2010 Vacation/Travel Supplement
Land of the Pharaohs: Saint Meinrad pilgrimage explores biblical and Egyptian history
St. Charles Borromeo parishioners Thomas and Joan Rillo of Bloomington and Benedictine Brother Maurus Zoeller of Saint Meinrad Archabbey in St. Meinrad pose for a photograph in front of the famed Abu Simbel in Nubia, Egypt. In 1257 B.C., the pharaoh Ramses II issued an order to have the two temples carved out of solid rock. The temples are among the most magnificent monuments in the world. Their removal and reconstruction on higher ground above the Nile River in 1968 was an historical event. Their interiors feature some of the best-preserved relief carvings and hieroglyphics in Egypt. (Submitted photo)
By Thomas Rillo (Special to The Criterion)
EGYPT—During March, 28 pilgrims—including three priests, a deacon and a Benedictine monk—traveled to Egypt on a pilgrimage that included a cruise on the Nile River and visits to places that reflected the Old Testament.
The March 9-20 pilgrimage, hosted by Benedictine Brother Maurus Zoeller of Saint Meinrad Archabbey in St. Meinrad, included visits to Cairo, Mount Sinai, Luxor, Edfu, Kom Ombo and Aswan.
Egypt has been considered by many world historians to be the source of civilization of the world.
The Old Testament was the background for the pilgrims’ travels in Egypt, which was accessible either by sea or land to many of the ancient Biblical characters.
In Abraham’s time, Canaan—modern Israel—was under Egyptian control.
We know from the Book of Genesis that Joseph’s brothers were jealous of him because he was the favored son of their father, Jacob. Scripture tells us that the brothers sold Joseph to slave traders, who in turn took him to Egypt to be sold.
The magnificent pyramids were a thousand years old when Joseph arrived in Egypt. He must have been awestruck by them as well as the hieroglyphics that were on the Egyptian temples and tombs.
The Bible relates how an officer’s wife was attracted to Joseph. When he did not reciprocate, she falsely accused him of a crime and he was thrown into prison, where he used his talent for interpreting dreams and achieved fame.
The king, or pharaoh, after hearing about his skill, asked Joseph to interpret two of his dreams.
In the Book of Genesis, we learn that Joseph agreed to do so, saying, “The two dreams mean the same thing. … There will be seven years of great plenty. … After that, seven years of famine” (Gn 45:25, 29-30).
The king then put Joseph in charge of storing grain during seven years of prosperity. When the seven years of famine began, Joseph’s brothers came to Egypt for grain.
After determining that his brothers had changed, Joseph told them who he was. He told them to bring their father, Jacob, and all their relatives to Egypt. They settled in Goshen, where they prospered.
The Book of Genesis ends with the death of Joseph.
In the Book of Exodus, a new Egyptian king oppresses the Israelites by forcing them into slave labor. The new king orders the death of all males born to Jewish women. At this time of oppression, Moses was born.
The infant Moses was saved from death because his mother put him in a watertight basket at the edge of the Nile River. Moses was found by the pharaoh’s daughter, who persuaded her father to let her keep the baby to raise as her own son.
On the pilgrims’ first day in Cairo, the group visited the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities, where many artifacts were displayed, including a replica of the bullrush basket in which Moses was placed by his mother. Huge statues were on the ground level of the museum. The upper floor housed small statues, jewels, Tutankhamen treasures and mummies.
Later, the pilgrims visited the Great Pyramids and the Sphinx—the sole survivors of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World—then traveled on to the Citadel Fortress erected by Salah-ed-Din, also known as Saladin, who fortified the area to protect it against attacks by Crusaders. Originally, it served as both a fortress and royal city.
The group also toured the Alabaster Mosque, one of the most famous in Egypt. Situated inside the Citadel, it was built between 1830 and 1848 by Mohammed Ali Pasha.
The birth of Ishmael to Hagar, the slave girl of Sarai, the wife of Abraham, became much more meaningful in understanding the rise of Islam.
The Book of Genesis was clear on this unusual behavior by Sarai (Gn 16:2, 15).
On the second day, the pilgrims traveled to Memphis, the capital of the ancient Egyptian kingdom, on the same road that Abraham and Sarai went to Memphis. It is the same road used by Isaac, Jacob and Joseph as well as the Holy Family. After passing through Cairo, the road crosses a gap in the mountains.
