Road to Massada

Farewell (nat)

2006-07-30T00:27:00.000-07:00

Shalom.
I just wanted to thank you all for reading, and to let you know that there probably will not be any new posts for a while. I leave for Tel Aviv in an hour to start the FDD program. Taylor and I are going to spend the afternoon on the beach before I head over to jopin my group. Im not sure there will any internet access. If Im lucky I'll try to continue the blog, but it might not happen. Anyways, just didn't want everyone to think that I'm being lazy over here.

thanks again for reading. Its been fun. Pray for the end of this war, and for aid to the poor Lebanese. Especially the kids.

Nat

Road to Massada

2006-07-26T04:32:00.000-07:00

Photo Notes.
1. 5Am and we have finished the road to massada.
2. One of the Roman camps still visible
3. Chris pondering the Roman perspective on getting up to where he is
4. Judean wilderness
5. Crows circling a promintory
6. Judean wilderness
7. En Gedi
8. Floating On
9. Dead Sea mud in use
10. Confused
11. The En Gedi Hostel
12. Life camping by the Dead Sea - that guy was really good at guitar
13. Starting into the canyon at En Gedi
14. It really was incredible
15. Lush Oasis
16. Because of the war, the place was full of people from Haifa and that region on holiday
17. David's Waterfall
18. The lagoon at David's fall
19. Starting the hike up
20. Rehydrating
21. Jordan is just on the other side
22. A dry waterfall - runs during floods
23. A natural shower
24. Dodum's Cave
25. Steps up to a pool
26. Streams in the desert

Shalom.

As Randy already noted, this weekend we finally had the chance to travel to Massada as part of one of Hebrew U's student trips. We met the group at 230 am on friday and were out of Jerusalem by 3. Massada is around an hour and fifteen minutes southeast drive from Jerusalem, and so by the time the sun had just began to wake we were already in the desert. The desert in the south is the desert that most people think of when they think of the Judean wilderness- monolithic rock canyons, sand drifts up the side of boulders strewn throughout the landscape, tracks of animals zigzagging back and forth across the dunes. The sunrise came while we negotiated the insanely sharp curves of the only road that runs through that part of the desert.
By 530 or so we had disembarked and began the easier of the two hikes up Massada. Massada is really impressive, it is a distinctive mountain that stands out of the rest of the wilderness around it by its sheer features and hight. Driving up I couldn't help but think of how frustrated the Romans must have been... they trecked across an extremely difficult wasteland only to find an unapproachable stronghold.
We had a rather energetic tourguide who gave us the flash tour of the stronghold, starting with the incredible cisterns below and culminating in the roman bathouse that Herod built himself. The story of Massada is even more affecting when sitting the actual room that the elders drew lots in to see who would be the last person left alive. Our guide talked us through the whole dilemma the jews faced - should they kill thier own people who were enslaved by the romans to build the ramp that would eventually lead to the downfall of the fortress. Thier decisions still reverberates through the Jewish national consciousness. The troops are sworn in there, and I have actually seen several tshirts that read: Massada will not fall again.
The view from Massada was incredible, some of the photos do a halfway decent job of conveying it. We then rode the cable car down, and the took the bus along the Dead Sea to En Gedi. The contrast of the Judean wilderness with this entire body of unpotable water is really intersting, it looks so refreshing even though you know that it is not. The tour then took a quick dip into the En Gedi park before finishing at the Dead Sea.
The Dead Sea is really wild. There really isn't a beach to speak of, all there are is salt encrusted rocks stained crazy colors. And you really do float. The entire thing is surreal. I had just shaved a day ago, and so had a little unpleasant stingin sensation, not to mention the salt in the cuts on my legs, but after a bit it felt fine.
The Dead Sea is so saline you can just stand in the water and not go anywhere, either up or down. It just suspends you at chest level. On the whole, floating in the Dead Sea is one of the most relaxing things I have ever done. Randy and I talked about floating over to Jordan, but as ten miles would take a long time when you really can't move fast, we decided to just hang by the shore. For those who sting thier eyes, there are showers right on the water, which I saw several screaming children rush over to in the space of the afternoon.
Randy and I broke off of the group and stayed at the Dead Sea for most of the afternoon. The crazy part is that your skin doesn't absorb the water, so you aren't waterlogged even after several hours of floating in the sea.
The beach we were at is only a fiftenn minute walk from En Gedi and the Hostel there, so we walked up and got a room that afternoon. This lady apologized profusely for the supposedly
'pathetic' room, but it ended up being better than our apartment at Hebrew U. The hostel itself was amazing, with beautiful bushes of flowers everywhere and an amazing view of the Dead Sea and the Jordanian mountains beyond. The room even came with meals, and so we had a really pleasant sabat dinner. We watched the moon and search flares over the Dead Sea that night.
The next morning we had breakfast with a really funny british couple and then packed for En Gedi. They require you to take at least five liters of water per person if you intend to hike, and so our pack was pretty heavy. The En Gedi park is a series of oasiss (im note sure what the pluarl of oasis is) in canyons in the desert. Supposedly David rested there, and also once met Saul there.
The Judean desert really is a desert. It was around 110 or so with dry heat that parched you immediatly. Entering the park you start a hike up the canyon. Overhead are incredible rock formation and caves spot the canyon walls. After a while, its suddenly green and lush. There is just pool after pool of beautiful aqua water, each fed by a cascading waterfall and surrounded by rushes and palm trees.
At the end of the canyone is David's waterfall, which is a fantastic eighty or so foot fall that had carved out a lagoon at the base of it. We cooled off a bit, and then began the challenging hike out of the canyone to an old Chalcodite temple. The hike was intense, up straight rock faces with metal ladders. The view at the top was really incredible though. The temple was just a pile of bricks, but from there we hiked to Dodums cave, right above the falls.
Dodum's cave was without exageration one of the neatest places I have ever seen. Right in the cleft of the canyon is a cave, open on one side,with a lagoon and a waterfall directly outside. Green moss hangs off of the ceiling, and from the lagoon you can see out over the canyon and to the Dead Sea below.
Hiking back down, we spent most of the day lounging around in the pools. It was really wild... the pools were kind of cold, but two minutes after getting out you were hot, dry, and parched again. The air is just so hot and dry. We met some soldiers while hanging out there, got to hear about thier lives. It was really interesting to try and explain why we aren't interested in joining the military when talking to people from a culture where it's mandatory.
Towards the end of the day I saw several mountain goats running up and down the mountains and couldn't help but think of scripture. The image of making our feet like mountain goats on high places is really powerful when you see what the goats actually can do. Really something.
One of the thoughts I took away from En Gedi is an better understanding of what the scriptural image of streams in the desert is referring to. I could just imageine finding something like En Gedi after days of thirst wandering through the wilderness. It would seem to be heaven on earth, the most refereshing thing imaginable.

