Lens-Artists: My Favorite Things

My Favorite Things is the subject of Lens-Artists’ photo challenge this week. I love cats, especially my sweet tortie Hazel. I love flowers and enjoy taking good photos of them. There is plenty of this subject matter at Chicago Botanic Gardens! This is their May foxglove display. My favorite thing in the world is traveling, […]

Journey to Egypt: Temple at Kom Ombo

December 31, 2018 Kom Ombo Temple is probably my favorite of all the ancient Egyptian sites I saw on this trip. It has several interesting features that make it unique. About 30 miles north of the city of Aswan, Kom Ombo is located in a region that has a large Nubian community that was resettled […]

Journey to Egypt: Horemheb’s Temple & Gebel Silsila Quarry

December 30, 2018 This afternoon we arrived at the narrowest stretch of the Nile, an area that the Egyptians called “Khenu” or the place of rowing. At Gebel Silsila, high sandstone cliffs come down close to the water’s edge. The Temple of Horemheb is small and not well-known. Nile cruise ships don’t stop here because […]

Worship in the Middle East

Frank Jansen at Dutch Goes the Photo has selected worship as his photo challenge theme for Holy Week. I share the sadness of the world for the devastating fire at Notre-Dame de Paris. But there are many holy places around the world that inspire awe where people worship. Below are photos of worship from Judaism, […]

Journey to Egypt, Part 14: Edfu and the Temple of Horus

December 29, 2018 After a relaxing morning cruising the Nile on the Aida, after lunch we were ready for more discoveries. We docked at the city of Edfu, where we were transported to the Temple of Horus via horses and carriages! Our driver: The horses clip-clopped through the dusty streets of Edfu. Mosque as seen […]

CFFC: Walkways I Have Traveled

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge this week is about the sidewalks, trails and walkways we walk on, usually without thinking much about them. Rio de Janeiro is famous for its wide sidewalks with mosaic designs – common places to walk, jog, and meet – and play with dogs. (Nove. 2016) In July of 2017, we spent […]

Thursday Doors: Church of All Nations, Jerusalem

On January 13, our Maranatha tour group visited the Church of All Nations, which is right next to the Garden of Gethsemane in Jerusalem. The Garden of Gethsemane has several olive trees that are thousands of years old – that is to say, they were already there when Jesus went there to pray before his […]

Journey to Egypt, Part 10: Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut & Memnon Colossi

December 27, 2018 All the funerary temples and tombs are located on the west bank of the Nile. The ancient Egyptians believed that death was associated with the sunset, and thus all the temples to the deceased were to be built on the side of the setting sun. All temples of the living (such as […]

CB&WPC: Murals

Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge this week is Murals. The word mural comes from the Latin word for wall. It is defined by Bing as: a painting or other work of art executed directly on a wall. Wikipedia goes into further detail: A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on […]

Journey to Egypt, Part 9: Valley of the Kings & Howard Carter’s House

December 27, 2018 (This post is part of my travel journal, and also for Your Daily Prompt 3/8/19: Nobility; and for Norm’s Thursday Doors 3/7/19 ). This morning we visited Valley of the Kings, where there are 62 tombs of Egyptian nobility – specifically, pharaohs, including Tutankhamen. They date from Thutmose I of the 18th […]