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Middle East Journal Entry #15 - Red Sea, Egypt

The Red Sea is a saltwater inlet of the Indian Ocean between northern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Its connection to the ocean is in the south through the Gulf of Aden. In the north is the Sinai Peninsula, situated between the Gulf of Aqaba and the Gulf of Suez (leading to the Suez Canal). The most famous recorded event is in the Biblical book of Exodus 13:17-15:21. It tells the story of the Israelites' miraculous crossing of a body of water, which the Hebrew text calls Yim Suph, traditionally identified as the Red Sea. The account is part of the Israelites' escape from bondage and slavery in Pharaonic Egypt. In the 6th century B.C., Darius I of Persia sent reconnaissance missions to the Red Sea, improving and extending navigation by locating many hazardous corals and currents. Find more at http://www.delightinhim.com/middle-east-journal-entry-15-red-sea-egypt-1.html

 

Middle East Journal Entry #9 - Petra, Jordan

Petra is the treasure of the ancient world, hidden behind an almost impenetrable barrier of rugged mountains and desert, boasting incomparable majestic and imposing scenes. The rock-hewed rose-red city of Petra is full of mysterious charm and the legacy of the Nabataeans, an industrious Arab people who lived in the valley from the 7th century B.C. until the early years of the 2nd century A.D. Enclosed by towering rocks and watered by a perennial stream, Petra not only possessed the advantages of a fortress but was an ideal oasis and base for the growing caravan trade. Excavations had demonstrated that the Nabateans controlled flash floods by the use of dams, cisterns and water conduits, creating an artificial oasis, that led to the rise of the desert city. More at http://www.delightinhim.com/middle-east-journal-entry-9-petra-jordan.html

 

Middle East Journal Entry #2 - Istanbul, Turkey

My first yet brief destination into the Middle East was Istanbul. For centuries, the sultans of Istanbul sent forth their armies, instilling fear through the Christian medieval kingdoms of Europe. The spoils of their conquests are everywhere. With architecture from the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman periods, Istanbul is the rare place where the historian and the consumer can make toasts with equal zeal. The first time I flew into Istanbul I was very nervous. It was the first time I had ever visited a Muslim majority country (though Turkey prides itself on being a secular state). No better visual marker of this strange world is when paying respects to the Hagia Sofia, formerly a massive cathedral, then converted to a mosque and now a museum. Follow the link for more http://www.delightinhim.com/middle-east-journal-entry-2-istanbul-turkey.html