Holy Land Tour - Israel, Jordan, Egypt
Michael Schroeder Photo Journal April 09
April 09 had me traveling throught the Holy Land doing concerts and worship where I kept an online photo
blog/journal along the way for people to take the trip with me visiting
Holy land sites throughout Jordan, Israel
and Egypt with stops in Bethlehem,
Jerusalem, Nazareth, Galilee, the Dead Sea and Cairo to name a few. MS
April 16th
A 12
hour flight on Royal Jordanian Air takes me from Chicago in the U.S. to
Amman Jordan whose time zone is 8 hours ahead.
Adding in the 12
hour flight, turned my 9:30pm April15th departure into arriving about
5:30pm on April 16th the next day.
The Kingdom of Jordan is bordered on the
north by Syria, on the east by Iraq,
on the south by Saudi Arabia and
on the
west by Israel and the Dead Sea. Amman is the largest city and capital of
Jordan, home to more than 2 million people.
More than 92% of the population are Sunni Muslims. Like in Syria, Arabic is the
official language for a population that is
more than 98% Arab. I was awaken by the Muslim call to prayer from the loudspeakers of the Mosque pictured below outside
my hotel room at 4 & 5 am.
Amman, Jordan
April 17th
Mt. Nebo - With a
time clock still off getting 4 hours sleep, IÕm running on adrenaline one more day before crashing tonight. Leaving Amman early traveling
west across the desert west takes me to Mount Nebo, Jordan. The view from the
top of Mount Nebo overlooks the Dead Sea to the south, and the Jordan River
Valley, Jericho and the distant hills of Jerusalem to the west. From here,
Moses viewed the promised Holy Land he would never enter. He died and was
buried in this area though his tomb remains unknown. Mount Nebo became a
place of pilgrimage for early Christians from Jerusalem and a small church was
built there in the 4th century to commemorate the end of Moses' life. Some
stones from that church remain in their original place. The church was expanded
in the 5th and 6th centuries with a stunning collection of Byzantine mosaics.
The serpentine Cross, which stands just outside, is
symbolic of the bronze serpent taken by Moses into the desert and the cross.
Bethany
Beyond The Jordan
Leaving Mt. Nebo behind and traveling
further west, we make our way past nomads, camels and desert to a place called
"Bethany Beyond the Jordan". This area along the eastern Shoreline of
the Jordan river is referred to in the old testament
as the plains of Moab. It is just a few miles north of the Dead Sea and within
sight of the ancient city of Jericho. This area is identified as the setting
where John the Baptist ministered and baptized in the early days of his
ministry. (John 1:28; & 10:40) . It is therefore likely
that Jesus was baptized here, when God audibly affirmed His Son. The foundation
of many churches built on top of each other over time at this site date back
within the first few centuries here.
The Jordan River at this point is the boundary between Israel and Jordan.
Crossing over into Israel and going through customs takes longer than I had
hoped, but IÕm finally through and moving north along the Jordan river valley
as I pass mount Gilboa and grab a schnitzel before a
stop nearby at Beth-shean, tracing the history of
Saul and his sons who were killed in battle with the Philistines at Mount Gilboa. The Israelites finally conquered the
city during the reign of King Solomon. Later in history during the
Roman and Byzantine periods this city was called Scythopolis,
and had grown boasting a 10,000 seat amphitheater, a colonnaded through fare,
large public baths and extensive buildings. The grand city estimated to once
have 80,000 people was destroyed by an earthquake in 749AD with dozens of
massive columns toppled in the same direction. Archeologists have identified at
least 18 levels of occupation over time here.
Leaving Beth-shean behind and driving a little further north gets me to
my destination and room for the night the next few days. A
room with a view of the south end of the Sea of Galilee. Dinner and a Maccabee
beer hit the spot after my walk along the shore of this tremendously beautiful
place with sleep and another day of adventure not far behind. MS
April 18th
Morning comes quickly and keeps me moving
to catch breakfast as I gather my things in time to catch the bus to the North
side of the Sea of Galilee. My limited camera and ability as a
photographer donÕt do justice to what the view is like here, and my words
cannot express what it is like to be in this place, the meaning, the evidence,
the reality of the life of Jesus is everywhere. My heart is tender and I am
already moved beyond what words can express of what I have always known in my
heart.
