Page 17 - Pierce County Lawyer - May June 2024

My Trip to EgypIt andJordan
was honored to have been asked to contribute to this
month’s magazine by our beloved ED Kit Kasner and to reflect on my recent travels. For those who know me well, far away destinations are a welcome adventure for me. Although I hadn’t realized it at the time, upon reflection, since January 2023, I have traveled to more than 6 different countries with friends and family. Some of these countries were
Egypt, Jordan, Costa Rica, Malaysia and South Africa. Yes, I love traveling the world. As a family law attorney and guardian ad litem, the cases and issues I litigate and investigate are hard. The complexity and issues involved can sometimes negatively impact one’s view of people and the world in general. Traveling provides me with an opportunity to recenter and reset. It allows me to experience other cultures, customs and cuisines plus the chance to reflect upon my life juxtaposed with the lives with whom I come into contact on my travels.
My trip to Egypt and Jordan in March 2023 was amazing and only made more so by having the pleasure of traveling with my two daughters, Constance (27) and Carolyn Hosannah (26), and local family law attorney, Gina Duncan. It was delightful and lots of fun. We joined a larger contingent of about 25 travelers for this adventure. The journey by plane to Cairo
was very long but exciting. Cairo is a huge bustling city that is densely populated. After settling in at our hotel and having a bite to eat, we explored the neighborhood. I was amazed at the number of Hookah bars/restaurants that populate the area. The following day we began our 13-day itinerary. We visited the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities which includes the world’s largest collection of Pharaonic artifacts and the treasures of Tutankhamen’s tomb, Al Moallaka Church (Hanging Church) in Old Cairo and Ben Ezra Synagogue. We visited the Great Pyramids of Giza and saw the enigmatic Sphinx. We traveled by boat up the famous Nile river, stopping in Luxor and Aswan. We rode camels with the Pyramids in the background and sampled much of the delicious local cuisine during our travels. We took a hot-air balloon over the Valley of the Kings and traveled by horse-drawn carriage to the Temple of Horus, the falcon god. This is considered the best-preserved temple in Ancient Egypt and it is the second largest, after the Temple of Karnak. In the neighboring country of Jordan we drove along the King’s Highway to visit Madaba, the City of Mosaics. We saw the oldest mosaic map of the Holy Land on the floor of Saint George’s Church. We toured Mount Nebo, which is said
By Desiree Hosannah
to be the burial site of Moses, which overlooks the Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea.
On the final leg of our
journey we visited Petra,
which is a city that was
carved into the rose-red
Sharah Mountains by the
Nabateans and which
was ‘lost’ until it was
rediscovered in 1812 by
the Swiss explorer, John
Lewis Burkhardt. We
walked through the ‘Siq,’ which is a narrow and winding fissure between the cliffs, to reach the Treasury, the Roman Theater, the Courts, Qasr Bint Pharaoun, the Temple of the Winged Lion and other amazing monuments in Jordan. This was the trip of a lifetime for me and I enjoyed it immensely.
I heartedly recommend travel as medicine for the soul. Every journey reinvigorates me! I am grateful to have had this experience and many other travel journeys, shared with friends and loved ones.
Desiree Hosannah has prac- ticed law since 1995. De-
siree practices family law and other areas of civil litigation with her spouse, Vernon Ho- sannah who is also an attorney. They have been married for al- most 28 years and have 3 adult children. Their older daughter, Constance, graduates law school in May 2024 and will become an Associate with their law firm shortly thereafter. Their next adventure includes travel by train in South Korea and Japan!
May/Junel 2024 | PIERCE COUNTY LAWYER 17