Succot

Succot started Wednesday at sundown. Succot is also called the Feast of Booths, or the Feast of Tabernacles, and it is reminiscent of the years spent the Israelites spent in the wilderness, living in booths and being provided for by God. (Leviticus 23:33-43) It has been pretty neat to walk around and see all the soccot (booths) being built for use during this week long holiday. The tops are traditionally covered with branches (four particular species), but with enough openings that one can see the sky. There are varying levels of practice this week, the most extreme being sleeping, eating, and basically living in your succah for the week. Others simply have meals here, or gather with family here, or whatever. It is also a time for pilgimage to Jerusalem, so LOTS of people are in town.

Here is a picture of the succah we built on campus. Some of the undergrads have been sleeping in it. What fun!

Field Study - Benjamin

Another all-day field study! 12 hours this time. And LOTS of hiking. It was awesome. :) This time we were studying the region of Benjamin.

First, a short story...as you can imagine, in Jerusalem, there are TONS of tour groups. Many identify themselves with matching hats, shirts, scarves - something....and our teacher has made some cracks about it. So as a joke, one of the students here decided to have t-shirts made for our field study. So as Dr. Wright was leading us down into the Wadi Qilt, we all uncovered our THE WRIGHT WAY TOURS shirts. Imagine his surprise when he turned around! It was really funny. Here were are....

My favorite part of this day was hiking through the Wadi Qilt to Jericho. It was so amazing. Who wouldn't want to come here to study - if only for this! The word "wilderness" takes on a whole new meaning....

These pictures hardly do it justice, but this is what the hike was like...

This is St. Georges Monastery, which we passed on the way. How cool is that?

...and you never know what (or who!) is around the next corner... :)

But oh joy! Imagine what it would have been like for weary travelers to finally look out and see the oasis of Jericho in the distance!

We ended the day at Gezer. Looking out on the Aijalon Valley - and Behold! The moon! We couldn't help remembering the words of Joshua:

"Sun, stand still at Gibeon,
and moon, in the Valley of Aijalon"

And the sun stopped, and the moon stopped,

until the nation took vengeance on their enemies.

(Joshua 10:12-13)

And if the day couldn't get any better....just as we were walking back down to the bus, I got the call - the sale of my house was completed! Settlement went as planned, thanks to my dad and all his diligent work in my absence. Praise God for this wonderful news! Thanks to all who have been praying about this!

Yom Kippur

Excessive honking of horns and a steady flow of traffic is the norm here in Jerusalem, so it was incredible on Yom Kippur to experience the city in silence. (okay, not counting the Muslim Quarter, but still....)

There were no cars on the streets except police (unfortunately, it is also a day of high alert since the Yom Kippur War in 1973). It is truly amazing. Imagine if DC shut down for the day?

Empty streets...

The place to be was the Kotel (Western Wall). And the color to wear was white (symbolizing purity). Here is a group on their way to the Old City...

The Kotel (Western Wall) on Yom Kippur.

Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement, the most solemn of the Jewish Holidays. Observances include fasting, praying and repentence of sins. (read Leviticus 16 for its origins)

Roommate

I finally got a picture of my roommate and I - Everyone, meet Kendra. :)

Temple Mount

Made a short trip to the Temple Mount after breakfast yesterday. Here are just a couple pics.

The Dome of the Rock...and me....in a skirt. I know. It's freaky. But its so hot during the day, and you can't wear shorts in the Old City (modesty kit needed!). So there you have it - either you sweat in pants or you wear a skirt. I own three of them now.

It's Ramadan - so there were lots of prayer rugs scattered around, but very few people this early in the morning. This guy must have wanted to claim a shady spot. :)

Field Study 2

Another 11 hour field study! Fun, but exhausting! This time it was actually a bus trip, so there were intermittent periods of comfortable seats and air conditioning. :)



Many sites we go to require "'modesty kits" (i.e. respectful dress). The basic guidelines are that your shoulders and knees should be covered. So no tank tops and shorts. Most of the guys get away with long shorts, but not today. Three of them were asked to cover up - or leave! - at a church site on the Mt. of Olives. But they managed to round up some scarves and got to stay. Of course we had to document the guys in their "skirts".

We also went to one of Herod's palaces outside Jerusalem (Herodian). The bus took us about halfway up, and then we climbed the rest. Great views from the top!























