Good Bye Jerusalem

Today is my final day here in Jerusalem. It is about 6:30 a.m. and I am up because I got up to watch the sunrise over the city. It was so beautiful. I am going to miss this place so much, but I also have so much to look forward to still. Next week on a Kibbutz in the Galilee, that is going to be fun.

This week we had it pretty easy. Each morning we would have some sort of guest speaker, lecture, or Hebrew class. We got to learn a lot about Judaism and how it works here in Jerusalem. Learning Hebrew was a lot of fun. The time was short, but I did learn a few things, and I can even write my name in Hebrew. It is pretty awesome.

After the morning classes, we would have the afternoon either free or to do activities that Linford assigned us. On Tuesday we went to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial Museum. We took the public bus system there, and it a very meaningful, eye opening time.

As you may have heard, on Wednesday there was a bus bombing here in Jerusalem. Someone dropped off a bomb in a bag at a bus stop across from the central bus station. The blast killed one woman and injured many others. When I heard about it I was kind of in shock. We had ridden those buses the day before, we stopped at that bus stop. It is terrifying to think what could've happened. However, everyone in our group is safe and we praise God for looking out for us. This bus bombing is the first one in Jerusalem in seven years. Our leader was just beginning to think it was safe, usually they don't let the students take the public bus system. So I just want to ask each one of you to remember Jerusalem in your prayers. Pray for the people who where injured and their families, pray for the person who set it off that he will hurt no more, pray for peace here in Jerusalem. That is my prayer everyday.

On Friday night, Shabbot, the Jewish sabboth begins at sundown. So, we had a Jewish man and his family come lead us in a typical Friday night (Shabbot) tradition. First we went down to the Western Wall, previously known as the "wailing wall" and watched all the Jews praying, and singing, and dancing, and celebrating their holy day. It was pretty cool to see. Then we went back to the place we are staying and had a Shabbot meal, with the family. There is the ritual of breaking bread and drinking grape juice and some songs and prayers. It was fun to be a part of, and really great to kind of experience what the Jewish holy day is like.

Today we leave at 1:00. We will go to church somewhere this morning, eat lunch, and be on our way. My time here is drawing to a close, and I am on the brink of a new adventure.

Blessings,
Allison

To Turkey and Back Again

Wow, the past week has been quite the adventure. Last Sunday in the early morning Darian Harnish, Emily Harnish and myself set out to the airport. We arrived to Tel Aviv three hours before our flight departed and it took 2.5 of them to get through security and make it to our gate. The airport workers did not like that we had traveled to Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine. So we got asked many questions and got labeled a 6. That is the highest number on their security system. A 6 means that everything in our check luggege and carry ons get taken out and searched. They run a stick with a cloth on the end over everything and analyze it, checking for explosive residue. A 6 also means that we get taken to a back room and "strip searched." Which pretty much meant I had to take of my jacket and they patted me down. Not as intense as it sounds. But after finally deciding that we were innocent travelers they led us through all the other security stops and we made it to our gate just in time for the final call.

The flight was uneventful and we made it to Turkey in about an hour. Arriving in Antalya was phenomenal. Antalya is a port city on the Southern coast of Turkey. There are snow capped mountains in the distance. It was quite lovely. Our hotel was about a minutes walk from the coast line. However, to get to the old city and marina it was about a 2 hour walk. Which we did three of the four days we were there. The third day we walked about 2 hours in the other direction to see the waterfalls off the coast it was so amazing. The entire coastline is lined with public parks and pathways. It was wonderful to walk there each day. Also each night we were in Turkey we watched the sunset over the snow capped mountains, just beyond the Mediterranean Sea. Such a sight to behold. 4 days in Turkey were not enough, but very enjoyable. I am so glad that I went.

The Duden Waterfalls.


The sun setting over the snow capped mountains.

The coastline of Antalya from a lookout near our hotel.

We returned to Jerusalem on Thursday and stayed at a newly opened hostel just outside the Old City. We relaxed there for 3 days before rejoining the group at Ecce Homo convent.

It was a very wonderful and relaxing week. That's all for now!

Much love,
Allison

Done already?

Wow, so the two weeks at JUC have passed very quickly. Since my last post we have been up in the region of the Galilee. We spent 4 days and 3 nights in the Galilee region before returning to Jerusalem last night in time for the Shabbot (Sabbath) meal.

Beginning on Tuesday we battled rain every step of the way. We had almost constant rain the whole 4 days we were in the Galilee, with breaks in the clouds just long enough to get some great pictures, or to tour a site without getting too soaked. Thank goodness for my waterproof shoes and coat. They were amazing!!

