Under construction, please check back later, thanks.,
Mt. Sinai
Part 3
By Mary Nell Wyatt
(Originally published in Newsletter #6, dated January 1994)
Mt. Sinai Rediscovered
In the July 1988 edition of Jim Irwin’s "High Flight Foundation Newsletter", the following announcement was made:
"Great news! We strongly feel that the REAL Mt. Sinai has been discovered. Since February, we have been searching in Egypt and Saudi Arabia in all attempt to find the real Mt. Sinai, currently believed to be in Egypt....Larry Williams and I [Bob Cornuke] have taken two trips to Saudi Arabia and travelled to Jabel el Lawz...."
Later, Larry Williams published his book called, "The Mountain of Moses" in which he documents how he and Bob Cornuke (Vice-President of "High Flight") sneaked into Saudi and "discovered" the real Mt. Sinai. The saddest part for Ron was that these people never even contacted him or let him see their photographs, after he had gone to the "High Flight" people. We later learned that they went to Dave Fasold and got precise information which allowed them to "make their discovery". And why not? Dave had seen the evidences and knew they were there. Ron hadn’t made any progress in the intervening 3 years. At least people would learn about the truth of the real site. If this was how the Lord was going to do it, that was fine with us.
Then, as we read Larry Williams’ book, we found out that although they went to Jebel el Lawz, they never found any chariot parts in the Red Sea. They had searched the sea-floor at the Straits of Tiran, far south of where Ron found the chariot wheels. Without this most important evidence, the story was still incomplete. Was this going to be the extent of the evidence of Jebel el Lawz- the real Mr. Sinai?
"From a Personal Vantage Point"
I, Mary Nell Wyatt, will continue to tell of the events which were yet to occur from my own vantage point because while I wasn’t around for the events prior to 1988, I was a part of the events which I will now relay to you. I cannot give the actual names of some of the individuals involved at this point, but everything I am about to tell is completely documented by all persons involved. We will make all information available when it is safe to do so, including video testimony by parties involved but for now unnamed.
Ron’s Years of Frustration
I have been acutely aware of Ron’s frustration at being unable to get the documentation of Jebel el Lawz. Since our marriage in 1988, he has tried every way imaginable to get back over to the site. We’ve written letters which were hand-delivered to the King’s attorney. But one of Ron’s strangest ideas came about as a result of the Gulf War. When the war erupted, Ron contacted the Army Recruiting office to enlist in the Reserves- his idea was that he could apply for duty as an anesthetist to Saudi and go out to the mountain while there. They told him he’d have to sign up for at least a 6-month stay, and that would put a big dent in his research on the other projects. But, it appeared for a time that the plan would succeed. His recruiting officer was extremely excited and hopeful- he said that they needed anesthetists and since Ron had 8 years in the service and was a Korean War veteran, he would enter as a Captain and there should be no problem with his getting the assignment he would request. But, red tape delayed everything and soon the war was over. With the war over, they no longer needed to recruit men and Ron never enlisted.
The Korean Doctors
In January of 1992, we were contacted by some Korean doctors who claimed to have a tremendous amount of money. They said they wanted to financially help Ron finish his archaeological work. They came to our home and we shared all of the evidences with them that we could, and they then decided that they wanted to go to Egypt and Israel to see the actual sites. They didn’t need to go to Turkey, they explained, because they saw enough evidence to convince them at our home. We soon headed for the Middle East and met up with these Korean doctors in Cairo. They wanted to see the sites and promised they would finance the work of completing all of them.
A Call from Saudi Arabia
But just before we left on that trip, one of Ron’s Saudi friends had called him. This man had called Ron numerous times in the past, trying to arrange to sell back to Ron his photos and movie film that he had taken when they were all at Jebel el Lawz in 1985. The problem was that he wanted hundreds of thousands of dollars. But when he called this time, the "unnamed" Saudi wanted something else- a type of electronic equipment which we could get for him. However, we didn’t have time to purchase it before we left on our trip. So, Ron decided to call his Saudi friend from the motel in Nuweba, hoping he would fly over and meet us to discuss the proposition- he had been to Nuweba to meet Ron before, and it was no problem for him to do so. The idea was to get him to bring the photos and film so we could see that he really had them. Ron’s understanding was that the photos and film had been confiscated by authorities and that his Saudi friend wouldn’t have access to them. But, if he did have them, we would arrange to get him the equipment he wanted in exchange.
