New Years 2010 in the Holy Land

My parents met us in Israel for the New Year's Holiday. The boys were thrilled to see Nana and Papa. We saw most of Israel: Tel Aviv, Galilee, Dead Sea, Jerusalem, the Golan Heights... Then Nana and Papa continued on to Jordan to explore Petra. We had a great time. This is the entire crew in a cave near the sheperds' fields of biblical times.

Family portrait from the heights of Masada. Built by Herod the Great around 35 BC, but made famous when 950 Jews rebelled against the Romans then chose suicide over Roman subjugation in 73 AD.

Just pick a direction. Been to most of these places. Couple more to go...

Good view of the Golan Heights, Syrian territory occupied by Israel since the 67 war. We picked up a bit of local produce. Best apples and dates we've ever tasted.

Stay on the path when hiking the Golan.

We drove from Tiberias in the Galilee region to Jerusalem via the Dead Sea road, then approached Jerusalem at sunset from the East. It was a great way to get our first glimpse of Jerusalem, and with good light. In the foreground, with the golden dome, is the dome of the rock, and the small grey dome at the left edge of the pic is the al-Aqsa mosque, the third holiest site in Islam. The Temple Mount is the entire walled area, where the first (Solomon's) and second Jewish temples were built.

Dipping our toes in the Sea of Galilee on New Year's Eve.

At the top of this pic is the contraversial separation wall that is being built by Israel. Illegal under international law, the Israelis claim it is necessary for security, while the Palestinians and others claim that is an attempt to annex more land interfere with peace negotiations.

Mary Leigh is entering the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, the place of Jesus' birth, now located on the other side of the separation wall in the West Bank.

Here is Luke, uhh, meditating somewhere in Jerusalem. The dude abides...

This is an olive tree, age unknown but thousands - thousands!! - of years old, on the Mt of Olives which is a hill that overlooks the Temple Mount in Jerusalem from the east. Jesus is said to have walked through here on his way to the temple almost daily. He and the disciples often gathered here, and it was here that Jesus was arrested. Way to go, Judas.

We really enjoyed walking the narrow streets in the old city of Jerusalem. It is a special place.

Common scene of young IDF soldiers, male and female, on the street in the Jewish Quarter in Jerusalem.

Marine Corps Ball and Nile River Cruise, Dec 2009

I have neglected this blog for some time, and I am now trying to catch up. I just returned from Jordan, and will travel again in a few days, but here are some pics since my return from Saudi Arabia in November. This one is from the Marine Corps Ball in Cairo. Most of the pics below are from a Nile cruise that we took in November. We spent four days on the boat with some close friends, and visited numerous temples and tombs from ancient Egpyt.

That's no reindeer. Santa came to Cairo via camel this year.

I just don't know what to say about this.

The boys hanging out with a new friend.

A dashing gentleman strikes a pose with Mary Leigh at the Step Pyramid.

The clan at the Temple of Luxor.

We all enjoyed watching the Egyptian countryside slip by from the deck of the boat. Very peaceful.

The goddess Mary "Nefertiti" Leigh posing at the Temple of Edfu.

Family shot on the Aswan Dam.

BW taking advantage of some shade and hanging out with the kids.

View from British General Kitchner's garden island near Aswan.

Coop was a great traveller on this trip, completely unflappable. Here he is at home on the felucca, chatting with the Captiain, sailing upper Egypt.

Turning to the IPOD when the tour guide just becomes too much to bear.

Western Desert, near the Libyan border.

Riding shotgun in the desert with a local driver.

Essentially the entrance to the Great Sand Sea of the Western Libyan Desert, the scrub and veg soon disappeared and it was nothing but 200-300 ft dunes until we reached the oasis.

A proper oasis, viewed from the one of the higher dunes.

It was hot and sandy so we decided to take a dip in the oasis. Felt awesome. But our guide was less than amused when I accused him of "checkin me out."

Self portrait. I call it "My Giant Scottish Head Visits the Oasis."

Close to sunset, still quite windy, the sand blowing across the dunes.

The end of a damn good day of exploring the Western Desert.

Siwa Oasis, Egypt, 60 miles from the Libyan border

Welcome to Siwa.

There are at least as many donkey carts as cars here. Located 400 miles from Cairo, Siwa is an oasis town where life moves at a slower pace and the dates are the sweetest in all of Egypt. It is the seat of an ancient oracle, and it is also the gateway to the Great Sand Sea where moving 300 ft sand dunes stretch for hundreds of miles, and only camel or 4WD trucks dare to enter. We chose the latter.

Unable to find coffee the first morning at our hotel, my travel partner and I stumbled over to an old mud-built hotel down the road and woke this poor chap. He had been up late, as it was Ramadan, but after a few minutes he was happy to brew us up some Turkish coffee.

Siwa is the type of town where 6 year old boys were allowed to drive donkey carts through the town, but women were fully covered in a "chador" and sat in the back of the cart. Photo of woman not included to preserve the life of the photograhper.

The best restaurant in town. Unfortunately we visited during Ramadan so beers were out of the question.

Many have visited the Oracle at Amun. Xerxes sent his army of 50,000 Persians to destroy it and they were lost in the desert and never heard from again. Alexander the Great was declared a god here by the Oracle himself. So we decided to pay a little visit ourselves.

The trusty Toyota has been - thus far - a very reliable vehicle. This trip included about 900 miles of driving in intense heat over over desert trails, and she is none the worse for wear.

We took the train to Alexandria on the Mediterranean Coast this weekend. The city was founded by Alexander the Great in around 330 BC, and was the cultural and intellectual capital of the Greek Empire. There was much to explore, and after a full day tour of all the ancient Greco-Roman sites, Cooper and Luke were rewarded with a romp on the beach.

The harbor at dusk.

Here is Cooper, in a rare moment of deep thought. Possibly about how to score his next Chicken McNugget.

Strolling along the Corniche, the coastal boulevard in Alex. Kudos to Cooper for taking this picture.

The fort at Qeit Bey, which is the site of the ancient lighthouse, which was one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World.

I call this one "Dude Fishing." Alex has great seafood.

Pompey's Pillar, from ancient Rome.

A few weeks ago ML and I visited the Citadel of Salah al Din, built about a thousand years ago to fend off the crusaders. The fortress houses two impressive mosques, one of which is the Muhammed Ali Mosque which was built in 1824. It is an impressive complex to say the least, and we enjoyed its architecture as well as a peaceful rest inside the sanctuary.



I thought that I would add this pic of the boys fooling around at a Cairo museum. If you look closely you can see Cooper giving Luke the "bunny ears" behind the mask...