Mt. Sinai
Part II
By Mary Nell Wyatt
(Originally published in Newsletter #6, dated January 1994)
MT. SINAI- the Story of the Discovery
In 1978, when Ron found the chariot parts in the Gulf of Aqaba just off the Egyptian shore, he knew that Mt. Sinai had to be across the Gulf in Arabia. Since the Biblical account tells how the people arrived at Mt. Sinai after they crossed the Red Sea, and since the Gulf of Aqaba separates the Sinai Peninsula (Egypt) and Saudi Arabia, there was no question in Ron’s mind. But which mountain was it? One Scripture which Ron had read was:
DEU 1:0 The LORD our God spake unto us in Horeb, saying, Ye have dwelt long enough in this mount:.
This description indicated to him that the people were "in" a mountain range- protected within its borders. And Jebel el Lawz was the perfect candidate. On the map, Jebel el Lawz was the highest peak in the entire NW Saudi Arabian region. This peak was in a mountain range with numerous wide wadis, or canyons, within it which would have provided enough acreage for a tremendous number of people, along with their flocks and herds, to camp "within" the area and have the protection of the mountains all around them. It was also separated from the mountainous region which paralleled the Red Sea, by a desert, or plain area- which could be the desert of Sin(ai). If this mountain was indeed the true Mt. Sinai, Ron felt there had to be archaeological evidences which would prove it beyond a reasonable doubt.
So he applied to the Saudi embassy for a visa to visit the area but never even received an answer from them. After 4 1/2 years of repeated attempts to do so, he decided it was going to be necessary to attempt to enter the country without a visa. He made inquiries and was told that if anyone was found in Saudi without a visa, they were simply escorted to the border and "kicked out"- if "worse came to worse", they would be held for no more than 21 days. He weighed this information and decided it was certainly worth the risk. Little did he know what lay ahead for him and his sons, Danny and Ronny.
Entry In Saudi
On Jan. 24, 1984, Ron and the boys arrived in Jordan- they had applied and received a Jordanian visa prior to leaving the U.S. They toured Jordan a bit and then parked their rental car near the border and walked into Saudi undetected. Hitchhiking and hiring taxis and small trucks, they arrived near Jebel el Lawz, where Ron saw white pillars lying on the ground, the sun reflecting off the white stone. He saw the entire top of the mountain was blackened as if charred by some tremendous heat.
EXO 19:18 And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.
He noted several other features of the site- there was a lone tree atop one peak with a cave just below it.
1KI 19:8 And he [Elijah] arose and went ...unto Horeb the mount of God. 9 And he came thither unto a cave: and lodged there:...
As he surveyed the region around the mountain, he saw that it perfectly fit the description of Mt. Sinai (Horeb)- there were thousands of acres of land surrounded by a mountain range which enclosed the area. He was convinced that this was it! But as they headed nearer the base of the mountain, a small Datsun 4-wheeler pulled up and the man inside brusquely told their truck driver to take them back to where their taxi was waiting for them, which he did. Then, they got back into their taxi and headed to the Jordanian border.
"The Wyatts are Israeli Spies"
However, when they arrived at the border, things didn’t go so well. As they attempted to exit the country, they were abruptly arrested and taken to a jail in Hagl, near the border. They were then charged with espionage. Things couldn’t have looked bleaker.
When Ron and the boys arrived at the jail, the Saudis were experiencing a terrible plague throughout the compound in which they were held and numerous men had died. Ron had explained that he was an anesthetist, which his jailers could only understand when he termed it "sleep doctor".
Hearing the word "doctor", they asked him for help with the plague. The sick all had very high fevers, so he first wrote prescriptions for antibiotics and these were all honored and filled at the pharmacy. Then, he gave them aspirin for their discomfort and to keep their temperatures below deadly levels. He had noticed immediately upon arrival that the entire area was infested with mosquitos. So, he asked for massive amounts of olive oil, which he poured into their toilets- the mosquitos were thriving in their archaic plumbing system. They also poured the oil in all standing water in the area. The oil on the surface of the water smothered and killed all the mosquito larvae. No new cases arose and those who were sick when he arrived, recovered. Needless to say, this had to have given him and the boys at least a little favor with the local authorities.