"Mr. Sayadin", our Egyptian Translator
So, as soon as we arrived in Nuweba with the Korean doctors, Ron tried to call "the Saudi". Now, to place a call to Saudi Arabia from the motel, Ron had to go to the front desk switchboard. The gentleman who was operating the switchboard could see that Ron was having a great deal of trouble getting the person who answered "the Saudi’s" line to understand him- while "the Saudi" spoke excellent English, most of those who answered his phones didn’t. So, the Egyptian gentleman (we’ll call him "Mr. Sayadin") who worked the switchboard- and who spoke both Arabic and English quite well-offered his "translating" services which Ron most happily accepted. Ron explained a little of the situation to "Mr. Sayadin" so he could converse with whoever answered "the Saudi’s" phone in a fluent and intelligent manner.
Each day we tried and
each day we were told "the Saudi" wasn’t in but would return the call in a few hours. But after 4 days of no luck, we decided it was time to leave Nuweba. I was in our room, packing, when Ron came in and told me that he had been praying about the situation of getting the photographs of Jebel el Lawz and had been impressed to tell "Mr. Sayadin" the entire story.
"Mr. Sayadin" Can Do It!
To Ron’s surprise, "Mr Sayadin" told him that he could go to Saudi and take the pictures for Ron himself- no problem! Now, we both knew that it’s next to impossible for an Egyptian to get into Saudi Arabia. Just like Americans or anyone else, the only way to get in is to obtain work in the Kingdom. The Saudis do not want tourists- they have all the money in the world, and they do not want their people exposed to western civilization- especially the women. But, "Mr. Sayadin" told Ron that his father had been in government work and had friends who could get him into Saudi. OK. Perhaps he was telling the truth- perhaps this was how the Lord was going to answer our prayers. But then, Ron told me about the "deal" he had made with "Mr. Sayadin".
"Mr. Sayadin" Is Well Motivated!
Ron told "Mr. Sayadin" that he would pay him $25,000.00 if he was successful- that meant that the photographs and video were of good quality and the photographs were clear. And that’s when I nearly fainted. Ron had made this generous offer to insure that "Mr. Sayadin" would be properly motivated- and he was basing the sum on the fact that our Korean doctor friends had promised us this much money for the Mt. Sinai project. But I wasn’t so optimistic on ever receiving any assistance from these doctors. I had heard this same promise numerous times before and no one had ever kept their word. Ron, on the other hand, felt differently. He tends to take people at their word.
"I Just Happen to have the Map You Need"
With this "deal" already made, I told Ron about something that I had done- we had just purchased a fax machine a few weeks before our trip and the night before we left, I had made 3 copies (using the fax) of the map of NW Saudi Arabia with Jebel el Lawz and had them in my purse! I had no idea why I did it, but I did- and that map proved to be of vital importance because even the Saudis can’t get accurate maps of that area. So, we took those maps and, meeting with "Mr. Sayadin", carefully drew the entire route of how to get to Jebel el Lawz from towns in both the north and the south areas. We marked all the wadis or canyons (there aren’t many roads in the region so the area would have to be traveled in a 4-wheel drive vehicle, through these rough wadis).
On the back of the map, I sketched pictures of the drawings Ron had drawn years earlier of the cows and bulls on the golden calf altar. I drew the 2 standing boulders with a solitary tree between them- the positive identification of the Holy Precinct area at the foot of the mountain. I drew everything Ron could remember which would identify the locations- and we gave them to "Mr. Sayadin". In such an isolated and untamed land-with no landmarks or signs,- these drawings were imperative. Otherwise, he would have no idea at all what to look for.
Preparations are Made
At our meeting that afternoon, the plan was formulated in detail- "Mr. Sayadin" would need a video camera, a still camera, film, airline tickets, and car rental fees. I spent the rest of the afternoon teaching him how to use my video camera-most cameras work about the same- and I recommended 2 models which he hopefully could find in Cairo. He was quite an intelligent man and caught on very quickly. Then he estimated that he would need $1,000.00 to get the job done, so Ron gave him $1,500.00 in cash, just to be on the safe side. Ron stressed to him that he was not to tell anyone else about this! Jebel el Lawz had been declared a protected archaeological site soon after the 1985 trip, and it was now fenced in and carefully guarded. He would have to be very careful. In fact, that was one of the conditions of our contract- that he keep everything in strict confidence- and "Mr. Sayadin" agreed wholeheartedly.
