Sunday, January 18th

Note to readers: For biblically based insights on the places we visit, please see Ferrell Jenkin's blog at ferrelljenkins.wordpress.com. We started the day with a worship service in the “Isis” room of our hotel. As I discovered on my first trip with Ferrell's group to Turkey, there is something special about services in a foreign country. It makes you really appreciate the freedoms we have. Ferrell spoke on the prophecies about Egypt - the land, and its rulers- in the Bible. It brings so much of what we are seeing to life.

We loaded the bus and headed off for the famous Egyptian Museum of Antiquities, which houses the magnificent treasures of King Tut-Ankh-Ahmun. The drive was quite interesting as we passed the sights of Cairo. We passed the metro, drainage canals, and drove over the longest bridge in Africa. We started our tour of the museum at a “very poor” replica of the famous Rosetta Stone used as cipher for translating Egyptian hieroglyphics. Next we stopped at the Merneptah Stele, which was like an Egyptian newspaper that described daily life in Egpyt. It is the first time that Israel is mentioned in Egyptian hieroglyphics. A couple of us stopped to read about a statue and when we turned around the group was gone. After taking a fast run through of the museum without finding our group we struck out on our own. We spent some time viewing artifacts from King Tut’s tomb and other artifacts that were buried in sarcophagi. We finally heard Osman’s familiar voice and were able to rejoin the group. Osman was telling the group about the embalming process for kings and priests. It was a very complicated process that lasted 40 days for most and 70 days for royals. We saw tools and containers used in the process, golden beds where the body was laid, and five layers in which King Tut’s body was entombed. One room is dedicated to the jewelry, chest pieces, inlaid and gold inner sarcophagi in which King Tut was laid. There were numerous jeweled pieces that were layered as the body was wrapped with linen. The highlight of the room was the golden mask placed directly over the linen on King Tut’s face. The mask is made of 24k gold, and is supposed to bear a strong resemblance to his actual facial features.

We also stopped by the oldest know mummy in the world. It is wrapped in linen in a fetal position and the coffin is a reed basket.

Lunch was next on the agenda. Osman called in our order, and our group was able to feast on chicken, shish kabobs, or fish as soon as we arrived. A few brave souls even order the ENTIRE fish…

After lunch we headed to the Great Pyramids and Sphinx which are the sole survivors of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. There are more than 80 pyramids along the plateau above the Nile valley between Giza and Faiyum. Giza is 11.16 miles southwest of Cairo. The Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops) is the oldest and largest of the three main pyramids. Pharaoh Cheops' son Khafre (Chephren) built the second pyramid and also gave the sphinx his face. Chephren's son, Menkaura (Mycerinus) built the third pyramid. The site originally contained the pyramids of their 9 wives (3 per king). The stones from some of the wives pyramids were used to build the old city. We followed the road past the pyramids to reach a plateau for a panoramic view. We stopped to take the requisite Jenkins Group photo in front of the three main Giza Pyramids. Osman tells us that each stone weighs on average 2.5 tons. It took workers about 20years to construct each one.

Frances and Margaret wave to their fans.

Our next stop was between the two largest pyramids. Twelve of us paid a few dollars to “walk” into the inner burial chamber in the center of the Cheops Pyramid. You enter through an opening that is about 3 feet tall. This adventure is not for the claustrophobic! The tunnel is on a 45 degree angle and that same height for the majority of the climb. First, down, then back up again. It finally opens up in to a chamber that is supposedly made of one single piece of stone. A marble sarcophagus, also carved from a single stone was positioned at one end.

We spent some time photographing the sites, and dodging the street vendors. You can pick up pretty much anything for “a dolla”. 20 postcards, papyrus, pictures on a camel…They follow you around and for a while we tried to be polite and responded with a “No thank you“, but after hearing it about 50 times a day, the answer becomes “NO.” Some in our group have not yet learned to say no...

Elizabeth shows off her purchase to Osman (l) and Joan's (r) purchase looks fabulous too!

Our final stop in this area is the Chephren Sphinx. It is believed that the face on the Sphinx is that of Pharaoh Chephren. The massive statue was cut out of the hillside, with a lion's body and a man's head. It has attracted more speculation than almost any other monument in Egypt. It was the first colossal statue of a pharaoh and was connected to the pyramid of the Pharaoh Chephren by a covered walkway.

Our final stop of the day was for a little jewelry shopping-the guys were thrilled. Osman educated us on the types and composition of gold and then sent us off to purchase cartouche pendants with our names written in hieroglyphics.

Susan and Burton pose in front of the Sphinx.

We worked up quite an appetite, but we will have to wait. Rush hour (i.e. anytime between 5:30 -8:00 pm) in Ciaro is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. I think all 80 million people are on the road to our hotel. The funniest thing we noticed was the variety of vehicles, and I use that term lightly, on the road. We passed a potato truck, a Ford, a cement truck, a scrap metal truck and a horse drawn buggy, all in the same lane. Oh and by the way, if they have lines on the road they just ignore them. People make their on lane, and if they don’t like the one they are in, they just make another one. An unexpected adventure. As we finally pull into the hotel about 8:30, we all hope the buffet is still open!