Ah, finally a good night's sleep! After posting all of those photos (which took hours) I slept better than I have so far on the trip. It was so wonderful to sleep in!! After a quick breakfast and a nice shower is was off to the Old City for me and Emily, who were determined to spend the remainder of our skeckels so we would not have to take them back to the states.
We took a cab to Jaffa Gate (on the North side of the Old City) and walked through overwhelming markets on very narrow streets. Essentially the whole day was shopping, with the exception of lunch (the best French Fries I have EVER had). I was able to spend the rest of my sheckels, leaving me just enough to buy some food for the plane. I am very excited to come home to everyone, and cannot wait to share my stories and experiences with my family and friends! I have many kitschy things to show off as well. :) Wishing everyone well, and will see you when I arrive in Salt Lake City! Just under 36 hours!
Much love!
29 May, 2010
28 May, 2010
Pictures: May 23-27
Neveh Tzedek, in Tel Aviv:
Jaffa, south of Tel Aviv:
Baby's first falafel!
Shopping at a flea market in Tel Aviv:
Tel Aviv and the Mediterranean:
About to descend into the ancient cisterns!
Bell Caves:
Rehearsal in the Bell Caves:
Mount of Olives:
Riding the camel!
Panorama from the Mount of Olives
By the tomb of King David:
Outside, Mt. Zion:
Inside the Church on the top of Mt. Zion:
Holocaust Museum. We couldn't take pictures inside:
Inside the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem:
Outside the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem:
Ballerrrrs:
King's Singers Concert:
Al-Aqsa Mosque
Dome of the Rock:
Russian Orthodox Church of Mary Magdalena, incidentally named not for the BVM but for the Tsarina of Russia:
Via Dolorosa:
Church of the Holy Sepulcher:
Golgotha, inside the Holy Sepulcher:
Bazaar:
Wailing Wall:
BYU Jerusalem Center:
View from the Jerusalem Center:
Concert in the BYU Jerusalem Center:
Jim rocking the headscarf in Jericho:
A citrus fruit native to Jericho:
Date palms:
Qumran, the very caves where the Dead Sea scrolls were discovered:
View of the Dead Sea from the top of Masada:
Masada:
Dead Sea!
Jaffa, south of Tel Aviv:
Baby's first falafel!
Shopping at a flea market in Tel Aviv:
Tel Aviv and the Mediterranean:
About to descend into the ancient cisterns!
Bell Caves:
Rehearsal in the Bell Caves:
Mount of Olives:
Riding the camel!
Panorama from the Mount of Olives
By the tomb of King David:
Outside, Mt. Zion:
Inside the Church on the top of Mt. Zion:
Holocaust Museum. We couldn't take pictures inside:
Inside the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem:
Outside the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem:
Ballerrrrs:
King's Singers Concert:
Al-Aqsa Mosque
Dome of the Rock:
Russian Orthodox Church of Mary Magdalena, incidentally named not for the BVM but for the Tsarina of Russia:
Via Dolorosa:
Church of the Holy Sepulcher:
Golgotha, inside the Holy Sepulcher:
Bazaar:
Wailing Wall:
BYU Jerusalem Center:
View from the Jerusalem Center:
Concert in the BYU Jerusalem Center:
Jim rocking the headscarf in Jericho:
A citrus fruit native to Jericho:
Date palms:
Qumran, the very caves where the Dead Sea scrolls were discovered:
View of the Dead Sea from the top of Masada:
Masada:
Dead Sea!
May 28: Lost in Jerusalem
Today was an eventful and very frustrating and rough day for me. After a rough start to my day, including a back so stiff I could hardly walk and the realization that I had contracted some sort of stomach bug, it could only go uphill from there, right? Wrong.
We went first to the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem, the other place where some Christians believe Jesus was crucified and buried. There are two major sites here: the crucifixion site and the tomb itself. These Christians believe that this site is more accurate than the Holy Sepulcher for a few reasons. First, Jesus was crucified on Golgotha, or Cavalry, both words meaning "skull" in Aramaic and Latin, respectively. This is significant because there is a rocky hill in the garden that has holes in it that make it look like a skull, and archaeologists have determined to a certainty that this rocky cliff and these holes existed at the time of Christ. The second indication is that the scriptures indicate that Jesus was crucified and buried outside the walls of Jerusalem, and this tomb would have been outside the walls at the time of the Second Temple while the Holy Sepulcher would have been inside. The final indication is that an actual tomb from the period of Jesus was discovered here, while no such tomb has really been discovered at the Sepulcher. The tomb is also empty - there are no human remains, indicating that it might be the place where Jesus was buried and supposedly resurrected.
The next stop was the City of David, ruins of the city dating to the time of King David that include a narrow passageway that is over 2000 years old called "Hezekiah's Tunnel." I can't remember the history of this tunnel very well, but I know that Hezekiah built it so water could be supplied to Jerusalem. He knew that the strategic weakness of the city was the lack of water sources, and that Jerusalem had been defeated in the past by adversaries cutting off their water supplies. The tunnel was then meant as a way to provide water so as to prevent defeat through the cutting off of the precious resource to the city. Later, I believe that people escaped the city through the tunnel, but I don't remember the story. Everyone descended into the tunnel, but I decided to opt out because I suffer from claustrophobia (according to people's descriptions of the experience, it was a very good idea for me to opt out). So I asked the man at the park where the tunnel came out, so I could meet everyone there. After pointing me there and assuring me that there was no other exit, I walked to the specified location and waited nearly two hours to meet the group. Unfortunately, the group never showed up, and an angry Israeli man came to throw me out of the park because they were closing. After a desperate walk around the premises to try to find the bus, I discovered that I had been left, and was alone on the streets of Jerusalem. At this point, a man from the Dominican Republic, who was also waiting for his group, asked me if I was waiting for people at the end of the tunnel and explained that he was as well. He called his guide, who led me to a place to get a taxi and transfer to my hotel.
After waiting in vain for a taxi to show up, I remembered that the next stop for the group was Gethsemane, and that I could probably catch them if I headed over there. The walk was short - just about 15 minutes on a patch through the Kidron Valley. As I was walking, however, a man honked at me and pulled a U-turn. He got out and asked if I needed help, and I told him I was looking for Gethsemane, but I thought I knew how to get there. He led me a bit down the path toward the valley, and then I noticed he was grabbing himself suggestively in the crotch area. I quickly turned and walked, and when he asked if I wanted him to show me where the church was, I said a quick "no" and didn't look back. It was very scary and frankly disturbing, and I had had about enough for the day. Of course, nobody could let it go when I finally found them at Gethsemane, and I got chewed out by multiple people, making my mood even worse.
