Pictures

Hezekiah's Tunnel - We wandered through an 8th century passage underneath Jerusalem. The water went up to my thighs at certain points but thankfully I was tall enough to not get my shorts wet. This was definitely the highlight of yesterday.

Dang it, I don't have time to finish this post. Just quickly: Jerusalem is awesome. We are staying at a convent in the middle of the Old City and the view is incredible. Wish I could share this with all of you!

Jordan = Beautiful

We're in Jordan and I only have time to upload a few pictures and briefly gush over Petra and this beautiful desert. I never imagined the desert could be this scenic, but all the places we've visited, whether they be Crusader fortresses or Mt. Nebo, have been surrounded by gorgeous desert landscapes. (Unfortunately, my camera fails to capture its vastness.) Luckily, John William Burgon can.

Petra (1845)

It seems no work of Man's creative hand,
By labor wrought as wavering fancy planned;
But from the rock as if by magic grown,
Eternal, silent, beautiful, alone!
Not virgin-white like that old Doric shrine,
Where erst Athena held her rites divine;
Not saintly-grey, like many a minster fane,
That crowns the hill and consecrates the plain;
But rose-red as if the blush of dawn,
That first beheld them were not yet withdrawn;
The hues of youth upon a brow of woe,
Which Man deemed old two thousand years ago.
Match me such marvel save in Eastern clime,
A rose-red city half as old as time.

-Burgon

(Can't upload my pictures, the internet is too slow!)

House of Bread Day 2

Bethlehem in Hebrew literally translates to Bet - lechem or "house of bread" and in aramaic Bet - lechem = "house of flesh." What perfect foreshadowing of communion.

Today we went to Herodian, a scrumptious restaurant within a massive tent, Hebron, and a glass blowing shop. We also visited the wall that separates Bethlehem (the Palestinians) from Jerusalem (the Jewish population). Pictures soon.

The City of David

I would be lying if I said Bethlehem is beautiful. It's not. Bethlehem is a slum. I do not say this with disdain or disappointment, I say this because the area is in the West Bank and is Palestinian and therefore subjected to extreme poverty and oppression. We went to the Church of the Nativity today, which was too ornate for my aesthetic taste buds but I found it upsetting that such opulence is surrounded by a desperate people. (Not to say that the Catholic church hasn't done anything for the Palestinian people, they have, but the travel agencies advise tourists to avoid the Palestinians and spend no longer then an hour visiting Bethlehem.)

Immediately following that experience, we were led to a Palestinian refugee camp. The stair way of the youth center is covered by a mural that depicts the pathos and history of the conflict. I was struck by the vivid colors and the vibrant expressions both on the walls and on the faces of the children dancing on the third floor. We walked in on a rehearsal for their recital. All of this goes to show that language is not limited to words. Their movement, their faces, their environment said it all.

Unfortunately, it is late and I don't have the time to say more. I'll put up pictures of the camp later on and will definitely be willing to talk more about the conflict if people are interested.

Quickly, I went to a concert tonight put on by the London Choir. It was a bit long, but ear candy.

Off the Kibbutz

The two pictures: dig site C's sifters and me on top of Arbel.


Retractions: Two posts ago I wrote "Germans" instead of "Russians" in my Zefat story which probably made the following sentence impossible to understand. I also said "wish" instead of "which" and a myriad other errors. I'm sorry that this blog is often muddled and disconnected. I don't always have internet and my days are filled to the brim and I hardly have the energy to think let alone write.

Good news! I have internet at the hotel in Bethlehem. (Which, by the way is rather classy. I have a balcony and two pillows!)

Okay so here is what's on the agenda for this blog post:

Mt. Arbel
Saturday: Cana, Megiddo, Nazareth Bet Shairin (sp?)
Sunday: Korazim, Tagba, Mt. of Beatitudes, Greek Orthodox Church, Capernahum, Ceaserea Maritima, Haifa
Today: Bet She'an, Jericho, Dead Sea, Massadah, Bethlehem


Wow, just making the outline made me sleepy. I'll do highlights.

Arbel is a huge mountain two miles outside of the Kibbutz. We walked there in the heat of the day and then immediately started the steep trek up. (An ex-Army Ranger was leading the hike.) Needless to say, I was exhausted 1/4 of the way up and wanted to give up. Jordan and Amber wouldn't let me stop so we kept going. 3/4 of the way up I wanted to give up again. But Hallie wouldn't let me, so we kept going. We finally made it up and I nearly burst into tears. I wandered off by myself and sang a few hymns and thanked God for exposing my humanity. It was an incredible day.

For church on Sunday we went to Tagba, which is this beautiful Roman Catholic community where Jesus is said to have fed the multitudes. The service was outside and entirely in German. I sat next to a very small nun and she shared her hymnal that I could not read. Even though I couldn't comprehend the language, I felt the spirit. Often I would space off, in private worship, praising God for each view and experience I've had here in Israel. A few dogs were running around, though none barked or made a commotion. After the service a German woman named Regina declared that I was beautiful and wondered if Dr. Appold was my Dad. Furthermore, she graciously accepted by broken German and seemed pleased that I was trying! This was my second encounter with German pilgrims. I met a whole bunch Wednesday on the Galilee, when Amber and I witnessed the baptisms of five people in the group. (They brought musical instruments into the water!) It was there we met Oliver, a German car auctioneer who hates beer. Oliver also thought Dr. Appold was my Dad.

