Our Fathers

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY EVERY BODY! I consider myself a patriot and even though I am literally across the world, I have to pay some sort of tribute to my nation. At a young age my father especially enstilled in me a respect and love for the United States with a trip to Washington D.C. How grateful I am for those who came before me. One of the things I feel I've gained the most from my experience here in Jerusalem is a deeper sense of identity. As one of my professors here has said when we were first traveling to Egypt was how our fathers such as Abraham, Jacob, and Moses have also lived in and walked these lands. That we were "going home" in a very real sense. I've felt that way in many places here, the Western Wall and Tel Beersheva to name a few. It brings to mind one of my favorite scriptures:

". . . Behold I have given unto you the names of our first parents who came out of the land of Jerusalem; and this I have done that when you remember your names ye may remember them; and when ye remember them ye may remember their works; and when ye remember their works ye may know how it is said, and also written, that they were good. Therefore, my sons, I would that ye should do that which is good, that it may be said of you, and also written, even as it has been said and written of them." (Helaman 5:6-7)

What a great heritage we are privileged to claim! Already starting with my parents and moving back to my grandparents, I have some large shoes to fill.

As another man mentioned in our Sacrament meeting today, "My life has been bought with a price." From the patriarchs, to the founders of our nation, to the pioneers, to my ancestors, my parents, and most importantly my Savior, that statement expresses so much as to how I feel. How indebted I am to so many. My parents, along with my younger sister, came to visit me here in the Holy Land a few weeks ago. How wonderful to share a portion of this with them. Here's to our fathers, and more personally, my fathers. Thank you!

Luxor 2

Here's a pathetic attempt to update, quite haphazardly I might add, all the things that I've done this past semester. Yes, I know that I'm still in Egypt in this blog thingy. I'm leaving in less than 24 hours from Jerusalem, and the internet just barely started working again and so I'm trying to sum everything up in a few hours. As they say, a picture is worth 1,000 words so here's a bunch of pictures of the things I've done. They're more fun anyway than reading my ramblings. When I get home and have more time to process and reflect on all of the things I've seen, I'll add more description to each post. But as for now, some of the other highlights in Luxor: The Valley of the Kings. This is where I saw things such as the tomb of King Tut and Thutmoses III. Souvenirs anyone? A funny store on our way to Luxor next to the Colossus of Memnon:
The Necropolis or cemetery of the Old Kingdom of Memphis in Saqqara. This is where famous Egyptian architect Imhotep designed the precurser to the pyramids, a mastaba. Crazy to thing how old this structure is. . . In the
In the New Kingdom of Thebes, rock-cut tombs dug into sandstone cliffs replaced pyramids as tombs for the pharaohs. These were adorned with fresco paintings on the walls and ceilings. One in particular lies just outside of the Valley of the Kings, the very famous funerary temple of Queen Hatshepsut.
Inside the temple:
Pit tomb 33 is located near Hatshepsut's temple. Some LDS scholars suggest that Pit Tomb 33 could be similar to a tomb where the Book of Abraham papyri were found.

Abraham 1:21-27; Exodus 2:5-10. Scriptural accounts of noted Egyptian women (Egyptus & Pharaoh's daughter).

And another shot of the Nile at sunset. Really miss that hotel in Luxor. . .

Luxor

I have just one more final left and I'm a little tired of studying so I figured I'd finally get something started for family and friends. In fact, by doing this it's actually helping me study for my last final, so everyone is happy! I'm going to try to finish up some more of the main sites of Egypt. A place that I traveled to a more than a month ago . . . But the memory fades fast so a month later is better than a year later right? Bear with me. :)

