Today was a field trip to a site in between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv it is called "Neot Kedumim" A guide there took us through a brief tour of the site but they still gave me some insites in to the plant analogies that are presented in the Bible. They showed us some of the mentioned Flora and Fauna which are from the bible. Among them are these:
Almond - It grows on trees here and is Triple protected by it's shells which definitly gives added meaning to Jer 1:11-12. Because beforehand there would have been no meaning for me.
Cistern - I did not know that a Cistern is different from a well. But now I know - It is a false well. They use the rainwater to fill a man made "Cemented" oval cavity. It seems like a well from the outside but it is not.
Hyssop - This plant is very interesting and is used in comparitive terms in 1 Kings 5:13 "From the Cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the rock" Cedars - tall, big, arrogant; hyssop - small, grows out of rocky places, humble. Hyssop is used in two very prominent places in the Bible. It is used to wipe Lambs blood over the doors of the children of Israel so that they may be Passed over by the destroying angel - And it is offered to the Lord while on the cross by the roman soldiers with vinegar all over it. And throughout it refers to purity.
Sowing - some clarity was given me concerning the Parable of the Sower and how easily the seeds could get planted in bad ground. The landscape would be terraced fields (steps up the hill) because of the terrain.
Sycamore-fig tree - It's mention in Luke 19:4 could be more typological than sometimes we suppose. The man climbs the tree to see above the multitude but perhaps he is telling the lord something while doing so (or the writer is trying to tell it's reader something about the man) because that man was ready to be changed and this tree is know for its being able to be cut down and regrow with no issue.
Pomegranates - is actually known as one of the species of Ex 28:33-34. It has 613 seeds sometimes which correlates to the number of commandments in the Torah.
Also at the end we got to see a Torah scribe writing the book out with his own ink that he made from plants in the area. An interesting thing was that in the numbering of the tribes in Exodus it comes to 600,000 men which scholars agree is way to many - the thing is the number of hebrew characters in the Torah is 600,000. He made the ink in front of us, it was cool. He did not speak english and he graced us by reading the Torah in three styles (sounded sing - songy very cool).
Oh yeah! and we got to herd a bit. This group of sheep we had to as a group circle a flag and then get them to the other side of the pen it was pretty cool. And we got to make our own Pita for lunch. Also there is this type of lamb here with quite an enlarged tail here Brother Skinner a instructor here has informed us that is actually accumulated fat and that is what is reffered to in the scriptures as the "Fat of the lambs".
Have a good one!
Monday, September 26, 2011
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Turkey!
Well quite a lot has happened. I was in Turkey for a week and it really is a best kept secret as far as tourist attractions go. At least I didn't fully realize all these things happened here. All the large historic mosques are very interesting - Troy the ancient city is there - Nicea is found here - and many, many new testament events happened there with the apostle Paul.
The first day there we were in Istanbul. First named Byzantium, when Constantine made it the Roman capital due to it's significant position as a trade route. Then either before or after his death (I heard both) the city's name changed to Constantinople to honor his name. Which later was just referred to as "The City" due to its preeminence which in Turkish is Istanbul. Our hotel was named the Cartoon Hotel so of course there were Disney statues and pictures throughout the place- My room mate for the entire trip was a man named Kaleb Valdez who I found out is a very cool guy.
Our tour guide Fatih was amazing and also funny - his wealth of knowledge is impressive to say the least.We went first to the Hippodrome which is a plaza near the Blue Mosque, the Great Palace, and the Hagia Sophia - there in the hippodrome was two obelisks and a pillar. The Blue Mosque which was amazing! There was some blue tile for sure which gives reason for it's nickname, mostly impressive are the domes in any of the mosques we went to. We had to take off our shoes to go inside and I happened to meet another Mormon coming out who was impressed by our BYU group of 82.
