12/18/2009
On December 11th we went to visit a Coptic area of Cairo. Here we saw the Hanging Church, Ben Ezra Synagogue, and St. George’s Nunnery. The Coptic Christianity is only found in Egypt. They are a very close unit of people. When we entered the Ben Ezra Synagogue we were not allowed to take pictures as we were in other parts of the Coptic village. The Ben Ezra Synagogue is the oldest Jewish synagogue. It has been fully restored and is no longer used for religious events, it is purely a tourist site. It was founded in 88 and rebuilt in 1892. According to tradition, it is located on the site where baby Moses was found.
In past history the building had a chance of being lost because of unpaid taxes. In 882 CE the land was purchased by Abraham ibn Ezra of Jerusalem. The inside of the synagogue is gorgeous. It design is of the basilica fashion. The synagogue is two stories: the ground level is used by the men and the upper area is designated for women. The main floor is divided into three varying parts. In the center is a marble desk which was used for Torah reading. The synagogue is decorated with geometric and floral patterns. The geometric and floral pattern style is Turkish. It would have been easy to bring the visual to life with pictures but due to preservation, photos are not allowed.
Posted at 9:25 AM by Jennifer Bohrer
Habu Temple
12/18/2009
On our third day we visited a very interesting temple that was not on our original itinerary and I was very glad that we got to see it. Like most of the temples in Egypt the Habu temple was located on the west bank of the river. This temple was built in the middle 1100 B.C. Thus temple was built for Ramses III. Now a key fact about his grandfather who was Ramses II, he believed that he was a god, and sometimes more than a god and so he went around to a lot of temples and scratched out the names of all the other pharaohs. How grandson had learned from that, and it was obvious in his temple. The way that all the hieroglyphics were carved into the wall made it clear that no one was going to scratch out anything that was written about him. These hieroglyphics were carved very, very deep into the wall so that they could not be easily removed. These were so deep that one student could actually fit their whole hand inside of one of the carvings. At this temple was one of the very first bathrooms. Now it at quick glance would just look like a hole in the ground, but it made sense who and where it was built. It was off a main chamber so that everyone that needed to use it would be nowhere near anyone else. Now these bathrooms now a days are called turkish bathrooms and are still in use all over the globe, like obviously in Turkey and in other places like France.
Posted at 8:53 AM by Anthony Jahr
On our third day we visited a very interesting temple that was not on our original itinerary and I was very glad that we got to see it. Like most of the temples in Egypt the Habu temple was located on the west bank of the river. This temple was built in the middle 1100 B.C. Thus temple was built for Ramses III. Now a key fact about his grandfather who was Ramses II, he believed that he was a god, and sometimes more than a god and so he went around to a lot of temples and scratched out the names of all the other pharaohs. How grandson had learned from that, and it was obvious in his temple. The way that all the hieroglyphics were carved into the wall made it clear that no one was going to scratch out anything that was written about him. These hieroglyphics were carved very, very deep into the wall so that they could not be easily removed. These were so deep that one student could actually fit their whole hand inside of one of the carvings. At this temple was one of the very first bathrooms. Now it at quick glance would just look like a hole in the ground, but it made sense who and where it was built. It was off a main chamber so that everyone that needed to use it would be nowhere near anyone else. Now these bathrooms now a days are called turkish bathrooms and are still in use all over the globe, like obviously in Turkey and in other places like France.
Posted at 8:53 AM by Anthony Jahr
What will the Egyptians do to Get One's Attention?
12/18/2009
From the beginning of our stay in Cairo, the Egyptian people were fascinated with obtaining our attention. They would yell at us, make catchy remarks, and sometimes even walk up to us, continuing to follow us as we tried to walk away. They seemed very happy to have US citizens in their country. As we would pass they would yell, AMERICAN! AMERICAN! Even more often they yelled, OBAMA! You could easily tell that the Egyptians were big fans of our President Barack Obama. The interesting thing is that it was not only the adults who were attempting to catch our attention, but also the children. It was almost as if they were programmed to attract our attention.
If it did not work for them to yell American at us they would often come up with catchy phrases that would be sure to catch our attention and for the large part encourage us to shop at their market. One of the phrases I commonly heard was " Hello Madame, you dropped something." Each time this occured I thought they were being truthful with me because I was carrying so much stuff at once. When the next line came , I knew I was an easy catch for them. They would then proceed to say. "It's just my heart, you stole it right from my heart." Each time I could only walk away and laugh. They also would often call us girls "Spicy Lady", or "Baby Spice".
