May 22nd, Reflections

Reflections

My time in the Middle East is drawing to a close and I begin my long flight home this afternoon. As I look back over my experiences of the past three weeks I find it hard to believe all that I have done. I have haggled with cab drivers and shop keepers, gotten lost in Cairo, found myself in Cairo, climbed inside ancient tombs and temples, assaulted the west bank of Luxor while mounted on a broken bicycle, knelt in 1000 year old mosques, followed the footsteps of Moses up Mt. Sinai, made a pilgrimage with a future Catholic priest around the Galilee, stormed an 800 year old Crusader fortresses, scaled Masada, slept on a roof in Jerusalem with 20 other backpackers, and Danced in the Sabbath at the Western Wall. It feels like I have just walked through the middle of a hurricane, and I do not know quite what to think of the storm once on the other side. In short, it has been a marvelous time.

Lessons Learned

1) Trusting people -

While driving to St. Katherine's monastery in the middle of the Sinai desert the bus I was on passed at east 5 different signs all labeled "St. Katherine" with arrows pointed in different directions. Did I miss my stop? Where was I going to end up in the Sinai desert? I needed to ask someone but I was the only one on the bus that spoke English and I spoke no Arabic. So I looked in my book and found the name of the town where I was planning to stay. I tapped the man next to me on the shoulder and stammered through the name, "Al-Milga?" He and about five Arab men around him started a fast chatter. One of the men then turned to me and said, "You follow me." I had no idea if they understood me correctly or if this complete stranger I met on an Egyptian bus was trustworthy. Yet, I was lost without him so I put my fate completely in his hands. It was dark by the time the bus stopped and I followed him off. We walked down a dusty road for about ten minutes until my guide threw up a pointed finger, "look" and before my eyes was the very hostel I had planned to stay at all along. Don't be afraid to endow others, even complete strangers, with your trust.

2) Be careful who you trust -

Two days ago Yohannes and I decided to climb the Mount of Olives for a sunset overlooking the Old City. We hunted for a suitable place and found a restaurant's balcony that would suite nicely. I knew that I would probably have to buy something in order to gain use of the balcony and I promised the restaurant owner that I would. After sunset I went down to order a falafel and the man tried to charge me 4 times what it would normally cost. He argued that it was for service of the balcony and that my fried didn't buy anything so I needed to make up the difference. I was annoyed and could only talk him down to double the price of a falafel. Though we should not be afraid to trust people, we should always use our head.

3) "El Hombre con boca llega a Roma." -

This was a phrase that Louis, the future Catholic priest, taught me while we were wandering around Galilee. The basic translation is, "The man with a mouth will get to Rome." Basically, do not be afraid to ask people for help or directions. Listen to what they have to say and use your head. As Emerson said, "Every man I meet is my superior in at least one way & in that way I shall learn from him."

4) Believe in Bananas again -

I though I liked bananas growing up. But then I went to the Dominican Republic, where I came to know the true sweetness of a true banana. Since my return to the States I have searched high and low for bananas as good as those which I would eat while in the DR, but I could not find any. I had come to accept the fact that truly good bananas no longer existed. That is, until I came to Egypt. My faith in good bananas has been rekindled.

5) Opportunities to teach will always present themselves -

I have been able to share portions of the gospel at least five different times since I left Salt Lake. I did not think that traveling in the Mid East would be conducive to missionary opportunities. I was most certainly proved wrong in this assumption. I guess Peter said it best when he wrote, "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you." (1 Peter 3:15) Not only that, last night I stayed up till after one in the morning talking history and politics with two of the backpackers sleeping with me on the roof. It was amazing the things we had to teach one another. In life we are always students and always be teachers. Let us be exceptional in filling both roles.

6) I can do it -

Ryan and Heather Miller told me when I first bought my tickets that once the trip was done I would feel like I owned the world and was capable of anything. Although I am not yet home, I can already feel a little bit of that sense of accomplishment. These amazing experiences of which I had only dreamed had become reality. And it was a reality that I created because I simply chose to create it. I have come to believe that human beings are always capable of more than they think. They just lack initiative, inspiration, or both. Never settle for average. Never settle for good enough. We should act, and live the life which God has given us. Let us produce an increase with our mortal allotment.

7) Discovering humanity is a lifelong pursuit -

I had a professor that said "for learners with more interests than hours, eternity promises to be a heaven indeed." The more I learn and the more my appetite for knowledge grows. But I have often tried to pinpoint the single idea or attribute that I find drive all of my love for learning whether it be History, politics, literature, or the gospel. What is the lowest common denominator? I came to the conclusion not long ago that I strive to understand what it is that makes men do the things they do and feel the things they feel. In short, I strive to discover humanity. The closer that I can come to answering this question the more I can come to understand myself. But there is a catch. The more I learn about humanity the more I find there is to figure out, the harder it is to understand them. No matter how deep you sound the depths of the human soul you will never hit bottom. The hunger I have can never be satisfied and the knowledge I seek is unattainable, at least in this life. Perhaps this longing for the unattainable that I have had is part of the longing which God places in all of us so we all strive to seek him out. As Bruce C. Hafen put it, "This earth is not our home. We are away at school, trying to master the lessons of “the great plan of happiness” so we can return home and know what it means to be there." (Ensign May 2004)

May 20th & 21st, Jerusalem

I have been taking my last few days in Israel at a very easy pace. I had already seen most of what I had set my heart upon and the rest of my time has just been spent on unwinding. Yesterday, Yohanness and I went to the Israeli museum. Even though most of it is closed for remodeling we spent over three hours there. Of course the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit and the Aleppo Codex were incredible. The oldest copies of biblical manuscripts in the world, right there in front of me. But to be honest, what really took my breath away was the huge scale model of Jerusalem from the second Temple Period that was at the museum.

Today, (the 21st) I revisited the Garden Tomb, the upper room, the Western Wall, and just wandered the Old City. I read my scriptures and just took it easy pretty much the whole day. I think that the change in pace was a great way to finish off the trip. I thought a lot about what I have learned oin the trip. Thinking back to when I first landed in Cairo. So mauch has happened since then it seems like ages have past. It would seem that memory and time are very relative things.

May 19th, Bethlehem & Hebron

Left early today for Bethlehem with two friends that I have made in Jerusalem, Jenny Dickson and Yahonas, a Catholic man from Indonesia. It was fun to travel with some people for a change. In Bethlehem we actually met up with a couple of non denominational born-agains that I had met two days earlier outside a shop in the Old City and had lunch. When I met them, they were arguing with a store keeper about why Mormons are not Christians. I listened in for a minute and then could not resist inviting myself into the conversation to clear up some misconceptions. They are actually very nice guys and were thrilled to talk to me about what I believe in. Yet another missionary opportunity for Sam in the Holy Land We gave each other e-mail info and then parted ways until we suddenly ran into each other in Bethlehem.(Bethlehem wall w/ graffiti)

We left Bethlehem and caught a bus headed deep into the West Bank for a town called Hebron. Hebron is where the Tomb of the Patriarchs Abraham Isaac and Jacob is located. Both Muslims and Jews claim the Tomb as their own and as a result Hebron is one of the most disputed over cities in the Country. If that was not enough, the tomb is actually split between the two factions. One half is a mosque and the other half is a synagogue with each side having windows looking in at the tombs. As a result, no one will claim the responsibility for maintenance and the whole thing is dilapidated with broken walls and sticky carpet. The father of multitudes cannot even get a decent memorial because his children keep bickering amongst themselves. Kind of makes you think.

