Holy Moly what a week! Early Sunday Alexia, Julianne and I
got up and left for Egypt. We left before the kids would normally have to wake
up for school, yet, though it is so hard to get them up for school, they all
woke up on their own this day, so excited to say goodbye and do the playing
they can do when Mom and Dad don’t monitor how much time they spend on electronics.
Life is funny.
The trip to Egypt went very well. When we got there I was so
pleased to see Imad and the Gabrys again. Everything is arranged for us by
Gabry Travel. Dr. Gabry always comes to visit with us, and his son, Mustafa,
comes with us to help with many things. Imad is their employee who makes
everything happen. He works so very hard. I felt like we became close friends
the last time we went to Egypt. I was so happy to see him again. He is a very
good man.
The guide we were working with was new. His name is Mohamed
and he is very, very nice and I like him a lot. To illustrate how tough things
have been for the tourism industry here, he has not had a group to guide since
August. He is quiet yet so pleasant. It took him a little while to get used to
working with us and how we like to contribute and teach and direct things. But
he got it down, and I think we ended up with a wonderful working relationship.
As we drove from the airport to Cairo I looked for my
chances to do one of my favorite things. As we drove along the pyramids came
into sight. I pointed out the window a direction to look and heard the gasps of
excitement as people finally saw something they had always wanted to see. The
same thing happens as you point out the Nile. It is so fun to help people be
excited about doing something they have always wanted to do. We even had lunch
on a boat that was floating on the Nile, and no one could believe how cool that
was.
 |
| the students were so giddy about eating on the Nile |
 |
| Alexia and I eating on the boat |
Right away we took everyone to see some parts of the Old
City of Cairo, where the walls had been built to make it a fortified city
similar to the Old City of Jerusalem. We also saw the outside of some old
mosques and schools and sabils (places where water could be given out to
strangers). I think the students enjoyed it a lot. Our guide was typical of
every guide I have worked with. He could explain details very well, but the
students need more to fit those details into a context that makes sense for
them. I tried to do that a bit, but it is a delicate balancing act because you
don’t want the guide to feel like you are correcting him or that you don’t have
confidence in his ability to teach.
 |
| The Gates to Old Cairo |
 |
| Mosques in Cairo |
 |
| a merchant coming through the Old Cairo gates |
 |
| locals near the Old Cairo gate |
In any case we had a nice time showing them various things
and we also had some nice time to shop in the Khan al-Kalili bazar. On the
whole I think it was a great day. Our hotel was super nice, and everyone was so
satisfied with being there. We are having a fantastic time with Alexia, and I think
she is so excited to be in Egypt. She is getting along with everyone and has
been such a delight to be with.
 |
| Alexia in front of the Step Pyramid |
 |
| Julianne and Alexia with the cobra frieze wall at the Step Pyramid |
From there we went to see one Old Kingdom tomb, the tomb of
Kagemni. It is a very nice tomb. We tried to do it very quickly. When I was
told that I just used the bus time to do the spiritual tie in that we wanted to
do, and left all the time in the tomb for Mohamed.
In the meantime the students were loving the tomb, but one who
had been a bit sick the night before and had gotten a bit dehydrated passed out
while we were in there. That was exciting. We got her doing okay, and she just
kind of rode out the rest of the day. We had a few people who got a bit sick
throughout the day and we administered a few blessings and helped people just
soldier on to see the various things they wanted to see.
We also went to the Serapeum to see the giant, huge
sarcophagi that the Apis bulls were buried in. It was quick but amazing.
 |
| Lunch with the pyramids behind us |
The
bad thing is that all of this left us with little time at the Pyramids of Giza.
We went up to the Great Pyramid, and everyone was so excited to see it. We had
very little time there, but everyone loved what time we spent there. I think
our little family and a few students who followed were the only ones to walk
around and see the temple and boat pit on the other side. I called Phil and
Jennifer over so they got to see it too. The pyramids are so amazing, and I
think Alexia was so very excited to be there.
 |
| Julianne and Alexia in front of the Great Pyramid |
 |
| All three of us in front of the Great Pyramid |
 |
| fun in front of the pyramids |
Then we drove over to Menkare’s pyramid, and went inside to
the burial chamber. It is always so cool to go inside a pyramid and Alexia was
having a marvelous time. We went around the back side to see its amazing
temple. To begin with they said it was fine but after a minute they decided it
was a problem for too many people to go over there. So we just ran and saw a
bit and came back. It was one of those times when an administrator should have
helped make it happen and instead was so risk averse that they took away an
opportunity from the students. Still, they are seeing enough that for most it
was not a big deal that they couldn’t see it.
Then we went down to the sphinx and sphinx temple. Everyone
loved being close to the sphinx and we had a great time posing for pictures
there. Alexia was so very excited to be where she had always seen pictures. I
had a fabulous time being there with her. What a day!
 |
| Mystery solved, now we know what happened to the Sphinx's nose. Alexia took it off! |
 |
| Alexia patting the head of the sphinx. Good Sphinx, good Sphinx! |
The next morning we went to the museum. It is such an
amazing museum and we had a great time there. It was not long enough, and we
only had 15 minutes to wander and see what we wanted to see after the
instruction, but the instruction was good and we had a great time. I again had
a hard time both teaching the students and spending time with Alexia in the way
I wanted, but I think we all ended up being satisfied. The place is amazing.
