Nuweiba, located half way down the eastern shore of the Gulf of Aquaba is also the only break in a mountainous ridge that prevents easy access to the desert interior of the Sinai Desert between the Gulf of Aquaba and Egypt.  If, indeed, the Israelites fled directly across the desert straight westward with the Egyptian charioteers in pursuit, the situation described in Exodus 14:3  would have been literally the case.

    Exodus 14:3 "For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in."

Seeing a marble pillar lying in the sand of the desert not far from the shore of the Gulf of Aquaba on one of his earliest visits to Nuweiba, Ron Wyatt said that he talked the local authorities (Israeli at that time) to erect it as a marker.  Then he began saying that King Solomon had originally made this marble pillar to mark where Israel had crossed the Red Sea in the Exodus crossing.  It was, said Wyatt, the "Migdol" of Exodus 14:2.      Exodus 14:3 "Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn and encamp before Pi-ha-hi-roth, between Migdol and the sea, over against Baal-zephon: before it shall ye encamp by the sea."

    Having arranged to have this marble pillar set up by the authorities to where he assumed it was located in the time of Solomon (or perhaps even long before) Ron Wyatt decided he needed to find a way to get to the farther shore on the Saudi side of the Gulf of Aquaba.  If he had been Muslim, or had connections with the Saudi royal family, that would have been easy enough.  A ferry boat crosses back and forth here daily.  But Ron considered his research to be secret, and indeed, only a relatively few considered at that time that there was even the slightest possibility that Israel crossed here or spent any of their wilderness wanderings in Arabia.    But Ron discovered from diving here, and from examining topographical maps of the under- water configuration that there was a "land bridge" underwater here quite similar (but much deeper underwater) here than Napoleon had tried to cross while a strong wind was blowing at the proper area of the northern Gulf of Suez.

    To be able to prove that here is where Israel actually escaped Pharaoh's army with 600 chariots, Ron thought that he must find at least the remains of one or several chariot wheels or chariots underwater  here at Nuweiba, but it would go far in his mind to establish this as the crossing point if he could find another marble pillar on the other side in Saudia Arabia.  As he tells the story, he went part way in a row boat and the rest of the way underwater in his scuba suit, and saw the place where the other pillar had once been located, but was now removed.   His two sons were with him, he was  arrested by the Saudis and only got back to Egypt with great difficulty.

    According to the Bible Exodus version of the "crossing", God moved his pillar of smoke and fire between the Egyptians and fleeing Israelites until they were safely passed over and out of the easy reach of Pharaoh and his army.  This would have been true at Nuwieba even if they crossed in boats (perhaps more likely given the extreme depth here even where the "land bridge" is located). Alternately, erosion and large-scale land sinking here might have made it much deeper now than it was then.

      Exodus 14:19 "And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them:--"

    20 "And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness unto them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night."

    One can see the same type of redaction here, the melding of two different stories to appear as one, that critical scholars have found in the Noah's Flood stories -- the STORM described in verse 21 NEED NOT have been occurring at Nuweiba while Israel was crossing here, perhaps in a number of boats, rowed back and forth repeatedly while the Egyptians were blinded by a dust-storm, tornado, or fog so thick they could not operate militarily.

    21 "And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided."

Now I, when I reached Nuweiba in 1990 or 1991 couldn't get a visa to visit Saudia Arabia, so had to be content with exploring the Nuweiba end of the Sinia route I had explored the other end of with the Bedouin 4-wheel drive vehicle.     The trip I have described on another page in which I was cooked unleavened bread on a campfire.

Here's a satellite view of the entryway to the Sinai Desert I went through at Nuweiba, and below another satellite view of where Israel crossed according to Ron Wyatt.

Pharaoh's Chariot Wheels? Maybe!

Ron Wyatt had the practice early in his career of using whatever he had been able to find and photograph in lectures and in video presentations as the real thing which later under more critical exam by other adventurers following his lead were unable to verify or duplicate.  This "golden chariot wheel" photographed by Ron underwater at Nuwieba may be nothing more than an old RR wheel! Some think so.

I was convinced from the earliest videos of Ron Wyatt's adventures that he had indeed, among all the other things he had found, found one or more chariot wheels from Pharaoh's own chariot when Pharaoh led 600 chariots in pursuit of the fleeing children of Israel.   That this would be like winning the powerball LOTTO I now realize, but didn't then.  All that was needed was the ability to scuba-dive, and time, and money.  And of course, God's blessing on the project.   Ron had proved that last requirement, so in 1990 I got certified for underwater diving.

Like so many others who have tried to find what Ron Wyatt was preaching he had found on that beach beneath the waves, I found lots of underwater junk of all sorts, covered with sea-weed and coral, but no genuinely old items of any real historic value.