Ron and the boys were separated and questioned day after day by a group called the "Interrogation Team". They each told their story of why they were in Saudi- of their belief that Jebel el Lawz was Mt. Sinai, of both the Bible and the Koran. One Saudi official, Abu Collet, sent men out to the mountain to determine if any archaeological evidence was actually there, but the men came back with a negative report, which was sent to the King.
The Column on the Saudi Beach
However, there were some among the interrogators who believed Ron’s story. One day three of the men took Ron on a helicopter ride to the shore of the Gulf of Aqaba where Ron claimed the great multitude had crossed the sea- Ron’s story was being checked out thoroughly because the charge of espionage is a "deadly" serious charge.
The helicopter landed on the beach directly opposite Nuweba, Egypt. It wasn’t too difficult to find the right beach area because Nuweba (where Ron found the chariot parts) is easily seen across the 8 mile gulf. Landing on the beach they found a Phoenician-style, granite column erected on the shore, with inscriptions in archaic Hebrew. The Saudis took numerous photographs of this column, and Ron suddenly had a little more credibility with his jailers. Archaic Hebrew simply isn’t found in Saudi Arabia and here was some very concrete archaeological evidence which couldn’t be ignored.
In fact, it is possible that this column literally saved Ron and the boys’ lives. No one in Saudi had known about the column as it was in an extremely remote, uninhabited area. But even this column didn’t insure their release. However, it did match the column Ron had found in 1978 on the opposite shore in Egypt- only this one had the inscriptions on it, which Ron carefully noted.
While Ron’s helping stop the plague, and this discovery of the column on the beach may have resulted in their receiving relatively good treatment, their release still didn’t look too promising- due to the nature of the crime they were accused of, they weren’t allowed the customary call to their embassy. Ronny, his youngest son, eventually began to "crack" under the isolation. He told Ron and Danny that he was going to make a run for it- he just couldn’t stand it any longer. Ron knew he meant it. They all knew that if he was caught, he would be shot on sight. So Ron told him "ok", but they needed to all go together- and they needed to do it when the Moslem holy day began on Thursday night. Ron knew that security would be the loosest at that time. And they formulated their plan.
When Thursday came, there arose a problem- Ali, a guard whom they had become quite fond of, was on duty. He had shown them extreme kindness throughout their ordeal, and Ron explained to Ronny that if they escaped while Ali was on duty, he would be shot. Ronny knew this was true and agreed to wait until the next Thursday. Depressed at the thought of waiting another week, they went to sleep.
Released!
The next Wednesday morning- the day before they had agreed to attempt their escape again-, the man in charge came to them: "Halas", he said, which meant "Finished". It was over- they had been cleared and were to be turned over to the Jordanian government. But none of their confiscated film would be returned to them- for all their troubles, they would have no evidence; no pictures of Mt. Sinai.
Betrayed by a "Friend"
Only upon their release did Ron learn that a "friend" whom Ron had told of his plans to enter Saudi illegally, had called the Saudi embassy and told them that the Wyatts were actually Israeli spies. The Saudis told Ron the man’s name when they were released.
Knowing that their plan to enter Saudi was not without some danger, before they left, Ron had told 2 trusted friends what he was going to do- he simply told his family that he and the boys were going to Jordan. One of those Ron had confided in was Col. Jim Irwin, and the other was the man who called the Saudi Embassy with the tale that got them arrested. Once the Saudis discovered that Ron and the boys were not spies, they were very angry at the false accusation, realizing that this could have led to serious political consequences had they executed them. They wanted to help Ron prosecute this man, but he declined their offer, content to simply go back home.
In Jordan, they were again held for three days until all the red tape was cleared,- they were questioned even more,-and then they were sent home. Their arrival at the Nashville airport was shown on CBS’s "Morning News" on April 17, 1984, and they were interviewed by Bill Kurtis:
BILL KURTIS: Uh, Mr. Wyatt, you there in the middle, your sons on either side, why did you,...uh, I didn’t know that Mt. Sinai was in Saudi Arabian territory! Why did you think it was?