So that about sums up my day. After a nap at the hotel I still don't feel much better. I am still sick, sore, and now have even more things to worry about. Needless to say, I am very ready to come home. However, tomorrow should be a fun day of gallivanting around the Old City and doing some shopping for some more kitschy stuff. I was sad to learn that H and M is only open from 9 PM to 11 PM on Saturdays here (the Sabbath) so I will not be able to visit it. But at least I will have some time to rest, relax, and just be free from a schedule! It will be nice. I will blog again tomorrow night before we leave. Looking forward to coming home and seeing everyone.
We went first to the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem, the other place where some Christians believe Jesus was crucified and buried. There are two major sites here: the crucifixion site and the tomb itself. These Christians believe that this site is more accurate than the Holy Sepulcher for a few reasons. First, Jesus was crucified on Golgotha, or Cavalry, both words meaning "skull" in Aramaic and Latin, respectively. This is significant because there is a rocky hill in the garden that has holes in it that make it look like a skull, and archaeologists have determined to a certainty that this rocky cliff and these holes existed at the time of Christ. The second indication is that the scriptures indicate that Jesus was crucified and buried outside the walls of Jerusalem, and this tomb would have been outside the walls at the time of the Second Temple while the Holy Sepulcher would have been inside. The final indication is that an actual tomb from the period of Jesus was discovered here, while no such tomb has really been discovered at the Sepulcher. The tomb is also empty - there are no human remains, indicating that it might be the place where Jesus was buried and supposedly resurrected.
The next stop was the City of David, ruins of the city dating to the time of King David that include a narrow passageway that is over 2000 years old called "Hezekiah's Tunnel." I can't remember the history of this tunnel very well, but I know that Hezekiah built it so water could be supplied to Jerusalem. He knew that the strategic weakness of the city was the lack of water sources, and that Jerusalem had been defeated in the past by adversaries cutting off their water supplies. The tunnel was then meant as a way to provide water so as to prevent defeat through the cutting off of the precious resource to the city. Later, I believe that people escaped the city through the tunnel, but I don't remember the story. Everyone descended into the tunnel, but I decided to opt out because I suffer from claustrophobia (according to people's descriptions of the experience, it was a very good idea for me to opt out). So I asked the man at the park where the tunnel came out, so I could meet everyone there. After pointing me there and assuring me that there was no other exit, I walked to the specified location and waited nearly two hours to meet the group. Unfortunately, the group never showed up, and an angry Israeli man came to throw me out of the park because they were closing. After a desperate walk around the premises to try to find the bus, I discovered that I had been left, and was alone on the streets of Jerusalem. At this point, a man from the Dominican Republic, who was also waiting for his group, asked me if I was waiting for people at the end of the tunnel and explained that he was as well. He called his guide, who led me to a place to get a taxi and transfer to my hotel.
After waiting in vain for a taxi to show up, I remembered that the next stop for the group was Gethsemane, and that I could probably catch them if I headed over there. The walk was short - just about 15 minutes on a patch through the Kidron Valley. As I was walking, however, a man honked at me and pulled a U-turn. He got out and asked if I needed help, and I told him I was looking for Gethsemane, but I thought I knew how to get there. He led me a bit down the path toward the valley, and then I noticed he was grabbing himself suggestively in the crotch area. I quickly turned and walked, and when he asked if I wanted him to show me where the church was, I said a quick "no" and didn't look back. It was very scary and frankly disturbing, and I had had about enough for the day. Of course, nobody could let it go when I finally found them at Gethsemane, and I got chewed out by multiple people, making my mood even worse.
So that about sums up my day. After a nap at the hotel I still don't feel much better. I am still sick, sore, and now have even more things to worry about. Needless to say, I am very ready to come home. However, tomorrow should be a fun day of gallivanting around the Old City and doing some shopping for some more kitschy stuff. I was sad to learn that H and M is only open from 9 PM to 11 PM on Saturdays here (the Sabbath) so I will not be able to visit it. But at least I will have some time to rest, relax, and just be free from a schedule! It will be nice. I will blog again tomorrow night before we leave. Looking forward to coming home and seeing everyone.
More weird things about Israel, for Tashia
1) All the schools have security checkpoints and barbed wire fences around them. This includes high schools, colleges, and even elementary schools.
2) In fact, there are security checkpoints EVERYWHERE.
3) We have not had a single meal that was not a buffet.
4) Every documentary (like at historical sites) is an unintentional comedy.
5) Everyone is loud, and very very expressive with their hands and voices.
6) They have an obsession with blonde girls. Our token blonde has been hit on by literally every guy.
7) Everyone thinks we are all Mormon. Shop keepers tell us "I give you very good price because I like Mormons!"
8) There are cats everywhere. Like literally, everywhere. And most of them look malnourished.
9) Every audience here has been sold out except one.
10) Even if they don't understand what you asked, they will give you an answer, no matter how much bullshit it is. This leads to confusing walks to irrelevant places.
2) In fact, there are security checkpoints EVERYWHERE.
3) We have not had a single meal that was not a buffet.
4) Every documentary (like at historical sites) is an unintentional comedy.
5) Everyone is loud, and very very expressive with their hands and voices.
6) They have an obsession with blonde girls. Our token blonde has been hit on by literally every guy.
7) Everyone thinks we are all Mormon. Shop keepers tell us "I give you very good price because I like Mormons!"
8) There are cats everywhere. Like literally, everywhere. And most of them look malnourished.
9) Every audience here has been sold out except one.
10) Even if they don't understand what you asked, they will give you an answer, no matter how much bullshit it is. This leads to confusing walks to irrelevant places.
May 26-27: Jerusalem, Jericho, Qumran, Masada, Ein Gedi, Dead Sea
I owe you a lengthy blog update this morning. Sadly, I have been incredibly busy, and am also ill, so I haven't had much time to update the blog. So here it is, two very busy days in one blog entry!
On Wednesday we toured the old city of Jerusalem, and my goodness, it was an experience. After waiting in line for nearly 45 minutes to clear a security checkpoint, we were able to go up to the Temple Mount and view the Al-Aqba mosque and the Dome of the Rock. Both sites, needless to say, are remarkable, even though we were not allowed to enter either of them. The mosque is gigantic and ornate, and the Dome of the Rock is even more stunning. From its intricate mosaics, to its beautiful Arabic script on the exterior, to its shining golden dome, the Dome of the Rock is one of the most incredible pieces of architecture in the city. There is also great historical and religious significance here. All three of the major monotheistic faiths believe that Abraham sacrificed Isaac on the rock which the Dome of the Rock protects. In addition, Jewish people see this rock as the first rock ever created, and Muslims believe that this is the "farthest place" where Mohammed ascended into heaven. There were also excellent views of the city from here, especially the Mount of Olives and the churches on the other side of the Kidron Valley.