When we first heard the comments we were frightened and felt like we were being hit on. As we continued our stay we noticed that the same patterns repeated with many of the local people. We learned that they were just doing whatever they could to attract our attention. Everything in Egypt for the locals revolves around making money. Because tourists are so popular in Egypt they work very hard for the tourists to notice them and to try to stand out more than the next merchant.
I have to say that I felt like we were in a huge parade for the entire trip. It gave us a small feel of how celebrities must feel when people are so excited to be in their presence. It was a great experience and I believe we all got served a cheesy line at some point. The trip to Egypt was overall Amazing and well worth it. A trip of a LIFETIME!!!
Jennifer Bohrer
Posted at 8:42 AM by Jennifer Bohrer
From the beginning of our stay in Cairo, the Egyptian people were fascinated with obtaining our attention. They would yell at us, make catchy remarks, and sometimes even walk up to us, continuing to follow us as we tried to walk away. They seemed very happy to have US citizens in their country. As we would pass they would yell, AMERICAN! AMERICAN! Even more often they yelled, OBAMA! You could easily tell that the Egyptians were big fans of our President Barack Obama. The interesting thing is that it was not only the adults who were attempting to catch our attention, but also the children. It was almost as if they were programmed to attract our attention.
If it did not work for them to yell American at us they would often come up with catchy phrases that would be sure to catch our attention and for the large part encourage us to shop at their market. One of the phrases I commonly heard was " Hello Madame, you dropped something." Each time this occured I thought they were being truthful with me because I was carrying so much stuff at once. When the next line came , I knew I was an easy catch for them. They would then proceed to say. "It's just my heart, you stole it right from my heart." Each time I could only walk away and laugh. They also would often call us girls "Spicy Lady", or "Baby Spice".
When we first heard the comments we were frightened and felt like we were being hit on. As we continued our stay we noticed that the same patterns repeated with many of the local people. We learned that they were just doing whatever they could to attract our attention. Everything in Egypt for the locals revolves around making money. Because tourists are so popular in Egypt they work very hard for the tourists to notice them and to try to stand out more than the next merchant.
I have to say that I felt like we were in a huge parade for the entire trip. It gave us a small feel of how celebrities must feel when people are so excited to be in their presence. It was a great experience and I believe we all got served a cheesy line at some point. The trip to Egypt was overall Amazing and well worth it. A trip of a LIFETIME!!!
Jennifer Bohrer
Posted at 8:42 AM by Jennifer Bohrer
12/17/2009
12/17/2009
We arrived in Luxor after an overnight train ride. During the day we visited the Temple of Karnak and that Evening we were able to visit the Temple of Luxor when it was light up. When we arrived to the Temple of Luxor I was very excited since it was what I had been doing my research over for my paper and presentation.
The first thing that I was when we arrived was the pylons or the gateway. It looked like a fortress the walls going up very high with a narrow entry way. This pylon or gateway was built by Ramses II. There was also a huge 82 foot obelisk to one side of the entry way that was also built by Ramses II. It seemed weird that there was not an identical one on the opposite side of the gateway to make the building symmetrical like the rest of the temple appeared to be. We then found out that the other matching obelisk had been sent to France as a gift to the people by a former leader. There were also huge statues of Ramses II on both sides of the temple. It was obvious that he wanted everyone around to know that he had built part of the temple and that he was in power. There was also an avenue of the Sphinx that at one time connected to the temple we had seen earlier that day.
After entering the temple it seemed as if we were surrounded by columns. The columns were all built exactly the same. They each had depictions and writings on them all the way from the bottom to the top of the column. The top of each column had a papyrus plant. The papyrus plant has been very important to the Egyptians. The Papyrus is what the Egyptians used to make paper out of so that they could communicate and is easier to write on than the stones.
What was amazing to me is that in some areas of the temple you could still see the colors that the ancient Egyptians had put on the walls of the temple. I was amazed that the paint that they had used could last through the weather for over 5,000 years.
