Leaving Galilee was a little sad. We spent 11 days there so I became attached to it. The view was always gorgeous, and I loved the significance of all the places we visited.
We went to Mount Carmel which is where Elijah dueled with the priests of baal (1 Kings 18). We reinacted the whole scene which was pretty fun.
The last visit before going home to Jerusalem was Caesarea. Caesarea was a Greco-Roman city built by Herod the Great. One very impressive thing they did when building this city was create a man made port. This is where Peter testified before King Agrippa and impressed him with his powerful testimony of Jesus.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Galilee Day #10 - Chorazin, Sepphori, Akko
Chorazin is a city that Jesus cursed (Luke 10:13). While in Chorazin we read the Savior's rebuke of the Pharisees found in Matthew 23. I am starting to see a lot of parallels in my life to the Jews that had gone astray. It is easier to focus on rules than to focus on the two great commandments to love God and love one another. We can never forget the purpose behind the standards that we keep.
Our second stop was Sepphori. Sepphori is only an hour walk away from Nazareth and was going through a period of construction during Jesus' life. Hence Joseph and Jesus possibly came to Sepphori to work. Sepphori is also an important site for Jews because it is where the Mishna was written which is an important book of scripture for the Jews.
The last visit of the day was Akko. Akko is a city along a city on the Mediterranean coast. This was the final hold out of the crusaders so there are a bunch of buildings constructed by the crusaders. This city was visited by Paul in his preaching.
Our second stop was Sepphori. Sepphori is only an hour walk away from Nazareth and was going through a period of construction during Jesus' life. Hence Joseph and Jesus possibly came to Sepphori to work. Sepphori is also an important site for Jews because it is where the Mishna was written which is an important book of scripture for the Jews.
The last visit of the day was Akko. Akko is a city along a city on the Mediterranean coast. This was the final hold out of the crusaders so there are a bunch of buildings constructed by the crusaders. This city was visited by Paul in his preaching.
Galilee Day #9 - Hazor, Dan
The first ruins we visited today were from the ancient city Hazor which is mentioned several times in the Old Testament. In Joshua 11 the Canaanite city Hazor was burned in the conquest of the land. The coolest part of this site is that we could see the burn layer on the ruins which more or less archaeologically proves that biblical account.
The writers of the Old Testament often used the phrase 'from Dan to Bersheba' to mean all of Israel because Dan was the northernmost city and Bersheba was the southernmost city. We visited Bersheba during the first month, and today we visited Dan so now I can say that I have been 'from Dan to Bersheba.' The most interesting archaeology to me was a arched city gate that dates back to the time of Abraham. When Abraham came here (Gen 14:14), it is likely that he passed through this gate. At this site they have also discovered the ruins of the high place / altar that the apostate Israelite Kingdom used instead of the Jerusalem Temple. Right behind the altar are some trenches from the pre-1967 border. From this outlook we could see Syria and Lebanon. In the mine field in front of us there were cows grazing. I don't know if I believe this but our professor said that the cows are used to de-mine the field (I guess it is better for cows to be blown up than humans). The rest of Dan was beautiful with a bunch of trees, plants, and springs.
Caesarea Philippi was the most spiritually significant site of the day for me. The account of Peter testifying "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God" occurred in this region. I learned a few contextual facts that made the verses in Matthew 16:13-20 more meaningful to me. The city Caesarea Philippi was a Greco-Roman gentile city with temples to pagan gods. One of the temples was dedicated to Caesar Augustus who claimed to be 'the son of god' because his step father Julius Caesar had been proclaimed god by the Roman senate after his death. This concept contrasts with Peter's declaration that Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of the LIVING God. Also there is a large stone face where the pagan temples were and also where a spring began. Possibly Jesus used this stone outcropping as an example when explaining that Peter would be the rock upon which He would build his church. Bro Harper did an excellent job of explaining that the best way we can know anything is from divine revelation which is the way that Peter knew that Jesus was the. Savior.
The rest of the day was full of nice walks and cool views. We walked around some waterfalls near Caesarea Philippi. We also went to Nimrod's castle which is a 13th century Malmuk fortress which would have been quite an impressive building back in the day. The final place we went was another former border of Israel. On top of this mountain they had old trenches and bunkers. We could also see Syria from the top.
The writers of the Old Testament often used the phrase 'from Dan to Bersheba' to mean all of Israel because Dan was the northernmost city and Bersheba was the southernmost city. We visited Bersheba during the first month, and today we visited Dan so now I can say that I have been 'from Dan to Bersheba.' The most interesting archaeology to me was a arched city gate that dates back to the time of Abraham. When Abraham came here (Gen 14:14), it is likely that he passed through this gate. At this site they have also discovered the ruins of the high place / altar that the apostate Israelite Kingdom used instead of the Jerusalem Temple. Right behind the altar are some trenches from the pre-1967 border. From this outlook we could see Syria and Lebanon. In the mine field in front of us there were cows grazing. I don't know if I believe this but our professor said that the cows are used to de-mine the field (I guess it is better for cows to be blown up than humans). The rest of Dan was beautiful with a bunch of trees, plants, and springs.
Caesarea Philippi was the most spiritually significant site of the day for me. The account of Peter testifying "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God" occurred in this region. I learned a few contextual facts that made the verses in Matthew 16:13-20 more meaningful to me. The city Caesarea Philippi was a Greco-Roman gentile city with temples to pagan gods. One of the temples was dedicated to Caesar Augustus who claimed to be 'the son of god' because his step father Julius Caesar had been proclaimed god by the Roman senate after his death. This concept contrasts with Peter's declaration that Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of the LIVING God. Also there is a large stone face where the pagan temples were and also where a spring began. Possibly Jesus used this stone outcropping as an example when explaining that Peter would be the rock upon which He would build his church. Bro Harper did an excellent job of explaining that the best way we can know anything is from divine revelation which is the way that Peter knew that Jesus was the. Savior.
