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Made it to NYC today. Flight was 11 and a half hours from Cairo. The US requires that passengers have a PCR test within 24 hours of flying and so my tour group of four had the test. Came out negative or I wouldn’t be in NYC now. I’m staying the night in Queens about…

Today, visited an old Roman city, Jerash, in northern Jordan. It covered a good bit of area. Walking from one end to the other was about a half mile and this was just the city center where the temples were. There was also a chariot race track.

We four tourists along with our guide and driver drove from Petra, Jordan to the east and then north, taking a scenic route back to Amman. The country is very dry and desolate but there’s always a human presence. Even the camels that look like they’re free roaming are owned by someone. The photo with…

Walked to and through the temples and tombs of Petra in Jordan today. It was about 4 to 5 miles of walking. It’s stunning to walk into the narrow canyon where the best carved out “building”, the Treasury, is. Can’t think of a better word than stunning and photos and videos don’t tell enough about…

Toured Amman, Jordan and saw some Roman ruins. Then, we drove a while to get to the top of Mt Nebo, the mountain where Moses saw the promised land, the Land of Canaan. From the top, Jerusalem could be seen in the distance as well as Amman. The Dead Sea was visible, but barely, because…

Visited Memphis. No, not in Tennessee, the original Memphis in Egypt. It was the Rome of Egypt. But, most of the ancient city is now covered over by a crappy town. It seems unlikely that archeologists will be able to dig much in the area. Also today, saw the oldest stone monument in the world,…

Saw the Great Temples of Abu Simbel which were carved out starting in 1274 BC. This temple had the best carved figures on the walls and the paint still looked incredible considering the age. Ramses II had the temple built for himself and another for his wife. It was rare for the wife to have…

Visited the temple of Isis at Philae near Aswan, Egypt this morning. The temple was on an island so we took a boat. Also went on the Aswan High Dam, a huge dam across the Nile that has stopped the annual flooding. It was built during the 1960’s with a lot of help from the…

Near Luxor, Egypt is the Valley of the Kings where a lot of pharaohs were buried in tombs carved into the mountains. One pharaoh was King Tut. Got to see his tomb with his mummy and tombs of three more pharaohs. The painted figures on the walls and ceilings were still incredibly colorful even after…