I really enjoyed living in Jerusalem.  When I think about it now I realize that there is a lot that have learned in the past couple of months and I’m still sorting through the experiences and data.  When I arrived at JUC Dr. Wright said something during orientation that I think sums it up well.  He said that this semester we would be packing a tool box that we would be unpacking for the rest of our lives, as far as data regarding the historical geography of Israel and experiences and so on.  During the semester the modern political tension really caught my attention.  I watched the entire city stop for Holocaust Memorial day, in order to stand for a moment of silence in remembrance of those who lost their lives and loved ones during the Holocaust.  The whole city of Jerusalem literally stopped.  The traffic stopped.  The pedestrians stopped.  It was a haunting thing to see an entire city come to a complete halt and to hear the wind blowing over the silence, and to see people get out of their cars and just stand in the middle of the street.   I cannot begin to imagine how something like the Holocaust has left a dark stain on the memory and lives of Jews all over the world, but especially in Israel while they are facing modern conflict with neighboring countries that sometimes openly state their desire to see their demise.  On the other hand, my memories of spending time in the West Bank enabled me to see the political, economic, and internal struggles of a people who have been caught in the midst of greed and corruption, both on domestic and foreign fronts, resulting in oppression and bloodshed.  The focus of the semester, however, was to spend a semester in Israel studying its history in ways that are only possible on location.  I crawled through the tunnels that were dug during the Bar Kokhba Revolt by Jews who were trying to hide from the Romans circa 132-135 A.D.  Reading about these tunnels could never compare with crawling through these tight spaces and turning the flash light off for a couple of minutes in order to better understand the conditions of a persecuted people who lived underground for several years.  To be visiting these sites and reading these historical texts and dealing with the question of how we know what we know about these people and their culture and how the material remains that they left behind can help us answer these questions (i.e. what was found in archaeological excavations, etc…) has been such a great experience.  It really gives me a familiarity with the context of the land of Israel (and Jordan) and the history of the Bible that I couldn’t have gained in any other way.  There is a strange sense that I have left lingering in my bones, a certain deep, mysterious, and bittersweet feeling that comes from living in a land plagued with a history that has been full of conflict and oppression, yet also full of messianic hope and expectation.  It makes me grateful to know that history is moving towards resolution, though not from our efforts, but through a means that is much more reliable.

Honeymoon recap

The time has already come and gone for me and Elise to travel around Israel, enjoying each other’s company after being apart for 4 months.  We started our trip at Tel Aviv, then traveled to Jerusalem, Tiberias, and back to Tel Aviv again.  Ben Baird helped us out by giving me a ride to the air port to pick up my lovely wife, and also by giving us a ride back to the hotel in Tel Aviv.  What a great guy!  After, we all went to dinner at this Israeli tapas place around the corner.  It was the perfect way to end the semester with Ben and begin the honeymoon with Elise. 

                The following day Elise and I walked along the beach and talked for a good while.  We wandered down to Joppa and read a bit from Acts 9-11 in the New Testament where Joppa is the setting for some of the events and then grabbed lunch.  Tel Aviv has this really great combination of feeling like a big city, and still having the smaller local beach bum vibe on the coast.  I think it really helped to make Elise feel at home.  After a couple of nights in Tel Aviv, spontaneously wandering around the beach and eating at some great restaurants, we were off to Jerusalem.  We travelled via taxi to the central bus station and continued via bus until we got to Jerusalem.  From the bus station at Jerusalem we took the light rail to Zion square where we had reserved a bedroom in an apartment for a couple of nights. 

                Our stay in Jerusalem had a bunch of hiccups.  When Elise arrived in Israel I was still getting over a bad throat infection and she caught what I had.  By the time we were arriving in Jerusalem it was really beginning to set in.  We wandered around the Old City for a bit and visited the Church of the Holy Sepulcher that afternoon.  On our first full day I had planned to take Elise in to the West Bank to see the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and meet up with some of my friends from JUC.  We had to stop by a local clinic and pharmacy in the morning.  It was nice to get back in to Bethlehem one last time, and with Elise, but I know that being in the West Bank for the first time can be a bit of a strange new thing.  With all the stories on the news and the reputation that the West Bank has for conflict, along with the stark contrast in cultural and economic surroundings, it’s easy to feel uncomfortable at first.  Fortunately, when we got to Roy and Vidia’s house, we were greeted by fellow JUC friends and we had a nice lunch and dessert in a very welcoming environment.  After lunch we went out to the Church of the Nativity and walked through the market, where there was some tension between our group and some locals due to an extremely inappropriate gesture that some random guy thought he could get away with.  The following day we started out early by going up to the Temple Mount.  Fortunately, there wasn’t much of a line at all.  It was pretty amazing to be up on the Temple Mount.  I had studied it so much this semester in my archaeology class.  While we were up there a fight broke out between two guys, both Muslim, but it seemed like a pretty regular thing.  After the Temple Mount we wandered into Solomon’s Quarries and over to the Garden Tomb.  We walked along the Cardo and found an artist colony area that Elise had been looking for, it was a lucky find!  The next day was Shavuot, a Jewish Holiday.  We didn’t expect everything to be closed, even the ATMs!  We ended up walking to the Israel Museum, but it was a really fun walk and we got to talk and catch up some more.  The Herod exhibit was excellent and the Archaeological Wing was also a really fun time, even for Elise!  On the way back we stopped at a nice little restaurant and got some food.  Elise ordered a small mixed drink that had gin and tonic water in it.  I sipped on it and found out that I am very allergic to tonic water.  The following day we went to the Archaeological Park to see the walls of the Temple Mount and then we picked up our rental car and I finally got to show Elise around the JUC campus. 