Traveling north along the west bank of
the Sea of Galilee I stop in the city of Tiberius to hop a boat taking me to
the north shore of the Sea of Galilee. The Sea Jesus calmed the winds, storm
and walked on water. See Matthew 14:22-36
The boat ride ends docking
on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee, an area rich in so much history. It
was these shores where Jesus called some of his disciples, where you find the
Mount of Beatitudes, and the city of Capernaum where Jesus stayed after leaving
Nazareth and performed miracles in. The place of the feeding of the 5000 is
nearby, with Chorazin and more. All
of it here on the north shores of Galilee.
Caperneaum
Jesus made Capernaum his
home during the years of his ministry: "Leaving Nazareth he went and lived
in Capernaum" (Matt 4:13). Peter, Andrew, James and
John were fishermen living in the village. Matthew the tax collector also
lived here. Capernaum is one of the three cities later cursed by Jesus for its
lack of faith.
The
Synagogue
Jesus was
confronted by a demoniac while teaching here (Mark 1:21-27).
In Capernaum, Jesus healed the servant of the centurion. This Roman
official was credited with building the synagogue (Luke 7:3). In this synagogue,
Jesus gave his sermon on the bread of life
(John 6:35-59).
The Synagogue pictured below is of a later date with the one of Jesus time
discovered beneath it. Jewish Law carries that the only thing that could be
built on the land of a synagogue when it has run itÕs course is another
Synagogue, often placing the layers of time and history on top of each other.
The House of Peter
The Picture below shows part of the house
of Peter in Capernaum. It is roped off of course to protect the site, but I
accidentally dropped my camera over the walls edge and had to enter the area of
Peters house to retrieve my camera. The joke now is how many other Holy sites
do I have to throw my camera into just to get inside the site itself!
1st
Century Galilee Fishing Boat found on the north end of Galilee near the town of
Capernaum.
The Ruins
of Chorazin / Korazin
Chorazin / Korazin
Synagogue
This ÒSeat of MosesÓ as they were called
had a purpose in synagogues as the seat for the most distinguished teacher in
the temple for example. Jesus references this position of authority in Matthew.
Because the town of Korazin was of close walking
distance to Capernaum, and Jesus authority was recognized as he taught in a
number of synagogues ( remember this was a man who
drew 5000 people not counting women and children, at the feeding of the 5000,)
it is a good possibility He was at this Synagogue and used this seat of Moses
pictured here.
Korazin
(Chorazin), along with Bethsadia and
Capernaum, were named in the New Testament Gospels of Matthew and Luke as
"cities" in which Jesus performed "mighty works".
However, because these towns rejected his work ("they had not changed
their ways" -Matt11:20),
they were subsequently cursed ( Luke 10:13-15). Archaeologists have said all three
cities were destroyed at the same exact moment from their findings. And though
many other destroyed cities in history have been rebuilt again at a later time,
none of these three cities cursed by Jesus have ever been rebuilt as all three
lie in ruins.
Mount of
Beatitudes
The traditional site of the Sermon On The Mount given by Jesus is on the hill side below this
church.
To be able to sing here was special.
Jesus
Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 5
The
Beatitudes
1Now when he saw
the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to
him, 2 and he began to teach them saying:
3"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be
comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst
for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7 Blessed are the
merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in
heart, for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of
God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of
righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11"Blessed
are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil
against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward
in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before
you. Continued > Matt 5:13 - 7:28
After performing an outdoor concert overlooking all of these places in the distance from the Cliffs of Arbel overlooking the Sea of Galilee, I return to my beach house for two more nights on the south end of the Sea of Galile
See you
tomorrow!
April 19th
Today
started early with a sunrise service on the shores of the Sea of Galilee.
5:30am came early but what a great way to start the day.
Breakfast
and a longer ride to the far north of Israel takes me to a place called Tel Dan which is literally a stones throw from Lebanon.
