ISRAEL AND EGYPT

Flat Hawkster's tour through the Middle East continued through Israel and Egypt.  He began by visiting two cities in Israel,  Haifa and Jerusalem.   It was a fascinating journey into what is considered the Holy Land for those of the Christian faith.   Flat Hawkster's time began in the coastal town of Acre where he was able to wander through tunnels and secret passages that had been built by the crusaders centuries ago.  The crusaders were sent by the Catholic Church to recapture Christianity's Holy Land from the Ottoman Empire.   The Ottomans did end up conquering the city again and built a city on top of the city that had been created by the crusaders.  One of the secret passages was very tight and narrow but provided a quick escape route from the castle to the ocean.

For his second day in Israel, Flat Hawkster went to the Jerusalem to visit some of the most important sites in the history of Christianity.   This is the city in which Jesus Christ is said to have lived and died.  Millions of Christians from around the world make pilgrimages (trips) to Jerusalem in honour of their religion.  It was so busy when Flat Hawkster was there he was wondering if they had all arrived at the same time:)

The view of Jerusalem from a park nearby.

This is said to be the lane on which Jesus Christ walked on the day of his execution.

The view of Haifa Bay from the hanging garden above the city.

The Ottoman fortress  that was built on top of the city that had been constructed centuries earlier by the Crusaders.

These are the remains of an ancient public washroom that had been built by the crusaders.   It consisted of a series of holes in the ground that connected with a primitive sewer system that washed the waste into the harbour.   This was definitely a "public"  washroom.  In the picture below you can see Flat Hawkster about to enter one of the escape tunnels that had been used centuries ago.

After leaving Israel,  Flat Hawkster went to Egypt to visit the pyramids.   He had been looking forward to this visit for a long time as he is fascinated by these huge structures that had been built over 5000 years ago.  The site in Giza was very busy with locals, tourists, buses, camels, donkeys and horses.  Despite the crowds, it was an amazing experience.   The pyramids are an ancient wonder and it would be difficult for modern day machinery to construct these today.  The pyramids were built as tombs for Egyptian Pharaohs (kings) and they were started while the men were alive.  Sometimes the pyramid would take 20 years to build but the work would always stop when the Pharaoh died.   These structures were built to provide the leaders with access to the best afterlife.

This is  the Sphinx which is a huge monument that has the body of a lion and it is believed to be the head of a Pharaoh named Khafra.   You will notice that the nose is missing and some historians think it was knocked of by the worker slaves after Khafra's death.  Apparently he was not a nice leader and ancient Egyptians believe that ones spirit would travel through the note.  By removing this monument's nose,  the workers would be leaving Khafra's spirit a prisoner in the tomb.

The Pyramids of Giza.  The tallest (left) was built for the Pharaoh Cheops and stands over 45O ft tall.  In the picture below you can see Flat Hawkster in search of water in the Sahara desert.

This is a picture of Flat Hawkster as he rides on top of a very friendly camel.  It was actually quite a comfortable ride but started out scary.   In order for people (Hawsters) to mount a camel you have to get on when it is lying down on its haunches.  When Flat Hawkster was finally on the camel's back the animal then lifted itself up.  At this point,  Flat Hawkster had to hang tight as he thought that he night fall forward.

This is a "step" pyramid built for King Zoser.  Experts are not entirely sure as to why they used a "step" design but one theory suggests that it allowed the King's spirit to walk up into the afterlife.