RONALD WYATT: We found some chariot parts that looked like the chariots found in King Tut’s tomb in the Gulf of Aqaba, west of this Jebel 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 Mr. 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 Jebel 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.
The frustration Ron suffered at getting so close, yet coming away with no evidence, was intense. It seemed impossible that he would ever be able to return to the site again. After all, he was now quite well known in the area as an accused spy.
A "Royal Prince" Comes to Nashville
Ron hadn’t been home too long when he received a phone call from a man who identified himself as a friend of some of Ron’s captors. Samran Al-Motairy was a close relation of the king 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-but legally this time.
Samran is an extremely wealthy man- why was he so interested in this mountain? He said he "wanted to do something for his God." After all, Mr. Sinai is a very important holy site for the Moslems as well as the Christians and Jews. The area of Jebel el Lawz is so vast that Samran knew he needed Ron to find the exact spot. And it was just 11 months after their release from prison that Ron would return again to Jebel el Lawz- legally, this time.
Meanwhile, Back at Noah’s Ark
But in the mean time, other things were keeping Ron busy. Four months after he was released, in August of 1984, Ron was back at Noah’s ark. This trip, he took several other "ark hunters" to the site as interest in the "boat-shaped object" was increasing. It was at this time that Ron first did the metal detector scans which showed the regular pattern of metal in the object. After seeing all the evidence, one "ark hunter", Marv Steffins became convinced. He took some specimens from the ark, called a press conference in Ankara and announced the "discovery of Noah’s Ark". Mr. Steffins was then accused of attempting to take "valuable artifacts" from Turkey, and he and others quickly told the authorities that Ron had also taken samples.
In fact, Ron was already on his plane, headed to New York when all this took place. But he had received permission by phone from the Minister of Culture and Tourism to take his samples. When he arrived in New York, he found out he was being aced of "theft" of valuable artifacts, so he called the Turkish UN consulate and offered to turn over his specimens. Three men from the consulate came to his hotel room, examined his specimens, had a nice discussion with him, and told him he was free to keep them. They had checked with Ankara and discovered that he had received permission, so he was exonerated of all charges. What at first seemed like an unfortunate incident turned out to have resulted in causing the Turks to take a serious interest in the site. A reporter from the "UN Observer and International Report" even interviewed Ron about the site and featured it in a full page article in the January 1985 issue. Ron returned to Turkey on October 26, 1984 and finally, things seemed to be moving on that project.
Col. Jim Irwin had also gone to the "boat-shaped object" with Ron in August of 1984 and knew there was something there which needed scientific exploration. Jim Irwin, though not convinced that the "boat-shaped object" was the Ark, felt that it needed thorough scientific study before any conclusions were drawn, and that Mr. Ararat also needed to be thoroughly explored. After all, traditional thought was that the Ark had to be on Mr. Ararat. If no ship was found on the mountain, maybe this was the Ark. Their conclusion was that the true answer to the fate of the ship depended on both efforts- Jim’s on Mt. Ararat and Ron’s on the "boat-shaped object".
Dave Fasold
Then, early in 1985, Ron received a call from a man who had been referred to him by Jim- Dave Fasold had been studying the subject of Noah’s Ark and had concluded that it could not possibly have landed on the sheer peak of Mr. Ararat and survived. When he called Jim Irwin with his idea of searching for the Ark elsewhere in the Ararat region using the relatively new sub-surface interface radar, Jim suggested that Dave call Ron. And thus, because of Col. Irwin’s referral, Dave Fasold entered the picture.
After Ron told Dave about the "boat-shaped object" and sent him some photos, Dave was so excited that he wanted to go to the site as soon as possible. Ron was thrilled at the prospect of having an associate with so much knowledge about ships and shipwrecks. A trip was arranged for March 20, 1985. Dave brought along his "molecular frequency generator" (MFG), a device that would prove very helpful in research on the Ark, but also would play another vital role.