The rest of the day was full of nice walks and cool views. We walked around some waterfalls near Caesarea Philippi. We also went to Nimrod's castle which is a 13th century Malmuk fortress which would have been quite an impressive building back in the day. The final place we went was another former border of Israel. On top of this mountain they had old trenches and bunkers. We could also see Syria from the top.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Galilee Day #8 - Mount of Transfiguration, Megiddo, Natural Springs
There are two different mountains that people claim to be the Mount of Transfiguration. One is called Mt Hermon and is located in Syria right outside of modern day Israel. We went to the other option which is southwest of the Sea of Galilee and is called Mt Tabor. Once on top of the mountain we found a small chapel inside the Franciscan church where Bro Harper lectured on the significance of what transpired when Jesus was transfigured and Moses and Elijah appeared before Peter, James, and John.
We also went to Megiddo. A couple of biblical events occurred there such as the defeat of Josiah and tbe building of Salomon's stables. Meggido is best well known for its apparent connection to Revelation 16:16 where the battle of Armageddon is mentioned. Many believe that Armageddon can be translated to mean Mount Meggido which would make this the location for the apocalyptic battle. However, Bro Harper explained to us that most likely that scriptural reference of a final battle is more symbolic or figurative than literal, and I agree with that anaylsis.
We ended the day by going swimming in a natural spring. The water was warm and really clear. It almost looked and felt like a large and deep pool with natural borders and bottom. At the end of the pool was a waterfall which was fun to stand under.
We also went to Megiddo. A couple of biblical events occurred there such as the defeat of Josiah and tbe building of Salomon's stables. Meggido is best well known for its apparent connection to Revelation 16:16 where the battle of Armageddon is mentioned. Many believe that Armageddon can be translated to mean Mount Meggido which would make this the location for the apocalyptic battle. However, Bro Harper explained to us that most likely that scriptural reference of a final battle is more symbolic or figurative than literal, and I agree with that anaylsis.
We ended the day by going swimming in a natural spring. The water was warm and really clear. It almost looked and felt like a large and deep pool with natural borders and bottom. At the end of the pool was a waterfall which was fun to stand under.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Galilee Day #7 - Bike Ride
After classes in the morning the rest of the day was free so I ended up going on a bike ride. My friend Brennan set it all up and eleven of us ended up renting bikes for the afternoon. We biked along a path that hugs the coast of the Sea of Galilee. Round trip we biked 24km/15miles. Part of the path was through a banana field. I don't think I have ever seen upclose how bananas grow so that was a first. Halfway through the ride we reached a small town so we stopped there to get some ice cream before heading back. I have enjoyed so much the outdoor actives (rafting in the Jordan River, swimming in the Sea of Galilee, hiking in the Golan Heights, biking along the coast) that I have been able to do here.
Galilee Day #6 - Church in Tiberias
The Sabbath was a very rejuvenating day. My class didn't have to go to church until two in the afternoon so we had the entire morning to ourselves. I spent most of the morning on the shore of the Sea of Galilee reading scripture and writing about my experiences. Before going to church we went to the outlet of the Galilee where the Jordan River begins again. It is a placed called Yardenit, and a lot of people come there to get baptized. My Ancient Near East professor Dr Jared Ludlow was baptized there when he was eight years old because his father was a professor at the Jerusalem Center at the time so his family lived in Israel when he turned eight.
Another member of the faculty named Dr Jackson claims that the view from the Tiberias church building is the second best in the whole church with the the very best view being the Jerusalem Center. I agree with him. The Tiberias church is a large house built on a hill in a nicer neighborhood that they have remodeled to fit the needs of a small branch. The room where the sacrament meeting is held has one side of all windows which makes for a great view of the Sea of Galilee. I sang in a mens quartet for a musical number. A talented student named Jason Cassel took words from Alma 29 and aligned them with the tune of If You Could Hie to Kolob. I'm actually going to be rooming with Jason this summer which should be pretty fun.
Another member of the faculty named Dr Jackson claims that the view from the Tiberias church building is the second best in the whole church with the the very best view being the Jerusalem Center. I agree with him. The Tiberias church is a large house built on a hill in a nicer neighborhood that they have remodeled to fit the needs of a small branch. The room where the sacrament meeting is held has one side of all windows which makes for a great view of the Sea of Galilee. I sang in a mens quartet for a musical number. A talented student named Jason Cassel took words from Alma 29 and aligned them with the tune of If You Could Hie to Kolob. I'm actually going to be rooming with Jason this summer which should be pretty fun.
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Galilee Day #5 - Hiking in the Galilee
This entire day was spent In an area which is called the Golan Heights. Before the 1967 Six Day War this region was part of Syria. The international community now considers this area to be 'occupied Suria.' Possibly some day Israel will give this region back to Syria like How they gave the Sinai Peninsula back to Egypt, but that won't happen until Syria is somewhat stable. While driving through the Golan Height we could see bunkers, a few old tanks in the middle of fields, and signs on barb wired fences saying 'Danger Mines' because they haven't cleared out all the mine fields.
