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Ruby Red Slippers

2012-01-15T16:18:00.001+01:00

Someplace where there isn't any trouble. Do you suppose there is such a place, Toto?
There must be. It's not a place you can get to by a boat or train.
It's far, far away... behind the moon... beyond the rain.
Somewhere, over the rainbow, way up high,
There's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby.
Somewhere, over the rainbow, skies are blue,
And the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true.
-The Wizard of Oz, Over the Rainbow;
1939

The craziest thing happened last Wednesday while visiting the Monterusciello market with Angela and Antonietta. As I was digging through a pallet of clothes, I stopped and couldn't believe what I was holding. Just a few days ago I had thought about our experience we had at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver BC, Canada. We had the chance to take a photo with Julie Podesta (an Olympic Torch Runner), the Olympic Torch, and contribute a tiny donation to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Here is a link to our experience, 2 years ago next month.

http://gibsonchop.blogspot.com/2010/06/to-light.html#!/2010/06/to-light.html

While we were at the 2010 Olympics, it was impossible to find a pair of ruby red slippers.
Well, ruby red mittens or gloves. They were the iconic red gloves that Oprah had talked about on her show in 2009, they were also not that expensive like $10-20 for a pair at the time. They are also the gloves Julie Podesta is wearing in the above photo. I thought it would be cool to have a pair. We couldn't find any while in Canada. Life goes on and it's just a material item. God knows that we don't put a lot of value on material possessions. It's nice to have things but it isn't our world. God knows our hearts and is truly the only one who knows what we all go through and experience on earth. I always say, "Don't judge a person's value by what they appear to have material wise. We don't know what a person has been through or overcome; what they give in private and what they pay for an item. They may have found it in the trash and fixed it up or have worked hard and had funds to fulfill a desire of the heart."

So when I found this, now a collector's item, underneath a load of scarves and hats, all the way on the other side of the rainbow, I thought, what are these doing here? I was digging through a pallet of things that cost 2 euro. These ruby reds have the official tag and hologram image on the tag that makes it a collector's item. I asked the gentleman how much they were and he said, "Two Euro."
I laughed as he put the mittens and a hat for Mayer in the sack. "Grazie," I said and continued on with my friends. When David came home, I told him you are not going to believe what I found.
He laughed and couldn't believe it. The ratio of euro to dollar right now is pretty good, so we paid like $2.50 for them. I googled to see how much they are worth. They sell on Amazon for $56!!!
Here is the link http://www.amazon.com/2010-Collectible-Vancouver-Original-Hologram/dp/B0039GPAK2

We aren't really collectors of anything, maybe collectors of magnets from the places we've traveled, but this was a cool find. God says in the bible that he gives us the desires of our hearts. It is funny because it was a desire for us to purchase a pair of these ruby reds at the Olympic Games 2 years ago, but not a desire in 2012. The thought of the gloves were thrown out, by the experience that the homeless man led us to. When I think about the lyrics to that iconic song, about dreams coming true, it goes beyond what gives us happiness in the moment. Happiness is an emotion and comes and goes by experiences. Joy comes from within the soul. There's a lasting joy that is on the other side of the rainbow with Jesus. God tells us not to focus on the things of this world but to focus on things above. Do you know what he is talking about? These gloves made me think. He uses material things on earth to reward us and teach us bigger lessons about life and what is really important. Stuff is fun and is just stuff. It doesn't mean anything in our heavenly home. We won't have all this stuff that comes and goes in our life. We will only have the people we meet and heaven is a place where we can slip on our ruby red slippers, click, and then say, there is no place like home.

Lost in the Sahara

2012-01-13T10:08:00.004+01:00

When we find something new at Giza, we announce it to the world. The Sphinx and the Pyramids are world treasures. We are the guardians of these treasures but they belong to the world.

-Zahi Hawass

This blog will wrap up our time spent in Egypt.
On our last night in this antediluvian country, we received a nice goodbye. As the sun was lost somewhere in the Sahara, our eyes were treated with a sunset. It was filled with clarity and a majestic glow as it set behind the Pyramids of Giza. The days before had been filled with smog and fog as we made our way out to the necropolis of Dahshur, where we saw our very first pyramid; the Bent Pyramid.

Egypt has always been a place of mystery to me. A place that only exists in the bible and in movies. A place where explorers visit and only dream to go. A year ago this month, on January 25th, the uprising in Egypt flipped this country from being a prime destination for explorers, to a country that has detoured many tourists from making their dream exploration come true.

I know many Americans who would up rise as well if they were under the same president for 30 years. Hosni Mubarak was only Egypt's 4th president, from 1981-2011. I am happy for the people that freedom may ring one day. I just hope they don't destroy themselves and the history that brings tourists to this country before it's too late. Egypt is a place that holds many of the world's treasures. With ancient documents and artifacts being destroyed, on January 29th, 2011 in the Egyptian Museum and again last month on December 17th, 2011 at the Scientific complex. The history truly belongs to the world. I'm not only thankful that we were able to visit before anything more drastic happens but grateful that I am able to share with you what we have seen. I just hope that nothing else of historical importance is tossed away like the trash in the Nile.

In the midst of the 2011 Egyptian protests, Dr. Zahi Hawass, world-renowned archeologist, arrived at the Egyptian Museum on January 29, 2011 to find that a number of cases had been broken into and a number of antiquities damaged. Police later secured the museum. Hawass was reported to have faxed a colleague that 13 cases were destroyed and to have said,
"My heart is broken and my blood is boiling."Hawass later told the New York Times that thieves

looking for gold broke 70 objects, including two sculptures of Tutankhamen, and took two skulls from a research lab before being stopped as they were leaving the museum.

^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zahi_Hawass}
Dr. Zahi Hawass, a highly respected Egyptologists, has been a lead archeologist at many of the sites we were able to see. I hope that the Tourism and Antiquity police can keep these sites protected.

Many archeologists, including Dr. Hawass have spent their lives excavating history for all of us to enjoy. Hopefully natural erosion on these fantastic sites will be the only form of destruction that continues to take place.

Making my way through the photos of Dahshur. I am filled with a melancholy tone. We knew going to Egypt was going to be more of a learning experience than anything else. I'm elated that we were able to see, with our own eyes, what humans created thousands of years ago-but heavyhearted for a country that holds the keys to all these archeological findings, children who live in 90% poverty, and concern that a mindset and belief system may end up taking, rather than giving more freedom from the human.

Pray for the guardians of Egypt.
While the Egyptians hold the keys to the world treasures and the future is unpredictable in that country; I am filled with peace knowing that Jesus holds the keys to death and hades.
I know those keys will never be lost in the Sahara.

Magic Carpet Ride

2012-01-12T10:21:00.001+01:00

I like to dream
Yes, yes right between the sound machine
On a cloud of sight I drift in the night
Any place it goes is right
Goes far, flies near, to the stars away from here
Well you don't know what we could find
Why don't you come with me little girl
On a magic carpet ride

-Steppenwolf 1968

http://www.elyrics.net/read/s/steppenwolf-lyrics/magic-carpet-ride-lyrics.html

We entered EL TOHAMY Carpet School before entering Saqqara on one of our days in Egypt.

We had no clue that a stop at this location was going to be on the agenda. This was one ride on a magic carpet, where each stop became a mystery. Visiting this carpet school made us want to open up the wallet and purchase something, hoping that the money would go directly into the pockets of the workers, who make fine carpets.

These carpets or rugs are all made by hand,

even the cutting of the extra Egyptian wool, silk and cotton.

Have you ever been to a rug store?

One that carries Persian, Egyptian or Turkish rugs.

If you have, have you ever wondered why the price cost so much for these types of floor coverings?

After doing a tour of this carpet school and seeing the work that goes into a rug, I now know why these exotic rugs are so expensive.