We also went that day to the Palace which was also the Political Buildings of it's time. There were a variety of rooms, buildings, tiling, minarets, and architecture. I took many pictures of ceilings and walls as well as outside buildings. It doubles as a museum itself so I saw the clothing through the ages of the sultans. Also I saw the spoon makers diamond. I went to the Harem section of the Palace (Harem meaning Forbidden) which was the residence of the later sultans before their Ottoman empire fell. There are some personal quarters there which were interesting to see.
Also we went to the Grand Bazaar which was crazy and I maintained my head for most of it but I did by a few souvenirs there. Everywhere we would see the Turkish evil eye which is a good luck charm there - I mean it literally was everywhere. Now the rest of the night we took a ferry down the Bosphorus.
That night a group went out to the city in the Taksim Square and I bought some Baklivah which was amazing it's basically a sugary pastry with nuts on the inside we walked down this street and went for a while till we found a candy shop which sold some candies among them Turkish delight (I hear in it's true form it's like Jellies surrounded by powdered sugar) they were really good.
The next day we were able to tour the ruins of Ancient Troy. There was a constructed Trojan horse and was a very interesting site to see. I remember seeing a cave where apparently Hector was buried or killed. However the archaeology does not match up with the story of the Iliad totally. And that night we had a very nice hotel with a pool and beach side access. The pool was cool and very nice to get into - you better believe that nearly the entire group was in that pool after a long bus ride. We played some pool games I got my feet in the water of the Mediterranean Sea. That night we had a bonfire and dance it was super fun.
The next day our first stop was Assos (Acts 20:13-14) there was a temple to a Greek god there. I was walking up steep roads of cobblestone to get to the ruins and I was thinking. This is supposed to be a port city? I just don't see it. But once you get to the top and see the view you can understand. The view is amazing and the sea is just there. On our way down many people stopped at the shops to see what was there and probably there was the best prices for little trinkets and rememberances here than any where else
Next that day was Pergamum which was an amazing site. There was a gondala there to take us up and down. The view was spectacular. It was here that we were introduced to a character named Trajan - there was a temple to his name there in Pergamum. He is an important figure as he and his sons were leading figures in the building of great Greek cities all through the coast of what is now Turkey. It was raining alright there and I laughed a bit when looking over the temple of Zeus I saw three lightning bolts all in a row very picturesque and fitting. We also breifly saw the theater there but it was too slippery and nearing a hail storm so we didn't go down into it. Also Pergamum is one of the seven churches of Revelations which of course simply means the seven regions of Christianity at that time which were in working order.
The following day our first stop was in Ephesus (Acts 19 and the first verse of Acts 20) which was amazing I felt like they could actually make it a fully functioning city pretty quick with how many ruins are there. Just put some roofs up basically and you'd be fine. There were many ruins of fountains there (however they were empty as the statues had been taken away to museums), as well as many remnants of clay piping. We went to the theater there where a new testament event occurred Acts 19:24-41. There in the theater we were blessed to hear a Japanese man perform opera. Then we acted out the parts in Acts that happened there with most of the group being the mob who were shouting praises to Diana of Ephesians and wanting to kill Paul. Naturally that was memorable and a testimony that one need not be a member of the church of Christ to be a tool in his hand. One of my favorite buildings there was the Library and in front 4 statues which symbolize four words. Our Tour guide Fatih gave us his interpretation of what they were trying to say - "If Wisdom is Virtue Then Knowledge is Power".
Next was Miletus - a site literally with weed over run ruins and archaeologists on site. We walked on the tops of walled stones to get to our destination there. There was a large bath house there fully equipped in its day with hot water. It was a tender scene here portrayed in the new testament Acts 20:15-38. Paul bids his final farewell and warning to the bishops of the area including those elders from Ephesus. That night we stayed in a hotel with a hot spring water bath with a volcano fountain in the middle which had the water shooting out of it.
The next day we began with Hierapolis (meaning holy city) it's hot springs were thought of as having healing powers and the properties of this particular water creates a white cliffs and pools. It looked as if it had just snowed for seven days but it was solid rock. The pools were fed by a trench of hot water. So you can expect as the pools went further down the colder and colder they got. There was an amazing theater there as well along with the Necropolis which is the biggest ancient surviving graveyard site (Three kinds of graves).
