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Today was full to the brim with life! An early start at 4 am to make our hot air balloon launch for sunrise. First time on such an adventure and it was pretty cool doing this all together.

For the afternoon and evening we met our awesome tour guide Marian for:

· Karnak Temples

This is the largest Temple Complex ever that was built. It actually comprises a vast mix of ancient Egyptian decayed Temples and a great Hypostyle Hall that contains 134 giant sandstone columns and each one can carry up to 30 persons on its capital…..Can you imagine how huge it is!!!!!! I loved the majestic nature of this site.

After an evening meal we then toured the Luxor Temple.

Unlike the rest of the temples which were constructed in ancient Egypt, it wasn’t dedicated to any cult god or any deified king in death but it was dedicated to the rejuvenation of kingship where many kings were crowned. This site was connected to the Karnak Temple with a 3km walk between statues. They recently restored this pathway and discovered even more sphinx than they knew existed. Both of these sites in the heart of Luxor.

And one final sunset here in this beautiful city.

Immense gratitude for the Lilly Foundation and all those who poured life into us. None of this adventure would have possible without the generous support. Truly a once in a lifetime trip for us.

We met our guide this morning at 8 am for a half day of exploring this magnificent city. Our highlights included:

· Valley of the Kings

This is the final resting place of Egypt’s rulers who reigned Egypt from the 18th till the 20th dynasty. We explored three of these tombs with magnificent decorations and inscriptions on the walls of each tomb. We bought the extra ticket for King Tut’s tomb as well and saw the mummy and encasement there. The kids enjoyed that as they learned some of this in history this past year.

· The Temple of Queen Hatshepsut

It is a living art piece that witnesses to the full magnitude of the beauty and grandeur of the new kingdom (1570 – 1050 BC) under the guidance of the illuminating spirit of Queen Hatshepsut.     

· Colossi of Memnon

They are twin statues of king Amenhotep III which were constructed to guard his mortuary Temple.

We also took in an alabaster shop with a display of how the products are made. We purchased a few trinkets to honor their work and to carry home a few memory pieces.

We hunted down a few small bottles of sun screen as we are ready for some chill time by the pool. It is Luxor hot today!

Aswan is an authentically beautiful Egyptian city. We were blessed today to visit several local sites there today.

· The High Dam

It is one of the most impressive modern achievements for the Egyptians that was built between 1960 & 1970 with the help of UNESCO. Its main function is to save Egypt from the flood and it has become the main Egyptian source of electricity. 

· The Unfinished Obelisk

It is the largest Obelisk that a man has ever built during the reign of Queen Hatshepsut. It is about 137 feet “42 m” and is estimated to weigh 1,200 tons.  

· Philae Temple

That temple was dedicated to Isis, the goddess of love & beauty. It is one of the most picturesque temples all around Egypt. It is located on an island so we experienced a motorboat ride during our tour to and from that amazing site.

Included in this day was a tutorial taste and smell experience at a spice and tea shop as well as witnessing how papyrus paper and art is made.

After another delicious dinner at a local restaurant we transferred to the train station to catch the evening train to Luxor. We booked the air conditioned car but with 108 outside let’s just say we had a nice sweat going for 3.5 hours. The views of the Nile and farming communities were tremendous all along the way. Water is life!

Up at 4:44 am to depart for the day. We headed out on the open road for Abu Simbel – just a 3.5 hour drive one way through the Sahara Desert. A roasting 108 degree day and a flat tire on the way back added to the adventure.

It was worth it!

These two temples in Abu Simbel were carved out of the mountain itself. They were built during the reign of King Ramses II in 200 BC to memorize his victories and to show his deep love to his wife. The amazing thing here is that these two temples were cut apart and reassembled at a higher elevation as to avoid flooding with the new dam and lake project in Egypt.

The vast expanse of the hot desert along with seeing the robust new canal project for farming was mind boggling. The folks who live in this area of the world are hardy people!

A late day refreshing swim along with playing pool and air hockey and dining at a health food restaurant on the Nile made for a banner day.

We woke up refreshed and ready for the best breakfast yet. If we ate like that every morning we would be in trouble. Wowza. We then met our Egyptologist tour guide for site visits at:

· Saqqara Step Pyramid

The earliest large-scale cut stone construction was built during the 27th century B.C. It has 6 unequal stages built above one another with a height of  62.5 m during the reign of King Djoser. At this site we were able to also see the original Egyptian story descriptions upon the various tomb walls. Fascinating stuff. Notice the starfish engraved all over the tomb ceilings.

·  Memphis City

It was the first capital of ancient Egypt and it contains the biggest Alabaster Sphinx which belongs to King Ramses II. This bewitching site was believed to be under the protection of the god Ptah, the patron of craftsmen. We’ll see much more of these types of statues and ruins in the days ahead.

· Pyramids of Dahshur:

Dahshur is one of Memphis’s most important cemeteries and is one of many vast necropoleis located in the great Ancient Egypt Capital. This area was all along the Nile River so there was green and lush oasis with rice and dates and watermelons surrounded by nothing but hot sand and rock. The Dahshour area contains pyramids of the IV and the XII Dynasties. Here we saw the Pyramid of Amenemhat II, and the Pyramid ofAmenemhat III. Not only did we see the outside we were able to go explore deep within both of these pyramids. We walked bent over to access the chambers and then climbed wooden stairs that have been built up to show just how magnificent this architecture is. We’ll all be good and sore from this exploring today.