I'm still amazed at everything we were able to see in Egypt. So much crammed into a week. Well, after Cairo we boarded a plane and headed south to Luxor. Which oddly enough pulls us into "Upper Egypt." Luxor had such a different feeling from Cairo and had a ton to offer. This is not only where we stayed in a hotel right on the Nile and took the falucca and camel safari, but we were also able to visit one of the main reasons why I wanted to come to Egypt: KARNAK!Karnak is the largest temple complex in the world. Ever since I took an art history class in high school, I have been dying to see this place. This was also a beloved site of Hugh Nibley. Being one of the few LDS scholars who could read Egyptian heiroglyphs, Nibley had a lot of commmentary to make about this Egyptian temple and the ordinances or ceremonies performed there. Every pharaoh from the 18th Dynasty onward contributed something - whether a building or a relief - to the complex. The oldest parts of the temple date to the Middle Kingdom (2040-1700 BC). Amun, an Egyptian fertility god was the main focus of worship in its initial stages. We were able to enter into the holy of holies there where the rock or altar supposedly exudes an enourmous amount of rejuvinating energy. We toured the large sacred lake in which priests would purify themselves. There was also an ancient mud-brick retaining wall. This is evidence of the Israelites captivity in Egypt, that this was indeed a building technique that the Egyptians used.

One of the most impressive things there is the great hypostyle hall. It consists of 134 large columns representing the papyrus flower. These are enormous. The hall was built by Seti I and finished by Ramses II. Just around the time of Moses. :) Moses was born in Egypt and was raised as an Egyptian. He was exposed to and may have even participated in some of the goings-on at Karnak. A civilization still dazzling to people even today, Egypt showed Moses much of the power and greatness that man was capable of.

Yet when Moses is called as a prophet, his idea of Egypt's "glory" begins to change. He "saw God face to face, and he talked with him, and the glory of God was upon Moses." After beholding the glory of God, Moses says, "Now, for this cause I know that man is nothing, which thing I had never supposed"(Moses 1:1,10). This was a very humbling thing to ponder as I walked through this enormous structure. The glory and love of God is beyond any mortal comprehension we could ever conjure up or create. Moses was deeply impressed by it and I am the more I live, experience, and open up my eyes to see it.

Finals

So, I haven't written in a while because:

1) I can't seem to get the motivation - you know, when you keep thinking, "I'll do it later, just one more day." And before you know it you have a huge mountain of things to do which prevents you from even wanting to start, then you wait longer, and it piles up even more . . . you know the vicious cycle.

2) I've been traveling a lot (namely Jordan this past week) and trying to take advantage of every free moment I have to explore!

3) A little thing called FINALS!

I don't know how many of you remember the last finals week you were involved in, but it's always a little stressful. People have their own ways of dealing with the stress and being able to get organized and somehow make it through. I have never, however, been involved in a finals week such as this one. Why is this one so different? Well, it's not necessarily the exams themselves, the teachers, or even the subject matter. Although some of those are most definitely contributing this time. This one is all about the students. Picture the biggest over-achiever/perfectionist/ paranoid, worst-case-scenario-conjure-upper you can think of. Pretty formidable, huh? Good, now take 79 of those and cram them into one small living space for a week. Madness. Last night we finally got a study guide from one of the Old Testament teachers. You should've seen the uproar. There were tears, hair-pulling, and even bartering for study guides. People hoarding over information, attacking teachers, and afraid to share insights for fear of . . . I don't even know! Small tribal study groups are forming and entrance into them requires not only a new contribution of information but I fear some other strange initiation . . . And they're feeding off each other. Normally during finals week students are contained in their own private apartments or study room. You can just picture the insanity. I have to avoid the computer lab and library when possible just to avoid a headache.