May 18th, Jerusalem (Underground continued)

I went to the Citadel today. It is basically the most Western Walls and towers of Jerusalem's Fortifications. They were pretty cool and offered some cool views of the Old City. While I was up there I happened to meet a guy named Jan from Brussels. He mentioned to me that he was meeting up with a friend of his for a private tour of the Western Wall tunnels. His friend is an archaeologist that has been working on the tunnels for several months and would give us a special tour. Technically, I had already seen the tunnels earlier that day but an archaeological tour was an opportunity I could not pass up.

I met up with them later that evening. Our guide's name was Amin and the stuff he showed us was incredible. Basically the western wall tunnels go along the Western Wall underneath all the streets and buildings of the Arab Quarter of the city that wee built there after the Romans left. Some of the stones that are found in the wall are the size of school buses. Amazing how they lifted the up 60 feet in the air with only muscle power. There are a few places where we walked on the actual pavement at the entrance where the high priest would enter the temple. Cool stuff.

Amin also showed us some ancient mikvahs where the priests would ceremonially wash themselves before entering the temple. There was even a special michvas for washing the tools for the temple. etc. These places were still unopened to the public but we got a special look. All in all, very cool stuff.

May 17th, Jerusalem (underground)

I got out of Jerusalem for the first time in several days...well technically I was still in Jerusalem, but I did gt out of the Old City. I went to the Yad Veshem and spent at least 3 hours there in the exhibit. What can I say about the world's largest Holocaust Museum? Nothing that we already know. I remember that a lot of people told me it was going to leave me unsettled with how graphic it was. To be honest, it didn't, but I have also studied more Holocaust stuff than most people do.

The bus ride back took a little bit longer than expected so I barely made it to one of the activities that I have been planning for years, a hike through Hezikiah's tunnel. So cool! I was alone throughout the entire thing and I turned off my flashlight several time to guide myself through the darkness only by touch. The acoustics were pretty good as well so I did the only thing Sam Dodge would do in that kind of a situation. I started singing hymns. Well...there you have it. Sam Dodge alone, in the dark, several meters underneath the streets of Jerusalem singing Israel Israel God is Calling.Basically a very fun day. I'm sorry I am not elaborating more but I am not feeling the creative juices flowing at the moment. Maybe when I write you next time. I plan to venture underneath the city again tomorrow. I am touring the Western Wall's tunnels tomorrow. This is an archaeological exhibition that I think was not around when Mom and Dad came out here so It ought to be interesting.

May 16th, Jerusalem (Sabbath day)

Sabbath in Jerusalem has turned out to be a wonderful experience. I woke up early and put on my best Sabbath dress I had with me. That meant a t shirt and shorts and headed up to the BYU Jerusalem Center. I actually walked up there with a girl named Jenny. Last night while I was writing you all e-mails she walked into the hostel and asked me where I was from. She then asked if I went to BYU to which her response was, "me too!" Small, small world. She had actually attended the Jerusalem Center before and had no problem finding our way there.

Church was great, although I felt a little bit strange in my t-shirt, shorts, and beard. But as it turns out, they have college age travelers pass through the Center for church ever so often and they did not even think twice about how I was dressed. One of my old home teachees is actually at the Center right now and it was great to see her again. As it turns out, her and her roommates were excited to spend some time around Jerusalem today and invited me to tag along. We walked through Orson Hyde garden and down through Gethsemane. We all spent about 45 minutes there quietly pondering over our scriptures.

They had to get back to the Center for dinner so we all parted ways. I spent the rest of the day at the Garden Tomb and then wandering around the Jewish Quarter of the city. NOT a bad way to pass the Sabbath in Jerusalem.

May 15th, Jerusalem & The Western Wall

My first full day in Jerusalem was basically one of relaxation. I just needed to recharge my batteries. So I basically wandered the streets of the Old City and got caught up on e-mails. I stayed in a different Hostel last night. As it turns out it was the same hostel that Herman Melville and Mark Twain stayed at. I moved to a different hostel the next day though and this one is in the guts of the Old City about 100 yards away from the Temple Mount. The building it is in is over 500 years old and the people here are incredibly nice. When I checked in they told me that the cheapest rent was 45 sheckles a night and that was to sleep on the roof. So let me get this straight, cheapest rent AND I get to sleep outdoors in Jerusalem? Sold!

As I was wandering the Old City I decided to follow the Via Dolerosa, just something to do. I got to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and was immediately impressed with the throngs of Christian Pilgrims all pouring into the mouth of the cathedral. As I descended into the darkness of the church I was greeted by a huge slab of stone in the middle of the floor which Christ was supposed to have lain on. Some Pilgrims were praying and others were kissing or caressing the stone. A very interesting scene. The Church is said to be the Holiest place in Christianity, being the actual locations of Christ's crucifixion. But I have no idea how any of the authenticity of the locations could be determined, nor have I ever been much of a relic hunter. So it was more a learning experience rather than a spiritual one. I did not stay long at the church because I had to run home and change if I wanted to make it to the Western Wall in time top help pray in the Sabbath. So I ran home, put on some long pants and my yamekah and plunged back into the Old City streets.

As I approached the wall I was overcome with the scene. The place was swarming with Jews of all different schools all approaching and praying at the wall. Some were in their sabbath best with silk coats and large fur hats. Others dressed more simply with only buttoned up shirts and their ringlets tucked behind their ears as they read from the Torah. I had prepared a prayer beforehand to fold and place within the wall and as I approached to do so I came to an interesting realization. The Jewish people believe that by approaching the Wall you are approaching the presence of God himself for the spirit of the Master of the Universe dwells therein. In a sense, the Western Wall is much like the veils in our temples. I was entering the presence of God. I went up to the Wall and took my place amongst the praying Jews and felt it and kissed the stones. I then inserted my prayer. I pulled out my Old Testament amongst all the other Torahs from which people were reading. I read from Genesis 28 and thought about the Covenants which the ancient Temple represented, the covenants that the crowd in which I was standing would always remember but had also forgotten.

Wile I was praying I heard the beginnings of a lively Jewish hymn sung by young male voices. I turned around and saw a group of no less than 100 Jewish boys from the ages of 13-18 marching down a 30ft wide ramp linked arm in arm. As they sang they would take two steps forward then one step back then two steps forward again as they descended toward the Western Wall, faces beaming.

Once in the courtyard they began to sing and dance in circles. I walked up to one of the circles and a man grabbed my hand and pulled me right into the dance with the rest of them. With joined hands we ran and jumped around in circles singing the hymns of the Sabbath at the top of our voices. I knew no Hebrew, but would do my best to sing along with vowels and tones. The energy was incredible. I have never before been so completely immersed in a culture, a faith, and a people.

I found it interesting that as a Christian I had a more spiritual experience at the Western Wall than I did at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Why was that? At first I thought, well maybe it is because I never have really been a seeker after of relics. But isn't the Western Wall a religious relic in its own way? Would it be because the Wall is authentic there is no doubt that it was part of Solomon's, Zaruabables, and then Herod's temple whereas the Christian relics are more suspect? Or could it simply be the energy of the deep and struggling faith of the Jewish people strikes a chord with me? As George Eliot wrote, "I am stricken, I am dying. But our souls know each other...The life of Israel is in your veins."

