It's Been A While

I apologize for not having posted in a long time. There were finals and lots of homework. There were a couple weeks where we couldn't even get out of the Center for the large amounts of homework. So, again, sorry.
Also, I apologize for no pictures in this post, I don't have them available to me at this time. As for the Egypt pictures, I haven't been able to get to where I can fix them yet.

Anyway, where to start... I guess I can start just with some of the stuff that I've done that comes to mind. The other day we went to the Jewish Quarter. The main thing we did there was take a tour of the New Hurva Synagogue. That was really cool. It's this huge synagogue that was only built about five years ago. It was built on the spot where the old synagogue had been destroyed in the 40s. There was a great view from the top. Our tour guide told us a story about how, when he was a youth, some of his friends snuck into the mosque right next to it (the spot) and switched the tape so that instead of the call to prayer it played "All You Need is Love". I thought that was an amusing story.

Yesterday we went to the Burnt House and the Herodian Quarter in the Jewish Quarter. It was really cool to see those old houses. There were some very nice mosaics in some of those bathrooms. We also went to the Temple Institute. The Temple Institute has all of the things ready and waiting that they will need and use once the Third Temple is built. It was really cool seeing the High Priest's garments and all the stuff that will go in there.

Today we did a lot. First we went to the Dome of the Rock. That was cool. Saw some capitals from pillars that were on Herod's Temple. Some of them still have paint and gold on them. Sadly, for that portion of the day my camera was accidentally set to 1 megapixel. Whoops. At least those ones will be easy to post. We also saw the top of the western part of the wall of Solomon's complex.

Then we went to the Roman Plaza. You go down through the Roman period Damascus Gate and go in and look at the old Roman plaza that they have excavated down there. Then we went to the Rockefeller Museum. That was pretty cool. There was all sorts of cool old stuff there. To finish today we went to the Israel Museum. There was all sorts of super cool stuff there. Sennacherib's Prism (where he tells of his conquest of Judah), one of the Lachish Letters (Telling of the impending Assyrian invasion ["We cannot see the signal fire of Azekah!"]), and the Dead Sea Scrolls. It was pretty cool.

Next week we go to Galilee for 10 days. That should be fun. I'll see if I can write about it when I get back. We only have three days of turnaround between Galilee and Jordan.

City of David

Sorry for not posting for a while. Things have been really busy. And the internet is being picky, so those Egypt pictures might have some more waiting before they become visible. Sorry.

On Monday we went to the City of David. It was really cool. We started off with a video presentation giving a brief history of the City. Of course, it was in 3-D. Even historical parks have given in to the 3-D gimmick. At least it was decent 3-D. Pigeons flying in your face and stuff. Then we got on a tower to look at it from above. We got to see what was probably part of David's palace. Next to that were a few houses and a toilet seat from about 600 BC. Then we went down to the Gihon Spring and walked through Hezekiah's Tunnel. The water was not as deep as I had expected. It was really fun.

This Sunday we're going to go to Eilat to go snorkeling in the Red Sea. That will be lots of fun. Then on Monday we're going to Israel's Holocaust museum. It should be really good.

New Phones

We got new phones today. This means that I can text people in the States 400 times a month. It also means that you can call me if you wish to pay the international call rates. Google voice rates to an Israeli cell phone is ten cents a minute, so not too bad. Should you wish to call me my number is 011-975-54-700-4285.

Pit Tomb 33

Well, here it is. Pit Tomb 33. Enjoy.

Egypt!

Well, we've been back for about a week now. Sorry it's taken me so long to do this. The first few days back the internet was swamped with people uploading pictures (sort of like what I'm doing now...). Anyway, Egypt.

Egypt was really cool. Seriously, it was about ten degrees cooler than I expected. But it was still way up there, especially in Luxor.

So, we left Jerusalem and stopped at a few archaeological sites. One of them was Arad. Arad is cool because it has the only remaining Ancient Israelite temple. Here I am in the Holy of Holies

Me in the Holy of Holies

That was really cool. Then we stayed overnight at a kibbutz. That was fun. There was good food and a swimming pool.

The next day we got to Egypt, getting into Cairo in the evening. We took our stuff to the hotel rooms and went over to the Pyramids Sound and Lights show. That was pretty cool. Pretty much the same information we had had in class, but with lights and an animated face on the Sphinx talking to us.

Then we went to the pyramids themselves the next day (I think it was Monday?). I got to take this cool shot of the smallest of the three while standing on Kufu's pyramid. Yes, not technically legal, but the guards called me over and helped me up.

