Cottrell's April....Egypt, Israel and Jordan

What a fabulous adventure we had in the Middle East. We saw so many incredible things and heard lots of wonderful stories from Michael Wilcox. One of the best things we took away from the trip was perspective, especially visual context for the scriptures.

Here are the highlights:

*We flew to Amman out of Chicago. Here you can see "Baaarbara," the little lamb  I dragged all over the Holy Land to photograph at the various sites for the grandkids. She became quite the conversation piece!

 

This is the step in the hotel which Mark and I both missed on the first morning of the trip in Cairo. I fell hard and hurt my foot and shoulder.

*The Pyramids at Giza, as well as the nearby Sphinx, are stunning. We got to go down inside the smallest one. The vendors here were so aggressive that Mark had to be rescued from the camel guy by one of our armed guards!

*We got to see ancient mummies in the Cairo Museum as well as King Tut's treasures.

                                                        We saw much poverty in Egypt.

*We flew to Aswan in southern Egypt and boarded a cruise ship on the Nile. From here we took day trips to see lots of temples (like Luxor and Karnak,) and tombs (like The Valley of the Kings.) The river had such varied scenery and was beautiful.

                 This is Michael Wilcox and me in a buggy heading to the Temple of Edfu in Egypt.

                                       We loved this discovery in the Holy of Holies at Karnak:

* From Luxor we flew back to Cairo. The mall attached to our hotel there had 7 levels and 640 stores- we thought it easily rivaled the Mall of America. We bartered hard here for some t-shirts and pjs.

*It took us 3.5 hours to cross the border from Jordan into Israel. Southern Israel was beautifully barren...the Judean wilderness is really a desert. We went to the traditional baptismal site of Jesus and also to the Dead Sea. Mark floated and I gathered salt crystals on the beach.

* We stopped to see the Qumran caves, took a tram ride to Masada- on top of a mountain, and saw David's hiding place at the spring at Ein Gedi.

*Our first view of the Sea of Galilee was very emotional. We went out on a boat that night and heard the stories of Jesus stilling the storm and walking on the water.

*In Galilee we saw the ruins at Capernaum, sat on the Mount of Beatitudes, and went to the top of Mount Carmel to heard the story of Elijah and Ahab. We loved the stop at Ein Harod where Gideon chose his 300 men. Mark layed down on the ground near the spring and reenacted the soldiers either cupping water or lapping like a dog. Shown below is Brother Wilcox...he taught us like this every where we went. We wore headsets and had receivers so it was always easy to hear him.

*We found a shop near the hotel in Tiberius (on the Sea of Galilee) where we bought nuts, dates, chocolate and wonderful gummies. YUM! The stores almost always took U.S. money, although we sometimes got taken with the exchange rate.

*We drove up "into the mountain" to Tel Dan- a beautiful nature reserve and the headwaters of the Jordan River. We heard the story of Naaman here. Nearby was an ancient Caananite wall and we talked about Joshua and Caleb and how they chose to focus on the fruit of the land rather than the walls. We also got to see the place where Jeroboam erected an altar for a golden calf.

*It was cool to drive further north where a wall border separates Israel and Syria. It was amazing to be in the places we read about: Golan Heights, West Bank etc. We always felt safe.

*One day we drove west to the Mediterranean and got to wade and collect shells on the beach. There were various Roman sites here. At the valley of Soreq we envisioned the chariots of the Philistines as we talked about Samson. And at the valley of Elah we were amazed to see how close the hills were where Israel and the Philistine armies were stalemated and the plain where Goliath met David. Mark picked (sling) stones out of the nearby brook.

                                The Valley of Elah. The brook where David selected his 5 smooth
                                              stones runs along the base of the hill to the right.

*It was interesting to see the security wall around Bethlehem. We went to the traditional site of the nativity- in the "basement" of a church. We sang Christmas carols in a courtyard here. Nearby we visited an olive wood shop.