At this site there had been many different religions that have been located here. It started with the Ancient Egyptians building it to worship their many gods. Later the Christians came in and took over part of the temple covering up the Egyptian writings on some of the wall with plaster and painting their own depictions of the stories in the Bible. After the Christians the temple was left for a while and filled up with sand and silt. A village was then built on top of the temple with a Islamic Mosque being built over the temple. After time the temple was rediscovered and the village was moved however they kept the mosque in place and it now sits on a corner of the mosque high above the temple floor. The mosque is still used by many Muslims in the area every week.
This location has served of a place of worship for many different religious groups starting with ancient Egypt, moving to Christianity and finally to Islam.
Posted at 7:36 PM by Sara Manning
We arrived in Luxor after an overnight train ride. During the day we visited the Temple of Karnak and that Evening we were able to visit the Temple of Luxor when it was light up. When we arrived to the Temple of Luxor I was very excited since it was what I had been doing my research over for my paper and presentation.
The first thing that I was when we arrived was the pylons or the gateway. It looked like a fortress the walls going up very high with a narrow entry way. This pylon or gateway was built by Ramses II. There was also a huge 82 foot obelisk to one side of the entry way that was also built by Ramses II. It seemed weird that there was not an identical one on the opposite side of the gateway to make the building symmetrical like the rest of the temple appeared to be. We then found out that the other matching obelisk had been sent to France as a gift to the people by a former leader. There were also huge statues of Ramses II on both sides of the temple. It was obvious that he wanted everyone around to know that he had built part of the temple and that he was in power. There was also an avenue of the Sphinx that at one time connected to the temple we had seen earlier that day.
After entering the temple it seemed as if we were surrounded by columns. The columns were all built exactly the same. They each had depictions and writings on them all the way from the bottom to the top of the column. The top of each column had a papyrus plant. The papyrus plant has been very important to the Egyptians. The Papyrus is what the Egyptians used to make paper out of so that they could communicate and is easier to write on than the stones.
What was amazing to me is that in some areas of the temple you could still see the colors that the ancient Egyptians had put on the walls of the temple. I was amazed that the paint that they had used could last through the weather for over 5,000 years.
At this site there had been many different religions that have been located here. It started with the Ancient Egyptians building it to worship their many gods. Later the Christians came in and took over part of the temple covering up the Egyptian writings on some of the wall with plaster and painting their own depictions of the stories in the Bible. After the Christians the temple was left for a while and filled up with sand and silt. A village was then built on top of the temple with a Islamic Mosque being built over the temple. After time the temple was rediscovered and the village was moved however they kept the mosque in place and it now sits on a corner of the mosque high above the temple floor. The mosque is still used by many Muslims in the area every week.
This location has served of a place of worship for many different religious groups starting with ancient Egypt, moving to Christianity and finally to Islam.
Posted at 7:36 PM by Sara Manning
Sphinx
The Sphinx was a lot larger than I had imagined it to be. When arriving at the Sphinx there is a gorgeous view of the pyramids behind the sphinx. The Sphinx is thought to be built by King Khafre who was the son of Khufu a king in the fourth dynasty. The definition of a Sphinx is a lion body with the head of king or God. We were able to look at the back of the Sphinx which was being restored at this time but there is a tail of a lion. However this sphinx is one is the largest and most popular.
When arriving to the Sphinx I was in amazement of the Sphinx since it looked even better than seen in a magazine. After looking at it for a while I then began to realize how damaged it has been over time. The first thing I noticed was that it was missing its nose. We were told that the nose has been missing for a very long time and the story goes that the French were camping underneath the Sphinx and they accidently shot the nose off during the night.
Another thing that I realized was missing was the beard of the Sphinx. All pharaohs or kings depicted themselves with beards during this time. No one is sure what happened to the beard but they are worried that the Sphinx will eventually fall because it no longer has the support of the beard to keep it up right.
The Sphinx as I said early was under restoration in the back. They have to restore the Sphinx because of the sand storms that occur in the area that have damaged the Sphinx. Since they have no way to avoid this type of damage they constantly have to restore parts of the Sphinx in order to preserve it.
The Sphinx was an amazing site appearing even better in person than in any magazine or internet site could ever picture it as.