We were able to view the Alabaster Sphinx and the exceptionally carved statue of Ramses II.
Our journey continued to Sakkara, where we viewed the Step Pyramid of Zoser—Egypt’s first pyramid designed by the architect Imhotep. The pyramid is located 12 miles south of the Giza pyramids.
The sands of Sakkara have yielded many treasures from Egypt’s archaic period. The Imhotep Museum, built as part of strategic site management, is located at the foot of the Sakkara necropolis complex near Memphis.
In the afternoon, we visited a Coptic Orthodox church named for the Virgin Mary. Over the domes of this church, Marian apparitions reportedly appeared to millions of people for more than a year beginning on the eve of April 2, 1968.
This church in Zeitoun, Cairo, is on the path that the Holy Family took when they fled to Egypt.
St. Charles Borromeo parishioner Joan Rillo of Bloomington remarked that this reported Marian apparition site is one of the best-kept secrets in that no one on the pilgrimage seemed to have heard of it before.
The pilgrims also visited the Church of the Virgin Mary in Al Muherrag Monastery, called the burnt monastery because it was burned during a siege. This fortified monastery is unusual for Egypt because it is not located in the desert.
It is claimed that Joseph, Mary and the infant Jesus spent six months and 10 days there on their flight to Egypt. The Church of Al-Adhra—Church of the Virgin—was built over the cave where the Holy Family lived.
It was here that the angel of the Lord said, “Arise and take the young child and his mother and go into the land of Israel for they are dead which sought the young child’s life” (Mt 2:20-21).
Most of the pilgrims thought the Church of the Apparition and the Church of the Virgin Mary were awesome because the events that happened there bridged the gap between the Old Testament and New Testament.
On the third day, the pilgrims traveled to the Sinai Peninsula and St. Catherine Monastery, located at the foot of Mount Sinai. This is the mountain where Moses received the Ten Commandments. He climbed the mountain and God spoke to him from the burning bush that was not consumed by fire.
The rising sun shines on the bushes, making them look like they are on fire. This was truly a special place. The ancient steps leading to the top of Mount Sinai were built by the monks of St. Catherine Monastery.
Six pilgrims climbed to the top of Mount Sinai to view the rising sun and the bushes. The treacherous climb is done at night because the air is much cooler.
For Brother Maurus, the climb was spiritually fulfilling and a lifetime achievement. At the monastery, the pilgrims were able to view what is thought to be the original burning bush from Moses’ time.
It is the second oldest Christian monastery in the world. The oldest is St. Anthony Monastery in Egypt.
On the fourth day, the vastness of the Sinai desert astonished the pilgrims. The stark realization of the hardships that confronted Moses and the Israelites was apparent to them.
“A dry and weary land” held special meaning for St. Charles Borromeo parishioner Helen Coghlan of Bloomington, who said she realized firsthand the trials and hardships that the Exodus from Egypt must have presented for the Israelites.
Witnessing a sandstorm in the distance, the pilgrims recognized another challenge for Moses and his followers.
The group also visited the shore of the Red Sea, which the Bible calls “yam suph.” The Red Sea can be translated to “Reed” Sea, suggesting that the area was marsh-like, typical of lake regions. It would have been a good place for the Israelites to cross the Red Sea.
That evening, the pilgrims boarded an overnight train bound for Luxor, formerly known as Thebes.
On the fifth day, they crossed the Nile River to the West Bank and Thebes, the burial place of the great pharaohs of the New Kingdom, and visited the famed Colossi of Memnon.
The highlights of the day were visits to the Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens and Valley of the Workers.
The tomb of Ramses IV was most impressive with its varied relief carvings and wall paintings. The temple of Queen Hatshepsut was interesting because she was the first female pharaoh to rule Egypt.
The Valley of the Queens, with 75 to 80 tombs, is also located on the West Bank at Luxor. The Valley of the Workers—
Deir al-Madina—is the residential site of skilled craftsmen and laborers that worked on the tombs of the kings and queens. Small houses are packed close together along winding streets. The workers built and decorated their tombs, which are very well painted and preserved.
