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Palestine's Hick touched by kindness of Egyptians
By MARY RAINWATER, H-P Staff Writer The Palestine Herald
Palestine — When Palestine resident Marian Hicks traveled to Egypt in May, she found more than just pyramids and a sphinx — she also found a country full of kind, caring people.
The two-week educational trip was put together by Paul Hubbard, owner of “The Crossing,” an Austin-based health and wellness center. Hicks went on the tour with an old friend and her twin sister.
“There were about 18 of us in the tour group,” Hicks said. “I had to leave after a week, but the rest of the group stayed and finished the tour.”
That single week was enough to make an impression on Hicks — during her time there she was able to visit the pyramids, the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, the Sphinx, the Cairo Peace Conference Center and several Muslim mosques.
“The trip started with a camel ride through the sand up to hills near the famous pyramids,” she said. “It was like something out of the movie Dr. Zhavigo.
“I galloped some on the camel and made it to the top of the hill looking out over the sand dunes,” she explained. “My camel was gentle and loving. It was a great experience.”
The second day’s activities included a sunrise tour of the great pyramids, with a visit to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo taking place on the third day.
“I cannot begin to explain the sights there,” Hicks said. “We saw many large sandstone statues of past Egyptian pharaoh’s including Akhenaten, Ramses I and II, Amenophis III and his wife Tyre.”
Also at the museum, Hicks and her tour group were able to view the treasures of the most well known pharaoh, King Tutankhamen (or King Tut) and see a statue of his wife Nefertiti.
“(King Tut’s) funerary mask was made with blue and gold stripes and inlaid with lapis and turquoise,” Hicks explained. “It was all so unreal. One could spend three days in the museum and never see it all.”
Another highlight of the trip was a private sunrise tour of the Sphinx, with well-known archaeologist Robert Vaughan speaking to the group in detail about the great sight.
“We also were allowed to touch the Sphinx,” Hicks said. “That is something most people don’t get to do.”
During her visit to the Peace Conference Center — the historic site where the famous Peace Treaty of 1978 was signed by President Jimmy Carter, Menahem Begin and Anwar Sadat — the group heard from another famous archaeologist, Zahi Hawass.
“He gave a lecture and showed slides of how he found King Tut’s tomb,” Hicks said. “It is considered one of the greatest finds of our lifetime.”
The greatest experience Hicks had on her trip was meeting the Egyptian people and seeing how they interact with Americans.
“I could feel the love and compassion in their hearts while I was there and see the care they show to each other and to other people,” Hicks said. “Egyptians love Americans and approve of what we are trying to do to make things right in the world.
“It was a truly historical and spiritual journey for me,” she added, “ and I plan to carry that love, compassion and peace that I felt while I was there with me and pass it on to others.”
Hicks, a retired school teacher and counselor, loves traveling and hopes to be able to take part in a similar trip to Greece. She and her husband, Jack, have lived in Palestine for four years and have kept a home here for the last 13 years.
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Mary Rainwater may be reached via e-mail at mrainwater@palestineherald.com
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