Posted January 16, 2008

My first Religious Pilgrimage site that I visited was Notre-Dame in Paris in 1963 while I was living in Paris, France.

Where were you in 1963?

I just happened to be strolling in the vicinity of the Notre-Dame in Paris when I made an impromptu decision to take a peep inside Notre-Dame Church and purchase a souvenir from their museum store. The Notre-Dame in Paris was very damp and dark inside with many candles burning inside.  The fumes from the candles inside the sanctuary forced me to retreat outside much sooner than I had anticipated. The Notre-Dame museum store located in another building on the premise had many souvenirs to purchase.  I purchased a bronze replica statue souvenir of the Notre-Dame in Paris that I still cherish today. It would be more than 20 years later when I would go on my next Religious Pilgrimage. 

In 1986 when we were traveling through Europe via train, we stayed in a hotel next to the train station in Rome, Italy. Where were you in 1986?

The Vatican City tour was an unplanned Religious Pilgrimage, but it can be counted as my second religious travel.  The Vatican City was the only site that we toured in Rome because we wanted to spend our visit in Rome eating authentic Italian pasta and drinking Italian wines with our pasta.  When we visited St. Peter's Basilica, we spent our entire visit in St. Peter’s Square walking through the great piazza and staring up at The Obelisk.  It would be 17 years before I go on my next Religious Pilgrimage.

One of the day trip excursions was to Fatima, Portugal.  We took the bus trip to Fatima along with other carnival goers. Fatima is a village of west-central Portugal north-northeast of Lisbon.  It became a religious pilgrimage site after a reported appearance of Our Lady of Fatima to three children in 1917.  Since then, millions of religious pilgrims go there to pay their promises, to pray or just to feel its mystical strength!  The Sanctuary Square is so big that it can only be described by numbers: it can receive simultaneously 300,000 visitors and it’s twice the size of St. Peter Square in the Vatican. There were thousands of people at the Fatima site praying and thousands of blessed candles burning.  I purchased several blessed candles to give as gifts to my family when I returned home.  It was a divine spiritual destiny for me.  I was into my 40th year of Religious Travel in Europe. 

In Lisbon, Portugal, I kneeled at the base of the Christ the King Sanctuary and looked up at the Christ the King Statue appearing as if standing in front of the gates of heavens.  Christ the King Sanctuary (Santuário do Cristo Rei) was built in 1959 on the south bank of River Tagus.  The 110 meter high statue of Christ offers a magnificent panoramic view over Lisbon and River Tagus.

Inspired by the Cristo Redentor monument in Rio de Janeiro, the figure of Christ opens its arms to Lisbon and receives hundreds of tourists, as well as pilgrims. On what is known by the people of Lisbon as "the other side" or the "south bank" is also one of the most popular beach destinations in the region: the Costa de Caparica.  The Costa de Caparica region has more than 13 kilometers of excellent beaches, waiting to receive all those who love the sun and the sea. In Costa de Caparica you can also find the Convento dos Capuchos, a 16th century Franciscan monastery that has several interesting and admirable details, and is an excellent spot for a walk.

In 2006, I took pictures of some of the travelers in my group standing under the Redeemer of Christ Statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  Where were you in 2006?  The Redeemer of Christ Statue is 125 feet tall (38 m) situated atop Corcovado Mountain.  The statue depicts Christ standing with his arms spread out in a welcoming gesture; it represents the redemptive aspect of Christ as the savior of humanity.

Construction work on the statue started in 1921-22 and the statue was inaugurated on October 12, 1931 by the President of Brazil Getulio Vargas; the statue was designed by the famous architect Paul Landowsky.  Many personalities have visited the site; Pope Pius XII and Pope John Paul II have visited the site as also Albert Einstein the world famous physicist.  The site is a popular tourist destination located with the Tijuca Forest urban national park.  While riding the tram in the early morning into the fog with clouds hanging around you, I felt like I was entering the Kingdom of Heaven. The Redeemer of Christ Statue is a surprisingly spiritual site.  Another religious travel accomplished.

However in 2006, the conception of Religious Tours and Cruises were conceived when I traveled to Egypt. For many years, I had dreamed of visiting the Pyramids of Giza and the inscrutable Sphinx, and sailing the Nile River. However, Egypt offered much more than I had expected from a trip.  My Egypt visit was historical, educational, cultural, mysterious, adventurous, and spiritually rewarding. 

My trek began in Cairo and Old Cairo, Egypt. We began with a morning visit to the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities which included the world’s largest collection of Pharaonic artifacts and the treasures of Tutankhamen’s tomb.

