Temple Mount

Do you know what Temple Mount is? I shall briefly explain. In the Old Testament, King David wanted to build a temple. He didn't, but he started building a platform over Mount Moriah (where Abraham was to sacrifice Isaac - or Ishmael if you're Muslim) upon which to build a temple. His son, Solomon, then made a temple on this platform (TEMPLE mount). It was destroyed, then rebuilt and then destroyed again. Then in 638 AD the Dome of the Rock was built thereon. This is a Muslim mosque, and it's beautiful, and it's built over the rock where Abraham was to have sacrificed his son.

The Temple Mount is only open to non-Muslims at very specific hours and has a pretty strict dress code. But I passed! They let me on the other day, and I touched the Dome of the Rock. It's beautiful - blue mosaic tiles on the outside and a huge golden dome. I also saw Al-Aqsa mosque (another mosque with a silvery/gray dome also on Temple Mount). It was way cool!

The Triclinium

On the evening of Shabbat we had a big fireside here. They invited the BYU students studying Arabic in Jordan to come, plus the 80 of us and the faculty and missionary couples - it was a pretty big fireside. We started out upstairs and read about the Savior telling his apostles to go and secure a room for the Passover. Then we walked outside, across the balcony and down some stairs and across another balcony into the chapel/auditorium. We were very quiet as we felt the cool evening air and looked out over Jerusalem by night.

When we got into the auditorium/chapel (which has an amazing overlook of Jerusalem through the windows behind the stage) we saw that the stage was set up for the Last Supper. 13 of our boys went up and reclined on their pillows on their left sides around a low table. We read some scriptures, and then Brother Seely read scriptures and told us the events during meals (the woman anointing Jesus' feet) and in the Upper Room during the Last Supper. The boys acted this out silently as Brother Seely spoke, so we heard and saw Christ (also known as Dan, here) wash the disciples' feet, give the sop of bread to Judas, and institute the sacrament. It was very powerful. The boys sat down, and then one by one the other professors (so four in all, including Bro. Seely) spoke about the next chapters in John. We learned about Christ being the true vine, about being a disciple and a friend to Christ, about having great love for men, and about the nature of the Son and the Father. One thing that stood out to me was when Brother Ostler said, "There is a connection between how we live and how we see other people," referring to how Jesus still called Judas "friend" when Judas kissed him to betray him.

We had some songs and some testimonies and talked about things we've done here to prepare us for our lives. How in the Valley of Elah we practiced throwing stones so we can kill our personal Goliaths. How we can see pieces of truth in most other cultures and religions. How we had a pilgrimage here, not a tour; the difference between a tourist and a pilgrim is attitude, but we are pilgrims because we seek, long, and expect to be affected by what we will see. It made me wonder what I'm seeking for, and what, as the years go by, I'll see that I was affected by.

The Difference between Boys and Girls

We visited Masada a week or so ago (the same day we visited the Dead Sea). At one point, we were climbing back up stairs that are constructed such that if you are not careful when you look up, you look up the skirt of the female who may be wearing a skirt above you. I was walking in front of a boy here named Aaron (who is a very sarcastic and easy-going fellow), and he said to himself, "Just look down, just look down. Walking pornography, that's all this is. In fact, that's all girls are. I think we should keep all women covered up completely and in the home, where they belong." I turned around and said to him, "Well, I think we should re-institute adult male circumcision!" He blinked at me a few times, and I continued walking. A few minutes later I hear him mutter, "Well, that'll never catch on."

Jordan

I recently got back from a few days in Jordan. The border crossing took a long time but not as long as Egypt, and Jordan didn't give us stamps so we all have random "leaving Israel" and "entering Israel" stamps. I wonder if anyone will wonder someday what I did in this illicit period of time?

We went to Petra (by way of other stops, including Mt. Nebo) and then spent the entire next day in Petra. If you don't know what Petra is, I reccomend you look it up, because it's pretty much amazing. My pictures are updated, so you can see there. So you understand my Indiana Jones pictures, the third movie (Last Crusade) was filmed in part at Petra. It was amazing! We took donkeys up a mountain to a monastary, something like 950 steep steep steps (try saying that 10 times fast) and that was my favorite part of my entire visit to Petra. You have to try not to fall off but the saddle and donkey are willing for that to happen. They've been up the path so many times the require no direction, nor do they respond to any startled shrieks or attempts at steering from the rider. Donkeys, it turns out, appear to be more comfortable on the edges. Unlike humans. Donkeys don't have good manners and poop on the donkey behind them and run into donkeys in front of them (preferrably not at the same time). Traffic jams in tight steep ravines with donkeys coming down are especially fun! Oh, did I mention that I was wearing a skirt? That day I walked 12.5 miles, drank 4.5 liters of water plus 2 juices and 2 ice creams - this is more than a gallon, folks, and it was a warm day. But I'm alive!!