The whole day was spent hiking. I love hiking. I might like hiking for the same reason I enjoy running. After doing either I feel like I have accomplished something, and my body feels better physically. The views were beautiful. This time of year is unique for Israel because it is the rainy season. Everything is green. There are also a bunch of wild flowers. I don't know the names of flowers but there were yellow, red, orange, pink, purple, and probably other colored flowers that I don't remember. I'm so glad I came this semester so I could see Israel like this. I was talking with my our guide, and he said that by mid-May everything will be brown. My mental image of Israel for the rest of my life is going to be a green, lush and flowering landscape. I'm fine with having that memory.
The first place we went hiking was Gamla. The city was destroyed by the Romans during the Great Jewish Revolt in 66-70 AD, and that was the last time it was inhabited. In the ruins they found a synagogue which is significant because the New Testament says Jesus preached in the synagogues around the Galilee so Jesus may have been there even though Gamla isn't specifically mentioned. Ransom side note - the area around Gamla is used as a preserve for raising vultures.
We also stopped by Hippos which was an ancient gentile city. This city was built on a hill very close to the Sea of Galilee which made for another excellent view. Walking up to the city they had barbed wire on both sides of the path with the 'Danger Mines' signs to keep is on the path :)
The last hike was the best. We walked down into a ravine and then along a steam. There were two waterfalls. The first waterfall was about 30ft tall, and the second waterfall was about 40-50ft. At the bottom of the second there was a small pond that we got to swim in it. The water was way cold, but it was way fun to swim near the waterfall. When we were ending the hike the sun was setting which made for a nice finish.
After this gorgeous day, I was joking with other students that I completely understand why Israel 'stole' the Golam Heights from Syria.
The whole day was spent hiking. I love hiking. I might like hiking for the same reason I enjoy running. After doing either I feel like I have accomplished something, and my body feels better physically. The views were beautiful. This time of year is unique for Israel because it is the rainy season. Everything is green. There are also a bunch of wild flowers. I don't know the names of flowers but there were yellow, red, orange, pink, purple, and probably other colored flowers that I don't remember. I'm so glad I came this semester so I could see Israel like this. I was talking with my our guide, and he said that by mid-May everything will be brown. My mental image of Israel for the rest of my life is going to be a green, lush and flowering landscape. I'm fine with having that memory.
The first place we went hiking was Gamla. The city was destroyed by the Romans during the Great Jewish Revolt in 66-70 AD, and that was the last time it was inhabited. In the ruins they found a synagogue which is significant because the New Testament says Jesus preached in the synagogues around the Galilee so Jesus may have been there even though Gamla isn't specifically mentioned. Ransom side note - the area around Gamla is used as a preserve for raising vultures.
We also stopped by Hippos which was an ancient gentile city. This city was built on a hill very close to the Sea of Galilee which made for another excellent view. Walking up to the city they had barbed wire on both sides of the path with the 'Danger Mines' signs to keep is on the path :)
The last hike was the best. We walked down into a ravine and then along a steam. There were two waterfalls. The first waterfall was about 30ft tall, and the second waterfall was about 40-50ft. At the bottom of the second there was a small pond that we got to swim in it. The water was way cold, but it was way fun to swim near the waterfall. When we were ending the hike the sun was setting which made for a nice finish.
After this gorgeous day, I was joking with other students that I completely understand why Israel 'stole' the Golam Heights from Syria.
Galilee Day #4 - Jordan River Rafting
When I applied to come to the Jerusalem Center I had no idea how awesome it would be. I assumed that the classes would be informative, and I was excited about going to sites with biblical significance. I didn't even imagine all the extra trips and activities we would be doing. On Thursday we went rafting on the Jordan River. They loaded six of up in each inflated raft, gave us two oars, and sent us down the river. At first we weren't great at steering so we ran into the sides a lot which was a problem because the banks of the river were covered with trees and all sorts of plants. One of the guys in our raft actually fell out when we ran into a rough patch, but we got him back and the paddle as well. There were just a few very light rapids, nothing big but fun to go through.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Galilee Day #3 - Mount of Beatitudes,Capernaum, Boat Ride on the Galilee
The Galilee is gorgeous. I completely understand why Jesus spent most of ministry in the Galilee and only a little bit in Jerusalem. John the Baptist had it rough preaching in the Judaean Wilderness which is barren desert.
The Mount of Beatitudes is where Christians commemorate the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). The location is on a hill/mount north of the Sea of Galilee. The view is inspiring. Interestingly Benito Mussolini (the Italian dictator and ally of Hitler) built the Church of the Beatitudes. I loved this site because our professor gave us an hour in the morning for us to read the Sermon on the Mount. I read through it twice and had a very revelatory experience. The beatitude that stuck out to me the most was "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled." I feel that I can do better to actively pursue becoming a disciple of Christ.
Not far from the Church of the Beatitudes and near the shore of the Galilee are two churches. The first we visited was The Church of Saint Peters Primacy. This church commemorates the dialogue when Jesus asked Peter three times, "Lovest thou me?" and then exhorted him to feed His sheep. Close by was the other church which is called The Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes. As you can guess this church was originally built in honor of Jesus' miraculous feeding of the 5,000. The interior of this church had remains of an ancient mosaic with two fish at the center that Jesus multiplied.
Capernaum was my favorite site of the day. For my Ancient Near East history class we have an assignment to pick one site we are going to do a field trip to and then do an in depth report on it before we go there. I'm really glad I chose to do my report on Capernaum because the site has a lot of religious significance. Peter was from Capernaum, and many miracles occurred at his house such as the healing of his mother-in-law and the healing of the paralytic man who was lowered through the roof. Early Christians turned his house into a church, and the remains of later church built around the original house are now visible. They have now built a church that is suspended over the ruins. I really enjoyed reading the scriptural accounts of the miracles that took place where I was reading them. In the same small town there was a synagogue. The remains of this synagogue have also been uncovered. This where Jesus healed a man on the sabbath and delivered the Bread of Life Sermon. In the Bread of Life Sermon I noticed a connection to the beatitude I mentioned earlier. Jesus said "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never thirst."