I looked around at all the workers, from men approaching their golden years-to young children that should be out playing with their friends or in school-and came away with a new found respect for their work and skills. The speed at which these employees work is phenomenal.
They go off a pattern that is displayed in front of them, not behind the screen.

Then they pull down a piece of the yarn from above and get to work.

After we were shown the system in how these rugs were put together we were taken upstairs to the magic carpet room.

Thousands, upon thousands of rugs were in this upper level.
We were seated on a small sofa that was inlaid with gold. A table was in front of us with a small glass ashtray. A young boy comes out from the back room, then the leader asks us, "Would you like something to drink? We have tea, water, or Sprite."

We were at first thinking, we are okay, but then figured out what this experience was all about.

I was told before making my way upstairs that no photos will be allowed.

The salesman brought out rug, after rug, to us. Designs of the Tree of Life, Egyptian Calendar, and The Final Judgment were some of the rugs that were being tossed our way. Images of the children downstairs kept entering my mind, thinking about their little fingers being put to work.

Rugs that cost over $100,000 hung on the wall. I pictured palaces and castles that we have visited over the year, thinking these rugs go to locations like those.

These people are using their skills for the ultra-rich. I don't know many people that have that kind of

money sitting around to splurge on a rug. I mean unless they take out a loan.

We were told that these rugs are sold at factory cost. We asked how much a little tiny one would cost to roll up in and fit into our carry-on bag? Oh we can ship anywhere in the world we were told.

So you can buy any size you want. Oh, only if our bank account matched our taste, I thought.

Have you ever bought something on impulse or just bought something you don't need to help someone out? Thanks carpet company for playing on our emotions with the children working downstairs. Some salesmen are just down right good at their trade. We were taken on a Magic Carpet Ride, a carpet that is perfect to change a diaper of a newborn baby.

Hidden Treasure

2012-01-11T07:47:00.004+01:00

Some events are so powerful that they change your DNA.
-Dexter 2010
I thought last night, I have one more blog to write and I will finally be done with writing about our time spent in Egypt. WRONG! As I scrolled through the pictures I thought, I did not write anything on how rugs or a Cartouche is made by a Cartouche Maker. On the 2nd day Memphis tours came to pick us up, they said something about me taking so many photos through the window.

"She sure does like taking pictures of all the trash," said Mustafa. "She's not taking pictures of just the trash," David said laughing. "She writes a blog and takes a lot of photos to share with people around the world." Once that little bit of information was put out I was invited to the back room to view how our little piece of treasure was going to be put together at the Topaz Bazaar.

What is a Cartouche?

A cartouche was an oval circle with a name written in it, rather like a nameplate.

In the early days of ancient Egypt, a cartouche was attached to the coffins of kings and queens. As time went on, many people hired an artist to create a cartouche for their own coffins.

The ancient Egyptians believed that you had to have your name written down somewhere, so that you would not disappear when you died. By attaching a cartouche to their coffin, people made sure their name was written down in one place at least!

http://egypt.mrdonn.org/cartouche.html

So while the letters to our last name were being picked out from the hieroglyphics,

I buzzed through the store snapping some photos of little souvenirs.

A lady came out from the back and brought us this lemonade drink on a silver serving platter.

As we all said thank you and gulped down the delicious liquid, we started to 2nd guess our decision in drinking the delicious beverage.

Did they use bottled water to make this yummy drink?

There goes my mind, David had just spent the day before eliminating everything in his body from a bug that got into his system. At about that time the thoughts crossed my mind, the man who showed us his finger to vote, came out to tell me they were ready for me to come back and take photos, my stomach started to grumble.

We made our way back to this room, in the back of the store.

The Cartouche Maker

Step 1: Fire it up so the letters adhere.

Step 2: A dip in this mysterious green acid bath.

Step 3: Onto a dunk in a utensil that has certainly been put to use.

Step 4: The Final Buff and Shine.

The Cartouche.

The first day when Chico and Mustafa brought us by this store we had decided to pass and asked to return back to the hotel. The hours of stimulation and David being sick that day had worn us out. Mustafa had stopped in front of Topaz Bazaar, telling us that this place has a popular little silver piece that many people coming to Egypt enjoy. We told him no. It was okay. We can live without a visit to basically a jewelry store. He said, "Okay, tomorrow." David and I laughed and maybe did a small eye roll, thinking it was fine we really don't have to go there.

In this one shop, we came away with treasure that went beyond items that fit in or on a coffin. More than gold that adorns a home or body.

If we had stopped here the 1st day that was suggested, we would have missed the smile and finger our Egyptian friend used to vote that morning.

Voting for the first time in 55 years!

The joy that exuded from his face, an expression of hope, was the hidden treasure.

Air Tight

2012-01-10T13:41:00.000+01:00

"I don't know how much longer Mayer can hold it," I said while making our way off the Red Pyramid in Dahshur. The bathrooms at Memphis are much better than the ones here we were told.

After we made our way through security, and into the ancient city of Memphis, we made our way to the toilettes. We have grown accustomed to the bathroom charges that are located throughout Europe, so shelling out coinage to go to the toilet is no big deal or a surprise, even in Africa.
Should a bathroom be absent of blood from the floor if you pay?
After Mayer pointed out to us the two dead Arabian horses alongside the Nile River, blood was looking pretty clean. I will spare you the picture and lead you into the two story open air-museum where the limestone statue of pharaoh Ramses II lay on its back.

After we take a walk around we climb the staircase and pause to appreciate the craftsmanship the ancient Egyptians put into these ancient artifacts.

We are now on the 2nd level gazing down on this amazing piece of work.

Let's head back down and exit through the doors past this statue who was an example of what people worshipped as a God and King.
King Ramses II
for more information on this once God like statue visit.
http://www.king-tut.org.uk/egyptian-pharaohs/ramses-ii.htm

Before I take you out to stand in the ancient City of Memphis, how about an ariel view from the second floor of the air-museum.

You won't be bombarded with the street vendors from this view. Once you step foot on the old school territory, watch out! Bonus for the consumer, you will pay 60% less on goods because they do not pay taxes or pay the shop owners. It has become a huge problem and even worse after the government was overthrown in January of 2011. More on the nuisance it causes and how the country is against the selling of goods here.
http://al-shorfa.com/cocoon/meii/xhtml/en_GB/features/meii/features/main/2011/10/07/feature-02

We are finally in the middle of Memphis!

There are many verses that mention this city of Memphis in the bible.
This one clung to me today that was prophesied by Hosea a prophet.
After setting foot in this biblical city and seeing it with my own eyes, I am once again amazed at scripture and the prophets that were given God's word to share with us.
Hosea said,
Even if they escape from destruction,
Egypt will gather them,
and Memphis will bury them.
Their treasures of silver will be taken
over by briers,
and thorns will overrun their tents.
Hosea 9:6
Memphis was also called Mowph.

Memphis was founded in 3000 B.C. and is the capital city of ancient Egypt - during the old kingdom. Memphis was the seat of power for the pharaohs of over eight dynasties. It's the center for commerce and trade and it used to be full of business activities during its tomb building days. It is located 20 kilometers south of Cairo.
The only remains left of the old kingdom capital are a few artifacts.

As we exit this town that is documented in scripture and is sealed in an air-tight kingdom, we

will stroll on by the Alabaster Sphinx. A Sphinx that was sculpted from a single piece of alabaster.

I thank you Lord for being able to walk back into a time that was once written by your chosen children. Prophets that obeyed you and followed through with delivering a message that we humans have been able to see and read with our eyes.

It is more than air-tight.

Thigh High

2012-01-09T10:21:00.005+01:00

After we made it to the top of the Red Pyramid, in Dahshur, we were told that we needed to leave our camera with this happy man if we wanted to go inside.

