Show - - r:77 6T The Salt Lake Tribune Sunday June 26 1988 Trekking from I iro to Jeru C flr4 el item on a t icycle by Mike Swift I The Hartford Courant Behind us was the Nile Valley and Egypt Ahead between us and the shore of the Red Sea was the Easte ern Desert a expanse of sky sand and rock As we pushed off on our bikes along the ribbon of asphalt laid on sand we hoped the information we had been given was correct — that 50 miles ahead there would be a rest house at the center of the desert with water and a place to camp With a friend I was riding a bicycle from Cairo up the Nile across the Eastern Desert to the Red Sea and finally across the Sinai and Negev deserts to Jerusalem This was the first real milestone of the trip As we left the Nile Valley where almost all of Egypt's 48 million people live we were leaving the historic if not the political Egypt To this point the trip had been going well Riding a bicycle through a Third World country is not as reckless as it might seem If you eat carefully and are willing to put up with a little dirt and discomfort it can be a wonderful experience I didn't know of anyone else who had ridden a bike from Cairo to Jerusalem So it was an adventure and it was turning out to be a lot of fun too Though this was December the sun was warm the winds were behind us as we pedaled south and the constant enthusiastic greetings of villagers made us feel like royalty and spurred us on As we pedaled past people would sprint up to the side of the road and : wave with both arms calling out the only English phrases many people in : Egypt seemed to know — "Hello hello! What's your name?" "What time is it?" "What country are you from?" We tried to keep to the smallest roads which often held to the sharp boundary between sand and green irrigated land alternately climbing onto the shoulder of the bright desert before plunging back into cool groves of palms Off to the side sparkling in the sunlight was the Nile studded with coasting sailing boats Children would often burst from a village in a pack of crooked crazily 100-mil- 1 " - - : : - — wobbling bicycles sometimes three to a bike — to follow us smiling and waving and calling "Hello hello! What's your name?" Some nights we camped with soldiers who manned checkpoints along the highways Most nights we slept in youth hostels or in hotels We bought our meals in local markets Some evenings we were invited home to stay with families Now as we pushed out into the Eastern Desert after three weeks of exploring the Nile Valley Egypt was behind us This road which leaves the Nile at Qena at its point closest to the Red Sea follows the historic route for pilgrims bound for Mecca from the upper Nile We pedaled east too past jagged rock peaks that shot out of the desert floor There was little life but every now and then we passed Bedouin women their faces covered in black veils herding goats among the sand and rock They turned away as though we were evil spirits We wondered how they got water for even at the rest house halfway across the desert where we camped for the night there was no running water We drank what people drink everywhere in Egypt — Coca-Col- a and tea The next day — whooping with' happiness at the sight of the sea — we reached Safaga on the Red Sea coast But there was bad news — the ferry boat that would have taken us across the Gulf of Suez was not running There was no choice with time limited but to take the bus into the Sinai After some arguing and a little "baksheesh" — the gratuity necessary to get nearly anything done — a bus driver took us and our bikes to Suez and then on to the Sinai and the Monastery of St Catherine at the base of Mount Sinai where the Bible reports Moses saw the burning bush If a vacuum could exist on Earth it would be here in the Sinai When the wind dies in this land of rock and sand the quiet hurts the ears A small human voice fades in the distance Smooth massive slabs of rock sometimes look like beached whales Other huge outcroppings have been carved by wind and sand into a stony latticework resembling the inside of a femur or a fused mass of skulls A few people most of them nomads can be sighted wandering in the far distance The vast emptiness swallows all life and sound On our bicycles as we leave the monastery built in the 6th