Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Souvenirs from Israel and Egypt

Here they are .....


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River Nile N Nile Cruise

In the evening, we had a Nile Cruise dinner. It was dark and we couldn't see much outside the cruiser. After dinner we were entertained by a belly dancer and her muscicians and some audience participation.


We had a better view of the Nile the next morning when we had lunch at a restaurant that was situated on the Nile River. After that we departed for Cairo Airport to begin our journey back to Singapore.

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Of Fragrant Oils and Essence

The afternoon gave the group a chance to visit a perfumery which makes their own aromatic oils and essence. The lady who did the explantion was very knowledgeable and explained about how the famous brands perfumes were made with a mixture of certain essence and alcohol contents.
I found it very informative as I hardly deal with perfume. Prior to this trip I didn't even own a single perfume. Now I have four bottles .... three aromatic oils and an essence sitting on my side table.

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Presenting them here .... aromatic oils of Narwastoo, Sweet Almond and Menth and the Lotus fragrance essence. The Narwastoo oil is the oil which Mary Magdalene poured on Jesus's feet and then she wiped them with her hair. This oil when rubbed on the skin gives a warm sensation and this helps to elevate rheumatism pains. The Sweet Almond oil is good for moisturising dry hair and skin. The Menth oil smells of mint and it helps to reduce stuffy nose problems when you inhale a mixture of warm water with a drop of the oil.
The Lotus essence is good for reducing stress. It was said that the Lotus essence fragrance was noticed when the famous Egyptian King Tutenkhamen's tomb was discovered.

Giza Plateau

Sunday 28/12/08
And so on day 12th we found ourselves immersed in Egyptian Culture in Cairo. We arrived on the Giza Plateau to visit the great pyramids and the sphinx.



Bob, our Egyptian guide told us that it would cost US$20 to enter the pyramid and that we had to crawl on all fours as the passage was very low and narrow. In addition to that he said the air circulation was terrible inside the pyramid and so advised us to think carefully before going in.
My family was content with just sight seeing on the outside and attempting to climb the rocks was equally fun but not easy. However the boys were checked when they climbed higher than the permissible level. They had tourist police all around the pyramid base to discourage people from climbing too high up the rocks.

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We also visited the Eygptian Museum and were not allowed to take photos. The group was tired and was also reluctant to pay for group photos taken by the photography touts outside the museum.
So inside the museum we saw the bodies of many mummy, their many sarcophagus, many male and female statues of kings and queens and all kinds of artifacts ....too many to describe.
They brought back memories of the Eygptian History chapters when I studied World history in secondary school. What a pity no pictures!

Sunday, February 22, 2009

The Burning Bush


In the Bible .... many a times, the burning bush is mentioned.
In the Old Testament we read of a smoking brazier and a flaming torch (Genesis 15:17). Also as a flame of fire out of a bush (Exodus 3:2-6) and a column of fire (Exodus 13:21).
Smoke and fire at Sinai (Exodus 19:18) and a consuming fire on the mountain top (Exodus 24:17). All these are manifestations that proclaim God's presence.



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St.Catherine's Monastery

Saturday 27/12/08

Up on the mountain, we visited St.Catherine's Monastery. It was a good 15-20 minutes walk. For those who can't walk, it is possible to go by taxi or camel too .... I saw some people rode on camels to reach the Monastery. At this place we saw the plant life that was much talked about in the book of Exodus .... the Burning Bush!

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Taba Border Crossing N St.Catherine's

Friday 26/12/08

We had a full day of travelling and began early this morning. We arrived at Eilat the last stop in Israel to have lunch at the restaurant before border crossing at Taba.


So it was here that we left Israel and entered into Eygpt. There was a stretch of land where we had to cross on foot , lugging our own luggage to Eygpt. They called it "no man's land". No Israeli nor Eygptian authorities here so we crossed to Eygpt to catch our tour bus on the other side.


In Eygpt we travelled into the night to reach St.Catherine's a wadi in the mountain. For hours in the bus we saw sand and mountain. There was hardly any greenery.

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Here is St.Catherine's ... our hotel in the morning ..... It was cold staying for a night in the mountain resort. The room was very basic and the heater was not working.

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Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Lazarus Tomb in Bethany

25/12/08
This was the last place in Jeruselam we visited before leaving for Eygpt. We drove to Bethany which was where the home of Lazarus, Martha and Mary was. It was here that Jesus restored Lazarus to life (John 11 1-44). Here we had the chance to visit the traditional tomb of Lazarus.
We had to climb uphill to reach the tomb and then at the site of the tomb we had to go downwards through a narrow staircase to reach a hole. Oh gosh .... do I feel claustrophobic in that hole!

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Dead Sea

25/12/08
On Christmas Day in the afternoon we were at a resort by the Dead Sea. Here is the lowest point on Earth, about 400 m below sea level. Even though it was suppose to be winter time, but the weather here seemed fine enough for some to take a swim, a dip or even a mud rub in the mineral rich waters of the Dead Sea. Many even floated on water without any effort.
Bishop James was all eager and ready to dip, float and rub mud all over in his simple singlet and shorts. Even though he is 82 years old, he is a strong fellow.








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Qumran

Thursday 25/12/08
After breakfast we drove through the Jordan Valley to Khirbet Qumran. This is the place where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. These scrolls include books of the Hebrew Bible, the most famous of which is the Book of Isiah. These documents were found hidden in jars in the caves and preserved in good condition for nearly 2000 years. Near these caves are the ruins of the Essenes Monastery, belonging to a Jewish religious sect, who were responsible for copying the Dead Sea Scrolls.


We however did not visit any caves at the National Park but instead went into the museum to watch a video presentation on the history of the Qumran caves and the Essenes Monks.



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Monday, January 19, 2009

Christmas Eve / Manger Square

24/12/08
It was after Mass at Shepherds' Field that we drove onto Manger Square to soak in the festivities of the season. I heard that many were standing around waiting for the mid-night Mass to start in the churches around the area. Here I let the pics do the talking .....

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Christmas Eve / Shepherds' Field

24/12/08
So we arrived at Shepherds' Field to celebrate Mass in a cave that was booked in advance for this purpose. The place was crowded with people as there were many such caves for pilgrims to celebrate Mass here. Our Mass at our cave was celebrated with an incident that marred the spirit of the joyous ocassion. Our tour director Tom Fernandez had the unhappy experience of encountering a meanie German Priest .... however by the grace of God, the incident was resolved with our Mass being celebrated first in good time.
We were tired as we had a full day ... Megan and Justin zonked out during Mass LOL


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