The Places I Went...The People I met!!

I know I've been home for a over a week and I still haven't posted anything about my trip. Sorry. There are a couple of reasons for that. One is that I hate organizing multiple pictures on blogger. And after many attempts to get it in a way that I am satisfied with I gave up and did a slide show with Picasa. So here are a few picts and highlights of my trip.

*Land in Cairo--I can't believe I'm in Africa!!!
*Wore a robe to cover my "immodesty" in the Citadel Mohammad Ali Mosque
*Visited the Cairo Museum where I stood face to face with King Tut's death mask.
*Ate lunch on the Nile
*Explored the tombs in the Valley of the Kings
*Flew to Luxor, had a great view of the Nile and the Valley of the Kings from my hotel balcony.
*Visit the City of the Dead and the Valley of the Kings--It's amazing how old those tombs and well preserved they were.
* Stood next to a great statue of the Ramses II, his ear was bigger than me.
*Sailed across the Nile in a felucca (sailboat)
*Wondered through the pillars of Karnak (one of the man-made travel wonders.)
*Ran around the scrarub beetle 3 times for a little added luck at Karnak.
*Attempted to decipher hieroglyphics in the Temple of Luxor.
*Climbed into the tomb of the largest of the Giza Pyramids (the last of the ancient wonders of the world)
*I walked through the oldest market in the middle east.
*I passed under the Suez Canal which divides Africa from Asia. Which means a was on two different continents within two minutes.
*I was in Asia, Near East, but also Asia.
*I rode a camel up Mt Sinai to watch the sunrise. My camel's name was Abdal. I didn't find the burning bush. In fact I didn't see any bushes up there.
*I snorkeled in the Red Sea. It was so cool.

*I went to Jordan. I never in my life dreamed I would go there.
*I explored Petra in search for the Holy Grail. No luck. Found the Treasury, but no Grail.
*I saw the view Moses saw before the Children of Israel entered the valley.

*I swam where Christ walked. (Sea of Galilee)
*I read about the miracles that Christ performed on the shores where he preformed them.
*I walked through the hills where Jesus walked. I know we don't know the exact locations of where things happened. But it was just cool being in that area. Seeing the things that he would've seen. The hills, the "sea," the sky, the trees. Things that inspired his parables. The city on the hill.
*I drove through the valley of Jezreel. Or otherwise known as Armageddon.
*I dabbled in the Mediterranean sea. I didn't get stung by jelly fish!!
*I read Matt. 5 on top of Mt Beatitudes.
*I visited Capernaum. It's not just a name of a place in the Bible. Its an actual place.
*I floated in the Dead Sea. It was one of the coolest things I've done.
*I took a tram to the top of Masada
*I saw the cave where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found.
*I traveled the road Christ would've traveled to Jerusalem.
*OLD CITY. Need I say more. "I'm actually here."
*I touched stones from Kings Solomons Temple in the Rabbinic tunnels.
*I walked along the Via Dolores.
*I walked along the Temple Mount.
*I stared in awe at the Dome the Rock. "I'm actually here."
*I waded through Hezekiah's Tunnel.
*I saw the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Book of Isaiah.
*I sang Far far away on Judea Plains on the Judea Plains.
*I sang Oh Little Town of Bethlehem in Bethlehem.
*I sang Christmas hymns on the 4th of July in a Shepards' field overlooking Bethlehem.
*I was chased down by a jewish women at the Western Wall who gave me a shawl to once again cover my "immodesty."
*I left a prayer in the Wailing Wall.
*I walked through the Garden of Gethsemane.
*I pondered the crucifixion and the resurrection in the Garden Tomb. Wonderful.

Did I say I was going to give you a few highlights? Well, the whole adventure was full of highlights. Each day I was more amazed that I was even there. Of course I didn't go to help my testimony grow, but it was great to see that part of the world where the Bible took place. I have a better perspective and even a connection to the events that happened in those holy places. I would definitely recommend it to anyone.