Well, I've been at Ibex for nearly a month now, and I've been thinking about what the experience has meant to me thus far. What does living in the Land of the Bible do for you? Well, for one thing, the "warm fuzzies" I might have expect are not really that common. For one thing, most of the mental pictures I've grown up with of what Bible places are like have been smashed by reality. Jerusalem is a chaotic jumble of vendors and holy buildings. Bethlehem smells like deisel, and is plagued with heavy traffic. The place of the crucifixion has a gigantic church built over it, with several sects squabbling over it day in and day out. It's hard to mentally erase the scars of modernity and imagine what these places were like long ago.
This is not to say it's all bad. These places are fun and exciting, but for different reasons than I would have expected.
What has impressed me most about walking Jerusalem, climbing the mound where Jericho lays buried, viewing the Ascent of Adummim where so many biblical figures have walked - or ran - is that it is real. These places are just as real as Kansas City, or Santa Clarita, or Jahuara II! When we read stories from the Bible about these different places, the geography and setting no longer sound like jibberish - they sound just as real as if they said "Jesus and the disciples left that night for LAX, taking Placerita Cyn. to San Fernando, where they made a left and..." It's the coolest thing ever.
So at this point, I have to say that the reality of all these places are starting to take hold...
Dan
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Jerusalem Studies Field Trip #1
Hey y'all,
We went with Uncle Randy today on our first Jerusalem Studies class field trip. Randy is a powerwalker, so we had to hurry to keep up, but the good news is he's a down-hill only kind of guy, and stopped to buy us goodies like coffee and ice cream.
We left at 8:00am sharp, and walked most of the day. We went to what used to be the Imperial Hotel, where famous guests of the past favored to stay, one of them being Mark Twain. It now is deserted and blends into the alleyway which now runs through the old courtyard. From there we went to the Christ's Church and visited the Conrad Schick Library. Conrad Shick is a Jerusalem notable, knighted for his intricate model of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
When our appointment came we toured the Tower of David, which really has nothing to do with the name - it was built by Herod and would have been visible in the time of Jesus. Inside it is much larger than I would have expected, and it houses an excellent museum covering most of the history of Jerusalem. It was a fascinating building, displaying many styles and periods of architecture due to the various kingdoms that contributed to the structure standing today.
Around 11:30 we went on to see the Cardo and hear more about the walls of the differnt periods - a subject that still confuses me to tears, but I think it's coming. Lunch followed, and then we went to a museum to watch an interesting 3-D video presentation, focusing more on the "spirit of Jerusalem", and not so much on history and fact. Uncle Randy calls is "artsy-fartsy", but I think most of us enjoyed it.
We then went to have "coffee time". I stuck with Coke, because I decide a long time ago that one addiction is enough! We then went past the Western Wall, through the small gate called Tanner's Gate, and on to the City of David. Much of what we saw was a repeat from our Land and Bible walk, but it was a good review of Area G, and the other areas of excavation were pointed out.
The best place we went was what very well could be David and Solomon's Tombs. There is not 100% agreement on this matter, but Randy tends to lean to the positive side. A bunch of us climbed up into it - getting down was a bit trickier for the shorter, less climbing-versed members of the female persuasion. I ended up helping out as a ladder :o)
Just before we saw the tombs we saw an ancient rock quarry and learned about the process of cutting the stones from the rock, which is pretty cool. This was what I noticed about this field trip - it gave us other bits of information, details that fit in to what we've heard on our other walks. Randy did a good job of pointing out the more modern sights and interests as well.
In short that's what we did today. It was fun to be in a smaller group, because it allowed us to get more litte fun stuff done and still go everywhere we needed to. Our bus was late coming back, but Uncle Randy has plenty of stories to tell, so that wasn't such a problem.
The best story he told all day was just before getting on the bus to come back. I didn't catch the name, but apparently there was a monk who never cut his beard, hair, or fingernails. The beard was 32 ft. long! And better yet - it was his only clothing!
Dan
We went with Uncle Randy today on our first Jerusalem Studies class field trip. Randy is a powerwalker, so we had to hurry to keep up, but the good news is he's a down-hill only kind of guy, and stopped to buy us goodies like coffee and ice cream.