We decided to make our way back down.

I wish we would have noticed then, rather than later, how happy he was to see this young lady in these thigh highs or I guess panty hose.

We could have left him some dollar bills and been able to take our camera in, then make the gruesome hike down and back up. Did I mention any form of money will work in Egypt? From what we understand hiking in and out can be pretty grueling, even for the ones who are in tip-top shape. We thought we would spare Mayer's little legs the workout.

We headed back down but before we give our thighs a break I will give you a little info on old Red.

The Red Pyramid, also called the North Pyramid, is the largest of the three major pyramids located at the Dahshur necropolis. Named for the rusty reddish hue of its stones, it is also the third largest Egyptian pyramid, after those of Khufu and Khafra at Giza. At the time of its completion, it was the tallest man-made structure in the world. It is also believed to be the world's first successful attempt at constructing a "true" smooth-sided pyramid.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Pyramid

The Red Pyramid was built by Khufu's father, Snefru. What makes this pyramid special today is the lack of crowds and circus atmosphere that plagues the Giza Plateau, along with the fact that it can currently be entered without limitation. Not long ago, the area of Dashur could not be visited, which probably explains why such an important monument receives so few visitors.

http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/red.htm

Visiting the Red Pyramid was our last stop in Dashur. We had made our way around the Black and Bent Pyramid right before we stopped here. We were on our way to the city of Memphis. Mayer was filled thigh high with body fluids he needed to release, David had lost his breakfast earlier that day, and I was just pooped, kind of like this dog.

Old red has spent too much time today sitting on my thighs. So I will move on out of here

and get on my exercise high.

360°

2012-01-08T08:37:00.000+01:00

After making our way through the only entrance into a vast, ancient burial ground in Egypt, called Saqqara, we proceeded through The Hall Colonnade.

It's a hall of a double row of 20 columns. It has been thought that the columns represent the provinces of upper and lower Egypt. Again so much history is linked to this site and I am doing a quick 360° look at our time on it today. Mayer was about 180° away not wanting anything to do with a photo for the family album not even by Djoser the pyramid, which is located 90° after we exit this Colonnade.

I know Mayer had rock hunting on his mind so he was all about racing Mustafa outside this ancient entrance. Jean-Philipee Lauer, one of the greatest French Egyptologist and Archeologist's dedicated more than 60 years to the site of Saqqara from 1926-1996. Before Laure dedicated his life to the site he found about 10,000 stone pieces that were destroyed and scattered in different places. While making our way out into our circular tour you may notice the white limestone pieces, they are the new pieces he used to piece the Colonnade back together.

I will now make a 90° turn to my left. We are now facing the pyramid of Djoser.

I skimmed over Djoser in the Step by Step blog so let's swivel around 180° where we will pass these lovely Arabic women and head up the stairs towards the tombs of Unas Ankh, prince and son of King Unas, Princess Idut, and the Tomb of Inefrt.

After we exited the exploration of the tombs we went left towards a place where we could complete this circle.

I will save you the time in reading knowledge I gained from the book The Treasure of Saqqara and not spill out circles of information you can Google online. I will share some helpful links if you would like to learn more on Saqqara.

http://www.saqqara.nl/ and http://www.ancient-egypt.org/index.html

I do suggest if you want to visit Saqqara to go with an organized tour or hire a private driver.

That completes this 360° view of a site that serves as a necropolis for the city of Memphis.

Days of Our Lives

2012-01-07T09:23:00.004+01:00

"Like sands through the hourglass.....so are the Days of Our Lives."

-MacDonald Carey

Days of Our Lives

1965-

"I wonder if we can bring back sand from Egypt?" I said to my husband.

I did bring extra Glad Ziploc bags so we could attempt it. I never saw anything online that said we couldn't take it from the Sahara desert. After having a smoother than smooth transition in and out of the airport, we probably should have scooped some and attempted to take it out of the country. We did not check our baggage and only took our three backpacks onto Egyptair. We were concerned that if we packed too much sand that they wouldn't be able to see through it and would think we were trying to smuggle something out of the country. Instead of sand from the Sahara Desert our little rock collector picked up two days worth of rocks while out exploring. His little pockets were full of them. We didn't give him the idea, we just noticed that he was picking up rocks and putting them in his pockets like he has done on many explorations.
Did we stop him?

No, it is legal, we carried on and let him do his thing.

There he is at the back of the Bent Pyramid in Dashur, in search of just the right one.

Again in Saqqara by the Djoser Pyramid, playing in the horseshoe alter.

He was really just finding the rock of the day.

They may not fit through an hourglass but they did come from one amazing day in our lives.

Thank you our little rock collector. It was a brilliant idea.

Finally I Am Neapolitan

2012-01-06T20:06:00.000+01:00

I have to interrupt the series of Egypt blogs for La Befana.

After seeing multiple little witch photos posted on my FB newsfeed yesterday, then my son came home from his Italian Immersion class, to tell us that we have to prepare for La Befana, I was quite intrigued.

What is La Befana?

Italy's traditional celebration of La Befana includes the tale of a witch known as La Befana who arrives on her broomstick during the night of January 5 and fills the stockings with toys and sweets for the good children and lumps of coal for the bad ones.

According to the legend, the night before the Wise Men arrived at the manger they stopped at the shack of an old woman to ask directions. They invited her to come along but she replied that she was too busy. Then a shepherd asked her to join him but again she refused. Later that night, she saw a great light in the sky and decided to join the Wise Men and the shepherd bearing gifts that had belonged to her child who had died. She got lost and never found the manger.

Now La Befana flies around on her broomstick each year on the 11th night, bringing gifts to children in hopes that she might find the Baby Jesus. Children hang their stockings on the evening of January 5 awaiting the visit of La Befana.

http://goitaly.about.com/od/festivalsandevents/a/epiphany.htm

Wow, we never knew anything about this tale. Really kind of cool. We put a sock by the fireplace last night and La Befana dropped off some goodies. To our surprise, knock after knock, came today with this Italian celebration. Angela brought Mayer a stocking from La Befana that had all kinds of sweet goodness,

Carmela our sweet Italian neighbor brought over another stocking with a La Befana on the stocking and goodies.

To cap off our evening Paolo and Nunzia brought over the Napoli's Soccer Mascot, O Ciuccio as a gift for our bambino!

The donkey has inscribed on his chest, Finally I am Neapolitan!

Thank you Italian families around us for making us feel so welcome in your country!

The Feast of the Epiphany, celebrated January 6 with a national holiday in Italy, and the tradition of La Befana are a big part of Italian Christmas celebrations. Epiphany commemorates the 12th day of Christmas when the three Wise Men arrived at the manger bearing gifts for Baby Jesus. The traditional Christmas holiday season in Italy lasts through Epiphany.

http://goitaly.about.com/od/festivalsandevents/a/epiphany.htm

Stop and Chat

2012-01-06T10:27:00.001+01:00

Have you ever seen Curb Your Enthusiasm?
It's a show on HBO (and needs to be on HBO) the kiddos really don't need to hear
the language that some of the adults use. Unfortunately, it is one of our guilty pleasures that we watch on 3click after Mayer goes to bed. There is an episode about the stop and chat.
I thought about it as we were on the bus passing these fellas out by the train tracks on our way to the city of Memphis, Egypt. They obviously were having more than a stop and chat.
What is a stop and chat?
Below is the scenario from a Curb Your Enthusiasm episode created by Larry David.
You’re walking down the street when you see someone you know fairly well up ahead about a hundred feet. As you get closer, you start to wonder whether this chance meeting warrants a stop and chat. You decide not to stop, and you say “hey!” and keep walking, but see that they’ve stopped to chat. Now you are a few feet beyond them and have to either stop and walk back or commit to the pass and keep going. The reverse situation can also occur where you stop and the other person keeps going.
http://www.awkwardrules.net/tag/larry-david/
My husband and I tend to run into someone we know all the time. I mean we were all the way in London and not one but two times ran into a person we knew, in two of the oddeest locations. Neither one of us knew the other persons vacation plans, so of course that warrants a stop and chat. It is really not a surprise when you are visiting the Support Site, which is the gated compound located in Gricignano, to run into someone you know. The NEX, Commissary, hospital, housing, gym, are all within such tight quarters. I'm talking like a 2 by 2 radius around, so it is so small. When we saw the episode on the stop and chat, we laughed, because it is so true? Sometimes you are so busy that you have to get the shopping done or the other person is so busy getting their errands taken care of, that you just don't have time to stop and chat. I wish those of you who don't live in a military community could see how small the community is here in Naples. So when you run into one person, after another, that you know- you can almost never get anything done; if you stop and chat with everyone. The http://www.awkwardrules.net/ does a great job of drawing out a scenario.
So if I ever run into you with this surprised look below, just think about the stop and chat.

