The Charlotte Jewish News -June-July 2007 - Page 20
Jewish Traveler
By Maxine Silverstein
Egypt: Wings Over
THE Nile
In April, we traveled to an
incredible destination - Egypt.
The trip was something we will
. never forget and Egypt is a “once
in a lifetime destination.” We were
fortunate to travel by boat down
the Nile and have private jet
TUmning a IVeMng or SociaCivent?
Carolina Bride Magazine is MUST Reading!
Planning Articles Area Businesses
Stories Featuring Local Weddings
.‘\vailablc at area
bridal salons, department stores,
and newsstands.
704.358.5910 ♦ carolinabridc.com
CamloaBHdtMagiaptiispuiiisixdqiartBij*Bli^ahl. Nedy AnoaaUs, Inc
to cf^&ate 3cu^/Ba.t/^ftzu-ai
Yno-ftat/OHS ae liKicjoe^ as^oa. az-&/
120 cardstock colors and patterns, 60 typestyles, 30 ink colors, 6 base formats...
Endless possibilities! Fully stocked only at Personally Yours Stationery.
Also featuring Checkerboard, Encore and 10 fine catalog printers.
~ He'IieeMi Tf^ansiatm See-tf-zoee
McMullen Creek Market
Phone: 704-541-7344
' 8326-402 Pineville-Matthews Rd.
www.mycustominvite.com
drous images for more than a mil
lennium. Today, Cairo is a magnif
icent, modem city built along both
sides of the Nile, where the past is
forever echoed in the present, and
the old harmoniously coexists
with the new.
flights for our group. In ten days,
we saw almost the entire country.
Cairo, Egypt’s capital, with a
population of approximately 20
million, is the largest city in Africa
and the key city of the Arab world.
This ancient city has evoked won
Maxine and Gary at Abu Simbel.
philosopher and authority on reli
gious law, worshipped at this syn
agogue while living in Cairo. As a
result, it was popularly called the
Maimonides Synagogue. The
massive project of rebuilding this
incredible building, which took
fifteen years of expert labor, dates
from the signing of the Israel-
Egypt Accords of 1979. This dra
matic project has restored the
dilapidated Ben Ezra Synagogue
building to its original splendor.
Though its congregation is only a
remnant, the building now stands
as a beautiful landmark, with its
stones reflecting over 1,000 years
of Egyptian-Jewish history. If s a
must-see when visiting Cairo, and
we felt very safe throughout our
visit here.
ing waters of Lake Nasser. It now
stands high above the water in
much the same fashion as before,
facing Lake Nasser in magnificent
splendor.
The Jewish community of
Egypt is the second oldest in the
world. Most of us first had our
consciousness raised about life for
Jews in Egypt when we recited,
“We were slaves to Pharaoh in
Egypt” 4t our Passover Seder.
Some of the biblical accounts we
recall of Egypt - the sojourns of
Abraham, Jacob and Joseph and
the bondage of the Children of
Israel - are indelibly imprinted on
our collective memory.
Cairo became a must-see for
serious Jewish travelers after
1977, when President Anwar
Sadat made his historic visit to
Jemsalem. Following the normal
ization of relations between Egypt
and Israel in 1979, tens of thou
sand of Isrealis have traveled to
the capital of the Arab world’s
largest and most influential coun
try. Cairo has had a Jewish popu
lation since the city was founded
more than a dozen centuries ago.
Their presence and their contribu
tions to both the city and to
Judaism have linked Cairo inextri
cably to Jewish history. Today, the
Jewish community, numbering
fewer than 100, is approaching
extinction as most all of them are
elderly; the last wedding was held
in 1980.
We were able to visit The Ben
Ezra Synagogue in Cairo. This
famous synagogue in Old Cairo
was originally called The
Synagogue of the Men of Israel. It
was built in 1882 on the remain's
of a Coptic basilica that was sold
to Jews. Large-scale festivities
were held here after the festivals
of Passover and Sukkot, when the
synagogue was the goal of pil
grimages made from various parts
of northern Africa. During a
restoration ii\ the 1890s,, a jgreat
discovery to^’place: a storeroom
for worn out holy books and doc
uments containing the Divine
name was found. It was fortunate
that the arid climate had partially
preserved many handwritten
pages dating from the tenth to the
fifteenth centuries. The documents
contained a number of rare manu
scripts of Old Testament interpre
tations.
This beautiful synagogue is
also known for its twelfth-century
wooden doors and its Moorish
interior design,, featuring many
arches, hanging lamps and a cen
tral stone bimah. One of the most
famous Jews of the Middle Ages,
Moses Maimonides, physician.
Maxine and Gary at Ben Ezra
Synagogue
The Great Pyramid of Giza and the
Sphinx.
After leaving Cairo, we flew to
Abu Simbel to visit the temple of
Ramses II. This magnificent place
has stood the test of time for more
than 3,000 years and is one of the
best preserved temples in the
country. It took 25 years and
25,000 workers to carve this struc
ture into the mountainside. The
four statues on the famous outer
fagade each stand 67 feet high. In
what is considered to be a major
engineering feat, the entire Abu
Simbel complex was moved in
order to save it from the encroach-
Our next stop was Aswan,
where we boarded our ship to
cruise down the Nile for four mag
ical nights. We got to visit Luxor
to see the Valley of the Kings and
the Temple of Kamak. After
Luxor, we flew back to Cairo to
see the Ancient Pyramids of Giza
and the Sphinx. The great pyra
mids of Giza are the only remain
ing examples of the original Seven
Wonders of the Ancient World.
The pyramid of Cheops is the
largest - more than 400 feet high
and covering 13 acres. Nearby, in
stony silence, sits the great Sphinx
at whose feet Alexander the Great,
Caesar, Cleopatra and Napoleon
all paused. The Sphinx, with its
head of a man and body of a lion,
represents wisdom and might.
Carved from solid rock, it is 240
feet long and 66 feet wide.
We ended this fabulous trip at
the Mena House Oberoi, a won
derful historic hotel and formerly
a royal hunting lodge. Our elegant
room had a beautiful balcony
overlooking the Giza Pyramids.
We have traveled near and far,
but we will never forget this
incredible journey into the past.
Five thousand years of history
have been fashioned from this
country.
Youth Visions
Op-Ed: The Voice of Our Youth
To Vote or Not to Vote:
That is the Question
By Julie Epstein
To vote: a formal ejcpressiOil'Of
Opinion or choice, either positive
of negative, made by an individual
or body of individuals. It’s your
choice, it’s your opinion, and it’s
your expression. We could sit
around and let our peers decide
for us or we could get involved
and make a difference. You may
be asking yourself, why would I
want to waste my precious time
when I know the Electoral
College decides for me? Well it’s
time to look deeper into the matter
and stop thinking about just you.
Voting is a privilege to citizens, an
opportunity to make a mark on
our country by choosing our lead
ers. Voting is a choice in matter;
why not get your voice heard?
Your actions determine how we
live our liyps; spend our ,fax
money, and how we are lead as a
country. In our last election 111
million voiced their opinion. One
person against 111 million may
seem small, but matters none the
less. Your vote may make the dif
ference in an election, and even if
you don’t think it will let yourself
be amazed. Our country itself is
amazing and we should feel
inspired and compelled to voice
our vote and understand where
our country stands in leadership.
Rise above the voices telling you,
you do not matter. Rise above
your feelings of apathy and disin
terest. Take a stand and make a
difference. ^
Julie Epstein is a sophomore
from Temple Beth El.