Next stop was the church of Santa Ana, which has some significant link to Mary (I sincerely cannot remember). Here we also saw ruins of an old crusader church built over the Bethesba Pools. We got the chance to sing in this church as well, which was very cool. Next we would walk the Via Dolorosa, which is (by tradition) the street through which Jesus walked with the cross. There are multiple churches built on the significant sites of the walk, but the most famous and remarkable is the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, said to be built over the site where Jesus was crucified, his body washed, and where he was eventually buried and resurrected. Here they have a memorial over Golgotha, the place of the crucifixion. To get to the Church, you walk through an incredible Bazaar in the Islamic quarter of the city, with huge quantities of street vendors lining narrow walkways. That was a cultural experience, indeed!
Our next stop was the Western or "Wailing" Wall, the holiest site in Judaism. Very cool cultural experience there, especially seeing all the Ultra-Orthodox Jews with their little hats and curlies! Pictures would do the places we visited more justice, since most of you know what these sites are like.
That evening we had a concert at the BYU Jerusalem Center, a very cool venue. The Jerusalem Center is situated above the Old City on the Mount of Olives, so it has a remarkable view. But the coolest thing is that the concert hall has giant windows behind the performers with a panorama of the old city. This was so epically cool. Vicki Gunnerson took some photos for me of us performing.
The next day it was off to the desert. An unfortunate coincidence was that it happened to be the hottest day of the year so far. 41 degrees celsius (bout 106 F) in the Dead Sea area... not very pleasant.
We first visited Jericho, which has the dual honor of being the lowest (in elevation) city on Earth and also the oldest city on Earth. I wasn't that impressed with it, but our guide was raving about it. The first stop was the spring of Elijah, which has famously sweet and clean water (an FYI: don't drink from the spring of Elijah - you will regret it when you contract some sort of water-bourne stomach disease and find yourself miserable the next morning. But yes, the water is sweet-tasting). There, of course, is a biblical site here, too. The Mount of Temptations is where Jesus supposedly fasted for 40 days and 40 nights and then was tempted by the devil. Next stop, Qumran, where the Dead Sea scrolls were uncovered. We saw the very cave where bedouins came upon the Dead Sea scrolls, and also saw ruins of the bedouin community that was once there. Very cool! Our next stop was Masada, the mountaintop fortress from the Roman Era. This is located on a top of an isolated bluff just south of the Dead Sea. The views of the surrounding area were wonderful and the history even more so. The ruins of the fortress are still very much intact and it was exceptionally cool to immerse myself in such history.
Our final stop before our concert was the Dead Sea, a stop I had been looking forward to for some time. The Dead Sea, as you know, is some of the saltiest water in the world, and is also the lowest point on earth. There is Magnesium Chloride in the water, giving it a somewhat oily consistency. It's true, too - you just float on top of the water! What a cool experience. We tried to sink Dan by putting rocks on his belly to see how many it took, and it took seventeen before he sank! The only caveat I can advise you about it don't get it in your eye, or you will have to swim in and wash it out. That was a miserable experience. But still, the Dead Sea was probably one of my favorite things we did on this trip.
Our concert was in Ein Gedi, an oasis by the Dead Sea that flourishes because of its many springs. We performed for the first non-sold-out crowd of the trip. Afterwards, we took a tour of the botanical gardens at the kibbutz, which was exceedingly bizarre because it was pitch black and impossible to appreciate, and we were all so tired and hot that we just wanted to go back to the hotel and sleep.
Our hotel is in Jericho, and is another 5-star hotel. I'm not sure how we scored so many nice hotels on this trip... We are leaving for Jerusalem again in about an hour, and will stay there for one more night before heading out on Saturday evening at 11:55 PM. I hope I feel better soon and will be able to fully enjoy our last two days in Israel. Until then, salaam, or shalom, and it will be wonderful to see everyone when we return!
On Wednesday we toured the old city of Jerusalem, and my goodness, it was an experience. After waiting in line for nearly 45 minutes to clear a security checkpoint, we were able to go up to the Temple Mount and view the Al-Aqba mosque and the Dome of the Rock. Both sites, needless to say, are remarkable, even though we were not allowed to enter either of them. The mosque is gigantic and ornate, and the Dome of the Rock is even more stunning. From its intricate mosaics, to its beautiful Arabic script on the exterior, to its shining golden dome, the Dome of the Rock is one of the most incredible pieces of architecture in the city. There is also great historical and religious significance here. All three of the major monotheistic faiths believe that Abraham sacrificed Isaac on the rock which the Dome of the Rock protects. In addition, Jewish people see this rock as the first rock ever created, and Muslims believe that this is the "farthest place" where Mohammed ascended into heaven. There were also excellent views of the city from here, especially the Mount of Olives and the churches on the other side of the Kidron Valley.
Next stop was the church of Santa Ana, which has some significant link to Mary (I sincerely cannot remember). Here we also saw ruins of an old crusader church built over the Bethesba Pools. We got the chance to sing in this church as well, which was very cool. Next we would walk the Via Dolorosa, which is (by tradition) the street through which Jesus walked with the cross. There are multiple churches built on the significant sites of the walk, but the most famous and remarkable is the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, said to be built over the site where Jesus was crucified, his body washed, and where he was eventually buried and resurrected. Here they have a memorial over Golgotha, the place of the crucifixion. To get to the Church, you walk through an incredible Bazaar in the Islamic quarter of the city, with huge quantities of street vendors lining narrow walkways. That was a cultural experience, indeed!
Our next stop was the Western or "Wailing" Wall, the holiest site in Judaism. Very cool cultural experience there, especially seeing all the Ultra-Orthodox Jews with their little hats and curlies! Pictures would do the places we visited more justice, since most of you know what these sites are like.
That evening we had a concert at the BYU Jerusalem Center, a very cool venue. The Jerusalem Center is situated above the Old City on the Mount of Olives, so it has a remarkable view. But the coolest thing is that the concert hall has giant windows behind the performers with a panorama of the old city. This was so epically cool. Vicki Gunnerson took some photos for me of us performing.
The next day it was off to the desert. An unfortunate coincidence was that it happened to be the hottest day of the year so far. 41 degrees celsius (bout 106 F) in the Dead Sea area... not very pleasant.