Every field trip one of the students usually gives a devotional on the bus while we are traveling. Today I got to share a spiritual thought, but I got to do it in one of the coolest places in the world - on a boat in the middle of the Sea od Galilee. As part of our day long field trip we went on a boat ride from one side of the Sea of Galilee to the other. My devotional was about the tender mercies of the Lord. This body of water is where Jesus traveled, walked on water, and performed other miracles. Jesus loved to frequent the Sea of Galilee and the surrounding hill country. When we approached the middle of the lake we had them turn the engines off. In a peaceful and very calm environment we sang hymns (including Master the Tempest is Raging), prayed, and pondered. It was a beautiful experience.
We ended the day by going to a fish restaurant and then getting ice cream in Tiberias. At the restaurant I ordered St Peter's Fish. They fried the entire fish and brought it out on a plate complete with the head, fins, bones and all.
The Mount of Beatitudes is where Christians commemorate the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). The location is on a hill/mount north of the Sea of Galilee. The view is inspiring. Interestingly Benito Mussolini (the Italian dictator and ally of Hitler) built the Church of the Beatitudes. I loved this site because our professor gave us an hour in the morning for us to read the Sermon on the Mount. I read through it twice and had a very revelatory experience. The beatitude that stuck out to me the most was "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled." I feel that I can do better to actively pursue becoming a disciple of Christ.
Not far from the Church of the Beatitudes and near the shore of the Galilee are two churches. The first we visited was The Church of Saint Peters Primacy. This church commemorates the dialogue when Jesus asked Peter three times, "Lovest thou me?" and then exhorted him to feed His sheep. Close by was the other church which is called The Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes. As you can guess this church was originally built in honor of Jesus' miraculous feeding of the 5,000. The interior of this church had remains of an ancient mosaic with two fish at the center that Jesus multiplied.
Capernaum was my favorite site of the day. For my Ancient Near East history class we have an assignment to pick one site we are going to do a field trip to and then do an in depth report on it before we go there. I'm really glad I chose to do my report on Capernaum because the site has a lot of religious significance. Peter was from Capernaum, and many miracles occurred at his house such as the healing of his mother-in-law and the healing of the paralytic man who was lowered through the roof. Early Christians turned his house into a church, and the remains of later church built around the original house are now visible. They have now built a church that is suspended over the ruins. I really enjoyed reading the scriptural accounts of the miracles that took place where I was reading them. In the same small town there was a synagogue. The remains of this synagogue have also been uncovered. This where Jesus healed a man on the sabbath and delivered the Bread of Life Sermon. In the Bread of Life Sermon I noticed a connection to the beatitude I mentioned earlier. Jesus said "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never thirst."
Every field trip one of the students usually gives a devotional on the bus while we are traveling. Today I got to share a spiritual thought, but I got to do it in one of the coolest places in the world - on a boat in the middle of the Sea od Galilee. As part of our day long field trip we went on a boat ride from one side of the Sea of Galilee to the other. My devotional was about the tender mercies of the Lord. This body of water is where Jesus traveled, walked on water, and performed other miracles. Jesus loved to frequent the Sea of Galilee and the surrounding hill country. When we approached the middle of the lake we had them turn the engines off. In a peaceful and very calm environment we sang hymns (including Master the Tempest is Raging), prayed, and pondered. It was a beautiful experience.
We ended the day by going to a fish restaurant and then getting ice cream in Tiberias. At the restaurant I ordered St Peter's Fish. They fried the entire fish and brought it out on a plate complete with the head, fins, bones and all.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Galilee Day #1 - Nazareth
So last night I only got four hours of sleep because after getting back late from Tel Aviv I still had to pack and write a paper. We left early this morning for the Galilee. I am definitely a lot happier with life when I get a descent amount of sleep. We are going to be in Galilee for a week and a half. It is going to be really spiritual to study the life of Jesus where he actually lived.
On the way to the Galilee we stopped at Beth Shean which is the city where the Philistines hung the bodies of Saul and his sons on the city wall (2 Samuel 1). That is sort of a graphic scriptural reference, but it teaches that even if you were once blessed like Saul was that does not mean that future wickedness with he tolerated by the Lord.
We spent a few hours in Nazareth. This is where both Mary and Joseph received angelic messages (annunciations) about the divine birth of Jesus. Both Mary and Joseph have a church dedicated to them in memory of those revelations. My favorite part of Nazareth was the synagogue church which is a church built where the synagogue of Jesus' time is believed to have been. The place was even more significant to me because there is actually some archaeological evidence that the first century synagogue was really there. This is the location where Christ declared himself to be the Messiah by reading Isaiah 61.
Funny thing that happen today was our third third site was suppose to be an outlook of the Sea of Galilee and the surrounding area. We went up to the top of the mount which would usually provide a nice view because of the height; however, the weather today is overcast and foggy so we couldn't see anything. I guess it was okay because it was beautiful place where we could read about the Savior's Galilean Ministry.
On the way to the Galilee we stopped at Beth Shean which is the city where the Philistines hung the bodies of Saul and his sons on the city wall (2 Samuel 1). That is sort of a graphic scriptural reference, but it teaches that even if you were once blessed like Saul was that does not mean that future wickedness with he tolerated by the Lord.