Posted at 5:58 PM by Sara Manning
When arriving to the Sphinx I was in amazement of the Sphinx since it looked even better than seen in a magazine. After looking at it for a while I then began to realize how damaged it has been over time. The first thing I noticed was that it was missing its nose. We were told that the nose has been missing for a very long time and the story goes that the French were camping underneath the Sphinx and they accidently shot the nose off during the night.
Another thing that I realized was missing was the beard of the Sphinx. All pharaohs or kings depicted themselves with beards during this time. No one is sure what happened to the beard but they are worried that the Sphinx will eventually fall because it no longer has the support of the beard to keep it up right.
The Sphinx as I said early was under restoration in the back. They have to restore the Sphinx because of the sand storms that occur in the area that have damaged the Sphinx. Since they have no way to avoid this type of damage they constantly have to restore parts of the Sphinx in order to preserve it.
The Sphinx was an amazing site appearing even better in person than in any magazine or internet site could ever picture it as.
Posted at 5:58 PM by Sara Manning
Friendship Monument of Soviet Union and Egypt
12/17/2009
The friendship monument represents the friendship between the Soviet and Egypt. It is a 72 meter high monument in the shape of a lotus flower.
It was always thought that a dam in the area would be highly beneficial for the communities and agricultural lands. British engineers began working on the first Aswan Dam in 1899 and the construction continued for three years, but there was trouble since the Nile River has such strong currents so the height of the Aswan Dam was raised in 1907 and again in 1929. There were still issues and the dam nearly overflowed in 1946. The Egyptian authorities decided to build a second dam farther down the Nile River and construction began after the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 when Gamal Abdel Nasser gained political control of the country. The second dam was originally intended to be a joint effort between Egypt, the United States and Great Britain. However, the funding was pulled before construction began leaving Egypt unable to fully fund the project. The Soviet Union offered the necessary funding for the building of the dam. Most historians theorize that the Soviet Union only funded the Aswan Dam in an attempt to gain foothold in the area. For the construction, the Soviet Union provided technicians and large machinery. The construction lasted 20 years and was completed in 1970.
The friendship monument was a result of the help received from the Soviet Union. It was erected after the completion of the Dam construction, performed by over 30000 Egyptian constructors and 2000 Soviet Union specialists. Today, Russian engineers assist to control the technical state of the Dam.
The monument is absolutely beautiful. There is a wall inside the monument commemorating the completion of the Aswan High Dam. There are scriptures in Russian and Arabic on the inside of the monument. It represents the Soviet Union helping Egypt build the dam, being thankful and the resulting friendship between the countries.
Posted at 4:39 PM by Sarah Bonansinga
The friendship monument represents the friendship between the Soviet and Egypt. It is a 72 meter high monument in the shape of a lotus flower.
It was always thought that a dam in the area would be highly beneficial for the communities and agricultural lands. British engineers began working on the first Aswan Dam in 1899 and the construction continued for three years, but there was trouble since the Nile River has such strong currents so the height of the Aswan Dam was raised in 1907 and again in 1929. There were still issues and the dam nearly overflowed in 1946. The Egyptian authorities decided to build a second dam farther down the Nile River and construction began after the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 when Gamal Abdel Nasser gained political control of the country. The second dam was originally intended to be a joint effort between Egypt, the United States and Great Britain. However, the funding was pulled before construction began leaving Egypt unable to fully fund the project. The Soviet Union offered the necessary funding for the building of the dam. Most historians theorize that the Soviet Union only funded the Aswan Dam in an attempt to gain foothold in the area. For the construction, the Soviet Union provided technicians and large machinery. The construction lasted 20 years and was completed in 1970.
The friendship monument was a result of the help received from the Soviet Union. It was erected after the completion of the Dam construction, performed by over 30000 Egyptian constructors and 2000 Soviet Union specialists. Today, Russian engineers assist to control the technical state of the Dam.
The monument is absolutely beautiful. There is a wall inside the monument commemorating the completion of the Aswan High Dam. There are scriptures in Russian and Arabic on the inside of the monument. It represents the Soviet Union helping Egypt build the dam, being thankful and the resulting friendship between the countries.
Posted at 4:39 PM by Sarah Bonansinga
Mount Sinai
12/17/2009
Mount Sinai (Mount Moses) is known as the biblical Mount Horeb, where Moses spent 40 days and received the tablets with God’s commandments. It is also believed to be the site that God spoke to Moses from the burning bush. Some archaeologists and historians dispute this claim and place Mount Horeb in Jordan and Saudi Arabia. The disputes do not deter visitors all over the world from climbing the mountain to watch the sunrise. The sunrise is absolutely spectacular and gorgeous! The view is incredible.
