Finally in the Ho-ly land (Jerusalem, Israel)

After some chill out time in Dahab, Egypt (Cheap!) I have finally made it to Israel. This is my last stop of any significance on this trip I suspect. I couldn't avoid getting an Israeli entry or Egyptian exit stamp. Which means....there are quite a few Muslim countries I guess I won't be going to - unless I secure a separate passport, which I'm not inclined to do at the moment. No worries...everyone gets what they deserve. Even though Israel should not be in existence, that's no reason to have such draconian policies for a potential visitor. We can't LEARN FROM EACH OTHER then. Maybe there will be no reason to go to many Muslim countries....after 2012. Well then....

I thought my lion hunting days were over after seeing all those Sphinxes in Egypt - but I GUESS NOT!!!!!! The city logo of Jerusalem is a LION!!!! And this is the capital of Israel! LIARS! LIARS! pants on fire? No...that sounds too childish.

http://www.jerusalem.muni.il

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem

Well...I think that seals the deal. The logo is on all the manhole covers too. Lovely. Lots of ho-ly sites here. The 'crossroads' of three religions (More?). Though admittedly, Judaism doesn't have that many CONverts compared to the other two.

....I walked over some grating above the site where King David's Palace has been reported to be found. I need to explore that area more closely. I told some children who were mobbing me that the Jewish Messiah is already here - I learned that during my event. I think the message got through to a couple of them. It was fun, I'll post a photo of the inquisitive children.

My brain is spacing out now (Yesterday was a long travel day....2 hours to the Egypt-Israel border, border check - they singled me out of my group of four travelers. I've been mistaken as Arabic sometimes too. The wonders of a tan. 5 hours by bus through a bone dry desert - Negev, then finding my Tel Aviv hostel) I'm eager to get home by Mid-December, almost two months ahead of my original plan.

...so many guns and anti-missile batteries (But it's good for the economy!! Go Boeing. Go Lockheed. Go xxxxx!) and security checkpoints. I don't want to live this way. Do you?

Templed and beLIEfed out (Aswan, Egypt)

Two more temples to see on the way back to Luxor and then I begin my march toward Israel. Marching - the modern way that is - via 4 wheel land vehicles and aeroplanes.

On my earlier visit to Abydos and Dendara, the former famous for having what is thought to be the best reliefs in Egypt, it struck me how this (Old Egypt) belief system that persisted and evolved for a few thousand years --- turned out to be one BIG FAT LIE. The colors and scale of the depictions on these buildings overwhelmed me. Impressive on one hand, incredibly dumb and stupid on the other. Like human hamsters in a wheel.

The pyramids can overwhelm by scale of CONstruction, and the various tombs by intricacy and sheer number, but the temples to the heavyweight Gods (DEities) of the Egyptian pantheon take it to another level. Abydos felt like it could be the Sistine Chapel of old Egypt. Only one difference now.....the Sistine Chapel ain't going to be standing like Abydos when the final hour passes. Rome probably isn't a good place to be - unless you want to die or just don't care.

After all...it's a NEW-CLEAR war, not a Nuclear War. I will explain this later. If you can tear your eyes away from headlines like - Google stock past $500! Moo-lah. Moo-Lah. Moo-Lah.
MOOing...in the STOCK Market. What was that story about the Golden Cow? Has anything changed? "Aaron" strikes again.

Not much else to say at the moment. I've stopped posting who I told about upcoming events, because frankly, I've stopped keeping track. Maybe I will try to remember everyone when I go home.

Today's words:

NATIONality
interNATIONal
reincarNATION


fat CAT, DOG fight, CAT fight, SHARK, BITCH, busy BEE, a SNAKE, CHICKEN, CAT walk, FOXy...

I imagine every language has them...

...and we call ourselves human beings. NOT! Human Animals!

Desert Poetry (Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt)

I met a VIper out in the desert today. He surprised me when he started talking. This is what he said --

When the VIctors stop celebrating VIctories
there will be no more VIctims
of VIolence and VIce.

