It Had Never Entered His Head Before...

A great day was spent visiting the ancient biblical cities of Lachich, Azekah, Maresha, and a couple others. 

Tel Lachish — The last site that was destroyed by the Assyrians on their rampage to Jerusalem.

The huge stone threshold that the people used as a last defense against the invaders.

The Valley of Elah — Homeplace of the showdown between David and Goliath.

Accuracy at 50 meters? 84% Accuracy at 10 meters? Deadly.

Me and Ashlyn depicting the infamous and tragic story of Sampson and Delilah

We also visited the City of David, just south of the Old City in Jerusalem.

Ancient toilets reminded us that people of David were people too.

Wall that was built during the time of Melchizedek. 

The horrors that lurk in Hezekiah's Tunnel. 

In remembrance of the miracle that occurred at the Pool of Siloam, where one man received his sight at the hand of the Savior.

Tel Aviv - A Walk to Remember

Those of us who do not live next to a large body of water and as such do not get much exposure to 'the beach life' tend to be quite elated when the opportunity presents itself to visit. The Mediterranean Sea is no exception. Its draw for the common tourist involves a beautiful island sun with white-sanded beaches and wave-strewn coasts. A hide-away for those who need that special break from the burdens of life (and school work), Tel Aviv allows those that tread upon its magical confines to strip off the stresses of life—and get a nice solid sunburn.

A few highlights—

1) Sunscreen and the lack of

2) A copious amount of serenely white bodies

3) Feet-scalding games of beach volleyball

4) Large and overpriced scoops of ice-cream

5) Reading of solid books such as Hunger Games

6) 45 minute ride from Jerusalem

7) Joy.

Job Objective: Shepherd

Not technically a 'Jerusalem Pic' but I made an exception.

Neot Kedumim— A biblical landscape reserve. Where one's wildest dreams can come true.

How many students does it take to get a flock of sheep into a little circle? More than it normally should.

Some type of berry fruit thingy found in the scriptures.  That's the technical term.

Ground hyssop— a anti-bacterial, anti-capillary fragility, anti-inflamatory, etc... and can help with about 81 different medical conditions including cancer, bronchitis, insomnia, edema, colds, and the like.

Pita's in their wild habitat

A full-grown adult pita.

Yet another practical use for Hyssop — A delectable pita dip, just add olive oil.

Nothing like understanding Boaz's hospitality to Ruth by eating a little spot of parched corn.

The reason why large and in charge animals are used to plow— instead of humans.

Narrating the Ruth and Boaz story

An old olive press

This next portion was neat-o. A Jewish scribe from Yemen who transcribes the Torah for a living—by hand. The scroll is one of the oldest still in use from hundreds of years ago. Apparently, one fully written Torah by a calligrapher such as himself runs at about 40,000 dollars.

Ancient capitals from the Herodian Temple of around Jesus' day.  Said temple was destroyed in 70AD.

The gold, blue, red paint used anciently is still visible on the capitals. But, being out in the weather doesn't help too much if they're wanting to keep the paint there permanently.

This Village is the Bedouin Out of the Two

New blog post tradition: Jerusalem pic of the day. High resolution for full effect.

I'm now going to outline some of the other things that have been occupying my time in the recent past.

Fasten your seat-belt. 

1) A visit to an unrecognized Bedouin village. It took us a while to find it, but eventually we did. The women there participate in an organization formulated to give them work and help the cause of Bedouin women in Israel. They make rugs etc... and sell them in order to benefit their lives and villages. 

A Bedouin woman at the loom.

Each of the women are also taught English in a little school in the village. The materials and tables were donated by a large world-wide charity, but they make a difference in peoples lives — many lives of "one".

2) A field trip to the ancient sites of Sheva and Arad, a couple hours south-west of Jerusalem. If there was a focus for this field trip, it would have been that Jerusalem was not the only city that had a functioning temple. We were able to see a few unique things such as a recreated altar (pictured below) and also an ancient altar uncovered at Tel Arad.  

Tel Sheva — the hard-hat counts as a 10pt fashion bonus.

A real Israelite satellite temple altar where countless animals were undoubtedly sacrificed.

3) Arab Culture Night. — i.e. an excuse for all the student to dress up in what they think is normal Arab garb and allow the real Arab guests (two sheiks) to chuckle at their sorry efforts. Despite that fact, we enjoyed hearing the sheiks recite certain sections of the Qur'an, from memory. The father and son also demonstrated the call of prayer that we hear five time a day broadcasted on speakers throughout Jerusalem. The devotion of Muslims is admirable. Memorizing the Thirteen Articles of Faith doesn't seem as formidable compared to the New Testament-sized Qur'an.

Some of us were practicing winking with both eyes.

Don't ask, don't tell.

A myriad of possibilites for this caption.

4) The Kotel Tunnel. Aka, the tunnel that runs parallel the Western Wall of the Temple Mount and underneath the Muslim Quarter of the Old City. When our dear friend, Herod, built the temple in 20 BC he used some of the largest blocks of stone ever used in structures of the world. As long as a bus and twelve feet high, the base blocks were behemoths. They would have to be, if they were to support the whole of the Temple and the platform where it sat. They were so big that the Babylonians gave up destroying the Temple when they reached that level.

In the tunnel with Megan and Michelle

5) Pool of Bethesda. Rumor had it that the pools were gone and that a church sat in its place. But, after five shekels, this rumor was put to naught ---- Further exploring of the maze of paths and following the pamphlet, lead down a steep ladder and into this dark cavern partially full of stagnant water — one of the original places of the once healing waters of Bethesda.  

