March 16, 2000. The other day, I shared about my Jerusalem trip and walk through Hezekiah’s Tunnel with the IBEX Friends & Family. Our main field trip with the visiting families was on Thursday, when we visited the lush Shephelah (Heb. “lowlands”) region of Israel.

We descended west from the Hill Country to the Aijalon Valley, then southward to Tel Beth Shemesh. Little remains of this ancient city, which overlooks the Sorek Valley, the home of Samson.

As we stopped to overlook the valley, we read our Bibles and imagined two lowing cows casually returning the Ark of the Covenant from the land of the Philistines.

As you might recall, the Israelites had taken the ark from the Shiloh Tabernacle to the battlefront, where it had been seized by the Philistines (1 Sam. 4-5). After defying the pagan gods in their temples and plaguing the city folk with rats and tumors, the Philistines placed the ark on a cart, and Yahweh miraculously brought the ark back to its homeland.

“And the cows went straight in the direction of Beth-shemesh along one highway, lowing as they went. They turned neither to the right nor to the left, and the lords of the Philistines went after them as far as the border of Beth-shemesh.” (1 Samuel 6:12). What a sight that must have been!

(On a side note, it was shortly after this the ark was brought up from Beth Shemesh to the hill country at Kiriath Jearim (1 Sam. 7:1-2). That is the location of Moshav Yad Hashmona and IBEX! As I peer out the window right now from the computer lab, I can see the hillside where the ark rested for twenty years.)

Next, we followed an ancient highway known as the “diagonal route” to Azekah, an impressive plateau overlooking the entire region of Palestine. To the east, we could clearly see the Valley of Elah, and identify approximately where David and the Israelites vanquished the Philistines in the famous story of David & Goliath.

Shortly after, we actually drove into the Elah Valley, stopping at the river bed to pick up five smooth stones and test our skills at the sling.

Then, we were off to Adullam. This heavily forested hilltop served as an ancient asylum for David and his “mighty men” while fleeing from Saul. It was easy to see how several hundred men could hide from their aggressors. Some of the caves were enormous, plunging deep into the earth!

While exploring one of the caves, I was astonished by the utter darkness; only my trusty flashlight could guide me along. Could it be such a situation that David had in mind when writing “Thy Word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path“?

We continued our journey southward by visiting the Guvrin Valley and an intricate network of caves carved out during the Second Jewish Revolt (132-135 AD). We climbed around in the vast underground system for a good hour.

By the end, I was drenched in sweat and covered with dirt. “Uh-oh, what was that the bus driver had said about staying clean?” No worries! I just turned my shirt inside-out and was ready to hop back on the bus! By the way, the parents didn’t accompany us on this little bonus excursion.

By mid-afternoon, we were standing at Tel Lachish. Lachish is one of the most important cities in all of Israel, looking high over the Lachish Valley and beyond. It was well-fortified – a sentinel for the Hill Country to the East.

Here, we saw the only remaining Assyrian Siege Ramp, and I couldn’t help but wonder why the citizens didn’t destroy this ramp following Sennacherib’s invasion. Surely, those who survived the Assyrian attack were endangering their very existence by allowing the siege ramp to remain. Could it later have been used as a convenient road to bring food and supplies into the city? I don’t have any idea. At any rate, Lachish was rebuilt after the Assyrian conquest, and became one of the last cities in all of Judah to hold out against the Babylonians (Jer. 34:6-7).

We concluded our day by climbing Tel Gezer, another pivotal fortress that prevented invasion from the West. This important site is mentioned in 1 Kings 9:15-17, where Solomon rebuilt the city and its gates after Egyptian attack and seizure.

1 Kings 9:15–17 And this is the account of the forced labor that King Solomon drafted to build the house of the Lord and his own house and the Millo and the wall of Jerusalem and Hazor and Megiddo and Gezer (Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and captured Gezer and burned it with fire, and had killed the Canaanites who lived in the city, and had given it as dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife; so Solomon rebuilt Gezer) and Lower Beth-horon.

Even now, the distinct six-chambered gates can be seen in all three cities – Hazor, Megiddo, and here in Gezer. This was one of the most strategically located fortresses in all Israel, for it defended the important route from the West to Jerusalem: the Aijalon Valley and Beth Horon Ridge.

