Friday, March 6th:
We got up around 4:00 a.m. We had to have our bags in the hall by 5:00 a.m. and on the bus by 5:20 a.m. After everyone checked to make sure their luggage was on the bus, it was 5:35 a.m. and we took off. We had to get to the Israel border by 11:00 a.m. because they close the border for 2 hours for prayers at noon.
We crossed the Sinai desert. It is a triangular peninsula in Egypt which is about 23,000 sq mi. It lies between the Mediterranean Sea to the north, and the Red Sea to the south, and is the only part of Egyptian territory located in Asia as opposed to Africa. We crossed under the Suez Canal. The canal is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation around Africa. Once past the canal we were then in Asia instead of Egypt. The terrain was very interesting! But there is a whole lot of nothing out there!!
After driving for hours and hours across the desert, it is amazing to think that Joseph, Mary, and Baby Jesus crossed this desert in order to hide in Egypt - that was quite a walk!! 
We made it to Taba by 11:00 a.m. or so. We got our Egypt exit visas and had our luggage screened. We then headed to the Israel border. We had to walk quite a ways with our suitcases; first from the bus to the Egypt border and then on to the Israel border. Our guide and bus driver were not allowed to pass the Egypt border. We looked like a group of refugees... You are not supposed to take pictures at the borders so I was afraid to take a picture of us walking with our luggage...
Once we got to the Israel border, we had to wait. No one was at the border. There was no one even to ask what was going on. About an hour later, we were able to go through. This took forever though becasue they had to check our passports, screen our luggage, and quite a few people had their luggage searched. It took us an hour to cross into Israel! We found out about the delay: someone had left a bag and they thought it might be a bomb. So they blew it up and found out it was just someones lunch! We did remember hearing a loud bang while we were waiting to come into Israel.
George, our Israel tour guide, met us with our bus. George is the guide Brother David had 2 years ago and really liked him. So off we went on our drive to our hotel in Jericho - a 4 hour drive. Our guide picked us up beside the Red Sea where Jordan, Egypt, and Israel all meet. We drove along for awhile with George describing our itinerary for the tour.
Quite a diversity:
Jordan is across the Red Sea:
Date Palm Trees:
We drove by Solomon's Mines where they get blue/green diamonds (I need to research that a bit more later because I am getting different info from different people).
A Magnesium Factory along the Dead Sea:
We drove along the Dead Sea.
Along the way, we saw "Lot's Wife" who was turned into a pillar of salt when she looked back at Sodom and Gomorah (when God destroyed those cities).
We stopped at what was the "lowest point on earth" (406 meters below sea level).
When we reached Jericho, we had to go through a checkpoint. Jews are not allowed in Jericho - it is Palestinian. There were armed guards there - we were entering the West Bank. Brother David assured us we would be fine. We drove to our hotel and checked in. Our bags were brought to our rooms. We arrived there around 6:20 p.m.. The hotel is new - it was not here when Brother David came 2 years ago - great hotel. Dinner was at 7:00 p.m. in the dining room - a very nice buffet. After dinner, everyone retired to their rooms. Brenda went to sleep at 9:30 p.m. but I stayed up a little later.
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