The grounds are a beautiful array of arches and gardens. Quite fitting in remembrance of the tender healing of the invalid that Carl Bloch captured in his famous painting.

6) Imagine this: You walk into the Church of the Holy Sepulcher where numerous events of Christ's day are supposed to have happened. After meandering around for a few minutes you notice people gathering near the entrance of the church. Moments later, the pounding of bells is heard and a procession of monks begin to file down the steep staircase, each holding a single lit candle. A chanting begins and at its finish you follow the monks and other worshippers into the heart of the church. Organ music erupts from the ceiling and another worshipful hymn breaks out, continuing on with various breaks until the service concludes in a cloud of incense.

Devotion to God and faith in religion still lives on, despite attempts to push it into the shadows.

Tel Sheva - Home of a mini-temple

Truckin' Around In Turkey: The Second Installment

And we jump back into the wonderful world of Anatolia or Asia Minor or Turkey or ish.

So... early in the morning, we were summoned to the seaside by Professor Chadwick and there he pointed across the Aegean and reminded us of when Paul has the vision where a man is beckoning him to come across the sea to Macedonia. How easy it is to understand the stories from the scriptures when you're looking at the exact location where it occurred!

We began a rather elongate ride with a few great stops: Assos, where we saw the long lost Temple of Athena. The views were quite delightful.

We then found ourselves on a trap riding up to the top of the hill on which Pergamos resides. The Temple of Trajan stands as a good reminded of how difficult it was for the early believers to keep the faith despite the influences of the surrounding area (greek influence of worshiping other Gods). Small fact: Our teacher, who has traveled to tens of hundreds of archeology sites commented that this temple was constructed using the whitest stone he has ever seen. Perhaps this is why Paul references a "white stone" in the book of Revelation. Cool connection if I do say so myself. And I just did.

There's something about standing on a pedestal that makes you feel like you have more strength then you really do. But we all need that sort of boost once in while.

I have realized that although Utah has many natural items unique and fascinating, there really are no ancient amphitheaters running around that you can take awesome pictures of. Not baggin' on Arches, Moab, or Zion (after all, two out of the three are a part of the bible).

Made a quick stop at a Bedouin village that makes rugs in order to give employment to the women. Perhaps one of the cooler things I've seen: the unspinning of bunches of silk worm cocoons into silk yarn/thread. Who would have thought it was a real thing and that everything silk is not made in China?

Venturing onward to the once great city of Ephesus.

Paul stayed in this city for around 2-3 years and taught many of the Jews and Gentiles that lived there. (in the streets, etc...)
Without a doubt one of my favorite pictures taken—me and Wayna.

Paul probably did a lot of this.

And this.

Not too sure about this.

By far my favorite part of the trip was when we walked in to the huge amphitheater where Paul's missionary companions were taken and forced to stand and listen while the theater full of angry Ephesians roared, "Great is Diana of the Ephesians!" for three hours. Our group decided that it will help to understand the situation if we too yelled out across to the other tour groups in the vicinity, "Great is Diana of the Ephesians!" Quite the experience to be in the very place in which that occurred. Afterwards we went down to the stage and all 80 of us sang "All Creatures of Our God and King".

After being wowed at Ephesus we continued on to Miletus where on his third missionary journey, he called all of the leaders of the church to meet him.

Giving tribute to those early Christians who had perhaps more chutzpah than we do, because they were pressed from all sides to "give in" because "everyone was doing it". It's any wonder the Apostles had to continue correcting doctrine throughout those years.

Is this a visual metaphor concerning incorrect and false doctrines that snuck around in hopes that they would undermine the faith of the early Christians? Perhaps.

Another gem. Ashlyn and I are modeling the hot springs at Pamukkale, near ancient Hierapolis. This is why the Lord in Revelation says that those in Laodicea were 'lukewarm' and that He would "spew them out of his mouth". Not only were they lukewarm in the following the gospel, but they actually received a combination of hot water from Hierapolis, and cold water from Colossae— so they actually used lukewarm water daily. had lukewarm water. Quite the object lesson from the Lord to them, and to us.

While in Bursa we visited one of the mosque's dotted around the capital. I almost wish that I could have worn a scarf. But alas and alack.  

On our drive to Bursa we were informed that we had the unforeseen opportunity to visit Isnik. Or for all of those familiar with any sort of history at all would know it as Nicaea, the birthplace of the Nicene Creed. There we learned of a chronically common misconception: the Council of Nicaea and the subsequent Nicene Creed is a tragedy concerning the loss of the belief in the Godhead as three separate and distinct individuals. But it in fact safeguarded a belief in the divinity of Jesus Christ, which belief would have been obliterate through centuries if that council had not canonized it on paper. We should in fact be grateful for this Creed, for in fact, it is how Christianity has survived to our day, in it's present condition.

A supposed location where the Council could have assembled

Back in Istanbul we visited the famous Hagia Sophia, which is quite a formidable structure. And just like a lot of religious buildings, it was passed along to different religions, each adding there own little architectural aspects. A grand scale it was built upon, how amazing, surprised I was, a lot. 

And then, to end the trip, I saw a pillar of light. All in all, Turkey holds some well-kept secrets up it's sleeve that the average commoner might render as dross if better study is not obtained. I recommend to one and all to take up the cause of Turkey stand for truth and righteousness and do as Paul did and spread the cause of Freedom to the world!

This blog post and its contents does not reflect the personal opinions and views of anyone in particular and can in fact be taken at face value, much unlike everything else in this world.

Cheers.