century by the Emperor Justinian we feel like tiny moving specks in an infinite space On the way down from St Catherine's to the Gulf of Aqaba we come upon a small American garrison on the desert sand "American?" I ask the machine g guard standing out front "What are you doing here?" peace-keepin- asks me Two days of cycling later we reach the Israeli border We had been told by the Israeli tourist office in London that bicycles were not allowed to cross the border from Egypt But we had come anyway reasoning that no civilized country would turn away anyone who had biked all the way across the desert And we were right We simply walked the bikes through a gate and then pedaled through the zone to the Israeli border station In my journal I wrote: "In Eilat what a shock wastebaskets and operating traffic lights At the campground the toilets flush and have toilet paper inside the toilet stall!" We had come home to Western civilization But there is a letdown We no longer felt like explorers in an exotic land We were just tourists — only we were a whole lot dirtier than the other ones in Eilat With all the weapons and soldiers Eilat seems like a fortress albeit a casual one Sexy girls carry Uzi& Young soldiers go barefoot old soldiers look like scoutmasters in their fatigues Sometimes it's difficult to believe the machine guns are real — until a soldier saunters up to you cradles his gun where you can see it and looks you over coolly making sure you are only a tourist From Eilat you can see into the streets of Aqaba Jordan but you cannot go there Barbed wire is strung in strange disquieting places — on the roofs of the cinema and the C ' 1 n Ben-Davi- d Ben-Davi- d Arz40 10N — 1 iQ2 ci ( IN7CL3 11:A1UG2H4LIN Weekends $7 $7 Leu BUSES u SAT 3 DAYS S 29 $7 7 DAYS s1 Back TAIPEI SEOUL 24 23 & 88 7 Days El l ( loVi- I) '14' Atit' oIirt 0 0 Round Trip Airfare ' with land package ''ttt 48 : 7'1-'57- I L9" DOUBLE Air Fare OCCUPANCY EB 16 789 589 DENVERFALL AMTRACK FESTIVAL Stirrup Ochlo RiosJamaicaFG ranayman-ay- a Pl del Carmen-Cozum- j IL Cay OF LIGHTS s r- - - - Ft t ie- - AIR loombal LAKE POWELLSO $197 TeAcH lt 0' - a- I t ROSE PARADE DELUXE 100 Year Anniv Dec 3 tt4'706411 $497 : Free Air i I 1 1AIR Cancun & diving at Cozumel SERVICE Side tours & activities Restaurants and night life Prices & shopping Archaeology & Ruins OPTIONAL Special Rook of Mormon Archaeology Slide Show 1 — - All LAI ' ' 0 47: Flights through September 4 VIA ANCHORAGE INTERNATIONAL $399 0 i Round Trip Airfare a Based on 7 day stay Stays longer than 7 days from$398 round trip I ' Wildlife 9 Much Much Morel $1085 — - Try our new connecting from 0 $499 Airfare 7 nights & 2Alcsclic'amndm°Pdaatc11angs (Kona & Oahu)- : - e 8599 Includes: Round Trip Airfare o First Class Accommodations interisland Airfare O Saturday Flights Non-Sto- p 1 ill from Round Trip Airfare MM" PACKAGE 1 ISLAND LI Pius an additional 22I Southern California Cities from $85 each way - I - NonStop nights I tour p "'") Fed7 each way way t Cruise Prince William Sound Travel the Alaska mountain range - Orange county from $89 each way Burbank from $89 eath way Long Beach from $89 each way Ontario $95 each way via our new connecting service $1000 for one 'I — service to the following airports: Add 26 ft motorhome Round trip airfae with Claudia Miller July 31 August 7 Round trip airfare 7 nights accommodations Gart Bros Sports Castle This Thursday—June 30 from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm Learn about the last frontier what to see and do plus fishing trips Free Alaska travel guide for attending the seminar ($1000 value) $699 Party of 6 7 nights Escorted Tour to Alaska FREE ALASKA SEMINAR '1 s9 8499 from 8449 - THURSDAY SPECIAL and up or Thurs Nights thru August & July 2127 i ALASKA BY MOTORHOME the Beach Packages Includes 7 nights bus tour IDS guide and round trip airfare r 1 from atioOccupancy 7 days New two bedroom apartments with ail the amenities - Tulum shop in Merida Pa !entitle Uxmal & Coba t ' ComElete Package from from 1 i ) from Special Book of Mormon Archaeology Tour forming now July 15 1988 fully escorted See the beaches of Cancun pyramids of Chichen Itza and & I t1-- iMIENI E3111 FLUIFICITZ300 : VIA OAKLAND INTERNATIONAL from : - - CALL TODAY They're filling fast! 2 ' I In 650 modern