We first visited Jericho, which has the dual honor of being the lowest (in elevation) city on Earth and also the oldest city on Earth. I wasn't that impressed with it, but our guide was raving about it. The first stop was the spring of Elijah, which has famously sweet and clean water (an FYI: don't drink from the spring of Elijah - you will regret it when you contract some sort of water-bourne stomach disease and find yourself miserable the next morning. But yes, the water is sweet-tasting). There, of course, is a biblical site here, too. The Mount of Temptations is where Jesus supposedly fasted for 40 days and 40 nights and then was tempted by the devil. Next stop, Qumran, where the Dead Sea scrolls were uncovered. We saw the very cave where bedouins came upon the Dead Sea scrolls, and also saw ruins of the bedouin community that was once there. Very cool! Our next stop was Masada, the mountaintop fortress from the Roman Era. This is located on a top of an isolated bluff just south of the Dead Sea. The views of the surrounding area were wonderful and the history even more so. The ruins of the fortress are still very much intact and it was exceptionally cool to immerse myself in such history.
Our final stop before our concert was the Dead Sea, a stop I had been looking forward to for some time. The Dead Sea, as you know, is some of the saltiest water in the world, and is also the lowest point on earth. There is Magnesium Chloride in the water, giving it a somewhat oily consistency. It's true, too - you just float on top of the water! What a cool experience. We tried to sink Dan by putting rocks on his belly to see how many it took, and it took seventeen before he sank! The only caveat I can advise you about it don't get it in your eye, or you will have to swim in and wash it out. That was a miserable experience. But still, the Dead Sea was probably one of my favorite things we did on this trip.
Our concert was in Ein Gedi, an oasis by the Dead Sea that flourishes because of its many springs. We performed for the first non-sold-out crowd of the trip. Afterwards, we took a tour of the botanical gardens at the kibbutz, which was exceedingly bizarre because it was pitch black and impossible to appreciate, and we were all so tired and hot that we just wanted to go back to the hotel and sleep.
Our hotel is in Jericho, and is another 5-star hotel. I'm not sure how we scored so many nice hotels on this trip... We are leaving for Jerusalem again in about an hour, and will stay there for one more night before heading out on Saturday evening at 11:55 PM. I hope I feel better soon and will be able to fully enjoy our last two days in Israel. Until then, salaam, or shalom, and it will be wonderful to see everyone when we return!
26 May, 2010
May 26: Jerusalem
Today was a veritable whirlwind, and very eventful, though with the temperature what it was, it would have been nice to have an ACTUAL whirlwind! Our last host mother described the weather in Israel as hot, hotter, and hottest. Today was on the "hotter" side of things, with temperatures soaring well into the 90s as we went on our excursion through the Old City of Jerusalem.
We saw everything there is to see: the bazaar, the Tomple Mount, the Dome of the Rock, the Wailing Wall, Via Dolorosa, Church of the Holy Sepulcher... everything. Not sure what else there is to say, except it was an amazing and exhausting day.
I will do a larger update tomorrow, but tonight I am so so tired and we have another long day tomorrow. Keep checking later tonight, as I may have time tomorrow morning to post some more details and maybe even pictures!
We saw everything there is to see: the bazaar, the Tomple Mount, the Dome of the Rock, the Wailing Wall, Via Dolorosa, Church of the Holy Sepulcher... everything. Not sure what else there is to say, except it was an amazing and exhausting day.
I will do a larger update tomorrow, but tonight I am so so tired and we have another long day tomorrow. Keep checking later tonight, as I may have time tomorrow morning to post some more details and maybe even pictures!
25 May, 2010
May 25: Jerusalem and Bethlehem
First, before I begin: I have to make a quick apology. Apparently I ruffled some feathers in the British Isles yesterday when I posted that we would be "opening" for the King's Singers tonight. What I wrote was misleading: we were not to "open" for them tonight, but rather we sang right before the King's Singers concert in the plaza outside the venue. When I put "opening" in quotes in the last post, I did so to indicate we weren't "opening" per se, but were performing before them outside the venue. Let me be clear that our concert was in no way affiliated with the King's Singers. I would like to apologize for the international incident I caused in the process of updating my blog. I am still unsure how the blog got so much attention, but rest assured that this will not happen again, and I apologize for the wave it caused. This had nothing to do with Maya Shavit, Brady Allred, or the University Singers, and I hope it does not reflect poorly on any of those people. I am just a simple college student keeping up a blog for my family and friends to follow when I travel abroad. Any of this was completely my fault in my poor and misleading wording, and should not be blamed on any of the aforementioned individuals.
Alright, now that I got that done, I would like to announce that the University Singers have been invited to perform with Muse, Jimmi Hendrix, Crosby Stills and Nash, Bob Marley, and Owl City on the plane flight on Saturday evening. It will be the first Transatlantic concert!***
Today we saw Jerusalem and Bethlehem, and what an incredible day it was. We started the day on the Mount of Olives, which is, of course, an magical overlook of the Old City. Seeing the golden-topped Dome of the Rock nearly took my breath away. We have a guide for the rest of our trip, an Arab Christian named Suki (sp?). He pointed out all of the important sites from the viewpoint and their significance. Of course, I took plenty of photos. We also made friends with a couple of men who owned a camel and brought him to the Mount of Olives to ride for about 3 US Dollars. Of course, vast quantities of Singers lined up to ride the camel. This guy must make bank because he easily made about 100 US dollars in a half-hour's time.
The next stop was Mount Zion, said to be the site of King David's tomb and also the site of a beautiful church. The Mount is also supposedly the site of the Last Supper. The tomb of King David is a synagogue owned by orthodox Jews, so men and women were not allowed to enter together. After donning my yarmulke, I entered with our guide, who showed us that there was nothing actually under the blanket that covered the tomb. He explained that this was the place where the histories had placed the tomb of King David, and the actual tomb we visited today was just a place where we can remember him.
Next we went to the Holocaust Museum, Yad Vashem. This was an incredible place, built in concrete to replicate the death camps. We spent nearly two hours here, following the path of the museum and looking at letters, artifacts, and facts about the Nazis' extermination of the Jews. It was a very moving, and very sad experience. As amazing as the museum as a whole was, the two parts that were more incredible weren't part of the exhibits. The first was the Hall of Names, which has shelves three stories high filled with books of the names of people killed in the Holocaust. The room is round, and features a sunken reflecting pool on the very lower floor. Incredible. The second was the Children's Memorial, a pitch-dark series of hallways with the exception of several dim candles. The room, though, is made of mirrors, and the candlelight is reflected in the mirrors to create the illusion of millions of candles stretched out across infinity in the darkness. As we walked, a solemn voice recited the names of every known child killed in the Holocaust.
The next stop was a visit to another museum. There were two main attractions here. The first was a giant model of Jerusalem around the time of the Second Temple, just before the birth of Christ. It was very intricate, and cool to see the differences between then and now. The second was the Shrine of the Book, a place housing the Dead Sea scrolls. This was a remarkable experience. The actual Dead Sea scrolls were right there, with only a pane of plexiglass between them and my eyes. The history overwhelmed me. They had English translations of each scroll as well, so we could read what each one said.