We left at 8:00am sharp, and walked most of the day. We went to what used to be the Imperial Hotel, where famous guests of the past favored to stay, one of them being Mark Twain. It now is deserted and blends into the alleyway which now runs through the old courtyard. From there we went to the Christ's Church and visited the Conrad Schick Library. Conrad Shick is a Jerusalem notable, knighted for his intricate model of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
When our appointment came we toured the Tower of David, which really has nothing to do with the name - it was built by Herod and would have been visible in the time of Jesus. Inside it is much larger than I would have expected, and it houses an excellent museum covering most of the history of Jerusalem. It was a fascinating building, displaying many styles and periods of architecture due to the various kingdoms that contributed to the structure standing today.
Around 11:30 we went on to see the Cardo and hear more about the walls of the differnt periods - a subject that still confuses me to tears, but I think it's coming. Lunch followed, and then we went to a museum to watch an interesting 3-D video presentation, focusing more on the "spirit of Jerusalem", and not so much on history and fact. Uncle Randy calls is "artsy-fartsy", but I think most of us enjoyed it.
We then went to have "coffee time". I stuck with Coke, because I decide a long time ago that one addiction is enough! We then went past the Western Wall, through the small gate called Tanner's Gate, and on to the City of David. Much of what we saw was a repeat from our Land and Bible walk, but it was a good review of Area G, and the other areas of excavation were pointed out.
The best place we went was what very well could be David and Solomon's Tombs. There is not 100% agreement on this matter, but Randy tends to lean to the positive side. A bunch of us climbed up into it - getting down was a bit trickier for the shorter, less climbing-versed members of the female persuasion. I ended up helping out as a ladder :o)
Just before we saw the tombs we saw an ancient rock quarry and learned about the process of cutting the stones from the rock, which is pretty cool. This was what I noticed about this field trip - it gave us other bits of information, details that fit in to what we've heard on our other walks. Randy did a good job of pointing out the more modern sights and interests as well.
In short that's what we did today. It was fun to be in a smaller group, because it allowed us to get more litte fun stuff done and still go everywhere we needed to. Our bus was late coming back, but Uncle Randy has plenty of stories to tell, so that wasn't such a problem.
The best story he told all day was just before getting on the bus to come back. I didn't catch the name, but apparently there was a monk who never cut his beard, hair, or fingernails. The beard was 32 ft. long! And better yet - it was his only clothing!
Dan
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Benjamin Field Trip
Hey everybody!
Yesterday we embarked on our Benjamin field trip at 7:30am sharp. It was poor weather when we started, rainy and cold. Beginning at Kiriath-Jearim, where the ark of the covenant rested for 120 years, we made our way west to Gezer. Gezer was a very strategic location in ancient times, serving as a major traffic from the west towards the Central Benjamin Plateau. Of the famous Amarna letters, correspondence between the kings of the Land Between and the Pharaoh of Egypt, the origen of ten belong to the city of Gezer. Out of all the southern cities, Solomon saw it fit to make in Gezer his only fortifications.
Tel-Gezer is a place of much archaeological activity, yielding many fascinating discoveries. One interesting item we saw upon arrival was a replica of the Gezer calendar. This find was made 100 years ago by RAS McCalister. It probably served like an erasable slate - what was still on it upon discovery was a poem about the seasons, the harvests, and so it serves as a "calendar" of sorts. This artifact is dated to around 10th century B.C.
Next we viewed a Canaanite period (1500 BC) tower and water system (several of us climbed down into the remaing hole), and continuing around the tel to the south side, we learned about the Solomonic gate which was found. It had a 3-chambered gate, and casemate walls (walls with storage rooms inside). Solomon recieved Gezer as a wedding gift upon marrying Pharaoh's dauhter. It was neat to see this wall, with the surrounding green hills and light rain. It had been recently cleared of brush and weeds, so visibility was high.
We walked on through the gate, over the hill until we reached the remains of an ancient "High Place", "Standing Stones" as warned against in Leviticus 26. Originally 10 stones, only a handful remain as a vivid reminder of idolatrous foolishness.