Before I could say another word, a giant bird swooped down from the sky and grabbed the VIper with its steely claws.

I stood there, mouth agape, and headed back to the water.

Just looking for a place to sit (Cairo, Egypt)

I've finally made it to Egypt! One of the most anticipated NATIONS on my little journey.

I skipped traveling around the islands in Greece. I wanted to go to Crete at least. But - the weather was a bit fickle, and I CHOSE not to go to Patmos - Where the Bible's Book of Revelation was written. Heck...what is so interesting about an author's hangout, especially when it is a cave! Some dudes built some huge monatery around it too. That...and for timing I thought coming to Egypt now would be good. Many of the Greek Islands look too cozy for just a solo traveler. After all, I have a job to do!

Of course, I toured those big triangular shaped piles of rock on my first full day here yesterday in Cairo. It was odd...after seeing them in photographs so many times before. They are so iCONic. It was less than it could be too, for I had to shoo away all the people trying to sell me something. Camel rides, horse rides, postcards, guide services, whatever. Why do they call this country e-GYPT?

Such monuments to just a few people (Hmmm....) ....there are a bunch of theories about the pyramids. I won't go into that now. It is hard to be too thoughtful after traveling this much in such a short space. As the grammar in my previous entry may attest to. At the very least...they are HUGE religious iCONs in my view.

---

I woke up this morning and found my legs aching (I used to so flexible....as a youngster! What went wrong?) from climbing down and up a few shafts to the bottom of the various pyramids.
I managed to visit Giza, Saqqara, and Dashur. The first one is the most photographed and distributed, the second is also on many tour bus itineraries. The latter, seldom visited. I was alone inside the Red Pyramid of Dashur when I went in. Outside was my taxi driver and one other car. I saw a couple of half filled tour buses roll in as I left.

Anyway...so the major highlight of today (Nov 9th) was to visit the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities. The Egyptian Government must need money, the prices in my November 2005 Rough Guide travel guidebook are already inaccurate. 50 Egyptian Pounds ~ US$8.25. Its filled with curiosities and religious iCONs. Kind of like many art museums...the Hermitage, Uffizi...and cathedrals, churches.... yadda, yadda, yadda. Of a different flavor.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptian_Museum

Its a big place. I learned alot walking around myself. I'll write more about it when I get home. I got tired after a couple of hours so I looked around for a place to sit. Then I saw it - it was a golden chair! It was Tutankhaman's Chair. It looked comfy at first. I thought about breaking the glass/plastic some how so I could sit my tush on it. Most were looking at the jewels. Then I saw one thing that stopped me. There were paws for each of the four legs. And the front ones had LION heads!

I soon learned that the lion goes back to the beginning of the Pharonic dynasties of this COLLAPSED civiLIZATION. Oddly...around 3000 BC. Hmmm......Mayan calendar?

I'd seen enough after 3 hours and decided to leave. As I walked through the large museum doors I turned around and noticed something I hadn't seen coming in....Two giant LION door knockers.

Now, you may sing the - ODE to A SPHINX. The riddle ain't so hard really. Haven't heard of it? I'll come up with some lyrics next year. Don't forget, I used to be a poet. And songwriter... unpublished sadly. My ode will be GOOD. A 2012 book recommended in the 2012 section does note that the Sphinx looks to Tibet. Hmm.....but that's not what my little ode will be about.

Enough rambling....schedule that vacation to Egypt!

Come soon...before Cairo is wiped off the map! What did I say? More on that later...did I not say hell wasn't just CONfined to nuclear nations? No more iCONs!!! My apologies to the SCA - Supreme Council (Does that sound impressive?) of Antiquities. You shouldn't put so many treasures in one basket. They lose their CONtext.

Off to the Red Sea tomorrow and away from this toxic city. Sharm el Sheikh here I come! I need a break from learning.