Final thought. As I was dancing and singing I stopped at the sight of an older Jewish man sitting in a chair praying. He clutched his Torah against his breast and covered his eyes as if he was weeping. Such joy and such anguish all present at the same spot, in the same moment. How deeply felt the Jewish faith must be. I can find no words to express the thoughts that entered my mind at that moment, so I will not try. I will let the Ezra speak for me.


8 Now in the second year of their coming unto the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, began Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the remnant of their brethren the priests and the Levites, and all they that were come out of the captivity unto Jerusalem; and appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to set forward the work of the house of the Lord.

9 Then stood Jeshua with his sons and his brethren, Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, together, to set forward the workmen in the house of God: the sons of Henadad, with their sons and their brethren the Levites.

10 And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise the Lord, after the ordinance of David king of Israel.

11 And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the Lord; because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid.

12 But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes,wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy:

13 So that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people: for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard afar off. (Ezra 3:8-13)

May 14th, Jericho, Masada

I left early in the morning because I had a lot of driving to do today if I was to make it to Jericho, Qumran, En Geddi, and Masada all in one day. I left a little before seven and it was not long before I got lost. In fact I lost almost 2 hours trying to get back on track. Yet one more thing I do not like about renting a car. So basically my trip got altered as a result. En Geddi was out, and Qumran turned out to be short because all of the caves were closed anyway. So basically my day consisted of Jericho, driving, and Masada.

Getting into the West bank was not hard at all. They stopped me, asked me where I was going and where I was from. The 19 year old kid gave me a stern look as he threw his assault rifle over his shoulder, "American, are you Jewish American?" "No" I replied "I am a Christian." A smile appeared on his face and the kid motioned me on through. This example of Israeli Arab animosity reminded me of an experience from Yesterday that I forgot to mention. When I was looking for a place to crash I saw a hitchhiking Jewish boy. Everyone in Israel hitchhikes and I did not feel threatened at tall by him so I picked him up. (I had already given rides to two hasidic boys the day before) This kid spoke excellent English and was just heading home from military prep school. He entered the Israeli army in two months and I asked him what his job would be in the military. He responded "to catch Arab hostages." This was not nearly as surprising as when we passed by the national prison and he said that it was "full of the worst people in all of Israel, the worst of the Arabs." I left it alone, but it sure made me think.

When I got into Jericho the driving conditions immediately changed. They were driving like Egyptians. I was amazed how even the driving habits would change so quickly when I crossed an artificial border into another community. The ruins at Jericho were well....very small and very old. About 10,000 years old. It took me an hour to find the place and I was done in 20 Minutes.

During the drive I came to the realization that I had been going about my Israel trip all wrong. The car had given me an artificial sense of anxiety. I had to see all that I could as fast as I could to take advantage of the car while I had it. As a result I was not really absorbing my time here. I was rushing. I had forgotten Ryan Millers advice that he gave me back in DC. "Know right here and now that you will never be able to do everything you want to do. If you travel, make sure you travel right. Take your time and do fewer things but do them well." With this lesson relearned I planed to cut any other thing I had from my itinerary and spend the rest of my day on Masada and then turn in the car a day early.

Masada was simply incredible. I remember when Mom, dad, and Sarah had gone on their trip to Israel mom had given Rachel a series of envelopes with activities and plans for the kids to do each day. One day, Rachel told us that there were tickets inside and I thought that they were for a movie. When she opened the envelope and said that they were to an exhibit at BYU on Masada I was more than a little disappointed. How incredibly boring! When I got to the exhibit however, I was captivated. I read all that I could and soaked in the atmosphere of the exhibit. Since that moment I had always wanted to go ad see Masada for myself.

I decided that the cable-car was for wimps so I hiked up the snake trail at the base of the fortress. My cookie and coconut bar brunch soon let me know that it may not have been a good idea. After feeling more than a little sick, and enduring the heat of an unforgiving sun, I made it to the top. Incredible view on top of Masada and an even more incredible story. I rented the audio guide and wandered ontop of the fortress for over 2 1/2 hours. By the time I was done all other tour groups had left and the only people left on top of the fort was a large community of Jews celebrating a young girls Bastmitva. As a blond American in shorts and a ball cap I had trouble disappearing into the crowd. It was wonderful to watch them cheer and dance for this little girl though. I saw one cute Jewish girl but I decided that she would probably freak out if I even tried to speak to her.

I made the long drive back to Tel Aviv through the Judean desert. I dropped off my car and caught a bus at the airport bound for Jerusalem.

May 13th, Mt. Tabor, Capernaum, Fortress Belvior

Louis got back from his morning mass at 7:30 and we immediately took off for Mt. Tabor. It was nice to have a companion for a little while. And an expert in Catholicism at that. When we got to the top of Mount Tabor the place was swarming with Catholics, and Louis seemed to know half of them. Apparently there were several Catholic youth groups doing Holy Land study camps and Louis used to be involved with them quite a bit. With so many Catholics and His Holiness himself in the Holy Land all at the same time you would think that another Crusade had been launched.Regardless, it was neat to have this guy with me as we visited all these different churches. We went to the Monastery on Mt. Tabor, the Mt. of the Beatitudes, and Capernaum. To be honest, the Churches were all neat but it was not the kind of spiritual awakening that others have talked about. It was neat to look at the Sea of Galilee itself but the Chapels were less than inspiring. I had more fun watching Louis stop at every altar to cross himself and to say a prayer. His pilgrimage was different than mine and I enjoyed learning from him.

Our sojourn together ended and I dropped him off at another meeting of the Catholic Church. It had already proven a full day but I had one more stop I wanted to make before calling it quits, the Crusader's fortress Belvior.

I drove about 30 minutes south of the Sea of Galilee and then took a dismal dirt road in the middle of nowhere that lead up a steep mountain. I got the fort and the first thing that struck me was how massive it was. It is almost completely made out of Basalt stone and is incredibly well preserved with many of the Vaulted ceilings still in place. It was constructed on top of a strategic mountain that overlooks Israel's western valley and could thus control any Muslim forces that tried to cross over the Jordan River. The fort withstood many attacks until it finally fell in 1183 to Saladin. I had the fort to myself almost the entire time with only a small group of Europeans who came and left. As I was leaving a small Muslim school group arrived for their afternoon field trip. The Christian's had left the fort in the hands of the Muslims once again.

May 12th, Caesarea, Mt. Carmel, Meggido

I left Jaffa early in the morning in oreder to get a good start on things. I planned to drive up the Western Coast of Irael and stop at Cesarea, and Mt. Carmel. I was able to find Cesarea without to much of a problem and I absolutly loved the place. Many people skip it on their trips to the Middle East which is a huge mistake. The ruins of the ancient port are incredible. I especially loved the Roman Circus built there where they had chariot races and gladiator battles. I was going to take some awesome pictures there but my camera battery died. I was only able to get two lousy pictures of the Byzantine aqueducts and one of me in the chariot racetrack.
(Sam Dodge IS Ben Hur!)

I left Caesarea and began looking for a small monestery dedicated to the prophet Elijah on Mt. Carmel. It took me quite a while to find it but I got there. Once there, I ran into a small group from South Africa. On top of the monastery's roof they were reading 1 Kings 18 and having the view of the Meggido Valley explained to them by their tour guide. I eavesdropped a little and when I was done I talked with the guide about how I thought 1Kings 18 ties into 1 Kings 19 very nicely in teaching about sign seekers and true revelation. he agreed and then asked if I was Mormon. I said yes and he told me my BYU hat gave it away. He had received a scholarship from BYU years ago but had turned it down. We talked for a bit and then I left, headed off for the Meggido ruins.