Finally, we crossed the Palestinean border into Bethlehem. This is a town now under the control of Palestine, so you must cross through a very intense-looking wall in a militarized zone to enter the city. Once there, we ate a delightful falafel lunch (yum) and proceeded to the Church of the Nativity, built over the place where Christ was born. Inside, we were able to see a mosaic from the original church floor, dating to the 300s CE, the oldest mosaic in the Middle East. The columns in the church were also very old, dating to the 5th Century CE. But of course, the main attraction was the place where Jesus Christ was born. After descending a narrow stairway, we came upon an anticlimactic shrine surrounded by elaborate Greek Orthodox decoration. Somehow I wish they had just let the cave stay, so it would have felt more like we were actually there.
After the church we had the opportunity to shop at a local store where local Arab Christians made olivewood carvings and figurines, and the tour guide was friends with the owner so we received 40% off all of our purchases. I also had the chance to buy some more gifts from street vendors, including a small bag, which I will need when we explore the old city tomorrow.
At last, the big event of the day had come: the King's Singers concert. We arrived late to the venue but were able to sing about 5 nubmers to a bountiful audience in the plaza, who were very appreciative. Afterward, we went and saw the wonderful King's Singers perform, which was a great experience and a very enjoyable concert.
Tomorrow we are in the Old City of Jerusalem, so the pictures and updates will be plentiful. I am so very busy so I never have time to post pictures but I will try very hard to do so in the morning or tomorrow evening. We will be home soon, and can't wait to see everyone!
***Of course, this is a cruel joke. Just covering my ass. Please don't sue me...
Alright, now that I got that done, I would like to announce that the University Singers have been invited to perform with Muse, Jimmi Hendrix, Crosby Stills and Nash, Bob Marley, and Owl City on the plane flight on Saturday evening. It will be the first Transatlantic concert!***
Today we saw Jerusalem and Bethlehem, and what an incredible day it was. We started the day on the Mount of Olives, which is, of course, an magical overlook of the Old City. Seeing the golden-topped Dome of the Rock nearly took my breath away. We have a guide for the rest of our trip, an Arab Christian named Suki (sp?). He pointed out all of the important sites from the viewpoint and their significance. Of course, I took plenty of photos. We also made friends with a couple of men who owned a camel and brought him to the Mount of Olives to ride for about 3 US Dollars. Of course, vast quantities of Singers lined up to ride the camel. This guy must make bank because he easily made about 100 US dollars in a half-hour's time.
The next stop was Mount Zion, said to be the site of King David's tomb and also the site of a beautiful church. The Mount is also supposedly the site of the Last Supper. The tomb of King David is a synagogue owned by orthodox Jews, so men and women were not allowed to enter together. After donning my yarmulke, I entered with our guide, who showed us that there was nothing actually under the blanket that covered the tomb. He explained that this was the place where the histories had placed the tomb of King David, and the actual tomb we visited today was just a place where we can remember him.
Next we went to the Holocaust Museum, Yad Vashem. This was an incredible place, built in concrete to replicate the death camps. We spent nearly two hours here, following the path of the museum and looking at letters, artifacts, and facts about the Nazis' extermination of the Jews. It was a very moving, and very sad experience. As amazing as the museum as a whole was, the two parts that were more incredible weren't part of the exhibits. The first was the Hall of Names, which has shelves three stories high filled with books of the names of people killed in the Holocaust. The room is round, and features a sunken reflecting pool on the very lower floor. Incredible. The second was the Children's Memorial, a pitch-dark series of hallways with the exception of several dim candles. The room, though, is made of mirrors, and the candlelight is reflected in the mirrors to create the illusion of millions of candles stretched out across infinity in the darkness. As we walked, a solemn voice recited the names of every known child killed in the Holocaust.
The next stop was a visit to another museum. There were two main attractions here. The first was a giant model of Jerusalem around the time of the Second Temple, just before the birth of Christ. It was very intricate, and cool to see the differences between then and now. The second was the Shrine of the Book, a place housing the Dead Sea scrolls. This was a remarkable experience. The actual Dead Sea scrolls were right there, with only a pane of plexiglass between them and my eyes. The history overwhelmed me. They had English translations of each scroll as well, so we could read what each one said.
Finally, we crossed the Palestinean border into Bethlehem. This is a town now under the control of Palestine, so you must cross through a very intense-looking wall in a militarized zone to enter the city. Once there, we ate a delightful falafel lunch (yum) and proceeded to the Church of the Nativity, built over the place where Christ was born. Inside, we were able to see a mosaic from the original church floor, dating to the 300s CE, the oldest mosaic in the Middle East. The columns in the church were also very old, dating to the 5th Century CE. But of course, the main attraction was the place where Jesus Christ was born. After descending a narrow stairway, we came upon an anticlimactic shrine surrounded by elaborate Greek Orthodox decoration. Somehow I wish they had just let the cave stay, so it would have felt more like we were actually there.
After the church we had the opportunity to shop at a local store where local Arab Christians made olivewood carvings and figurines, and the tour guide was friends with the owner so we received 40% off all of our purchases. I also had the chance to buy some more gifts from street vendors, including a small bag, which I will need when we explore the old city tomorrow.
At last, the big event of the day had come: the King's Singers concert. We arrived late to the venue but were able to sing about 5 nubmers to a bountiful audience in the plaza, who were very appreciative. Afterward, we went and saw the wonderful King's Singers perform, which was a great experience and a very enjoyable concert.
Tomorrow we are in the Old City of Jerusalem, so the pictures and updates will be plentiful. I am so very busy so I never have time to post pictures but I will try very hard to do so in the morning or tomorrow evening. We will be home soon, and can't wait to see everyone!
***Of course, this is a cruel joke. Just covering my ass. Please don't sue me...
24 May, 2010
May 24: Qiryat Gat and the Bell Caves
After being completely unaware of what our plans were for the day, we had a late departure from Tel Aviv and nobody knew exactly what was going on. Even Carol Ann was unaware of the day's plans. All we knew is we had a concert in the Bell Caves, wherever those were...
After about an hour's drive from Tel Aviv, we wound up in a remarkably Utah-like desert landscape and stopped seemingly in the middle of nowhere to meet our hosts. Here a man and a woman greeted us and we exited the bus, being told only to bring a hat and water. At this point I was positive we were making a trek to our deaths across the Negev desert, but we came upon a small set of ruins at the top of the hill, with a stairwell descending into the earth. The guide explained that underneath us there was a gigantic network of cisterns used by the Israelites in the second century BCE to defend themselves against Roman invasion. We were going to explore some of these ancient cisterns. After a tight, slow, and very claustrophobic descent down narrow stairwells, we finally reached the first cistern. I can't even tell you how blown away I was by this experience. Here we were, in perfectly preserved remains of civilizations over 2000 years old!