Incense only makes it harder to see the way

2006-07-26T04:30:00.000-07:00

Randy's Post (No. 3)

2006-07-25T11:48:00.000-07:00

Hey guys. Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the summer. It's been a while since the last post and a lot has happened since then. Arabic has been studied. Falafel has been eaten. Ein Gedi has been hiked. And the Dead Sea has been floated. That was really interesting by the way. There is absolutely no way you could sink in that tub of salt. The funny thing is, Nat and I noticed that the life guard station had a large life preserver hanging on the side of the hut. I guess they were just being thorough. I did happen to get a little water in my eyes which was one of the more painful experiences of my life.

Over the weekend, we all took a bus to Massada and got to hike to the top of the fortress. We walked up the ramp that the Romans built (made of stones, wood, and dead Jewish slaves) with our guide, an enthusiastic Iraqi Jew for whom each trip to Massada seemed to be his first experience with the place. He ran up the trail and pointed out where the Romans had camped around the fortress and mused upon what the Jews must have felt and thought. He was really good.

After that, the bus took us across the desert to Ein Gedi, which is an amazing place. (I really wish I could upload some photos of the place now, but our current internet connection is too slow for that. When we find another computer, we can upload from there.) What made it so amazing was its stark contrast from the dusty wasteland in which it is situated. It's as if you've found a tropical rainforest with cold pools and palm trees in the middle of the most desolate wasteland. Actually, that's exactly what it is. I'm sure David must have found some great relief there.

Once we do upload the pictures, you might see me in a pair of aviator sunglasses. I'm sorry. It was the only pair the store had at the Dead Sea. It seems that Israel has been stuck in the 80's for quite some time; or at least the time that it takes for certain aspects of American culture to reach this place is delayed about 20 years. They love New Wave music and anything with echoing drums. (Rami, you'd really like it here.) Thus, I wear the Top Gun sunglasses. Maybe in a decade they will discover Nirvana and Pearl Jam. I'll have to come back in 2022 when Interpol makes it big here.

