Wonders of the World

Shalom,

            The wonders of the world are spectacular.  We got up at 3:00 am and caught a plane to Aswan in Southern Egypt, and then a short hop to Abu Simbel.  This is the southern most city in Egypt near the Sudanese border.  I didn’t see any Al Qaeda jihadists around, but plenty of the people look like those on the news.  These people are Nubian Egyptians and are darker in skin color.  One thing is really obvious as compared to the Israelis, and that is that they are really friendly.  They like Americans and are quick to smile.  They are very humble and are a joy to speak to.

            In Abu Simbel there is a large monument or Temple built by Ramses II as a southern garrison to his kingdom.  The area is rich in gold, and is along the Nile.  He also built it for queen Nefarteri.  It was massive and just plain awesome.  We took some great pictures.  We then flew back to Aswan and took a bus to see the High Dam, which is one of the largest dams in the world.  It backs up the Nile for over 500 meters.  Just past this dam is another dam called the Aswan dam and is there to adjust the flood waters and to control water flow, as well as Electricity.  We didn’t spend a lot of time at the Dams, before we went to a Temple built by King Ptolemy.  It was another huge and spectacular Temple.  We had a Sacrament meeting there because today is still the Sabbath in this part of the world.  We had it inside this massive ancient Temple, among the hieroglyphics, and with tourist occasionally walking by.  I had the opportunity to exercise my priesthood again by blessing the bread.  Ryan passed the sacrament to those in the group.  It was a special meeting for those reasons, but also because Bro Ogden gave a great talk on the history of this King, and his ties to the bible.

            Next we went on a boat ride on the Nile River and had a late lunch.  We sailed to an island restaurant and had perhaps the best meal of the two weeks.  It was Nubian chicken, rice, pita breads, and a few other neat dishes.  It was wonderful for a change from the past week of salads and rice and vegetables.  Across from this island is another island that more recently was excavated a Jewish Temple that existed around the time of Malachi.  The unusual thing is that they even had another Temple.  For years it was thought that the Temple of Herod was the only Jewish Temple.  That dates it back to the time of Lehi.  Who Knows?

            We rode our boat to our 5-Star hotel for the remainder of the evening.  We are all exhausted and are looking forward to a bit longer nights rest.  We have to rise at 4:00 am to catch a train to Luxor in the morning.  Ryan is already asleep.

Go Jazz!!!!

Love Bishop and Ryan