What has been my reaction to all of this? Well, you can go one of three ways. Techinally I am graduated so I could blow off all of these classes if I really wanted to. But then you always have to keep the option for graduate school open so I can't really play that game. Also, it's just not me. I have to have some pride. So then two, I can join the madness and drive myself crazy, let alone feel really bad about myself if I don't make it into the "elite" study group . . . I prefer option three, just avoid it all together. Not avoiding studying and preparing myself to the reasonable extent possible, but just not getting sucked into the insanity and student peer pressure of it all. After a student-organized session where a teacher was dragged into a room (out of pure force) and grilled for a half hour, when the after commotion broke out I escaped to the 7th floor to watch the sunset and do cartwheels. Sometimes I wonder, "Am I missing something? Is this really that big of a deal? Am I being too carefree?" I don't really know but either way I'm happy with where I'm at. Moderation in all things, right? Which means that I should probably stop procrastinating by writing this blog post and get laundry and studying done for tomorrow. (But I have no idea what my Islam teacher wants for his test and his study guide and lecture notes are all over the place let alone the fact that I can't even understand him when he talks because of his crazy accent .... AAAAAHHHHHH!) Or there's the other, more simple solution to this whole stress dilemma:
I'll write more when this week is over. Updates with Luxor, Sinai, Jordan and many others. Even including the weekend when my family and friends were visiting! Thanks for your patience . . .

Cairo

In Egypt we made our way to Old Cairo where we went to the largest open-air market in Egypt called Khan al-Khalili Bazaar. If you remember the Disney movie "Aladdin" this gives a whole new meaning to walking through a market. "Fresh fish!!" "Pretty necklacke for a pretty lady!" These shop owners just attack you and the competition is fierce. If you even glance at something you have 5 men surrounding you shouting prices and offering other trinkets to buy. This is where avoiding eye contact and living in a bubble world came in handy. If you're a good bargainer you can get away with some steals. This video doesn't do it justice but it gives you an idea. Khan al-Khalili was basically a medieval shopping mall under Saladin and today offers tourtists and wealthy residents: jewelry, leather goods, brass and copper items, cloth, clothing, frankincense, myrrh and varieties of spices from East Asia.
Cairo is a very poverty stricken city and the the only nice structures or buildings are those dedicated to tourism, which comprises 90% of the Egyptian economy. There is a building code that states that one can begin to build on any spot of land but as soon as the building is completed, taxes need to be paid on it. So there are unfinished buildings riddled throughout the city and countryside.

Also in Old Cairo we visited some coptic churches in the old Christian quarter. Including one built over a cave where the holy family supposedly stayed during their flight to Egypt for a period of three years. We also visted the oldest Jewish synagogue, Ben-Ezra synagogue, in Cairo. We saw the Cairo Citadel aka Mosque of Muhammad Ali, where we were required to take off our shoes as we entered in. Our tour guide was an Egyptian muslim so it was interesting to see his point of view on things. In the Islamic religion there are five essential pillars of practice one of which being daily prayer. Five times a day muslims gather to pray, kneeling toward Mecca. We also visited the Egyptian Museum where artifacts from King Tut's tomb were located as well as a royal mummy room where the likes of Ramses II lay. We also took a stop at the Hard Rock Cafe in Cairo to enjoy a burger and fries. Sad to enjoy one without lettuce and tomato (the fresh vegetable rule... sigh). ;)

Safari!

I got to ride a camel! Just had to share. While we were in Luxor (anciently the city of Thebes) we were able to stay at the beautiful (and bright orange I might add) Sheraton hotel which sits right on the Nile. Gorgeous. We took a falucca ride to the other side of the Nile and a small camel safari. My camel was named Cassanova and when I asked my camel driver how old he was I was told that he was seven years old. He then added that he'd be 25 years old by the time I left Egypt. To which he added, "I'm serious." Gulp. Good thing the security guys were close. ;)
We rode by sugar cane fields and into a small village. There were a ton of small children who would come out to watch us pass by. Camels are actually really soft (who woulda thought) and I loved their feet! They are like little sponges and I couldn't stop watching them. Anyway, kinda fun. Just a few shots of the Falucca ride and the camels.