Thanks for the thoughts and prayers. We're staying safe and will enjoy the last week here.

Randy

The Old City

2006-07-19T04:46:00.000-07:00

Continuing the update, we didn't go anywhere this weekend while waiting for things to cool down. Te school has prohibited travel up north for the most part, and so we decided to try and see most of the sites that we hadn't hit in the old city. Our roomate Phil, this divinity student, kindly offered to play tour guide.

Photo Notes:
1. A chapel inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
2. Crossed carved by crusaders inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
3.Chris lighting votive candels
4. The cathedral part of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
5. Incense burner inside the ethiopian section of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
6. The bells of the ethiopian section of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
7. Road sign
8. Sitting by a cross atop the Austrian Hospice, only a stones throw from the Dome of the Rock
9. View of the Arab Quarter
10. The Garden of Gethsemane
11. Cemetary covering the hillside of the Mt. Of Olives
12. Stairwell into the crusader Church of St. Mary Mother of Jesus
13. The Russian Convent of St. Mary Magdalene
14. Inside the main part of the Russian Convent of St. Mary Magdalene
15. Another view
16. View of the Golden Gate (historically blocked off by an arab cemetary- but it is the one Jesus went through) and the Dome of the Rock from the Mt. Of Olives. Jesus would have had this view on the way down for the triumphant entry
17. Zion Gate - pockmarked by gunfire

We had full day, and saw some amazing sites. Starting at the Mt. of Olives, we were wandering up the path by the garden of gethsemane when several nuns asked us to help put up a sign for the St. Mary Magdalene convent. Knowing that it is always wrong to refuse to help nuns, we put up their signs, and in return one of them gave us a tour of thier beautiful monastery. Turns out the monastery is normally closed to the public, and so we felt really lucky as Mother Catherine explained the history of most of the artwork, painting, and even explained the servied. Mother Catherine is actually not a russian, but a native San Fransiscan and spoke perfect english, which was a real treat.
After that we saw the supposed garden of gethsemane, and wandered through the graveyard that covers the mt of olives.
It is really easy to be skeptical of all these religious sites, especially ones created by the crusaders, but the truth of it is that most are based on tradition and have a fairly good chance of being authentic. Also, this place is not that big. There is only one mt of olives, and so there is a good shot that that really is the garden of gethsemane. As much as skepticism is healthy when it comes to things like the church of the holy sepulchre, it isn't fair to entirely dismiss it.
We wandered down the hill through Jaffa gate and had lunch at an incredible arab restuarant. It had the best hummus I have ever had. Here they leave the midel sort of unblended with just chick peas in olive oil. The food here is so good, but also so all the same.
Phil then led us on the Via Dolorosa, and we stopped at most of the stations of the cross. I put my hand in this imprint that Jesus reputedly left, and we said some prayers at several of the chapels. Phil then took us to the roof of the Austrian Hospice, a beautiful limestones building with gardens and almost spanish architecture. As the hospice is in the center of the city, it provided and incredible overview of the entire old city. It was odd to see that the different areas really do look different. The Jewish quarter is definately in better shape.
From there we went through the labrynth streets to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the pilgrims highlight and the home of the last station of the cross. As the church is built on the site where Jesus was crucified, it has been fought over for centuries by all the various christian factions. Eventually, it was partitioned into various sections and today there is a status quo agreement that keeps everything the exact way it was about a hundred years ago.
We first saw the ethiopian section, wich is in the ruins of the original church that was destroyed a long time ago. They sort of got the raw end of the deal. Thier section is rundown and dirty, with mud walls and a set of old bells hanging in the last reamianing buttress.
We did get to go into an old cistern underneath the city though, which was a really strange experience. We went into this old room where a lone priest was hunched against the wall singing. We started putting change into this old incense pan, and he sort of kept an eye on how much was in there. When he saw enough, he suddenly whipped this door open and pointed down a shaft of stairs so narrow I didn't know if I would fit. It was like something out of a movie.
The rest of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was everything you would expect it to be- beariful, majestic, colorful, run down in parts, full of pilgrims rubbing cloths on the stones to try and take part with them, hanging incense burners everywhere, mosaics... this is what I always thought the holy land would be like. It really is hard to describe what the church is like. I plan to visit it several more times before I go. We saw most of it, but as the Catholic patriach was coming to do his daily duties we were ushered out of the Catholic section before we could actually go into the sepulchre itself. The sepulchre, supposedly the exact spot of Jesus's crucifixion, is inside a massive ornate wooden box, all the sides of which are full of pilgrims candles. Amazing.
Seeing all these sites has given me a lot to think about. Seeing the actual historical backdrop of the faith I have put my trust in has really grounded it more in my mind. Jerusalem really isn't much. Jesus didn't come out of the greatest city or nation on earth, either in his time or in ours. God really chose to give great worth and value to a little stone village in the middle of nowhere. It still is too much to process a visit to the supposed site of the crucifixion, but the fact that I have stood and looked at Jerusalem from the same hill that Jesus did is really something. I am where Jesus actually walked.
The thing that really strikes me about things like the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is that, while they are beatiful, and do commemorate the most exciting events in human history, that they are also empty of any real saving grace. Simply walking the Via Dolorosa or standing in Gethsemene imparts no grace of its own. It is actually sad to the see the slavery to inaniamate things. More and more I am realizing the real beauty of Christianity is that it is a living religion. Unlike any other faith it is not tied to sites and objects. Christ is with us, is alive, and wants to have a relationship with us wherever we are.

