It's Josh here again. We have had a great couple of days here in Jerusalem! Here is a brief list of all we have done in Jerusalem:
Visited all 14 stations of the cross,
Touched the crucifixion stone,
Prayed at the Holy Sepulcher,
Visited the Garden Tomb (Gordon's Tomb),
Explored the Citadel/Crusaders Castle,
Prayed at the Western Wall,
Walked around the Dome of the Rock (weren't allowed to go in... argh politics),
Toured multiple Synagogues,
Visited the Last Supper House,
Visited King David's Tomb,
Visited a church where the Virgin Marry died... I mean ascended (silly Catholics),
Visited David's Palace,
Spelunked through Hezikiah's tunnel,
Visited Schindler's grave,
Explored multiple Roman/Greek/Byzantine ruins (houses, churches, temples, etc.)
And Much... MUCH more!
These few days have gone by in a flash and we are really sad to leave. Today we left Jerusalem and visited Masada. It is a pretty well preserved fortress/palace that King Herod had built. The highlight for me was the Roman baths which had very well preserved frescos. Then we visited Qumran, the Essen village where John the Baptist may have lived for a while. The Dead Sea scrolls were also discovered in a small cave near the village.
It was really exciting to see these two areas, not just for the Biblical connection, but also because we saw some really well preserved archeological digs. Starting tomorrow we will be actively participating on digs and preservation of historical sites.
To end the day we took a quick trip to the Dead Sea. We did not go swimming because we didn't have enough time, so we took off our socks and shoes and waded in the water for a bit. The Dead Sea is the lowest point on earth and is 30% salt. The water is oily and because of the high salt concentration it makes most things incredibly buoyant. Its was neat to see and we are hoping the legendary healing qualities of the Dead Sea affect the group, a few of us have come down with a cold.
As for the weather here... well it is what you would expect in the desert. Sunny, hot, dry... etc. But it gets surprisingly cool at night. I think we are all enjoying the food. I mean who doesn't love pita?! Some other highlights are fallafel, middle eastern pizza, hummus, foul (black bean sauce), and Magnum Ice Cream bars.
We also hope to take some of the desert hospitality back with us to the U.S. Shop owners will usually invite you in for a cup of tea, we'll sit and chat for a while, and if you want to by something you can- if not, thats okay too.
Well I better go get some rest. We have a big dig day ahead of us!
As always I plan to end the blog with brief bios of our class members.
Jess Wetherell
3rd Year, Music Ed. Major
Reason For Joining Class: She has always been interesting in archeology, especially Biblical Archeology. And she wants to experience middle-eastern culture as well.
She is most excited to ride a camel and see the site that are sacred to all three Abrahamic faiths.
Peter Watters
4th Year, Religion and Philosophy Majors
Reason for Joining the Class: Wanted to see Chip Bouzard in a travel vest.
He is most excited to go to the Dome of the Rock.
Dr. Bouzard
Group Leader
Reason for Leading: Gets a kick out of taking students to the Holy Land for the first time.
He is most excited to do the archeological work.
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