*We were lucky to visit a portion of Gethsemane without hordes of tourists. It was so peaceful and reverent here. Jesus came here often. It's located on the hill (Mount of Olives) directly east of the temple mount...maybe a short walk down through the (narrow) Kidron valley which separates both hills.

*From here we went up on the Temple Mount where we visited the traditional site of the Upper Room. Nearby was the possible site of Caiaphas' Palace where Peter denied Christ. We walked across the mount to the Antonia Fortress where Jesus met Pilate. There are still games etched into the floors here where Roman guards played.

*The area of the Garden Tomb was the most stunning of all sites. It is a short walk from the outer walls of the old city on the Temple Mount. First of all, the tomb is carved out of a crescent-shaped outcropping of rock. On the end is Golgotha. The proximity surprised us the most. We got to go inside the tomb. We felt deep emotions of reverence and awe in this garden. After hearing Brother Wilcox's remarks here, we left the garden totally drained.

*The next day we walked on the Temple Mount- after going through security. We saw the Dome of the Rock built on the site of the ancient temple, and the pools of Bethesda and Siloam. We walked along the Via Dolorosa where Jesus carried the cross. There are lots of little shops along all the roads and alleys of the old city.The women and men left prayers on separate sides of the Western (Wailing) Wall. There is an archaeological dig going on here and the ancient steps of the temple can be seen now.

Mark is on the right in this photo of Via Dolorosa. We enjoyed these Jerusalem pretzels...made in the shape of long ovals.

*Our adventure in Hezekiah's Tunnel was awesome! Everyone was hyped up because of claustrophobia. The tunnel is LONG, (vizualize 6 football fields), NARROW, (the width of your shoulders), and the ceiling is low. Plus there is 15" of water to walk through-- after the initial plunge off the stairs into 30" of cold water! We were at the front and had to keep a brisk pace so the claustrophobics could get through fast. We set a new Fun For Less record of 10.5 minutes. I was amazed at how exhausting it was to slog through water for that distance- in the DARK. I was also amazed that we were able to "dry out" within a few hours.

*We visited an active archaeological dig called Beit Lehi south of Jerusalem. The coolest thing was the columbary where doves were raised by the thousands for sacrifice at the temple. (The triangular niches carved into the walls inside the cave below.) We saw early Christian mosaics and oil presses here. This is Mark with our Israeli tour guide Abraham.

*The bus dropped us off at the Jaffa Gate of the old city and we had 2 hours to shop. We were afraid of getting lost in the labyrinthine streets and alleys so we stayed close to the gate in the Christian Quarter. The most memorable thing was getting thrown out of a linen shop for taking too long to make a selection!!! Yes, we literally got chewed out. So we went next door and found the tablecloth I wanted!

*On the Jewish Sabbath (Saturday) we attended Sacrament Meeting with the Jerusalem Branch at the BYU Jerusalem Center- which is on the Mount of Olives. It was a beautiful place and we enjoyed the gardens with multiple kinds of olive presses- as well as the gorgeous view of the Temple Mount. The auditorium where Sac. Mtg. was held has huge windows with a view of the Golden Gate of the city wall. We had to wear sunglasses during the meeting, but the view was stunning. It was so humbling to sit here and visualize everything we had seen and to think about the life and atonement of the Savior which took place here.

*We drove back to Jordan- the border crossing only took 90 minutes this time. The next day we drove three hours south to Petra. I realized that this would have been the land that Lehi and family traveled through and it gave us an incredible context for 1st Nephi. The scenery was amazing with the barren landscape, Bedouin camps, flocks of sheep, and lots of mosques. The gorge at Petra was stunning, and then it opened up to the "Treasury" which was a jaw-dropping sight. We saw amazing ruins, carvings, facades, caves and tombs. The sun was hot today and the walk (uphill) back to the buses was brutal. This was our last day. It was sad to have it all over with, but it was time to get home...a 13.5 hour flight to Chicago.

*What an amazing adventure and opportunity! We will never forget the things we saw and the feelings we felt. I am so grateful that I have a notebook filled with reminders of the stories and lessons we learned. This was a trip of a lifetime and we are so glad we were able to go!!!!!