When I got there, I was surprised to find the same group from South Africa waiting there for me. We all laughed and the guide told me that I should have told him that I was heading there. I hung out with them as we wandered the ruins. While we were in the water tunnel underneath the ruins a man asked me where I was from followed up by the Mormon question. Again, I never thought that I would have so many missionary opportunities. When we were leaving one of the guys asked me what our basic beliefs were because he had always wanted to know. I told him about modern prophets and Joseph Smith and then gave him the Church's web address. Great experience.

I ended my day in Nazareth. Let me tell you, I HATE driving and parking in Nazareth. SO annoying. It took me an hour to find the place I was staying at. Furthermore, I could not visit the cathederal because it closed early. Apparently, the Pope visiting the Holy Land requires all these extra security measures. I guess His Holiness is more important than me. But it was nice to just relax that night. I had my first falafel, amd loved it. Then went back to my dorm. The guy who shared my room with me was named Louis and is one of the coolest guys I ever met. He is actually studying right now to enter the Catholic Priesthood. He is from Portugal and speaks great English but insisted on speaking spanish when he found out I was fluent. We talked for over two hours about religion, morals, service, and overcoming spiritual weakness. During the conversation he asked me to explain how the LDS church functions. Another missionary opportunity. I talked about priesthood authority, modern prophets, and church governance. He asked if I was going to Mt. Tabor tomorrow. I said yes and he asked if he could accompany me. Awesome, tomorrow I will have a Catholic Seminary student as a guide in the Holy Land.

May 11th, entering Israel

May 11th

I did not go to sleep last night because I flew out a bit after 3:00 and I had no idea how long it would take me to get through security at the Cairo Airport. It is a good thing too because it took them over 3 hours to process me. After waiting in line forever Israeli security pounced on me. Apparently single males, traveling alone, from Cairo, without any determined place to stay in Israel, raise some red flags with Israeli security even if they look like a BYU Mormon boy. The two female security officers grilled me for over an hour and a half. "Where have you been? Are you traveling Alone? Why? How long were you in Luxor? Where did you stay? Do you have a receipt? Why not? What do you do? Do you have a student i.d.? Where did you go in Cairo? Can you show me pictures? Do you have a bomb? Why are you coming to Israel? Why now? What do you mean you love Hebrew Culture? Do you know that the Hebrew Scriptures and the Old Testament are not exactly the same? How many people are in your family? Where do they live? Why are you coming to Israel again? What were you flight numbers to Egypt? Where were your layovers?....."and it went on. Finally I convinced them that I was not a terrorist and they decided that they would let me on the flight, but only after they searched my bag. So I unpacked my bag and they gave most everything a good chemical swabbing.

When I finally go through I met a very nice older couple who were on the same flight with me. They approached me and chuckled saying that they did not think that I was going to make it through. The woman said that she had watched the whole thing and that she knew more about me and about my trip than she did about her own children. It turns out that she did know a lot. Her next question was a surprise to me when she asked me if I had served a mission. I said that I had and she said that the BYU hat gave it away and that although they were Jewish, they were from Southern California and knew many Mormons. They turned out to be some of the friendliest people that I have ever met. We discussed our different trips in Egypt and what we planned to do in the Holy Land etc...

When I finally got into Tel Aviv I was stopped at the customs desk once again. Well, at least I am out of Cairo and stuck in the airport. It turns out they had more "concerns" about me and my traveling in Israel. So I had three different interviews with three different people over the course of one hour. They finally let me through and wished me a happy trip. Next thing to do was to find my rental car.

I got my car, looked at my map, and was off for Jaffa. At this point I had gone about 28 hours without sleep and was beginning to feel it. Nothing like trying to navigate in a country that you have never been in while trying to drive to a city you have never been to, where only half of the road signs have English translations, on hardly any sleep. Regardless, I made it to Jaffa without any serious problems. Once there however, it did take ma almost another hour to find the hostel that I would be staying at in the heart of the Old City. Once there I was greeted by a very rude lady with a nose ring. (A lot of girls in Israel have nose rings) I checked in but was then informed that I could not occupy my room until 11:00. Great, what to do for three hours. So I wandered the town. I actually met up with some other people staying in my hostel who turned out to be very nice. I actually got to share the gospel with them a little bit. All it takes is for me to say that I am from Utah and the questions start coming. I am a little bit frustrated with myself for not being very prepared. I didn't think that I would be sharing the gospel much in the nations I would be staying in. It never occurred to me to think about other travelers. The best I could do was answer their questions and give them the church's missionary website.

At 11:00 I finally was able to get some sleep. I woke up at about 5:00 and went out for a stroll around Jaffa just before the sun set. The coastal city is beautiful. I walked among the old buildings and had some sea food for dinner. Watched the sunset and just unwound after my two nonstop days of traveling. I wish I had more time to spend there but the next morning I was off to Cesarea and many more sights.

May 10th, Last day in Egypt

May 10th

My train got in from Luxor at about 9:00 and I had a full day already planned. My last full day in Egypt and still so much I wanted to see and do. I had already accepted the fact that there is no way I would ever be able to do all that I have wanted to do unless I stayed here for over a month. I guess it is just an excuse to come back later. When I got off the train I ran to the nearest metro station and I headed south into "Old Cairo." You can imagine what old Cairo is like, well...it is actually like most of the other parts of the City. Dirt and crowded. What I had come to Old Cairo to see was actually the Coptic Museum and monasteries that are there. Some of the earliest Christian relics are from Egypt and it was interesting to see how Early Christian practices and cult icons evolved from Egyptian and Roman pagan practices. I spent almost all of the Morning there. Very cool experience.

After I was done with Coptic Cairo I started what I called my Mosque March. Basically I had mapped out 14 of the Oldest Mosques in Cairo, in the world for that matter, and planned to walk to as many of them as I could. Well, I started out kinda later and it took a lot longer to walk to the Mosques than I had originally planned so my march turned out to b e more of a walk. I only got to the 4 oldest ones before all the rest were closed for visitors.

I was beat anyway. So I basically took a cab to an internet place, sent you all some pictures, then got a bite to eat. At around 11:30 I got a cab to the airport and said goodbye to Egypt for who knows how long.

In Israel, details to come soon....

I am sorry I have not been able to write for a bit. Things are flying by. To top it all off, the place I'm staying at has no internet. I found someone to lend me a laptop. So just fyi, I'm ok. TOday I went to Jaffa, Vesarea, Megido, a monastery on Mt. Karmel and I am sleeping in Nazereth. Details to come.

Sam

Made it to ISRAEL

Made it to Israel safe and sound. Getting past security proved to be quite the experience. Found a place to crash, although they will not let me into my room for another two hours. More details to come. In the meantime, bed. I have not slept in 32 hours.