Tel Dan: Following the division of the kingdom of Solomon in 930BC, Jeroboam,
Son of Nebat established a cult at Dan as an
alternative to the Temple in Jerusalem and placed a Golden Calf in the city. Dan, was the northernmost city in the kingdom of Israel,
which the book of Judges states was known as the city of Laish
prior to its conquest by the Tribe of Dan. Due to its location close to the
border with Lebanon Tel Dan has had a long and often bitterly contested modern
history, most recently during the 1967 Six day war.
(See Ruth 4:1-2, 2nd Samuel 19:8 for Biblical references to Dan)
Headwaters
of the Jordan river
in northern Israel at Tel Dan
The
picture below is a small city inside Lebanon. I took this picture from the top
of Tel Dan, Israel which is a few hundred yards from the Israel/Lebanon Border,...we later drove along the border for a bit on our way to Har Bental taking the road to Damascus
(that Paul traveled) to get there.
ABRAHAMS
GATE
The
excavators of Tel Dan uncovered a city gate further below made
of mud bricks estimated to have been built around 1750 B.C. Because this
is the period of the Biblical patriarchs, because this is the style of gate
that Abraham would have sat in, and because of the Bible account in which the
people of Dan take Lot prisoner, and Abraham travels to Dan to rescue him, the
gate is called Abraham's Gate.
Har Bental is a vantage Point that allows a person to better understand
history and the proximity of the Golan Heights to Syria, a short distance a
way. I took this picture below of Damascus Syria about 33 miles a way to the
north from this location in Israel, and the picture (further below) shows the
Golan Heights, Israel to the south facing the other direction from the same
location.
Damascus Syria
Golan Heights
The Golan Heights are of strategic importance in the region. Israel captured
the region in June 1967 during the Six day war. Since
then, the area has remained under Israeli control.
The
picture below is of Mount Hermon facing west from the
same location (Psalm 133:3, )
Caesarea Philippi
Traveling
south from Tel Dan to about 25 miles north of the Sea of Galilee brings me to Caesarea
Philippi which is located near the
base of Mount Hermon and is mentioned in the Gospels
of Matthew, Mark and also a number of times in Acts.
Fig Tree at Caesarea Philippi
Bethsaida
of Galilee
Peter,
Philip and Andrew lived here, (John 1:44; John 12:21),
and possibly James and John as well. Though slightly west of the traditional
site it is believed by most experts to have been the site of the feeding of the
5000 found in Gospels.
Heading back to the room after Bethsaida, I grab supper and put together a set list of songs for a concert I'm doing on my last night here in Galilee. Tomorrow I head to Nazareth and other places further South before arriving in Jerusalem.While I'm excited for what is ahead, I will be sad to leave this area as there is a profound peace here in Galilee unlike any other place I have experienced. MS
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April 20th
The plan for the day starts with
leaving the Galilee area heading south and west at times with stops in
Nazareth, Caesarea, and Jerusalem by nightfall.
Nazareth
Passing
through the markets up the street in Nazareth take me to the church of the
Annunciation
Nearby a morning highlight (not pictured) was going to the site of
the 1st century Synagogue in Nazareth that Jesus would have attended as a boy
and returned to during his public ministry to deliver a sermon reading from the
Prophet Isaiah fulfilling the prophecy. See Luke 4:18-21.
To be able to sing in this place was a very moving experience. The floor and
foundation in this 1st century church including the original wall half way up were
from the time of Jesus with the top parts of the wall and ceiling restored
during later centuries. The acoustics and reverberation was
uniquely beautiful letting each note sung continue ringing on warmly at what seemed like forever
in a very beautiful way.
Cana
A little further down the road is the city of Kafr
Kana that sites on the ancient city of Cana the city
where Jesus performed the miracle of turning the water into wine. See John 2:1-11 Both the Greek Orthodox and
Franciscans have churches marking the miracle.
Passing near Mount Tabor the
traditional site for Jesus Transfiguration, I stop at Megiddo which overlooks the valley
of Jezreel
. Throughout history many armies did battle here, and was in different
periods controlled by the Egyptians, Ahab and later Solomon to name a few.
According to the book of Revelation the kings of the earth will gather here in
this valley for the final battle between good and evil at Armageddon. Rev16:12-16.
