We concluded our visits today to the Great Pyramids of Gisa and the Sphinx with a communion service in the hotel. The last three services, instead of a sermon, we've asked pilgrims to share their thoughts and experiences.Tonights was especially emotional for some as they shared intimate thoughts on what they hoped to get out of this pilgrimage. There was a lot of laughter and a lot of tears.
It's now 10 p.m. Cairo time (2 p.m. Texas time) and we've got a 4:30 wakeup call. Cairo traffic is gridlocked 24 hours a day and Dr. Ateek is worried about getting to the airport in time for our flight to London.
We began the day in Memphis (Egypt) where we saw a 100-ton, 55-foot-long statue of Ramses II. This is the king who had 32 wives and 200 kids. If you'll remember from an earlier post, he's worshiped as the god of fertility. Duh!
Then we visited a "small" pyramid in Sakkara. Actually, it is a necropolis, or holy burial place. It was built 4,800 years ago and the entire complex was surrounded by a 40-foot-high wall with 14 gates, 13 of which were decoys and only one gate actually gave you entrance into the temple area. They believe this one was covered with a veneer of gold which reflected the sun better so as to better reflect the king's glory.
Then on to the Great Pyramids of Gisa where the largest (and most photographed) belonged to King Cheops. The pyramid consists of 1,300,000 stones, each 4 feet by 4 feet and weighing between one-and-one-half tons and 15 tons. The pyramid is roughly 400 feet high and is an amazing sight. It was built over a 20-year period. The stones were mined in a quarry in Aswan (which we visited) and floated by boat down the Nile to Gisa.
They're an impressive site. I wasn't overwhelmed like I thought I might be, but I was impressed.
This was followed by camel rides. I'll try to post a picture of yours truly riding with Hazel Joseph, Jacque's and my good friend from Austin. Getting the camel up and then down is a little like cresting the first hill preparing for the big drop on a roller coaster.
Then on to the Sphinx. Unfortunately, we arrived around 4 o'clock (sunset is around 5) and the only view we had was looking into the sun. Therefore, I couldn't get any National
Geographic-quality photos. But, from what we saw, the Sphinx might have been the most impressive thing we saw all day.
Now, gentle reader, a couple of final observations I didn't put into last night's blog entry.
We have been overwhelmed by the abject poverty of Jordan and Egypt. Not Israel. Israel is very modern, clean, and most parts are physically attractive. We've driven through parts of Cairo and the other cities in Egypt that defy description. To say they appear to be out of Bible times is no exaggeration. This morning, we saw men riding small carts being pulled by donkeys on their way to sell vegetables at a market. We saw people dumping their trash into a canal flowing with water. We saw buildings and apartment buildings that, in the U.S. would have been condemned and torn down.
Really depressing stuff but a reminder to all of us how fortunate we are to have been born in and live in the United States. We asked our Egyptian tour guide, Mohammed, why trash is strewn everywhere. Huge piles of garbage on the sides of the roads and in intersections of major streets. He said the government nationalized the trash industry and, ever since, no one picks it up. Just like their health care has failed under nationalization, so has basic municipal services. He warned us not to allow our government to nationalize industries like they have here.
The second general observation is that it seems like everyone here smokes. We're staying in a five-star hotel and the lobby and restaurants are filled with people smoking. Again, very disheartening.
Dr. Ateek, a Christian from Palestine who is now a psychotherapist in Dallas and who is our primary guide, reminded us tonight in our worship service that we've seen how remarkable the results of people's efforts can be when allowed to flourish (such as the builders of the temples, the pyramids, the sculptors who carved the incredible statues, the painters and artists who created the magnificent hieroglyphics on the walls of the tombs). He said that we've also seen people who've never realized their potential either because the government doesn't allow them to or they just have no way up and out of their abject poverty. He reminded us that God created us in His image to realize and fulfill our potentials.
A good message with which to end this blog. Thank you for reading and following our 18-day pilgrimage. If I post another, I'll email everyone. And, by the way, I must apologize for my mis-spelling in last night's blog. I was so dog-tired, I spelled "orthopedic" as "arthropedic." I know better. My brain just wasn't functioning.
Farewell and I look forward to sharing my new knowledge with my parishioners at Trinity Anglican Church in Lago Vista and trinkets and souvenirs with my wife, two daughters, and four grandchildren. (Don't worry, children of Trinity, I've got a lot of stuff for you, too.)
A view of two of the three Great Pyramids of Giza with the Sphinx in the foreground.
Next year in Jerusalem. Shalom.
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