The other great part of the trip was visiting the branch (just to say hi) in Amman. There was a fellow there named Ramon (raw-mawn, like lawn) who is Armenian but is married to a Jordanian and his family have been members of the church since '96. He has such great love for the Gospel and his country - he said, "I wish I could see all of Jordan in this room." You could feel his spirit while he spoke. After the Q&A with the district president, a bunch of kids went back to where Ramon was sitting. We just wanted to be near him. He told us about how he can't proselyte here (you can't anywhere in the Middle East) and how sad it made him. Then he told us, "You are the military of Jesus Christ! Call the people and teach the people. Call the people, and teach the people." Because we CAN. I never thought about missionary work as a privlege. When our teachers came to tell us to leave, Ramon said, "I am very happy; I am in a garden. All these," he points to us, "are my flowers." A boy asked, "What type of flower am I?" Ramon responded, "One from a fig tree." And it was amazing to feed off of his spirit and know he was basking in ours. It was a very amazing experience.

Temple Institute

We went to a place in Jerusalem the other day called the Temple Institute. The people here are a more extremist Jewish group whose goal is to build another temple - the third temple. (A brief bit of history here: first we had Solomon's Temple at approx 1000 BC, then we had Herod's Temple at around 25 BC, both were destroyed.) There are several problems with this goal. Most obvious is that they do not have the land (the Temple Mount in the Old City), and the temple must be built there. Not only built there, but the Holy of Holies must be built on the exact spot of the current Dome of the Rock. Some people (not me, anymore) don't quite understand this group and fear that they might resort to terrorist actions to obtain the land.

Since they cannot build the temple, they are now re-creating vessels that the temple will need. These include the table of the shewbread, the menorah (they made one; it's huge), parts of the altar, and various other vessels. They also are making large amounts of clothes for the Levite priests whom they hope will come back when the temple is built to officiate therein. They have some high priest garments, too, but apparently this is somewhat difficult to make because the blue overcoat for the high priest can only be dyed with a particular snail, who is rather rare, and somehow makes blue die. (Incidentally, they are doing nothing to make sure they do not kill off all these snails; I asked.)

It was very interesting to hear their opinions on the matter. The guide I had was a girl about my age, and was very strong in her desire to have a temple again. However, only Levites can officiate in the Jewish temple. But what authority do they have beyond lineage? There's a huge piece missing here. When we asked her about some of the things that took place (ie sacrifice) she said she didn't know why, necessarily, but it was out of obedience, and the Lord would let them know through a prophet if things were to change.

It also opened my eyes to how other places and religions, etc. seek for righteous things, and want to come to God. Many times I wanted to say something. No! You're almost there - it's a righteous worthy desire! But we do have a prophet! We do have temples! Everyone can be worthy to enter. It's as though they are looking so hard for the mark that they completely miss it and look beyond it. Sacrifices mean something beyond obedience, though obedience is good: they point to Christ. Going here helped me realize how much I appreciate what I know and how grateful I was for that.

Jordan Rift Valley

Today I went from over 2700 feet above sea level down to 1300 feet below sea level. Where is the only place in the world that you can do this? Oh yes: Israel!

A list of places we went today: Masada (refuge palace of Herod the great, a famous siege ramp from when Romans once took it, but not really because when it was clear they would win, all the men killed their families and each other and then the last fellow killed himself), the Dead Sea, Ein Gedi (where David went when fleeing Saul, a lovely waterfall but a hot, difficult hike), and Qumran (where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found).

Dead Sea overview: the surface of this body of water is 1300 feet below sea level; the bottom is 2600 feet below sea level. Nothing lives in the Dead Sea - even if someone tossed me in there - it would be awful. More details following. The Dead Sea is fed by the Jordan River (which starts at the Sea of Galilee) but has no exit, plus it is very very warm here. Hence, the water evaporates, leaving the salt and other mineral content of this sea very very high.

Dead Sea experience: coming down to the edge of the water, it appeared that everyone was standing in the water because it was only up to their mid-torso. Not so: the bottom drops away rather quickly, but you stay afloat! I waded in, glad for my shoes even though they looked dorky because the rocks were sharp and slippery. Then there's a white line over the rocks, like someone had thrown a white sheet over the next several feet of rocks. I soon discovered that this was actually salt and mineral deposits, from 1/4" to 1" thick - maybe more, but that's when I stopped caring. Because now it was suddenly very difficult to keep my feet in the water. I found the edge where the rocks dropped off (who knows how deep it was? It could have been hundreds of feet deep and I'd never know!!) and slid into the sea. Or at least, I tried to. Rather, I bobbed on the surface just like the rest of my compatriots. And the water felt oily against your skin and if you scooped up a handful of the water, it is indeed about as thick as olive oil.