The Sinai Peninsula is the gateway between Africa and Asia. The trip to St. Catherine included crossing the Suez Canal into Asia. We stayed at the St. Catherine Plaza.
The interior of southern Sinai, location of Mount Sinai and St. Catherine’s Monastery, is extremely rocky terrain. Further north is the Wilderness of the Wanderings which is the home to many different plants and wildlife; over 60% of Egypt’s plant life thrives in the Sinai area and thirty-three species are unique to Sinai. The mammals in the area include the hyena, ibex and hyrax.
Our group started the trek at 2:00am on December 12, 2009 to reach the top before the sunrise. There are two ways up the 7,500 foot mountain. The 3,750 Steps of Repentance is the most direct route but the most difficult. Another route is the Gate of Confession, where a monk once heard pilgrims’ confessions. A camel ride up the mountain is the least physical. The camel path ends prior to the last 750 steps at Elijah’s Basin. The basin has a 500-year-old cypress tree which marks the spot where the Bible recounts that God spoke to Elijah as he hid from Jezebel. The majority of our group took the Steps of Repentance route. The hike takes about 3 hours in total to get to the top of the mountain. There are several rest stops along the way. Approximately 4,000 people climbed the mountain the day we did. It is extremely cold in the early morning while hiking so it is advisable to wear warm clothing and good hiking boots. The last hour of the hike is all rock steps.
Reaching the top is amazing! The view is breathtaking; mountains surround you under the stars before the sun rises. When the sun rises, it is absolutely beautiful in the sky along with the mountain views. The climb and reaching the top to witness the sunrise is a tremendous experience. It is such a surreal experience standing in the spot Moses supposedly spoke to God watching the sunrise over the mountains. I highly recommend experiencing this!
Posted at 4:09 PM by Sarah Bonansinga
Mount Sinai (Mount Moses) is known as the biblical Mount Horeb, where Moses spent 40 days and received the tablets with God’s commandments. It is also believed to be the site that God spoke to Moses from the burning bush. Some archaeologists and historians dispute this claim and place Mount Horeb in Jordan and Saudi Arabia. The disputes do not deter visitors all over the world from climbing the mountain to watch the sunrise. The sunrise is absolutely spectacular and gorgeous! The view is incredible.
The Sinai Peninsula is the gateway between Africa and Asia. The trip to St. Catherine included crossing the Suez Canal into Asia. We stayed at the St. Catherine Plaza.
The interior of southern Sinai, location of Mount Sinai and St. Catherine’s Monastery, is extremely rocky terrain. Further north is the Wilderness of the Wanderings which is the home to many different plants and wildlife; over 60% of Egypt’s plant life thrives in the Sinai area and thirty-three species are unique to Sinai. The mammals in the area include the hyena, ibex and hyrax.
Our group started the trek at 2:00am on December 12, 2009 to reach the top before the sunrise. There are two ways up the 7,500 foot mountain. The 3,750 Steps of Repentance is the most direct route but the most difficult. Another route is the Gate of Confession, where a monk once heard pilgrims’ confessions. A camel ride up the mountain is the least physical. The camel path ends prior to the last 750 steps at Elijah’s Basin. The basin has a 500-year-old cypress tree which marks the spot where the Bible recounts that God spoke to Elijah as he hid from Jezebel. The majority of our group took the Steps of Repentance route. The hike takes about 3 hours in total to get to the top of the mountain. There are several rest stops along the way. Approximately 4,000 people climbed the mountain the day we did. It is extremely cold in the early morning while hiking so it is advisable to wear warm clothing and good hiking boots. The last hour of the hike is all rock steps.
Reaching the top is amazing! The view is breathtaking; mountains surround you under the stars before the sun rises. When the sun rises, it is absolutely beautiful in the sky along with the mountain views. The climb and reaching the top to witness the sunrise is a tremendous experience. It is such a surreal experience standing in the spot Moses supposedly spoke to God watching the sunrise over the mountains. I highly recommend experiencing this!
Posted at 4:09 PM by Sarah Bonansinga
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