We had a small stop at what remains of a basilica in Thyatira which city Lydia the seller of purple is from and it is one of the cities of the seven in Revelations. Then in the evening we went to the basement of our hotel and had a wonderful church service. The days get all jumbled in my mind but that was a Friday night if I am not mistaken.
The next day our first stop was at the Grand Mosque which has 20 domes on top. It's middle dome is made of glass with a fountain below it. We took a quick stop at the market there. After a small drive we went to the ruins of Nicea which is of course the foundation stones of Creedal Christianity where bishops of the church decided the official doctrines on certain points by way of a vote. As I learned this act and attitude had more of a devising effect in its day than a unifying one than I had thought. And I learned there were 7 other such councils. As it relates to Nicea the debate was over whether Jesus was similar to God or if Jesus was the same substance as God. In my mission I found more Chirstians who agreed with the first than who agreed with the second and I think this is generally true - but in this council the second was agreed by men to be true. Anyways the suspected site of the council is well under a lake now and there certainly aren't any visible pillars celebrating the site. To think of all those ancient christians debating in their sincere desire to follow god - makes the site venerable to me.
The last site of the trip was Hagia Sophia. You enter the building and go through the main room it's clear to you that you can easily fit another large church or two inside just that main room. It has mosiacs from many periods in varying degrees of quality, near the arches on the top there are four seraphim, the whole building is magnificent and large. Afterwards we had another Turkish sweet goat milk ice cream it was very good. The flight back to Jerusalem happened without event and it was simply a wonderful experience!
Have a great one!
Check out a teacher's blog for pictures!
http://huntsmansintheholyland.blogspot.com/p/turkey-fall-2011.html
The first day there we were in Istanbul. First named Byzantium, when Constantine made it the Roman capital due to it's significant position as a trade route. Then either before or after his death (I heard both) the city's name changed to Constantinople to honor his name. Which later was just referred to as "The City" due to its preeminence which in Turkish is Istanbul. Our hotel was named the Cartoon Hotel so of course there were Disney statues and pictures throughout the place- My room mate for the entire trip was a man named Kaleb Valdez who I found out is a very cool guy.
Our tour guide Fatih was amazing and also funny - his wealth of knowledge is impressive to say the least.We went first to the Hippodrome which is a plaza near the Blue Mosque, the Great Palace, and the Hagia Sophia - there in the hippodrome was two obelisks and a pillar. The Blue Mosque which was amazing! There was some blue tile for sure which gives reason for it's nickname, mostly impressive are the domes in any of the mosques we went to. We had to take off our shoes to go inside and I happened to meet another Mormon coming out who was impressed by our BYU group of 82.
We also went that day to the Palace which was also the Political Buildings of it's time. There were a variety of rooms, buildings, tiling, minarets, and architecture. I took many pictures of ceilings and walls as well as outside buildings. It doubles as a museum itself so I saw the clothing through the ages of the sultans. Also I saw the spoon makers diamond. I went to the Harem section of the Palace (Harem meaning Forbidden) which was the residence of the later sultans before their Ottoman empire fell. There are some personal quarters there which were interesting to see.
Also we went to the Grand Bazaar which was crazy and I maintained my head for most of it but I did by a few souvenirs there. Everywhere we would see the Turkish evil eye which is a good luck charm there - I mean it literally was everywhere. Now the rest of the night we took a ferry down the Bosphorus.
That night a group went out to the city in the Taksim Square and I bought some Baklivah which was amazing it's basically a sugary pastry with nuts on the inside we walked down this street and went for a while till we found a candy shop which sold some candies among them Turkish delight (I hear in it's true form it's like Jellies surrounded by powdered sugar) they were really good.