Life in these parts

2006-07-19T04:33:00.000-07:00

Sabbah Kaer.
First off, blanket apologies for my laziness in not putting anything up in a while. Its been an intense last week and a half. Arabic has only gotten more and more intense, and now we are in the middle of country at war. Thanks for all the notes of concern and for all those who called my mom and told her that they were praying for us, that really meant a lot to her. I don't know if you'll ever read this, but thank you very much.
As it stands right now, we are about as safe as you can be in Israel. The only real threat to us, the bomber caught two days ago at Jaffa gate (which is only twenty minutes from Mt. Scopus, I can see it from my classroom) is not really a new worry or threat. That is a constant danger here. Also, even if Hezbullah had the capabilities, they would probably not bomb Jerusalem as so many major religions consider it holy, not the least of which is themselves.
I just thought I'd share some snapshots of the living here the last few weeks.

Photo Notes:
1. The Friar and I - that is a real franciscan friar there people - his name is Antonio and he is learning Arabic so that he can minister to those in his congregation that speak Arabic. The guy is really smart, already speaks latin, spanish, italian, english, and now is trying Arabic. Amazing. I always get a kick out of the thought of him sitting in the monastery prepping for an exam.

2. Taylor doesn't really like schwarma - a couple of days ago we went to the arab souk under the city. That cafe is actually under Jerusalem, I liked the juxtoposition of Taylor with the guy in the background. We really do stick out that much sometimes.

3. Morning from Mt. Scopus- because of where the hills are, the sun hits Jerusalem before Mt. Scopus.

4. Devotions overlooking the Arab village to the east

5. Street vendors at Damascus Gate.

another day in the old city

2006-07-15T16:17:00.000-07:00

Photo notes

the souk

candle holder backlit by light over the garden of gethsemane inside the convent of St. Mary Magdalen

the Orthodox Patriach entering the Church of Holy Sepulchre

Nothing has changed in this streets

Tel Aviv (Pt 2)

2006-07-09T06:55:00.000-07:00

After checking out of the hostel we set up camp at the beach and stayed there for most of the day. We all tried schnitzel for the first time, which was really good, and I found watermelon juice in bottles. Really good.
The beach was incredible. The sand was the softest sand I have ever felt, and the water was unbelievably warm. We spent most of the day in and out of the water. Randy and I spent several hours body surfing in the waves, which were really decent. In face, Randy and I spent most of the entire day in the water. Apparently, just sitting in the water is the thing in Israel. Up and down the beach, people were just sitting waist deep in the water, just letting the waves roll over them. Another thing that seems to be really popular is this game with two paddles in which a soft rubber balls is hit really hard back and forth from about twenty feet. Everyone seemed to be playing it, and everyone seemed to be really good. I mean, they were wipping these paddles back and forth. I tried getting the rules out of someone, but english is not exactly common around here.
The only downside to the beach is that apparently it is jellyfish season. I currently have five bad burns that have now turned purplish. I thought I had gotten stung the night before, but during the day we really found out what being stung means. Jellyfish were everwhere, and they were not exactly afraid of man. Most of them were around two feet big, but some were killer, like three to four feet around.
Down at the end of the public beach are some breakers, and from there you can see the ancient port of Jaffa. The white limestone shines in the sun. We didn't get a chance to visit it, but it was amazing to think that the Crusaders pulled up at the very spot we were at. There is so much history, its impossible to really absorb or realize where you are. This is just something that doesn't exist in America, these setting that make you realize where you stand in history.
Taylor stayed with some friends, but Chris, Randy, and I caught the last bus before Shabbat back to Jerusalem. We got the craziest cabby ride of all time back into the city. I swear, lanes and speed limits don't mean anything in this country. In fact, on the main streets in Tel Aviv there were no lane markings in yellow. I saw the same four lanes be used by traffic going both directions that simply swerved out of the path of oncoming cars.
I was really glad to return to Jerusalem. It actually felt like coming home.