Having finished with our tour of Tel-Gezer, we returned to the bus. Normally, the bus parks up on the paved road, and we hike down to the tel. Raji, our Arab bus driver, happened to be the adventurous type, and drove down the steep slope to the tel. We were excited for the lift, but when we were almost back to the top - no good. Raji did his best, and we did what we could by filling the road with rocks and branches, but the bus wouldn't climb. We gave up and turned around, deciding to try another route. Long story short - after pushing the bus out of the mud at least three times, it eventually sank in the mud, and we parted ways with Raji and hiked a long ways through the mud to where another bus would come to pick us up. My favorite quote was "Mud is what memories are made of!"
After knocking the mud off of our shoes and pants and everything else, we ate lunch while we waited for the bus to come. Here we had a very awkward lecture concerning the city of Emmaus. I'm sure we were a crazy sight for all the passerby!
From here, we made our way to Nebi-Samwil, the traditional (yet inaccurate) place of the prophet Samuel's tomb. We climbe atop a large structure where we could see and understand the cities so important to the region, including Gibeon, Ramah, Gibeah, Mizpah, and others. Such a view combined with the mentioning of the stories of the area really made it all come together in my mind.
We then loaded back on the bus and made our way to Jericho. We eventually followed the TOE ridge - a steep, winding route through the wilderness which eventually arrives at Jericho. The view was breathtaking, even through the tinted bus windows. Bedouin camped along the way with their sheep added even more color to the scene. At one point, I was even able to spot an empty sheep "fold", circular with an entryway blocked off with thorns and wire.
Jericho was not at all as I had pictured it, so it is a good thing that we went there. The tel is much smaller than you would expect, but when you take in the surrounding geography, so much makes sense. Looking out toward the east?, you can see all of the tel, surrounded by the modern city, and beyond that you can see the plains of Moab and the Mounains now in Jordan. Standing on the tel, looking back west?, you can see the rocky cliffs in which the spies hid upon their deliverance by Rahab. The tel itself is a bit confusing, but remains of civilization are clearly evident, and the finds match the biblical description of Jericho's destruction. We read the story sitting on the tel looking toward the plains and the mountains - it was a once in a lifetime experience that we will never forget.
After leaving the tel, we stopped by a sycamore tree in "downtown" Jericho, and then on the way out of the area we saw a part of Herod's favorite palace, the one in which he spent the last moments of his life. There were some shepherd boys chucking rocks at their goats, and it reminded me of Jahuara Viejo in Sinaloa, MX.
We made our exit by way of the Ascent of Adummim, and once again the stories came alive upon seeing the reality of the route, the treacherous way by which many men have fled for their lifes, and where the story of a life saved by kindness is likely set (the story of the "good Samaritan"). Our last stop was to view the Wadi-Kilt - and what a view it was. The monastery built in the wall of the cliff, sun setting in the background, Todd's awe-inspiring profile silloueted against the evening sky...(Ok, maybe not.) Analee and I both agree that it was the coolest part of the day, as far as setting is concerned - the view and tranquility of the spot was a great way to cap off the Benjamin field trip. After a few cookies and some photos (we couldn't pass up the great "couple pics" moment), we loaded up and headed for the moshav...home away from home.
Dan
Yesterday we embarked on our Benjamin field trip at 7:30am sharp. It was poor weather when we started, rainy and cold. Beginning at Kiriath-Jearim, where the ark of the covenant rested for 120 years, we made our way west to Gezer. Gezer was a very strategic location in ancient times, serving as a major traffic from the west towards the Central Benjamin Plateau. Of the famous Amarna letters, correspondence between the kings of the Land Between and the Pharaoh of Egypt, the origen of ten belong to the city of Gezer. Out of all the southern cities, Solomon saw it fit to make in Gezer his only fortifications.
Tel-Gezer is a place of much archaeological activity, yielding many fascinating discoveries. One interesting item we saw upon arrival was a replica of the Gezer calendar. This find was made 100 years ago by RAS McCalister. It probably served like an erasable slate - what was still on it upon discovery was a poem about the seasons, the harvests, and so it serves as a "calendar" of sorts. This artifact is dated to around 10th century B.C.
Next we viewed a Canaanite period (1500 BC) tower and water system (several of us climbed down into the remaing hole), and continuing around the tel to the south side, we learned about the Solomonic gate which was found. It had a 3-chambered gate, and casemate walls (walls with storage rooms inside). Solomon recieved Gezer as a wedding gift upon marrying Pharaoh's dauhter. It was neat to see this wall, with the surrounding green hills and light rain. It had been recently cleared of brush and weeds, so visibility was high.