So on Tuesday we set off and went to Beth-She'an, an important trade city back in the day. We also went to Megiddo, another important trade city, and then we went up to Mount Carmel and read the story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal. It was so cool. If you keep reading the story, you find that Elijah goes down to Mt. Sinai and finds God in the quiet whisper after the earthquake, wind, and fire. So while we were reading this story, a big storm was blowing in, and all of a sudden, the rain came pouring down on us. It was awesome! We all got soaked running down the muddy path to get back to the bus, but it was totally worth it. I will think of that every time I read the story of Elijah. God's works are so amazing. After the torrential rain had passed, we headed over to the Nazareth Ridge. There we went to what is known as the "jumping cliff." This is supposedly the site where Jesus was taken by the people of Nazareth to be thrown of the cliff. Some say that Jesus jumped off instead and was carried away on the wind, thus the name "jumping cliff." Below is a view of the Jezreel Valley from the "jumping cliff."

Then we headed to En-Gev, a Holiday Resort on the coast of the Sea of Galilee. It was an amazing place to stay. When we pulled up the sun was beginning to set and this was the view we were greeted with on the shores of the Galilee. So amazing!

The next three days passed in sort of a blur we drove around a lot and saw so many things. We went to Hazor, Capernum, Ceasarea Philippi, Dan, Kursi, Qasrin, Bethsaida, Mt. Hermon, different outlooks on the Golan heights, we rode on a boat across the Sea of Galilee, and ended our time in the Galilee by heading to the Mediterranean Sea to visit Ceasarea.

Most of you probably recognize most of the places I visited, and that's okay. A lot of them were important trade cities. Pretty much the focus of the Galilee was the accessibility for trade. So I thoroughly enjoyed my time in the Galilee and look forward to returning to it in a few weeks. This time we will be staying on a Kibbutz and hiking the Jesus Trail. It should be fun.

For the mean time though, I leave for Antalya, Turkey early tomorrow morning for my free travel. I'm looking forward to a few relaxing days on the beaches of the Mediterranean Sea. Then we will be returning to Jerusalem for a week, and then up to the Galilee again. Only about 6 weeks left. Time is passing quickly.

Much love,

Allison

A Very Busy Week

Wow, this week has been crazy busy and so amazing. I have loved every minute of it. We have done so much traveling around the country and seen so many awesome sights. Let me try to tell you about them all.

We are studying at Jerusalem University College for a two week historical geography course. This consists of getting up bright and early each morning, jumping on the bus after a quick breakfast, and heading off to all reaches of the country of Israel.

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, in the morning we had 4 hours of class time, lunch, and then in the afternoon got walking tours around Jerusalem. This included going to see the Temple Mount, Western Well, Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the City of David, walking through a water filled tunnel, going to the Mount of Olives, and various important historical sites around the city. Wow. I just love Jerusalem. So much history of the Bible, so much history in general, and it is a beautiful city. Below are pictures from Jerusalem.

A night scene of New Jerusalem from the roof of JUC.

A view of the Old City of Jerusalem from the City of David.

A view of the Temple Mount and the Western Wall.

A great picture I caught of the sun rays while walking through the old city.

Then on Thursday we traveled to different locations around the city of Jerusalem so we could get a picture of the lay of the land. We saw Jerusalem from almost all the different approaches, North, South, East, and West. We started off in a beautiful hiking area called Safat, went to Mt. Scopus on the Mount of Olives, for lunch we had a picnic on the "hill of evil counsel" (ironically this is where the UN building is located), then we went to some archeological dig site towards the western part of Jerusalem.

The last three days have passed in kind of a blur so I will go through them quickly. We went to Shiloh - site of the wilderness tabernacle, Gezer, Bet-Shemesh - possible home of Deliah of Sampson and Deliah, had bus trouble, made it back safely, had a Shabbat meal of Friday night, went to Azekah - site of the story of David and Goliath, Ashkelon - got to swim in the Mediterranean Sea, Beer Sheba - home of Abraham, Arad - an important trade city, stayed overnight in a youth hostel in Arad, hiked up to Masada - one of Herod's many desert palaces, swam in waterfall pools in En Gedi - where David spared Saul's life, floated in the Dead Sea, visited Qumron where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, made it back to JUC.

Now it is today. I'm exhausted from such a busy but amazing week. I got lots of sun, thankfully no burns. The weather has been glorious, though I think it is going to rain this week. I had a wonderfully relaxing free morning, and in a little while we will have a test on everything we learned in the past 7 days. Craziness.

Tomorrow we leave and have a 4 day/ 3 night trip up in the Galilee area. We will be staying in a hotel on the coast of the Sea of Galilee. So much more to learn and see. I'm looking forward to it.

Love you all,

~Allison