While on my trip to Egypt in 2019, I took my maglite planning to do some ghost hunting. We’d just arrived in Luxor the day before and as soon as we’d arrived, I’d felt a difference. It was like the air was buzzing, full of energy. Then, the light started turning on. Someone had come to talk.

I’d been emotional since arrival. The immensity of the massive Ramses II statues at the entrance had overwhelmed me — just as he’d desired. There was no doubt of his greatness in my mind. But in his stone face was also a curve of the lip and softness of the eye that spoke of love—for his people, his country and me, his guest.

In 2019, I finally made the pilgrimage to Egypt. The trip awakened my soul (“ba” to the ancients) and has changed me forever. In these watercolors, I share the spiritual, artistic and personal encounters that were Egypt’s gifts to me. Through them, I hope you too can feel her mystic, magnetic draw.

Arriving at Luxor airport, the air was crisp, clear. It was a welcome change from the thickness of the Cairo dust and dirt and pollution we left behind. As we neared town and Karnak Temple, everything became kinetic. I was jittery with excitement, and the air felt busy, almost alive.