Monday, July 4, 2011
Jerusalem
When we went to Jerusalem, we went to the 14 stations of the cross on the Via Dolorosa and were lucky enough to be able to go to them with the Franciscan Monks. The video is from the
14th station, the tomb of Jesus Christ which is in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Going to the 14 stations and going to Bethlehem made me my senses tingle when I thought of what had happened at these places. When I put my hand in the hole where the Jesus' cross had stood, it made me shake. I had read about Jerusalem Syndrome. Jerusalem Syndrome is when someone that visits Jerusalem is so overwhelmed by what is there that they believe that they are the next Messiah, the Virgin Mary, a prophet, or even Samson. This affects 50 to 200 people in Jerusalem per year. After my visit here, I can imagine how this could happen. The next day I saw someone with no shoes, a white toga, holding a worn down bible, long brown hair, who was calling himself the second coming. Freaky.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Dead Sea
When we were crossing into Jordan I asked if we could go to the Dead Sea, but I got a "no, it's too far away and we can't go." After bringing up to my parents they checked it online and said we could stay one night at the Movenpick. Everyone was so happy that I encouraged the Dead Sea, because bobbing in the Dead Sea was so much fun. There is 8.6 times more salt concentration in the Dead Sea than all the other oceans. So, it wasn't swimming, it was floating. Don't worry we have bathing suits on but if you want to lift your limbs all the way out of the water your butt has to sink.
7 Wonders of the modern world-Petra
Side trip to Petra to see one of the 7 Wonders of the Modern World did not disappoint. Petra is in Jordan and in one morning we went from Egypt, through Israel and into Jordan and to Petra by 3pm! If you've seen Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade this may look familiar, Petra and the Treasury is where the ending part was filmed. The Hostel we stayed at plays the movie every night and Hunter and Nathaniel were very impressed with the fact they were there. View from Hostel was amazing.
Joanne
Monday, June 27, 2011
Friday, June 24, 2011
Run SPOT Run
We got the SPOT GPS device back.
When our van from Luxor to Hurghada returned, Muhammad our tour guide contacted me to let me know they had found it on the bus. More often than not it has been very helpful to have a local cell phone. Muhammad offered to but the SPOT on the next bus from Luxor to Hurghada. He subsequently called me with the name of the bus driver, the bus driver's cell phone number and the bus number. The bus was scheduled to arrive at 12:00 in Hurghada. I set off for the bus station at about 11:30 after my family had already turned in for the night.I was in for an interesting night.
I went to the market and grabbed a Coke Light. If you know me well, you know that I consume several Diet Cokes a day. Coke Light is not Diet Coke. I then set off for the bus station. I asked a local at the Shisha cafe where the bus station was - the hotel had already told me it was nearby - and this man was kind enough to bring me across the street and hail a cab for me. I should have arrived at the bus station several minutes before the scheduled arrival, but the unscrupulous cab driver drove me through the local Souk and tried to charge me a fare higher than the hotel and the guy who hailed the cab for me told me it should cost. I later realized that the cab had driven past the back entrance and went several kilometers further to get me to the other side.
This was the local bus station which few tourist use. It was hopping. There were many people there. buses would come and go and there was a hectic frenzy each time.
I inquired of several people including the ticket agent, some kind of coordinator, and local merchants for any information on the bus from Luxor. They either had no information, or in one case told me it had already arrived and left. I attempted to contact the driver by cell phone but he didn't speak to me or he hung up quickly. I remained at the bus station for the next 40 minutes and met several interesting people. I met a young man who was from Cairo and worked in a restaurant in Hurghada. He was very excited about the revolution. I talked to a very nice shopkeeper for a while. His business has been hurt by the revolution in a economic chain reaction - no tourists - no jobs for locals - no locals traveling.
I finally gave up. walked to the back gate and hailed a cab. Fortuitously, the cab circled the block and on the way bast the front gate, I saw that 2 additional buses had arrived. I asked the cab to wait. I went back into the terminal and found a local that called the driver from my phone. We quickly connected and the SPOT was back in my possession.