RON WYATT TOLD EVERYONE LISTENING TO CBS NEWS WHAT HAPPENED WHEN HE AND HIS SONS REACHED THE MOUNTAIN HE IDENTIFIED AS THE

 "MOUNTAIN OF MOSES"

"Jebel el Lawz"

      Ron was on CBS News on April 17, 1984, telling about his trip to see the mountain and what he found there.  He had entered the country without a visa and was thought to be a spy. 

      He and is sons spent 76 days in prison and could have been executed, but God delivered them.  Ron made these comments on air:  "We found some chariot parts that looked like the chariots found in King Tut's tomb in the Gulf of Aqaba, WEST OF THIS JABEL EL LAWZ.

      Now, we found these at depths from 60 feet out to 200 feet and over a stretch of about a mile and a half. And we believe that was the crossing site, so in the Biblical narrative, they arrived at Mt. Sinai after crossing the Red Sea.

      The language in the Bible indicated that they stayed 'IN' A MOUNTAIN; ENCLOSED IN A MOUNTAIN. So, an aerial map showed that this JABEL EL LAWZ HAD A LARGE VALLEY ENCLOSED IN THE RIM OF AN ANCIENT VOLCANO. There's about 5,000 acres in there.

      We felt this was the place. And, in Exodus 24:4 and Leviticus 6:28, 11:33 and 15:12, it tells of SOME ARTIFACTS that were to be found. There would be TWELVE PILLARS OF STONE AND AN ALTAR AND SOME POTTERY, and so this is why we looked at that particular mountain."

   I heard part of Ron Wyatt's adventures from himself, during my joint efforts with him at his Jerusalem excavation, and part from David Fasold, "Arkologist".  And  other parts from Larry Williams, who, along with  Bob Cornuke was responsible for two hard-cover widely popular books on what can be found at Jebel al Lawz -- "The Mountain of the Laws" and "The Gold of Exodus"

o  My Friend the "Arkologist" Dave Fasold	Larry William's book	millionaire stock broker

In 1984

     Ron Wyatt, alone except for his two sons and with some help from local Bedouins,  first saw what was called by the Saudis "Jebel el Lawz", and identified it as the real Mountain of the Laws.

    Arrested by the Saudi authorities for being in the country without papers showing he had proper permission to be there, he spent 76 days in prison, and had all his notes and pictures impounded when he finally was released with some help from prominent Americans such as the Astronaut, Col. Erwin, who knew him because of their joint efforts to locate Noah's ark at Mount Ararat. 

     Ron had researched the probable location of the real Mount Horeb or Mount Sinai for a long time before actually seeing it, but actually spent a little time at the location in 1984 before being thrown in prison with his sons.

In 1985,  Ron Wyatt talked his former partner David Fasold, who had helped him identify the "boat shaped formation" at Dogubayzit, Turkey, near Mount Ararat, as Noah's Ark in accompanying him on a ride from Tabuk into the Saudi Arabia interior to see where the trail led that began at the other marble pillar across from the one at Nuweiba.

   

    Arrested again by the Saudi authorities, and kept in jail for eight days, he and David Fasold returned from their April-May 1985 "adventure" again with no photos and no notes, -- but David Fasold, who had an almost photographic memory as soon as he was freed and had some paper available, wrote a typographical map with approximate distances and drawings of what they had seen which I have shown above.  

     I saw these drawings and heard his story of his trip with Ron from David Fasold when I visited him at his house in California in 1990.   I also visited Larry Williams on the same trip to California, and saw Larry Williams photos of what was to be seen at Jebel al Lawz.  Larry was writing his book then, and few others beside me got to see these pictures.  I, of course bought Larry Williams book "Mountain of the Laws" , published by Wynwood Press, as soon as I saw a copy I could buy in a bookstore.  Perhaps in 1991 or 1992.

“…by six we were on the road, following David Fasold’s instructions and my topographical map…. According to David’s instructions, we should find a turnoff four kilometers past the gas station… (p. 151)   “We attempted to follow David’s meticulous instructions to the letter….(p. 152)“ …we asked these people how to find Ibraham Frich, the local Beduoin who tends most of the sheep in this great valley …. We wanted to see Frich for 2 reasons. First we wanted to tell him hello from David and to give him some things we had bought for him in town that we thought perhaps he would like.

"Second, David had told us that Frich’s camp was right at the base of Jabal al Lawz, so we would not have to ask where the mountain was… (p. 153)"

    "The section of his book telling about how they arrived at the site is dotted with numerous references to the directions given them by Mr. Fasold."

Summer 1985- Ron asks Col. Jim Irwin’s assistance on the project.

Account by Mary Nell Wyatt

    "A few months after his return home, Ron flew to Dallas and met with Col. James Irwin, whom he had become acquainted with several years earlier. Ron liked Col. Irwin and found him to be not only a man of integrity, but someone who was willing to help others. Ron told him about the evidences at Jebel el Lawz and asked if he would be interested in “joining forces” on the project. Col. Irwin had connections in the Jordanian government and Ron thought perhaps he could gain entry. He told Ron he would see what he could do to help him.