We walked on through the gate, over the hill until we reached the remains of an ancient "High Place", "Standing Stones" as warned against in Leviticus 26. Originally 10 stones, only a handful remain as a vivid reminder of idolatrous foolishness.
Having finished with our tour of Tel-Gezer, we returned to the bus. Normally, the bus parks up on the paved road, and we hike down to the tel. Raji, our Arab bus driver, happened to be the adventurous type, and drove down the steep slope to the tel. We were excited for the lift, but when we were almost back to the top - no good. Raji did his best, and we did what we could by filling the road with rocks and branches, but the bus wouldn't climb. We gave up and turned around, deciding to try another route. Long story short - after pushing the bus out of the mud at least three times, it eventually sank in the mud, and we parted ways with Raji and hiked a long ways through the mud to where another bus would come to pick us up. My favorite quote was "Mud is what memories are made of!"
After knocking the mud off of our shoes and pants and everything else, we ate lunch while we waited for the bus to come. Here we had a very awkward lecture concerning the city of Emmaus. I'm sure we were a crazy sight for all the passerby!
From here, we made our way to Nebi-Samwil, the traditional (yet inaccurate) place of the prophet Samuel's tomb. We climbe atop a large structure where we could see and understand the cities so important to the region, including Gibeon, Ramah, Gibeah, Mizpah, and others. Such a view combined with the mentioning of the stories of the area really made it all come together in my mind.
We then loaded back on the bus and made our way to Jericho. We eventually followed the TOE ridge - a steep, winding route through the wilderness which eventually arrives at Jericho. The view was breathtaking, even through the tinted bus windows. Bedouin camped along the way with their sheep added even more color to the scene. At one point, I was even able to spot an empty sheep "fold", circular with an entryway blocked off with thorns and wire.
Jericho was not at all as I had pictured it, so it is a good thing that we went there. The tel is much smaller than you would expect, but when you take in the surrounding geography, so much makes sense. Looking out toward the east?, you can see all of the tel, surrounded by the modern city, and beyond that you can see the plains of Moab and the Mounains now in Jordan. Standing on the tel, looking back west?, you can see the rocky cliffs in which the spies hid upon their deliverance by Rahab. The tel itself is a bit confusing, but remains of civilization are clearly evident, and the finds match the biblical description of Jericho's destruction. We read the story sitting on the tel looking toward the plains and the mountains - it was a once in a lifetime experience that we will never forget.
After leaving the tel, we stopped by a sycamore tree in "downtown" Jericho, and then on the way out of the area we saw a part of Herod's favorite palace, the one in which he spent the last moments of his life. There were some shepherd boys chucking rocks at their goats, and it reminded me of Jahuara Viejo in Sinaloa, MX.
We made our exit by way of the Ascent of Adummim, and once again the stories came alive upon seeing the reality of the route, the treacherous way by which many men have fled for their lifes, and where the story of a life saved by kindness is likely set (the story of the "good Samaritan"). Our last stop was to view the Wadi-Kilt - and what a view it was. The monastery built in the wall of the cliff, sun setting in the background, Todd's awe-inspiring profile silloueted against the evening sky...(Ok, maybe not.) Analee and I both agree that it was the coolest part of the day, as far as setting is concerned - the view and tranquility of the spot was a great way to cap off the Benjamin field trip. After a few cookies and some photos (we couldn't pass up the great "couple pics" moment), we loaded up and headed for the moshav...home away from home.
Dan
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Today's Agenda
I thought I'd just give everybody the rundown on what I've done and will be doing today. First, I woke up around 7:30 and booked it to breakfast. At 8:30, I went to our weekly men's Bible study, led by Randy Cook. He's a great guy, a mountain man, brags about his cabin in Idaho, and really does a good job in being thoughtful and wise in his speech. We sing hymns, none of those "7/11" songs, as Randy calls them, and study the book of Nehemiah. Today we were in chapter two.
After that, I went to the library and cranked out the reading I had left to do for our Benjamin field trip tomorrow. I read an article from Biblical Archaeological Review on Jericho. I have trouble with the technical words sometimes, but it was interesting to see the different opinions and how the physical evidence matches up with the account of Scripture.