Ron Tells "Mr. Sayadin" about Noah’s Ark
We told "Mr. Sayadin" about Ron’s other archaeological work and showed him photographs of Noah’s Ark. We wanted him to understand our purpose in getting the photographs of the area. We felt that the more he understood, the more he would know what to look for and film. Being a Moslem, "Mr. Sayadin" knew about Noah’s Ark and Mt. Sinai, (or the Mountain of "Musa"). But, we only had one afternoon to convey all this information to him.
Now, remember, I’m telling this from my point of view- so I will be honest and say that I was quite negative about the entire venture. Ron is the optimist, I’m the pessimist. As far as I was concerned, we could kiss that money good-bye. But, Ron was amazingly confident that he had done what he was supposed to do. He was at complete peace with the situation and had no concerns because he had prayed and asked for wisdom to know what to do.
But my thoughts were "what would we do if this man did get the photos and videos? Where in the world would we get the other $23,500.00 we would owe him?" I never once believed the Korean doctors would follow through on their promises. We don’t own a home or anything else we could mortgage; both of our automobiles are 1985 models and if we sold both of them, I doubt we could get $5,000.00. This was a time that gave me great trial and when it was over, I had learned a great lesson as you will soon see.
"I Need More Money"
In about a week, we arrived back home. Each day and night, we prayed- "please Lord, let us get the photos and videos of Mt. Sinai if it is Your will." But unknown to us, a most astounding set of events was and had already taken place.
After we had been home several days, the phone rang, and it was "Mr. Sayadin". He told me that he had underestimated the cost of getting the job done and needed $2,000.00 more, which he wanted me to wire to him. My heart sank. I felt like we were just throwing money in a hole. Even with political connections, I wasn’t convinced that this man could possibly get into Saudi, much less out to the isolated area of Jebel el Lawz. And even if he did, could he properly operate the video and still cameras? And even if he could do this, would he photograph the correct things? I seriously doubted it. Contacting Ron about the call, he told me to go to the bank and wire the $2,000.00- which I may add, was almost all we had at that time.
I went to the bank with the wire instructions "Mr. Sayadin" had given me. As I drove, I was praying that if this wasn’t the Lord’s will, to please let something happen so that we wouldn’t lose the $2,000.00. I specificly prayed that if this wasn’t going to accomplish the Lord’s purpose, for Him to somehow stop the wire from going through. So, I sent it at approximately 1:30 pm. By 5:00, I figured it had gone successfully since I hadn’t heard from the bank.
A Prayer Answered?
Then at around 5:20 I answered the phone. The bank called to say that for some reason the wire had been returned. My heart just pounded! I told Ron- since I had prayed that the wire wouldn’t go through if this wasn’t what the Lord wanted us to do, I thought surely that would be the end of it. But it wasn’t.
That had been my prayer, yes- but Ron had a standard mode of operation. He tried three times to get something done before he gave up. He told me to call "Mr. Sayadin" back, see if there were some wire instructions he had failed to give me, and try again first thing in the morning to re-send the money.
2 More "Tries" to Go
I called "Mr Sayadin" at home and sure enough, he had failed to give me a certain sub-account number. The next morning, I called our bank at 10:30 and asked them to re-send the wire with the addition of this account number. They told me that they couldn’t do it over the phone- I needed to come down in person because wire transfers had to be signed personally each time they are sent, even if it is a retransmittal. I replied that I’d be right down. But the lady in the wire-transfer department told me to wait until about 1:30 because the wire system was "down", or not working.
A Very Strange Phone Call
I waited and watched the clock- I didn’t want to be late because I knew that the wire systems all closed at 2:00 central time. And while I waited, the phone rang. Ron was home at that time and he answered it. As I listened to his part of the conversation, I knew this was a strange call. He got out his pen and wrote down some information and soon hung up. Looking at me, he was almost pale. I asked him who that was and he explained that it was a person who lived in our area and that they asked if he was Ron Wyatt- he said "yes"- and then they went on to explain that they didn’t know what this was all about but a "friend" of theirs had just called them from Saudi Arabia and asked them to try to locate a man named "Ron Wyatt" who lived in Nashville, and tell him to immediately call him in Saudi. This person gave Ron the phone number. So, he called and this is the story he heard on the other line.
