river. Incidentally, Moshe, the Hebrew pronunciation, means “taken up.” Our guide talked about how one of the pharos, Ramses II, was the one who raised Moses as a child. He was the one whose daughter found Moses floating down the Nile. The other in the story was the son of Ramses II, or The Great. His name was Marenptah. Marenptah was the one who said “No” to Moses when he asked him to let his people go.
Today, I walked into the Royal Mummy room. Today, I looked into the faces of the two men, Ramsees II and Marenptah. I saw the teeth, the ears, the hair, the fingernails, the skin, and the bodies of these two men. I am not sure how to tell you what that was like. As people were moving around the room looking at these mummies, 22 in all, I found myself leaning over Marenptah, the one who said “No.” I was face-to-face with this man. All that separated me from him was a piece of glass. He almost looked as though he would speak. I couldn’t help but utter the imperative quietly, but audibly, “LET MY PEOPLE GO.” I halfway expected him to say something. Just so you know, he didn’t. I think I expected him to say “No” again. I can’t imagine that he would say “No” given what happened the last time that he did. But, I could almost hear it for myself.
I wonder what it was like for Moses to go to such an important figure. He was a nobody by secular comparison. Yet, he was given the responsibility to do just that. Marenptah said ‘No.” And I saw him today, lying on his back mummified. Today our guide told us that they just recently conducted a test on Marenptah. The test concluded that Marenptah the mummy had evidence of the contents of the Red Sea in and on him. That would only substantiate the cause of his death.
Visit back, if you will, to your Sunday school days. You will recall that those who chased and the Israelites as they fled wound up drowned in the Read Sea. That would explain why Marenptah’s tests concluded that he had the residual of the Red Sea on him.
Tonight we went to a place where they make papyrus. It was an interesting but simple process. I actually got a couple of small paintings on papyrus. I’ll show them to you.
Earlier today we visited a Coptic Church. First, reject any thought you might have about Coptic Churches. Focus with me on what really matters here. Underneath this church was a place where it is believed that Joseph, Mary, and Jesus stayed when they fled to Egypt. It was a moving moment of silence. We simply stood there and took it in.
Also tonight, we went shopping. I asked our guide, whose name is Hany by the way, if there was a hoptspot or wireless connection anywhere. He insisted that I use the stores’. I finally said ok. This is when he handed me over to a guy who doesn’t speak English. At first I thought we were going into the store to use to go online. But, we didn’t. He walked me down a narrow alley. We almost knocked over five Muslims doing one of their daily prayers. When it is time to pray they throw down a rug, take off their shoes, and pray right there. We ended up in the back of some shop. My new friend began to argue with a guy in this place. I began to wonder how important it was for me to get online after all. I tried back down. But, this guy wasn’t about to lose this argument with this other guy. After about five minutes the other guy jumped up from his desk and grabbed his keys. He asked me to follow him, but not in English. I have traveled enough to understand what animated gestures and noises mean. These meant to follow him; so, I did. He led me further down this narrow alley past a couple of shady looking goings on. Then, we started up a narrow set of steps that switched back and forth. Finally, we entered a hallway where yet another shady deal seemed to be going down. Just for your information, we have a policeman who travels with us. It is just for precaution. But, he carries a gun. Well, he wasn’t with me in this alley. This guy with me, the new one, the angry one, opens a room off the hallway and just lets me in. I sat down at a computer and got online. I didn’t do too much for fear of getting too involved in something and suddenly needing to break and run.
Tomorrow we head across the Sinai Desert and the Red Sea (by a hydrofoil boat – look them up; they are cool). We will be in Petra tomorrow night. I will attempt to update everyday or as much as I am able.
From The Group:
The Kreschmeyers (probably butchered this spelling) say Happy Birthday to their grandson, I believe.
11:40am EET
We visited the Pyramids today. They were quite magnificent. The largest one is about 450 feet tall. This Pyramid was built as a tomb for King Ceopis. There are 9 Pyramids at that particular location. The largest one has 2.3 million stones that weigh about 2.5 tons each. They were actually cut so that they can be placed very close together. There is 1/50 of an inch between each of them. There isn’t enough room to get a razor between them. We also saw the Sphinx.
Gas in Egypt is .20 per liters. This is approximately .60 per gallon, not bad.
6:06pm EET
We just visited the main museum in Cairo. It is the one that contains King Tutankanhum’s treasures. King Tutankanhum’s tomb was actually found in the area of Luxor where the Valley of Kings is. All of the contents of that tomb are here at the museum.