Having finished my reading, I came back to my room. On the way back I bumped into Analee and Natalie in the Biblical Gardens, hurrying off to the library as if they would turn into popsicles any second! :o) It has been pretty chilly lately, with lots of rain and wind. I hear that snow is even a possibility in Jerusalem, but we'll see.
So now I'm in my room, writting on my blog, and waiting for lunch to come at 12:30. After lunch I will probably do some more reading for my Jerusalem Studies class, then at 3:30 a group of ten of us will go to Jerusalem and visit some sites that we need to go to for credit in the same class. We're going to eat as some vegetarian place and visit a museum and some other stuff. I'm no vegetarian, but I'll try it this time. We'll probably get back around 7:30. After that, who knows what I'll end up doing...
Tomorrow is our Benjamin field trip, beginning sharply at 7:30pm. And by sharply, I mean sharply. Of all the methods concocted for encouraging student punctuality, Todd has found the "leave method" to be most effective! :o) Anyway, my next post will probably fill you in on all the grins and giggles in store.
Dan
After that, I went to the library and cranked out the reading I had left to do for our Benjamin field trip tomorrow. I read an article from Biblical Archaeological Review on Jericho. I have trouble with the technical words sometimes, but it was interesting to see the different opinions and how the physical evidence matches up with the account of Scripture.
Having finished my reading, I came back to my room. On the way back I bumped into Analee and Natalie in the Biblical Gardens, hurrying off to the library as if they would turn into popsicles any second! :o) It has been pretty chilly lately, with lots of rain and wind. I hear that snow is even a possibility in Jerusalem, but we'll see.
So now I'm in my room, writting on my blog, and waiting for lunch to come at 12:30. After lunch I will probably do some more reading for my Jerusalem Studies class, then at 3:30 a group of ten of us will go to Jerusalem and visit some sites that we need to go to for credit in the same class. We're going to eat as some vegetarian place and visit a museum and some other stuff. I'm no vegetarian, but I'll try it this time. We'll probably get back around 7:30. After that, who knows what I'll end up doing...
Tomorrow is our Benjamin field trip, beginning sharply at 7:30pm. And by sharply, I mean sharply. Of all the methods concocted for encouraging student punctuality, Todd has found the "leave method" to be most effective! :o) Anyway, my next post will probably fill you in on all the grins and giggles in store.
Dan
Thursday, February 01, 2007
3rd Jerusalem Walk - NT
Shalom, compadres!
Such an amazing country is hard to describe in words. If you haven't checked out my first set of Jerusalem pics, you should! I will try to update a new album soon.
We spent Tuesday night - Wednessday evening in the Old City for yet another wild ride with our Land and Bible professor Todd Bolen. Weather was not on our side - as I sat in the library doing some homework on Tuesday afternoon, the sky was dark and the rain was gushing down out of the sky. It eased up a bit for our travels that night, but I still wore a t-shirt, a thermal shirt, a longsleeve t, a fleece, a hoodie, and a light rain jacket...I won't go into what I wore to keep the rest of me warm :o)
We went to the Jerusalem museum and viewed a spectacular model of the city according to our knowledge of it in the first century, specifically 66 AD. In other words, we saw a mini-version of what Jesus would have seen. It really helped to "map it out" in my head. On the model, a person would have been half-an-inch tall. It was very nippy and raining just enough to make the lines run on my notebook paper, but we stuck to it and made it through. I won't go into a lot of detail in this post, since you would really need to be looking at the model to be able to understand the layout. Points of interest that we saw were the temple mount, Herod's palace, and the Antonia Fortress. If I find a good website with drawings or something, I will put it in the links to the top left.
After we were sufficiently frozen, we continued on to a very special place - The Shrine of the Book. The Shrine of the book is where the Dead Sea Scrolls are housed and displayed. Not just little tiny pieces - legible, whole specimens, along with many original artifacts from the Qumran community - 2000 year old pieces of the past. It was quite amazing. My favorite was a small pick-axe looking utensil labeled "small trowel for burying human feces" (I thought "obviously"). Also housed in The Shrine of the Book is the Allepo Codex, the oldest remaining Bible, not including the Dead Sea Scrolls. Photos were not allowed, sorry.
