My Amazing Egypt Trip!

In Egypt, I first noticed the warm weather, the palm trees, and lots of Middle Eastern-looking men (some looked like Aladdin) and women in head coverings (some of them covered head to toe in all black and only showing their eyes). The language of Arabic looked so confusing on the signs and billboards- I didn’t even want to try to learn it. And to hear Arabic spoken by the people sounded like hacking to me. Cairo traffic was INSANE! No one stayed in lanes and it took forever to get anywhere. Cars, buses, people on donkeys, and people on camels - all trying to merge at the same time! Most of the cities I saw were dirty with litter and smog, and many of the people seemed poor. I saw desert sands and also lush green farmlands. Here is a map of Egypt so you can follow along if I mention specific places.
I saw so many historical sites and learned a ton of new information about Egyptian culture, but I have compiled a list of the top 10 favorite things - in no particular order - that I got to do in Egypt.

1) Visiting the beach at Alexandria
It was a beautiful day when we stopped off on the side of the road in Alexandria to stick our feet in the blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea. I wanted to get a picture on the rocks next to the water, so I did…

But as I was peering into the water, I slipped on some moss on the rock and fell in the sea - clothes, purse, and all! The picture above is taken right before I fell. Luckily, I could touch in the water and Dylan, a guy from my group, saw me and came to my rescue. I was drenched and still had a 3-hour bus ride ahead of me that night.
My friends offered me some extra dry clothes that they had with them in the bus. Although I felt silly, it’s neat that I can say I fell into the Mediterranean Sea!


2) Seeing the Great Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx
The pyramids were actually smaller than I had imagined. It was so neat to be there! To top it off, I paid a small extra fee to actually climb down inside one of the pyramids! I felt very claustrophobic in the dark, cramped space with lots of other tourists, and one of our girls passed out. Sweat was dripping off my body as I reemerged out of the pyramid, but it was so worth it. I also got to sit on a pyramid!
Here I am kissing the Sphinx!

3) Riding on an African sleeper train overnight
I had never slept on a sleeper train before. It was very tight quarters, and my roommate, Kristina White, and I felt on top of each most of the time. The sway and noise of the train on the tracks helped me go to sleep though. Using the bathroom aboard the train was quite a task because the train was constantly moving! Our train porter brought us dinner on a tray, knocked on our door for a wake-up call, and served us tea in the morning. I’m glad we didn’t sleep like that every night, but it was quite an experience.

4) Having Osman as a tour guide
Our Egyptian tour guide Osman has been with Harding University for six years. He is a Biblical Egyptologist. Not only did he teach me so much, he befriended us all. Saying goodbye to him was very tearful. He treated us girls like his princesses, and I always felt safe whenever I was around him. He had such a good heart and even the guys hated to see him go. Plus, whenever we would get tired, he would say, “If you stay with me for 30 more minutes, I promise I’ll buy you all ice cream.” And he did every time. : ) Below is a picture of Osman and me at the pyramids.

5) Sailing on boats down the Nile River
One of my favorite parts of the trip was sitting on a small boat in the evening, going down the Nile River. With a cool breeze, it was so beautiful to see the reeds in the water, the camels on the shore, the palm trees, the setting sun, and the Egyptian men fishing in the shallow waters. One night, I was surprised when a little boy on a boogie board swam up next to our boat and grabbed on. Hanging on, he asked me what language I spoke. When I told him Spanish, he began singing “Guantanamera” loudly for our whole boat to hear! It was neat!

6) Riding a camel along the Nile River to a local Nubian village After taking a boat to a beach on the Nile, we were greeted by Nubian locals. The Nubian people are a specific type of Egyptian and look a lot like Ethiopians. Each person in my group got to ride from the shore to the Nubian village further in. My camel’s name was Bob Marley, and I couldn’t believe how tall it was! I loved being so high up and riding along the Nile River to the village. Some little Nubian boys walked with us, talking to us and guiding the camels.

Our whole group
Look! No hands!

When we arrived, we were welcomed into a Nubian family’s home and were served hot mint tea and a hibiscus drink. I got to hold the family's small pet crocodile, and I also got a henna tattoo on my neck of the Egyptian eye. It was so interesting to experience the Nubian culture!

7) Enjoying a 3-day Nile River cruise
Cruising down the Nile on the cruise ship was so relaxing. I enjoyed laying out by the swimming pool on the top deck and having tea time every afternoon with my friends.

One night on board was “Egyptian night” and we all bought Egyptian dresses and headdresses to wear to dinner. It was so fun to dress up like Cleopatra and see everyone else dressed up too! After dinner, we danced to Arabian music with other tourists on the cruise - which I thoroughly enjoyed!

Frank and I in Egyptian attire
Mark and Tish Elrod, our Harding sponsors/teachers

8) Learning hieroglyphics
One afternoon on the cruise ship, Osman taught us hieroglyphics, an ancient way of Egyptian writing. I learned how to spell - or rather, draw - my name and the name of everyone in my family in hieroglyphics.