I saw more gold in one place than I have ever seen at one time or in my life total. I saw more detailed jewelry and art than I have see in a while also. Some people may not appreciate the artistic value and the historical value of what we saw today. I don’t see how. It is overwhelming to me.
I found myself looking at the mask, sandals, and jewelry of King Tut. All of these years I have seen this Egyptian motif and art in books and on documentaries. I have seen shows that exhibit and display the jewelry and dress of the Egyptians. Suddenly I realized that I was now seeing it right before my eyes. You know what I mean. You have seen the painted eyes, the gold bands, the cobras, and the things that make you think of Egyptians. Today, I was standing two feet away from King Tut’s mask. I placed my hand over the very sandals that once adorned his feet. His jewelry was there. We saw more than this today.
I was in the royal mummy room at the end of the tour. Prior to entering, our guide told the story of Moses being picked up out of the river. Incidentally, Moshe, the Hebrew pronunciation, means “taken up.” Our guide talked about how one of the pharos, Ramses II, was the one who raised Moses as a child. He was the one whose daughter found Moses floating down the Nile. The other in the story was the son of Ramses II, or The Great. His name was Marenptah. Marenptah was the one who said “No” to Moses when he asked him to let his people go.
Today, I walked into the Royal Mummy room. Today, I looked into the faces of the two men, Ramsees II and Marenptah. I saw the teeth, the ears, the hair, the fingernails, the skin, and the bodies of these two men. I am not sure how to tell you what that was like. As people were moving around the room looking at these mummies, 22 in all, I found myself leaning over Marenptah, the one who said “No.” I was face-to-face with this man. All that separated me from him was a piece of glass. He almost looked as though he would speak. I couldn’t help but utter the imperative quietly, but audibly, “LET MY PEOPLE GO.” I halfway expected him to say something. Just so you know, he didn’t. I think I expected him to say “No” again. I can’t imagine that he would say “No” given what happened the last time that he did. But, I could almost hear it for myself.
I wonder what it was like for Moses to go to such an important figure. He was a nobody by secular comparison. Yet, he was given the responsibility to do just that. Marenptah said ‘No.” And I saw him today, lying on his back mummified. Today our guide told us that they just recently conducted a test on Marenptah. The test concluded that Marenptah the mummy had evidence of the contents of the Red Sea in and on him. That would only substantiate the cause of his death.
Visit back, if you will, to your Sunday school days. You will recall that those who chased and the Israelites as they fled wound up drowned in the Read Sea. That would explain why Marenptah’s tests concluded that he had the residual of the Red Sea on him.
Tonight we went to a place where they make papyrus. It was an interesting but simple process. I actually got a couple of small paintings on papyrus. I’ll show them to you.
Earlier today we visited a Coptic Church. First, reject any thought you might have about Coptic Churches. Focus with me on what really matters here. Underneath this church was a place where it is believed that Joseph, Mary, and Jesus stayed when they fled to Egypt. It was a moving moment of silence. We simply stood there and took it in.
Also tonight, we went shopping. I asked our guide, whose name is Hany by the way, if there was a hoptspot or wireless connection anywhere. He insisted that I use the stores’. I finally said ok. This is when he handed me over to a guy who doesn’t speak English. At first I thought we were going into the store to use to go online. But, we didn’t. He walked me down a narrow alley. We almost knocked over five Muslims doing one of their daily prayers. When it is time to pray they throw down a rug, take off their shoes, and pray right there. We ended up in the back of some shop. My new friend began to argue with a guy in this place. I began to wonder how important it was for me to get online after all. I tried back down. But, this guy wasn’t about to lose this argument with this other guy. After about five minutes the other guy jumped up from his desk and grabbed his keys. He asked me to follow him, but not in English. I have traveled enough to understand what animated gestures and noises mean. These meant to follow him; so, I did. He led me further down this narrow alley past a couple of shady looking goings on. Then, we started up a narrow set of steps that switched back and forth. Finally, we entered a hallway where yet another shady deal seemed to be going down. Just for your information, we have a policeman who travels with us. It is just for precaution. But, he carries a gun. Well, he wasn’t with me in this alley. This guy with me, the new one, the angry one, opens a room off the hallway and just lets me in. I sat down at a computer and got online. I didn’t do too much for fear of getting too involved in something and suddenly needing to break and run.
Tomorrow we head across the Sinai Desert and the Red Sea (by a hydrofoil boat – look them up; they are cool). We will be in Petra tomorrow night. I will attempt to update everyday or as much as I am able.
From The Group:
The Kreschmeyers (probably butchered this spelling) say Happy Birthday to their grandson, I believe.
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