Coptic Church, the Egyptian branch of Christianity
 
In the afternoon, we were driven to Old Cairo where early Judaism & Christianity flourished and visited the Coptic Church. Unlike other branches of Christianity, the Coptics believe that Christ was a wholly divine being and not God made flesh. One in every ten Egyptians is a Coptic today. The Coptic Church has its own Pope, and many ceremonies are still held in the ancient Coptic language.  Most people associate Egypt with Islam today, but Christianity was actually the dominant religion between the fourth century AD and 641 AD, when Islam officially took over. St. Mark first preached Christianity in 50 AD, and Egypt was one of the first countries to adopt the still young faith.

Church of St. Sergius (Abu Serga)

If you know the bible well, you’ll remember that Jesus found refuge on the banks of the Nile River with his Holy Family, who were fleeing persecution at the hands of Herod the Great King of Judea (Matt. 2:13-20).  The Holy Family made an arduous 2,000 km trek by donkey over four years which took them over 30 different places in Egypt. Legend has it that the Church of St. Sergius (Abu Serga) is built atop one of the sites where the Holy Family rested on their flight from King Herod. I stood inside the Church of St. Sergius (Abu Serga) for a silent prayer where Joseph, Virgin Mary, and Baby Jesus was once sheltered in a Crypt in a cave for three months underneath after fleeing King Herod.

Al-Muallaqa (Hanging) Church (The Church of the Virgin Mary), built into the walls of the Water Gate of the Roman fortress is possibly the oldest Christian Church in Egypt. 

Dating the Hanging Church has proven difficult due to its various makeovers throughout the years, but it was completed sometime between the seventh and ninth century.  In fact, the gate is still visible through a hole in the baptistery’s floor.  The church’s two bell towers soar to an awe-inspiring 13m at their highest peak. I felt like I was back in the ninth century when I attended Mass in the Hanging Church.

Ben Ezra Synagogue
                                 
Ben Ezra Synagogue is situated in Old Cairo, surrounded by 29 Mosques and 20 Churches, the inhabitants are about 133,000 Mohammedans, 10,000 Copts Christians, and 42 Jewish families in Old Cairo. 

Ben Ezar Synagogue is reported to have been erected in the 6th or presumably the 9th Century A.D.  The temple site and the surrounding grounds, originally a property of the church, were acquired by the Jews in return for “kantars of gold”.  The basilica-style temple contains a Jewish heritage library that was inaugurated on November 25, 1997. In 1896, a collection of documents known as “Jineesah” were found in the synagogue.  The documents, written mostly in what was called “Hebrew Arabic”, a variation of Arabic in Hebrew alphabet, exclusively used by Jews in the Middle Ages, reflected political, economic and social conditions of Jews under the Arab rule of Egypt as well as sectarian organizations and relations between different Jewish sects.  

The said documents contained a number of rare manuscripts of interpretations of the Old Testament, excerpts of linguistic research on Hebrew as well as documents explaining how Jews dealt with the Arab Muslim authorities. These documents, first compiled during the Fatimid era, were earlier within in Aramaic but were later written in Arabic, the official language in government departments. At the back of the temple, there is a very deep well, where the coffers in which Prophet Moses as an infant was placed by his mother, was reportedly found.

Although this population of different religious (Coptic Christians, Jewish, Muslim) yet they are united and love each other as one family. My visit inside Ben Ezra Synagogue was spiritually divine to be inside a Synagogue that Prophet Jeremiah had taught and prayed.

Mohammed Ali Mosque ushered in Egypt’s modern age.  Now the finest jewel in Cairo's fantastic Citadel and an unmistakable part of the city skyline, this is a modern mosque, in honor of a thoroughly modern man.

Mohamed Ali (1769-1849) was born in Gavalia, Greece, and was of Albanian origin.  He was a soldier in the troops that were sent to Egypt to free the country from Napoleon’s occupation.  In 1808 he was the commander of the Albanian troops in Egypt. Designed in the grand Ottoman style by a Greek architect, the construction of the alabaster began in 1830. It opened its sacred door 27 years later. Its needle-like minarets pierce the clouds at a dizzying 270 feet. I felt privileged to go on a tour inside because the Mohammed Ali Mosque is the only Mosque that tourists can go inside in Cairo. The Mosque was exceptionally beautiful inside.

                                                  Anecdotal

The Egyptian Tourist Police at Hatshepsut (1479 -1457 B. C.) Temple let me take a picture of him. Hatshepsut was the first woman Pharaoh. She had herself portrayed as a man, with a false beard and all the other symbols of kingship.

Safety is always first and foremost especially when you are traveling away from home.  I always research and check-out safety in that specify location(s) before I travel to any country.  I felt safe as a tourist in Egypt because they have Egyptian Tourist Polices everywhere in uniform and plain clothes carrying machine guns.  It is an Egyptian law that a group of more than 20 tourists are provided with a Tourist Police escort 24/7 while you are a tourist in Egypt. Tourism is very important to the Egyptian economy. 

