Getting a Little Picture Crazy

Keeping up with blogging here is not easy to say the least. But I couldn't just not share how cool this place is, so here it goes- the last week summed up with just a few of the hundreds of pictures I've taken!

Sunday was a busy free day spent in Jerusalem with some great people. We left right after breakfast and headed to the Dome of the Rock in the Old City. It has really limited hours that Christians are allowed to visit and we're not allowed to go inside but I'm so glad I finally got to see it up close!

 

A man showed me a hole in one of the window coverings, and I got a glimpse of the inside! Although you can't see it, the very middle has a rock where supposedly Abraham almost sacrificed Isaac (Ishmael according to Muslims). It is now a mosque under Muslim control because it's also believed to be where Muhammad ascended into heaven. 

 After some shopping and exploring the Old City, a bunch of BYUJ kids met up to do the ramparts walk together. This walk is on a ledge at the top of the wall that surrounds the Old City, and has some awesome views of Jerusalem and glimpses of the daily life of those who live inside of the city. And the wall itself is really cool too.

Lyndee, Lindsey and I went up random stairs, through random doors, and into random buildings in search of a bathroom. We found ourselves in this beautiful little residential area in the Old City at one point.

Ramparts walk

Old City

Recognize that white building in the middle of the hill? That's where I live!

These people are the best!

Monday was a fieldtrip to the Negev Desert. It was surprisingly pretty green this time of year. Our first stop was a Bedouin weaving center, where we observed a woman weaving in the traditional Bedouin way. They are working towards achieving more women's rights through this organization.

Next, we went to a few archaeological sites including Beersheba, where Abraham dug a well and lived for awhile according to the Bible. He actually traveled and lived all over the Negev so it was cool being in his hometown.

Being a girl is THE WORST sometimes (I eventually just used the men's side)

Alright, funny story to go with the bathroom picture. I needed to go pretty bad and I didn't want to wait in this line. The men's bathroom was vacant, so obviously I used it. I guess none of the girls noticed so they didn't warn the group of guys from our group going into the bathroom that there was a girl in it. I didn't want to come out of the stall while they were all using the urinals, so I just waited while overhearing conversations I never wanted to hear. Then after a few minutes one of them was like, hey, isn't there a girl in here? I was super embarrassed as I flushed the toilet and came out of the stall and proceeded to wash my hands with them. Haha it was uncomfortable to say the least.

Tel Beersheba

At Tel Beersheba, there is this huge, ancient underground water cistern that you can descend to here and  walk through.

This ancient underground water storage system was kind of like an underground cave maze. It was COOL.

My roommate sacrificed me on the altar at Tel Beersheba

This wall at Tel Arad is from 3000 BC!

Tuesday and Wednesday were full of classes and stress. However, the saving grace was a short fieldrip to underneath of the BYU Jerusalem Center. Apparently, students used to sneak down there so now they take us there to kill our curiosity and we're not allowed back (I'm pretty jealous because now there's security cameras). I was able to leave my mark on the building, along with all the previous students. It was actually really cool down there.

I went on the under the center fieldtrip with the crazy kids in my Hebrew class.  We also like to sing and dance to the songs we learn in Hebrew class in the hallways of the center and sing them to our Israel teacher (he loves it or at least we think he does).

Thursday was a fieldtrip to Jericho, the oldest and lowest city in the world! We saw some really old ruins (including the first tower ever built), the spring that has kept Jericho alive since about 9000 BC, the mount of temptations where Jesus had His 40 day fast, and the remains of Herod's winter palace which was actually pretty disappointingly small. The Wadi Qilt was the coolest part which is this canyon that runs between Jericho and Jerusalem, and is where the story of the good Samaritan took place and where Jesus walked on his journey to Jerusalem where He was crucified. It was a really cool fieldtrip!

Making the walls of Jericho fall by blowing horns and shouting

Herod's winter palace. I realize that we're blocking it but I promise you're not missing out.

Jericho

Wadi Qilt

Wadi Qilt

Road to Jericho (Wadi Qilt)

Life here is just too busy to spend much time blogging, so it's taken me the little free time I've had in the past two days to get this post done. I think from here on out you're going to get a more brief version of my adventures so I don't fail my classes. I hope all is well in the states for everyone, shalom until next time!