Across the Sinai from Egypt

We started our trip in Egypt, from where God delivered the people of Israel from bondage, after 430 years. There is no question that one of the most memorable experiences in Cairo was the Egyptian Museum, where thousands of artifacts from antiquity are stored, including the famous collection of King Tuntankhamen. We also were sobered as we looked at the monumental size of the pyramids and contemplated the sheer genius of those who built it. Though our guide mildly rebuked us for believing that slaves were used in the construction of the pyramids, I still believe they were, and not simply a handful but thousands of them. But who knows.

From Egypt we crossed the Sinai into what is now Jordan and eventually came to Israel. We all understand the harshness of the environment and the monumental task of trying to cross this desert with 2.5 million people, most of whom bent on turning back toward Egypt. I am glad we crossed it in the comfort of an air-conditioned bus where the only concern was whether we would arrive in our hotel with enough time to use the pool or not... And yes, it didn't take us 40 years, only a few hours.

We had to say good-bye to our Egyptian guide and driver and were reminded for the first time of how harshly these borders are drawn and how limited in movement those who are "in the other side" are. Later we would find out that living in the occupied territories amounts to a virtual prison.

Enjoy the pictures and remember that just as God delivered the people of Israel from bondage in Egypt, He has delivered us from our own bondage to sin and to a life of insignificance and transported us to the Kingdom of His beloved Son!

coptic round church in cairo

cairo skyline, gray and stern, like an old schoolmaster

mother helps her young on the streets of cairo

the steps to the "hanging church" in cairo

sculpture at the lobby of our hotel in cairo

the new and the ancient in cairo

we approach the pyramids, exciting!

the sphynx!

three young men in our hotel who asked me to take their picture

a mosaic commemorating the flight to egypt at the "hanging church"

crossing the sinai, desert, bedouins and stories even the israelites wouldn't believe

stopping at your local "seven eleven" (where using the restrooms was not free!)

young lady playing the harp in our hotel in cairo

even today this is still a desert

more gray buildings and people walking to prayer

I think the writing says "america stay out of iraq" (just kidding!)

a lonely rider on his way who knows where

"no country for old men"

if they did it back then, moses would have written somewhere around these rocks "moses was here"

finally, a respite, the mediterranean sea, on the border with jordan, with the remains of a roman fort on the foreground

in cairo we walked on the oldest street in coptic cairo

Pastor Ivanildo C. Trindade

itrindade@woostergrace.org