 |
| The statue of Kafre in the Egyptian Museum |
 |
| The museum is full of huge statues |
 |
| Alexia was really into Canopic Jars |
 |
| and coffins |
 |
| Mentuhotep II, founder of the Middle Kingdom, in the Egyptian Museum |
The students wanted some kind of spiritual thought to tie it
all together, so I did that on the bus. Then we went to the hanging Coptic
church (Coptic is the sect of Christianity in Egypt). We had a very nice
explanation there, and then both Phil and I took just a little bit of time to
do some spiritual thoughts. I felt like it went very well and I feel like
Mohammed is also getting a feel for how we work. We are trying very hard to
make this a time for both scholarship and spiritual enlightenment for the
students, not just a tourist stop. It is more difficult to do that now that we
are not going to Sinai, but it is working out. I felt like the spiritual
thoughts there worked fine.
 |
| Mosaic of the Holy Family fleeing to Egypt at the hanging Coptic church |
Afterwards we went to the Ben Ezra Synagogue. That went
well. It was cool to have with us the head of the Mor Company (the company that
helped build and maintains the Jerusalem Center), Nahum Nuriel. He is a direct
descendant of Ibn Ben Ezra, who founded the community and synagogue there, and
his parents grew up there. It was his first time there, and so we asked him to
share a bit about it all. It was a nice moment. Then I took a moment to share
some thoughts about the importance of scriptures based on how the people of
that synagogue took care of scripture. I think it went well, and our Muslim
guides seemed to really appreciate the ideas expressed.
 |
| traffic in Cairo |
 |
| Alexia on the boat ride on the Nile |
That temple is amazing. I let Mohammed to most of
the teaching, but I chimed in from time to time. There are so many things there
that are worth pointing out and tying in for the students, so I chimed in from
time to time. We looked at the list of places destroyed by Sheshonq/Shishak
when we went up and fought against Solomon’s son, Rehoboam. We saw all sorts of
amazing things that Rameses II built. We went to the hypostyle hall and I loved
seeing everyone’s jaw drop. We had them hold hands and stand around one of the
columns. It took 13 people to go around the column with their arms stretched out.
 |
| Entry to Karnak |
 |
| inside Karnak Temple |
 |
| The Hypostyle Hall in the Karnak Temple |
 |
| 13 students holding hands around the column |
 |
| Looking at some of the columns of the Hypostyle Hall at Karnak |
 |
| Obelisks at Karnak |
 |
| Obelisk at Karnak |
 |
| Julianne and Alexia at the Sacred Lake |
While we were in that setting I took a moment to teach from
Moses 1. I helped them see why Moses would think that man was something. They
looked around at what is probably the most amazing room in the world, and
talked about all that was going on that would make Moses think that man was
full of splendor. Then we talked about the experience he had with God, and how
he came to know true glory. I had them compare what they were seeing then with
what Moses saw, and how Moses said he then knew that man was nothing. I tried
to help them get a little sense of the glory and splendor of God, and then
remember that this is the being that is on their side, that wants to bring them
home. We were blessed with the Spirit to bear witness of that. I felt like it
was a powerful moment that went well. At the end of the trip our guide,
Mohamed, told me that this was his favorite part of the whole experience, that
he really felt something there. That tells me that the Spirit was really
present for my Muslim friend to be touched and remember what he felt there. I
think it was a good moment. I will always remember it and how we were blessed
there.
 |
| Me teaching in the Hypostyle Hall of Karnak |
We had time to explore Karnak and we had so much fun doing
it. I so loved being with Alexia and Julianne there and showing them around. We
found all sorts of carvings that helped us understand interesting things. I
loved it.
 |
| locals in Luxor |
From there we hurried back to the hotel, stuffed a lunch
inside ourselves, and went on a camel ride for about 45 minutes. We rode a
felucca (sail boat) to the camels. Then we went through the beautiful, rural
countryside. It was very enjoyable. Then we went swimming with Alexia, and
played sharks and minnows with her and eventually a bunch of students, for a
long time. It was pretty fun.
 |
| Alexia working the rudder on the felucca |
 |
| Some of our students on a felucca |
 |
| Alexia and Julianne on the Camel Safari |
 |
| Some of my students on the camel safari |
Finally we ate, and flew back to Cairo. After a very late
night we got just a bit of sleep, got up very early, then went to the airport
and flew home. The kids got home from school just a bit after we got back. They
have done superbly well. The place was clean, their rooms were more clean than
they have been in a long time, they ate well, and they were all happy and doing
great! Tashara was a hero in how well she took care of things, and they all did
so well. We had a great time seeing them again and then we gave some gifts, and
we had a wonderful reunion.
 |
| The students were so tired by the time we got to the airport |
We spent a pleasant evening together and I fell asleep
fairly exhausted fairly early. The next morning we had church, and it was one
of the better sacrament meetings I have been to. It really was wonderful. We
had a lesson on forgiveness and apologizing in Sunday School. I needed it, I
can see how much work is ahead of me and how much growth I need to go through.
I was happy to be able to teach seminary for Julianne afterwards. We covered a
good chunk of Isaiah, and it was a lot of fun.
Then we came home and as a family we did some scripture
study and had a great time going through the Facsimiles together. I guess it is
about time my children learned about them.
We spent the evening together visiting and playing games.
I can’t believe how blessed we are to be together and to be
here and to have the Gospel to guide our lives. We are blessed more than we
deserve. I am touched again and again with how much God does to help us be with
him again. He loves us so much it is almost overwhelming.
No comments:
Post a Comment