Step by Step

2012-01-05T08:35:00.002+01:00

Before I make it to Dashur, the place where the Red, Black and Bent Pyramids are located, I thought I would stop off at the Djoser Pyramid, also known as the Step Pyramid. It is located in the royal necropolis of Saqqara and is the oldest stone pyramid. Evidence of graffiti dating back to the middle kingdom 1640-2040 BC shows that tourist came during that period or even early to view it.

Since Saqqara is the city of the dead and quite large, the place hasn't even been thoroughly excavated, I thought I would cover it step by step. Yesterday, I touched on the writing on the wall, where we visited the tomb of Idut and today I share with you Djoser the Step Pyramid.

Djoser's pyramid was a revolutionary design. Previously, pharaohs were buried in rectangular mastabas (like that of Mereruka nearby). Imhotep created a pyramid by stacking six mastabas on top of each other. This design would later evolve into the smooth-sided pyramids seen at Giza and elsewhere.

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/egypt/saqqara-step-pyramid-of-djoser

Several Bible experts think that the Step Pyramid and its complex may hold the granarysed for storage by the Pharaoh at the request of Joseph in preparation of the Seven Year Famine. Stele 81 located on the Island Of Siheyl, near Aswan, has definitely been identified as having been erected by Djoser and it is giving thanks to the gods for stopping a seven year famine by bringing a flood to the farm land near the Nile. There is one tomb at Saggara that may have been Joseph's prior to his embalmed body being returned to Israel.
http://www.delange.org/Saggara/EP10.htm
Tomorrow I will take you through the gateway into Saqqara where we enter through the only door into the funeral complex of Djoser. For now I will rest and take it step by step.

Writing on the Wall

2012-01-04T10:25:00.003+01:00

"We really can't take pictures in here?" I asked while exploring the tomb of

Idut, daughter and princess of King Unas from the 5th dynasty in 2360 BC.

That seemed to be the tune of most all the sites we explored.

We found out at the end of the day that if you pay people dollars or euro you can basically get any picture you want. There is this gentleman who stands at the entrance of the tombs at Saqqara making sure flash or the clicking of your shutter is asleep.

How about all the phones that have cameras these days? Someone is going to get a hip shot of all this writing on the wall. Well in doing some extra online research, many have Flickr sites with tons of photos from these tombs at Saqqara. After I got the okay from our leader in the tomb, I snapped a few shots. I knew I would have to pay the gate keeper if he heard me clicking and I shelled out some doe for the goods.

Listening to the history about all this writing; the rituals and rules of the afterlife made me appreciate even more what I believe and who rules my life. I mean seriously, the workers spent so much time designing a tomb, decorating the walls, and building this door to come back and forth from the afterlife.

Ancient Egyptians provided for their afterlives according to their earthly means. When they died, the Egyptians put all the things in their tombs that they would need in the afterlife to reflect their lifestyle in the mortal existence including jewelry, furniture, clothes, knives, spoons, plates, cosmetics, ornaments, statues and tools. They made drawings of any items which were too big to fit in the tombs which they considered would be just as good as the actual items. These large drawings were often carved on to the walls of the tomb.
http://www.king-tut.org.uk/egyptian-mummies/egyptian-afterlife.htm

Then the process of the way the body is mummified. The heart and feathers, measuring of good deeds and bad deeds. Mamma Mia I am glad I am born in the time, I was born. To have freedom to believe in the one who gave us freedom, from all this stuff, that people once believed and many still do. When you view the writing on the wall, followed by getting in trouble because you brushed your hand against these words that were inscribed by ancient Egyptians; you see that civilization from the beginning of time has tried to control life even after death.

Isn't it enough that we as humans have created enough rules on Earth? Our time to implement the rules end when our heart stops beating.

I am looking forward to the surprises in the afterlife.

I bet I can take as many photos as I want without having to pay for the writing on the wall.

Something to Write About

2012-01-03T10:17:00.003+01:00

"You haven't even written about the guy who was so proud to show us his finger that he voted," said my husband. We were in Egypt when the 1st elections took place since the government was overthrown by the people and arrived two days after the Scientific complex caught fire on December 17, 2011, amid clashes between protesters and the armed forces. The site, L’Institut d’Egypte, held some 200,000 original and rare books, exhibits, maps, archeological findings and studies from Egypt and the entire Middle East, based on the work of generations of western researchers.

Most of the artifacts were lost forever, burned or looted.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4165576,00.html

The driver who picked us up from the hotel told us that the ancient historical documents are on CD and DVD but the originals can't be replaced and were destroyed.

After spending some time in Topaz Bazaar and witnessing the joy on this gentleman's face

that he voted that morning, I asked him if I could take a picture. His finger had been dipped in ink and used to vote in the election on December 21, 2011.

"Make sure you get my face in the picture," he said.

So today that brings me to the place where ink makes a difference, an item that we all have used at one time or another. I wonder how extinct this item will become with the modern movement of e-mails, blogs, kindle or nook downloads, making appointments online and even the absence of personalized handwriting removed from a good ol' fashion card (not an e-card).

Today I blog about something that can hold important data and can be destroyed faster than how it is created; paper!

The Egyptians use Cyperus papyrus, a plant that grows in the Nile Delta of Egypt.

Ancient Egyptians discovered how to make paper from the stems of plant as early as 3000 B.C.

Egyptian papyrus was and is still used as we use paper today.

After spending some time in Topaz Bazaar with our "let freedom ring fella" and watching how our Egyptian Cartouche was made, (blog later) we then made our way over to Key of Life Papyrus. We were introduced to a lesson on how papyrus is made. Our teacher clipped off a piece from the Cyperus papyrus and then peeled off slivers of his clipping. The size of the papyrus depends on the length that is cut.

He made sure teamwork was involved and handed Mayer a mallet to pound out the water. Followed by rolling it out flat with a rolling pin.

Place it into a pan where it will soak in water for up to seven days.

The length of the time in the water determines the color of paper. If you want a lighter paper you leave it for seven days, to achieve a darker paper it bathes in water longer.

Our papyrus maker then removed a few that had been soaking and placed it on a felt like material.

He placed it into a press where it will be for another seven days.

Around fourteen days from the time it was clipped off the plant and pressed in the press you have papyrus. After the demonstration I was informed that no more photos would be allowed.

Our heritage, our history, our life is all on paper. From the Dead Sea scrolls that contain important information to our human number the social security card and birth certificate that keep who we are straight. It is an item that could be one of the most important products known to mankind.

I mean you can't even travel from one country to another without a passport that is made of paper and can be filled with stamps of ink.

The combination of ink and paper can truly change the world.

Now, that is something to write about.

Walk Like An Egyptian

2012-01-02T16:55:00.001+01:00

"What goes on four legs in the morning, on two legs at noon, and on three legs in the evening?"

