Today I’m sharing pictures from Egypt. So part 3 of this trip is here. Egypt by far was the fun part of this trip. The Israel portion of the tour was very reflective and kind of intense. In Egypt, there was a distinctive change in mood. By now our group felt like friends.

Jerusalem To Taba

We woke up pretty early to start the long 6 hour drive to Egypt. I was so sad to leave Israel. ☹️

After breakfast we left for Taba. On the way, we had a chance to see Qumran, the caves where the Dead Sea scrolls written by the Essenes were found. There are hundreds of caves here. These cave entrances are high up. The Dead Sea scrolls were found in 1946 and have papyrus of nearly every book of the Bible.

We also had a chance to view a statue of Lot’s wife. This was a very dry place and there are salt rocks everywhere. Arid, barren, and dry. I remember thinking about the journey of one million strong nation of Israel across this place. We were shown where Israel entered and instead of the few hours journey, they were going in circles for 40 years.

The desert drive was a good time to think about my own journey in life. The one thing I have to mention is that we drove through the national highways of Egypt. And the roads are just perfect. We drove almost 14 hours in total and it had not one pothole. Kudos to the Road and Highway Department of Egypt. 👏

On the way we drive parallel to the Red Sea. It is red due to the reflection of the red soil of the mountains in the water. Once we arrived at the border we transferred to Egypt via Tabha border. Egypt is mired in old cronyism. We queued up until the officer decided to stop working. Spent over 90 minutes here. But when you have friends it doesn’t matter.

Testimony

I also continued to have foot sprain with a screaming pain. My mother asked me to confess sculpture before sleeping. Isaiah 53:5. I knew it. So I repeated it, “He was wounded for my transgressions, And by His stripes, I am healed.”

I said it probably over a hundred times until I slept. In the morning, when everyone asked me how was the foot, I could not confess against the Sculpture so I said I’m healed. I’m better. As I was crossing the border, the pain completely vanished. It re-enforced my belief in the power of the Word. Speak it. Believe it.

Red Sea

Taba was beautiful. This is the same area that connects all the holiday destinations along the Red Sea like Sharm-el-sheik. There are lots of holidaying Arabs here enjoying the water. At the Tolip hotel, it was all fun and games.

We had a wonderful time here. Poolside and then at the beach. The Red Sea is not sandy though. It’s rocky, so you have to be careful about that as you get into the water. There are lots of activities here. Late night poolside BBQ, games at the beach and saunas. I loved it here.

Sinai

After breakfast we drove to Sinai to visit St Catherine’s monastery and visit the burning bush. The monastery is named after St. Catherine of Alexandria. The backdrop of Mt Sinai and Mt Horeb is fitting.

The burning bush itself is a gigantic tree. My brain just couldn’t process the historic importance of this site. I did pick up a piece of the rock that is for sale. Every time you break the rock, it has that dendritic pattern like flames.

Later we drove through the new Suez Canal and arrived in Cairo. By law we have to drive with a police escort throughout the desert which I thought was pretty cool. We stopped by for lunch and then as is my custom, I picked up a lays. I Have tasted potato chips of every country I have visited. It’s just a quirk of mine.

This entire journey took us 7 hours. It was a Saturday and so we made good time without traffic. Cairo is crazy. There are no traffic rules. Paul, our guide was telling is how here green means go and amber means go faster. 😆

We stayed in Giza very close to the Pyramids at the Pyramids Park hotel so we can just wake up to the view of the Pyramids.

Food in Egypt

The food in Egypt is a mix of local vegetables and meat. There was a lot of meat. There are tons of salads and fruit. It was just so fresh and delicious. My jeans were tight after I was done with this trip, the food was that good. I usually don’t eat certain vegetables like eggplant but I don’t know why I enjoyed the way they cooked it here.

Giza

After Breakfast we visited Pyramids, Sphinx and the Christian Church. The Pyramids are unbelievable. Just a single “brick” is taller than me and weighs tons. By the time I climbed to the third row of stones, I was a bit jittery of the height. How they carried these huge rocks and piled them on top of each other fascinates me.

We also visited the place where the Holy Family lived in Egypt. They spent 3 years and moved from one place to another until Herod died. We went to the church where they spent 3 months. Cairo is devoid of color. We’re so used to seeing paint in our country that this city looks dull and numerous buildings are being torn down to make way for the new highway.

My roommate kept joking, no wonder the Holy Family left Egypt. It did not look as vibrant as Mumbai, Panaji, Haifa or even Amman. There’s very little greenery apart from the area along the Nile. I may be wrong because these are just the parts we saw.

We were then taken to the Papyrus & Perfume factory to see how Papyrus and perfumes are made.

By late evening we dressed for the Nile cruise with dinner on board. We were entertained by Tanoura dance where the guy spins continuously. It was dizzying to simply watch.

Adieu Egypt

I think I learned a lot from this trip. I had so many prayer intentions but once I was there I forgot all about them and I just refocused on what was important. Everything else got stripped away. My family was super worried about my trip especially when there was no internet. Egypt really has crazy connectivity problems. It gave me time to myself though.

Going with Zion tours is awesome since our guide Paul makes this a very spiritual experience. The best part was the friends I have made on this trip. Cyra and Benicia are such funny people, that every single day of this tri I laughed until my belly hurt.

Our voice of reason Lumen, with her sarcastic wit and humor rounded us out so that I still have so many memories and when we catch up on the phone, her jokes still makes me smile. And so many others that I can’t forget including our priest.

I experienced the Lord speaking to me through the ordinary conversations with so many wonderful people. This group was a blessing in ways I cannot enumerate.

Visit the HolyLand

I guess I am encouraging everyone who experiences the call to go to the Holyland. It is a lifechanging experience. You won’t regret it. It will enrich your spiritual walk.