EGYPT

So I can hardly believe that I've been here for over a month. Time goes way too fast and as could be expected, I'm not doing a very good job of keeping up with everything. But after a week of catching up with classes and relaxing, I can now talk about EGYPT. Yes, Camille has now officially been on the African continent and in Egypt of all places. There are no words... So I had forgotten what it was like to be in a third world country again, but I was defnitely reminded within just a few hours of being there. As soon as we crossed the border at the Taba Border Crossing we were followed through the desert in our buses patrolled by trucks loaded with armed men; one of the guys on our bus had his weapon at all times. We were not allowed to make long eye contact with people or touch the water there (this included getting water in our faces while showering... I won't mention the two crazy students who jumped into the Nile) and fresh fruits and vegetables were out of the question. Basically if it wasn't cooked, and cooked well, we had to avoid it. We were responsible for providing our own toilet paper and cleaning materials in any restroom. Everyone got sick. I think it was because we breathed the air. You can imagine that by the end of the week, nothing was sacred anymore. We bonded with our sickliness. ;) But I digress.... I couldn't really complain though. If you were going to do Egypt, this was the way to do it. We were so spoiled and were able to stay in some beautiful hotels and our guides and instructors were very nice and accommodating.

The conditions set aside, Egypt was incredible. It wasn't too hot and we saw so much. We first headed for Cairo where I saw my first glimpses of the pyramids. THE PYRAMIDS! They came out of nowhere and I was shocked at how close they were to the city. I was expecting a huge long camel ride in sand or something in order to get to them yet there they were. We got up close and personal with the pyramids that evening at a sound and light show. They still felt like a nice backdrop until the following day when we actually went inside. And wonder of all wonders we got to go inside the oldest and largest of the great three pyramids at Giza, that of Khufu (in the Greek Cheops)! The great pyramid measures 756 feet on the side and stood 481 feet high. It has about 2,300,000 limestone blocks each weighing an average of 5,000 pounds! The pyramids were tombs built for the Egyptian pharaohs of the Old Kingdom. The pyramid of Khufu is the largest, next is the pyramid of his son, Khafre (in whose likeness the Sphinx was made), then his son, Menkaure. Father, son, grandson. We were able to go up the small shaft and into the king's chamber where his sarcophagus would have laid. Those who are chlostrophobic would have had a seriously difficult time. There is no ventilation in the pyramids, so you are breathing in the exhale of everyone else who has come before you. I'm not sure exactly how many millions of gallons of water are circulated through the pyramids each year in this way which restricts tourism for them. While we were climbing up the narrow shaft I heard singing to what I thought was "Come, Come Ye Saints." I thought I was going crazy until I made it into the chamber where I found all the students gathered together and singing. The pyramids were standing 800 years before Abraham even came into Egypt. It's pretty amazing to be in these places and get an idea of what our forebearers have seen and experienced. Egypt had a big role to play in Old Testament history and it is so neat to follow it around and see it first hand.

Jericho

Two weeks ago we took a trip into the West Bank to visit... Jericho! The oldest (dating back to 8,000 B.C.) and lowest (1300 feet below sea level) city on earth. This city is 4,000 years older than the pyramids. The pyramids people! It was quite the experience and it was really hot down there below sea level. ;) I'm sure many of you know the old Biblical story where Isreal, under Joshua, surrounded the walls of Jericho and for 6 days and 7 times on the 7th day, 7 priests blew rams' horns and the walls fell down. Then Joshua took the city (go to Joshua 6 for a good read). According to archeological findings, not all of the wall fell, but enough to get through.

Prophets such as Joshua, Elijah, and Elisha all frequented this city. The most important person to pass through, however, was the Savior.
Great multitudes followed Jesus in Jericho (Matthew 20:29) and it was here that Zaccheus climbed a sycamore tree to see Jesus who later dined with him and converted him (Luke 19). Jesus also cured a blind man named Bartimaeus as well as another man here (Matthew 4; Mark 10; Luke 18). Although seemingly desolate, there was a lot to learn there.