We spent a few hours in Nazareth. This is where both Mary and Joseph received angelic messages (annunciations) about the divine birth of Jesus. Both Mary and Joseph have a church dedicated to them in memory of those revelations. My favorite part of Nazareth was the synagogue church which is a church built where the synagogue of Jesus' time is believed to have been. The place was even more significant to me because there is actually some archaeological evidence that the first century synagogue was really there. This is the location where Christ declared himself to be the Messiah by reading Isaiah 61.
Funny thing that happen today was our third third site was suppose to be an outlook of the Sea of Galilee and the surrounding area. We went up to the top of the mount which would usually provide a nice view because of the height; however, the weather today is overcast and foggy so we couldn't see anything. I guess it was okay because it was beautiful place where we could read about the Savior's Galilean Ministry.
Tel Aviv
For most all of the free days the students stay in Jerusalem to visit sites here. We are allowed to leave if we get permission. This last free day I decided to go to Tel Aviv with a group of students. Tel Aviv is the largest city in Israel so it is sort of like the New York City of Israel (interesting fact: Tel Aviv is the largest Jewish city in the world and New York City is the second). In biblical times this port was called Joppa. The Arabs renamed it Jaffa, and then the Jews renamed it Tel Aviv.
The Biblical significance of Tel Aviv / Joppa is found in Acts 9-11. It was here that Peter raised the woman Dorcas from the dead. Peter also received the vision allowing the gospel to be preached to the Jews here. The St Peters Monastery commemorates these events. This monastery is in Old Jaffa (basically the historical downtown). We went there at night so we only got to see the outside of it, but there was an awesome view of Tel Aviv from the lookout.
The first thing we did in the morning was walk along the beach until we arrived at an open air market. While there I bought an abstract original painting of the Western Wall. We then spent most of the afternoon at a 'safari.' It was basically a glorified zoo in Tel Aviv. A very large part of the safari was set up as a reserve for the hippos, zebras, ostriches, lions, and other animals to run free. There was a road through it that we drove through to see the animals. In the middle of the reserve there was a zoo. Zoos are always awesome so I enjoyed that.
When we got back to downtown Tel Aviv, we played on the beach and watched the sun set into the Mediterranean. In the evening we just got some burgers and ice cream before walking around Old Jaffa.
The Biblical significance of Tel Aviv / Joppa is found in Acts 9-11. It was here that Peter raised the woman Dorcas from the dead. Peter also received the vision allowing the gospel to be preached to the Jews here. The St Peters Monastery commemorates these events. This monastery is in Old Jaffa (basically the historical downtown). We went there at night so we only got to see the outside of it, but there was an awesome view of Tel Aviv from the lookout.
The first thing we did in the morning was walk along the beach until we arrived at an open air market. While there I bought an abstract original painting of the Western Wall. We then spent most of the afternoon at a 'safari.' It was basically a glorified zoo in Tel Aviv. A very large part of the safari was set up as a reserve for the hippos, zebras, ostriches, lions, and other animals to run free. There was a road through it that we drove through to see the animals. In the middle of the reserve there was a zoo. Zoos are always awesome so I enjoyed that.
When we got back to downtown Tel Aviv, we played on the beach and watched the sun set into the Mediterranean. In the evening we just got some burgers and ice cream before walking around Old Jaffa.
Jerusalem Half-Marathon
I ran the Jerusalem Half Marathon last week. Over 15,000 runners participated in the 10k, half, and full marathon. That was the largest race I have ever ran in. There were a lot of students that did the 10k, but only four students and one professor did the half marathon. The view during the run was great. Part of the run went through the Old City. Jerusalem is very hilly so the whole race was very up and down. My goal time was 1:45 and I finished in 1hr 45min and 1sec so I feel pretty good about that. I was the fastest of the people from the Jerusalem Center that ran it. I wore my Nebraska Shirt during the race, and there was one spectator the whole race that yelled, "Go Nebraska." The race has a cool system set up for the photos. They used my bib number to tag the photos of me on Facebook so if you want to see some photos of me running through Jerusalem just look at my Facebook.
Bethlehem
I'm starting to think that my posts are getting boring (or maybe they have been boring all along), but if there is something that you guys want to hear about just let me know.
Last week we went to Bethlehem. The Church of the Nativity is the place where it is believed that Jesus was born. Obviously there is no way of actually knowing, but it nice to have a place to commemorate the important event. The place is sort of like a cave (they call it a grotto) under the church. There is a star for the spot where Jesus was born and then there is a small marble room for the manger. In a Franciscan church that connects to the Church of the Nativity we sang a few Christmas hymns. Singing Silent Night there was a very special experience.
Later in the day we went to a field on a hill outside of Bethlehem which sort of acted as our 'shepherd's field.' We continued to talk about the nativity and read the scriptural accounts there. We also sang the rest of the Christmas hymns that we did not sing earlier in the day. We were still in the field when the sun set which made for a nice experience.
While in Bethlehem I bought two little Christmas ornaments. I thought it would be cool to have bought them in Bethlehem close to where it all happened. Last week I also bought an olive wood nativity. I glad to have made those two purchases.
Last week we went to Bethlehem. The Church of the Nativity is the place where it is believed that Jesus was born. Obviously there is no way of actually knowing, but it nice to have a place to commemorate the important event. The place is sort of like a cave (they call it a grotto) under the church. There is a star for the spot where Jesus was born and then there is a small marble room for the manger. In a Franciscan church that connects to the Church of the Nativity we sang a few Christmas hymns. Singing Silent Night there was a very special experience.
Later in the day we went to a field on a hill outside of Bethlehem which sort of acted as our 'shepherd's field.' We continued to talk about the nativity and read the scriptural accounts there. We also sang the rest of the Christmas hymns that we did not sing earlier in the day. We were still in the field when the sun set which made for a nice experience.