and luxurious rooms low prices friendly people plus a 'REE valuable WELTME BOOK all in the heart pf downtnwn Las Vegas locat4 right on Fremont Street COLORS 21 2 7273 3 r E $249 Sept S375 Cruise 170410144 la zA'aft Aug St Miami-Gre- - 2 a ' BASINCRATERSMOON 18 789 589 - 1720$179 SUN VALLEYSTANLEY $649 ISLANDS from s Son Marlinique-Anigu6 i a UTAH July ONLY $329 AIR t : s- - --- ''''- - - - Non-Sto- p Add ER NIGHT PER PERSON I)OLJBLE OCCUPANCY Excludes tax6 suites jacuzzi rooms holiday periods and weekends (Friday and Saturday) Not available to groups Subject to availability 4' ALL OFFERS EXPIRE 7388 - - 0 Flights $1000 for one way each way - - - NNMINiWNN - A TOrISTRatia Fremont & 3rd l'havntown Las Vegas Free validated covered parking I — -- - - - ' t 'I 1 1 t7 ?- - u f ' il&imissmiiamilinmmir 1111 Get $2500 discount per person by booking et our free Cancun Seminar! Learn about: Snorkling - - I LAKE it Airfare 6 Transfers from Friday Flights Beginning July --' '1 4 CANYONS SHAKESPEAREAN PLAY 7 Nights Accommodations On 329 air only - June 29 July 6 7:00 pm Morris Air Service 321 West Lawndale Dr (2500 South 300 West) Salt Lake City Utah : ALASICA SO Complete 7ackage from Wednesday (? - Aug from IA Summer DWriecres1 Book Now For Best Values! from r--- i YELLOWSTONEJACKSON HOLE 2nd person 50 OM 4 Day Caribbean MO IA''4t!) - When purchased in conjunction t-1-:1-f§i Feb OCT JAN $699 $599 f "''') C1 U NOV JAN from Salt Lake $235 2 YELLOWSTONEQUAKE WHY PAY MORE? 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What's your name?" We feel as if we are in Egypt again Jericho is an Arab town of merchants and shops wrapped in a cool green shroud of trees and shrubs Above the city is the Mount of Temptation where Satan is said to have offered Christ a worldy kingdom in exchange for a heavenly one The from DOWNTOWN LAS VEGAS AO! North of the Dead Sea we reach the West Bank Here there is no frontier to cross not even a sign to Ben-Davi- BEST ROOM VALUE IN 1::::HL "Nahhhhh" Ben-Davi- d Ben-Davi- Jericho hotel is too expensive but a garden near the center of town looks good for camping The guardians of the place who sleep in a little house at the center of the plot of orange and lemon trees say camping is fine They are Chris- tian Arabs the caretakers of the gar-- ' den which holds a tree that was mentioned in the Bible says Anwar Issa Michael Saleh the nephew of the oldest guardian Anwar teaches math at the local high school He is hoping to get a scholarship to study in the United States but he says the chances are slim because he is a Palestinian That night is our last on the road We go sleep on the porch of Anwar's home looking out through the dark De- ' cold and misty in the fruib trees er night The next day Christmas Eve we climb the 20 miles up to Jerusalem After four hot hours of slow climbing we see far ahead the city holy to three faiths Jerusalem Six weeks after leaving Cairo we coast in through the Arab slums of East Jerusalem round a corner and there is the golden Dome of the Rock The ancient pilgrims came to Jerusalem by ship and by foot By coming on bicycles we felt true to their spir- it with the Israeli people?" he asks post office As we pedaled north from Eilat the mountains of biblical Moab were gloriously massive off to our right seemingly the gates to a high land of giants I looked off to the west toward Jordan but could not see the line where Israeli land became Arab In two days we reached Masada the fortress built by King Herod where we decided to camp outside the fenced compound Meir one of the guardians of Masada discovered us as he checked the barbed wire for terrorist infiltration He invited us to his apartment for a brandy d says terrorists never make trouble at Masada "Let me tell you something" said pausing for emphasis "We have four wars with Jordan Four wars But here "he waves his arms out over the Dead Sea "not a single shot is heard Because they know they know that if a single attack comes over here we destroy everything over there" where says there is an important Jordanian fertilizer factory who Nevertheless speaks fluent Arabic (and once disguised himself as an Arab to sneak into Jordan to see the ruins of the ancient city of Petra) likes the Jordanians "You think they want a war "What are you doing here?" he -- i |