Sam

The Karnak Temple - photos

The Luxor Temple -photos

May 9th, Luxor & Valley of the Kings

I woke up at 6:30 and skipped breakfast. I knew that I needed every minute I could spare in order to see half of what I had planned to on the West bank of Luxor. I headed down to the waterfront and began looking for a way across. I could have taken the ferry for 5 pounds but I didn't want to wait so I was going to see if I could talk my way across another way. I found a man who surprisingly was willing to take ma across in his boat for the same price that the ferry would charge. I had now been in Egypt long enough to not simply regard this as a simple turn of good luck. This guy had something up his sleeve. So I cautiously stepped into the boat and we crossed over the Nile. It was just about 7:00 when I got to the other side and it was looking like it was going to be a beautiful day. Just then my boat driver offered to find me a taxi for the day. A friend of his would be my driver for only 30 pounds for the whole day. Here it was, the hook that he would try to catch me with. He would get a cut from his friend for getting me to buy his taxi service and I had no guarantee that the 30 pounds would not somehow turn into 60 or more. The guy was walking a few steps in front of me so I waited until his head was turned then I just disappeared down a side alley. Sneaky, yes, rued, maybe, but I thought it was better than arguing with him.

Just like at the train station as I walked to the ticket office I was hounded by numerous people offering their taxi services. Once I had bought my tickets it quickly became apparent that walking in-between all of the sites would be impossible. But I still did not want to pay cab fare for all those trips nor did I want to rent a cab for a day. Dang, maybe all those people in the tourist buses had a point. Just then, a man across the street asked if I wanted to rent a bicycle. Score! "How much?" He wanted 30 pounds for me to have the bike until 3. I talked him into letting me have the bike until 7 for only 15 pounds and set of down the road. First stop, Ramses II's temple the Ramesseum.

I was feeling pretty good about my bargaining skills until I actually got on the bike and started riding it. I am convinced that I had the absolutely worst bike in all of Egypt. Summoning all my strength I muscled this Bike with bald tires, crooked handlebars, a rock hard seat, and a chain that fell off at least 15 times that day I trudged up the hill to the Egyptian temples.

While I was at the Ramesseum a local came up to me and started pointing to random hieroglyphics and muttering questionable explanations in Arabic. He then asked for a tip and I again refused after which he left me alone. Or so I thought. He snuck up on me and managed to pull me aside to some archeological dig going on right next to the Temple. I was about to leave but he was insistent that I stay and see what he had to show me. With that he began to pull aside a piece of tin that was covering a hole and to my astonishment there lied a brightly painted wooden sarcophagus that had been partially uncovered by the archaeologists! I had no idea he was going to show me this. Amazing! I was looking at an Egyptian sarcophagus exactly where it had been laid over 3000 years ago. The man then asked me for a tip and I thought that was worth a few pounds.

I then mounted my bike and limped all my way down to the Temple of Seti I. Very neat, but I wont bore you. The good stuff happened after I left Seti's temple and began the 8km bike ride uphill to the Valley of the Kings. I honestly did not know if the bike would ever make it. I would try to peddle hard to get some momentum and the chain would fall off. I would try to go slower to take it easy on the bike and the chain would fall off. Keep in mind, every time that I had to stop the bike to put the chain back on 10 taxis would pass me by and insist that I hire them to drive me. With a broken bike I really had no excuses other than I had paid 15 pound to rent a bike so I would not have to get a cab and dammit, I was going to use that bike if it killed me. Stubborn? Probably, but I finally got the hang of the bike and slowly made my way of to the Valley of the Kings. I made it a point to wave at every bus full of confused tourist gawking at me as they passed by. They had no idea what they were missing on those big, air conditioned, diesel engine tour buses. No idea....whimps.

I made it to the valley alive and locked up my bike. The tombs were awesome. Once I was done with the 6 tombs that I visited I began mike hike up out of the Valley, over the mountain ridge and down into the canyon where Queen Hatshepsut's Temple was. The hike was steep but incredible. I could see all the way down the Nile Valley and across the river into Luxor. As I descended I got first class pictures of the temple as it slowly emerged from around the rocks. Many of you are probably wondering how I did all of this biking and hiking in the incredible heat of the Nile's West Bank. TO be honest, the weather was perfect. Slightly overcast with even a few drops of water falling now and again I hardly broke a sweat all day. I guess I planned my trip at the perfect time.

By the time I was done with her temple I was pretty beat and I still had one more site I wanted to see on the West Bank before things closed at 5:00. It was now 3:00 and I needed to get my bike that was still in the Valley of the Kings and then ride it all the way down to the most southern end of the monument to the Medinat Habu temple. Should I get a cab this once to go get my bike up at the Valley? After all, that is pretty reasonable considering I would have to basically run up the entire trail in order to get my bike and make it to Medinat Habu before it closed. Taking all of that into consideration...I started running up the mountain trail as fast as I could.

I got my bike and began speeding down the mountain road as fast as that old bike (that I honestly think Ramses himself might have owned) could take me. Fortunately, it was all down hill this time, but that did not keep the chain from falling off several times. Once when I was fixing it a cab driver asked me if I wanted a ride. When I said no he turned off his van and got out. Great, now I would have to put up with his hassling until I got the bike fixed. To my surprise he just helped me get the chain working again and said nothing more about the ride. I thanked him and sprinted off to Mediant Habu.

I agree with the Lonely Planet authors that Medinat Habu is the most underrated monument on the West Bank. My breath was taken away by this incredibly well preserved Temple built by Ramses the Great. In my opinion, it is second only to Karnack in Wonder.

I returned the bike and finally settled for one cab back to the river where I got another private boatman to take me across for 5 pounds and then went to dinner. This restaurant I found serves genuine Egyptian cuisine, which I actually like by the way, on the roof of a hotel overlooking the Luxor Temple. I took my time and let my swollen feet rest for about an hour and a half. I had biked over 15 km at least and walked over 8km in one day. Caleb, the triathlon runner, is probably thinking that it was no big deal. But hey, I hate to run and the bike I had was a burden in itself. By the end of the day, I was beat. I checked out of my hotel and slept soundly on the train back to Cairo.

Sam

May 8th, Luxor

Well, On one hand, yesterday (May 7th) was pretty uneventful. I spent most of the day in a bus on my way back to Cairo. On the other hand, the bus back to Cairo was much worse shape than the one I took to Sinai. I had a broken seat the entire trip, the ac did not work and the bus broke down about 2 hrs outside of Cairo.We sat on the road for about 30 minutes and I was wondering how long it would take them to get another bus out to us. but to my surprise, the driver with the help of about 6 passengers was able to fix the bus and get it running again. I have no idea what was wrong with the bus or how they fixed it but it got me back to Cairo which was the important thing. I also got to share the gospel, well a little bit. The man sitting next to me happened to speak English very well. He was a scoutmaster in Egypt (they apparently have a boyscout organization) and a Roman Catholic. He asked me if I was Christian and I said yes and he asked what denomination. He had never heard of the Mormons so I gave him the church's missionary web address, just for his curiosity. I got the train to Luxor that night without any problem and I arrived in Luxor at 7:00 am. Here we go!

May 8th

Luxor has been a blur. I have done so much that it will be impossible to write everything. I will try to keep this short but I have just done so much. Well, to begin with I will first tell you that I have mixed feelings about Luxor. The monuments and museums left me speechless but the people here really really bothered me. I have never been so hassled, molested, pushed, yelled at, and lied to by so many people in such a short amount of time in my life. The second I got off of the train I had no less than ten people yelling at me to either get in their taxi or go to their hotel. I was surrounded by people shoving fliers and brochures into my face. When I told them that I was not interested they would get angry at me and yell "Why not!?" and sometimes curse. I can usually handle the hassling but it has been constant ever since I got here. I met with another backpacker and he said he shared my sympathies. He said that most tourist people only have to deal with the hassling from the bus to the monument. But because we are traveling amongst the people, there is no escaping it. It is constant. But I will leave off all that bad stuff and focus on the amazing, because overall, Luxor is just that, Amazing.

