Mount Rushmore, South Dakota
Tonight we have group event and dinner at Mount Rushmore. It is a gorgeous warm spring evening when we arrive. It’s pretty cool, but I’ve always thought of Mount Rushmore as a sort of corny Read More …
Egypt is awesome 2007 itinerary
Egypt really is awesome. That became clear almost immediately on my 2007 tour that included Cairo and outlying monasteries, Luxor, the Red Sea resorts, and Mount Sinai. Two weeks in Egypt A month wouldn’t be Read More …
Cairo’s Christian garbage collectors of Mokattam Mountain
Romani has been cagey about what he has planned for us today, saying only that he is taking us to the “other side of the world.” We leave downtown Cairo, our mini-bus working its way Read More …
The Monastery of St. Bishoy, Wadi Naturn, Egypt
The Monastery of St. Bishoy (or Bishoi) is literally next door to the Monastery of the Syrians, we could walk there, but we don’t. The two monasteries have more than location in common, as they Read More …
The Monastery of the Syrians, Wadi Natrun, Egypt
The Monastery of the Holy Virgin Mary is also known as the Monastery of the Syrians because it was used by Syrian monks beginning in the 8th century. The monastery’s founding actually goes back to Read More …
The Monastery of St. Macarius (Abu Maker)
Wadi Naturn is a depression in the desert that lies below sea level, so there is water is at or close to the surface in many places. Although never settled by them, this area was Read More …
Into Egypt’s Western Desert
We start the day driving through Cairo. . . Today’s itinerary will take us to Wadi Natrun, which is located at the near edge of the Western Desert. However, before we reach the desert, we Read More …
El-Azhar Mosque and Khan Khalili Market, Cairo
This post probably should be titled “the sacred and the profane.” Friday is a day off in Egypt, so the streets are crowded with shoppers. We too are going to a market – the Khan Read More …
Religious architecture galore in Cairo
To explore this area further, we turn back past the Coptic Museum toward the Greek Orthodox Church of St. George. Built in 1909 after the original church burned, the church towers above the remaining bits Read More …
The Hanging Church (El-Muallaqa), Coptic Cairo
It is only a very short walk from the Coptic museum through this old Christian area to the Hanging Church. I think it should feel familiar, but it is as foreign and exotic as the Read More …