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Donna
& Judy
Do the Desert
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for more photos |
Donna
& Judy at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem |
| Who
else do you know that would tour Israel and Egypt in July?
I should have realized when Judy called to ask me to go
on a trip to the Middle East in the middle of the summer that
she was just trying to get back at me for taking her kayaking
through the rapids on the Lower Salmon River in Idaho a few
years ago. I think
we’re even. Many
days it was more than 110 degrees, but armed with big hats,
sunscreen and a magical cotton stole bought from a bazaar in
Egypt, we managed to not only beat the heat, but have a good
time doing so.
From June 27 through July 13,
2000, we traveled through Israel and Egypt with a small group of
fellow tourists. In
Israel, we spent four days in Jerusalem, before touring much of
the rest of the country. We went as far south as Masada, saw the caves where the Dead
Sea Scrolls were discovered, and floated in the Black Sea before
turning north to the Galilee.
Visiting the sites where the bible stories actually
happened was eerie. Somehow,
I didn’t expect them to still be there.
Standing on the Golan Heights and looking over into Syria
and Lebanon made it easy to see what all the fighting was about.
Our guide, Mori Alon, amazed us with his depth of
knowledge about all the many civilizations who have built there,
one on top of another. |
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Everyone on the
first part of the tour told the four of us who were going on to
Egypt that “Egypt is big…very big.”
They were right. All the ancient monuments are on such a huge scale that you
have to have a person stand next to them so you can comprehend
the scale. We think
our civilization is so advanced, yet 2000-4000 years ago, men in
Egypt were building with such beauty and sophistication, that
most of our modern accomplishments pale in comparison.
We spent four days on a cruise ship, floating down the
Nile, amazed at how suddenly the rich tropical foliage could
give way to the Sahara Desert.
We went inside the tombs in the Valley of the Kings and
marveled at how modern archeologists had moved the massive
temples at Abel Sembel out of the reach of the waters of the
Aswan Dam. Manel
Khalil, our Egyptian guide, has a Master’s Degree in
Egyptology and was never stumped by our questions.
We all marveled at how she could look so cool and
composed in the desert heat.
The food
throughout the trip was wonderful, lots of fresh vegetables and
fruits grown by irrigating the desert. Except for the fact that Judy ran into her suitcase during
the first night and broke her little toe, no one got sick or had
a bad experience. Hooray
for travel! Get out there and see the world. |
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The
tour group in Israel
Judy
rides a camel in the Judean dessert.
John,
Jane, Judy & Donna in Giza
Floating
down the Nile to Aswan.
Donna,
Jane & John Inderf and Judy at the galabeya party on the
Nile. |
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for more photos |