25 years ago, I had the privilege of traveling to Israel for a semester through the Master’s College IBEX program. To celebrate the 25th anniversary, I’m sharing highlights from my journal, emails, and photos. Feel free to share your own IBEX memories here as well!

March 7, 2000. Our train ride back to Cairo lasted all night, and I woke minutes before arrival at the station. The first class car was pretty good, but it didn’t seem that different than second class had been on our previous trips. Thankfully, Kevin and Kris’ team made it safely too, though riding third class had been an adventure.

We got off the train and took the subway over to Tahrir square. This would be our 11th mode of transportation during the trip, in addition to bus (both public and charter), train, taxi, bicycle, carriage, ferry, felucca (small sailboat), horse, camel, and foot!

After the subway, we began looking for Garden City Hotel and searched for nearly an hour and a half. When we found it, we realized it was going to cost too much, so we spent another hour looking for an alternative. We finally decided on the Sun Hotel (a more affordable hostel). We shared a room with Andy’s group, and it cost 15 pounds each.

Lunch was at McDonald’s. Then we withdrew some money from the bank and headed to the Cairo Museum.

We entered the museum around 1:45pm. Some of the team agreed to meet up later and take a taxi to Dashur to see the Bent Pyramid. I planned to go, but misunderstood the time, so I showed up at 3:30 instead of 3:15. It was disappointing, but gave me more time to explore the museum and hang out with Kevin and Tiana.

The exhibits were awesome! Many were not labeled well, but Todd Bolen’s field guide once again helped us know what to look for.

King Tut’s mask certainly needed no explanation. It was amazing to view it up close, and stare into those penetrating eyes.

Another highlight was the Merneptah Stele. Dating to around 1220 BC, it records the conquest of Pharaoh Merneptah (Ramses II’s son) through Canaan. It’s important for biblical studies because it contains the earliest reference to Israel outside the Bible. The name “Israel” appears in hieroglyphics in the polished section toward the bottom of the inscription. Todd Bolen notes this means Israel was not only settled in the land by then, but must have been a significant force, since the Egyptians were boasting about its destruction.

Another item of interest was the upper half of a statue of Thutmose III (1479–1425 BC). Yesterday, we’d stood inside his tomb in the Valley of the Kings. Now we got to see a beautiful limestone sculpture of this pharaoh of the Exodus.

I would’ve enjoyed seeing the mummy room, but it was another 40 pounds — outside my budget. Once the museum closed, I headed back over to the hotel. I took a shower and met up with the rest of the team who had taken the side trip to Dashur.

Dinner that night was at Pizza Hut. Pizza was probably our favorite food of the trip. We had it several times. It was kind of ironic that we ate so much American-style food while in Egypt. However, coming from Israel, where everything is kosher, cheap American-style food (like cheese with pork topping) was a nice change of pace. It was also a little safer, helping us not to get food poisoning during the trip.

We would have an early start on Wednesday to catch the bus back to Israel, so tonight was our last chance to explore the city and spend our remaining Egyptian pounds. I bought a few souvenirs, including a small stone pyramid, a scabbard with some hieroglyphics, and a 5″ tall bronze camel. They all needed to be small and lightweight enough to fit in my backback, which was already stuffed with the clothes and belongings I’d been carrying around the past five days.

As the night wore on, we visited a perfume shop and were then led by a shopkeeper to another lounge, where one guy described me as “Ali Baba” because of my goatee. We trusted no one and tried to be careful not to get pulled too far back into the dark alleys. Everything felt strange and suspicious. We enjoyed some delicious pistachio ice cream, saw some interesting army guys, and strolled the Hussein Bazaar. Late in the evening, a crowd gathered, and a cow was brought into the street. There was quite a commotion, and they slaughtered the cow right there in the middle of the market. We were told a new shop was opening, and the storekeeper was offering a sacrifice to bring his business success! It was a surprising way to end this unforgettable Egyptian adventure.

25 years ago, I had the privilege of traveling to Israel and Egypt for a semester through the Master’s College IBEX program. To celebrate the 25th anniversary, I’m sharing highlights from my journal, emails, and photos. Feel free to share your own IBEX memories here as well!

Photo credit: Todd Bolen is to be thanked for photos of the King tut mask, the Merneptah stele, and the interior of the Cairo Museum. The image of the Thutmose III statue is courtesy of the Met and is public domain. I did take some photos inside the Cairo Museum, but their pictures were much better!