The Dead Sea is seven times denser than - water? ocean water? - something. This means that it feels a little like you're on the Moon. You can lay back and look like you're sitting on an inflatable chair. If you try to swim, you can't keep your feet under the water (or at least not with shoes on them) so you can't kick. Trying to swim freestyle was rather funny to watch: arms and head sort of normal, a little high, you can see most of the back out of the water completely, and then there comes the rear end. Which sticks way out of the water and you cannot keep it down. And then legs that uselessly are higher than your head! Swimming was a joke here, and it took a very long to move anywhere.

There are mud holes on the shore a hundred meters or so from where you get in the water - dark, black mud. Which, for some reason which I don't know but I definitely participated in, we all rubbed over our skin until we looked like charcoal beings wearing swimming suits. Chimney sweeps! You'll see "Dead Sea Bath Salts" for sale your whole life, so maybe this mud was good for us? Jumping back in the water to rinse said mud off yourself (after ample pictures of the Mormon Israeli Aborigines, a/k/a the MIA), everyone tried to (and eventually gave up) not get the sea in their eyes as they attempt to clean off the mud from your face, which I intelligently placed there. However, I did not give up. This means that after getting the mud off, some dribblets from my forehead went….you guessed it, into mine eyes. This was very painful. (Did I mention that you find all sorts of cuts over you that you never knew you had? They burn!) And then we discovered the difference between boys and girls, both sides desperately wishing they were the other gender to avoid associated unpleasant experiences. Some poor souls had had a BM before entering the water and the toilet paper's scratching proved to be quite distasteful. The event started out fun but ended with Sariah, blind (ever get sea water in your eyes? Okay. Mix that with PEPPER SPRAY and you got it!), crawling onto the shore, pleading with a random boy to let me use a corner of his towel to wipe her eyes. I enjoyed it but I am fairly sure that the Dead Sea can go right up there with the Red Sea in terms of my "seas that I have visited but don't intend to swim in again" list!

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words - except in Galilee, where it's two thousand!

Let's skip the pictures - eventually I'll post them on flickr, but instead I'll create a syntax snapshot set from Galilee.

Nazareth: this is a picture of the Church of the Annunciation, where the birth of the Savior was announced to Mary. (Or, as someone else noted, it is where "the angel Gabriel enunciated.") There are lots of pictures/mosaics of Mary here donated by other countries to represent their classical icons/images of Mary. Incidentally, the one donated by the US looks nothing like anything I've ever seen before, especially in the US. I also lost my scriptures here. This is very sad.

Boat Ride O'er the Sea of Galilee: this picture is from a wooden boat. The Sea of Galilee is actually a lake (Lake Kinaret) and so is not salty. This is wonderful because when a wave hits your face and goes up your nose, it doesn't hurt! It is also about 700 feet below sea level and is the mouth of the Jordan River. Moving on to more specific parts of this picture: it is early morning, the boat is stopped. We learn about Christ and Peter walking on the water. (And since Peter means "stone," we tried throwing stones into the water; they did not float.) We next learn about the Christ calming the sea in the storm. We learned also the history of the song "Master the Tempest is Raging." If you get a chance, read the lyrics and don't sing it and pay attention to them; they're beautiful. We sing the hymn, and it is a lovely moment. My favorite lines: "No waters shall swallow the ship where lies the Master of ocean and earth and skies." With Christ in that boat, they were never going to sink. We've already seen Christ's power over the elements: the flood, rain, parting Red Sea, etc. No water would be able to swallow Him up. This is one of my favorite pictures.

Mount of Beatitudes: I may have previously mentioned that every Christian site in the Holy Land has a church on top of it. These churches are often lovely, are always ornate and crowded, but often make it difficult to imagine or picture what the site must have been like when it was "made famous." The church on the Mount is Italian, and was commissioned by Mussolini. It is much more understated than other churches in this country, though, and the Mount still provided a lovely view of the Sea of Galilee.

Capernaum: pretty much everything happened here. This is the city by the shore of the Sea of Galilee where Christ called apostles and made them fishers of men. Peter lived here, and after Christ left Nazareth it became his "hometown," and he stayed with Peter. Other things that happened here: raising Jairus' daughter from the dead, the woman with the issue of blood healed, the centurion's servant healed, the same centurion then finances the building of a synagogue where Christ later delivered the "bread of life" sermon, the man with palsy was lowered through Peter's roof, blessing children. They have built an odd church here over Peter's house but the floor of the church in the middle is glass and you can see inside Peter's house from the church. The original basalt synagogue is fallen but the foundation is still there and then a 4th century limestone synagogue's ruins are on top of it (LDS scriptures - the picture of Capernaum in the back of the new editions). We had great devotionals/lessons here. My other favorite picture!

Ceasaria Philipi: a huge mountain of bedrock. This is where Christ told Peter that Peter was a stone and Christ is the rock upon whom the church is built.

Akko: a crusader city, Richard the Lionheart spent time here. It's on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea (this would NOT be in Galilee). I won a Magnum (ice cream bar) here by finding a fleur-de-lis on a wall.

Meggido: this is a famous tell. Yes. Lots of stuff happened here. It overlooks where the battle of Armageddon will be fought.