Back to Saudi Arabia
For it was on this- Dave’s first trip to Noah’s Ark- that Samran el-Motairy arranged for Ron to re-enter Saudi Arabia, accompanied by Dave Fasold whom Providence had arranged to be there at that exact time.
Samran met Ron and Dave in Turkey and went to see Noah’s Ark with them. Dave’s MFG confirmed the metal detector scans Ron had done in 1984. Convinced and excited about Noah’s Ark, Samran made arrangements for Ron and Dave to go to Saudi. Samran now had first-hand knowledge that Ron Wyatt wasn’t just a kook- he was doing valid archaeological research into subjects which the Muslim holy book, the Koran, spoke about.
On March 31, 1985, a contract was drawn up between Samran el-Motairy, Dave Fasold and Ron before they went to Saudi. It stated that Ron and Dave were to provide special equipment to locate commercial minerals for Samran and the percentages and specifics were spelled out. There had to be a contract because in order for any foreigner to enter the Kingdom, they must have a valid business arrangement with a Saudi resident.
All three signed and initialed the agreement and on March 31, left Ankara and flew to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia where Samran lives. The next morning, they headed for 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 wrong turns and decided to take a break. A Bedouin appeared and they asked him where Jebel el Lawz was. He answered, as Dave Fasold recalls, "Jebel Musa henna"- which means, "Moses’ mountain is here"! Amazingly, the local tradition recognized this as the right place!
They spent the next few hours exploring the entire area. When it was time to head back, Samran said he thought they should instead go to Hagl and spend the night because it was closer than driving all the way back to Tabuk. But Hagl was also the town in which Ron and the boys had been imprisoned. After the events of the last year- being imprisoned for 3 months, then being accused of stealing valuable artifacts from Turkey, Ron was a little nervous.
April Fools Day, 1985
Samran announced that he had this great idea for a joke- why didn’t they go by the General’s office who had arrested Ron and the boys, in Hagl, and tell him Ron was back again illegally?! Now, Ron was not pleased at all with this idea, but the situation was such that he had no voice in the matter. So, Samran drove up to the General’s office- he, Ron and Dave went in, and Samran announced to the General that "Ron Wyatt was back without a visa!" Ron had absolutely no choice but to play along- he hoped Samran knew what he was doing. The General looked very shocked when he saw Ron’s quite familiar face again but was reluctantly cordial. After handshakes and minimum greetings, they left the General’s office and went to one of Samran’s friend’s house where the men were to spend the night.
That day just happened to be April 1- April Fool’s Day- and Samran’s "April Fool’s prank", which was probably just coincidental, proved not to be at all funny, as they would shortly find out. It was about 3:00 am when they all heard the knock on the door, and before long, Samran hastily told Ron and Dave that they had to leave immediately, for they had just received word that they were going to be arrested.
They all quickly dressed, piled into the car and headed toward Tabuk and Samran’s house, which was about 3 or 4 hours down the road. After they had been traveling about an hour or so, suddenly their car was motioned over to the side of the road by the big, black Mercedes which had been following them since soon after they left Hagl. They found themselves in front of the local Sherif’s office, a building on the desert highway.
They all went inside, and recognizing the head man as one of the men he had met when he was imprisoned, Ron decided to act delighted to see him. Shaking his hand and exchanging the traditional "kisses" on each cheek, Ron wasted no time in pulling out his passport, turning to his valid visa, and extending it for the Sherif to see. The Sherif was probably quite confused as to what was going on. He and Samran then carried on a serious conversation in Arabic and soon Samran announced to Ron and Dave that arrangements had been made for the Interrogation Team from Hagl (which had questioned Ron and the boys) to meet with them out at Jebel el Lawz and see this "evidence" for themselves. But everyone seemed terribly suspicious of Ron and Dave for some reason. They then left the Sherif’s office and went back to Samran’s compound in Tabuk, where they waited for the next events.
The next morning, they headed out to the mountain, meeting the Interrogation Team headed by Abu Collet, at the road which leads to the mountain. Ron and Dave were split up and placed in 2 different Jeeps with officials in each who questioned them both intensely. It seemed that they were concerned that Ron and Dave’s interest in the site was for purposes to finding "treasure"- valuable artifacts and gold. But both Ron and Dave each tried to explain that their interest was purely archaeological.