The cisterns were round and about as large as rooms in a house, and we could see remains of ancient stairwells leading to different rooms and different levels. Each room seemed to have a purpose: the majority of the larger cisterns were used to collect drinking water during the rainy season and store it for the rest of the year. Others were more specifically dwellings for the people attempting to escape Roman slavery. Others still featured series of small holes in the walls, where the people would raise pigeons for meat and eggs to eat. A longer series of rooms which we entered was described by our guide as "the marketplace" and we saw more pigeon holes and stairwells in a seemingly endless labyrinth of cisterns. Later we would come across an ACTUAL olive press (no joke) that dates from the second century BCE and is still 100% in tact. It is a wheel that is attached to a central pole in a bowl, and pushing the wheel around the pole crushes the olives and creates the oil. Also in this room were numerous other instruments for preparing food and grain, all in tact and all as old as the olive press. Insanely cool.
We exited the cisterns, walked to a nice picnic lunch and then proceeded to the Bell Caves. After a very short walk we came to the first of the caves and the guide described them for us. He told us that the people in the 6th-11th Centuries CE created these as chalk quarries. The caves are bell-shaped because of the nature of the quarries. A 1-meter hole would be cut in the top rock of the earth, and then they would quarry outward, creating the distinct "bell" shape of the caves. Today many of the caves have collapsed, but there is still a significant network of these quarries in the area. One of these networks features about 8 or 9 caves together, connected to each other. As the quarrying would continue, they would run into previous caves and create networks of them, supported only by pillars of chalk that were not quarried. One of these networks of caves would be the place we would be singing.
The setting was incredible: giant bell-shaped caves with pillars of chalk and limestone between them, and holes in the ceiling letting in natural light. Uplights on the chalk walls did the work the natural light couldn't. And of course, the acoustic was magical: reverb lasting 10-20 seconds or more. We sang the Rachmaninoff as well as a good portion of our A'Cappella repertoire that is suited to such an acoustic. We performed the very beginning of "Sing a New Song," which is a series of "alleluias" in a chant-like melody. Dr. Allred had us spread out throughout the caves and create echoes by singing at slightly different tempi. It truly brought tears to my eyes hearing the sound. Luckily, I got Carol Ann to record it for me, and so I will try to post a video!
After a stunning concert in the caves in collaboration with a local choir (recorded professionally, too!), we met up with our host families and headed home for the night. My family is a woman from New York City who has lived in Israel for 28 years, her Moroccan husband, and her 4 children. They are lovely and prepared a wonderful dinner for us all. They live in a town that my host mother says is the geographic center of the country called Qiryat Gat, which, incidentally, is the information technology capitol of the Middle East.
We leave for Jerusalem in the morning, and will be there for two days. An exciting announcement: We have recieved such wonderful acclaim across the country that we have been asked by the Israel Music Festival to "open" for the King's Singers tomorrow night in Jerusalem! In return, we are all going to be able to see the King's Singers concert for free! An amazing opportunity. I have a feeling tomorrow will be my favorite day so far, and must make sure my camera is well charged!!
I will see how the internet looks for pictures tonight, but I am very tired, and I know we will have internet in our hotel in Jerusalem. I will also try to post a video of us singing in the caves if I get a chance.
WEIRD THINGS ABOUT ISRAEL, for Tashia:
1) Light switches for bathrooms do not exist in bathrooms, they are always outside the bathroom. I cannot for the life of me figure out why this is true, but it is very annoying.
2) They eat raw fish at breakfast.
3) Orthodox Jews don't work - they live off of welfare and study the Torah all day. It's bizarre.
4) The drivers here are nuts. Like seriously nuts. I would never want to drive here.
5) There is a lot of talking at concerts during numbers. It takes Dr. Allred a while to quiet crowds down.
6) When we got off the plane in Tel Aviv, there was a Mezuzah at the end of the jetway. Hotel rooms also all have a Mezuzah on the door frame.
7) Everywhere you look there are soldiers. And they all carry large automatic weapons everywhere. And they are all young and usually very attractive.
8) Israeli teens are required to enter the Army at 18 for at least three years.
9) Everyone here under the age of 21 has a piercing.
10) Roundabouts are everywhere.
11) Everyone thinks we are all Mormons, and some even think we are all polygamists.
12) Nobody on the streets, when we tell them we are from Utah, knows where "Utah" is.
13) Hummus is served at every meal.
Hopefully I will learn more about it as I go along... the touristy portion is finally beginning. :)
After about an hour's drive from Tel Aviv, we wound up in a remarkably Utah-like desert landscape and stopped seemingly in the middle of nowhere to meet our hosts. Here a man and a woman greeted us and we exited the bus, being told only to bring a hat and water. At this point I was positive we were making a trek to our deaths across the Negev desert, but we came upon a small set of ruins at the top of the hill, with a stairwell descending into the earth. The guide explained that underneath us there was a gigantic network of cisterns used by the Israelites in the second century BCE to defend themselves against Roman invasion. We were going to explore some of these ancient cisterns. After a tight, slow, and very claustrophobic descent down narrow stairwells, we finally reached the first cistern. I can't even tell you how blown away I was by this experience. Here we were, in perfectly preserved remains of civilizations over 2000 years old!
The cisterns were round and about as large as rooms in a house, and we could see remains of ancient stairwells leading to different rooms and different levels. Each room seemed to have a purpose: the majority of the larger cisterns were used to collect drinking water during the rainy season and store it for the rest of the year. Others were more specifically dwellings for the people attempting to escape Roman slavery. Others still featured series of small holes in the walls, where the people would raise pigeons for meat and eggs to eat. A longer series of rooms which we entered was described by our guide as "the marketplace" and we saw more pigeon holes and stairwells in a seemingly endless labyrinth of cisterns. Later we would come across an ACTUAL olive press (no joke) that dates from the second century BCE and is still 100% in tact. It is a wheel that is attached to a central pole in a bowl, and pushing the wheel around the pole crushes the olives and creates the oil. Also in this room were numerous other instruments for preparing food and grain, all in tact and all as old as the olive press. Insanely cool.
We exited the cisterns, walked to a nice picnic lunch and then proceeded to the Bell Caves. After a very short walk we came to the first of the caves and the guide described them for us. He told us that the people in the 6th-11th Centuries CE created these as chalk quarries. The caves are bell-shaped because of the nature of the quarries. A 1-meter hole would be cut in the top rock of the earth, and then they would quarry outward, creating the distinct "bell" shape of the caves. Today many of the caves have collapsed, but there is still a significant network of these quarries in the area. One of these networks features about 8 or 9 caves together, connected to each other. As the quarrying would continue, they would run into previous caves and create networks of them, supported only by pillars of chalk that were not quarried. One of these networks of caves would be the place we would be singing.
