Friday, June 10—Egypt

Emad and me with the princess who rescued Moses.

Our tour guide is named Emad. He is extremely knowledgeable about everything in Egypt that we have been going to see, the Bible, and the connections between the two. Other tour guides even said he was the best! We were so blessed because he has really enhanced our entire Egypt experience. Unfortunately, because of the revolution and political unrest over the past few months, he said that we are his only tour group for the entire summer. Most of the people working in Cairo work in the tourism business, and they are all hurting very badly because so many fewer people are traveling here. It was hard to keep saying no to all the begging vendors. Emad also expressed his concern for the Christians in Egypt if certain people get political positions in the next few months. The Egyptians, and especially the Egyptian Christians, really need our prayers!

One of many sculptures in Memphis

We spent the day in Memphis where we guess Moses grew up as an Egyptian prince. We saw sphinx and statues of Ramses the Second, who we think was the pharaoh during the 10 plagues.  The statue was made of limestone and still in almost perfect condition, except that his legs were cut off at the knee. But even so, it was 40 feet tall, which gives me a better understanding of the image that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were forced to bow down to. We don’t see things like that at home, so it almost seems unreal.

At Saqqara we saw the Step Pyramid which was the first pyramid ever built 4700 years ago. It looked like steps rather than a smooth slope, showing it was a little more primitive and a working model for the look of later pyramids. We saw the collapsing pyramid which was another learning experience because that kind of rock is wasting away. We got to go inside it and learned that it is the only pyramid to have any hieroglyphic writing inside it! Finally, we saw the tomb of an Egyptian vizier which would be the equivalent to Joseph’s job in the Bible. Viziers would never get a pyramid tomb because those were only for pharaohs, but they were given above ground tombs for both them and their families. We learned about things like the invisible door for the spirits to enter and exit the afterworld from, and the etchings all over the wall that they believed would come to life for the vizier to take with him to the afterlife.

We visited an Egyptian Carpet School and got to see boys and men making carpets. Boys could start attending the school at the age of 10, and one man had been working there for 19 years. This is an excellent opportunity because it teaches them a trade that they can use to make money all their lives. And many are able to work at home so they can be with their families while they work. Some of us got to talk to the boys a little bit and they were so nice and all smiles. I enjoyed spending a few minutes with Egyptians in their day to day life, and would have loved to have had more time with them! The carpet store was on the upper level and they literally had thousands of handmade carpets for sale! They said that depending on the size and the material used, these carpets could take 4-12 months, with some even being 2 years! Wow, I don’t have that much patience!

Best view EVER!

We ate lunch at a former palace right next to the pyramids. Its view was immaculate! It was built about 150 years ago and is where negotiations for the Camp David Peace Treaty with Egypt and Israel first started.

Then we rode a felucca boat on the Nile River! Feluccas are just like sail boats, but unfortunately there wasn’t much wind out today since it was even hotter than yesterday, 110 degrees! So we just sat in the middle of the water and baked. But it was worth it to be able to say that I have been on the Nile! We also floated by some bulrushes like those that Baby Moses was found in.

The bulrushes are right behind us

And an excellent American end to the day was…Starbucks! I enjoyed my coffee while sitting by the beautiful pool at our hotel, listening to some Newsboys, and writing this! We’re trying to make some time for relaxation on this trip too!