Mount Carmel
É nearby I
visited the site of Mount Carmel also on the Jezreel
Valley and the site of Elijahs contest. See 1 Kings 18:16-40
________________________________________
-- Leaving this area behind and
heading due west to the sea, offers my ride a view along the Mediterranean
Sea traveling south on my way to Caesarea, not to be confused with the
ancient city of a similar name Caesarea Philippi. Beautiful is all I can say.
Caesarea
Not to be
confused with the lesser known Caesarea Philipi I
visited in the north of Israel, this city, the more well known Caesarea was
built by Herod in the first century at this beautiful location on the
Mediterranean Sea. He named it in honor of the Roman emperor Augustus. The city
included a Amphitheater, that is used today for theatre and concerts. I had the chance to sing here and the
acoustics were amazing.
Caesarea Hippodrome, (Chariot racing oval)
And also temple, market areas,
homes and public buildings. A couple of special findings among
the ruins are a inscription referring to Pontius Pilate as governor of Judea,
and also the Cistern used as a jail to hold Paul for about 2 years before he
was sent to Rome to stand trial.
The city is mentioned often in
Acts. Here are a couple
(See Acts 8:40, Acts 23:23-33.)
I had a chance to sing in the
Theatre pictured above here at Caesarea, and the interesting thing about the
way these theatres were built acoustically was that whether on stage or in the
seats, people talking soft or normal can be heard clearly on the other side of
the Theatre because of the way it was engineered to reflect sound acoustically.
A short distance a
way are the Roman aqueducts built to bring water to the city along the
sea, next to the Caesarea beaches.
Jerusalem
I arrive in Jerusalem around supper time
for a view of the City before checking into my room for the night. Tomorrow
IÕll spend part of the day in Jerusalem and part of the day in Bethlehem.
April 21st
Today started with a walk down from
the Mount of Olives mentioned numerous times in both old and new testament as I
walked part of the same road Jesus and the crowds traveled on for Palm Sunday
when he entered the city of Jerusalem, (see Matthew 21:1-11) My walk this morning
took me from higher up on the Mount of Olives to the base of it entering the
Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus prayed.
Mount of Olives
Photo of Jerusalem from the Mount
of Olives
Gethsemane ( See Matthew 26:30-46)
The traditional site of the Upper
Room
David's Tomb
Bethlehem
For the Birth in Bethlehem of Jesus Christ see Matthew 1:18-24 & Luke 2:1-20
The city of
Bethlehem is controlled by the Palestinian authority within the country of
Israel. So one must go through Palestinian check points and be ready
with your passport. The city reflects its more decidedly Palestinian feel in
places and within the last decade the amount of Christians within the city has
fallen to just 2%. The pictures below, depict a flavor
of the streets and people and also the birthplace of Jesus which took place in
a cave. The church of the Nativity built above the site has a Greek Orthodox,
Armenian and Roman Catholic sections within the church built over the location
of the birth of Jesus.
Check Point
at Palestinian controlled Bethlehem, Israel
The Church of the
Nativity
Jesus Birthplace location in the cave
beneath the church of the Nativity, Bethlehem
After viewing the birthplace of Jesus in Bethlehem, I traveled
back to Jerusalem for a stop at the Western
Wall and toured the tunnels below.
Tomorrow I head for the Dead
Sea, Massada, Qumran (Dead Sea Scrolls) and more.
April 22nd
IÕm heading out of Jerusalem this
morning on my way to the Dead Sea traveling past Bethany where Lazarus was
raised from the dead by Jesus after 4 days. (see John 11:1-48 )
Leaving the outskirts of the city for the country side past the goats and sheep
herders, Bedouin (nomad) camps, past Jericho and eventually through the check
point leaving the west bank into the area of the Dead Sea .
with the first stop at;
En Gedi
En Gedi
is a Lush Oasis in the Judean desert close to the western shore of the Dead
Seas. It is here where David likely wrote some of the Psalms and where he hid
from Saul and also spared Saul's life.
( see 1 Samuel 24.)
Masada - Moving along the coast of the Dead Sea, rising more than 1400 feet above the western shore is the fortress of Masada. Originally built by Herod in the first century B.C.