The answer to the riddle is:

"A man, he crawls on all fours as a baby, walks on two legs as an adult, and walks with a cane in old age."

The riddle refers to morning, noon, and night which are metaphors for the times in a man's life. The riddle was solved by Oedipus, where upon the sphinx slew herself.

http://www.king-tut.org.uk/ancient-egypt/the-great-sphinx.htm

After our camel ride out into the desert we headed on over to The Great Sphinx.

It was time to walk like an Egyptian.

We were taken into the Valley Temple and educated on the purpose of this place before heading out to the Great Sphinx.

Location of the Valley Temple:

To the East of Chephren's pyramid.

The Valley Temple attributed to king Chephren , one of the kings of the 4th Dynasty.

Why was it built?

This temple served definitely two functions: First, it was used for the purification of the mummy of the king before its burial. Second, it was used for making the Mummification process of the king.

Explanation:

The best preserved valley temple all over Egypt was built of local limestone, it was partly covered with fine Tura limestone

and partly by ashlars of red granite.

It was built on square plane, measuring 482 feet on each side. This temple has been buried under the desert sand until the 19th century.

http://www.memphistours.com/about-egypt/Valley-Temple.php

It was our first stop before heading out towards the Pyramid of Chephren. You turn right out this doorway and are now up, close, and personal with The Great Sphinx.

We had some fun with the camera.

Mayer was anti-family photo for the rest of the day but Mustafa said he still got him in it!

Thanks Mustafa!

We did get one of him having some fun, punching the Sphinx!

How about some shades to take the glare out of your eyes Mr. Sphinx?

I zoomed in a bit and snapped a couple profile shots.

Then continued my Egyptian walk along the side to check out the side and rear views.

It was a great walk and not really that crowded.

Tourism is down in Egypt so it contributed to the lack of visitors at the site.

We made our way back through the Valley Temple; check out the size of the granite. Hard to believe how long it has been here and how it was put together by human hands.

I will wrap up it up today. Thanks for joining us on our walk like an Egyptian.

Lawrence of Arabia

2012-01-01T16:25:00.000+01:00

It's the beginning of 2012, and I am making my way through photos, laughing at the advice Mustafa gave us when we were making our way through sites that were loaded with Camels. Mustafa got so irritated at this one guy who would not stop hounding us. He kept telling him they are not going to buy anything from you.

Mustafa took our picture in front of The Great Pyramid, he then told us that he was going to go back to the van. He pointed over to where we were parked and instructed us to meet him there after we finished taking it all in.

A few minutes after he told us his plans, he comes out of nowhere with supplies soliciting us in front of the guy, who was sticking to us like the sand on our shoes. He told him,"See, they won't even buy from me." This wasn't Mustafa's first day on the job as an Egyptologist he wanted us to get the most out of our tour, rather than spend half a day acting as a sword to defend us.

From the time you step out of the tour van, you're solicited by men who are just trying to make a living, like the rest of the world. Some just choose a pushier-more annoying route to earn a buck. You just want to give them something, so they leave you alone, but once you do that about five other postcard, bookmark, and camel drivers flock around you.

They offer their goods and services for just anything you will give them. It is really sad and takes away from the experience of this ancient world. Mustafa told us not to agree to any camel ride until we get to the panoramic view of The Pyramids of Giza.

The Great Pyramid of Giza is located on the Giza Plateau, bordering the Sahara Desert on the west bank of the Nile River.

The Great Pyramid is the oldest of the seven wonders of the ancient world. It is pretty unbelievable how humans could build these structures, seeing how large one rock is. I am not going to give you the history on these BC buildings, but if you want to know more about the history here is a great site for some knowledge.

http://www.king-tut.org.uk/ancient-egypt/great-pyramid.htm

We are off to camel land.

Meet Charlie Brown and James Bond they were our means of transport for about half an hour.

As we glided back to the panaromic view of the pyramids, I was feeling for these long legged professionals. Charlie Brown was a bit gassy and James Bond had a mother load with the two of us on his hump. He gave his leader a kiss, so maybe he wasn't too upset.

I guess it isn't a big deal for an animal who can go for days, and or months, without actually drinking water. It amazes me the variety of animals that are on our planet and how God designed them to be used.

On our way back to camel headquarters, Lawrence of Arabia had to take an incoming phone call for work. I thought it was funny how he was wrapped up in an Arabian Keffiyeh, sitting on a camel, and taking a phone call-in the middle of the desert.

We made our way back to the lot and before leaving the site we got a few more shots of these truly incredible animals. They are truly amazing and just so cute!

Lawrence of Arabia was given an offer on this little beauty below. This baby camel is only 7500 Egyptian Pounds. They said he was a bad camel and probably wouldn't be very useful.

Maybe Angela and Mario could use him on the farm, or Aunt Carolyn back in Texas.

My Mr. Arabia passed on this deal; they bargained with many straws, but not one could break us on this camel's back.

Milk and Honey

2011-12-31T09:57:00.003+01:00

Milk and honey comes to my mind when I thought about the food we ate and glanced upon while in Egypt. I enjoy a good Hummus, Babaganogh, and Labnah but Pigeon Bil Fereek. Yes, we gave pigeon a try. I mean they raise them in Egypt to eat like Italians raise rabbits to eat, it didn't taste like rabbit. When in Rome do as the Romans and in Egypt walk like an Egyptian. I can tell you that we tried pigeon once and one time is enough. It wasn't bad and it wasn't good, it was umm, just you know??? An experience.....

We ate some honey right from the honeycomb at breakfast.
That was fresh and so delicious. Music to my taste buds.

We drank only bottled water, even to rinse our mouth in the hotel. The morning David decided not to rinse with bottled water, after brushing his teeth, he lost his breakfast. I'm sure the water at the hotel was fine. I guess you could say we were being overly cautious. Thanks Carol Alvarado for the heads up on the anti-diarrhea medication. It came in handy. After seeing the trash that flooded the Nile, we were glad we took her advice.

I mean if we are going to dine on the Nile we might need to coat the stomach first.

There are multiple fast food stops along the way when heading out to the Pyramids.

Now, you have your typical McDonald's and KFC's located throughout the city. They even have a T.G.I.Fridays on a boat, on the Nile. When traveling through town you get a fresher version of fast food.

Back in the states you have the roach coaches along the side of the road that will whip you up a burrito, and it can be absolutely delicious. I mean the heat burns off bacteria, right?

In America, you have the health department to kind of keep things in check. A hair in your food or a mouse running across the kitchen floor happens.

Now since we have spent a year in Italy we have grown accustomed to food preparation, that doesn't have the food handling rules that the American health department requires. We are still alive and kicking it, so we weren't really surprised by the local fast food joints on the side of the road.

I mean it really isn't fast food, its fresh food right from the earth, no preservatives but made to order.

A quick trip into the local bakery and you have yourself some fresh pita bread.

You may prefer to just hit the pita stand on your walk home from work,
you will beat the crowds that way.

If you go early, you might just miss rush hour and get yourself the freshest pick of the day.

The antioxidants from these carrots will probably feed your eyeballs and give your vision a boost.

If you are a big fan of pretzels, how about you get yourself a bit of a grab and go.

I think I am done grocery shopping today. I am ready to keep moving on so that we can get back to the land of milk and honey.

The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.

Exodus 3:7-8

Traffic Jam

2011-12-30T09:12:00.003+01:00

As we made our way back to Cairo from Saqqara you couldn't help but notice the hellacious traffic all around you. After our van was hit by a horse,(that was pulling a man in his carriage) and no one stopped to make sure all was okay, I had decided that traffic and driving conditions in Naples, Italy was a piece of cake.

You have the smog permeating all around you. The sheep are grazing along the side of the road, as the morning traffic zooms on through.