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. and the Interrogation Team was shocked but pleased. All, that is except for one man-Abu Collet. When Ron and the boys had been imprisoned at Hagl, Abu Collet had sent some men out to Jebel el Lawz to investigate the site and see if Ron was telling the truth. They were to report any archaeological evidences in the area, but the men returned and said there was absolutely nothing there. And this was what Abu Collet had sent in his report to the King. Yet now, Abu Collet saw for himself that the entire area was full of ancient archaeological evidences. In Saudi, an inaccurate report sent to the King is considered the same as "lying" to the King. And lying to the King is punishable by death- Abu Collet seemed to be awfully unhappy.
The Molecular Frequency Generator
It was during this trip to the site that laborers dug into and around one of the many, many double-walled 18 foot diameter columns. But the "life of the party" turned out to be Dave’s MFG. The men were fascinated by it’s abilities to discriminate and locate different metals, especially gold. They "tested" its accuracy by hiding gold objects to see if Dave could find them, which he did. They were so impressed by the ability of this piece of equipment that they offered Dave a proposition- they wanted him to stay and help them locate treasure and they would make him a better deal than Samran had. Dave declined.
Finally, he had to secretly disable his MFG and make the Saudi men think it was broken. If he hadn’t done that, it began to look like they would have spent all night out there. The people who have been attacking the reliability of the MFG would have a very hard time convincing these men that it didn’t work!
There was a positive gold reading in the area of the altar which contained the cow and bull petroglyphs. There was little doubt in Ron and Dave’s mind that this was the "golden calf’ altar which Aaron had constructed, because it was evident that the stones had been arranged. But there was another very exciting evidence: when Ron climbed upon the altar and looked over the top of it, something red and glimmering caught his eye. He saw that there was a slight puddle of water from the light, early morning shower on the rock and it looked almost like a puddle of blood. As he carefully examined this, he saw that this section of the rock had a slight, approx. 4’ x 6’ depression in it which looked as if something had worn or ground it down. Then, as he looked even closer, he saw that the "blood red" color reflected in the water was the result of tiny flecks of gold embedded in the entire worn area of the top of the rock. Although the Bible doesn’t explain this, it appeared to Ron that perhaps this was where Moses had ground down the golden calf into gold powder before he put it in the water for the people to drink.
EXO 32:20 And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of lsrael drink of it.
At one point, Dave wrote "Dave Fasold and Ron Wyatt excavated this site in 1985" on a piece of paper and, sticking it in a plastic bottle, buried it in one of the holes they had dug. If any future archaeologist excavated the site, there would be no doubt who had been there first!
They studied the remains of a white marble structure which had been erected near the altar at the base of the mountain. These were the white columns Ron had seen on his first trip in 1984. The structure had been destroyed, but remnants of these columns were still lying around the area. They were told by Bedouins in the area that the stone "shrine" had been dismantled and was used in a mosque in Hagl.
While Dave and Ron were separated, Ron found a section of this white marble which contained Archaic Hebrew writing, and fearing to show this to the Interrogation Team, he simply buried it where, we feel quite sure, it still remains. One thing that Ron had learned by this time was to be careful about making all of the evidences known. After all, as a result of Ron so freely sharing information with other "Ark-hunters" and villagers, Noah’s wife’s grave had been dug up, both Noah’s and her grave markers were shattered into small pieces; several other items which contained petroglyphs near the Ark had been either broken up or removed from their sites; and other destructive acts had resulted in the loss of valuable archaeological evidences.
Under "House Arrest"
Most of the day, the Saudis had separated Ron and Dave, and very skillfully interrogated each man while they worked. Once, while Ron and Dave were in different locations, the Saudis dug something up which caused a great deal of excitement and it was at this point that they were told that they were now under house arrest and their charge was that they were attempting to rob Saudi of valuable artifacts at an archaeological site. It had been less than 8 months since Ted Koppel had accused Ron of that same thing on "Nightline" regarding the Noah’s Ark samples. But he had been quickly exonerated of those charges- what would happen this time?