Our teacher, Paul Wright (a.k.a. P-Dub), is amazing. We are definitely blessed to be learning from him! Not only is he super-smart, but he has a great sense of humor. Here we are, on the side of Herodian, beside a recent archeological dig that may have discovered Herod's tomb. Closed to the public, of course (hence the chained gate!), but silly them - leaving a gap in the gate big enough for people to fit through. The whole class in fact!



We also went to Bethlehem today. It was my first time visiting here. It was a little weird, being such a "Christian" place, yet primarily Muslim today. And the absence of Jews was so noticable!



We also got to see the Separation Wall, up close and personal, covered with grafitti and political statements. But it was from the bus so I couldn't get any good pics.

I really want to go back and spend some time here. Some of the other students are more familiar with the area, as they have their Arabic classses here or volunteer here.

Our brief stop here was mostly to visit the Church of the Nativity. Here are some pics. You have to stoop to get through the door (humble yourself?).




















I loved the stained glass!










The interior of the church.














And, of course, the traditonal spot remembered as the place that Jesus was born.

Views from Above

One of the funnest things in the Old City is to find places where you can get up high to look around. I am starting to be able to orient myself using the horizon line, so it is fun to test your knowledge from the rooftops!

Here is a pic from the top of the Austrian Hospice in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City - me and my friend Ruth!

Field Study 1

We had our first 11 hour field study last Sunday. It was really cool. And there is nothing like learning how hilly this place is until you have had to walk them all first-hand. Whew!

Highlights of the day were the City of David....

Hezekiah's Tunnel! So cool. 533 meters of tunnel through stone, about shoulder width, with water about up to your knees. In a few places you have to bend down to fit through (Dr. Beyer will be glad to hear I made it through without hitting my head!). If you turn off you flashlight, you understand the true meaning of pitch black. Just look behind me in this picture!

Here we are exiting the tunnel, in a place once thought to be the pool of Siloam. The true Pool of Siloam has been found in recent years, nearby, along with a street of shops that would have run all the way up to the Temple Mount area. Very exciting!

Here is the excavation of the true Pool of Siloam.

Black Eyed Peas

Okay...so...there is an amphitheater in the Hinnom Valley just below our campus called "Sultan's Pool". To our surprise, The Black Eyes Peas played there the other night. From the roof we had a decent view, and from ANYWHERE on campus you could hear every note (whether you wanted to or not!). So we got a little free concert action. We wonder who else might be playing there this year. Could be fun. Here is a pic of the spot, taken earlier in the day, sans audience. Not a great picture, but it gives you an idea of proximity. This was taken from the road out front of campus.

Ramparts Walk

Earlier this week, me and some friends took the walk along the top of the Old City walls - the ramparts walk. It was pretty cool, because looking one way you could see down into the Old City, but then as you circled around you had excellent views outside the walls into the New City. It's always good to get up high and get a good look around!

This is walking along the top of the wall towards the Damascus Gate.

A view over the wall into the New City.

Looking out to Garden of Gethsemane and the Church of all nations.

And of course, there's lots of fig trees here...

A Visit with Hope...and other stuff.

As some of you already know, Hope (Amy's sister) just moved to Israel too! - to be a nanny for a family just outside of Jerusalem. So she came into town on Tuesday and we got to hang out. I know my way around a little, and she knows her Hebrew A LOT better than me, so we made a good team. This picture is from a rooftop (I am loving the rooftops here!) at the intersection of the 4 quarters of the Old City. You can see the dome from the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount behind us.

In our pursuit of cityscape views, we braved the 175 steps to the top of the Lutheran Redeemer Church in the Christian Quarter. It was well worth the trip (but boy am I out of shape!), as the pictures will tell....

Looking east you can see the Temple Mount and the Mt. of Olives in the background...

Looking north you can see the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Christian Quarter....I could a million pics, but these are the highlights.

Enjoy!

Other stuff....

...at school we had photo scavenger hunt in the Old City. It was fun way to get to know some people and start learning your way around town. Our team won (go Team 5!) as a result of one picture that was worth the most points - holding an Israeli soldiers gun...which by the way is against the law! But we found a soldier willing to let us hold it WITH him...so we got credit for trying! We owe it all to our teammate, Scott, who was brave enough to ask.

Here are few other pics...wearing a kafiye, sharing a falafel, forming a pyramid outside Jaffa Gate...fun stuff!