Photo notes:

Walking on the beach
The sea breakers
The modern skyline
Camping out
That Jellyfish is actually four feet across... I should have stood by it for perspective
That is Jaffa in the background behind all of us
The view from the breakers - modern shipyards with ancient Jaffa in the background

Tel Aviv (pt 1)

2006-07-09T06:20:00.000-07:00

Shalom. It is still wierd to start the week on Sunday. We already had six hours of class today, after taking all day yesterday to study.
Anyways, class ended on thursday this week, and we all decided that a trip to the Mediterranean would be great after a brutal week. We also had wanted to see Tel Aviv for a while, and so we packed and got a taxi to the central bus station at four.
Traveling in a foreign country is an eye opening experience. As cars are not as common here (due to a 100% import tax) the bus system is extensive and used for almost any type of travel. Buses leave Jerusalem every fifteen minutes to make the fifty minute trip to Tel Aviv. It was wierd thinking of having to get a bus ticket for the same drive that it would be to go to DC. Even stranger was the central bus station. As the bus system is bigger, the place was more like an airport than a bus station. There were ticket counters all over, platforms and lines everywhere, and vendors and clothing stores in between. Security was tight getting in as it is everwhere, and soldiers were all over the station.
We got round trip tickets, and the bus ride had pleasant views of the countryside around Jerusalem. Neighborhoods are built on the tops of hills and look like ancient cities, each one circling the tops of small mountains with views of the valley below. The countryside is littered with small stone walls that might have been there for centuries, probably ancient boundary lines.
Tel Aviv was very different than I had expected it to be. It was modern in that it had a skyline (mostly composed of luxury hotels over the mediterranean) and has modern stores and commerce, but the city does not really feel all that modern. It felt very similar to parts of DC, dilapilated and dirty for the most part, and without the saving grace of ancient buldings and a rich history. We stayed at Sky Hostel, and were lucky to get a nice balcony looking over the downtown area.
What makes Tel Aviv worth visiting is clearly the mediterranean sea. Something about swimming in the same ocean Odysseus wandered is surreal. We got there at sunset. Walking onto the beach and looking at the breakers backlit with a golden glow was incredible. The water was like a bath. We swam out to the breakers and watched the sun go down over a sea steeped in history.
That night I tried another filafel stand, and remain convinced that French Hill is still the best. Chris found a really neat Jewish bookstore and spent most of the evening there, while the rest of us just checked out downtown Tel Aviv. On the whole, not really all that impressive.

Photo notes:

Chris on the way here
The rest of us on the way here
The sunset through a very odd hotel
My least favorite filafal so far
Approaching the Sea
The boardwalk
Our balcony at Sky Hostel

Randy's Post (No. 2)

2006-07-06T05:23:00.000-07:00

I have found that Arabic is a rather difficult language to learn. The course itself lasts from 8:30am to 2:00pm and the professor usually allows for two much-needed 30 minute breaks. Before we slither out the door at the end of the class (our minds having been shotgun-blasted with curly symbols that all resemble each other) he jovially assigns homework that usually takes at least four hours to complete. Last night Chris and I were up until 4:30 studying for our second exam and half of the night was spent debating our roommate, Phil, on the validity of the Natural Law. Phil is a graduate student with a religious studies major and holds to the idea that much of Christianity is irrational to outsiders and a leap must be made for one to come to the truth. Brilliant, he debated with us until around 2:30am and did Kierkegaurd proud.