The setting was incredible: giant bell-shaped caves with pillars of chalk and limestone between them, and holes in the ceiling letting in natural light. Uplights on the chalk walls did the work the natural light couldn't. And of course, the acoustic was magical: reverb lasting 10-20 seconds or more. We sang the Rachmaninoff as well as a good portion of our A'Cappella repertoire that is suited to such an acoustic. We performed the very beginning of "Sing a New Song," which is a series of "alleluias" in a chant-like melody. Dr. Allred had us spread out throughout the caves and create echoes by singing at slightly different tempi. It truly brought tears to my eyes hearing the sound. Luckily, I got Carol Ann to record it for me, and so I will try to post a video!
After a stunning concert in the caves in collaboration with a local choir (recorded professionally, too!), we met up with our host families and headed home for the night. My family is a woman from New York City who has lived in Israel for 28 years, her Moroccan husband, and her 4 children. They are lovely and prepared a wonderful dinner for us all. They live in a town that my host mother says is the geographic center of the country called Qiryat Gat, which, incidentally, is the information technology capitol of the Middle East.
We leave for Jerusalem in the morning, and will be there for two days. An exciting announcement: We have recieved such wonderful acclaim across the country that we have been asked by the Israel Music Festival to "open" for the King's Singers tomorrow night in Jerusalem! In return, we are all going to be able to see the King's Singers concert for free! An amazing opportunity. I have a feeling tomorrow will be my favorite day so far, and must make sure my camera is well charged!!
I will see how the internet looks for pictures tonight, but I am very tired, and I know we will have internet in our hotel in Jerusalem. I will also try to post a video of us singing in the caves if I get a chance.
WEIRD THINGS ABOUT ISRAEL, for Tashia:
1) Light switches for bathrooms do not exist in bathrooms, they are always outside the bathroom. I cannot for the life of me figure out why this is true, but it is very annoying.
2) They eat raw fish at breakfast.
3) Orthodox Jews don't work - they live off of welfare and study the Torah all day. It's bizarre.
4) The drivers here are nuts. Like seriously nuts. I would never want to drive here.
5) There is a lot of talking at concerts during numbers. It takes Dr. Allred a while to quiet crowds down.
6) When we got off the plane in Tel Aviv, there was a Mezuzah at the end of the jetway. Hotel rooms also all have a Mezuzah on the door frame.
7) Everywhere you look there are soldiers. And they all carry large automatic weapons everywhere. And they are all young and usually very attractive.
8) Israeli teens are required to enter the Army at 18 for at least three years.
9) Everyone here under the age of 21 has a piercing.
10) Roundabouts are everywhere.
11) Everyone thinks we are all Mormons, and some even think we are all polygamists.
12) Nobody on the streets, when we tell them we are from Utah, knows where "Utah" is.
13) Hummus is served at every meal.
Hopefully I will learn more about it as I go along... the touristy portion is finally beginning. :)
23 May, 2010
May 23: Tel Aviv and Jaffa
Good morning, or, good evening I suppose, to everyone in the US! We are still in Tel Aviv but leaving today. It is beautiful here and I have very much enjoyed my stay.
Since my last update, we had a wonderful concert in Nazareth with a local choir. Because it was a Christian church, we were able to sing a good amount of our Christian repertoire that had been taboo before. The audience was also a bit of a change of cast for us, because we were now in the east of the country and a big Christian city, so the audience was almost 100% Arab. For those of you who don't know, almost all Christians in Israel are Arabs, and generally Christian Arabs have better relations with the Israeli Jews than the Muslims. Nazareth, for obvious reasons, is a big Christian hub in Israel. As we drove east to Nazareth earlier in the day, there was a marked change in the composition of cities. They became smaller, more compact, and we were finally seeing mass quantities of mosques. The cool thing about these mosques is they are like ward houses in Utah: they are EVERYWHERE. Here in Tel Aviv, we saw a mosque just down the street from another. When driving past them, they stand out from the skylines of these towns like sore thumbs. Every mosque has a minaret (a tall tower) and a dome, and many of the domes are colored gold. These gold domes are magical when they glisten in the Israeli sun, and I wish I had been able to get a picture of them.
After the concert, and the realization that I don't know as much Arabic as I thought I did, we drove to Tel Aviv to our new hotel. And let me tell you, this is one of the nicest hotels I have ever stayed in. Jim and I are in a suite with a gigantic balcony. We finally have a fridge and a hair dryer (can't tell you how happy I was about that). The food here is great too: they have waffles for breakfast! Everyone is very impressed; some have even asked me if I was responsible for it, because they know me to be a man of taste and class. :) The notable thing about our drive, however, was we were returning the way we came, and thus drove past all the mosque-infested towns. And every single one, I mean EVERY single one, had a ring of green lights around it's minaret. At first I saw just one and thought it was just a localized phenomenon, then two, then we came upon Haderra and there were dozens of mosques in view, all of them with these rings of green lights around the minarets. Of course, I was fascinated, and as soon as I reached the hotel, I pulled up Google and tried to find and explanation, but could not find anything. So it's still a mystery. My guess is that it has something to do with the color of the religion; generally you see a lot of green in Muslim culture. But I am still very curious.
Yesterday we had a workshop at the Tel Aviv University, where aspiring Israeli conductors came to genuflect towards Brady Allred. He had us sing to demonstrate the different ways he manipulates our sound to get the incredible results he does, and all the students were very appreciative of the workshop. Afterward, we headed to the waterfront to have a free afternoon in Tel Aviv. We arrive around 1:30 and waited for a long time for the daughter of the woman who was organizing our trip for us, and finally found her and exited the bus at around 2. We had a vote to determine how long we would stay. For some reason, everyone wanted to go back to the hotel at 5 instead of spending a good amount of time in the city, which was lame, but we still got some time to look around. After following this woman for about 5 minutes as she showed us a train station, Emily, Andrea, and I decided that the guided tour was a total bust and we went off on our own.