Thus concluded our evening class, we headed back to the hotel in the Old City, where I had Kosher pizza on the town with Analee and her friends Nat and Jess.
The next morning we set out at 7:20 for the Temple Mount. We booked it over there - by the end of the day, gained a new appreciation for the flatlands, after the agonizing up/down/up/down of the Holy City :o) At the Temple Mount, we discussed the Dome of the Rock (standing over area claimed by both Jews and Moslems as holy ground), Al-Aksa Mosque, "Solomon's Stables", the sealed Golden Gate, the Dome of the Tablets, the story of Jesus driving out the moneychangers, the story of Paul, when he used his Roman citizenship to excape a beating in the once nearby fortress, as well as the political sensitivity of the Temple Mount, generally speaking. It is indeed a fascinating place.
Next, after retrieving a few items from the hotel, we went to the South wall of the Old City, near "Dung Gate", were we saw Tanner's Gate and the Valley Cardo, a secondary "main street" built by the Romans. Here we entered the Southern Temple Mount Excavation, an "Archaeological Park". Fascinating remains of the walls, Robinson's arch - once supporting a stairway into the Royal Stoa on the Temple Mount, shops that used to be operated under the massive staircase, and other such interesting things. To exit, we walked through an ancient house under the present ground level, and went to the steps of the Southern Wall. Among other things, we learned that this is possible where Psalms 120-134, the songs of ascent, were sang, every other step - and we did just that, alternating the reading and having a really neat time reading together and experiencing a piece of history. Much more to be said, but let's move on - this is going to be another long post!
After eating lunch, we viewed ruins of ancient houses in two places. The first place was interesting in that it was preserved very well, with whole walls intact, mikveh-ot (ritual baths), regular tubs, tables, mosaics, and such still visible. The last of the three houses in this area was massive, called the Mansion, and would have been set up around a courtyard. Seeing this layout, one better understands what could have taken place when Peter denied Jesus. A courtyard such as this one very well could have been where these events took place. It was very hard to understand exactly how the walls and the different levels all connected, but this is to be expected with so much modern clutter in the way - the houses are preserved beneath a modern structure!
The second place we viewed ruins of a house was at a place called the "Burned House", where the basement of an ancient dwelling place from the time the second temple was destroyed has been baked into preservation by fire. The remains suggest that this may have been a priest's dwelling, and that it was probably burned during the attacks by the Romans. We watched a very cleverly designed multimedia presentation, which I thought was very helpful in bringing the remains to life, by means of 3-D characters acting out what "might have happened".
It was then time for one of the highlights of the day - the walk through Hezekiah's tunnel. It was an adventure, for sure. I was hunched over for most of the way, and the water was unfortunately only about ankle deep after the initial pooling of water near the entrance. In all we made it in about 15 minutes - record time. Go IBEX '07!
To finish the day, we viewed the newly discoverd Pool of Siloam, and were able to speak with the archaeologist who discovered it - just by a chance meeting. We sat on the steps that have been uncovered - the rest still lies beneat a garden owned by a church. No one knows when or what we will learn more about this important place in the ministry of Jesus Christ.
That's about it for now! So much more could be said - I could write books of my thoughts about many of these things - I only hope to give you a little taste of how amazing our God works, by allowing us such reminders of His Son's stay here on earth.
Dan
Such an amazing country is hard to describe in words. If you haven't checked out my first set of Jerusalem pics, you should! I will try to update a new album soon.
We spent Tuesday night - Wednessday evening in the Old City for yet another wild ride with our Land and Bible professor Todd Bolen. Weather was not on our side - as I sat in the library doing some homework on Tuesday afternoon, the sky was dark and the rain was gushing down out of the sky. It eased up a bit for our travels that night, but I still wore a t-shirt, a thermal shirt, a longsleeve t, a fleece, a hoodie, and a light rain jacket...I won't go into what I wore to keep the rest of me warm :o)
We went to the Jerusalem museum and viewed a spectacular model of the city according to our knowledge of it in the first century, specifically 66 AD. In other words, we saw a mini-version of what Jesus would have seen. It really helped to "map it out" in my head. On the model, a person would have been half-an-inch tall. It was very nippy and raining just enough to make the lines run on my notebook paper, but we stuck to it and made it through. I won't go into a lot of detail in this post, since you would really need to be looking at the model to be able to understand the layout. Points of interest that we saw were the temple mount, Herod's palace, and the Antonia Fortress. If I find a good website with drawings or something, I will put it in the links to the top left.