Back to the professor. The professor, a Jew who speaks Hebrew, Arabic, English, Latin, Russian, and French, is unaffected by any of the stifled moans as he keeps turning the pages (from right to left) and assigning more exercises from our textbook (which is written in HEBREW, not English, I might add). He simply replies, "it's simple" (pronounced Seem-pul). Well, I couldn't agree less that learning Arabic or doing the assignments is Seem-pul, but I do realize that I'm learning a whole lot and can't imagine a better environment in which to learn it. So far, we have learned seven weeks worth of material in a mere six days. As long as we keep our mouths firmly clamped to the fire hydrant, I think we'll be ok.

Happy 4th

2006-07-04T05:23:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone,

happy 4th of July. I hope you all have a great time and see some great fireworks. Its wierd being in a country that doesn't even have any recognition of the date or what it means. But really, why would they. They already have enough days on the calendar where something was liberated, or some group left some oppresive country or some oppresive regime was overthrown. I mean, for them, its probably the fourth every week.

Miss most of you
Nat
Anyways... the photos are another view I found to the north.

Chris' Ramblings continued

2006-07-04T05:09:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we took a few hours off from studying and visited the old city (biblical Jerusalem). Seeing the real Jerusalem was truly awe inspiring. Jerusalem is one of the few places on earth to have been continually inhabited for approximately 4000 of recorded history. The hill-city was most likely founded in the third millennium BC; the inscription "Urusalim" (a transliteration from the Aramaic) begins to appear on pottery from the second millennium BC.
It is the city of the poet-warrior David, who made it the capital for his kingdom in tenth century BC. The place where Solomon's magnificent Temple once stood. It is where Christ was once greeted as Hosanna, and also where he carried a roman cross. We visited the Wailing Wall, which is all that remain of Solomon's Temple.

2006-07-03T16:03:00.000-07:00

City of Stone

Picture notes

A rather sketchy photo of the Arab section of the Souk. You go through a gate and its arab. I wasn't sure how they felt about pictures, so I made it fast.

A old map of Jerusalem that is actually done as a mosaic.

A jewish boy playing on the street by his house
Chris is actually not posing

On a side note, the weather here is really nice. Cooler in the morning, the heat of the day is a bit brutal, but the evenings are cool. A great breeze blows across the hills.

2006-07-03T15:29:00.000-07:00

The Old City

Jerusalem is so unique. The entire place feels at once ancient and historical, and yet completely alive. These people live on a site that has been inhabited by various groups for most of recorded human history. The stones they walk on on a daily basis have seen centuries of wear, and some of the most important events in human history have taken place on these grounds.
Class is getting even more difficult, but the ten hour days are starting to pay off. We can communicate concepts such as My Son and My Daughter live in Lebanon and have a House with a Big Door, or Every Dog Has His Day. Great stuff.
After our first exam we all went to the old city with my friend Turner. The others hadn't seen any of the old city at all, so we went to the Wailing Wall and the Souk, an extensive Arab and Jewish bazaar that extends forever in corridors under the old city. Entering the Zion Gate, there is the first little metal box with scripture in it (I can't remember or transliterate the hebrew) that was ever placed on Jerusalem. Walking through the sense of the history is really too much to absorb. The entire old city is composed of labrynth smoothly worn stone streets, and is full of small shops and ancient monuments through which a steady stream of tourists, soldiers, and the inhabitants wander. People actually still live in the Old City, which is divided in the Armenian, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim quarters.
We went to the Souk first and I got the try my hand at bartering for the first time. I thought I was doing good until I pissed off an Arab shopkeeper with too low of a counteroffer and he actualy got antagonistic. I think he just doesn't like americans in general, and the blond hair might not help. The souk was incredible, wares and spices everywhere in a tightly packed maze of humanity. No prices, all bartering. Its a little disconcerting to have someone approach you and tell that he needs to feed his family, and that he likes you already, and so you can buy his little medallion in the shape of a hand (good luck for the hebrews) for the amazing price of only 80 scheckel. Only 80! (+/-20 $)... Or worse when they say things like I can't believe you couldn't want anything in my store. But apparently being able to walk away is a respected trait and I got some good deals. I think.
After that we went to the wailing wall. Its hard to really describe what its like - it an old delapilated wall and yet the sacredness of it is almost palpable. Military guards it all over, there are security checkpoints on all sides. Security is so ever present that you stop noticing it here. Also, modesty as a sign of respect is mandatory. Men must wear a head covering, especially to enter the synagogue in the tunnel, and women must cover thier legs. Taylor got a cool skirt thing on loan- an Israeli soldier (girl) walked up and offered her one. I don't think she really thought about refusing. Around here everyone carries semi-automatics.