9) Visiting the Temple of Luxor
At night we visited the Temple of Luxor, which was all beautifully lit up.

I wasn’t too excited to be there, actually - I was tired and it seemed like just another site. But I soon realized that it was the main temple during the time of Moses. Temples were used for worship, but also as schools and hospitals. When Moses lived as a prince of Egypt, he learned all the Egyptian ways in an Egyptian school. This was the school/temple used by the elite and the royal family during Moses’ time, so Moses definitely was taught here! It was surreal to imagine that Moses had sat where I was sitting!

10) Shopping for authentic Egyptian wares
Osman knew the quality of the Egyptian vendors, and he brought us to only the best places for shopping. I went to one of two places in Egypt that makes papyrus the original way. Also, I went to a perfumery and bought essences that were made by crushing real flowers and herbs. I shopped for alabaster in the only place in the world that produces alabaster - Luxor, Egypt. I went to Sphinx Carpet School and watched little Egyptian boys weaving rugs and carpets, faster than I could watch! I also enjoyed bargaining with the vendors but hated being hassled by the pushy ones.

This Egypt trip was INCREDIBLE! I would definitely recommend it, and especially to do it through Harding University with Osman as the tour guide. I appreciate your prayers - no one in our group got sick from the water and we all stayed safe, even in the crazy Cairo traffic. Feel free to comment or ask me questions. I saw a bunch more places that I didn’t have time to mention here in my blog. : )

Heading off to Egypt...

Tomorrow, my group leaves for our 9-day stay in Egypt! After flying there tomorrow afternoon, we will be doing lots of sightseeing - a 3-day Nile River cruise, the Sphinx, the Great Pyramids, Cairo, Alexandria, camels, and more. I'm very excited about it but somewhat anxious. Right now, my whole group is fighting off colds. Second, we are not allowed to touch any tap water to our lips or else we will get really sick. (That will be hard for me because I drink water all the time.) Third, I've been told that Egyptian men view women differently and that I'm not supposed to even make eye contact with them. Our group will have armed security guards wherever we go and we can't go anywhere alone.
This is going to be a trip of a lifetime. If you think of me, please pray for travelling safety, health, and stamina during all the tours. I'll be writing when I get back!

Climbing Mount Doom in Porto Rafti, Greece

There is a mountain across the street from where I live. The one I can see from our Artemis Hotel has been named "Thorn Mountain" by some of the guys in my group because it is covered in thorn bushes. Beyond Thorn Mountain is a valley and then a taller mountain, named "Mount Doom." Supposedly, it has an amazing view from the top and is worth the climb. My guy friends climb the mountains every chance they get - it makes them feel more "manly," I guess.
I had just finished working out but decided to go.

I was not ready for how strenuous it was! My feet were almost flexed back completely, trying to climb up! The guys ahead of me were bounding quickly up the mountain and I determined to stay up with them.

Below is a picture at the top of the first mountain, Thorn Mountain. I was so proud but the taller mountain in front of me was daunting. (L to R: Jake, Dylan, me, Matt, and Frank) The guys said we needed a picture flexing our biceps - whatever!
Now, here I am at the top of Mount Doom - the highest possible!

The view of the city of Porto Rafti and the blue harbor was breathtaking! Worth the climb!Victory! This old pillar was on the top of the mountain....

Our whole group at the top of Mount Doom - I set the camera up and ran in at the last second!

We got lost on the way back down and had to hike through many thorn bushes. My battle scars....

Northern Greece Trip (Oct. 2-5)

Here is a map of Paul's second missionary journey. If you look at the province of Macedonia in Greece, you can see the places that I visited such as Neapolis, Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea.

DAY 1:

DELPHI
We set out early Thursday morning for the city of Delphi, where the famous “oracle of Delphi” used to be. People would travel to Delphi to the temple of Apollo and bring their questions to the priestess there. She would then put herself into a self-induced hallucinogenic trance and “talk” to Apollo for the people. Her answers were typically vague so that one could ever say she was wrong. Delphi is also known as the center or “navel of the earth” according to legend. The morning we were in Delphi, it poured rain on us.

Our hotel that night was really nice. It was in the middle of nowhere I think we were its only tenants. It had a geothermic spa, where the heat was naturally generated from nearby hot springs. We had to wear shower caps in the spa while we swam (I guess that's a European thing?).

DAY 2:
METEORA

We started the second day off at Meteora. It reminded me of what the earth probably looked like when the dinosaurs roamed. The place had a mystical feel, maybe because it was sprinkling and foggy as we wove up the uninhabited mountains in the bus. I'd never seen rocks like that - gray, huge, tall. And there were monasteries on the very top of them, where monks and nuns had lived, seeking complete solitude. In antiquity, the only way to reach the monasteries was in a basket that would be lowered, or a rope ladder, but our group climbed up the steps that have recently been added.