While in Bethlehem I bought two little Christmas ornaments. I thought it would be cool to have bought them in Bethlehem close to where it all happened. Last week I also bought an olive wood nativity. I glad to have made those two purchases.
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Turkey
Last week we did our second out of Israel trip to Turkey. When I first heard that we would be going to Turkey I thought we would be driving, but I later discovered that driving would require us to go through Lebanon or Syria. As you can imagine that would not be the greatest of ideas given the current situation in that area of the world. To save time and preserve our lives we flew to Turkey. The flight provided a really cool view of Turkey's geography and a night view of Istanbul which was the city we flew into.
The week before we went to Turkey it snowed there so we came expecting it be cold and either raining or snowing. The weather surprised us. It was chilly a few days but it never rained on us. It was usually jacket weather, but a few times it warmed up enough to just be wearing a shirt.
While in Turkey I gained a lot of respect for this country that I hardly knew anything about before. The first thing I learned is that they speak Turkish in Turkey. That may sound stupid of me to have to learn that, but I just assumed they spoke Arabic since 98% of the country is Muslim. Interestingly until the 1920s they used Arabic letters to write Turkish but they switched to a Latin lettering system (letters similar to our alphabet). I really respect that the founders of the country decided to have a secular democratic government. I think that is part of the reason that Turkey's economy is doing very well while many countries in this area of the world struggle to develop strong economies.
The food in Turkey was pretty good. Basically every meal they started us off with what they called Lentil Soup, but it tasted more like potato soup. I liked it. The best dessert is Baklava. The top is a flaky pastry and the bottom is a sugary nut mixture. I don't really know how to better explain it, but I really enjoyed them.
I absolutely loved all of mosques in Turkey. It appeared that there was a greater ratio of mosques in Turkey than LDS chapels in the Utah. Most of the mosques had at least one dome and one minaret (the tower that they broadcast the call to prayer from), but many had multiple of each. In Istanbul we visited the Sultan Ahkmed Mosque (commonly know as the Blue Mosque because of its beautiful blue tile work on the inside). The Blue Mosque has six very tall minarets and a multiple dome structure that is just massive. Since Muslims do not use icons the interiors of mosques are decorated with elaborate calligraphy and geometric designs. My favorite mosque we visited was the Grand Mosque in Bursa. This dome has twenty domes because of a funny story. A sultan prayed to Allah and vowed that if he won the battle he was about to start that he would build twenty mosques to Allah for the victory. The sultan won the battle but decided to build a mosque with twenty domes instead of twenty mosques because it cost less. This dome was especially beautiful to me because the interior was more simple but with old calligraphy. Usually there is a fountain outside a mosque for ritual washing but this mosque was unique in that it had the fountain in the center of the mosque.
In downtown Istanbul we visited the Topkapi Palace which was one of the main palaces of the Sultan. The most interesting part of the palace complex for me was this sort of museum that had Muslim religious relics. They had the sword of David, the rod of Moses, artifacts from Mecca / Kaaba, and even pieces of Mohammed's beard. Most likely none of those items are actually what they are believed to be, but I like seeing how people memorialize important people, events, and items. As we went through this museum we were standing in front of a few Muslim women. I couldn't understand anything of what they were saying, but it was easy to see how excited they were to see these special relics.
While in Turkey we went on boat ride up the Bosphorus (the strip of water that goes through Istanbul to connect the Black Sea to the Mediterranean). We also took two ferry rides (one across the Dardanelles and another to get back to Istanbul). Two of our hotels were on the beach. Too bad the weather wasn't a little bit warmer so we could of enjoyed the water a little more.
Most of the sites we visited actually had Greek ruins. That surprised me at first, but now it makes sense. The Greeks live just across the sea from Turkey so anciently the Greeks had a lot of colonies in what is now modern day Turkey. The most well known site we went to was Troy. The setting of The Iliad by Homer is the Trojan Wars. Everybody has heard of the Trojan Horse so at this site they had a large wooden horse (about two stories tall) that the tourists can climb into and take pictures.
The early Christan Church had a lot of roots in Asia Minor which is now modern day Turkey. We visited several sites were Paul preached with his companions. Acts 19 tells of a conflict Paul had with the craftsmen at Ephesus. We went to the exact theater where this argument occurred. In the Bible appendix there is a picture of Ephesus. We look around to see exactly where the photo was taken. We found it so I got a picture of myself in the same view that is seen in the picture. We also went to Assos which is a city that Paul visited in Acts 20:13.
The beginning chapters of Revelation mention seven churches of Asia. We went to five of them: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, and Sardis. The two we missed are Philadelphia and Laodicea.
The modern Christian theology was more or less developed by a bunch of councils that took place in the fourth and fifth centuries. It was in these councils that the idea of the trinity was created. The first of these councils was held at Nicea which we visited. We went to couple of other locations were the subsequent councils were held. I'm so glad we have the Restored Gospel that clarifies the nature of God, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost.
Our very last stop was the Hagia Sophia. The Hagia Sophia was built in the 6th century and was the largest church in the world for over a millennium. There is one massive dome with other domes connected to it. When the Muslims conquered the city they turned it into a mosque. It is now a museum. It is so surprising to be that the building has lasted so long. In Jerusalem everything has been destroyed and rebuilt a bunch of times but the Hagia Sophia was been able to last for almost 1500 years. Pretty Cool.
The week before we went to Turkey it snowed there so we came expecting it be cold and either raining or snowing. The weather surprised us. It was chilly a few days but it never rained on us. It was usually jacket weather, but a few times it warmed up enough to just be wearing a shirt.