Photo descriptions -
Tuggle, Turner, Randy, Taylor, and Myself at the Wailing Wall ( also known as the Katal)

A random backyard that just happens to be a stones throw from the Dome of the Rock and overlooks the Katal

The Cardo - last remenants of the Roman road

A view down centuries of Jewish history to the original foundation of Jerusalem

Stone Labrynth

Zion Gate

2006-07-02T12:40:00.000-07:00

Jordan (Al-Urdun)

Almost immediately after finally doing some work on this blog, Randy Chris and I were on the way to our favorite filafel stand (which is actually called the French Hill Filafel Stand) and saw a turn in the road that looked like it had a good view. On getting there we found it was a view to the north-east that actually looked into Jordan. Incredible. In the larger picture, that is the Jordan river in the background beyond the desert.

While we were appreciating the view some little arab boys ran up throwing stones at some wild goats that were running by. According to one of our friends here, arabs are actually friendler than the jews, which seems to be true as these little kids were really friendly. They tried introducing themselves, and really seemed to get a kick out of being photographed. It was crazy hearing little kids yelling and laughing in arabic, its not fair. We have to kill ourselves and these little guys are just born with it. They were awesome.
We have been getting the normal filafel in a pita for 7NIS for a while, and today finally found out there is a gigantic filafel in a wrap for only 12NIS- like three times the food. Thats good because the food here is not really all that filling. Its all these vegetables and cheese, and its really rich, so you feel full for like two hours and then really hungry. Or at least I do, Taylor doesn't seem to mind. Really good food though. A lot of sheep and goat cheese, and a lot of eggs.
Anyways, we have our first exam tommorow, which is really rediculous as we have had only 3 classes. The class is insane.
About the last set of pictures- We all hit up the downtown on friday night, which is where most of the pictures are from. Ben Yahudah street is the main area in town, its right by several important squares and not that far from the King David walls. Really though, in this country nothing is that far. Israels worst enemies live closer to Jerusalem than we do from DC. Its really crazy when you stop and think about it.

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Ben Yahuda Corridor

Wailing wall

Ben Yahuda

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Pictures: (l-r: view from the street, Chris and Randy's room, Reznick 16 Courtyard - my dorm- and the old city- click any image for full size version)

Shalom.
As Randy noted, sorry this has taken so long to get up. Putting up photos has proven to be almost impossible with Israeli options, but after long last here is the first set. So far we have yet to explore most of Jerusalem, but our campus is situation directly above it on the highest of the six hills. Mt. Scopus has been some of the most hotly contested ground in human history, and was actually still in Arab control thirty years ago. From the walk to class we can see the old city and most of old Jerusalem. At night the whole city glows with the lights reflecting off the stone walls. There are never any clouds, and the whole sky is full of strange stars none of us have every seen before.
This photo was taken directly from the landing of stairs to our classroom, Education 601. The campus is huge and a little intimidating. The entire thing is built of white Jeruslame limestone. The dorms are full of courtyards and are entirely surrounded with walls built of the same white limtestone. Sadly, the insides do not even begin to live up to the whole image. Frankly put, they are third world. But it seems a small price to pay for being here.
I got in half a day before everyone else and so was stuck on my own for an entire day. The whole experience was really surreal. I stepped of of El Al 401 at Ben Gurion and was instantly in another entire world. I couldn't read a single sign, I didn't know a single person, no one was there to ensure that I made it to Jerusalem. I fortuanatley ran into a Hebrew U fellow summer student and so was able to get a shared taxi (Nesher Sherut) and made it to Jerusalem. On the ride over I really realized that I was in Israel. This place actually feels like Israel, if that makes any sense. The complete lack of any familiarity was disconcerting at first, and I spent most of the first day completely lost.
I hung out with a bunch of fellow international students for the first day, and then was finally able to find the others at class the next day. More on that with the next post.