                After lunch we drove to Tiberias in Galilee.  It was a pretty nice drive, except for the mandatory baggage check at the check point.  It was nice to drive for the first time in four months.  Getting around Jerusalem was a little tricky as I was used to walking everywhere, but I had an excellent navigator (Elise!).  The Sea of Galilee was a little hazy and every day we were there it got a little worse, but the weather was nicer than Jerusalem (which was pretty cold, unexpectedly).  It was nice to be in Jerusalem, but I had planned so much and there were so many unexpected setbacks.  It was good to be in a new area with fewer structured plans for each day.  The room at the hotel wasn’t as nice as we thought it would be, but it was still a pretty good room.  Breakfast was also pretty delicious at this hotel, as was the breakfast in Tel Aviv.  On our first full day in Galilee, we slept in, as it was much needed, and got a late start.  We went to the Tel Dan nature reserve and wandered around.  We saw the best preserved Middle Bronze age Canaanite arched gate and we got to see the Israelite remains of Dan.  The best part was that it was all tied into a wonderful nature hike.  The afternoon was tranquil, just what we needed.  While in Galilee, Elise introduced me to her favorite ice cream bars in Israel.  At first I thought it was strange that she remembered this ice cream from about five years ago, but after trying it I realized that Elise, as an ice cream enthusiast, had a good reason to remember how good it was!  On the next day we hit all of the sites that carried some tradition of Jesus being in the Galilee, and we even visited the boat found and preserved for over 2000 years in the Sea of Galilee.

                Our last stop was revisiting Tel Aviv.  We drove over to the coast, left our stuff at Tel Aviv, and went to Ashkelon so Elise could see where I would be spending the rest of my summer.  After spending a bit of time there we went back to Tel Aviv and returned the car.  As soon as I pulled into the Avis parking lot, an employee backed up into our car.  It was hilarious, although not that the time.  We had been so careful to take care of the car and then as soon as we pull up someone runs into us and it was one of the Avis employees! Hahaha!  The next day we relaxed on the beach and went to the local markets.  There was a lot of really good and really cheap fresh lemonade mixed with mint leaf.  I also got to introduce Elise to freshly squeezed pomegranate juice!  It was so delicious.  Our time passed so fast. I can’t believe that it is already over. 

                We took a cab to the airport and we said our goodbyes and I waiting to make sure that she got through checking the bags alright.  Then we discovered that, unlike in airports in the U.S., you can accompany passengers into the food court and shopping areas.  Elise and I had breakfast together and prayed for a safe flight, asking God to take care of us while we are apart for the next two months.  On the way back I tried to get back to the apartment without taking a taxi, since I had left all my bags at the apartment so I could travel light.  I was surprised to see that there weren’t any shuttles running to Tel Aviv, but there was a train.  It only took me to the edge of the city of Tel Aviv, but when I got off I found a bike rental place and figured I would be adventurous.  As long as I rode in the direction of the sea I thought I could find my way without a map.  Thank God I was right.  It was nice to ride around the city and along the beach.  It was quite adventurous, but everything was so different because Elise was sitting on an airplane flying half a world away.  