The dramatic story of Masada can be found here.
________________________________________
Qumran
A little way up the coast brings me
to Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in 1947 by a
young Bedouin shepherd boy. They include copies of all the old testament books except Esther. The previous oldest copy
of the old testament Bible dated back around 800
years. The Dead Sea Scrolls date back about 2000 years and the interesting
thing is that not only did they match the later copies of the Bible, they were
exact copies of the Old Testament Bible, even though they were from 2000 years
ago. Pictured below is Cave number 4 where Scrolls were found.
Copy of one of the Dead Seas Scrolls in Jerusalem Museum
The Dead
Sea
After exploring Masada and En Gedi and a stop for lunch, I am down at the Dead Sea
shoreline itself. A normal ocean is made up of about 2.9% salt. The Dead Sea,
the lowest spot on earth, is 36% salt! It is renowned for the mineral contents
found in it for many skin care and beauty
products. The Dead Sea Mud is also sought out for skin care. Not only will you
see many people covered in mud at the sea getting their mud treatment for free
before washing off, you will see that no one is swimming but really just
floating. The high salt content makes everyone float. I could simply lay back in the water stick both my hands and feet into the
air completely out of the water and still float easily without sinking. You
could not sink if you wanted to.
The currency in Israel by the way
is Shekels,....and the exchange at this time is about
4 Shekels to 1 U.S. Dollar. Below in order is 20 Shekels, 10 and 1/2
Shekel
I experienced technical
difficulties for awhile yesterday trying to update the blog
before getting it fixed hours later,....and I will
also be leaving Israel on Saturday morning very early for Egypt.....so if for
any reason you don't see a update one day, it just means it will take me a bit
before I find internet on the road to upload the next update. MS
April 23rd
Pools of
Bethesda
Another early morning start after breakfast finds me at the pools
of Bethesda where Jesus healed the invalid. (see John 5:1-15)
The Dome
of the Rock
The Dome of the
Rock is located at the visual center of the Temple Mount or Mount Moriah. This
rock, this place of Abraham & Isaac; David creating his city and
later Solomon's temple. The area, greatly enlarged under the rule of Herod, is also the
site of the second Jewish Temple which was destroyed
during the Roman siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE. Israel controls all the entrance to the site, but the compound itself is administered by the Waqf. The Temple Mount, also known by Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, is the site of the Al-Aqsa mosque, and the Dome of the Rock. The Temple Mount is on a hill located in the Old City of Jerusalem that for thousands of years has been venerated as a holy site, by Jews, Christians, and Mulsims alike.
The picture below is from a level
about 12 feet down from the current street level near and under the Via
Dolorosa. As time periods come and go, cities often build on top of the past
leaving the evidence of previous periods of time below. This street is from the
time of Jesus in the first century and you can see that the sidewalk portion is
the flat section in the foreground, while the waves cut into the background
part of this 1st century pavement is for the horses, to give them good footing.
Via Doloroso
A couple of pictures below are from the Via Doloroso which is the
traditional path Jesus carried his cross to Golgotha on to pay for the sins of
us all, so that by grace through faith all who would believe in Him would be
saved ( See John 3:16-18 )
Holy Sepulcher
Below are pictures for the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the
Church was built over the traditional site of Golgatha
where Jesus was crucified for our sins. The Church is Greek Orthodox.
The Garden
Tomb Area
The
Crucifixion - So the soldiers took charge of Jesus.
(17) Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the
Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha) John
19:17
Skull cave
The Garden Tomb
A Typical Rolling Stone from the
period, though the rolling stone that would have fit the channel at the
base to the above tomb would have been larger.
The Empty Tomb
April 24th
Today is my last day in Jerusalem
before leaving for Egypt very early tomorrow morning. I am sad to leave
Jerusalem and Israel for reasons I fail to be able to put into words.
My next update tomorrow will be dependant on internet
access in Egypt so keep checking back and I'll do the best I
can. I leave by bus tomorrow morning about 4:30 am from Jerusalem
with a 4 hour drive to the border of Israel and Egypt
before crossing over.