If it has legs and a place that can haul a load, it is going to get used via side street or highway.

A cattle drive by hoof or truck.

If you need some wood you might get lucky and have some slip off a truck and right into your lap.

Need a lift to the local store but are too tired to walk.

I bet you the owner of this camel or horse will welcome you aboard after you share the wealth. A great place to rest your legs.

Just go around Mr. Ed here, he will be fine. Can't say the same for the Mr. Ed who rammed into the side of the van that afternoon.

Heck if you can't get around the cars crossing over the Nile, just jump the curb and cruise along on the sidewalk.

Just like home in Naples, sharing a "sandwich" ride on the motorcyle.

Somebody forgot to finish their sandwich, only one piece of bread with jelly.

Would you like to ride a hop on and hop off kind of vehicle?

Or maybe you prefer a slower speed?

Pedestrians beware. We were leaving our hotel one morning after breakfast for a brief stroll, a member of the hotel staff told us to be careful. He informed us that they have no system. So mothers hold onto your babies.

I've had a full day in this traffic jam, time to get out of rush hour before we get a ticket.

There's nothing like traffic in Egypt.

In My Head

2011-12-29T13:51:00.001+01:00

As I double click the icon Egypt on my desktop and scroll through the photos in folder one, out of two, I am stumped. I want to share our journey into the historical places and post the smiling photos of us posing in front of the Great Pyramid and The Sphinx, photos that are cheesy for the camera but deep down inside I am a mess. I can't get the children out of my head. I can't get the life that these people in the villages live out of my head. I kept thinking once we leave this popular tourist destination we have to go back through the way we came in.

The images of children, maybe the age of two or three, walking along this chaotic street without diapers on and soiled t-shirts, smiling and laughing not aware of a life outside this village. This is a life that they did not ask to be born into. The thoughts of how dogs are treated better in America crossed my mind. I know there is poverty all over the world. There is poverty in my mother-land of America but being born in America you are born with opportunity to find your way out of poverty.

Our trip was right before Christmas and I thought about all the people who are rushing around trying to please people that have everything. Here I am with my family, a tourist amongst all of this, being treated like royalty. We were flying through this city, in an air-conditioned van, knowing that unlike these little babies, I am able to take a bath in clean water tonight. It killed me.

Right before we made it to our first destination, Dashur, a royal necropolis located on the west bank of the Nile. David asked Chico, our armed driver, to please pull over. David woke that morning with an extreme headache which progressed into more than just head pain. As David was unloading his morning breakfast onto the dirt street, Mustafa went into this store and bought a few cans of 7-up. Mayer and I sat in the van watching people live their day to day life on the street.

It was the first still moment I had since boarding the van. We had just passed these little boys who were without diapers and pants and I watched these little kids out on the side of the road like they were in a playground.

I don't know if I have mentioned that there is no system in Egypt. No lights, no stop signs, a donkey pulling produce, a camel, a horse, sheep and children all operating parallel to machinery who run on oil.

I will put together a blog on all the types of transportation later on.

That is, after I figure out-how to get out-what is in my head.

Safety First

2011-12-28T15:55:00.002+01:00

"Should I wear a scarf over my head and tuck in all my hair so that my charms are not exposed?" I thought as I was applying my makeup the morning before we were to head out and explore Dahshur, Memphis and Saqqara. In a few minutes, we would be headed down to the lobby of the Four Seasons First Residence Giza and I would have my chance to take a picture of how our hotel takes on safety first; take a look at the metal detector, armed guards and TSA like screening equipment before we head out for the day.

I thought back to a time when I worked with Pari and Elham. They are two hairstylists who are Muslim women. They never wore the Hijab to cover their charms, (the hair), but many of our clients did. Whenever a man would enter the salon we would have to stop what we were doing and take the woman to the back room immediately to finish a salon service. After we left the hotel I thought, maybe I should have wrapped my charms up a little more securely while in Egypt.

I was asked by Mustafa, our tour guide, at the end of our tour, "Did you notice the men looking at you?" I told him that I avoided all eye contact, mainly because we were walking wallets in Egypt and were bombarded by every Tom, Dick and Harry to purchase a souvenir of some sort. I'm a smile at everyone kind of girl and quickly became a look to my feet, do not make eye contact person during our time in Egypt.

Mustafa broke down the five pillars of Islam and gave us in depth information about his religion. He basically said, it is a sin for man to look at a woman and her hair is reserved for her husband and only the eyes of other women but she may also expose it with her blood line and father-in-law. "A woman causes the man to sin by showing off her charms, (her hair)," he said.

"But they can wear a full face of makeup and that is okay?" I asked. "A man can look at the face and hands of the woman if she is covered in her Hijab and fully covered," he said. That is one thing that stuck out and confused me that day. Pari and Elham were devoted Muslim women. They fasted during Ramadan and seemed to follow the rules, except the Hijab. We had multiple conversations about religion back in 2002. We talked about Jesus; they believe he was a prophet but not the son of God. I never asked why they didn't wear their Hijab. Mustafa told us that it is a sin not to cover your hair.

If you are interested more in what men and women can look at in the Islam religion visit.

http://www.al-islam.org/a-code-of-ethics-for-muslim-men-and-women/4.htm

I've always been intrigued by what other people outside of the Christian faith believe.

I guess I've never really understood why there are so many rules and rituals in other religions.

When I saw all the women covered from head to toe in black engaging in conversation along the Nile River, I thought they can't even see each other's facial expressions. What are they hiding? We were all born male and female. Does hair really make a man go wild? Why do they have to hide themselves from the world? Is admiring what God created really a sin? I know you aren't supposed to lust after one another but being inspired by God's beauty in creation, man and woman was created in his image. Beauty is to be admired.

How can that be wrong?

Mustafa told us that many women here are more modest than others and reserve everything for their husband. I respect modesty and people being conservative but you can't even see the person God created when there is only a slit that reveals your eye color.

It seems like they take the saying, the eyes are the window to the soul pretty serious,(because with some that is all you are going to see). You may only get 7% of a conversation while conversing with someone who is all about practicing safety from being looked at by a man.

(Research shows that 55% of communication is conveyed by the body language we use, i.e.; Use of eye contact, gestures and facial expressions. 38% is conveyed in the voice, it's quality, use of tone and inflections. Only 7% is conveyed in the words we use.)

http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/Body_Language_and_Communication.html

While wrapping up our tour and lesson in papyrus making, we were solicited with information from two young men who worked at the shop. I received a book on Women in Islam and a Brief Illustrated Guide into Understanding Islam. Oh good something to read on the plane.

I always liked to read the little pamphlets the Jehovah Witness would drop by our home while living in Denver, I think it is called The Watchtower. I like learning about what other people believe then ask why they believe what they do? I can't be swayed away from Jesus he transforms the soul. I would love for everyone to know about him. I think the idea of researching all paths to decide which way is best for life and the afterlife is ideal.

I couldn't help but think about religion while in Egypt. I mean besides the constant scene of the Hijab fashion, the Mecca song would blare five times a day throughout Giza and Cairo, moving the devote Muslim to drop and pray towards Mecca.

I probably should have worn something over my hair while in this country. Bullets not only come from a gun, they also come in the form of a look or a stare.

So much for safety first, right?

Indiana Jones

2011-12-27T17:32:00.000+01:00

Willie: Oh my God. Oh my God, is he nuts?

Short Round: He no nuts, he's crazy!