The next day we were able to tour the ruins of Ancient Troy. There was a constructed Trojan horse and was a very interesting site to see. I remember seeing a cave where apparently Hector was buried or killed. However the archaeology does not match up with the story of the Iliad totally. And that night we had a very nice hotel with a pool and beach side access. The pool was cool and very nice to get into - you better believe that nearly the entire group was in that pool after a long bus ride. We played some pool games I got my feet in the water of the Mediterranean Sea. That night we had a bonfire and dance it was super fun.
The next day our first stop was Assos (Acts 20:13-14) there was a temple to a Greek god there. I was walking up steep roads of cobblestone to get to the ruins and I was thinking. This is supposed to be a port city? I just don't see it. But once you get to the top and see the view you can understand. The view is amazing and the sea is just there. On our way down many people stopped at the shops to see what was there and probably there was the best prices for little trinkets and rememberances here than any where else
Next that day was Pergamum which was an amazing site. There was a gondala there to take us up and down. The view was spectacular. It was here that we were introduced to a character named Trajan - there was a temple to his name there in Pergamum. He is an important figure as he and his sons were leading figures in the building of great Greek cities all through the coast of what is now Turkey. It was raining alright there and I laughed a bit when looking over the temple of Zeus I saw three lightning bolts all in a row very picturesque and fitting. We also breifly saw the theater there but it was too slippery and nearing a hail storm so we didn't go down into it. Also Pergamum is one of the seven churches of Revelations which of course simply means the seven regions of Christianity at that time which were in working order.
The following day our first stop was in Ephesus (Acts 19 and the first verse of Acts 20) which was amazing I felt like they could actually make it a fully functioning city pretty quick with how many ruins are there. Just put some roofs up basically and you'd be fine. There were many ruins of fountains there (however they were empty as the statues had been taken away to museums), as well as many remnants of clay piping. We went to the theater there where a new testament event occurred Acts 19:24-41. There in the theater we were blessed to hear a Japanese man perform opera. Then we acted out the parts in Acts that happened there with most of the group being the mob who were shouting praises to Diana of Ephesians and wanting to kill Paul. Naturally that was memorable and a testimony that one need not be a member of the church of Christ to be a tool in his hand. One of my favorite buildings there was the Library and in front 4 statues which symbolize four words. Our Tour guide Fatih gave us his interpretation of what they were trying to say - "If Wisdom is Virtue Then Knowledge is Power".
Next was Miletus - a site literally with weed over run ruins and archaeologists on site. We walked on the tops of walled stones to get to our destination there. There was a large bath house there fully equipped in its day with hot water. It was a tender scene here portrayed in the new testament Acts 20:15-38. Paul bids his final farewell and warning to the bishops of the area including those elders from Ephesus. That night we stayed in a hotel with a hot spring water bath with a volcano fountain in the middle which had the water shooting out of it.
The next day we began with Hierapolis (meaning holy city) it's hot springs were thought of as having healing powers and the properties of this particular water creates a white cliffs and pools. It looked as if it had just snowed for seven days but it was solid rock. The pools were fed by a trench of hot water. So you can expect as the pools went further down the colder and colder they got. There was an amazing theater there as well along with the Necropolis which is the biggest ancient surviving graveyard site (Three kinds of graves).
We had a small stop at what remains of a basilica in Thyatira which city Lydia the seller of purple is from and it is one of the cities of the seven in Revelations. Then in the evening we went to the basement of our hotel and had a wonderful church service. The days get all jumbled in my mind but that was a Friday night if I am not mistaken.
The next day our first stop was at the Grand Mosque which has 20 domes on top. It's middle dome is made of glass with a fountain below it. We took a quick stop at the market there. After a small drive we went to the ruins of Nicea which is of course the foundation stones of Creedal Christianity where bishops of the church decided the official doctrines on certain points by way of a vote. As I learned this act and attitude had more of a devising effect in its day than a unifying one than I had thought. And I learned there were 7 other such councils. As it relates to Nicea the debate was over whether Jesus was similar to God or if Jesus was the same substance as God. In my mission I found more Chirstians who agreed with the first than who agreed with the second and I think this is generally true - but in this council the second was agreed by men to be true. Anyways the suspected site of the council is well under a lake now and there certainly aren't any visible pillars celebrating the site. To think of all those ancient christians debating in their sincere desire to follow god - makes the site venerable to me.