We then had a great late lunch of kebab before jumping on the ATV’s back at the Giza Pyramids. The kids loved this as we flew over sand dunes while waving our arms in joy over the beauty and history surrounding us. Amazing.

But we were not done yet. A fast trip across the city to catch our evening flight to Aswan was needed. I am writing this at 40,000 feet as we approach Aswan for check-in and overnight and more adventures tomorrow.

Norah keeps saying she feels so worldly as we explore and witness so much. Yes indeed, we are citizens of the world as we venture into these ancient histories and civilizations.

Uffdah. My watch has logged just 3 hours and 7 minutes of sleep in the last 36 hours. Gonna be a power sleep tonight.

We made it to Cairo on time and without delay this morning and jumped right into a jam packed day of delight.

Here is the itinerary highlight:

We left the airport to start a terrific tour in Cairo visiting its impressive landmarks including Giza Pyramids Complex which contains the following Attractions:

· The Magical Pyramid of Khufu

The last remaining monument of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World & the largest pyramid in the Giza Plateau. It was built for King Khufu with a height of 147 m.  The number of stones used in its construction is more than 2,300,000……Each stone weighs from 2.5 tonnes to 9 tonnes. We also witnessed the hypnotic Pyramids of Chephren and Mykerinus. 

· The Amazing Giza Sphinx

This mythical creature’s limestone statue was made of one piece of stone carved not built and it takes the facial expressions of king Khafre. It stands 73 m long, 19 m wide, and 20 m in height.

· The Incredible Valley Temple

It is the place that witnessed the main mummification & purification of the ancient Egyptian rulers & Pharaohs.

With this tour we also had a great camel ride along the pyramids. This was great but also a pain as we are figuring out the high pressure haggeling and price increases of all things Egypt. I got way laid back in Ethiopia where this is never the case and now am in the ramped up dynamics of hyper tourism. Time to get my A game sharpened as to be a good tourist and not too grumpy over the constant cash exchange of things.

In the evening, we enjoyed a marvelous Nile Dinner Sunset Cruise.

We could not have added another element to this day. We are grateful for June 30th and the lifelong memories that happened on this day in time.

And yes, we are enjoying Cairo Hot Hot Hot!

Today we wrap up our tremendous time in Ethiopia and prepare to take flight to Egypt. It will be a long day as we conclude with some shopping, visiting a handmade weaver shop, packing, dance and food at Yod Abbisynia, arrival at the airport at 10 pm, with our flight not departing until 4 am. A few of us started early today as the call to worship started at 3:45 am. Another great day to learn more about ourselves and all those we walk alongside.

Our crew has been amazing. They are traveling well and embracing every encounter. We have had one with a head cold and one with throw up in the middle of the night – but all marching right through it all.

We express our gratitude to Fikadu as he was an excellent guide for us on this journey. To Ordinary Hero and Fray we say thank you. To Abebech and family, we love you. To the people of Ethiopia, “Ameseginalehu” (አመሰግናለሁ).

Susan here with highlights of the day’s history lessons. We toured the National Museum, home to the millions of years old skeleton of Lucy. She is a significant symbol in the country’s rich history. Our tour guide walked us through all sorts of archaeological details of the evolution of humanity and showed us artifacts from the earliest civilizations, many of which started here in Ethiopia. After that, at the city’s Unity Park, we enjoyed coffee as well as injera that we helped to make. The park is a beautiful green space located alongside the home of the Prime Minister overlooking Addis Ababa. Our lessons here explained the kings and leadership from ancient times to today and the contributions and developments of each to Ethiopia’s history making it what it is today – a diverse multi ethnic and multi faith democratic nation. The people and culture here are absolutely beautiful and vibrant, and the time today learning more about Ethiopia’s origins and development throughout history brings our experiences even more fully to life.

This note is from Jewel and Holland..

Today we spent the day at Entoto Mountain Park at 8500 ft. We were in the rainforest and rain clouds. It was beautiful.

We were able to play in the adventure park. We did rock climbing, trampoline, jousting wars, paintball, ropes course, archery, and zip line.

Hollands favorite was the ropes course. I loved the suspension bridges, it was pouring rain and even hailed on us. We all finished the challenge.

Jewels favorite was rock climbing. I loved that it was tricky and that it pushed me to my limits. I got higher than I thought I could. I was proud of myself.

We both loved the zip line. It was long and the views were amazing.

We saw a woman carrying a huge pile of sticks on her back. She walked with cane and limped too. We could not believe how strong she is. That was inspiring.

We also got to eat at a greenhouse restaurant!

We also saw a group of people of all ages gardening and planting new baby plants. They were loading a truck to sell them in the market.

It was great being in a different climate and enjoying the mountain and seeing Ethiopia from a different view.

This note is from Norah and Merritt

After a couple of emotional days with Koko’s birth family and friends we needed a day to rest and play, so we went to Kuriftu water park. The only water park in Ethiopia. There were water slides, a wave pool and a great restaurant. The people were nice and the weather was beautiful. As we climbed to the top of the water slide you could see the surrounding landscape. It was an interesting contrast to be in a beautiful water park right next to small farms and villages living in poverty. This really put things into perspective. I noticed that the water park here is different in some ways than the water parks in America. I noticed that there was no trash cans because no one brought anything to the park. There was also no lounge chairs and no towels and you also have only one restaurant. One time during the day everybody stopped and ran to the wave pool right when it opened ( crazy ). Today was a great day to change it up and do something new.

All in all today we are thankful for laughter and play and rest.