Mount Tabor: either here or Mount Harmon is the Mount of Transfiguration. But there's a church on top of Tabor, so we went there. It was neat, though.

Nimrod's Fortress: not only does this place have a fantastic name, but it certainly outclasses every other palace/fortress I have ever explored. This includes France. (Disclaimer: this does not include palace/chateau grounds/gardens or roofs. Much of Nimrod's roof was missing, and Chambord had the best roof EVER.) We had two hours to run around. This fortress is built on top of a very very steep hill. It's a mystery even today how the rocks got up there. Legend is that there were giants involved. Excellent view of the Jezreel Valley!

Hezekiah and a Tunnel

Yesterday was an exciting dive into Old Testament history up to the beginning of the Babylonian Captivity. We went to the old City of David. There are 2 cities of David: Bethlehem, because he was born there, and the city he built when he took Jerusalem. We looked out on the valley from where his palace was, and you can indeed see the top of many roofs. Our teacher had us all pick a roof to be Bathsheba's, to show the great extent to which David went for adultery. Some of us acted this out, with "David" standing on chair in this city, a girl playing with her hair, and lying on the floor was Brandon as Uriah. (Brandon has an artificial leg and turned it at an awkward angle to indicate death.)

Then we walked down through Hezekiah's Tunnel. For your edification and learning, when the Assyrians came up to lay siege to Jerusalem, Hezekiah (a good and righteous king) had this tunnel built to bring water from a spring into the city to the pool of Siloam/Shilom (which is incidentally where Christ sent the blind man upon whose eyes he had put a clay to wash his eyes and receive his sight). The water was always mid calf height and at some places a meter or so high. It was a very impressive tunnel. Very cramped in some places, very tall in others, always very narrow and wet and dark. But this tunnel allowed Jerusalem (Hezekiah was the then king of Judah) to outlast this siege.

I was very moved by the rest of the story here. As the Assyrians were coming up to Jerusalem and trying to wear down Judah psychologically and threatening complete destruction, Hezekiah was understandably quite worried. He went to the temple (a very good idea) and prayed (another good idea). Then he went to talk to Isaiah, the prophet (the third excellent plan), who told him what the Lord said. The Lord told Hezekiah not to worry. The Assyrians would not prevail, they would not hurt the people, and they wouldn't even shoot one arrow towards the city. That night, an angel of the Lord came and smote 185,000 Assyrians, and "they woke up dead corpses." Bummer of a way to wake up! But how beautifully the Lord kept his promise! This solution was probably not foreseen by the people; how could the Lord possibly save them, they may have thought. But the Lord found a way. The Lord always has a way. When He promises us something, He always comes through.

Kissing in Cairo

I really enjoyed the bazaar in Cairo. (As opposed to the bazaar in Luxor, which wasn't my favorite.) I was able to talk to the vendors and have fun conversations and that actually helped bartering because both sides would explain why their price was set as it was, and it worked out and you felt more…honest? successful?...with your purchase. (As opposed to just bartering on price and trying to reach a number, both of you thinking the other is trying to cheat you.)

One man handed me a charm of the ankh (it looks like a cross with a circle at the top - you know what I'm talking about), saying, "A present for you." Not to be deceived, I asked, "How much?" He said, pointing to his cheek, "For you, just one kiss." Now, bear in mind please that I was exceedingly tired and hot and somewhat less than lucid at this point because it was the last day in Egypt. I, very exaggeratedly so it would not invite further physical affection, leaned forward from where I was standing (perhaps a meter away) and kissed his cheek. He laughed and said, "It was worth it!" And now I have a free charm.

One store in particular was very fun. While waiting for one of the girls in my group to look at football (soccer) jerseys, I chatted with a boy who was perhaps 16 years old at the most. He pointed to a wall of purses and asked if I liked any of them. I looked and noticed that one of the purses was made out of crocodile skin. A small crocodile. With the head attached. The purse had a flap that covered the top and buttoned in front and just below the button, hanging off the purse was a head. He saw my alarm, and I informed him that this was beyond my price range, and also beyond my range of desired accoutrements. "You're sure you don't want it? It's lovely," he joked. "It could be quite useful," I conceded. "If anybody tries to steal your purse you can scare them off or bite them with the crocodile head. He agreed, and put the purse on his shoulder and walked past me, saying, "Try to steal my bag." I obliged, and then he turned and said, "Back, back!!" waving the crocodile at me wildly. I suggested that he make it so you can open and close the jaw to be more terrifying. I asked him if he had other crocodiles. He pointed to some wooden ones that were made of small slices of wood tied together so if you held the tail, the animal waggled back and forth. I attempted to use this as a deterrent as he, in turn, pretended to steal my stuff. We decided that both these items were excellent for this purpose.