Chris' Ramblings

2006-07-02T06:33:00.000-07:00

It feels as though I have been in Israel for so much longer than five piddling days. The history of this country is overwhelming when measured against the picayune history of America.
My odyssey to Israel began last Tuesday. I awoke at 4:00 AM after only few brief hours of sleep to catch a plane from Nashville to Baltimore to New York. I arrived at Long Island airport (since it was cheaper to fly into Islip), and rode the train from Long Island to JFK. On the train ride I sat next to a Brooklyn native and former NYU grad who was working on a Doctorate in Literature. We talked literature and religion the whole ride into JFK, after saying goodbye to my new best friend. I found the el al ticket counter and killed time for the next several hours.
Eventually Randy arrived, and we were able to check in, well almost. For those of you who have not yet traveled to Israel, you need to understand that the Israelis invented security. After a brief conversation with the first El Al representative (every passenger of El Al, the airline, is interviewed), the Director of El Al security greeted me and proceeded to interrogate me. Then I was put on a list of people to be specially checked by El Al security (which according to them is completely random). But—as luck would have it—Randy was also on the list. We eventually made it through, and began an interminable plane ride.
We arrived in Tel Aviv the next day, and boarded a bus to Hebrew University. I will never forget my first view of Israel; a country that possesses a mystic beauty all its own. The Jews are truly an amazing people; typical Americans would never have been industrious enough to turn a desert into a garden, but somehow the Jews managed to accomplish just that. We arrived at Hebrew U in the afternoon registered into the dorms and moved in. In the evening Randy and I went for a walk; which through a miscalculation (truly the map was wrong) in geography put us on the east side of Mount Scopus, and into the desert, nothing more than a veritable waste land. In order to get back to campus before nightfall we cut cross country (not recommended), and eventually found our way back.
The following Thursday was also registration. Randy and I were told at that registration that our class did not begin until the following Sunday. While we were being told this our class was in progress. At an afternoon 'Intro to Hebrew U' session we met up with Nat and Taylor who asked why we hadn't been in class all day. We spent the rest of the night playing catch-up.
A few observations about Arabic: First, it is an extremely logical and rich language, a descendent of the Nabatean Aramaic, rendering it very musical in nature. Second, it does not resemble English in the least. For instance: nominal phrases, which can form nominal sentences, do not require a verb. English is built upon the subject-predicate dichotomy, which requires a verb in order to have a complete sentence; this is not true for Arabic. Another key difference is that Arabic lacks and present tense to be verbs, they simply don't exist. Astonishing! This class changes my linguistic paradigm about every five minutes. All this makes Arabic an extremely difficult language to learn; not to mention the pace that the professor is moving through the material (Were already in chapter four, and our first exam is tomorrow morning). Thank you for all the prayers. Until next time.

Randy's Post

2006-07-02T06:24:00.000-07:00

Hey guys. Sorry it has taken so long to get something up on the blog. I think we've finally recovered from jet lag and now have a routine to settle into.

Let me just say that El Al security makes the TSA look like a bunch of little girls. I had the enjoyable experience of being interrogated in a separate room and being felt up by a Jew wearing rubber gloves. After that, I was personally escorted to the door of the plane by a security officer only to find that my designated seat was in the very back of the fuselage in the very middle, farthest away from the windows.

Then, God decided to play a practical joke that he must have thought was very funny. Combining three groups of people that ought never to be combined, He scattered a group of Mexican Jewish High School students all over the back of the plane. They all wore green tee-shirts, spoke in either the most annoying form of twangy Spanish or the harsh consonants (achh) of Hebrew (depending upon which romantic or Semitic language could best provide the appropriate curse word), and meandered around the isles of the plane throughout the night visiting and conversing with their delinquent counterparts. By the end of the flight, the color green came to symbolize everything hateful and despicable about the human race.

All of that angst, however, dissipated upon entering Jerusalem. This city is amazing. The Hebrew University campus where we are staying is located on Mount Scopus, the highest point in Jerusalem. We have a great view of the entire city. I'll post more about it once we get the time to see a little more.

Keep praying that the Israelis don't assassinate the Palestinian prime minister. While it would be interesting, I'd like to be able to keep running around Jerusalem w/o bombs going off.

Take care,

Randy

Almost ready...

2006-06-19T08:36:00.000-07:00

As a test for this, here are several images from the first month of summer...
(Aaron, Abby, Mikaela, and I after a long day at Front Royal, Grayson doing a spiderman rapel, and myself getting Education at Franklin Rocks)

Welcome

2006-06-19T08:30:00.000-07:00

Hello. This blog exists solely as a forum for photos from our trip to Israel this summer. Randy Wanis, Chris Tuggle, Taylor Sandoval, and I all have the amazing opportunity to travel to Israel and study arabic at Hebrew University. During our visit we hopefully will take many memorable photos, and hopefully will be able to share them with you all through this page. Thanks for visiting and come back often. We will try to post regularly while we are there.