Strangers In Egypt

By Norbert Mercado

The town of Rhinocolura had a seaport called Al Arish. Passengers from the town of Raphia in Judah travelled to Egypt by crossing the river using the boats
operated by Egyptian entrepreneurs. This is the town where Joseph, Mary and the Child Jesus first entered when they escaped from the town of Bethlehem in Judah.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Norbert Mercado
• Release date: Jul 7, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370745753

Norbert Mercado

"In this age of revolution, the contemporary writer should utilize the pen for the preservation of peace," Norbert Mercado, a Filipino author, stressed. The books he has written and published, including his anthologies, unapologetically assert the indispensability of peace in a nation’s progress. The author has written more novels than any Asian writer had in just a brief period of time. In fact, he has surpassed the number of novels written by world-renowned novelists like Russian author Alexander Solzhenitsyn (winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, 1970) and American authors Ernest Hemingway (winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, 1954). Solzhenitsyn has four novels to his credit, while Hemingway has eight. His style of writing is simple and succinct, but poignant and colorful like Hemingway’s THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA, and Solzhenitsyn’s ONE DAY IN THE LIFE OF IVAN DESONOVICH. "The simpler the novel, the better," he said. In line with Japanese Yasunari Kabawata’s writings about the Japanese way of life, most of Norbert’s novels focus mostly on the current situation in his country. Kabawata is the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1968. His books present hope to the Filipino, especially to the "economic exiles" in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan whom he has spent most of his time with, in their daily struggles. But most of all, his novels lucidly show the futility of war and violence in the resolution of political-economic-class conflicts in the Philippines. "War should not be used as an instrument in resolving political conflicts. Writers who abet wars and revolutions must think of the widows and the fatherless, the chaos, destruction, and suffering of the people whom they claim to be concerned about," he said. What if, like Solzhenitsyn, Hemingway, and Kabawata, he eventually wins the Nobel Prize? What will he do with the US$1,000,000 award? "I will use the prize for establishing a Peace Foundation that will assist in the formulation of policies which will resolve the current shooting conflicts in the country and help alleviate the continuing poverty of our countrymen." He will take charge of the foundation and personally campaign for a peaceful settlement of the conflicts in the Philippines. "The insurgency and the secessionist rebellion have foreign support. A Nobel title will give me the personality to approach the leaders involved in the conflicts," he explained. Born on March 25, 1955, he is the youngest among the children of Mr. and Mrs. Aurelio Mercado, Sr. of San Manuel, Tarlac. He graduated from the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City, with two degrees, Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Bachelor of Arts in Broadcast Communication. Voted Outstanding Campus Journalist in 1974, he was a columnist and associate editor of the Philippine Collegian, the campus publication of the University of the Philippines. He has also written articles for various newspapers and magazines in the Philippines, as well as abroad. He also won the 1981 National Essay Writing Contest sponsored by SIDESTREETS Magazine. Norbert is a graduate of the National Defense College of the Philippines (NDCP), the topmost armed forces school in the country, where he was conferred a Master’s degree in National Security Administration (MNSA) and the rank of Lt. Colonel in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). He graduated from the NDCP at the age of 32, the youngest in Class 21 which had already produced several generals in the Armed Forces, and the youngest graduate in the history of the National Defense College of the Philippines. He was elected one of the fifteen directors of Class 21. He was conferred the degree of Doctor of Divinity (Applied Servanthood), Honoris Causa, for his almost 30 years work in Christian literature. His batch mates include Senator Robert Barbers, Undersecretary of Trade and Industry and Bulletin Columnist Nelly Villafuerte, Actor and Producer Fred Galang, Rev. Peter Vasaya, and the His Royal Highness Sultan of Sulu and Sabah Ishmael Kiram. A sports lover, he was a rifle marksman in his UP ROTC days, and a winner of the 1988 and 1989 5,000 meter-run sponsored by the National Defense College Alumni Association. His sports include swimming, basketball, volleyball, boxing, karate, cycling, and marathon among others. A traveler, he has attended various international conferences and trainings in Asia and Europe. His travels have widened his insight not only of places, but also of people he has constantly observed and empathized with. He is the youngest graduate of the Singapore Haggai Institute for Third World Leaders in 1980 at the age of 24. "Let us work for peace in our country, in any way we can," Norbert stressed. Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers." Ria M. Mercado

Book preview

STRANGERS IN EGYPT

by

NORBERT MERCADO

Also by Norbert Mercado

NOVELS

72 Hours in Moscow

Cambodia's Children of Sorrow

The Children of Mars

Even the Grass Bleeds

I Don't Need A Throne

The Korean War

The Last Romanov

BOOKS IN THE SHADOW OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE SERIES

In The Shadow Of The Roman Empire

Farewell Darkness!

The Roman Governor of Judaea

BOOKS IN THE MORNING GLORY SERIES

Morning Glory

Love Is Beautiful

Prepare For Eternity

Dulce Extranjera

BOOKS IN THE ENSOMO SERIES

Pilgrims To Jerusalem

The Burning Of The Fields

A Year Without Summer

Oh, Jerusalem!

Goodbye Babylon!

BOOKS IN THE SANGKHLABURI SERIES

The Bridge

The Divide

The Union

For more information on Norbert Mercado, visit

http://norbertomercado.blogspot.com

STRANGERS IN EGYPT

Norbert Mercado

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents are product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Except in cases of historical fact, any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2016

All rights reserved. This book is sold, subject to the condition that is shall not, by way of trade or otherwise be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form or binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition, including this condition, being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

ISBN: 978-1-370-74575-3

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

VERSION: 2016-04-08-0930

This novel is dedicated to my beloved sister

Aida Mercado-Magalong,

an alumna of the National Teacher’s College,

to the President of the National Teacher’s College,

Dr. Priscilla Arguelles

and to the following students of the National Teacher’s College:

Ana Marie Acosta

Marielle Diaz

Maries de los Reyes

Ruth Dejepe

Bea Sy

Yen Tiballa

and

Janina Urge

Norbert L. Mercado

Historical Novelist

February 10, 2016

National Teacher’s College

Manila, Philippines

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Final Chapter

Dedication

References

A Historical Novelist For Peace

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Back to Table of Contents

. . . CHAPTER . . .

1

Rhinocolura, Egypt.

The town of Rhinocolura is the farthest town in eastern Egypt. The name Rhinocolura comes from the Greeks. Egypt was one of the countries conquered by Alexander the Great, and it became a part of the Macedonian Empire.

Tharu was the Egyptian name of the town during the times of Pharaoh. With the changing of imperial fortunes came a new name for the place – the Greek name Rhinocolura.

Rhinocolura was noted for the River of Egypt, the body of water which separates Egypt from the land of Judah in Israel. The river has been the