I also tried out my limited Arabic phrases with him and the woman (presumably his mother) in the shop. They laughed but said that they could understand me. The boy commented, "If you stay here I will make you fluent in Arabic in one hour." He grinned. A very innocent boy in our shopping group said to me, "Sariah, he wants to teach you the Arabic tongue!" Then he realized an alternative understanding of this phrase and said, "Oh my! Wait…that's probably true, too!"

Sariah

Now, over the last three weeks I've been told many things about my name:
"It's a Hebrew name!" (I grew up with this understanding, so this was normal.)

"It's an Arabic name. So you are Muslim?"

"It is an Egyptian name. It is the name of one of our stars, so means 'stars.'"

And my personal favorite, at the cartouche place where I was commissioning my name on a cartouche:
"You are spelling it wrong!"

Knowing all this, we now come to Sariah's crossing the border back into Israel from Egypt:

At Israeli customs, the lady looks down at my passport and says, "What is your name?"
"Sariah," I say.
"What does it mean?" she asks, still looking at my passport.
"Um, princess?" I waver. (I decided to omit the "...of the Lord" part of that and also the Arabic concept of stars. These were Israelis, after all.)
"In what language?"
"Hebrew!" I knew this one.
She looked at me with a suspicious and an I-speak-Hebrew-you-fool look, and took my passport and went away. I was looking around with some apprehension at this point; the other customs lady was letting everyone through. Soon my lady returned with another woman, handed her my passport and spoke to her rapidly in Hebrew. This lady nodded, and beckoned me aside.
"What is your name?" she asked.
"Sariah," I said.
"What is your father's name?" she asked, still looking at my passport.
"Um, Michael?" I tried. She stared at me. Quickly I added, "Michael Robert Cottrell," and just barely remembered not to say "Ma'am!" at the end.
"Where was he born?" she asked.
"Washington. Washington state," I clarified. (Sorry if this is wrong, Papi, I was under duress!
"And your mother's name?" she demanded.
(Is all this written in my passport?, I wondered.)
"Jennie Lynn Salisbury," I announced.
"And she was born?"
"Utah - no, Colorado, no- UTAH." I was firm. (sorry if I'm wrong here too, Mom.)
And then the big question:
She asked, "What is your connection to Israel?"
What? Do I have one? Tourist? American? Mormon? Secret underground Palestinian terrorist?
I stared at her.
"Your name. What is your connection to Israel," she said, irritated.
"Oh, um, remember how in the Bible Sarai's name was changed to Sarah?" (I decided that perhaps the Book of Mormon concept was not the best approach.) "I think my parents just mixed those two names together." (I have NO idea where this came from.)
"Oh." She looked relieved and annoyed, and gave me back my passport, and off I went.

The First of Many Possible Installments about Egypt

A Stranger in a Strange Land

Was the trip fun? Well, that word probably isn't the best adjective. The trip was very physically and mentally taxing: it was very, very hot, we got very little sleep, we were always just a little thirsty, we were learning too much to take in, but still it was fascinating. We drove down to Eliat, in the very southern part of Israel, making several stops along the way to see famous places. Somewhere along this route (probably at a Kibbutz towards the southern end of Israel) I lost my neck pouch. This is the equivalent of losing my wallet, but sort of better and sort of worse: in my pouch was a photocopy of my passport, a credit card, and $257 in US dollars and Egyptian pounds and about 4 shekels. Not good. So far, the pouch has not been recovered. This was a setback, but there was an emergency fund I could use in Egypt so it wasn't an awful trip. Then we crossed the border into Egypt, drove across the Sinai Desert and under the Suez Canal, and into Cairo!

17 million people live in Cairo, and an additional 3 million people commute to Cairo each day. These commuters alone constitute a larger number of people than the entire population of the state of Utah. Cairo is HUGE. After a day or two, we flew to Luxor, where we saw other important things, then took an overnight train (where the wheels were probably squares, it was that rickety) back to Cairo, whereupon after a few more days we drove back, stopping for a few hours in Eliat to go snorkeling.

Trip highlights, with PICTURES!

In Israel:
I saw an IBEX at the burial site of Ben Gurion. (I did a report on ibexes in 7th grade. This was great.)

I murmured in the Wilderness of Zin, where the Book of Mormon Sariah complained against her husband.

In Egypt:
I saw the pyramids! (they are huge, fyi. HUGE.)

I walked like an Egyptian! (incidentally, only tourists walk like this in Egypt.)

I kissed the sphinx.

I saw the Temple at Karnak.

I saw the obelisk commissioned by Hatshepsut (for all you Mara fans out there, that was very exciting.)

I had a faluka ride on the Nile.

I rode a camel!

I went to the Valley of the Kings (in Luxor) and saw King Tut's mummy in his tomb.

I went to a mortuary temple and found some really deeply carved hieroglyphics.

I saw the Colossus at Memnon.

I went snorkeling in the Red Sea and got a few stomachs-full of salt water, and expelled one of them. :( I think I'll leave the Red Sea to the Middle East.

(the pictures link to the right of the blog is updated with many of my Egypt pictures!)