My first step, was the temple of Karnak. Well, I really do not know how to begin. The stuff really is just beyond description and I do not want to come of as melodramatic in my feeble effort to give words to my thoughts. The place is enormous and the kind of effort that went into building the structures is incredible. I was spellbound and spent most of the morning and early afternoon there. My next stop was the Temple of Luxor. This part of my trip was particularly enjoyable because I found a tour group from England and decided to tag along. They did not mind at all and we actually had some good conversations. The guide who was traveling with them also knew his stuff. I finished the day at the Luxor Museum which does not have as much stuff as the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, but is none the less amazing. Sorry that there are not that many fun stories to tell, I spent most of the day in museums and temples that are relatively close to where I am staying. But tomorrow I plan to confront the West Bank head on. I will be traveling a lot in just one day and that should offer unusual and unexpected circumstances. Tomorrows E-mail should be much more entertaining. Until then.

Sam

May 6th, Mount Sinai

I left my bed at the unholy hour of 2:00 am and started the 20 minute walk down the quite road towards St. Katherine's monastery. The brightly shining moon was still just above the mountain line and did away with any need for a flashlight. When I finally got to the base camp just below the monastery there was a group of European travelers getting ready to go up the mountain. I decided to try and piggyback along with their group so I would not have to pay the required 85 pound fee for me own Bedouin guide. I was caught just as they were about to head up the trail and was forced to get my own guide. Very annoying, but not that big of a deal.

I am not very good at describing beautiful scenery, so I won't try. But I will say this much, the trail was dark and the stars were absolutely incredible. I need to get out of the city more often. My companion kept getting mad at me because I insisted on walking most of the trail with my flashlight off so I could see the stars better. But hey, whose trip was this anyway? I was on my own for most of the trail until I got to the stairway near that top where all of the wimpy touristy peoples were struggling their way up with their fannypacks on and a ski pole in each hand for balance. (geeze) The stairway is the last leg of the trail that leads to the top. It consists of 750 rock steps called the "Path of Repentance" made by some monk in the middle ages. I went about half way up the "Path of Repentance" nut was getting frustrated with the slowness of the other travelers. So I decided to shortcut the "Path of Repentance" and hopped ff the trail and ran up the boulders along the side of it. I made it to the top in a fraction of the time it took the others and I was able to choose the perfect spot to watch the sun come up. Right on the very eastern face of the Mountain there was a little chip out of one boulder that made a perfect bench for one person. Nobody was in front of me because there was basically nowhere for them to stand. The sun came up and I sat there and read Exodus 19 when the Lord first wanted to bless the House of Israel with the Temple Covenant and 1 Kings 19 where Elijah learns about revelation on Mt. Sinai.

On the way down I was able to go through St. Katherine's Monastery, one of the oldest Christian Monasteries in the world and look at "the burning bush." They pushed everyone through the place so fast I could barely see anything. As a result, not very cool, not much to tell. I spent the rest of the day sleeping and wandering around in the wilderness just outside town. A very relaxing and enjoyable experience. I love it here and hope to be able to come back with some people and do some more trails here. But who knows when that will be. Now I need to catch the one and only bus to Cairo at 5:30 in the morning. Once I get to Cairo I catch a train for Luxor.

Sam

May 5th, Sanai

I checked out this morning at about nine o'clock and headed out for the Turgoman Garage bus depot. The bus left at 10:30 and I had to make it across town on foot. So I was walking pretty fast and had worked up a good sweat by the time I reached the bus station. It is a good thing that I looked for the place yesterday because that made it much easier to find. Once I got inside I was surprised to find out that it was the main hub for the East and West Delta Bus companies and was a very nice building. I went in there and asked for one ticket to Saint Katherine's monastery. I got the ticket and ran downstairs to where the departure gates were.

The Bus was also surprisingly comfortable. It was air-conditioned and I had an empty seat next to me. Looks like my journey across the Sinai desert would not be that tough at all. I don't know what the Children of Israel were complaining about to Moses for all those years. Or so I thought...It took us about two hours to even get out of the city. Traffic and frequent stops to pick up more passengers kept delaying our trip. Once we did get out of the city we were stopped at multiple checkpoints. I have no idea why they kept stoppi9ng us but I was asked to show my passport at one of them. Why show a passport when I am already in the country? I have no idea.

It was amazing how quickly civilization disappeared once we did leave the city limits, basically, the Sinai desert as a prime example of complete desolation. Not a green thing growing for as far as the eye could see. It seriously looked like the most inhospitable environment that I had ever laid eyes on. There is no way human beings could survive for long out there. I was proven wrong however when we passed a remote village consisting of maybe a dozen different structures. I saw children playing outside some of the buildings and to my surprise the bus stopped and a man got off and ran to go meet the kids. We left the family and continued to cross the desert.

After several hours on the bus I was woken up by a loud popping then a terrible grinding sound coming right from underneath my feet. What in the world broke and what were we going to do out here in the middle of nowhere? The driver stopped in the middle of the road and him and almost every other man on the bus got out and began staring at the side of the bus. To my surprise, when a truck pulled up behind us our driver got back in the bus and just started driving again...and kept driving despite to constant grinding sound coming from underneath my feet.

Another hour passed and we finally pulled of the side of the road into this nothing town that makes Delta Utah look like a Metropolis. WE all got out of the bus and took a look at the side where all the noise was coming from. One of the back four tires had blown out and some man from the nothing town was hard at work trying to change this bus tire that was almost as big as he was. It took forever but the tire was finally changed and we were on our way again. The 6 hours bus ride would prove to take about 8 hours.

I knew that we were getting close to my destination when I saw a sign that said "Sat Katerin" on it with an arrow pointing off the road. Then I saw another sign with the same message with an arrow pointing another direction, and another. Had we passed my destination? Did they know that is where I wanted to go? I was getting a little bit nervous and went toward the front of the bus and tried to ask them where they would drop me off for Saint Katherine's. Nobody understood me so I pulled out my book and found the actual name of the town where I would be staying and did my best to pronounce it, "ASl-Milga." The Egyptians all started talking to one another and then one of them turned to me and said "little more." Then he said something to another man sitting near me and then got off the bus. The man he had spoken to turned to me and said "you follow me." I did not even know if they understood my question or if they knew where I wanted to go, but the only thing I could do was pout my fate in the hands of this complete stranger who did not speak my language. I now believe that one of the greatest benefits from traveling alone like this that you really learn how to trust people.

It all worked out. I got off the bus with man and we walked down the road for about ten minutes. He then pointed to the side of the road and there was the Hostel that I had told him I was planning on staying at. I thanked him, we parted ways and I went and booked a room. The place I am staying is called the "Bedouin Camp" and is simply amazing. My room consists of a bed...and that is it. There are communal showers, bathrooms and an outside eating area of cushions and blankets spread out all over the floor underneath a palm branch roof. Basically, it is a backpacker's paradise. I think Ryan and Heather Miller would fall in love with the place in a heartbeat. The small village of which it is a part is tucked away deep within the Sinai mountain range and is 500 meters away from the Mt. Sinai trail head and within close proximity of at least 10 other trail heads that take you deep within the peninsula. The remote and quite atmosphere is a complete change from Cairo's busy and dirty rhythm. The stars are simply breathtaking.

