Jewish Quarter- Part One

Once we finished lunch on campus, we headed through the markets to the Jewish Quarter. We happened to lose one group member along the way and sent someone back to find her. 

This picture sums up the Old City. Four quarters, Jewish, Christian, Muslim and Armenian.

We stopped to admire the Jerusalem Cardo ruins. This would have been the main street 1500 years ago. Built in the 2nd century by Hadrian (the Romans). 

This is in the jewish quarter. Israel has mandatory military service requirement for women (although these were certainly teenage girls). There were many groups like this in that same square (out of view here),  and it reminded me of ROTC in a way.  

Wohl Museum

Ritual Bath (Wohl Museum)

Mosaic Floor (Wohl Museum)

Wohl Museum. You can see a collection of vases in the background.

Mansion of those times. (Wohl Museum)

Ornate column (Wohl Museum)

Roman architecture indicating a courtyard enclosed by a series of columns. (Wohl Museum) 

Jerusalem University College- Israel

Once we arrived on campus, we were given a tour and had our Orientation class. We had quite a bit of homework to complete before heading to Israel. One of the main objectives of this academic tour was to learn the Historical Geography of the regions. I won't bore you too much with the details, but it's very interesting to learn the layout of the land. You can better imagine why people fought over certain areas (perhaps the soil, climate, access to water, etc.) and you can see just how hard some of the journeys taken would have been. Geography, Geology, Archeology were main topics of discussion during our stay.

JUC

The tour guide we had was very, very good. Dr. Carl Rasmussen has had many years of experience in Israel and has published an atlas of the bible with Zondervan publishing. It was wonderful to learn from such a distinguished instructor. Carl teaches at Bethel University (or may have recently retired, I'm not sure) and serves as an adjunct professor at JUC.


The college itself sits on Mount Zion and overlooks the Hinnom Valley. The history of the land includes:

- JUC relocating to this location following the Six Day War in 1967 after being occupied by troops. It overlooks a valley that was considered no mans land during the war.
- The historic buildings were part of the Bishop Gobat School built in 1853.
- The grounds and buildings rest atop portions of the Herodian Wall and includes the site of the Essene Gate. (Herodian= really old, possibly built by Herod the Great 74 BC- 3AD).
- There is also a cemetery located here, where famous protestants from the 19th and 20th century are buried.

This is the dining room where we enjoyed lunch on campus.

Carl describing the tombs and burial methods. Notice the people in the background? 

Our fearless leader stopping to get a picture. Carl has a free website filled with pictures of the holy land. HolyLandPhotos.org. 

First Impressions - Israel

Once we landed in Israel, we joined a group of people who were also headed to Jerusalem University College for the same tour we were taking. We arrived at the Gloria Hotel and met Moria, the student assistant for the college, who let us know about our "no room in the inn" situation. The hotel did not have a room available for us that night so they escorted us two blocks down the road to the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. A very simple room with working air conditioning and a few unique features:
The electricity only worked if your room key was placed in a slot on the wall.
The shower head was handheld.
This is actually a church, so you could very well be eating breakfast with a priest or group of nuns.

This is called Jaffa Gate. It is named after the city it points to (Jaffa on the Mediterranean).  One note on names, there are multiple names for places here. There might be a hebrew name (Sha'ar Yafo), an english name (Jaffa Gate) and arabic name (Bab el-Khalil or Bab Mihrab Dawud) for the exact same gate!

We headed out the next morning (4/05) to find the college and attend our orientation class.

This was a moving sight for me, to see normal life happening in a place we think of primarily in terms of historical context. 

The view from our room at the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate Church.

Entrance to the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate Church

Another view of Jaffa Gate. Behind me is the road leading down to JUC. 

Right inside the opening of Jaffa Gate. 

Trying really hard to not look like a tourist but still amazed at everything we see! 

Mom is tired of the pictures already! 

Something in bloom. 

This is the Old City Wall just down the road from Jaffa Gate. This whole wall around the city was built during the the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent (1538). He was a Turkish ruler of the Ottoman Empire from 1520-1566.  

Arrived!

Never Too Late

I have neglected this blog for a few years and it's time to dust off the keyboard. Life can get away from you sometimes, but it's never too late to do something you have been meaning to do. I'm starting a series of blogs talking about my trip to Israel this past April. I had the opportunity to go with my mom for two weeks and I learned so much. I know I will be unpacking all of that information for years to come. I do not call it a "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity because I know I will go back. There is something special about being there that is beyond words. I did not feel like I was walking on holy ground, as some have described it. The ground there is the same as it is here, they have parks, they have cities, they have modern lives, just like we do. I would say the difference I noticed, would be that they have a connection to the history that we do not. They have the ability to go to the Sea of Galilee, Shiloh, the Temple Mount steps and other places mentioned in the bible. Even if the landscape has changed over the years, you still feel the sense of excitement knowing these places are deeply connected to the bible. To start this series I will say, I could not have gone without the support of my family. My wonderful in-laws stepped up to help with all four kids while I was away. The day I left the helped me get to the airport and I left feeling confident that everyone would be okay. I also left Ohio mid snow fall. The latest possible snow we've had since we have been here. The plane had to have it's wings de-iced before we could take off!

Leaving the winter wonderland (in April!).

I met my mom at the Tulsa airport and we boarded our Air France flight to Paris.

This is the classy meal we enjoyed on the 8 hour flight from Atlanta to Paris (red eye). The only in-flight meal I liked. My first culture awareness moment was on our Air France flight since the flight attendants all spoke french first and would then speak english. 

Tel Aviv Airport.