The last site of the trip was Hagia Sophia. You enter the building and go through the main room it's clear to you that you can easily fit another large church or two inside just that main room. It has mosiacs from many periods in varying degrees of quality, near the arches on the top there are four seraphim, the whole building is magnificent and large. Afterwards we had another Turkish sweet goat milk ice cream it was very good. The flight back to Jerusalem happened without event and it was simply a wonderful experience!
Have a great one!
Check out a teacher's blog for pictures!
http://huntsmansintheholyland.blogspot.com/p/turkey-fall-2011.html
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
An Overview and the Western Wall among other things
Well I have been here in Jerusalem for a little more than a week! My how many things I have experienced! I've really enjoyed all the sites I've visited and meeting all the rest of the people in this the BYU Jerusalem Center.
Our first trip was a walk down to the Old City. We entered through Damascus Gate and had a quick walk by the shops there, we entered the plaza of West Jerusalem. It was awesome in itself but the next day we went to several outlook points to look on to Jerusalem. Our first was the Augusta Victoria Tower (we scaled the tower and looked out), the next was Seven Arches Hotel where right in front of the outlook point there was a graveyard of Jews and then a graveyard of Muslims followed by the closed Golden Gate and right there behind it is now the Dome of the Rock which previously was the Temple Mount! We went to several outlook Points, The Haas Promenade (a nice place where there used to be a cafe but now it is a garden area), the Peter Gallacatu Cathedral (where Peter denied knowing Christ), and a hill beside a current Monastery of Elyas. All had great views of the city and from the him by the monastery we could see Bethelehem
Our first trip was a walk down to the Old City. We entered through Damascus Gate and had a quick walk by the shops there, we entered the plaza of West Jerusalem. It was awesome in itself but the next day we went to several outlook points to look on to Jerusalem. Our first was the Augusta Victoria Tower (we scaled the tower and looked out), the next was Seven Arches Hotel where right in front of the outlook point there was a graveyard of Jews and then a graveyard of Muslims followed by the closed Golden Gate and right there behind it is now the Dome of the Rock which previously was the Temple Mount! We went to several outlook Points, The Haas Promenade (a nice place where there used to be a cafe but now it is a garden area), the Peter Gallacatu Cathedral (where Peter denied knowing Christ), and a hill beside a current Monastery of Elyas. All had great views of the city and from the him by the monastery we could see Bethelehem
The next day we had some free time so we walked to the Old City and entered the Lion's Gate and there saw the ruins of the Pool of Bathesda which was neat to look on to once we determined which ruins were associated with the actual pool. There's a Cathedral right there beside it and we sang some hymns in there and listened to some hymns song by other groups in a variety of languages. Also right there is a small Cathedral to commemorate the birthplace of Mary which had a stairway down to the cave (layer) associated with the new testament timeframe.
A really wonderful experience was going down to the Western Wall to welcome in Sabbot on Friday night. There were many different movements of Judaism present including ultra-orthodox (locks grown out), furry hatted ones (sorry don't know the name), prayer shall wearing, and soldiers singing and dancing - and just about everything in between. This site is venerated because it is the last remaining wall of the Temple which was destroyed there. I really got to sense the magnificence of the old temple there! That plaza in front of the wall has sense become a good meeting point for the group or groups of BYU students to meet up.
Several days ago I went to the Israeli Museum and associated with that the Shrine of the Book (a awesome building dedicated to the Dead Sea Scrolls). It was for an assignment so I felt a little rushed but it was a very good experience to see all that history and evidence of past events it seemed almost surreal I hope to go there again. There in the Museum grounds was a small replica of the Old City which was interesting to look at as I had already had the Outlook tour and had seen basically the same views but in real life.