(We’ll call this man in Saudi,"Abu Hasham"). "Abu Hesham" told Ron that he had been touring Egypt a few weeks earlier- the same time we were there- and had been particularly interested in visiting the traditional site of Mt. Sinai in the Sinai Peninsula. He had rented a car and drove to St. Catherine’s Monastery. He explained that he had spent several days exploring the region and came away terribly disappointed- he knew this traditional site wasn’t authentic. There was no evidence nor did it fit the Biblical description. But, his story continued, on his way to St. Catherine’s, he had stopped to spend the night at the same motel at Nuweba that we had stayed at. In fact, he checked out only a day or 2 before we arrived. At that time, he had become quite friendly with "Mr. Sayadin", and told him that he lived in Saudi Arabia.
Well, "Abu Hesham" left Nuweba, toured St. Catherine’s, and about a week later returned to the motel at Nuweba. He arrived within 30 minutes of the time we had left. And, he told Ron, when he arrived, "Mr. Sayadin" rushed to his car with what seemed to be a "suspiciously extreme" amount of happiness at seeing him. As "Abu Hesham" checked in, "Mr. Sayadin" began to rant and rave about this "Mt. Sinai" in Saudi Arabia, and even produced the map we had given him that very afternoon. "Abu Hesham" was very confused as to what the whole thing was about, but listened carefully- after all, he had come to Egypt especially to see the site of Mt. Sinai!
As the discussion progressed, "Mr. Sayadin" began to talk about Ron- not by name- but made references to Noah’s Ark. And it’s at this point that the story takes on a most unbelievable strain. But I assure you, it’s true.
"That’s the Man!"
To back up a bit, "Abu Hesham" told Ron that over a year earlier, a friend of his in the U.S. had sent him a video tape copy of a TV program featuring a man discussing the discovery of Noah’s Ark. He had copied the tape onto another tape size that fit his VCR and placed the original tape from the US in his camera bag, to reuse in his video camera. On this trip to Egypt, "Abu Hesham" had brought 10 used video tapes to film his trip. When he arrived at the motel in Nuweba, he had used 9 of them. A
fter hearing "Mr. Sayadin" talk about "this man" who’d found Mt. Sinai and Noah’s Ark, he thought about the tape that had been sent to him from the U.S. He reached into his camera bag and pulled out his remaining unused tape. He put it in his camera, and pressed "play". There in the eyepiece, he saw the white-haired, bearded man who had been on the program speaking about Noah’s Ark. He gave the video camera to "Mr. Sayadin" to watch. He only watched for a few seconds when he began to shout, "That’s him! That’s the man that just left here! That’s the man who gave me the map!!"
Needless to say, they were all quite shocked. The tape was of a TV program called "The Good Life", which Ron had appeared on in Feb. 1990 in Clearwater, Florida, in which he told about Noah’s Ark. Could all of this possibly be coincidence?
"Mr. Sayadin’s" Plan
Then Ron began to understand why "Mr Sayadin" had told "Abu Hesham" about Mr. Sinai- he had known all along that "Abu Hesham" lived in Saudi and he knew he would be returning to the motel. I have to admit, "Mr. Sayadin" was clever. He rolled out the "red carpet" for "Abu Hesham"- his room, meals, and everything were "on the house". "Mr. Sayadin" was motivated just as Ron had wanted him to be. He planned to give "Abu Hesham" the map of Jebel el Lawz and asked him to film this area. And then, "Mr. Sayadin" would arrange to fly to Saudi and pick up the video.
What he didn’t tell "Abu Hesham" was that he would then collect $23,500.00 from Ron. My fears proved to be reality- "Mr. Sayadin" didn’t have the connections to go into Saudi as he had told us- his plan all along was to take advantage of the one trip to Saudi every Moslem is allowed to make- a "Haj" or pilgrimage to Mecca. His plan was to go to Saudi, using this "haj" visa privilege, and get the film after "Abu Hesham" did the filming.