After we were sufficiently frozen, we continued on to a very special place - The Shrine of the Book. The Shrine of the book is where the Dead Sea Scrolls are housed and displayed. Not just little tiny pieces - legible, whole specimens, along with many original artifacts from the Qumran community - 2000 year old pieces of the past. It was quite amazing. My favorite was a small pick-axe looking utensil labeled "small trowel for burying human feces" (I thought "obviously"). Also housed in The Shrine of the Book is the Allepo Codex, the oldest remaining Bible, not including the Dead Sea Scrolls. Photos were not allowed, sorry.
Thus concluded our evening class, we headed back to the hotel in the Old City, where I had Kosher pizza on the town with Analee and her friends Nat and Jess.
The next morning we set out at 7:20 for the Temple Mount. We booked it over there - by the end of the day, gained a new appreciation for the flatlands, after the agonizing up/down/up/down of the Holy City :o) At the Temple Mount, we discussed the Dome of the Rock (standing over area claimed by both Jews and Moslems as holy ground), Al-Aksa Mosque, "Solomon's Stables", the sealed Golden Gate, the Dome of the Tablets, the story of Jesus driving out the moneychangers, the story of Paul, when he used his Roman citizenship to excape a beating in the once nearby fortress, as well as the political sensitivity of the Temple Mount, generally speaking. It is indeed a fascinating place.
Next, after retrieving a few items from the hotel, we went to the South wall of the Old City, near "Dung Gate", were we saw Tanner's Gate and the Valley Cardo, a secondary "main street" built by the Romans. Here we entered the Southern Temple Mount Excavation, an "Archaeological Park". Fascinating remains of the walls, Robinson's arch - once supporting a stairway into the Royal Stoa on the Temple Mount, shops that used to be operated under the massive staircase, and other such interesting things. To exit, we walked through an ancient house under the present ground level, and went to the steps of the Southern Wall. Among other things, we learned that this is possible where Psalms 120-134, the songs of ascent, were sang, every other step - and we did just that, alternating the reading and having a really neat time reading together and experiencing a piece of history. Much more to be said, but let's move on - this is going to be another long post!
After eating lunch, we viewed ruins of ancient houses in two places. The first place was interesting in that it was preserved very well, with whole walls intact, mikveh-ot (ritual baths), regular tubs, tables, mosaics, and such still visible. The last of the three houses in this area was massive, called the Mansion, and would have been set up around a courtyard. Seeing this layout, one better understands what could have taken place when Peter denied Jesus. A courtyard such as this one very well could have been where these events took place. It was very hard to understand exactly how the walls and the different levels all connected, but this is to be expected with so much modern clutter in the way - the houses are preserved beneath a modern structure!
The second place we viewed ruins of a house was at a place called the "Burned House", where the basement of an ancient dwelling place from the time the second temple was destroyed has been baked into preservation by fire. The remains suggest that this may have been a priest's dwelling, and that it was probably burned during the attacks by the Romans. We watched a very cleverly designed multimedia presentation, which I thought was very helpful in bringing the remains to life, by means of 3-D characters acting out what "might have happened".
It was then time for one of the highlights of the day - the walk through Hezekiah's tunnel. It was an adventure, for sure. I was hunched over for most of the way, and the water was unfortunately only about ankle deep after the initial pooling of water near the entrance. In all we made it in about 15 minutes - record time. Go IBEX '07!
To finish the day, we viewed the newly discoverd Pool of Siloam, and were able to speak with the archaeologist who discovered it - just by a chance meeting. We sat on the steps that have been uncovered - the rest still lies beneat a garden owned by a church. No one knows when or what we will learn more about this important place in the ministry of Jesus Christ.
That's about it for now! So much more could be said - I could write books of my thoughts about many of these things - I only hope to give you a little taste of how amazing our God works, by allowing us such reminders of His Son's stay here on earth.
Dan
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