My travel partner was Andrei Tsvirinko, a former IBEX student now at TMC. He flew from California for Christmas break to go on the trip with me and help to prepare. Before we left, we (and especially he) researched the sites on our itinerary and prepared notes which would help us understand the sites and also could be used as explanatory notes on a revised Egypt CD. I also intend to revise and expand my “Egypt Travel Guide” which students use when they visit on their own during the semester break. The best books for general research of the sites: Baines and Malek, Atlas of Ancient Egypt, and Murnane, Penguin Guide to Ancient Egypt. We took two current guidebooks along with us on the trip – Lonely Planets and the Rough Guide. We found the second to be better than the first even though the latest edition is a year older than the LP book. A few other books of use in selected points of biblical relevance for Egypt include: Kitchen, Reliability of the OT; Currid, Ancient Egypt and the OT; Hoffmeier, Israel in Egypt; and Hoerth: Archaeology and the OT. All of these are recommended. This photo was taken early morning at Lake Qarun in the Fayyum Oasis.