      May and Oct. 1986- Col. Irwin wrote the Jordanians and the Saudis in an attempt to arrange permission to explore and excavate.

      On May 18, 1986, Col. Irwin wrote the Jordanian Dept. of Antiquities and on Oct. 15, 1986, he wrote to the Saudi Department of Antiquities and Museums, both on Ron’s behalf. He sent the replies to Ron, both of which mention “Mr. Wyatt” in their responses and prove that Col. Irwin had true intentions to help Ron, not “take over” the project. But his efforts were in vain- he was unable to gain entry into Saudi.

       June 1988- Larry Williams and Bob Cornuke go to Saudi and come back with the claim that they found the real Mount Sinai.

       The following quote is from an update in Col. Irwin’s “High Flight” newsletter, written by then vice-president of High Flight, Bob Cornuke. It made the following statement about a trip they made in June 1988:

     “Great news! We strongly feel that the real Mt. Sinai has been discovered…. Larry Williams and I have taken two trips to Saudi Arabia and traveled to Jebel Al Lawz.   This mountain is believed by some Bible scholars to possibly be the real Mt. Sinai….”     

          

1990- Larry Williams writes a book about their “discovery” of Mount Sinai

       Larry Williams wrote “The Mountain of Moses”, published by Wynwood Press, New York, which detailed his and Cornuke’s “adventures” searching for Mount Sinai in Saudi Arabia. He gives details as to WHY they went to that particular location and HOW they got there. For those who wish to check out his account, his book’s ISBN number is 0-922066-45-0.

The 1985 Story as related by

Mary Nell Wyatt

        "Ron hadn’t been home too long when he received a phone call from a man who said he was a friend of some of Ron’s captors. Samran Al-Mutairy was a close relation of the king – he was considered “royalty”, and he had heard of Ron’s claim that Mt. Sinai was in his region. There had been several of Ron’s captors who had believed Ron’s claim, and they had convinced Samran, who lived in Tabuk, just a couple of hours from the mountain. Samran told Ron over the phone that ever since he had heard about this mountain, he couldn’t eat, sleep or concentrate on anything – he had to see it for himself. Samran even came to Nashville and spent several days with Ron to discuss the matter and convince Ron to return to Saudi.

     Samran had the connections – Ron had the knowledge of this most holy site. Together, they could “discover” this site, maybe even make a movie and be famous. These were Samran’s desires.

        Ron’s desire was to document the evidence. And Samran’s proposal seemed the ideal way to get the evidence. The hard part would be to get Ron back into the country, but Samran said he could do it. And it was just eleven months after his and the boys’ release from prison in Saudi that he would return to Jebel el Lawz – legally.

March 31, 1985

        A contract was drawn up between Samran el-Mutairy, Ron Wyatt and Dave Fasold, who was to travel with Ron into Saudi Arabia. The reason there had to be a contract such as this is because in order for any foreigners to work in the Kingdom, they must have a valid business arrangement with a Saudi resident. It was signed by all three.

        Ron Wyatt, David Fasold and Samran el-Mutairy flew to Jedda, and then to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia where Samran lives. The next morning they traveled to the site of Jebel el Lawz, with a driver and a laborer accompanying them.

       With Ron giving them directions to the area, they made some wrongs turns. A Bedouin appeared and they asked him where Jebel el Lawz was. He answered, as Dave Fasold remembers, with “Jebel Musa henna” – which means, “Moses’ mountain is here”! Amazingly, the local tradition recognized this as the right place!

       The next morning an Interrogation Team, headed by Abu Collet was to meet Ron and David at the mountain.

       Arriving at the site, Ron, Dave and Samran showed the men all the evidences – the altar with the Egyptian-style petroglyphs of cows and bulls; the altar at the base of the mountain; the tops of the 18 foot diameter columns erected 5 feet apart; the marble columns, etc.

       After a few days, an archaeologist was flown in from Rhiydh University to Samran’s. The evidence was so compelling now that this was determined a necessity. Ron and Dave told him about all the evidence out at the mountain, and they played Dave’s video of the golden calf altar and the petroglyphs on the TV. Although they have the PAL system, Dave’s NTSC tape played the video in black and white without audio. As they showed him the archaeological evidences, he was very excited about the pictures of Egyptian-style cows and bulls on the golden calf altar and told them that this style petroglyph was not found anywhere else in Saudi Arabia.

He Samran had been working somewhere south of this area and was completely surprised to find out this sort of archaeological evidence was in the area. “This is a major discovery!, he said. Several times he shook Ron’s hand and congratulated him on the discovery.

       To CONTINUE to learn more about this 1985 repeat trip to Jebel al Lawz in which Ron Wyatt was arrested again as a trick played on him by the Saudi prince Samran Al-Mutairi, and with him his friend David Fasold, and had to leave Saudi Arabia once more with no photographs or video --

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For a series about the remains of the ancient cities of

 Sodom and Gomorrah

and the other "Cities of the Plain" destroyed by

Fire from God from Heaven!

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