Newsletter 30 September 2009
The Exodus Experience
Don Edmands
I low-crawled down a small shaft over 100 yards long.
It was dark and musty. All of a sudden, it opened into the inner chamber of
The Red Pyramid. Pinch me! Finally, a dream come true—I’m standing
in the burial chamber of a pyramid near Cairo, Egypt. And it’s only
the first day of our two-week trip! Is this the highlight of the trip, on
the first day? Believe me it wasn’t! When I got on the bus, I said to
the Rev. Peter Miano who was co-leading our trip,“You will never top
this!” Yet he did, day after day. I saw amazing things I didn’t
know existed. The fast pace trip was like adult basic training—on the
bus early, going all day, arriving at our hotel after dark…and I was
having the time of my life.
Before leaving Cairo, we visited the Great Pyramids, the Sphinx, the Mohammed
Ali Mosque, the Egyptian Museum, and not enough time at the Kahn al Khalili
bazaar. Before I go any further, let me assure you it was safe…probably
safer than most big cities in the United States. The locals can say “dollar”
better than you and I. They hounded us relentlessly in Cairo to sell us something
or have our picture made for “a dollar.” I observed one Egyptian
approach an English tourist and ask for “a pound.” Quite the businessmen
they are!
When we crossed “under” the Suez Canal, we left Africa and entered
Asia. Did you know that, I didn’t? A daylong trip deep into the Sinai
Peninsula brought us to the Monastery of St. Katherine…the home of the
“burning bush” and the trailhead for our climb to the summit of
Mt. Sinai. That Moses was a heck of a guy…climbing Mt. Sinai was not
easy. I was glad I made the climb when I saw Mary Francis (in her 70’s)
and a couple of pre-teenagers with our group on top. How embarrassing would
that have been too have wimped out and not made the summit? Carry a jacket;
it was cold up there.
While at St. Katherine, we got to visit the library that holds ancient manuscripts,
which is not open to tourists. In the absolute middle of nowhere, here’s
this upstairs room that houses perhaps the best religious document collection
in the world. And it contains a portion of the Codex Sinaiticus, the oldest
manuscript of the Bible in existence. During our visit we were told there
was a project in the works to photograph all the pages worldwide and publish
a complete work for the world to study. Google “Codex Sinaiticus!”
It has happened since I returned home! I’m not a religious scholar by
any means, but I’m loving this trip!
Our next stop is Israel, but first we must cross the border. The crossing
is uneventful except for Bob from Atlanta. Seems he bought a Koran in Egypt
and the Israelis are suspicious. After a lot of explaining, we are on our
way. We are staying in Bethlehem which is across the “Green Line.”
Translated, that means the Palestinian side of the Wall dividing Israel from
the West Bank. Had you told me in advance I would be staying in Palestinian
territory, I might have had second thoughts. However, the folks were friendly
and made us feel right at home. We walked the streets at night and felt perfectly
safe. By the way, take your ATM card, I used it everywhere to get money…not
a problem.
The next morning, in the rain, we walked a short distance to The Church of
Nativity, which marks the spot where Jesus was born…in a cave under
the Church! Seems the folks in those days lived in caves, not houses, as one
would think. So the next time you see a Nativity scene in a wooden stable,
remember the cave. I had my picture taken with my hand on the spot where Jesus
was born. How cool is that! We gathered up our dirty clothes and took them
to a laundry, as we were half way through our adventure.
Our time in Israel was busy. We visited the Church of the Holy Sepulcher,
which marks the spot where the Crucifixion and burial of Jesus took place.
We walked the Via Dolorosa where he carried the cross, and visited the Mount
of Olives. We saw the Herodian and Masada—fortresses built by Herod
the Builder King and the Dead Sea where the famous scrolls (Qumran) were found.
I saw so many things I did not know existed. Explanation: it seems after Jesus’
death, folks started making pilgrimages to places where he had been. Churches
came along and build over the sites thus preserving them.
We took a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee as the add-on part of our trip kicked-in.
We visited Zippori, Nazareth, the Church of the Annunciation, the Jordan River,
and more. We spent the night at an Israeli Kibbutz. Now, before you form an
opinion of the Kibbutz, it was the nicest hotel we stayed in…what were
you thinking?
Then we headed to Jordan. If you haven’t seen Petra, well you haven’t
seen Petra! It is magnificent! And they were selling the same babbles they
tried to get us to buy in Egypt. Don’t suppose they turn this stuff
out in factories somewhere? And not to be left out, Mount Nebo where Moses
died. I don’t have the space or time to tell you everything we did,
but I promise if you like history and religion and travel and meeting folks,
you will love The Exodus Experience!
I am adding this final paragraph to remind you this isn’t the good ole
USA. They do things different, act different, think different, and talk different.
You have to go with the flow as they say. Before we climbed Mt. Sinai, we
were told a Russian lady had had a heart attack and died on the mountain overnight.
On my way down from the summit, I passed her body beside the trail covered
with a blanket. Several of our younger clergymen were asked by the Egyptians
to help carry her body down the mountain. They carried her for a ways before
they gave out. A member of our group commented, “If this was the USA,
they would have closed the trail and removed her immediately.” Remember
where you are and enjoy it!
Don Edmonds is a lay person from Tennesee