It's the "sorry, but I didn't create paragraphs" blog! 4.27.13

Yesterday I got in a rental car with a couple of friends and drove around visiting random places.  We didn’t really have a plan.  It was a great break from the research and writing routine, which keeps me confined to the library.  Although, I have to admit, the library has a great view!  Throughout the day we broke about every rule according to the rental agreement, driving on dirt roads and passing through West Bank on several occasions.  We started out by driving into the Judean Wilderness via the Ascent of Adumim and climbing up to the Wadi Qelt overlook.  The view was still quite breathtaking the second time around.  We continued by driving through Jericho.  The weather was perfect and, at times, it was clear enough to see well across the Jordan River.  It was nice to see Cypros again.  It reminded me of climbing up to the Herodian ruins and looking out over the city.  I think we were all feeling a little surprised at how fast time has passed by, and how soon it’s all coming to an end.  Next we wandered around aimlessly, finding our way into a Jewish settlement village in the middle of nowhere.  There was a sign marked a scenic overlook in the area so we naturally drawn to the settlement.  The guard was pretty nice and let us in, no problem.  It was so interesting to get a sneak peek into the lives of people living in this Jewish settlement, and on Shabbat too!  It was kind of picturesque in a strange Lost kind of way.  We also tried to go to Michmash and Ramalla, but we decided not to after getting a feel for the place and thinking that it might not be the wisest decision to go roaming around in certain places.  We did, however, get to go into Bethel.  We almost drove right onto an Israeli army base and were directed by a guard to turn around.  The ancient site of Bethel was pretty strange.  It was also right next to this very…ummm…how should I say it…well it was a sort of run down trailer park full of Jewish Zionistic graffiti.  It was a place of interesting sites to say the least.  Afterwards we set out in search of lunch, but it was Shabbat and pretty much everything was closed.  Unfortunately we found the only open restaurant in Jerusalem in our proximity…and it was a McDonalds.  The burgers there are ridiculous.  They are all named after American cities and they are about twice the size of burgers at McDonalds in the U.S., if not more!  Then we set out for Tel Aviv.  It was a really nice drive.  When we got there we found that things were quite different.  It was not unlike a large city in the U.S.  There was an obvious beach culture there, which was very different when compared with the very conservative culture in Jerusalem.  Also, everything was open even though it was Shabbat.  We ate dinner at Mexican restaurant that served pork and meat and cheese (so it was obviously not Kosher).  The food was delicious!  After, we watched the sunset at the beach.  I saw a rat scurry along one of the steps that descends to the sandy shoreline.  It was gross, but otherwise the overall tone was quite beautiful.  It was a great way to end the day.  On the drive back we got turned around a couple of times, but it fit with the overall theme of the day: spontaneous wandering.  When we were driving back into Jerusalem we saw some huge bon fires which were taking place because of a Jewish holiday called Lag B’Omer.  One of the fires was reaching for the sky besides a tall building.  It reached up to the third floor!  There were fires all over the city.  It was something to see. 

Jordan Day four

4/14/13

               Today was the last day of our Physical Settings field studies.  It is hard to believe that the semester is almost over.  We started the day out at Karak Castle, a crusader castle at the ancient site of Kir.  I am not the biggest fan of the crusades, so I tried to take in the site for the sake of understanding.  The doorways inside seemed to be lowered so that one would have to awkwardly crouch while entering a room.  Ramy, the Jordanian tour guide that was required by law to accompany us in Jordan, told us it was a method of defense in the event that enemy troops would break into the castle.  The design of the arrow slits on the outer edge of the castle wall caught my attention.  They seemed too crowded to actually hold a bow and shoot an arrow at oncoming attackers.  I was fairly certain that by the time of the Crusades crossbows had been invented, which would have been preferable for such a tight space.  I noticed a V-shaped slit on the floor which led up to the opening in the window looking down at the area in front of the castle.  I discussed its possible use with several other students and we came up with two ideas for its use.  It may have been used as a path to pour hot liquid on climbing invaders, although the slit was rather dainty for such a use, or it may have been used to prop up or slide some device into place.  I had the wild idea that these long narrow V-shaped slits may be used for some sort of sniper crossbow set up.  To my surprise, when I walked further into the castle there was a museum that confirmed my suspicion!

            Afterwards, we drove out to Dibon.  A while back I took a Hebrew Inscriptions class, in which we had to translate the Moabite Stele (and even point the Hebrew text after changing it from the Paleo-Hebrew to the later Biblical Hebrew that appears in the Aramaic script).  Mesha, king of Moab, describes himself in that text as a Dibonite.  It was pretty exciting to be wandering around the tel where such an important text was found, and one I have read! 

            Our next stop was at the Church of St. George.  This is where the mosaic Medaba map is preserved.  The Medaba map dates to the 6^th Century A.D. and contains view of the sacred geography in the ancient world.  It also gives us a very interesting look into the Old City of Jerusalem during that time.  After studying the archaeology of Jerusalem with Gabi Barkai and living in Jerusalem while studying the historical geography of Israel, I have a greater appreciation of what something like this means for biblical studies.  It was quite large compared to what I had in mind.  It is a shame that much of it was not preserved throughout time, but it is amazing that so much of it was!