As a seasoned traveler, I often do some sightseeing on my own when there aren’t any organized tours on a day when we can go shopping, sleep late, etc. I will venture into the old sections of town and back alleys which often aren’t on the tour guide’s itinerary to really experience the flavor of the culture and history. I must admit that I was surprised that I didn’t see any homeless people in Cairo a city of more than 12 million people.

  I usually visit schools in the countries that I'm visiting.  But, I made an exception this time to visit homeless families living in Old Cairo in ancient mausoleum cemeteries.  I took the picture of two young girls in Old Cairo on their way to the store for their parents.  They live with their family and other neighbors in an ancient mausoleum cemetery seen in the background.  Egyptians who cannot afford regular housing clean out the inside of a mausoleum in the cemetery for housing rather than families sleeping under freeways, bridges, parks, streets, and etc. as in the United States.

These girls go to school everyday and their parents go to work everyday like working class families in the United States.  If the family is fortunate enough to afford an automobile, they park their car inside the cemetery liked the car shown in the background. I guess this is Egypt’s temporary answer to their housing shortage in a city with a population of more than 12 million. However, these girls as well as other residents coming in and out of the cemetery were dress cleaned; they had smiles on their faces as they strolled pass me.  I wouldn’t have known that they lived in the cemetery, if I wasn’t standing at the entrance of the cemetery taking these pictures of them.  

Sleep Tight: Tips on Hotel Security

by Sallie Brady

Staying Safe

Minimizing your risk at a hotel begins when you book

Before You Arrive
In choosing a hotel, treat safety and security as you would any other amenity. Make sure that you (or your travel agent or tour operator) consider the following before reserving a room:

• Have hotel staff undergone security and emergency management training in the past year?
  
• Does the hotel have an emergency evacuation plan?
  
• Are background checks performed on all members of the staff?
  
• Does the hotel have security personnel on duty 24/7?
  
• Confirm that the hotel has sprinklers in every room. (Check out safeplace.com for other crucial fire-safety tips.)
  
• Avoid rooms facing busy streets or with ground-level windows. Sliding doors that front pools or beach areas should also be avoided. If rooms are directly over the lobby, stay on the fourth floor or higher).
  
• Reserve a room located between the third and seventh floors—away from prowlers who can gain access from the street and within reach of most fire-department ladders.
  
• Women traveling alone should avoid staying in rooms by stairwells and elevators. In off-hours, they should not hesitate to request that a hotel employee escort them to their room.
  
• Don't stay next to government offices, embassies, landmarks, or religious centers, especially in destinations where there's been recent unrest or that have been the subject of a U.S. State Department travel warning or alert.
  
• Only stay at hotels with electronic key-card access. In high-crime cities such as Rio de Janeiro and Mexico City, make sure the property's elevators also require key cards.

At Check-In

• Did the hotel receptionist announce your room number? If so, experts say you should request another room. Properly trained employees will show you your room number—and never broadcast it.
  
• Request a map of the hotel and your floor. Have the bellboy show you to your room and point out all elevators and emergency exits and evacuation routes. Then, on your own, count the number of doors between your room and the exits, in case you need to escape in smoke or darkness.

During Your Stay

• Don't indicate that you're a solo traveler or are not in your room. Instead of hanging the please make up this room card on the door, call housekeeping to request maid service. Also avoid leaving a room-service breakfast-order card on the doorknob that is clearly for just one person. Instead, phone room service before going to bed.
  
• Use valet parking, especially if the hotel's garage is dimly lit or the destination has a high crime rate.
  
• Always ask the concierge about the safety of any area you're setting out to see. Neighborhoods can change and new threats can emerge since the last time you visited or since the guidebook you're using was printed.

In an Emergency
iJet, a risk-management firm, had 40 clients in Mumbai during the attacks, 11 in the two hotels under siege. iJet representatives talked these travelers through the same instructions they use in the event of a hurricane, a tornado, a biological or chemical attack, or, as was the case in Mumbai, being trapped in a building with armed assailants. Here are key points to follow:

• Avoid windows: Many were killed after the initial Islamabad Marriott blast because they rushed to see what happened.
  
• Double-lock your door and barricade it with heavy furniture.
  
• Drag the mattress to the center of the room and hunker down under it—the mattress will provide a buffer in case of gunfire.
  
• If there is smoke, stuff wet towels under the door.
  
• Don't broadcast your whereabouts. The temptation, of course, will be to call loved ones on your cell phone, but chatter can alert attackers to your presence. While trapped in the basement of the Taj in Mumbai, Judy Hevrdejs, the dining editor of the Chicago Tribune, listened in horror as people screamed into their cell phones to family abroad, "We're in the basement!"