But his plan didn’t work. After "Abu Hesham" got over the shock of the events that had just taken place,-hearing the story of the "real Mt. Sinai" and Noah’s Ark, and the "coincidence" of the man on the video tape being the same man "Mr. Sayadin" had met, he returned to Saudi where his own vehicle was waiting for him just across the gulf.
Taking the map "Mr Sayadin" had given him, he drove right to Jebel el Lawz and went to every site we had marked on the map. He videoed and photographed everything possible. He had to use the only video tape he had left- the one of Ron’s TV program. And arriving at his home, he played the copy of the tape of that TV program, "The Good Life", and learned that the man on the program was named Ron Wyatt and that he lived in Nashville, Tennessee. He then called a friend who just happened to have moved to the Nashville area, and told this friend to find "Ron Wyatt" in the telephone book, call him, and tell him to call him in Saudi immediately!
Answered Prayers
And that brings us up to the point where Ron called "Abu Hesham". When "Abu Hesham" finished telling this amazing story, he then told Ron he wanted to give him all the video and photographs! Our prayers were answered! And that was the phone call we received just before I was to go to the bank and wire "Mr. Sayadin" the extra $2,000.00! Not only had Ron’s prayers for documentation of Jebel el Lawz been answered, my prayer about sending the money had also been answered- and I didn’t wire it!
"Mr. Sayadin" had blatantly committed a "breach of contract" which released us of any further obligation. In fact, Ron’s airline ticket to the Middle East to meet "Abu Hesham" and get the video and photographs of Mr. Sinai cost just about $2,000.00- the amount we were about to wire! Within 3 weeks, we had the documentation Ron had been wanting desperately for 8 long years!
Ron spent several days with "Abu Hesham", discussing Jebel el Lawz and many other things. During this visit, "Abu Hesham" told his part of the story on video. When Ron got home and I watched the video, I almost couldn’t believe it had really happened. "Abu Hesham" became a very close friend and has been able to completely document the entire area of Jebel el Lawz, Rephidim, Elim, the beach on the Red Sea where the multitude arrived after crossing, and much more.
We now have over 8 hours of video and about 300 photographs! It is perhaps the most spectacular miracle I have ever witnessed. But for now, we must protect "Abu Hesham’s" identity. He has told us that he will be in grave danger if it is discovered that he has photographed this area, because the Saudis are now jealously guarding it.
"Banned!"
In fact, Dave Fasold told me last week that Larry Williams’ book about Jebel el Lawz had been banned in Saudi. This was confirmed when we talked to "Abu Hesham" a couple of days later. He told us that there was a big uproar in Saudi over the site because of this book, and that it was extremely dangerous for anyone to even try to go to the area. It will be even more interesting to see what happens regarding Jebel el Lawz. Things aren’t over yet. But no matter what, we finally have the documentation!
"Mr. Sayadin" & the Broken Contract
If you are wondering what happened to "Mr. Sayadin", who tried to take advantage of us, he is still a good friend. We called and told him we weren’t wiring the money but would meet with him in Egypt in a month or two. When Ron met with him and told him that there wasn’t any need for him to go to Saudi, "Mr. Sayadin" asked no questions and even offered to give back the $1,500.00 since he had been unable to complete the job. But Ron and I agreed to tell him to keep the money, and we even gave him more to help him start his own business.
It was well worth it! We consider him and his family good friends and have even dined in his home. No questions were ever asked; no explanations were ever given. "Mr. Sayadin" was happy- "Abu Hesham" was ecstatic at knowing that the Lord had used him in such a spectacular manner; and Ron was thrilled beyond expression. I, too, was thrilled to death to be able to see so vividly how the Lord answered our prayers. It was a series of events I will never, ever forget. We are anxious to make the evidences public for all to see however, when that will be possible, we don’t know. But after the way things worked out, we are all quite willing to "wait on the Lord"- no questions asked!
By the way, the Korean doctors never followed through on their promises. And I learned a lesson in "patience"!
ISA 49:23 ...thou shalt know that I am the LORD: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me. I know one man who knows without a doubt, the total truth of these Scriptures: PSA 40:1 I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. MIC 7:7 Therefore I will look unto the LORD: I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.
Mount Sinai Part IV
The Discoveries of Ron Wyatt
Ron Wyatt Discoveries by Ron Wyatt is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at ronwyatt.com.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at michelle@ronwyatt.com.