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

1984

For the last two months different feelings and emotions flowed through my body about our upcoming trip to Egypt. After viewing online Facebook photos of a family of six who just returned from a cruise to Israel, Turkey and Egypt, I thought the time to visit is now-before it is too late and the chance might pass us by. The very first place we wanted to visit when we made the move to Italy was Egypt. 12 days after we arrived the 2011 Egyptian Revolution took place on January 25, 2011 crushing our dreams of the adventure. Egypt is a three hour plane ride by air from Rome and a three and 1/2 hour return flight from Cairo. The country is very close to Italy and when I saw that a mom and dad took their 4 kids and made the trek that things must have calmed down. There are no travel restrictions for Americans. So I did it, I priced tickets, got an amazing deal and pulled an Indiana Jones-hoping and praying that God would keep us safe from a temple of doom.

A few weeks after I purchased the tickets, events started to unfold once again in Tahrir Square.

Tahrir Square is the center for social change in Egypt. This blog isn't going to entail a political message or even bring my feelings about life in Egypt to the surface, not today anyway. After countless hours and days of watching the news and reading articles online about what was taking place down south, the sense of excitement with this upcoming adventure, was stripped and replaced by anxiety and fear. I did not have those feelings when I booked the tickets, hotel and tours a few months back. I mean I was inspired by a family who has 3 more children than I do and that it seemed okay to visit. On the drive to Rome, we tried listening to a CD by Pastor Bob Coy on relationships. My mind was in zombie zone land, just wanting to get through the trip and return back to Italy safe and sound.

While waiting for the plane to be loaded with luggage, my mind was questioning what in the world are we doing? Our son was so excited to see the pyramids, ride a camel and maybe see a mummy. I looked around at the other children and families at the gate thinking, all is well and will be okay. Fear paralyzes you from doing what you need to do in life. The anxiety that I had in the previous week was replaced by a disturbing peace. That seems to be an oxymoron, (disturbing peace) but that is what it was. As we boarded Egyptair and said hello to the flight attendant, the Quran that was encased in a glass box grabbed my attention. We turned right, and headed back towards the back of the plane, passing the seats in the first and business class and made our way back to row thirty-six. We prefer the back of the plane, you don't have to rush to get off the plane, the bathroom is right there and you get your snack or meal fairly fast.

I turned around to David and asked him if he saw the Quran at the front of the plane. I mean I have never seen a bible in the front of a plane and it certainly caught my attention. We discovered that the long message in Arabic, before the instructions for what to do in case of emergency scenarios were given, was a prayer for the Islamic Religion. Okay, we are headed into a country that is 80% Muslim and 20% Christian I shouldn't be surprised by these two things.

Where's the wine list? They do serve red wine on Egyptair flying out of Italy, right???

No, no alcohol will be served in flight. Alcohol of any kind is not permitted or allowed in the Islam religion. Here is a link for you if you are interested in the-"why not"?

http://www.islamreligion.com/articles/2229/

That is a big one, especially when the Italian airlines give red wine out to passengers for free like it is water. An instant culture shock, especially for someone who believes that everything is permissible but not beneficial.......It says that in the book I live by.....

"Everything is permissible"--but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible"--but not everything is constructive

1 Corinthians 10:23

So okay, no big deal, I prayed and thanked God for this disturbing peace he had given me. Next up we will be serving you an in-flight meal. A full meal??? Are you kidding me??? Airlines don't do that anymore, do they??? Airlines make me pack my 3oz. liquids into a little Ziploc bag, if I am going to carry it on, because I may do something crazy with my Lubriderm 24 oz. Who would dare do something crazy with this steel bladed knife that we all received to cut our meat???

You take away the red wine and give the people knives??

Someone is going to get all Indiana Jones on someone. Especially after the row of three Italian children in front of us are screaming, fighting and pulling hair while pushing the gentlemen's chairs in front of them. The dad and mom were sitting on the other side of the isle. One reading the paper and the other listening to music while their 4th child is flipping over the back of the chair teasing the kid behind him. No one is saying anything until one man gets onto the father who is doing nothing about this battle, in what seems like a temple of doom. After about 10-15 minutes of the kids being kids, the mom slapped some faces, the kids did some more screaming and then smiles and laughter filled the capsule in the sky.

David and I were just looking at each other in shock.

What's next???

Customs, Visas, and stickers on taxi cabs that say no women.

We finally made it to our hotel after a thirty minute drive.

After going through security "in our hotel" (yes we walked through metal detectors and put our bags on a conveyer belt like at the airport where security views the contents in bags), it was finally time to breath. We highly suggest if you feel like being an Indiana Jones in your life, partake in the airport assistance program that many hotels offer. It was smooth sailing going through customs and not having to worry about hailing a cab to the hotel with this service.

It made walking like an Egyptian, a breeze.

Feast of the Seven Fishes

2011-12-25T12:56:00.003+01:00

Merry Christmas!

Happy Birthday Jesus!

It's the best birthday party of the year.

Before I post about our time in Egypt I wanted to share with you a very fun and different Christmas Eve celebration. The Ciccarelli family invited us over last night for the feast of the seven fishes.
Angela prepared traditional Italian dishes from baccala (salted dried cod fish) to struffoli (Neapolitan honey pastry). That is the dish above with all the colored candies on top. Angela is so sick but the poor girl never missed a beat. I hope and pray she feels better, she went all out last night carrying out this very Italian tradition.

The Feast of the Seven Fishes, is an Italian celebration on Christmas Eve. The Feast is very popular in southern Italy and with many Italians across the globe.

The Vigil or La Viglia di Natale, the Italian tradition of the Feast of the Seven Fishes involves preparing and consuming different types of fish on the eve of Christmas.
The meal is prepared and eaten in anticipation and remembrance of the midnight birth of the baby Jesus. The significance of the fish is tied to the Roman Catholic tradition of abstaining from eating meat or dairy products on Fridays and holy days. In some households, fish was prepared on Christmas Eve as a meal to pass the time while waiting to attend midnight Mass.
The actual origin of the feast is a mystery, though. It is believed that the tradition began in Southern Italy, but there are no accurate records to back this up.
http://cinnaminson.patch.com/articles/christmas-eve-tradition-of-seven-fishes

It includes seven different dishes containing seafood. There are at least seven kinds of fish served but many include eight and even up to nine different kinds of fish.

A feast may include:

baked cod, cod fish balls in tomato sauce, deep fried cod, fish/shrimp, scallops, fried smelts, insalata di mare (seafood salad), linguine with anchovy, clam, lobster, tuna, or crab sauce, marinated eel, octopus salad, oyster shooters, scungilli salad, stuffed calamari in tomato sauce, stuffed-baked lobsters, stuffed-baked quahogs and whiting.

We started with a pasta dish with red sauce . It was topped with clams, mussels and prawns. Followed by a plate with octopus, baccala, eel, calamari and more prawns.

Angela then served us a medley of traditional Italian sweets; that included fruit, dried figs and prunes.

The feast began at 8 P.M. and we finished around 10 P.M. Mayer had a great time playing with Paolo's I-phone but the party on our end had to come to an end. We needed to get Mayer in bed so Babbo Natale, (Santa Claus) could come to our home.

It was a jolly night filled with loads of giggles. I never knew how much Mario liked to have his photo taken, so before the traditional cafe, I snapped a few.

Thank you Ciccarelli family for including us in your family tradition.

It was wonderful and something we will never forget!

Buon Natale!

Red Sea

2011-12-18T17:52:00.001+01:00

Where did Mother Mary go after the immaculate conception to be protected from Herod's soldiers?

Egypt

What country did Moses lead the Hebrew people, the Israelites out of?

Egypt

What country is coming up next for gibsonchop to explore?

Egypt

We ask that you pray for the same protection God gave his chosen people when he parted the Red Sea and lead the Israelites out of Egypt. The same protection God gave Mother Mary and Joseph as they made their way into the country and back to Bethlehem so that Mary could give birth to the savior of the world, Jesus Christ.

For with God nothing will be impossible.

Luke 1:37

Polar Express

2011-12-15T11:10:00.002+01:00

The thing about trains... it doesn't matter where they're going.

