Bright and early (no kidding - this was not a vacation to take it easy!) on December 20 we were met by our Israeli guide who helped us cross the border into Jordan, where we were joined by our Jordanian guide and our pink "Birmbaum family tour" bus, and we headed off to see Jerash, which are the remains of one of the cities of the decapolis. There are more Roman and Byzantine ruins there than in Rome (or so it seemed). We spent the night in Amman, and then went to see Mt. Nebo, the site where Moses saw the Promised Land. The Franciscan Friars, who have a church there, are gearing up for the Pope's visit in March. We then went on to see the ruins of a large crusader castle, and headed for Petra. We spent the next entire day walking through Petra, the fabulous Nabatean city of the 1st Century BC through Byzantine times. Raiders of the Lost Ark doesn't do it justice! More than 800 tombs were carved into the canyon walls, and the entire city in the valley has largely yet to be excavated. Early the next day, we drove to Aqaba, the Jordanian port city which adjoins Elat, the Israeli port on the Gulf of Aqaba/Elat (take your pick), and took a ferry across the Sea to Nuweiba, the Egyptian port in the Sinai, where we were met by our Egyptian guide who helped us through customs (and we think we have bureaucracy here!). That afternoon was our one afternoon of rest, at a lovely hotel right on the Red Sea. It was a little too chilly for swimming, but nice to sit in the sun and read a book!

          The next morning. we went to meet the Sheik from whom we were getting our camels as well as our Beduin guides. We had four camels to carry our gear and occasionally some of us. We then set off hiking into the wilds of the Sinai. I have never seen such utter desolation, or such majesty. It makes the wilds of Utah look tame in comparison. How anyone can survive in that land, let alone for 40 years of wandering. is totally beyond me. I certainly have a new view of what constitutes an oasis-maybe one scraggly tree, forget the well!. However the hiking was great-really hard. but the scenery was amazing. You could see forever-the sky is so big in the desert. especially at night when the stars can almost he felt. Of course, l also know now what a banshee wail sounds like imagine being in your sleeping bag, or rather two sleeping bags to try to keep warm, in your little tent, with the camels loudly chewing their cud right next door! Also, think of sitting around a campfire in the dark (i.e., 6 PM), singing songs with the Beduins who spoke no English other than "Madonna". We were always up and breaking up camp by six since the sun was up, and we had more mountains to climb. We camped out for two nights. and then said goodbye to our. camels and Beduin guides, and took a bus to the base of Mt. Sinai. Now, that was quite a climb. Over the centuries (the monastery at the base was established in the 5th Century), the monks have carved out ~3800 steps to the top. Steps are a broad term but there was a definite trail that helped us to avoid falling off the edge. At the top, in addition to the souvenir stand, were both a church and a mosque. The view

was spectacular, but it was also freezing, so we didn't spend too much time at the summit. The next morning, we visited St Catherine's Monastery, which has the largest collection of Greek manuscripts, second only to the Vatican, as well as the original Burning Bush.

          We then headed back to Israel, where it took almost two hours to cross out of Egypt and then into IsraeL Picking up a rental van in Elat, we drove to the Ramon Crater in the Negev, which is really Israel's continuation of the Sinai. (If you look at the geography, the Rift Valley starts down in Africa and goes right up through the Sinai and between Israel and Jordan, ending in the Dead Sea.) This is a huge crater that was created by an ancient river which dissolved the sandstone under the limestone, which then fell down. We spent the night in a Beduin tent (after a week or more of pita bread and humus, I was sure getting ready for a change of diet), and hiked up a mountain in the crater before breakfast At long last, we went back to Jerusalem, where we spent time at the Israeli Museum (home of the Dead Sea Scrolls). On our last day, we took a tour of the tunnel which runs along the Western Wall of the Temple Mount - unbelievable history and archaeology surrounded us.

          We had a fabulous time, and once I get my 17 rolls of film organized, I'll be happy to share some of my pictures with any of you who are interested. I can't tell you all how blessed I felt that I could take a trip like this, and share it with my children. I'll also never read the Bible in quite the same way again--I can really say I was there!

          So, wishing all of you a Happy New Year and New Millennium.

Linda