I have created a new page on the blog that has the SPOT tracking information.
Let us know how it is working.
When our van from Luxor to Hurghada returned, Muhammad our tour guide contacted me to let me know they had found it on the bus. More often than not it has been very helpful to have a local cell phone. Muhammad offered to but the SPOT on the next bus from Luxor to Hurghada. He subsequently called me with the name of the bus driver, the bus driver's cell phone number and the bus number. The bus was scheduled to arrive at 12:00 in Hurghada. I set off for the bus station at about 11:30 after my family had already turned in for the night.I was in for an interesting night.
I went to the market and grabbed a Coke Light. If you know me well, you know that I consume several Diet Cokes a day. Coke Light is not Diet Coke. I then set off for the bus station. I asked a local at the Shisha cafe where the bus station was - the hotel had already told me it was nearby - and this man was kind enough to bring me across the street and hail a cab for me. I should have arrived at the bus station several minutes before the scheduled arrival, but the unscrupulous cab driver drove me through the local Souk and tried to charge me a fare higher than the hotel and the guy who hailed the cab for me told me it should cost. I later realized that the cab had driven past the back entrance and went several kilometers further to get me to the other side.
This was the local bus station which few tourist use. It was hopping. There were many people there. buses would come and go and there was a hectic frenzy each time.
I inquired of several people including the ticket agent, some kind of coordinator, and local merchants for any information on the bus from Luxor. They either had no information, or in one case told me it had already arrived and left. I attempted to contact the driver by cell phone but he didn't speak to me or he hung up quickly. I remained at the bus station for the next 40 minutes and met several interesting people. I met a young man who was from Cairo and worked in a restaurant in Hurghada. He was very excited about the revolution. I talked to a very nice shopkeeper for a while. His business has been hurt by the revolution in a economic chain reaction - no tourists - no jobs for locals - no locals traveling.
I finally gave up. walked to the back gate and hailed a cab. Fortuitously, the cab circled the block and on the way bast the front gate, I saw that 2 additional buses had arrived. I asked the cab to wait. I went back into the terminal and found a local that called the driver from my phone. We quickly connected and the SPOT was back in my possession.
I have created a new page on the blog that has the SPOT tracking information.
Let us know how it is working.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Egyptian Jewlery/Tea time in Bedoin Village
After giving away my ring and earrings to some fabulous women in Athens one night after sharing some drinks,( we traded jewlery). Mark took me shopping on the streets of Hurghada for a new diamond ring and watch. We made a new friend at the jewlery shop.
Today, we took a 40 minute flight to Sharm el Sheikh where we took a taxi to Dahab. Our taxi driver was Bedoin and their custom is to take us to tea, so our 1 hour trip took a detour not authorized by us where we had tea with our taxi drivers family. There were no windows in the home, no furniture, goats in the back yard and in the middle of nowhere. Our taxi driver then proceeded to get out his Bedoin tobacco (mary jane) and wanted to share with us. Mark told him he thought he should not do that and drive us 100km! he bragged that he does it all the time and can even drive 5 hours to Cairo! Given the winding roads and the speed at which he drove and the police check points, we were absolutely thrilled he did not have Bedoin tobacco.
currently we are in Dahab on our way to climb Mt. St. Catherines tomorrow where Moses talked to the burning bush and we can see Mt. Sinai where Moses received the 10 commandments. This is a BEAUTIFUL place. Egypt is truly amazing and a beautiful place.
Joanne
Traveling
This morning we took a flight from Hurgahada to Sharm el Shiek. From there we took our crazy taxi cab ride to Duhab. We also had fun finding the 4s hotel which was actually named ssss. The hotel has a pool, a foosball and pool table. Tomorrow we will drive two hours and climb Mount Saint Catherine were at the bottom Moses saw the burning bush and at the top where they found the body of St. Catherine and is also the tallest mountain on the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt and possibly in Egypt.
During our time in Egypt, it was not like the news at all, it was quiet and peaceful.
Hunter
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