Daily Archives: January 28, 2011

Personal note about unrest in Egypt

Posted on January 28, 2011 | 3 comments

A few friends have asked about the safety of our group in relation to the unrest in Egypt. Most of our group returned to the USA from Egypt Monday evening. They are safely at home. Three other tour members went with us to Sinai. Two of them went home Wednesday evening. They were diverted from JFK due to the bad weather, but arrived home safely. One tour member went to Abu Simbel Thursday. He is in Heliopolis at the hotel across from the airport now.

I just spoke to my guide/friend in Egypt who told me that last evening his kids were out and having a good time. They went to McDonald’s and a movie. He said the demonstrations were limited to downtown Cairo and in Suez city (the town at the southern end of the Suez Canal).

Elizabeth and I leave Eilat shortly to drive through the Wilderness of Zin. We plan to be at Beersheba in the evening.

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Posted in Egypt, Israel, Travel

Egyptian miners had a temple at Timna

Posted on January 28, 2011 | 2 comments

Timna is located about 20 miles north of Eilat in Israel. The Rothenberg Expedition discovered a cultic temple used by Egyptian miners at a time when the Egyptians were actively mining copper in the region.

One of the main deities worshiped at the site was Hathor. Having recently seen numerous images of Hathor in Egypt, I thought this was an appropriate follow up.

Cultic temple at Timna devoted to Hathor, et al. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Cultic Temple at Timna devoted to Hathor, et al. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Those who have visited Petra will notice a similarity in the color of the rocks and soil.

The sign at the site gives a brief summary of the excavation and the items discovered.

Timna Hathor Temple Sign

Sign at Cultic Temple in Timna. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

The LORD promised the Israelites that they would dwell in a land that included copper and iron. It is impossible to say whether this is one of those places.

… a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. (Deuteronomy 8:9 ESV)

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Posted in Archaeology, Bible Places, Egypt, Israel, Photography, Travel