The Western Wall

Tonight we went to the Western Wall (also known as the Wailing Wall) to welcome in the Shabbat with the Jews. The Jewish sabbath (Shabbat) starts Friday at sundown, and on Friday nights they all go to the Western Wall or their synagogues. At the wall they pray and rock back and forth as they pray, or bounce a little to keep in the rhythm of their prayer. They also have prayers written on pieces of paper and they fold those up and tuck them into little holes in the wall. Two thoughts surround this: "a prayer in Jerusalem is worth forty prayers anywhere else," and that the birds will pick up the prayers and take them up to God (figuratively). Interestingly: on the Sabbath, the Jews do no work. No electronics (because they're doing work), no writing, no reading beyond the scriptures. So it is forbidden to take pictures of the Western Wall on Shabbat. A few uninformed tourists took some and received glares from the Jews. Apparently, it is not uncommon for a very ultra-orthodox Jew to slap the camera out of their hand onto the ground. Also, this means that the prayers they put in the wall had to be written before Shabbat.

There are two sides in front of the Wall: women and men. (The male's side is far larger, incidentally.) You pray and sing and dance on each side, and at least on our side we sang and danced in groups. I don't speak Hebrew, so that means I muttered in a tune that resembled the song. It was very fun, however!

I leave to go to Egypt in two days!!

Geography Field Trip

We went on a field trip the other day to learn about the geography of Israel and of Jerusalem in particular. In this field trip we went to:

The Agusta-Victoria Tower, on the Agusta-Victoria hospital and church. This is one of three towers on top of the Mount of Olives. From the top of the tower we could see all around - we saw Jerusalem, east and west, we saw the walls around the Old City, we saw the Judean Wilderness (also known as a desert) and we could even see the Dead Sea! It was a little hazy and off in the distance, but you could see it! While waiting for the other group to look from the tower (it was a small tower) we sang in the church's chapel. The acoustics were out of control and it was very exciting.

The Seven Arches Hotel Overlook. From here we were just to the east of the Old City, right on top of the Mount of Olives. We got a good grasp of the geography of just Jerusalem. Now, looking at the skyline of Jerusalem, I can identify most of the prominent things. We could see the Garden of Gethsemane just down the hill, as well as several churches in that vicinity. The overlook was located just above the Jewish cemetery. This cemetery is quite extensive; my pictures didn't do it justice. Interestingly, they don't put flowers or notes on the tombs here. They put rocks on the tombs. (For a myriad of reasons; use your imagination to explore why, and you'll probably figure out a reason.) So lots of tombs had rocks on them. They're on the Mount of Olives because the Messiah will come to the Mount of Olives and bring to pass the Resurrection, so they're optimumly placed.

Elias Monastary. Actually, a hill behind the monastary. We could see south from the city and not the city at all, actually. We saw Bethlehem - it was so close you could probably walk there in under half an hour. Unfortunately, there is a wall between you and Bethlehem. It's around the West bank, and is called the Wall of Speration (or some extremists call it the Wall of Apartheid). It was constructed about 4 years ago, and it pretty much says, from the Israelis to the Palistinians, "Fine. You don't like us? You'll have your own state. But you can't come into ours." Most Jews can go outside the wall (there are Jewish settlements on the other side, randomly dotted in the West Bank) but Palistinians pretty much can't come through it. For example: our Islam teacher, even though he has a special permit to come through, couldn't come to class this week because the wall was closed. It's hundreds of miles long, and is made of concrete, and was funded by the U.S. Well, sort of. The US gives more money to Israel than it does to the rest of the world combined (so they aren't terrorists to us), and Israel made the wall, so presumably that's our tax dollars at work. The wall made terrorism in Jerusalem drop dramatically, though, so that's good.

Haas Promenade. This is to the south of Jerusalem. We read Genesis 22, about when Abraham is commanded to sacrifice Isaac. He came up from the south, and was told to get to the land of Moriah - Jerusalem is built on Mount Moriah, this IS that land. Then when he got there, on the third day, he looked up and it was the place. It was so neat to look up where he would have cast his eyes up from, and to read about the story. It was a very, very neat experience.

Nebi Samwil. This is where they think the prophet (nebi) Samuel (Samwil) is buried. It's the closest Richard the Lionheart ever got to Jerusalem and you can't even see the Old City from the top. Poor Richard. (Maybe he has an almanac now?) It was a Christian church, then destroyed, then rebuilt: it is now a mosque on top of a synagogue. We looked around and it turns out 70% of the Bible took place on the land we could see from the roof of Nebi Samwil. We saw the lands Abraham was given for his progeny. Off in the distance behind the Separation Wall (but not too far away, actually) were the Hills of Ephraim; most of us are Ephraim, so that was neat, to see the land that was promised to us. Our teacher said, after pointing these hills out to us, "Okay. Your next assignment is to go and claim your inheritance."