They spent their "house arrest" at Samran’s- Ron couldn’t leave the compound, but Dave was allowed a little more freedom and arranged to find someone to take him somewhere part of one particular day. Ron was left alone for a little while with nothing to do but watch television. Turning it on, he listened to a Moslem Imam read from the Koran, and then turned it off after about 15 minutes. Unknown to Ron, that 15 minutes he watched the TV would play an incredible part in their defense of Jebel el Lawz before their trip was over.
The archaeological evidences at the mountain were so compelling that, after a few days, an archaeologist was flown in from Riyadh University to Samran’s. 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 their video uses the PAL system, Dave’s NTSC tape was able to be played with the video in black and white without audio. As they showed the evidences, the archaeologist was very excited about the pictures of Egyptian-style cows and bulls on the golden calf altar. He told them that this style petroglyph was not found anywhere else in Saudi Arabia. He had been working somewhere in south Arabia 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.
"On Trial"
Finally, Ron and Dave were taken to the local Prince’s office in Tabuk where they again met with the interrogation Team from Hagl, the archaeologist, the Deputy Prince, several Imams, a translator and Samran. The interesting part of all of this was that no one was introduced to Ron and Dave as being the Prince. The Deputy prince was there, but everyone was bowing to Samran. Chairs were arranged in a circle around the room- all or the men took their seats, and Ron and Dave began to be questioned about Jebel el Lawz. They were on "trial", so to speak, and everything depended on their convincing the group that this was the true Mountain of Moses.
The Deputy Prince, through the translator, finally asked Ron, "Why would Musa (Moses) bring the people to this isolated and undesirable spot when there were so many better locations in the area?" This was a valid question, because Jebel el Lawz is not an area that can support life to any extent. In fact, that’s why the archaeological evidences have remained for so long- no one has ever lived in the region except for a handful of Bedouins. Ron replied simply that "Moses was following the cloud, which led them there". One of the Imams then hotly responded in Arabic, "That’s not in the Koran!" Now, Ron had read through the Koran and knew that it did say this, but he knew that it wouldn’t be in his best interest to cross an Imam, and sending up a quick, silent prayer, the answer came to him. He quoted the words of the Imam he had heard on the TV- "Every true Moslem believes every true prophet. If he doesn’t believe every true prophet, he isn’t a true Moslem." Then, Ron asked, "Was not Musa a prophet?" As soon as he said these words, all of the men began nodding their heads and trying to "out-yes" each other. But strangely, they all answered before Ron’s words were translated-there is no doubt that they all heard him in Arabic, although Ron is quite sure that he answered them in English because he doesn’t speak more than a few words of Arabic.
Before Ron left, he learned another very interesting thing- he had listened to that Imam on the TV read from the Koran and since he understood it perfectly, he assumed the Imam was speaking in English. He was later told that it is against Moslem law to read the Koran in English. The Imam had been speaking in Arabic, yet Ron understood it. Not only that,- the Saudis at that meeting all realized with shock that they had understood Ron when he answered them, quoting from the Koran. There was no doubt in Ron’s mind that he had received divine assistance.
MAR 13:9 ...they shall deliver you up to councils;...and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them....11 But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost.
And with this final question, the interrogation ended. The Saudis were all convinced as to the authenticity of Jebel el Lawz- it was the true holy mountain of God. Ron and Dave were cleared of all charges brought against them. The Deputy Prince, through the interpreter, then proceeded to ask Ron and Dave to stay, excavate and preserve the site. The archaeologist again shook Ron’s hand and congratulated him on the discovery. Promises were made that the King would provide all the funding for the project, a reward would be paid, and Ron would be introduced to the King. But Ron had a very important meeting in Ankara in a few days, and it was too important to miss. Needless to say, the Saudis were not very happy about Ron and Dave’s refusal.