            Our last stop of our last field study was at Mt. Nebo.  This is where Moses stood just before he died, looking into the Promised Land.  It was a fitting place to end our field studies.  As a class we were able to identify and follow the shape and flow of the land and its important features, demonstrating the massive amount of data we had absorbed during the semester.  Dr. Wright gave a final lecture that demonstrated his masterful ability to weave the data of historical geography together with a pastoral message that stretched far beyond the scope of the classroom.  I don’t think there was a student standing there on Mt. Nebo that didn’t have a pinch of melancholy growing inside them at the sudden realization that an epic journey was coming to an end.  It was a mixture of finality and nostalgia for something that hadn’t ended yet, with the wild card of uncertainty thrown in for good measure.  It was a perfect ending.  

Jordan day three

4/13/13

We got an early start this morning.  Immediately after breakfast we walked down to the site of Petra.  The walk through the entrance and up to the Treasury was an adventure in and of itself.  We passed an Indiana Jones shop, which reminded me of the cinematic significance of Petra, but the shop didn’t seem to have any great Indian Jones paraphernalia.  Beyond the point where an admission fee must be paid there was a winding road with tombs on either side.  As we walked I noticed that there were two roads, one for walking, and the other, separated by what seemed to be the base of a wall, contained different gravel and seemed to be used for riding donkeys/camels/horses.  I encountered my first Nabatean tomb at Petra on that road, although we weren’t actually in Petra proper yet. The design was quite exquisite and what I had heard about this lost city matched well with reality.  The road to Petra then continued on in between two tall uprising cliff faces, creating a relatively narrow passage.  This passage had small water channels carved into both sides of the walls.  These water channels were about elbow height.  When we finally reached the end of the passage, the treasury was standing before us, magnificently preserving a glimpse into the ancient world in a way that almost no other site does. 

            Once we were in the ancient city of Petra, the group began to split up and several of us climbed up to the high place, an area containing an altar used for ritual sacrifice.  The view from the top was truly something to take in.  We sat there for a while, resting from the hike up and discussing where to go next.  The path down from the high place was a little bit confusing.  We travelled in several direction before returning to a junction that we had previously passed by and getting down to the main part of the lower valley from there.  We ended up passing several water canals that appeared to link several fountains in a complex fashion.  So much thought and planning had to have been put into the building of this site.  We passed several ornate tombs descending into a wadi that carried us out into main valley.  There were also some caves that appeared to be living spaces, one of which had a pick-up truck parked inside as if it were a garage. 

            We had intended to climb up to a lookout point called the Monastery, but we had used up much of our four hours at the site and decided that it would be wise not to go so far off and miss the rendezvous time.  We explored almost half way up the ascent of the Monastery and around the Roman ruins before making our way back to the larger main corridor that led back to the Treasury and out to the exit. 

            After eating a refreshing lunch at a restaurant with a great view, we had a long and restful bus ride to Bozrah.  Bozrah was once an important Edomite city, surrounded on three sides with deep wadis, giving the site a sort of desert peninsula shape.  The drop from the city to the bottom of the wadis was quite dramatic, and we discussed the significance of the sites’ strategic advantages.  The tension that existed between the kingdom of Edom and the kingdom of Judea was largely focused on the territory of the Negev.  After the Babylonian exile, the Edomites were free to expand into the Negev.  In fact, several hundred years later they appear in the New Testament, known as Idumeans, inhabiting the Shephelah; some Idumeans even lived as far as Hebron.  The site of Bozrah was only slightly excavated and the overall impression was a very desolate.   

Jordan day two

4/12/13

Yesterday we started the day with a mystery site.  Dr. Wright wanted us to use our powers of observation, even though it was quite early in the morning.  It was a very peculiar site.  The architecture didn’t seem to fit with anything that I could think of very well.  The site almost had a Herodian flare to it.  It was difficult, also, to nail down a specific function for the building.  When we sat down to discuss the site we came up with some interesting ideas, and when Dr. Wright explained the history of the site and the confusion behind its architecture I realized just how strange it really was.  Apparently Hyrcanus built the structure before the Maccabean Revolt, and Herod was strongly influenced by the design and style.  Evidence for this comes from the writings of Josephus, giving the site the name “Tyre.”  It seems to have been a pleasure palace surrounded by water, giving the site an island-like appearance.  The artistic reconstruction that was published in an archaeological magazine depicted something quite extraordinary. 