I've been writing a completely new
worship song here in Jerusalem the past few days that IÕll record when I arrive
back home. I'm happy with the song's progress and am feeling Joy from working
on the Worship project in this deeply spiritual place. I started today in the
City of David with a visit to Hezekiah's tunnels and the pool of Siloam.
Hezekiah's
Tunnel
From Warren's Shaft, and down to the Gihon
Spring at the bottom of the Kidron Valley leads to a
walk through Hezekiah's Tunnel.
The account of the construction of
Hezekiah's water tunnel under Jerusalem by King Hezekiah shortly before the
city was besieged by Sennacherib in about 701 BC is described in 2 Kings 20:20 and 2 Chronicles 32:2-4, 30.
Archaeologists discovered the
tunnel in the 19th century. It is a third of a mile long, mostly less than
three feet wide, and, in a few places, less than five feet in height. It winds
under the "City of David" from the Gihon
Spring, an important site in Old Testament Jerusalem, to the Pool of Siloam, an
important New Testament period site. There are two tunnels, one with water and
one dry. They feed into the Pool of Siloam, a place were Jesus healed a blind
man. See below.
The Pool of Siloam
Also referred to in Nehemiah 3:15 The
water from Hezekiah Tunnel fed into the
Pool of Siloam where Jesus walked and healed a man who was blind from birth
(see John 9:1-12)
Southern Temple Steps
This was a very moving place for me,.....there
are sites where tradition holds and often for very good reason for it's
Biblical probability due to the available evidence, site history and
tradition,...and then there are sites where there is no doubt that Jesus was at
a location. This is one of those locations where we know for sure that Jesus
walked according to historical and Biblical accounts. These steps below are the
southern steps leading up to the Temple. They are on the southeastern end of
the wall leading up to the Temple. Going UP to the temple was a requirement and
so each temple built has a entrance designed
regardless of location so that you would walk steps Up to the Temple. This is
that location for the Temple here in Jerusalem. There are two steps one for
entering, another for returning. There are a number of accounts of Jesus at the
Temple in Jerusalem. Matthew 21:11-13 & Matthew 24:1-2 are
just a couple, and so He would have had to walk these very steps to go
into the temple each time. Some of the steps are restored,
some are not and are from the first century time of Jesus. To be in the
footsteps of Jesus is something moving beyond what words can express for me. I
could have stayed here all day, and I look forward to my return.
Southern End of the Western Wall
Western end of Southern Wall
As I was working on songs tonight
from my balcony overlooking Jerusalem, I was treated to a spectacular Sunset
over the city from the greatest Creator of all. So I grabbed my camera briefly
to take the shot below. IÕm sad to leave this city and country and wish I could
stay longer, but the schedule calls and on to Egypt I go. God willing someday,
IÕll return.
Safe Travels. I'll see you in
Egypt. MS
April 25th
I left about 4:30am this morning
for Egypt from Jerusalem making the border about 4 hours later crossing over at
Taba, Egypt. The idea was to make it to St.
Catherine's a Monastery further south in Egypt at Mt. Sinai, also called Mount Horeb the traditional site of Moses burning bush (Exodus 3:1-10). But found we could not
make it in time before it closed that day and so we altered our course west
towards Cairo across the Sinai desert after crossing the border at Taba Egypt.
Taba, Egypt
After crossing the border in Egypt we were greeted by several
camels who joined our traffic.
The Red Sea
Crossing the border here in Egypt with the Red Sea to our east
meant viewing Jordan directly across the water (Aqaba, Jordan is nearby) and Saudi Arabia can be seen a little
further south down the opposite shoreline. One can see several different
countries all at once from this location as Israel, Egypt, Jordan and Saudi
Arabia all come in close proximity to each other.
You may remember the Red Sea as the one Moses by the power of God parted during
the Exodus from Egypt. See Exodus 14:5-31
The Red Sea
The Sinai Desert
The Sinai Desert offers several different desert landscapes but
all desert none the less. Exodus is the second
book of the Old Testament. It tells how Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt
and through the wilderness to the Mountain of Sinai. There
God, through Moses, gives the people the Ten Commandments. Exodus 34:27-28
The picture below is from the Sinai desert at what would be the
Mountains of Edom from the time of Moses.
