A Book About Egypt

Mr. Ball was my first Sunday School teacher.

A very kind man, Mr. Ball and his wife had six or seven children, so it's impressive that he chose to spend time teaching other people's children on Sunday mornings.

He told our class stories from the Old Testament that included Israel's powerful neighbor Egypt.  Egypt was the country where Joseph of "Technicolor Dreamcoat" fame became powerful after his brothers became jealous and sold him into slavery, showing that while men may intend something for our harm, God may intend it for our good.

Joseph's power came because God gave him insights to interpret dreams.  When Pharaoh was tortured by confusing nightmares, one of his servants told him about Joseph, who in prison (because of false charges) nonetheless could interpret dreams accurately.

When Pharaoh told Joseph his dreams, Joseph saved Egypt from starvation by correctly advising Pharaoh that his dreams meant there would be seven fat years followed by seven lean years.  By storing grains from the bumper crop years, Egypt would preserve food to feed its people in the lean years.

When Joseph's brothers came to Egypt during that famine to beg for food, Joseph recognized them but showed them mercy, teaching forgiveness.  Had he not been in that position, the nation of Israel from the offspring of their father Jacob would not have prospered.

I guess my point is that Egypt has indirectly been part of my life and thought-processes for as long as I can remember, and the same is probably true for most Americans, whether that first encounter was at Sunday School or the Saturday matinee showing of some version of The Mummy or a movie based on The Holy Bible.

And all of us who took that trip will carry memories of Egypt for the rest of our lives.

Here are links to a few "chapters" from our trip, which despite their length and many photos, nonetheless provide less than a full recap:

Midnight at the Oasis in Cairo  

Sakkara and the Egyptian Museum

The Sphinx and Pyramids of Giza

Temples of Karnak and Luxor

Cruising the Nile with Napoleon

Valley of the Kings and Temple of Hatshepsut

Ptolemaic Temple of Horus at Edfu

Kom Ombo

Philae Gumbo?

Abu Simbel

Gray Aswan High Dam and Colorful Cairo Hilton Heliopolis

Back from Egypt

And if that's not enough to consider, there's always the question, "Could it be....ancient aliens?"