            Afterwards we went to Jerash, the city of a thousand columns.  On the way in, Jason and I ran into a shopkeeper who had a stringed instrument with Middle Eastern designs on it.  We inquired about the instrument and he picked it up and began to play a simple melody while singing random things about the United States.  It was funny, in a strange way.

            We entered through Hadrian’s arch, which reminded me of the Ecce Homo arch in Jerusalem, as it has similar features and a similar reputation.  The architecture in the city was magnificent.  I climbed up on top of the Temple of Zeus and took some pictures of the Cardo and the sea of columns that surrounded it.  When I finally climbed down I ran over to the theatre just in time to see a bunch of Arab men marching out into the center of the theatre with bagpipes, dancing to the tunes of Christian hymns.  We continued to see more temples and more columns, along with an ancient church and an ancient mosque. 

            Next we went to Amman to see the museum, which was a little disappointing.  There was, however, a statue of an Ammonite king, which was very interesting, some fragments of an important text from Deir Alla, and some very intriguing statues.  The statues were of a figure that seemed to have two heads, perhaps depicting a male and female essence.  A possible interpretation of this find would be that it reflects a common tradition of Genesis, although with a peculiar interpretation.  It may be a depiction of God creating man and woman, and there having been a special unity between them.  According to this interpretation/view of creation, this would explain the male and female genders to be two halves the complete picture of humanity. We then explored the Tel of the ancient city of Rabbah.  The look out over the modern city was especially beautiful.  The weather was just right and the layout of the city, with its houses built into the slopes was perfect atmosphere.  There were several kids at the site flying kites and the scene reminded me of the descriptions of the simplicity of childhood.  The Temple of Hercules had an interesting rocky escarpment jutting up from beneath the floor.  It was a part of the bedrock that hadn’t been leveled, similar to the Dome of the Rock.  Dr. Wright told us a Jewish Midrash about the rock that resides where the 2^nd Temple used to be.  It was a pretty wild story, involving flying rocks and the weaving of several biblical themes.  Afterwards, we continued to walk around through some Byzantine churches and a mosque.  

Jordan Day One

4/11/13

            Today we crossed the border, going from Israel to Jordan.  The whole process seemed a little bit quirky to me.  It was sort of like passing through airport security, only instead of getting on an airplane and experiencing a couple hours of flight time, we got on a bus and took a 50 second ride over the border and stepped out on to Jordanian soil shortly afterwards.  I suppose it is a very normal process, but seeing as this is my first trip outside of the United States (this semester abroad) it left me with a funny impression.

            Before we got off the bus, Dr. Wright made a joke in passing about going to the restroom if we needed to in a nearby building and having our first real culture shock of the Jordan trip.  I thought maybe he was referencing the quality of the building or maybe the cleanliness of the bathrooms.  After I had my passport examined and stamped in Jordan I went into the bathroom and immediately noticed the difference in the cleanliness of the restroom.  However, I was curious, after using the small shoddy urinals, to see the stalls.  I cannot explain why I felt that bit of curiosity, but when I looked into the stall, to my surprise, I saw that there weren’t any toilets!  There was only a hole in the ground and two tread marks beside it in order to keep from slipping while squatting.  At that very moment, in the bathroom of all places, I came to the realization that this weekend was going to be interesting. 

            The drive from the border to the first site took quite a while.  When we arrived at Deir Alla, I kept thinking that there was something really significant about the site, but I couldn’t remember.  I looked in my handbook and saw the page discussing the site and was reminded of the text found at the site.  It was interesting to read it and consider the language, as I could imagine it being a bit complex since it was a very old form of Semitic poetry.  After the lecture on the tell, I tried to look around for something interesting, as there were a lot of pottery sherds scattered all over the floor and in the walls of tell, but alas, I found nothing of interest.

            We were running short on time so we had to skip the stop at Pella, which was unfortunate.  It was another long drive to the next spot, but when we arrived for lunch, I discovered that the wait had been well worth it.  We had lunch on top of the site of Gedara, looking out over the beautiful landscape.  After lunch we explored the site and talked about some of the possible historical connections with the site.  There was a byzantine church and some ornate Roman architecture.  I particularly enjoyed the Roman theatre with the black basalt seats; one row had backs on the seats that were surprisingly very comfortable. 

            The last stop of the day was at Ramoth Gilead.  I tried to look over the maps a bit on the way there, since it was another long ride between the sites, in order to become more familiar with the region and the layout of the land.  We discussed the efforts of the Northern Kingdom of Israel to expand to this point under the reign of King Ahab and his subsequent failure and death.  Overall, these few tells that we visited were very strategic and important.  I really enjoyed seeing a little bit of the land on this side of the Jordan, as well as how things on both sides of the Jordan connected via the important routes of the land between.