As we travel across the Sinai
Desert towards Egypt our bus breaks down for a time and so while the driver and
mechanic do their best to get it going again, we read a
devotion in the desert. Police protection arrives while the bus is under
repair as the Sinai desert depending on the year and time can be susceptible to
extremist activity. An hour later we are back up and running and heading
towards the Suez Canal and Cairo.
Suez Canal
Reaching the other side of the Sinai desert and Peninsula brings
us to the Suez Canal, which is a waterway in Egypt that joins the Red Sea and
the Mediterranean Sea. I could see the tops of ships going through the canal as
the bus entered the tunnel that goes under the Suez Canal, leaving the
Continent of Asia for the Continent of Africa on the other side.
Finally making Cairo after a long
ride and crossing the Nile River pictured below, as IÕm on my way to the other
side of the city for supper and a good nights rest. MS
The Currency in Egypt is the Egyptian
Pound. Pictured left are a 20pound, 1pound and 1/2
pound note. the rate of exchange to U.S. Dollar is
about 5 to 1 meaning $4 U.S Dollars is worth about a 20 Pound Egyptian
Note. Off to bed for some
rest before the Pyramids Tomorrow, MS
April 26th
Traffic in Cairo is thick often
since it is a city of 18 million people. No one follows the street lanes
commonly crossing to any part of the pavement to get where they want to go.
This every man for himself driving reminds me of the view of the roundabout in
Paris from the top of the Arc de Triumph except more congested. The streets on
certain sections of town often have water buffalos, donkeys and carts etc
sharing or crossing the streets with their imported foreign cars. The Nile is
the life blood here in this part of the Sahara desert.
The Christian population is about 10% here in Cairo.
Our day starts with a drive to the city of Memphis in Egypt
which was the capital of the county in the time of Moses. See Exodus.
A Museum in Memphis with Stonework depicting Ramses II.
Leaving Memphis for the Saqqara
Pyramids (known as the Step Pyramids)
I get the chance later on in the day to go into a different pyramid through a
narrow shaft bending over crawling through for 50 feet or so before the pyramid
tunnel opens up into a room filled with hieroglyphics with another room for the
Sarcophagus. We were not allowed to take photos inside the Pyramids.
Next stop is back to Cairo and the Pyramids of
Giza and the Sphinx.
April 27th
A morning drive in past Egyptian
fields.....
Today was spent for the most part in the old inner city of Cairo, checking out
historical and traditional sites I'm still looking into...
The Egyptian Museum – Home to King Tut exhibit
and more
a walk through the Cairo bazaar - an open street market
and capping the day off with a evening
cruise on the Nile.
I leave Egypt for Jordan tomorrow before heading home to the
States as the trip nears its end.
More photos from Egypt below. MS
The Nile River, Egypt
April 29th
I flew from Cairo, Egypt
to Amman, Jordan yesterday and crashed for a long deep sleep before today's 13 hour flight brought me safely home.
Though I
can't find the words to tell you what it's like to walk in the footsteps of
Jesus, you already know that you don't have to travel to Galilee or Jerusalem
to find God. David says it well in Psalm 139 that God is everywhere. There is nowhere we can hide from him and
that He knows us better than we do ourselves. Jesus tells us at the end of
Matthew that He is with us always even to the very end of the world.
While the Bible clearly says that faith is a gift and not something we can earn
ourselves, to seek God and know Him better is as easy as the people we spend
time with on earth today. We have a relationship with our friends and loved
ones because we talk, listen and spend time together. To have a real
relationship with God is the same way, by taking the time to talk to God
through prayer, and listen to Him through His living Word in the Bible.
God
gives us a free will to spend the time He gave us any way we choose, whether
it's apart from Him or not. But to be without Him is to be lost,... while to know Him,.. is to
find out who you are.
Matthew
7:7-8 (NIV)
Ask, Seek, Knock
7"Ask
and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be
opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him
who knocks, the door will be opened
Peace in
Jesus
MS
Michael Schroeder Holy Land
Trip Photo Blog April 09
Thanks for
joining me on the trip! More info about my music is available at www.michaelschroeder,com
God bless !
Michael