While in Turkey I gained a lot of respect for this country that I hardly knew anything about before. The first thing I learned is that they speak Turkish in Turkey. That may sound stupid of me to have to learn that, but I just assumed they spoke Arabic since 98% of the country is Muslim. Interestingly until the 1920s they used Arabic letters to write Turkish but they switched to a Latin lettering system (letters similar to our alphabet). I really respect that the founders of the country decided to have a secular democratic government. I think that is part of the reason that Turkey's economy is doing very well while many countries in this area of the world struggle to develop strong economies.
The food in Turkey was pretty good. Basically every meal they started us off with what they called Lentil Soup, but it tasted more like potato soup. I liked it. The best dessert is Baklava. The top is a flaky pastry and the bottom is a sugary nut mixture. I don't really know how to better explain it, but I really enjoyed them.
I absolutely loved all of mosques in Turkey. It appeared that there was a greater ratio of mosques in Turkey than LDS chapels in the Utah. Most of the mosques had at least one dome and one minaret (the tower that they broadcast the call to prayer from), but many had multiple of each. In Istanbul we visited the Sultan Ahkmed Mosque (commonly know as the Blue Mosque because of its beautiful blue tile work on the inside). The Blue Mosque has six very tall minarets and a multiple dome structure that is just massive. Since Muslims do not use icons the interiors of mosques are decorated with elaborate calligraphy and geometric designs. My favorite mosque we visited was the Grand Mosque in Bursa. This dome has twenty domes because of a funny story. A sultan prayed to Allah and vowed that if he won the battle he was about to start that he would build twenty mosques to Allah for the victory. The sultan won the battle but decided to build a mosque with twenty domes instead of twenty mosques because it cost less. This dome was especially beautiful to me because the interior was more simple but with old calligraphy. Usually there is a fountain outside a mosque for ritual washing but this mosque was unique in that it had the fountain in the center of the mosque.
In downtown Istanbul we visited the Topkapi Palace which was one of the main palaces of the Sultan. The most interesting part of the palace complex for me was this sort of museum that had Muslim religious relics. They had the sword of David, the rod of Moses, artifacts from Mecca / Kaaba, and even pieces of Mohammed's beard. Most likely none of those items are actually what they are believed to be, but I like seeing how people memorialize important people, events, and items. As we went through this museum we were standing in front of a few Muslim women. I couldn't understand anything of what they were saying, but it was easy to see how excited they were to see these special relics.
While in Turkey we went on boat ride up the Bosphorus (the strip of water that goes through Istanbul to connect the Black Sea to the Mediterranean). We also took two ferry rides (one across the Dardanelles and another to get back to Istanbul). Two of our hotels were on the beach. Too bad the weather wasn't a little bit warmer so we could of enjoyed the water a little more.
Most of the sites we visited actually had Greek ruins. That surprised me at first, but now it makes sense. The Greeks live just across the sea from Turkey so anciently the Greeks had a lot of colonies in what is now modern day Turkey. The most well known site we went to was Troy. The setting of The Iliad by Homer is the Trojan Wars. Everybody has heard of the Trojan Horse so at this site they had a large wooden horse (about two stories tall) that the tourists can climb into and take pictures.
The early Christan Church had a lot of roots in Asia Minor which is now modern day Turkey. We visited several sites were Paul preached with his companions. Acts 19 tells of a conflict Paul had with the craftsmen at Ephesus. We went to the exact theater where this argument occurred. In the Bible appendix there is a picture of Ephesus. We look around to see exactly where the photo was taken. We found it so I got a picture of myself in the same view that is seen in the picture. We also went to Assos which is a city that Paul visited in Acts 20:13.
The beginning chapters of Revelation mention seven churches of Asia. We went to five of them: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, and Sardis. The two we missed are Philadelphia and Laodicea.
The modern Christian theology was more or less developed by a bunch of councils that took place in the fourth and fifth centuries. It was in these councils that the idea of the trinity was created. The first of these councils was held at Nicea which we visited. We went to couple of other locations were the subsequent councils were held. I'm so glad we have the Restored Gospel that clarifies the nature of God, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost.
Our very last stop was the Hagia Sophia. The Hagia Sophia was built in the 6th century and was the largest church in the world for over a millennium. There is one massive dome with other domes connected to it. When the Muslims conquered the city they turned it into a mosque. It is now a museum. It is so surprising to be that the building has lasted so long. In Jerusalem everything has been destroyed and rebuilt a bunch of times but the Hagia Sophia was been able to last for almost 1500 years. Pretty Cool.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Snow! (and a summary of February)
Yesterday I woke up and there was a little snow on the ground. I was not expecting that when I signed up to come to Jerusalem. During our morning class is really started snowing. Probably close to an inch accumulated over a couple of hours. In our class break we all went out and played in the snow. I got a couple of cool pictures of a snowy Jerusalem. The children of the professors even went out and built a snow man.
As is already obvious I have not been keeping up with doing at least weekly posts as I had planned. We'll see I do better. I think in this post I will just highlight some of the things that I've done.
Neot Kedumim was a field trip that I wasn't expecting much of so I was pleasantly surprised at how cool it was. They told us that Neot Kedumim was a "Biblical Garden" so I was thinking that it was going to be a botanical garden of sorts. I was wrong. Neot Kedumim is more of a nature reserve. What they have done there is grow all of the plants there that are mentioned in the Bible. I think that there are over 600 plant species referenced in the Bible, and they have almost every one of them planted there. In addition to the plants they also have sheep and goats. One of the first things we did there was attempt to herd the sheep and the goats. It wasn't too difficult because we were a large group of students, but the animals were stubborn at times. The goats were a little more rebellious than the sheep. They would just stop to eat some grass and refuse to move for a bit while we were trying to get them to the designated area. I understand a little better now how we as 'sheep' can just stop to do our own thing which results in us not doing what the 'shepherd' has in mind. At the end they had us separate the sheep from the goats which wasn't too difficult.