You can tell I was actually on the pyramid

Then we went to a few other, earlier pyramids. The step pyramids. We went to the tomb of this guy named Ti. That was pretty cool because there wasn't anyone around. The paint was amazing. Striking, vivid color of paints that had been on those walls for 3,000 years. Then we got to go down to his burial chamber. That was really cool because there were a bunch of scarab beetles down there.

That night we flew down to Luxor. Luxor was a lot hotter than Cairo. But still not too bad. The hotel was very nice. We stayed at the Sheraton Luxor. There was a great view backing onto the Nile. Where I got this picture.

We went to the valley of the Kings. Went into Rameses I's tomb. Rameses II's would have been really cool, but that's been closed for a long time. Of course we went to King Tut-ankh-aman's tomb. Not too spectacular. Very small. They did have his mummy on display in there, so that was kinda cool. He was really small. Of course he died very young, too.

Then we went to the temple of Hatchepsut. That was pretty cool. The coolest thing there was something that I forgot to post a picture of, so I'll do that in a follow-up. It was Pit Tomb 33. Really, not too remarkable. And nobody outside Mormondom would find it worthwhile. It's so cool because it is a very likely candidate for where the Papyrus of the book of Abraham was found.

Then we went to the Karnak and Luxor temples. Those were really cool. Especially Karnak. That place is huge. All sorts of columns and rooms. Really cool hieroglyphics everywhere.

We took a train overnight back to Cairo. Back at Cairo we went to the Cairo Museum. There we saw a bunch of mummies, including Rameses II. For those who don't know, Rameses II is widely considered the Pharaoh of the Exodus, Moses's adoptive brother. Then we had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe.

We were treated to more long bus rides until we got to Sinai. Then it was waking up at 2 AM to go and hike up Mt. Sinai in order to watch the sunrise. It was spectacular and well worth it. Sorry, no pictures for now. I forgot my camera, so I have to steal some. The stone up there is truly remarkable. Formations like I have never seen before. One of my teachers saw (in 1994) a spot that looked like two stone tables had been taken out of the stone, but I couldn't find it.

Then we got back on Monday night. It was a great trip. If there's anything specific you'd like to know, comment or shoot me an email.

Shabbat Shalom

For those who do not speak Hebrew, that means "Good Sabbath". Anyway, this branch is very interesting. It's an otherwise normal branch, but it gets taken over by students so it feels more like a student unit. It's weird. Today, though, there was hardly anyone who does not live in the Center was at Church. All the roads are closed today for Yom Kippur. There was, however, a movie scouting crew visiting. That was cool, I guess.

This afternoon we walked through Orson Hyde Park on the way to the Church of All Nations and the traditional site of Gethsemane. I really liked that church. I thought it was very interesting. I'm sorry that there aren't pictures of it, but I wasn't thinking and didn't take my camera. The entryway looks like a gnarled olive tree. On the wall behind the altar are some very interesting mosaics of Christ suffering in Gethsemane and His betrayal. Just in front of the altar is the stone that it is believed was the stone that Christ suffered on. There are nine countries represented in the ceiling. I quite enjoyed identifying them. Some I am not certain of because I'm not that good at reading Latin. They are, I believe: The US, England, Mexico, Chile, Spain, Germany, Canada, France, and Brazil.

Tomorrow morning we go to Egypt. I will be sure to put up a bunch of pictures when I get back.

And the walls came a-tumbling down.

So, today we went to Jericho. It was pretty cool. We saw all sorts of things. Things like:
A neolithic tower, the oldest building in the world. And:

The bases of the walls that Joshua and Co tumbled down then climbed up. Also:
The spring that Elisha healed. This things pumps out about a gallon of water every 3 minutes. I got to drink some of it's water. It was nice and cool. Very refreshing in the heat of the Jordan River Valley.

The Western Wall

So, we just got back from visiting the Western Wall. It was really cool because it was not only the Sabbath, but a holiday. I and two other guys got invited to join a group dancing, so we did. That was an amazing experience singing and dancing at the Western Wall. It was super fun.

Shana Tova!

Shana tova, everyone! That means "happy new year" in Hebrew. It was one of the first phrases we learned in my Hebrew class because today is Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year. Yesterday I was in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City with a group, and we got invited to a Rosh Hashana dinner at a Rabbi's house. Of course, we went. It took us a while to be able to find his house, but we got there in time for the symbolic foods. It was super fun. And it was my first date. Ha ha. Seriously, though, I had never had a date before. I could see what the Rabbi was talking about when he said that some people interpret the "honey" in "land flowing with milk and honey" to mean date honey. One drunk man kept shouting "Welcome to Chicago." We had to leave early, but it was still worth it.

Ramadan ends tonight, so that means big Muslim celebrations tonight and big feasts for the next three days. Should be very exciting.

My new favorite way into the Old City is Lion's Gate.