Our first stop after the ATM was a local restaurant in Jaffa. I had my first falafel of the trip (unbelievably delicious) complete with a Fanta. Afterward we cruised the streets of the Neveh Tzedek, a place that really can't be described in words, but features narrow streets, cafes, and buildings that would blow your mind. It is the ultimate place of urban decay juxtposed with old structures... very cool! We then stumbled on a flea market and were accosted from all ends by shopkeepers. I found some awesome gifties for others and for myself and made some excellent deals. I am learning how to be an effective barterer, despite some missteps in the beginning that led to me getting things for more than I should have. The key is to not let them play on your Utah niceness. They know Americans are polite and don't want to be rude, but you have to not be afraid to walk away. They want the sale, and will go low to get it. So I got some great deals yesterday walking around. The best part of the day, however, was the sea. We stood by the Mediterranean for nearly an hour, letting the rough sea spray refresh us as we ate pear gelato. I even got to walk on the beach again. :)
I don't know exactly what the plan is today, but we are leaving for Jerusalem soon, and will have a full day there on Tuesday. Will keep you posted. Stay tuned for pictures after I go eat breakfast.
Since my last update, we had a wonderful concert in Nazareth with a local choir. Because it was a Christian church, we were able to sing a good amount of our Christian repertoire that had been taboo before. The audience was also a bit of a change of cast for us, because we were now in the east of the country and a big Christian city, so the audience was almost 100% Arab. For those of you who don't know, almost all Christians in Israel are Arabs, and generally Christian Arabs have better relations with the Israeli Jews than the Muslims. Nazareth, for obvious reasons, is a big Christian hub in Israel. As we drove east to Nazareth earlier in the day, there was a marked change in the composition of cities. They became smaller, more compact, and we were finally seeing mass quantities of mosques. The cool thing about these mosques is they are like ward houses in Utah: they are EVERYWHERE. Here in Tel Aviv, we saw a mosque just down the street from another. When driving past them, they stand out from the skylines of these towns like sore thumbs. Every mosque has a minaret (a tall tower) and a dome, and many of the domes are colored gold. These gold domes are magical when they glisten in the Israeli sun, and I wish I had been able to get a picture of them.
After the concert, and the realization that I don't know as much Arabic as I thought I did, we drove to Tel Aviv to our new hotel. And let me tell you, this is one of the nicest hotels I have ever stayed in. Jim and I are in a suite with a gigantic balcony. We finally have a fridge and a hair dryer (can't tell you how happy I was about that). The food here is great too: they have waffles for breakfast! Everyone is very impressed; some have even asked me if I was responsible for it, because they know me to be a man of taste and class. :) The notable thing about our drive, however, was we were returning the way we came, and thus drove past all the mosque-infested towns. And every single one, I mean EVERY single one, had a ring of green lights around it's minaret. At first I saw just one and thought it was just a localized phenomenon, then two, then we came upon Haderra and there were dozens of mosques in view, all of them with these rings of green lights around the minarets. Of course, I was fascinated, and as soon as I reached the hotel, I pulled up Google and tried to find and explanation, but could not find anything. So it's still a mystery. My guess is that it has something to do with the color of the religion; generally you see a lot of green in Muslim culture. But I am still very curious.
Yesterday we had a workshop at the Tel Aviv University, where aspiring Israeli conductors came to genuflect towards Brady Allred. He had us sing to demonstrate the different ways he manipulates our sound to get the incredible results he does, and all the students were very appreciative of the workshop. Afterward, we headed to the waterfront to have a free afternoon in Tel Aviv. We arrive around 1:30 and waited for a long time for the daughter of the woman who was organizing our trip for us, and finally found her and exited the bus at around 2. We had a vote to determine how long we would stay. For some reason, everyone wanted to go back to the hotel at 5 instead of spending a good amount of time in the city, which was lame, but we still got some time to look around. After following this woman for about 5 minutes as she showed us a train station, Emily, Andrea, and I decided that the guided tour was a total bust and we went off on our own.
Our first stop after the ATM was a local restaurant in Jaffa. I had my first falafel of the trip (unbelievably delicious) complete with a Fanta. Afterward we cruised the streets of the Neveh Tzedek, a place that really can't be described in words, but features narrow streets, cafes, and buildings that would blow your mind. It is the ultimate place of urban decay juxtposed with old structures... very cool! We then stumbled on a flea market and were accosted from all ends by shopkeepers. I found some awesome gifties for others and for myself and made some excellent deals. I am learning how to be an effective barterer, despite some missteps in the beginning that led to me getting things for more than I should have. The key is to not let them play on your Utah niceness. They know Americans are polite and don't want to be rude, but you have to not be afraid to walk away. They want the sale, and will go low to get it. So I got some great deals yesterday walking around. The best part of the day, however, was the sea. We stood by the Mediterranean for nearly an hour, letting the rough sea spray refresh us as we ate pear gelato. I even got to walk on the beach again. :)
I don't know exactly what the plan is today, but we are leaving for Jerusalem soon, and will have a full day there on Tuesday. Will keep you posted. Stay tuned for pictures after I go eat breakfast.
22 May, 2010
Pictures May 19-21
NOTE: For some reason, Blogger is posting my photos in reverse order. Still read them from top to bottom, because my descriptions won't make sense if you don't, but just know that they happened in the reverse chronological order from which they appear. Also, there really are no pictures that are notable from today, so I'll stop at the sea of Galilee and post most tomorrow night after our adventures in Tel Aviv.
:)
Mount of Beatitudes, exiting the cupola:
Galilee from the balcony on the Mount of Beatitudes:
Galilee view:
Church on the Mount of Beatitudes:
Galilee through the Bougainvillea:
An abandoned Mosque, right in the middle of the city of Tiberias. Very strange/cool:
Couldn't go in, it was locked, but a glimpse of the inside:
Mosque:
Street Market in Tiberias:
Old Synagogue from the Crusader era in Tiberias:
Galilee from the shore:
Greek Orthodox Church at the site where the 12 Apostles were chosen:
Gardens outside the church:
Church exterior:
Mosaic in the Monastery of the First Feast dating to the 600s AD:
The very rock where Jesus supposedly performed the miracle of bread and fish:
Inside the Monastery:
Monastery of the First Feast:
My host family's home:
Abu Ghosh:
Chilling on the Kibbutz lawn with snake grass pan pipes:
:)
Mount of Beatitudes, exiting the cupola:
Galilee from the balcony on the Mount of Beatitudes:
Galilee view:
Church on the Mount of Beatitudes:
Galilee through the Bougainvillea:
An abandoned Mosque, right in the middle of the city of Tiberias. Very strange/cool:
Couldn't go in, it was locked, but a glimpse of the inside:
Mosque:
Street Market in Tiberias:
Old Synagogue from the Crusader era in Tiberias:
Galilee from the shore:
Greek Orthodox Church at the site where the 12 Apostles were chosen:
Gardens outside the church:
Church exterior:
Mosaic in the Monastery of the First Feast dating to the 600s AD:
The very rock where Jesus supposedly performed the miracle of bread and fish:
Inside the Monastery:
Monastery of the First Feast:
My host family's home:
Abu Ghosh:
Chilling on the Kibbutz lawn with snake grass pan pipes:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)