A Running Start

There's nothing like a series of almost unfortunate flights and a dire case of jetlag to launch off a trip to the Holy Land. We were originally scheduled to have two layovers. However, due to delays, we barely caught all our connections; thus, making for about 18 straight hours of flying. Hot, exhausted, and hungry, we were just grateful to be on the ground in Tel Aviv. 45 minutes later, we were checked into the Gloria Hotel in Jerusalem, and ready to "push through the sleepies" to get oriented to the city.

My roommates (and the only CIU girls on the trip).

L-R: Mayonne, Krissy, Yours Truly, and Lizzy

The Jerusalem wall (by the Jaffa Gate)

On the CIU trip, there are only seven of us, including Dean Blewett. For class sessions, we are joining up with other groups at Jerusalem University College, but the rest of the time, our small group is perfect for exploration. As we wandered the streets, the people themselves most immediately captured my attention. These are some of the faces I saw:

Children play very freely on the streets of Israel. After losing 1.2 million children in the Holocaust, the people vowed, "Never again." Since then, they have maintained an innate understanding that harming children is crossing a line that cannot be sufficiently avenged.

Street musician

A beggar woman

At first we thought this cat was dead, but someone assured us he was just sleeping. Poor thing--I've never seen such a scruffy cat before.

The intersection of military presence and childhood innocence

Military guards in the marketplace

An Eastern Orthodox priest--Jerusalem truly is the center of so many religions (Judaism, Islam, Catholicism, etc.), and vendors will not hesitate to cater to all of these. What would Christ have thought of this scene if he were here to witness it?

Being in a foreign land, one of the first phrases any person should learn is the proper way to greet someone. One guy on our team, Stewart (who I call "Stewie"), took the initiative to ask someone and was told that the politically correct phrase is "Shalom Salaam," a repeat of "peace" first in Hebrew and then in Arabic. However, when Stewie tried it out on one of the hotel staff, the man told him, "No peace. There is no shalom. You have peace, but we have no peace." Eventually, we figured out the man was Arab. (Thus, the dismissal of "shalom.") He was telling us that so long as his people did not have their own country, there would be no peace. It was a profound demonstration of political tension in a simple greeting.

Of course, pro-Israel t-shirts are just as scathing:

After a full day of traveling and getting oriented to Jerusalem, we rested up in preparation of our first full day of class: Historical Geography in the Holy Land.

Aubrey, our instructor

Jonathan and Dean Blewett

Yay, field studies! Ow, foot pains!

Dormition Abbey, where Mary supposedly "fell asleep for the last time." This overlooks the modern day Mt. Zion (because there have, in fact, been three different Mt. Zions throughout history!)

The Dome of the Rock and the Western Wall (also called by the politically incorrect term, "Wailing Wall"). For those who do not know, the Western Wall is the last standing remnant of the original Temple of Solomon. It just fascinates me how these religions exist side-by-side not just demographically, but also visually in their most holy architecture.

You can always find people praying at the Western Wall.

I'm not sure what these Stars of David actually are, but they were on a rooftop by the Western Wall.

Two main streets, the Cardo and David's Street divide the city into four quarters: the Jewish Quarter, the Arab Quarter, the Armenian Quarter, and the Christian Quarter. (Interestingly, we learned today about the forgotten history of Armenian persecution. Armenians have suffered persecution since 600 AD, but in 1917, the Ottoman Turks, allied with Germany, carried out a massive genocide of the Armenian population, because they refused to convert to Islam. Many fled in this direction, but they are still being persecuted today.)

A beautiful gate and mosaic wall in the Jewish Quarters

I found the Fiddler on the Roof!

Of course, Dean Blewett goes nowhere without his Diet Coke...

...and I can't help taking pictures of stray cats.

You only get promoted so far before birds start sitting on your head.

Notice the bee in the flower?

The Southern pool of Bethesda (John 5:1-12). Most likely, this was NOT the pool by which the lame man was waiting to be healed, because, as you can see, it is too deep for anyone to wade in, much less a lame man. Instead, we conjecture he was waiting by the Northern pool, a pool which belonged to the Hellenistic cult of Aesclepius (or Serapus). Leaders of this cult would feed narcotics to the sick who sought their help, and then let them sleep in a nearby cave. The hallucinations and dreams the people experienced at night would supposedly reveal the nature of their sickness and the cure. Thus, Jesus walked into the heart of Jewish/Hellenistic syncretism in order to prove His Sonship to the lame man and witnesses.

Another cat hiding in the ruins by the pool. (There are obviously a LOT of cats in Jerusalem!)

The Basilica of St. Anne's, which has acoustics specifically designed to create the effect of singing with angels. Hands down, the Kenyan ladies did it best.

A friar fraternizing with the ticket booth nun outside of St. Anne's. =P

Finally, I'd like to mention the significance of being in Jerusalem on this day. Today is, in fact, the Feast of Weeks, or Pentecost. Being a major Jewish holiday, the Western Wall was packed tonight. We had to go through security first, in order to enter the premises, and we could not take any pictures (because to create an image on a religious holiday is breaking the Sabbath.) On the female half of the wall, the girls and I inched our way up to the front in order to touch and kiss the wall. As we wiggled our way forward, I watched the women with their Torahs open against their faces, rocking back and forth, uttering their prayers out loud. What surprised me, though, was the age of those at the wall tonight. I would have expected that with Judaism being such a traditional religion, most of the worshippers would be older. Instead, the majority of those I saw were young--about my age or even slightly younger. Some bowed and prayed with intense fervor. Others more subtly whispered to themselves. All were clearly there for no reason but the worship of the Almighty on the day of Pentecost.

Over on the men's side, a group had begun singing and dancing. A poster of a certain rabbi waved above their heads. Who were these people? And who's the man on the poster? One Jew explained to us that these people were celebrating Pentecost in the jubilant spirit of their deceased rabbi. Apparently, there are as many "denominations," if you will, among the Jews as there are among Christians. This was one such denomination, celebrating in the joyous manner of their teacher.

I apologize if the length of this post is overwhelming, but in just two days, we've seen and experienced so much of this pivotal land already. Check back soon for more, as I'll be posting an entry for every field day we have. I hope you enjoy this trip as much as I do through the words of my fingers and the eye of my camera. Shalom Salaam to all, and I look forward to hearing some of your feedback!