Jim & Penny Caldwell
Jim and Penny Caldwell
lived with their children Lucas & Chelsea inside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
for 12 years where Jim was employed in the oil and gas industry. With a residence in the Eastern
Province on the Persian Gulf, they
were afforded the opportunity to travel extensively throughout the Middle East. After
a month's long driving excursion to Egypt
and a very disappointing visit to the traditional Mount Sinai at St.
Katherine's on the Sinai Peninsula, they made a rare discovery that sparked the
idea that the real mount was actually to be found in the northwest corner of Saudi Arabia. After setting their compass to a particular
mountain called Jebel al Lawz, the Caldwell's
returned to Arabia where they finally located
the mountain of their objective.
Since January of 1992,
Jim and Penny made fifteen trips out into the regions surrounding Jebel al
Lawz. Though they had to remain anonymous at the time, it was their secret
research and evidence that began filtering out into books, videos, and internet
websites all throughout the 1990's.
Backpacking their way into restricted areas and behind forbidden fences
which at times led to arrest at gunpoint, their knowledge of the lay of the
land is perhaps better than any. Their
accomplishments include arduous climbs to the top of both of the highest peaks
in the region, Jebel Maqla and Jebel Lawz, which they believe to be Mt. Sinai
and Mt. Horeb, respectively. Among their personal discoveries are the
Split Rock at Horeb, the footprint rock carvings believed to be related to the
children of Israel,
the graveyard at Sinai, a bitter spring fountain head they believe to be Marah,
and a desert oasis with twelve wells that appears to be the Biblical Elim. Beside these, the Caldwell's have discovered and filmed flocks
of quail, groves of almond trees, and a very interesting candidate for the
burning bush. From scuba diving in the
Gulf of Aqaba on numerous occasions to quite literally traversing the Saudi Kingdom
in its entirety in an effort to trace the pathway of what they theorize to be a
deep southern Israeli wandering, the Caldwell's
have a particularly unique perspective on the Exodus and its application to the
Arabian Peninsula. Having completed their first book, "The God
of the Mountain", two more are in the works along with various film projects
that will detail heretofore unreleased and startling possibilities surrounding
the consequences of placing Mt. Sinai in
Arabia.
Much of the information
about this topic that can be found on the web as well as multi-media formats
originated from the Caldwell's.
A number of their first time discoveries have been attributed to others because
of the confidential nature of their work while they were still inside Arabia.
The Caldwell's photographs and video have
literally been shown around the world, and their original ideas and
documentation have become the subject of much debate and controversy
alike. Since returning to the USA, they formed the Split Rock Research
Foundation, and continue to work with scholars and scientists from around the
world on the topic of Sinai in Arabia.