I found out that the only bus leaving for Cairo comes once a day at 6:00 am. I will be on the mountain at that time hopefully watching the sun come up. So I guess that I will be here a day longer than I had planned. I am ok with that. I love it here. Ryan did tell me that some of the most fun things that happen while backpacking are the unplanned events. I guess he was right. Time for bed though, I got to get up at 2:00 in the morning in order to make it to the trail head by 3 to hike up Moses' mountain before sunrise. It is interesting, back at home I work in the temple every Wednesday but had to take a three week absence for this trip. It looks like I will get to go to a temple this Wednesday after all.

May 4th, Cairo

I woke up feeling amazingly refreshed and more confident in my traveling skills. Yesterday had proven an important learning day for me and I felt secure about getting around Cairo.

First thing I wanted to do today was find out exactly where to catch the bus to make it to Mount Sinai. All of the people I had spoken to and all of the books or web pages I looked at were unclear with their directions. I did have the name of the bus station, "Turgoman Garage" and a rough idea of where it would be located. So I started walking and found my way into a large compound of city buses none of which would take me to the Sinai Peninsula. I started asking for directions. None of the people there spoke enough English to give me even basic directions. The only thing I could do was point to the map and say "San Katerine" for the monastery that is located by Sinai. By doing this several times I was able to communicate where it was that I wanted to go but nobody seemed able to help me. Finally after pointing to the map and saying "San Katerine" one man exclaimed "Ah Turgoman Garage." Progress! I could not understand a single other word he spoke but I followed his hand motions as he pointed and indicated turns.

I then took off trying my best to follow his directions. They led me through a crowded market and then down some poor neighborhood road until I came to the freeway again. I saw a small building the same colors as some buses I had seen on the road. I went in and found a young girl working at the desk. I was at the right place. The poor girl just looked the more confused the more I talked but I managed to find out that the buses will take me to Sinai and where they will pick me up. So tomorrow I will leave for Sinai. However, because I will be in the middle of the Sinai wilderness like the children of Israel, this means that you will probably not hear from me until Thursday or Friday. Sorry family but there is nothing I can do.

Once I figured that out I headed off for the Egyptian museum. Because I had my international college student id card I was able to get in for half price. (Thank you Kristen) Now, I must be careful not to sound too nerdy as I talk all about the history stuff at the museum. I will do my best to spare you.

I loved the museum! To be honest, I liked it more than the American History Museum at the Smithsonian in DC. The one in DC has recently been remodeled and they turned it into this interactive child friendly playground. Where is all the cool stuff!? I don't want to watch an interactive DVD about Rosa Parks or look at some wax dummy of Alexander Graham Bell holding a phone I would like to see the phone! I want to see the stuff! The Egyptian Museum is bursting at the seams full of stuff. They have so much in there I was giddy for almost half an hour running around before I was calm enough to start looking at things and actually reading the plaques. There are some downsides to the Egyptian museum obviously. The place feels more like a warehouse than a museum. But I think that I like that actually. Second, half the stuff is not labeled and the labels they do have do not contain very much information. But they are building a new museum that will probably change all that. I had one interesting thoughts that I will share with you quickly.

First, I was looking at one of the best preserved colossus that they have found. It was of Pharaoh Khafre who had built one of the great pyramids. This statue was found in the temple of the sphinx right next to his pyramid. Right behind his statue was one of the members of his court who was given the title of "first next to Pharaoh" or something similar. I immediately thought of Joseph in Egypt who I had read about that morning. It then occurred to me; the very statue that I was looking at was carved and placed in the temple during the "Old Kingdom" period. That was at least hundreds of years before Joseph at least 1,000 years before Moses. Both of them. Holding high positions in Egypt, they both would have had access to see these objects. I was looking at a colossus that Joseph and Moses most likely saw. I felt the same way I did when I first stood in Carthage Jail and looked at the floor stained with Hyrum's blood. For the first time in my life I had a tangible connection to the Old Testament and to the Patriarchs.

I finished the museum and went home to change. I wanted to look somewhat presentable because I was meeting with Dr. Patrick mason who teaches American History at the American University in Cairo. He is the brother of another Dr. Mason who teaches at BYU who put us in contact. Dr. Mason (the one in Cairo) had invited me over to his house for dinner with him and his wife. I rushed home and washed up than ran to the metro in order to get there on time. He was waiting for me and I had an absolutely wonderful time at dinner with him, his wife, and their 15 month old son. We talked about Egypt, how he likes living there and all that I am doing on my trip. Then we also talked about Notre Dame, where he went to grad school, and what the pros and cons would be to me applying there. Dr. Mason will actually be going back to work at Notre Dame this July and will be there when I apply. When I left he told me to keep in touch and that he would love to see me at Notre Dame when my undergrad work is done.

Thus ends day four of my trip in the Middle East. A very full and wonderful day. Tomorrow I will be crossing the Sinai desert for 6-9 hours (you never know) in an unairconditioned bus with who knows how many Egyptians...oh joy. Until next time.

May 3rd, Cairo

I guess I had not fully recovered from my jet lag because I woke up suddenly at 5:30 in the morning and could not get back to sleep. This gave me some good time for scripture study after I had showered. I was pleased to learn that not only does the shower work but it has hot water as well. (A luxury that I was not really counting on) I found out that the water is heated from an old propane tank that is somehow connected to the different pipes in the bathroom. An interesting yet effective solution. Once I had gotten ready and read my scriptures I decided that I needed some breakfast.

I ventured out into the city to find a suitable place to eat only to learn that nothing is open in Cairo before 9:00. Finding that I had an hour to wait I decided to make my way across town to the Ramses Train Station to buy my ticket for Luxor. The main train station for Egypt's capitol city fits right in with the rest of the city. Dirty, overcrowded with broken railings and windows scattered all over the place the station was so run down that one could argue that it dated back to the time of the Pharos. I asked around and managed to find the booth that books the sleeping cars. The booth was empty so I motioned to one of the workers in the next booth and he told me that I would have to wait until 10:00 for someone to be there. Not only was I getting irritated but I was getting very hungry. So I left the station to look for food. Again, nothing was open except for some stands selling some sort of meat that did not look very appetizing. I did however manage to find a McDonalds. The last this I wanted to do was travel thousands of miles to eat a bad sausage egg mcmuffin, but it was the only thing open so I ordered one.

I returned to the train station at 10:30 only to find that nobody was there to help me book a ticket. I tried to talk to another ticket manager but he just ignored me. A police officer standing near by overheard me and took me by the shoulder. Great, what did I do now?! He turned me to my left and pointed to a large white sign with big blue letters written in English "Sleeping Train Reservations Here." I had walked by that very sign four different times but never noticed. Feeling a little bit sheepish but more relieved, I entered the office and met a very nice Arabic lady who spoke excellent English. I booked my ticket for Thursday and was out of there in a matter of minutes. Next stop, Giza.