So far this semester we have done a couple of things outside of our class to learn more about Jewish religion and culture. With a group of students I went to an Orthodox Synagogue on a Friday night to welcome in the Sabbath. It was hard to follow along because everything was in Hebrew. It was similar to my experience at the Western Wall in that it was very interesting to see how others worship. There was a sermon but most of the service was spent singing prayers. We also had a Passover Seder meal which is the meal that Jews have at Passover to remember the Exodus. A good comparison is that the Passover Seder is like Thanksgiving Dinner but with more religious significance and you have to read the story of the Exodus before eating. A week ago we had an Israeli Folk Dancing night at the center. Someone came in and taught us a bunch of different dances. The closest comparison I can think of is line dancing. It was way fun. In Jerusalem there is a Holocaust Memorial called Yad Vashem. It was a good experience to have. My favorite parts of the museum were the tributes to "the Righteous among the Nations" (non-Jews who without compensation saved Jews from the Holocaust). One thing that disappointed me about the museum was that they hardly mentioned the other 6 million non Jewish people that died.
I'm sure a bunch of you have heard about the 1967 Six Day War. In that war the Israelis gained a lot of territory and part of that war was fought here when Israel took all of Jerusalem. Ammunition Hill is where part of that fighting happened and they know have a museum there. It was cool to go there because they had a model of the city of Jerusalem that they projected the troop movements on as we watched a movie about the war. Out in the park they still have the trenches where the fighting took place. A semi-related site that we visited was the Separation Wall. The Separation Wall was built after the second intifada (when all of the suicide bombs were occurring about a decade ago). This wall was built in between the Israelis and Palestinians to deter the violence. The wall is 25ft tall and made of solid concrete.
This last free day was one of the most relaxing. We went to Ein Kerem which is the place where John the Baptist was born. There is a church to commemorate his birth. There is another church to commemorate the meeting of Elizabeth and Mary. The town is right out side of Jerusalem. The best part of the town was how quite it was. Jerusalem is so loud and busy.
This last week we finished a lot of our classes. We had finals for Israel, Palestine, and Hebrew. I'm glad that is over.
As is already obvious I have not been keeping up with doing at least weekly posts as I had planned. We'll see I do better. I think in this post I will just highlight some of the things that I've done.
Neot Kedumim was a field trip that I wasn't expecting much of so I was pleasantly surprised at how cool it was. They told us that Neot Kedumim was a "Biblical Garden" so I was thinking that it was going to be a botanical garden of sorts. I was wrong. Neot Kedumim is more of a nature reserve. What they have done there is grow all of the plants there that are mentioned in the Bible. I think that there are over 600 plant species referenced in the Bible, and they have almost every one of them planted there. In addition to the plants they also have sheep and goats. One of the first things we did there was attempt to herd the sheep and the goats. It wasn't too difficult because we were a large group of students, but the animals were stubborn at times. The goats were a little more rebellious than the sheep. They would just stop to eat some grass and refuse to move for a bit while we were trying to get them to the designated area. I understand a little better now how we as 'sheep' can just stop to do our own thing which results in us not doing what the 'shepherd' has in mind. At the end they had us separate the sheep from the goats which wasn't too difficult.
So far this semester we have done a couple of things outside of our class to learn more about Jewish religion and culture. With a group of students I went to an Orthodox Synagogue on a Friday night to welcome in the Sabbath. It was hard to follow along because everything was in Hebrew. It was similar to my experience at the Western Wall in that it was very interesting to see how others worship. There was a sermon but most of the service was spent singing prayers. We also had a Passover Seder meal which is the meal that Jews have at Passover to remember the Exodus. A good comparison is that the Passover Seder is like Thanksgiving Dinner but with more religious significance and you have to read the story of the Exodus before eating. A week ago we had an Israeli Folk Dancing night at the center. Someone came in and taught us a bunch of different dances. The closest comparison I can think of is line dancing. It was way fun. In Jerusalem there is a Holocaust Memorial called Yad Vashem. It was a good experience to have. My favorite parts of the museum were the tributes to "the Righteous among the Nations" (non-Jews who without compensation saved Jews from the Holocaust). One thing that disappointed me about the museum was that they hardly mentioned the other 6 million non Jewish people that died.
I'm sure a bunch of you have heard about the 1967 Six Day War. In that war the Israelis gained a lot of territory and part of that war was fought here when Israel took all of Jerusalem. Ammunition Hill is where part of that fighting happened and they know have a museum there. It was cool to go there because they had a model of the city of Jerusalem that they projected the troop movements on as we watched a movie about the war. Out in the park they still have the trenches where the fighting took place. A semi-related site that we visited was the Separation Wall. The Separation Wall was built after the second intifada (when all of the suicide bombs were occurring about a decade ago). This wall was built in between the Israelis and Palestinians to deter the violence. The wall is 25ft tall and made of solid concrete.
This last free day was one of the most relaxing. We went to Ein Kerem which is the place where John the Baptist was born. There is a church to commemorate his birth. There is another church to commemorate the meeting of Elizabeth and Mary. The town is right out side of Jerusalem. The best part of the town was how quite it was. Jerusalem is so loud and busy.
This last week we finished a lot of our classes. We had finals for Israel, Palestine, and Hebrew. I'm glad that is over.
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