Today the highlight was by far the Dead Sea. We covered ourselves in mud and wrote "Israel" across our chests like football fans. It was awesome to see Dr. Appold with a big muddy A! (I called him Hester Prynne.) I couldn't handle the actual water for longer than ten minutes. All the salt makes one float, but it also stings in every cut and scratch and let me tell you, I have dozens after all the hiking and walking.

Now I am in Bethlehem and enjoying the close proximity of internet. I'll update soon! Hope all is well in the States.

Day 11 (Pictures as Promised!)

Here are a bunch of pictures... mostly of me. (Sorry to be vain!) I can't stay long enough to put them all up. But sometime soon I'll add more. These pictures are from this weekend and they're Gamla, Acco, Templar tunnel, Artist we met in Zefat, and Becky (new friend from WV at the Israeli pub.)

I found a coin today! It's Hasmonian. (sp?) Everyone was excited and took my picture and I had to do a coin dance. It was awesome. To top off the perfect day, we rafted the Jordan River. (Such a blast!) Now I'm off to the Sea for some sun and maybe wind surfing.

All is well!

Days 7-10 (Can the sailor understand?)

Exultation is the going
Of an inland soul to sea,
Past the houses -- past the headlands --
Into deep Eternity --

Bred as we, among the mountains,
Can the sailor understand
The divine intoxication
Of the first league out from land?
-Dickinson

This poem has been stuck in my teeth. Every new site, experience, or person I encounter makes me appreciate this opportunity beyond expression. I tried to write a poem on the bus but scribbled merely: "Israel, how can I describe you?" Can I explain what it's like to read the Galilee stories just off of the sea or dig deep into a city buried under 2,000 years of history? What can a girl like me say? I feel so much but can output so little. Anyway, all of this culminated into that Dickinson poem and it made me praise God that I wasn't born in Israel, I will never take it for-granted.

The last few days have been filled with travel. I'll briefly describe each area. (Pictures soon, forgot my cord like an idiot!) Also, I've embedded links to wikipedia articles in case you'd like to learn more about them and see pictures.

Jacob's Ford. This was a half finished crusader fortress destroyed by Saladeen. Kate, who has a Ph.D. in crusader history, showed us around and discussed it's significance. I'd write more, but I'd rather go onto other things.

Gamla. The ancient Jewish historian Josephus Flavius went into great detail about Gamla: the final battle ground of the 1st century Jewish Revolt. He tells us that 4,000 Jews were captured and sold into slavery there and 5,000 others were either trampled or wantonly threw themselves off the northern point of the cliff. We hiked all the way to the top. The climb is interesting, filled with little markers indicating a synagogue, bath, or grain press. However, there are no words at the top, only a breathtaking view of the Galilee. After pictures were taken and mutters of exhaustion released, my group stood in silence. Many, I presume, were taking in the beauty of it all, while others were stomaching a fear of heights. I tried to imagine the desperation one must have in order to fling yourself off of a point that high up. Not only that, but do so after hundreds of others had already fallen to their death. It was at night, so everything must have been dark. I bet the Zealots could hear the Romans trudging up the mountain, killing their comrades along the way. What hell. On a lighter note, Gamala means "camel" in aramaic and Dr. Appold mentioned that Jesus may have pointed to Gamla when he famously said it is easier for a camel (Gamla) to pass through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter heaven. (Interesting, no?) It's called camel because the peak makes a hump.

Ceaserea Phillipi... also called Banias. Too much to describe. It's just the place of Herod Agrippa's palace, Pan's cave, and the grandest waterfall I'd ever seen. (Nothing special!) Haha. I wish we had had more time there, it's an awful lot to absorb in only a few short hours.

Tel Dan. This area is famous for the Tel Dan Stella which proves the secular historical existence of the House of David. It was the last site of the day and we were all exhausted after hiking up Gamla, however I really enjoyed it. There we illegally jumped a fence and took a picture in Lebanon. (Shh. Don't tell the Israeli authorities!) Anyway, Tel Dan is significant in the Hebrew Bible because it was the northern most city of Israel and was also destroyed by the Israelites. It was then called Laish. Abraham may have also been there when he rescued Lot from Dan. (Read: I now take this with a grain of salt considering the historical critical method.) However, it's still fascinating regardless if Abraham existed as a figure in history or not.

DAY TWO! (I hardly have the energy to describe it, wish should give you a clue how exhausting everything has been.)

The night before we left a group of us had a Bible study off of the Sea of Galilee. We put some chairs in the water and drank wine while sharing our favorite verses. I talked about the story in which Jesus calms the Sea of Galilee. I love how the disciples looked at each other and asked, "Who is this, that even the wind and the waves obey him?!" I've always been moved by their question. It's comforting to know that whatever storm may be around me, nothing is too great for Him to calm.