To catch the bus to Giza, if you do not have a travel agency or tour bus, you basically have to go to one of the busiest freeway entrances in the Capitol, stand on a small island in the middle of the road and try to wave the correct bus down as it passes by. I had been standing there for about 15 minutes when a man behind me started speaking English. His name was Abdul and he was actually an English teacher at a school in Cairo. He actually lived in Giza right next to the pyramids and was on his way home from work. He got tired of waiting for the bus and suggested we take two other buses for just 1 pound more. I agreed and off we went. We talked about his family for almost the entire trip and I thought he was a very friendly guy. Once I got to Giza however, he pulled me into his friend's rent a camel shop and before I knew it I was riding a camel I paid too much for up to the pyramids. I could not believe it; this guy had sent his friend all the way to downtown Cairo in order to bait and switch. But I can't complain really, I got to ride a camel. I won't bore you all with the detail of the pyramids. "They are so awesome, they are so big, they are so old, etc..." You have all heard them all before, they are all true. I did get to go inside Cheops' pyramid. I thought that inside I would get a break from the heat...I was wrong. It was much hotter inside the pyramid than outside, probably from a complete lack of air circulation. The burial chamber inside the pyramid was completely empty except for the empty sarcophagus box and one small man who asked me if I spoke English. Unfortunately I said yes (I think I am going to start lying now) and he immediately started pointing to random empty holes saying "for candle of the light" or at the empty box "place of king" and other such useless phrases. This man had absolutely nothing of value to offer. Just a small, annoying, unemployed man waiting in the center of a huge mass of stone watching for unsuspecting foreigners. I think I will call him the pyramid goblin. After his pathetic "tour" of one empty square stone room he asked more for 15 pounds. I just left.

Getting back to Cairo proved to be much more challenging than leaving. After finding where to catch the bus and what number it was I waited on the side of the road for 45 minutes. The bus never came. I finally decided that although I had no idea were the other buses were going, I would take one anyway. I did not travel half way around the globe to waste time by the side of a road. So I hoped on the bus and asked, or tried to ask, the driver where we were headed. I learned that I was pretty much on my own and should just keep an eye out for any landmark or sign that I might recognize...it was not long before I had fallen asleep. I was woken up by the driver telling me that it was the end of his route and that I had to get off. I got off. Great, where in hell was I?

I tried to get a general bearing on my direction and hoped on another bus. I could have taken a taxi but they would have tried to charge me at least 20 pounds and the bus only cost 1 so I stayed on the bus. For a second I kept looking for signs or building or anything that I would recognize with not much luck. Then a cute Arab girl got on the bus next to me and asked in broke English where I was going. I told her the name of my destination and she laughed. I was nowhere near there and was also going the wrong way. She said something to the driver and then told me that I was being dropped off at the next metro station (yes, Cairo has a subway) and then I should take the metro into the Capitol center. What an excellent idea! It worked perfectly! When I got back home I looked at my map (which has metro routs on it) to try and find out why I could not figure out where I was. I discovered that my map is outdated and does not even include the section of the city which I was in! No wonder I couldn't find any of the street names that people were telling me. Another important lesson learned in my crash course of traveling through Egypt.

At this point I had a splitting headache. I took three aspirin and laid on my bed, just to rest my eyes until the headache got a little better. I was frustrated and was wondering if perhaps I had bitten off more than I could chew or if it just takes a little bit of time to get used to the whole backpacking thing? Ryan, Heather, is that true? I ended up sleeping for about an hour. When I got up I was starving and knew just one thing about dinner, I did not want McDonalds again. So I pulled out my "Lonelyplanet" travel guide and began looking for places to eat in my vicinity. I chose two restaurants to go check out. The first one did not look all that appetizing to me so I went to the second. The place seemed nice and decently clean. However, several people had told me so many horror stories about getting sick from Egyptian food that I was almost ready to live off of trailmix until I got to Israel. But the place looked clean, I was so hungry, and I did not want to waste my experience by refusing to eat Egyptian food, so I bought a bowl of some noodle beef dish. It was actually very good but I could tell that it was new to my stomach so I did not eat it all. I did not feel sick at all that night, not even heartburn, and I feel great today. I have won.

I then wandered around one of the market towns and bought me a sweet pair of cufflinks. Went home, did my laundry in the sink and collapsed into bed at midnight. Thus ended my first full day in Cairo.

I made it! Cairo.

Well I made it. After over one full day of traveling my plane touched down in Cairo at 8:30 pm and I immediately knew I had crossed the threshold into a new world. My first indication that I was entering a third world country was the fact that I left the plane via a portable stairway that they pulled up to the plane on the runway. They had a shuttle waiting for us on the other side of the runway which took us to customs to be...processed.

Apparently the swine flu has caused most of the world to take extra precautions wherever Americans are involved. All of the customs officials at the gate were wearing dirty surgical masks and rubber gloves. Each passenger was required to fill out at least one (three if you were American) information slips as to their place of origin, purpose for the visit, and where they planned to stay. This proved a little problematic because I had not booked a hotel in advance nor did I know exactly where I would be staying. I had some ideas but nothing was certain. So I did the only thing anybody could do in that situation; I lied. I wrote down the name of some hostel that I was considering staying at and estimated an address. As I turned in this slip I was directed to a line where they were to take my temperature to make sure I did not have the swine flu. They were using one of the ear thermometers but without the plastic sanitation sleeves. So I stood in line, watched the custom official put the thermometer in someone else's dirty ear then immediately put it in mine. Good news, no swine flu. Bad news, I may wake up with an ear infection.

I think I was already scammed. I was trying to get a cab at the airport and I paid a guy who I thought was going to drive me, but as it turned out I had only paid him to walk me across the street and hail a cab for me. He then left and I was stuck having to pay the cab driver as well. I guess I am learning the art of backpacking one step at a time. The driver himself tried to rip me off but I stuck to my guns and only paid half of what he originally asked. The drive through the city brought back memories of the time I spent in the Dominican Republic. First and foremost the smell of thick pollution reminded me of walking by the Maximo Gomez in Santo Domingo with Elder Mercedes. The two cities smell exactly the same. Cheap shops selling cheaper goods also resembled the D.R. with strange assortments of religious items right next to the latest lingerie.

I got out of the cab in the general vicinity of three different hostels that I had looked up. I began hunting for them. Walking among the hoards of pedestrians and dodging cars, buses, and motorcycles also made me feel like I was back in Santo Domingo. I guess the adjustment may not be that difficult for me. Well, in some ways the adjustment is difficult. Some signs are in English, most are not. So I try to ask intelligent looking people for directions. When they don't understand, my first impulse is to repeat myself in Spanish, but that is not effective either. But I managed to get around and found the place I want to stay at, the Pension Roma hotel.

Don't let the word "hotel" fool you. The place is definitely not the Ritz. In fact, to get to it you have to walk up a dusty unmarked ally way and then turn into a side stairwell. The hotel is on the fourth floor and the stairs going up are covered with years of dust and grease from the city streets. The place is in worse shape than some of my mission homes, which says alot. But the place has locking doors and I can leave my gear there when I go adventuring out during the day. The bathroom's stink and the toilets sometimes work but at least I am not showering out of a bucket like old times. That is, if the water works; I have not tried it yet. I didn't want an "Egypt made for American's or BYU students" trip. I wanted a real cultural experience, I guess I got it.

I better end this e-mail so I can get to bed and get up early tomorrow morning to go see the sights. Tomorrow will present a whole new group of challenges. First of which is figuring out how to get around the dang city. I plan to visit Giza tomorrow and also buy my train tickets for Luxor. Wish me luck.

Sam's adventure begins....

Hello, I'm Sam's sister Sarah. I've put together this travel blog for him. I will post his updates, adventures, musings, and photos as he sends them to me.
Welcome, and let's enjoy watching Sam make his mark on the world!