Meteora was one of my favorite places. All the girls had to wear skirts to enter the monastery, so it was definitely a trek climbing up the slippery steps to the monastery, holding my umbrella in the rain in my long skirt. Reaching the top, I enjoyed seeing where many people have spent there entire lives, in solitude and prayer. I would like to spend a couple days there, just to see how they live, but I think living in isolation is NOT what Christians are called to do. We need to be a light to people around us. VERGINA

Next we visited Vergina, the site of the tomb of Phillip II, king of Macedon and father of Alexander the Great. I don't have many pictures because photography was not allowed, but it was really neat to see how preserved the tomb was. The tomb is marked with a tumulus (see below), a mound of earth. Although the royal tombs around it have been heavily looted, the tomb of Phillip II has never been moved. The bones from the tomb have been uncovered and examined by surgeons, who confirmed it is the tomb of Phillip II. The surgeons noticed a mark on the skull above the right eye socket that would have caused blindness, and we know that Phillip II's right eye was blinded in war. Neat!BEREA

Our last stop of the day was the city of Berea, mentioned in Acts 17:11, "Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true." Paul fled from Thessalonika to Berea and entered the Jewish synagogue.
The small town of Berea was really cute, with chic cafes and store fronts, overlooking a valley full of olive trees. We stopped at the bema, an outdoor shrine displaying several mosaics of Paul and the Bereans. No ancient ruinsactually still survive though.

Our 5-star hotel in Thessaloniki (or Thessalonika), Grand Hotel Palace, was overwhelming. I'd never stayed in such a nice place, and I felt very underdressed, arriving sweaty at the end of the day in my travel clothes. All the other tenants wore black suits and fine dresses, a woman played the piano in the hotel lobby, and the place was immaculate with crystal chandeliers and marble floors. We were served a full-course meal every night after a full day of touring. That is the kind of place I thought I would only be able to stay in during my honeymoon!

DAY 3:

PHILIPPI

Our third day was spent in the city of Philippi, called Kavala today. First, we visited the site where Paul supposedly met Lydia in Acts 16:13-15: "On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message. When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. 'If you consider me a believer in the Lord,' she said, 'come and stay at my house.' And she persuaded us." We know that Paul met Lydia outside the city wall, by the river, but we don't know exactly which river or outside which wall. Here I am standing in that freezing cold stream in Philippi.

Nearby, we visited the only baptistry in Greece, a place for baptisms only, not for church services. A Greek family was setting up for their baby girl's baptism. In the Greek Orthodox church, a baby is baptized before the age of one. First, the baby is covered with oil and then immersed three times. You can see the small baptistry that looks like a sink in the middle of the building.We then visited the archaelogical site of Philippi with its many ruins. We also saw the "prison" of Paul and Silas mentioned in Acts 16:16-40. This was Paul's first known imprisonment. He and Silas cast a demon out of a girl that was a fortune teller. Her owners got mad and beat and imprisoned Paul and Silas. But they were miraculously released from the Philippian jail when an earthquake came. Paul and Silas saved the Philippian jailer from committing suicide, and he and his family were saved that night. There is no evidence that the site we saw is even a prison, but below is a picture of what has become a shrine according to oral tradition.The Via Egnatia, the main road in antiquity, borders the city of Philippi to the north and we were able to walk on it. We know that this is the road Paul travelled on so much during his missionary journeys - how neat!

Below is a picture of the port of Philippi called Neapolis - very pretty. : )

DAY 4:

THESSALONIKI

The fourth day, our last day, we checked out of our hotel and toured Thessaloniki before we set out for home. Thessaloniki is the second largest city in Greece (second to Athens). We visited an ancient basilica (church). A church service was going on, but went in quietly anyway. It was very awkward because I felt like a big group of tourists disrupting a church service, but it was cool to observe their service and hear the congregation droning on in their chants. I, like everyone else, paid to light a candle and offer a prayer.

Below is a picture of the famous White Tower of Thessaloniki. It was built by the Ottomans as a prison. It used to be called "the bloody tower" because so many people were hung on the top of its battlements, and their blood would drip down the outside walls. : /It was the perfect day for touring. The leaves on the trees were all changing colors, and it definitely felt like a brisk, cool, fall morning - ahh. We walked along the Thessaloniki coast...And stopped by a park that commemorates Alexander the Great. Below is the giant statue of Alexander on his horse Bucephalus. The more I learned, the more I thought Alexander the Great was amazing, but he was also very proud, so not as impressive.

Here I am with some guys in my group. It was kinda chilly...

Below is a picture of Thessaloniki that I took from the top of the city.

THERMOPYLAE

On our way home, we stopped by Thermopylae, the place where the 300 Spartans stood against the nearly 250,000-man Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae. If you've seen the movie "300," that is what it is all about. The storyline is very amazing to me, how the outnumbered Spartans refused to surrender to the Persians.

After 10 hours on the bus, we arrived back "home" at the Artemis Hotel. It was a great trip, although I'm very worn out. Today is a recovery day, so I got to sleep in and have no classes. : )