The Deputy Prince asked Ron "Why won’t you do this- this is what you have wanted for six years?" But Ron explained that he was like "a starving donkey that suddenly had 2 huge piles of food placed on his left and right sides"- he wanted them both, but could only eat one at the time- and hope the other would still be there when he was able to eat again. When Ron had arrived in Ankara a few weeks earlier, his Government liaison, Mine Unler, had gone with him to set up a meeting with the Turkish goverment. They had made arrangements for him to meet with all of the pertinent ministries for the purpose of presenting all of his evidences for the "boat-shaped" object being Noah’s Ark. They told him he would be allowed to speak to these government officials in English, and that this had never been done before. He was not about to miss this meeting- yes, he had wanted to go to Jebel el Lawz since 1978, but he had been working on Noah’s Ark since 1977. He had to make a choice and there was no doubt in his mind. And his choice had been the right one, because that meeting with the Turks started the ball rolling. 20 months later, in Dec. of 1986, Noah’s Ark would be officially accepted and recognized by the Turks.
But the Saudis could care less about Ron’s reasons- they were clearly upset. Dave’s video was confiscated by Abu Collet’s men, as were his photographs which they had developed a few days earlier. "You are to forget that you ever came here. We don’t want to read about this in a book or see it in a movie." Ron and Dave acted agreeable without directly making any promises. At least that’s what Ron did when he said, "I understand". Once again, Ron would leave Saudi without the evidences he desperately wanted. Any hopes of closer inspection of Jebel el Lawz now rested in the hope that the Saudis wouldn’t hold a grudge- as soon as he could financially afford it, Ron planned to notify them that he wanted to do the excavation. But, in time Ron discovered that Jebel el Lawz was not a subject the Saudis wanted made public.
Meeting with Jim Irwin’s Organization
Just before his imprisonment in Saudi, Ron had visited with Col. Jim Irwin at his office, and he had told Jim about both the "boat-shaped object" and Jebel el Lawz. While Jim’s main interest seemed to be in Noah’s Ark exploration, he expressed interest in the site in Saudi and offered any help he could give. Ron suggested a joint venture with Col. Irwin’s organization, High Flight. Dave Fasold had told Ron that he wasn’t interested in working with Ron on the project, possibly because his work on Noah’s Ark was his first priority. And Ron felt like the Jebel el Lawz project was too large to undertake alone. Jim Irwin not only had connections- Ron knew he was a man of utmost integrity and a true Christian gentleman.
So, in 1986, Ron met with several people from Jim Irwin’s "High Flight" organization and some other interested parties in Dallas. He presented the evidence for the real Mt. Sinai- verbally, of course- and proposed that they participate in the excavation and documentation. It was tentatively agreed upon and Ron gave them directions to the site, along with descriptions of the artifacts that were to be found there.
On Oct. 15, 1986, Col. Irwin wrote the "Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s General Department of Antiquities & Museums" in Riyadh, explaining in detail about Jebel el Lawz and Ron’s involvement, requesting permission for Ron to do the work there. But the Saudi’s "tune" had changed from the time of Ron and Dave’s trip in 1985, when they wanted them to stay and excavate. The reply he received denied that there was any connection between the site of Jebel el Lawz and Moses, and it went on to say that they "had thoroughly investigated" the site and found it to be an ancient quarry. The letter is signed, "Sincerely, Dr. Abdullah H. Masry; Asst. Dep. Minister for Antiquities and Museum Affairs".
So why this change of heart? We have read of an old belief by the Jews that they have a claim to any land that their ancestors are found buried on. There are a great number of graves in the area which can be proven to be Israelite- and you can be sure that the Saudis are aware of this and would do anything to keep the Israelis from having any reason to make claims on the area. We have written letters to the King, proving that the Torah (Old Testament) makes it quite clear that the area of Mt. Sinai was not part of the "promised land". But for the time being, to Ron it looked pretty hopeless that he would be able to return to the site. So, Ron just continued his work on the other projects, praying for the Lord to provide the means to obtain the evidence that he knew was there. Even Jim Irwin, with his very impressive contacts in the region, couldn’t obtain the necessary permission for the proposed joint expedition of his organization and Ron.
Mount Sinai Part III
The Discoveries of Ron Wyatt
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