Choose Your Own Adventure: Vendors in the Old City

The other day you had a lot of free time so you go in a group of 3 out into the city. First you go to Aladdin's (pronounced "Al - ah - deen"), the money changer. Now that you have shekels, sunglasses, and water, you are armed to venture into the Old City of Jerusalem. Many of the streets in the Old City have shops on both sides filled with exciting wares, food, or questionable artifacts. There isn't enough room for a car to drive down the street. The streets all have coverings, whether it be cloth or a piece of plywood or a nice patio cover. A whole world of opportunity awaits you! CHOOSE: (VENDOR ONE) (VENDOR TWO) (HARLEY) (HOLY SEPLECHRE) (VENDOR THREE) (END)

VENDOR ONE
You meet a man, barter with him. He sells you two pairs of lovely authentic earrings. Your roommate buys one pair. The boy who is with you is obliged to watch the man show him approximately 20 necklaces that he could buy for his "special friend." Your friend has 10 shekels, about 3 dollars, so you talk to the shop owner about scarves. Now that the man is appropriately distracted from the 100 shekel necklaces, you make your escape. CHOOSE: Vendor 2, Harley, Holy Seplechre, Vendor 3, End


(VENDOR TWO) You walk down a less crowded street, starting to feel the heat of the day and glad you're by the shops where it's shaded. Your group pauses to drink some water. You see a store owner stand up and beckon you into his store. "No, no," you say, dreading the thought of entering yet another store. "No price to look," he says, and you grudgingly agree and follow your group into the store. It's less crowded than other stores are, and overall very clean and organized. You notice the proprietor to be a large man, both muscle and...not muscle. You are acutely aware that if it came to a fight, you would probably faint before he swung his first punch.

"You from America?" he asks. Your group has been told not to draw attention to yourself as Americans, as sometimes the Middle Eastern peoples are not in favor of us. Unsure how to respond, you pause, but one of your two companions says helpfully, "We're from BYU."
"Oh!" says the owner. "Mormons! You are with the new group?"
"Yes?" you say, hoping this is a good thing.
"I go to Utah next month! I go to Sandy! I love Mormons! Always so nice," he smiles.
"How much are these earrings?" you ask awkwardly.
"For Mormons, five shekel any pair you want!"
Having just bartered another pair of earrings down to 16 sheckel from 28, you eagerly attack the options, along with your female co-patriot. Your male companion says, even more awkwardly, "I live in Sandy."
At some point, the owner says, "I am going outside my shop. I know, Mormons, they don't like my cigarette. I will finish it outside."
You purchase a pair of earrings and a very exciting necklace, promise Emar (the owner, pronounced "eee - mahr") you'll tell everyone, and be back before he leaves to go to Sandy. CHOOSE: Vendor 1, Vendor 3, Harley, Holy Seplechre, End


HARLEY
Walking down the street, you see a person hop on their huge motorcycle and zoom off down the street, many people fleeing from the oncoming vehicle. CHOOSE: vendor 1, vendor 2, vendor 3, holy seplechre, end.

Vendor THREE
Walking down the street, a man taps your female companion on the shoulder. "You Mormons?" he asks.
"Yes!" you all cry in unison.
"Come to my shop, Ali-Baba's. You have heard of me, yes?" You all assure him that this is the case, and for two of you it really is. Upon entering his shop, he says, "I am always the best shop for the students. The Mormon University, they like me. Normally, I give coffee or tea to visitors, but the Mormons, I give you juice!" You are handed a cup of juice. You look at your companions and they at you, decide through subtle and yet powerful eye communication that the juice is not poisonous. You all drink. It is hot outside, and the non-poisonous juice is beautiful and mango-y.
Around his shop, you notice very catered items: leather, hand-tooled scripture cases that say "JERUSALEM" and have the city etched on them. He says his name is Shaban, and he is a craftsman: he engraves rings, necklaces, leather, etc. with anything you might desire. He has the cheapest prices (except for Emar. They have different wares but cheap prices.) You purchase a lovely Persian-designed pashmina scarf and are on your way. CHOOSE: vendor 1, vendor 2, harley, holy seplechre, end.

HOLY SEPLECHRE
There are two possible places in Jerusalem that are likely for the location of the crucifixion and the tomb. One is the Garden Tomb (you saw this last Saturday, your Shabbat or Sabbath, which you celebrate on Saturday along with the rest of Jerusalem), and the other is the Holy Seplechre. This is a church in the Old City. It's very crowded, but your group goes in and sees the rock of anointing, waits in line to see/touch/kiss (none of you do this. perhaps a previous kisser had mono, and we could get it?) the stone that has, possibly, the indentation of the cross on it. The Seplechre itself has a line that you can find no end to, so you take a picture from the outside and walk around, looking at various altars. You exit and go back outside. CHOOSE: Vendor 1, Vendor 2, Vendor 3, Harley, End.


END.