Also we've had a field trip to Jericho the town of palm trees! That was very cool as the Old Testament City of Jericho (where the walls came tumbling down - archeologist agree) that site is the same as a much earlier structure which is in fact the first structure ever discovered thus far (called the Neolithic Tower). We also stood by a Sycamore Tree and talked about a blind man which Jesus must have healed near that city. We stopped by Herod's Winter Palace (the place of his death) - which was not touristy in the least (they had a sign but no path there) - that man was blood thirsty like no other! Anyway his palace was interesting to see there were remnants of columns and his hot pools our teacher in the subject Ancient Near East showed an artist’s rendition of what that place must have looked like it was very interesting to see. We also saw a very, very picturesque monastary named St George - it's surrounded by cliffs and commemarates as I understand it the emmaculate conseption OF Mary the Mother of Jesus (a tradition I did not know exsisted) and is new the Judean Wilderness where Jesus fasted 40 days and was tempted
In recent days I have done parts of the Rampart Walk were you can go up on top the old wall for a small price (8 shekels). There are many ramparts up there and it gives some great views of the city below and out of city. We also went up to see the Dome of the Rock plaza and that was very cool to me just because I knew the old Temple of the Jews was there and in fact where Jesus had taught at times. I also saw the Church of the Holy Sepulcher there are many interesting shrines there including the stone from the tomb where Jesus lay for three days. There were many shrines and customs I did not understand there - but the site is easy to get to and I'm sure I will visit it again. Just today in fact I walked to the graveyard where Oskar Schindler (of Schindler's list) is buried - that man is responsible for saving many thousands of Jews during the holocaust.
It's funny walking through the city because many shop keepers know who we are as BYU students and that we will be there a while. Some are more knowledgeable about who we are even to the point of stating phrases we are sure to know like "This is the place" or "I sell Liahona's and mine will never lead you astray" Haha! I haven't bought any souvenirs yet I'm feeling out what I think myself and others will really like.
My classes are all interesting my Old Testament class (Bro Harper) is insightful and very interesting. I have an Ancient Near East class (Bro Ludlow) which is very Humanities oriented. Next is my Modern Near East Classes (Ophir Yarden and for the other class Bashir Bashir) both very interesting so far. Also is an introductory class to Arabic in which I can now say simple words. So that’s pretty intensive for all the readings and writings we need to do.
I hope you the reader are well and keep yourself that way! Have a good one!
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Ready, Set, Now Wait a Bit
Well I am still super excited to go to Israel and it may surprise some of you to know I'm not already there.
There was problems with the airplane for the flight from Phoenix to Philadelphia. US Air was the provider and I'm not mad at them or anything (barring the fact that they failed to provide lunch for us all this time) they've been great. It was however a 5 day delay for them to find a route to get some of us over to Israel. Nevertheless I am heading out this morning and hopefully I will not have any plane trouble.
My time in Phoenix was memorable. There was a group of 50 of us who are going over to the BYU Jerusalem Center for a sponsored program there. So I was able to meet and bond with some of them. We went to the pool nearby, floated down a river, and I had the chance to watch "You've Got Mail" with some lovely ladies. All fun I assure you!
All the same I'm happy to be flying out of Phoenix and will update this blog with another post in a bit so watch out for it!
Thomas Kelly
There was problems with the airplane for the flight from Phoenix to Philadelphia. US Air was the provider and I'm not mad at them or anything (barring the fact that they failed to provide lunch for us all this time) they've been great. It was however a 5 day delay for them to find a route to get some of us over to Israel. Nevertheless I am heading out this morning and hopefully I will not have any plane trouble.
My time in Phoenix was memorable. There was a group of 50 of us who are going over to the BYU Jerusalem Center for a sponsored program there. So I was able to meet and bond with some of them. We went to the pool nearby, floated down a river, and I had the chance to watch "You've Got Mail" with some lovely ladies. All fun I assure you!
All the same I'm happy to be flying out of Phoenix and will update this blog with another post in a bit so watch out for it!
Thomas Kelly
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