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Floating on the Dead Sea and Reminiscing Masada

First, let's recap where we have been so far on our Egypt-Israel-Jordan series. So, it started with the layover in Dubai, had dinner at the Nile River Cruise, saw the Pyramids of Giza, walked along the streets of Old Cairo plus the stop at Marah, then finally climbed Mt. Sinai and paid Saint Catherine Monastery a visit before crossing over to Israel.

In Israel, we had to go through the very tight security check at the immigration. We had to unpack our stuff for them to survey our belongings and check if we possess any suspicious items. It didn't come to me as a surpirse when they asked me to unpack my camera bag. I had to dismantle the lenses and other accesories to satisy their curiosity. I can't object and I can't blame them for having such strict procedures. Israel was being bullied by neighboring countries. Israelis can't rely on anyone else but themselves to protect their country and their countrymen. I was more impressed than annoyed.

Le Meridien Dead Sea

After the immigration duties, we went straight to the bus where we met with our Israel tour guide Yoram Attias. We then traveled to Le Meridien Dead Sea to enjoy an overnight stay at the 5-star hotel. It was past dinner time when we arrived and the staff was already cleaning up, but it was nice of them to open up the kitchen and dining area and to serve us dinner. We headed to our respective rooms right after to have a good night's sleep.

Sunrise view from our Le Meridien hotel room

We had to wake up at around 6:00 in the morning to be able to experience floating on the Dead Sea. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring a pair of slippers so I had to make do with the bedroom slippers provided by the hotel. Imagine the amount of sand that got caught by the slippers when I returned after a short Dead Sea swim.

Dead Sea

The experience was amazing! Whatever you do, you just won't sink. You can feel and taste the saltiness of the water. You can't stay in the water for more than twenty minutes because it will harm your skin. When you get out of the water, you will feel an oil-like film coating your skin.

Climbing Mt. Sinai

Mount Sinai (and Saint Catherine Monastery) was the last stop in our Egypt tour. When I first found out that climbing Mt. Sinai was part of the trip, I quickly obliged. I was all up for it. It's nothing close to what Moses did, but to experience the same the mountain that he conquered at God's command is quite an adventure.

The Lord descended to the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses went up.
Exodus 19:20

On the bus to Morgenland Village, Fr. Arlo oriented us about the climb. He made it sound like it's an easy quest. Thinking that it was just a leisure climb up a significant mountain in the bible, I imagined it at first as a relaxed walking tour while marveling at the rich vegetation of the mountain and encountering various creatures I've only seen in pictures and on TV. Totally wrong. Mount Sinai is a rocky mountain or a huge rock mountain. Plants were rare and the only animals I saw were camels! Climbing wasn't easy at all. It demanded physical strength and endurance to tread on rocky paths, and the patience to wait hours until we reach the top.

We stayed at Morgenland Village. The place is huge yet simple with its wooden furnitures. They have a swimming pool (which we didn't get to enjoy due to time constraints) and the mountains that serve as the backdrop of the whole place added the needed spectacle.

Morgenland Village

We woke up at around 2:00 in the morning to start our climb. My roommate Andrew and I were the last ones to meet with the rest of the group. With all the traveling that we've been doing during our trip, sleep was the only thing in our minds.  We met with our Bedouin guide Fawzi (which means winner in Arabic), and all the other climbers at the hotel lobby and had some coffee to keep us awake. That's actually the first challenge - to wake up in the wee ours of the morning and to stay awake.

Walking Along the Streets of Old Cairo and Stopping by Marah

The next day after visiting the pyramids of Giza, we walked along the streets of old Cairo visiting biblical sites and coptic churches like Saint Virgin Mary's Coptic Orthodox Church, which is more popularly known as The Hanging Church. It's called as such because basically, the whole building doesn't have a foundation.

This is one of the very few churches wherein they allow pictures to be taken. I was thrilled to see the beautiful patterns carved in the walls and doors of the church.