What matters is deciding to get on.

-The Conductor

Polar Express

2004

I said in a previous blog once I wrapped up our trip to the UK I would be sharing some photos of David's business trip to Belgium. I'm glad he is home this week. There were scores of people that were injured and five people that were killed in a grenade and gun attack, in the town of Liege. Liege is Belgium's third-largest city, after Brussels and Antwerp.

More about this tragedy at the link below.

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/12/13/world/europe/belgium-attack/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

David went to the town of Mons for work. After reading the story, I thought it doesn't matter where you go in the world, you just never know when someone is going to let their crazy out, in a destructive manor.

A city that may seem safe one day can be ripped apart in an instant.

We can't let fear paralyze us when living out our purpose in this world.

You just never know when and where terrorism will take place.

In 1995, I was living in Oklahoma when Timothy McVeigh took away 168 lives, one of which was my husband's aunt-who was a wife and a mother. She never got to see her grandkids.

Four years later in 1999, we were living in Denver, Colorado. I was working in Highlands Ranch when Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, charged into Columbine High School, massacring 13 lives and then took their own. Their actions forever changed the lives of families and communities around the world. A few weeks ago, while I was experiencing a terrorism drill with a class full of Kindergartners, I thought those boys who terrorized a school and community changed the way our school systems operate today.

When I viewed David's beautiful photos last week, I was in awe of the Christmas decorations and lights that were put up to celebrate, Christmas. This time of year reminds me again, that fear and faith, cannot co-exist. When I saw the news on this gruesome attack on innocent people, I was deeply saddened and pray that the families left behind are okay.

What is happening to people that they are so angry that they feel they have to take innocent lives?

I just wanted to post pictures of Belgium. Well didn't happen when I sat down to write this blog. I was just going to post photo's and carry on in a more pleasant tone. I'm an emotional writer, what can I say. David worked the whole time he was there, except after the sun was down and was able to enjoy the nighttime with his co-workers.

He brought us home pictures and some yummy Belgium chocolate.
My husband comes in and our son asks to see photos of his trip,
rather than what did you bring me?

The world continues to fuel my thoughts that really nowhere is safe.

Safety will occur after we are dead. As morbid as that may sound.

The Christmas tree with a star on top, is a symbol of our light.

Our light is Jesus, he was born for us to not go where evil pre-vails, do you think

that Timothy McVeigh, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris are in heaven?

We will find out after our life train stops at the final station.

In the movie Polar Express, a boy learns the true meaning of Christmas,

BELIEVE!
Believe in what??? Santa Clause? The elves? Frosty the Snowman?
The magic of Christmas.
That is Jesus Christ. You know the reason for the season.

Once you discover Christ it's a journey beyond your imagination.

Hop on the Polar Express and avoid a gate that takes you to a place that you don't belong.
Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, "I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won't have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life."
John 8:12

Singing In The Rain

2011-12-14T08:51:00.002+01:00

Many phrases and thoughts went through my mind, while walking through St. James Park in London. (Is that really a surprise for the ones who are faithful readers to this blog?)
We knew we were going to a country that the weather would probably be a little, well mostly, on the rainy side during our trip. It's that time of year in England.
Not one drop of rain fell on our heads.

I am singing a wrap up tune today. This blog finally wraps up our Thanksgiving holiday in London.
I want to take a moment and splash in my imaginary puddles today. I would like to, thank you for your encouragement, and sing a special cheers to the ones who have shared this blog through other social media outlets this last year.
Your support and sharing this blog has increased the readers by over 300%. Increasing viewers helps this site with things that you're unable to see. If you find anything on the side or bottom of each blog, an advertisement that peeks your interest for travel, feel free to click on it. They are safe sites. If you like what you read just click on the Facebook like or Tweet us at the end of each blog. We have been shared on www.pinterest.com as well. That pinboard sharing site is amazing, I have not joined in on that society but hear it is great! I started blogging almost two years ago. At the time I wasn't really sure why I really started blogging. Each time I wrote, I felt a purging of sorts of my soul, that became cathartic. I call it, "writing out the crazy".

Today this site has transpired into something else. I guess the word chop, is fitting for it. We do live a pretty chopped life and I have some pretty chopped thoughts. We've seen some amazing places this last year and I am glad I've been able to share them with you. We are here on Earth to serve, to encourage one another, to inspire, to love, to live and to explore.

I have had a few singing in the rain moments recently. Some people have been inspired by
this blog, which is wonderful!! I found out in several odd ways. I ended up singing in the rain, happy to know that what God has led me to do here is a good thing.

When we have rainy days, we can raise our heads to the sky
and feel the drops on our face. Be inspired as we hear a new tune in our mind. Or we can cover and run from the wetness trying to discover ourselves, rather than create who we are in Jesus. It's funny how you can make plans for things in life but then the circumstances turn out the opposite of what you ever expected. The outcome can be horrible or spectacular!

Some days are rainy and it is beautiful, because you know the sun has to come out soon.
If there wasn't rain, how could we appreciate the sun?

Cheer on the ones around you, you will be amazed at the growth in your life and the other person's life, when you let them know, you like what they are doing. When you sow seeds you may be shocked at what can appear in the land around you.
Today the tune in my ear is ringing loud; I have to sing it out loud and thank you, my readers around the globe, for just clicking on this site!
I hope something from here has inspired you in some way.
God Bless you and the ones around you!
Until next time, keep growing and singing in the rain, as if no one is watching!

Tea Time

2011-12-13T10:27:00.001+01:00

Anyone care for some tea and crumpets?

We made our way, all the way to the place where we thought, tea and crumpets originated;

we didn't have tea time. Do you think two boys really want to sit and have English Tea?

That is just plain silly for a household full of boys. I need a girl to balance out the testosterone in my home! Do you know where tea originated? China! Great Britain is actually one of the last European countries to have an earthy bag of delight. The morning breakfast was as close as I was going to get to tea time. A basket of pastries and good old American coffee; (not a little shot of espresso) kicked off our morning while we were in the Queen's land.

We did have our ever so accustomed cafè, the first morning after arriving in London. Since living in Italy, we have really taken a liking to the little shot of espresso. It's a nice little afternoon pick me up. (I have to admit that I have pulled out my coffee maker-after nine months of making little concentrated amounts of Joe, I missed my diluted tall drink of black.)

So instead of me sharing my tea time experience with you, where we sat and ate delicate little crumpets and sipped on English Tea, I have a good old hearty English meal of

Shepard's Pie,

Bangers and Mash,

and Fish and Chips to share.

The above entrees were served to us at The Wellington. If you make a trip to London, you will not be disappointed with the selection and the food. The restaurant was so cozy and hit the spot.

Visit their website for the location and menu.

http://www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/thewellingtonstrandlondon/

While waiting to board our plane back to Rome, we dined on the Fish and Chips, one more time at the Dining Street Restaurant in Heathrow's Terminal four.

Do you know three little words that can bring a smile to a person's day? I will share with you our secret.

How are you?

Our waitress was surprised by those three little words, in a form of a question.

She was a bit taken back-in her English accent she said, "No one ever asks me that-they usually tell me, how they are and where they are going." It made me think how those three little words can change someone's day.

London is much like the USA, where restaurants are open all day and every day. A little bitty thing you miss while being stationed in Italy. A plethora of options are around every corner in the UK and USA. They do have a handful of different dining options, here in Italy but they are few and far between. We haven't had Chinese or Lebanese food in a while, (besides me whipping up a water downed version of it) so we decided to have a few other meals in those establishments. We had green tea one night after dinner! We may not have had a scheduled, sit down time for tea but we had a great time eating and communicating with new people around us!

Cin-Cin to tea, food and how are you!

Somewhere in the world it's "Tea Time"!