St. Charles Borromeo parishioner Charles Coghlan of Bloomingtion observed that the early Egyptians believed in an afterlife that did not separate the body from the soul. It was the rationale for the mummification of the body and visceral organs.
This belief is unlike Christians, who believe the soul is what is most relevant to the after-life, at least until the Last Judgment. The concept revealed in the tombs was the importance of the ruling male, and lesser role of the female queen and royal family.
Later in the day, the pilgrims boarded a Nile cruise ship for a journey up the famous river, one of only a few tributaries in the world that flows north. While on board, the group discussed how the Nile River was the basis of human and animal life in the arid region.
After lunch on the sixth day, the pilgrims embarked on visitations to the temples of Luxor and Karnak.
The temple of Luxor is a large Egyptian temple on the East Bank of the Nile River in a city known as Luxor, which was founded in 1400 B.C. The earliest parts of the temple are still standing.
Karnak Temple is the biggest temple complex in the world, covering an area of nearly 250 acres. It is so big that St. Peter’s Basilica, and the cathedrals in Milan and Paris could be lost within its walls. It is the largest religious building ever made as well as a place of pilgrimage for more than 4,000 years.
Of interest was the avenue of sphinxes leading to the temple. The fine wall relief carvings depicted the daily life of the pharaohs.
The next stop was Edfu, an Egyptian city located on the West Bank of the Nile River between Esna and Aswan. The ancient Temple of Edfu was known in Greco-Roman times as Apollonopolis Magna. This mammoth structure illustrates how most temples must have looked.
The pilgrims also visited the Temple of Kom Ombo about 28 miles north of Aswan. This temple was built on a high dune overlooking the Nile River, dates back to the time of the Ptolemite rulers of Egypt and is accessible only by Nile cruise ships. It was a dual temple dedicated to the crocodile-headed Subek, the god of fertility, and the ancient falcon-headed Horis, the solar war god.
Al Langdon, a retired secondary school principal from Santa Claus in southern Indiana, remarked that the early biblical personages must have felt some negativism after seeing all the opulence and emphasis on bigness by the ancient Egyptians.
The pilgrims also visited the Aswan Dam, the largest earth-filled dam in the world, which created Lake Nasser, an immense inland lake. The dam was built for flood control and to provide electrical power to poor areas of Egypt, including Nubia to the south of Aswan.
On the seventh day, a visit to Abu Simbel was a highlight of the pilgrimage. The Abu Simbel temples are two massive rock temples in Nubia, southern Egypt, on the west bank of Lake Nasser. It is a UNESCO Heritage Site.
In 1257 B.C., the pharaoh Ramses II issued an order to have the two temples carved out of solid rock. The temples are among the most magnificent monuments in the world, and their removal and reconstruction in 1968 high above the Nile River was an historical event. The temples were dismantled and relocated to a desert plateau 200 feet above and 800 feet west of the river. Their interiors feature some of the best-preserved relief carvings and hieroglyphics in Egypt.
While in Nubia, the pilgrims had the opportunity to visit a Nubian village and observed Nubian culture firsthand. Some of the pilgrims rode camels and enjoyed stepping back to a time when the camel was the major mode of desert travel. The Nubian children were beautiful, and one pilgrim remarked that it is no wonder the pharaohs married Nubian women, who became queens.
The pilgrimage came to an end with a late-night stop in Cairo for a couple hours of sleep before the return trip to the United States.
The pilgrimage group was fortunate to have one of the best guides in Egypt. Khaled Osman’s vast knowledge of Egyptian history and culture, the Old Testament and biblical figures lent great credence to the pilgrimage.
Three priests celebrated daily Mass for the pilgrims.
Father James Peiffer, a retired priest from the Diocese of Toledo, Ohio, said he wanted to see the pyramids.
Father Ralph Schipp, a retired priest from the Evansville Diocese, said he wanted to experience firsthand the Old Testament and flight of the Holy Family to Egypt.
Father Daniel Meyer, the pastor of Holy Angels Parish in Dayton, Ohio, in the Cincinnati Archdiocese said he wanted to visit Mount Sinai and live firsthand the Old Testament stories.
(St. Charles Borromeo parishioner Thomas Rillo of Bloomington also is a Benedictine oblate of Saint Meinrad Archabbey in St. Meinrad.) †