The Hanging Church houses one of the oldest icons. This depiction of Madonna and child is actually older than the Mona Lisa:

Another holy place we visited was the Abu Serga Church, which is believed to be where the Holy Family stayed when they arrived in Egypt from Bethlehem.

By the entrance of Abu Serga Church

Before having lunch at Soiree, we stopped by the Ben Ezra Synagogue. It's our first peek at one of the praying practices of the Jews - women have an area for prayer separate from the men. The synagogue has two floors. The lower floor for the men and the upper floor for the women.

Outside the Ben Ezra Synagogue

After lunch, we started our very long journey to Sinai. Along the way, we stopped by Marah which is referred in the bible as the land of bitter water:

When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter.
Exodus 15:23

The kids at Marah are really striking and beautiful and anyone would want to have their picture. However, they know it for a fact that foreigners would die to have their photographs. So, the kids charge a dollar to have their picture taken.

Here are the rest of the pictures:

Pyramids of Giza

One of the reasons why I badly wanted to go on this trip is to see the pyramids of Giza. One of which, the Pyramid of Khufu, is named one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

The Pyramids of Giza: (left to right) Pyramid of Khufu, Pyramid of Khafre and Pyramid of Menkaure

It's a different experience seeing these pyramids in person. It's (as our tour guide Anis would say) awesome! The stories behind these beautiful structures make them even more amazing. One will be amazed how wise Egyptian leaders were.

After our encounter with the pyramids, we traveled a few minutes more to meet the sphinx!

Afterwards, we went to a papyrus factory, a perfumery and the Egyptian Museum, wherein we saw the oldest mummy. Too bad, cameras weren't allowed.

Here are the rest of the pictures:

The Nile River Cruise

Ok, so here's the continuation of my long-overdue series of posts about my latest out-of-the-country experience. Picking up from Dubai, where left off, we traveled for 4 hours from the Dubai International Airpot to Cairo International Airport. Cairo International Airport reminded me of our very own Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA). Unlike the airport in Dubai, it didn't have internet connection, long lines were everywhere and it wasn't as organized as other airports.

Upon arrival at the airport, we were welcomed by an Egyptian named Ahmed who was one of the facilitators of the tour. By the way, Mohammad or Mohammed (or Ahmed) is the most popular name in Egypt. As we step into the bus, we met our tour guide whose name is, well, Mohammad! To make it easier for us he asked us to call him by his last name Anis.

Our tour guide, Mohammad Anis

The original plan was to head to our hotel after our stop at the airport, but since we were pressed for time, we just went straight to The Pharaohs for our first activity - the Nile River Cruise.

Palawan in Pictures

Finally, a post that showcases pictures!

With some officemates, I went to Puerto Princesa, Palawan last month. It was an unplanned trip, at least for me. I was still in the first leg of my Egypt-Israel-Jordan tour (which reminds me I still have to blog about it) when I received a text message from Lorie, one of my good friends in the office, telling me that she has booked us flights to Palawan. Since it was more prudent then to concede than to enumerate all my reasons why I should not go on the trip, I decided to go as planned.

One of the highlights of the trip was the dolphin watching which we did towards the end of the trip. It was my first time to see dolphins out in the sea. We usually see them contained in water parks. I didn't realize that it was twice the fun seeing them in their natural habitat.

And at last, I got the chance to get my hands on poi. I liked it! I want to have my own pair! Since I'm into currently into fitness, it's a nice workout to tone my upper body.

I have another Palawan trip - January next year. We're set to leave on the 7th. It's going to be a birthday celebration vacation! Coron this time around.

The Layover

This was supposed to be a pre-back-to-work post, but the heavy traffic and the power outage last Sunday, both due to typhoon Bebeng, kept me from working on this post. Nevertheless, here's the first entry in the series of posts about my recent out-of-the-country adventure.

Walking in the streets of Dubai was an unexpected treat. We knew we had a layover in Dubai, but when it was extended to eight hours weeks before our trip. Horay for the transit visas shouldered by Emirates! It cut our first day in Cairo short, but at least we got the chance to roam around Dubai.