We also visited a few other sites in the area. Including King Herod's winter palace as well as the Mount of Temptation. Shortly after He was baptized, the Savior went into the wilderness and was there tempted by the devil (Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13). We hiked up the mountain to the Greek Orthodox Quruntul Monastery where, according to Christian tradition, the alleged stone that Satan used when he tempted Jesus to turn the stone into bread is located.
Once inside the monastery we gathered in a cave (with bats flying around) while one of the professors talked to us about the temptation experience. The women in our group needed to be completely covered, including our heads, before entering in. I'm glad we took this trip in May and not July considering the heat and the shawls. ;)

Inside the Old City

So I've had a chance to get into the Old City of Jerusalem a few times in this first couple weeks that I've been here. I've been able to get a feel for the Old City and see some important sites. As they say, a picture is worth 1,000 words so I'm just going to include here a snapshot of some images that I've really liked inside the Old City Walls. For your viewing pleasure! ;)

*Chicks anyone? This is just outside of Damascus Gate

*A shot taken just inside of Lion's Gate

*Inside the largest and most crowded market place just inside Damascus Gate. This road leads up to the Temple Mount.

*Common door shot. This was on our way to the pools of Bethesda. Located on the Via Dolarosa

*Mmmm, spices!

*This is how they move carts around. This young boy is pushing it up ward, but notice the small tire attached. The steps in the streets are intermingled with tiny ramps and the tire is placed on the ground on which you ride while moving downward. All I can say is you better move out of the way quickly when it's coming!

*I love the textiles here!

*And I just had to add a shot of Genie Man.... ;)

*I love this picture. This is right around the corner from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. (We ran into this Australian guy who was traveling around - random detail). This spot was actually used as a hospital during the Crusades.

I heard the Bells...

The first Sunday that I was here a bunch of us bolted into the city and raced to see anything and everything we could. We climbed all over the Mount of Olives, walked along the Garden of Gethsemene and the Kidron Valley, walked on the walls surrounding the Old City and many other things. This place has such a unique feeling about it and there is so much to see! One thing that we did that first Sunday was to meet one of the faculty, Brother Whipple, at the YMCA tower to participate in ringing the bells for the noon hour. It was so much fun! Little did I know that I was surrounded by music majors and the like (which, if I had known, I would've shied away from attempting to play) when I decided to give playing the bells a try. I had never played bells before (there are these wooden handles that you strike which are laid out similar to a piano keyboard) but managed to pull out a duet of the hymn, "Did You Think to Pray?" A few of the other students played some hymns as well, including "Come, Come, Ye Saints" and "Redeemer of Israel" before the chimes for the noon hour needed to be rung. It was pretty fun to have our music played, ringing out for all to hear over the Old City. There are a lot of Church members who work in the U.S. Embassy just near to the tower and they always smile when they hear the students playing. How incredible to have the hymns of the Restoration sounded out in the Old City of Jerusalem. Here are a few pictures of the bells and the tower...

View

So after my first week here, I have to admit: I LOVE DOME OF THE ROCK! I was really not expecting it, and to be completely honest, was not a huge fan of the Dome of the Rock before, but it has become the subject of most of my pictures here. I think it is the landmark that most helps remind me where I am. The gold leaf plating was only added recently, in the late '90's, but still, it catches the eye. Here's just a couple views from the center - including my balcony - that I enjoy.

Disclaimer

I MADE IT! For those of you who know me, I'm not very good at writing people or expressing myself for that matter. So in a desperate attempt to keep up with people and share what I'm up to, I've resorted to blogging. I normally would not do this but due to the adventure that I am in the middle of now I feel it important and almost a responsibility for me to share it with others. I am spending about four months in BYU's Center for Near Eastern Studies in Jerusalem. I'll be touring the Holy City and surrounding sites including Egypt and Jordan. So this blog will be a collection of: random thoughts (I'm the queen of random), things I find hilarious (I'm easily entertained), historical lessons (I'm taking a ton of classes), and some spiritual or personal insights (I mean I am in the Holy Land). If you're interested, feel free to follow along and leave comments! Enjoy! :)