After a long five-hour bus ride from Jerusalem past the Dead Sea, Solomon's mines and the desert Israel is making bloom, we arrived in Eilat. This is Israel's answer to Miami Beach. When I visited here in l968, there were only a few grass huts on an endless beach around the Red Sea. Rockets from Aquaba on Jordan's side would whiz by. Today Eilat is a playland for Israel and many other countries. Joint projects with Jordan and Aquaba now exist.

We stayed in a hotel with hot water, a bathtub and a "real" swimming pool. This is the first touch of luxury since leaving the US.

After our wonderful buffet breakfast, we were picked up in an ultra modern van with automatic doors, cushy seats and absolute comfort. I can hardly believe our luck! Is this the way we will travel to Sinai?

After a laborious one-hour border crossing we entered Egypt and left our cushy van behind. We were greeted warmly by our Egyptian guide (teacher of Bedouin children who never show up) and his Bedouin driver. Our travel companions were a very nice couple from Denmark (doctors) and their two lovely teenage children.

We looked aghast at the worn down old jeep we were to travel in for four days. No cushy seats-only two benches along the each side of the jeep covered in a Bedouin rug. We faced our travel companions and the all the luggage was piled on top and around our feet. Got the picture?

We took off and our jeep bounced and sputtered and we tried to maintain our humor. We began our tour around the coast of the south Sinai with turquoise waters of the Red Sea to our left and the Desert Mountains of Sinai to our right. All along the sea, the Egyptians are building sprawls of hotels and homes, mostly unfinished. Slowly we began to leave the sea behind us and enter the mysterious land that Moses wandered and got lost with his people for 40 years. I prayed we wouldn't have the same experience!

The Sinai is hard to describe. It is vast, full of mountains, dunes, and hundreds of Bedouins. The government built homes for them but they refuse to live in them. There are natural springs, wadis, canyons, scrub, sheep, wild camels, and a few Acacia trees but not much life. Except for the few built up areas Sinai is pristine and peaceful. We loved every minute of our time there-except the smelly jeep.

The next 4 days was spent walking through the canyons, picnicking in the desert, visiting Bedouins, walking the dunes, and bouncing in the jeep. There are no roads in the desert (main roads to the major areas - Dahab, Nuweiba, St. Catherine and Sharm El Sheik. Our Bedouin driver was incredible in the desert of highway! Even at night he would find his way through the vast emptiness and bring us safely back. Considering the condition of the jeep, it was a miracle from Moses!

The highlight of the trip was the ascent to the top of Mt. Sinai (they call it Moses' mountain). We entered the path through a Bedouin village and had the mountain to ourselves until we reached the top and tourists from the main climbing area joined us. Our thoughts of Moses and the wandering Jews were on our minds. How did he get to the top without a path? How did he ever get this far with his people in this unforgiving climate? What was he thinking as he climbed?

Our mundane thoughts were more like-"can I get to the top without ruining my knees?" Seriously, the climb was moving and peaceful. We reached the top for sunset-incredible light and views. After moments of meditation my thoughts turned to the descent. I had serious doubts about my knees. However, my fears were alleviated as a lonely camel and his driver appeared. "Only $10-very good camel," said Salem, the 16-year-old camel driver. I replied, "You've got a deal!" So Zabata (the camel) and I descended Mt. Sinai under a full moon shining on our path. This is definitely an experience I won't forget! Michael was looking haggard and weary about one and a half-hours into the descent, so I gave Zabata to Michael-my Lawrence of Arabia.

Our last morning was spent in Sharm Sheik, the LasVegas of Egypt by the sea. It was hard to take after the quiet of the desert. We swam and snorkeled in the Red Sea in a lovely private cove. We rested our aching bodies in the sun.

Our guide was a gentle and spiritual man. He took very good care of us. He knew every man at the Army checkpoints and Bedouins all over Sinai. He taught us a lot. He knew the best, isolated places to take us.

I wish I could hire the driver for life. I would trust him to get me safely anywhere in a car.

P.S. A bit of irony-the Israelis now come to Sinai during Passover time. What would Moses say after all the sacrifices to get the Israelites out of Egypt? Life is strange!

Petra, Jordan: Following Moses' footsteps now led us to Jordan and the famous Nabatean city, Petra, which is carved into a canyon.

A bit of history-Moses was refused passage at Aquaba and other points along Jordan. He died in (now) Jordan. Aaron, his son, finally fought and crossed to the Promised Land at Jericho. Other historical highlights include Lawrence of Arabia and his fight for the Bedouins. He is revered in Jordan and there are many memorials to him.

Lots of history at Petra-more than I can go into. Nabateans built an incredible city around the third century BC. The Romans, Greeks, Moslems, Crusaders all invaded destroyed and added to it. This city is an archaeological dream. The Bedouins occupied the city until 1812 when a Swiss archeologist entered in a disguise looking and speaking like a Moslem.

You can only enter one way-through a canyon tunnel. The Nabateans tapped nearby springs and built a sophisticated water system that starts at the tunnel entrance. But the most spectacular sights are the giant carvings around burial tombs into the canyon rock. You can't imagine the engineering feats!

The day was a delight of history, art, and culture. Our traveling companions added to the experience-a French beekeeper and her daughter, 2 male Australians wandering like us, an American professor on a Fulbright teaching assignment in Bulgaria. Meeting interesting people has added much depth to our journey.

If you have any questions about the sabbatical I'm taking, e-mail me at mwfam@aol.com.