Security

Over the last two days here we've had many orientations dealing with security and safety regulations. They are trying to comfort us, I think, because nothing is really very likely but it is always a possibility because we're in the Middle East. These are some of the choice phrases over these two days that are quite funny, given that they're supposed to make us feel better (don't be scared, I just wrote them down because they were funny and no we're not going to die or get blown up):

"Be careful. There are lots of snakes here. Many of them are not poisonous."
(many? what about the rest of them? can we tell a difference?)

"In case of other hazards, such as weather, or war..."
(I love how "war" is right up there with "miscellaneous hazards")

"Don't worry about the Israeli army with the machine guns. If they have to shoot, they wouldn't dare shoot an American."
(I was quite shocked when walking around I noticed lots of boys holding guns. I asked, "are those real?" and was informed that guns in the Middle East are not usually fake.)

"Good news: last semester was a grope-free semester for our girls! Even in Egypt!"
(oh good! is it that common that a semester with no groping is so exciting?)

"If you leave a bag unattended in East Jerusalem - don't try this - the bomb squad will be there in five minutes and you will soon find the bag in pieces." (Apparently this actually happened once; the Israeli police shot someone's scriptures. After that they were relaly holy!!)

"If there's a fire, leave the building. You might have to jump over lots of rosebushes, but at least that's an option." (good to know we have options.)

"This is the laundry room. Oh yes, it's also the bomb shelter."
(so you can keep clean while you're in hiding.)

The 39.5 Hour Trip

I have finally arrived in Jerusalem and am well and safe! The entire trip took 39.5 hours (but who's counting). First we all flew from Salt Lake to Chicago, from thence to Austria, and on to Tel Aviv. Then a bus to Jerusalem.

The interesting part was in Austria: the group is 80 people, and half the people had a 2 hour layover before they were off to Tel Aviv, and the rest of us had an eleven hour layover. The airport is just outside Vienna, or Wien in German, and....seven euros later, we're in Vienna! It was very exciting to everyone to be on the metro that goes to the city from the airport: for the most part it was above ground, and for the first time in about 24 hours we saw the sun, a blue sky, and for the first time in months - it was green! Spring is in Vienna! We broke off into groups of approximately ten people depending on what we wanted to see. My group wandered around a lot, saw Stephansdome (I can't spell in German, forgive me) and a lot of other pointy churchy type buildings. We also saw the Vienna university and the parlaiment building, and several exciting fountains. My favorite part was when we walked through the gardens (there are a lot!) and took a nap on the grass. It being 4 am at home, this was glorious.

We arrived in Tel Aviv at about 1 am Jerusalem time, went through customs and baggage claims, had a 45 minute bus ride to the Jerusalem Center, and arrived at about 3 am. (For your information, Jerusalem is NINE hours AHEAD of Colorado time.) The other 40 people had gotten there at 5:30 pm, so they were all asleep when we arrived. We had fruit and muffins the center had made just for us, and then we went out on the balcony and looked at Jerusalem by moonlight (AMAZING!) so we didn't get to our rooms until about 3:45. The rooms each have 4 people, and 2 of us were late comers. Our roommates woke up enough to tell us that everything's in fours so we each get one of everything, and oh by the way the shower head is a little funky. This was an understatement, but we can live with it. It felt so good to be clean, and no longer stinky, and get clean clothes on and go to SLEEP!

Then we were awakened at about 4:30 or 5 to a very odd sound. We sort of vaguely knew it was the call to prayer (5 times daily for Muslims). We all sort of sat up and asked, "Is someone singing?" or "Should we be praying right now?" and "This is gonna be a long 2 months."

Off to Israel in 2 Days!!

As you probably know if you're reading this, I'm going with BYU to the BYU Jerusalem Center this spring. I'll be gone from April 29 to June 20th, and we're going to do all sorts of exciting things, included but not limited to: visit Egypt (see the pyramids, sphinx, and ride camels), visit Jordan, see Bethlehem, visit the Sea of Galilee. We will be swimming in both the Dead and the Red Seas, as well as the Mediterranean and perhaps the Sea of Galilee. We will spend the bulk of our time in Jerusalem, however, in the BYU center.

Some interesting pre-departure notes:

-Instead of having our Sabbath on Sundays, we will be having them on Saturdays because that's when the Jewish Shabbat is. I am not sure why but we will also never have lunch on the Sabbath. Probably some custom I am unaware of.
-On the packing list I was told to bring a large scarf because "some sites we will visit will require women to cover their heads/hair."
-We fly from Salt Lake to Chicago to Vienna to Tel Aviv. As far as I understand the itinerary, we have an eleven hour layover in Vienna. Presumably to see the city, I suppose.
-We have several classes at the center. We take Old Testament for the first half of our trip and then the New Testament for the second half, making frequent field trips to learn "on location." Sort of like art classes at the Louvre - "This IS Mona Lisa," only "This IS the Hill of Calvary." We also have 2 professors who live in Israel who will be teaching us about Judaism and Islam. They are Jewish and Muslim, respectively, and so these classes are both about religion and also culture.

I think it will be great fun!