We stayed there until 1:30 in the morning and I was exhausted when I finally rolled out of bed. Sunday was a lot more hectic than Saturday.

We started in Acco or Acre. There I found the mediterranean sea which was the bluest thing I'd seen in my life. We stood on the rocks and took pictures and I could feel the waves spraying in my face. Natural air conditioning, brilliant! Acco also is home to a templar tunnel, through which we traveled. It was small but I liked it! They made the entrance shorter so that horses couldn't go through. I thought that was rather clever. Acco also provided my first glimpse at an Israeli market and it was just that, a glimpse. That's okay. I'll save my sheckles for Jerusalem.

Zefat, which unfortunately does not have a wikipedia page was by far my favorite place. (Although we were only there an hour.) It's the birth place of Jewish mysticism and home to several talented artists, one of whom I had the chance to meet! His name was Jan Mansens (or something like that: I don't have my journal with me, but I wrote his name down.) Anyway, he was charming and his art struck me, which is not an easy task. (I'm not easily impressed when it comes to art. Which I realize sounds pompous and obnoxious but Mr. Robson dubbed me the art world and ever since I've just been uppity about it!) Anyway, he was great and told us stories about the Dutch in WWII and how is brother was shot by the Nazi's and rescued by the Germans. (He was no longer Dutch blood but Russian and vodka, or so the line goes...)

This is getting long, and Mathew just got on skype. So I'm going to wrap it up. The last place we went was Hatzor, which is on wikipedia I'm sure. More later!

Love,
-Liora

Day 6 (Sheer Exhaustion)

I'd like to preface the remained of my blog posts with the warning that they may be incoherent. From 5:30 am to 12:30 pm I am excavating with group C. I am learning beyond textbooks and enjoying myself quite a bit however by day 3 of the dig I am quite exhausted. This exhaustion has led to resenting pottery readings which absorb a lot of free time. However, I am trying to be positive and not take anything for granted. This landscape will soon pass into the foggy plain of nostalgia and I want to suck the marrow out of every opportunity and moment. Be that as it may, there is a difference between wanting and actuality and right now I am rather weary.

Highlight of the dig today was reciting poetry with Elizabeth. Did I mention her in my last post? Anyway, she's this charming woman from Montana and originally from the UK and I have grown to like her quite a bit. In order to improve my British accent she encouraged me to write poetry - I chose one of my favorites: Daffodils by Wordsworth. Tonight, I'd like to memorize Mort Arthur by Tennyson, which was her selection. It was beautiful. (I just considered requesting that to be read at my inevitable funeral but I fear that would break my mom's heart and worry everyone unnecessarily.) I am safe here. I feel incredibly safe. The Israeli army is stationed near by and they make their presence known. Anyone would be foolish to attack a study group and expect little to no consequence. They would be "equalized" to quote Forgetting Sarah Marshall. (Referencing that movie makes me miss you Mathew.)

I feel better after writing this.

Days 1 - 5 (Culture Shock)

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I have been unable to update. Internet access is not free on the kibbutz. However, there is a little cafe/museum that we found with free wi-fi and thus, this update!

If I had more time, I would carefully think out a way to describe everything I am feeling. However, I need time to process and I just don't have it here. When I do have free time, I want to be in the Sea of Galilee - which I have swam in every day since we've arrived. (Yesterday, Nate and I helped the life guard with English which was absolutely hilarious.) A group of us explored the kibbutz and found a small grocery store that carries local fruit and Israeli products. (I'm assuming the kibbutz cafeteria shops from them because their food is delicious and all very fresh.) Outside I saw a bearded dragon climbing up the wall which I absolutely couldn't believe! (Reminds me of my old bearded dragon-- Puff.)

Man, I only have twenty minutes and I have so much to tell you. I'll break things down quickly.

Travel - the plane ride was a bit rough. I met this interesting man from New York and we discussed everything from art to politics. The two of us disagreed on about everything but we also acknowledged that the root of every problem is wrapped up in shallow black and white thinking. (I wish I could do this conversation justice, it was fascinating.) However, I'm sure everyone would be much more interested in the destination, not the flight.

The Dig - I don't have time to outline everything. I will eventually. But I am excavating a Greco-Roman home and we have found several pieces of pottery, bones, a few beads, among other things that escape me at the moment. I work with two other guys in the sifting station and we are the "sisters" which is what happens when someone misunderstands "sifters" Does that make sense? Probably not.. I'm so scattered.

What else? The Sea of Galilee! Oh it's glorious. There is an open doc in the middle of the bay off of the kibbutz and we lay out and swim there. Israel (the Israeli we are teaching English) took us around on a gondola -- for want of a better word? -- ride.

We are leaving.. I have to go to pottery sorting. This should be interesting.

I miss everyone and would like to tell my family and friends that I feel safe, comfortable, happy, blessed, curious and different here. It's wonderful.

(Daddy-O I just heard a shofar! Haha, oh you would love it here Dad.)

Your very own psuedo-archeologist,
-Lauren