DAY 10 – WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27: U.S.A. and/or CAIRO-LUXOR, EGYPT
For many, today was a travel day back home to the States. It was the end of a great eye-eye-opening and heart-touching trip! For about a third of the group, we continued on to Egypt. It would also be a travel day for us, but south to the incredible city of Luxor!
Flight to Egypt
Those flying to Egypt packed up and boarded the bus to the airport. Our flight to Cairo was at 11 a.m. It rained hard most of the way from Jerusalem. The flight took little over an hour to Cairo. Meeting our Travel Plus agents, were escorted directly through passport and then to our gate to Luxor. We also met our guide, Heba. This second flight from Cairo to Luxor (500 miles south) took about an hour and a half. Upon arriving, our agents there took good care of us. We drove a short distance to the hotel (located right on the Nile River) and checked in. The streets of Luxor reflected the culture and customs of Egypt!
“Today we visited a few more sites that connected us to the ministry of Paul! We saw Thessalonica and Berea. While Paul faced may challenges in these two cities, people still came to faith in Christ! Paul’s boldness and perseverance is seen again!”
Luxor Temple
About 5:15, we drove to the famous Luxor Temple. This was built about 4,000 years ago, about the time of Abraham. We arrived there just before sunset. Heba guided us through these enormous ruins as the lights came on, illuminating the temple in dramatic fashion. While other Pharaohs had a part in building/adding on to the original temple, it was the famous Ramses II (about 1,280 – 1,220 BC) who is widely displayed here. His statues are seen everywhere! Once it got complexly dark, this grand temple stood majestically against the darkened Egyptian sky.
We returned to our hotel for dinner. We all retired early since it will be an early wake-up and departure tomorrow.