I like it because there aren't that many people around there. It is where the Via Dolorosa begins. The Via Dolorosa is supposed to be the path that Christ took while carrying His cross to Calvary. Right within the gate is the birthplace of the Virgin Mary. The Bethesda Pool is right next to that.

Today we got to go to the Temple Mount to the Dome of the Rock for a few minutes

I took this screenshot of Google Earth so that you could see where I was when I took those two pictures that you see floating there. The one on top is actually on the other side of the arches. We were only allowed up there for about 5 minutes because we got to the security checkpoint at ten minutes before 11, when it closes for the public.

We've got all sorts of cool stuff lined up, like Jericho on Monday and Egypt the next week.

Good Sabbath

So, here in Jerusalem we have the Sabbath day on Saturday. The Church decided that the Jewish Sabbath was best for the branch here. The Muslims have theirs on Friday, and most Christians have it on Sunday. Today was our fast Sabbath, being the first Sabbath of the month. I find it very interesting that the Muslims just finished their fasting for Ramadan last night, and we fasted today.

I learned some cool stuff about the Church in the Middle East. Yes, the Church is in the Middle East. There is the "Middle East Desk", kind of like an Area. There are districts in Israel, Jordan, Iraq, and Afghanistan. There is also a Stake in Saudi Arabia, with the "Desk" in Dubai. I guess the Church is in more places than we realize.

I also happened to run into Jay Williams and his family. Honestly, I didn't remember them. They used to be in our stake about 10 years ago. But still, small world.

I am in the Spanish speaking Sunday School class. It's kinda cool. There are people in the Branch from Bolivia and Venezuela. It was pretty cool.

Now we're watching The Prince of Egypt. The library has a lot of good movie selection, even though I haven't gone to check myself.

Some Pics

Here are a couple pictures from my room's porch. One at night and the other during the day. Enjoy.

Day Two

First of all, here is a map of where the Center is. If you just zoom in you'll be able to see it.



View Larger Map

The Center is the building right along the bend of of the 1949 Armistice Agreement Line.

So, today we had a walking tour of Jerusalem. We walked from the Center through the Old City to West Jerusalem. We quickly stopped by lots of sites like the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. It was interesting to see the general "Okay..."ness of the Mormons. I thought it was really cool. I look forward to going there again.

On the way out we met a money changer named Aladdin. He gave us these cards that were a dollar bill with his face on them and said "In Aladdin We Trust." He was funny. There were also a lot of other merchants who knew who we were and expressed a great like for us.

We also saw the ceramics shop where the cover for the November 1998 Friend was made.


Well, that's about all for now. Class starts tomorrow. Probably won't have much to say about that. I'll post as interesting things happen.

Arrived Safely

So, it's been a long day. Er... two days. Got up at 6 in the morning (MDT) and slept about one hour on the plane. It's now 9:40 Jerusalem time. Also, almost bedtime, gotta be up early tomorrow to get to know the city.

The plane rides went very slickly. All on time, early even, no hiccups. From Salt Lake to New York I sat next to a guy who claimed that the aliens who are working to make the world run how it should are going to finally succeed this month, after 35 years of trying, to get rid of the IRS and the Federal Reserve. Then social security will go, and we will all have do-everything ID cards. And the lies that are power lines will be replaced by zero-point energy.

Got into Israel on time and went on the hour-long bus ride to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv. There was amazing scenery. Along the road there were blown-up trucks and things that were left as a monument to the '48 war.

The view from the Center is amazing. Every room has a great view of the Dome of the Rock. Every so often we hear the Muslim call to prayer, which is especially cool now that it's Ramadan. They do extra singing, extra loudly.

We met some of our teachers today, they all seem really fun. Tomorrow we go and get to know the city. It looks like it will be a blast.

Welcome!

Welcome to my Jerusalem Center blog!!! Yay! Hooray! So, let me apologize now for the lack of pictures in this blog. The Jerusalem Center has a low bandwidth that does not accommodate file uploads. But I will write in periodically with updates on what I'm doing. Especially reviews of trips. I'm doing this here because Facebook has been blocked in the Center thanks to a bunch of kids being idiots last semester. I will, of course, put my pictures on Facebook when I get back in December.

Today we had the orientation meeting. Lots of sitting and listening. I'll be at the airport (SLC) at 8 tomorrow morning. Then it's off to JFK, and finally to Tel Aviv. I am a travel group leader. That means that I am in charge of making sure that 16 people get on the flights and don't have problems with losing passports or luggage. Shouldn't be too bad. Even though all the other group leaders only have to worry about 5. But I have the direct flight. I leave later and get there sooner than them. Happy day.

Updates on the trip to come.  Next post from Jerusalem.