Footsteps of Christ part 1

What better way to spend our last few days in Jerusalem than to walk in the footsteps of Christ through the last week of his life? We climbed in Lazarus' Tomb, walked Christ's triumphal entry, sang in the Upper Room, and explored the cisterns that may have once held Christ during his trial before Caiaphas.

Outside the tomb of Lazarus in Bethany

The tomb!

The church of Dominus Flevit on the Mount of Olives, it commemorates the place where Christ wept over Jerusalem

Annie and I

Church of Pater Noster, stands on the traditional site of Christ's teaching the Lord's prayer

Peter of Gallicantu- built on top of what is believed to have been Caiapha's house, where Christ was brought before the Jewish leaders before his crucifixion to be tried

The Upper Room- the room of the Last Supper

A Day in the Life

Today was our last full free day in the city. And we made good use of it. 

On our way to the Old City we passed by the fire station that we pass every single day. But it must have been a slow day for the fire fighters because they invited us in and dressed us up in all their gear and took pictures with us. 

I got the special treatment- gas mask and all 

Aliseea, me, Chief

I love this city with all my heart

Half way through the day we had an appointment at the YMCA in West Jerusalem where we got to play the bells at the top of this giant bell tower for the whole city

Jaelyn and I after playing our version of Away in a Manger

Jerusalem at the center of the world!

Alissea and I finally got around to getting some of the famous freshly squeezed pomegranate juice

Random little art exhibit in West Jeru we've come across a few times. Finally decided it was time to take some pictures of it. They look like soft pillows but they're as hard as concrete. 

Then we ran in to some other kids from the group who had set the slack line up just outside the city walls. Lesson of the day: slack lines are a really good way to bring people together- Mormons, Jews, and Arabs.  

Tonight was also the second night of Hanukkah, so we got to see some of the celebrations around the city. Hanukkah commemorates the re-dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem following the Jewish victory over the Greeks in the 2nd century BC. It's celebrated for 8 days and nights because when they re-dedicated the Temple, the oil for their lamps, which should have only lasted for 1 day, lasted for 8. 

The Israeli soldiers celebrate Hanukkah by running around the entire city with candles and lighting menorahs 

One of the who soldiers explained this tradition to us and let us hold his candle and take a picture with him 

The giant menorah in West Jerusalem.
Happy Hanukkah from Israel!

Sea, you're Dead to me

Finals week is over! So this is me crawling out of my hole to let you know what we've been up to. On Monday we went to Masada, the Dead Sea, Ein Gedi, and Qumran. I did this same Dead Sea field trip with Mom and Dad when they came, but I guess there's something about this place that never gets old.

Masada. This place was crazy. When the Jews revolted and the temple was destroyed in 70 AD, this place was the last strong hold of the Jewish rebels. The Dead Sea is in the background.

The Dead Sea! Fun facts-
-it is the lowest point on earth
-it's not actually a sea- it's a salt water lake
-no fish or marine life whatsoever can survive in it
-it's 3 million years old

Ein Gedi. This beautiful little oasis in the desert full of waterfalls and ponds. It was also the place where David hid when he was fleeing from Saul. 

We got to hike to this highest waterfall. Oh how I've missed hiking.

 Our last stop was Qumran. I don't have a picture from here, but it is the place where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. Picture a little cave in the middle of a dry plateau. 

With the end approaching, it's beginning to be the "firsts of the lasts." This was our last official field trip out of Jerusalem. This weekend is our last weekend. Our last Sabbath. While I'm so excited about home (especially after the choir sang White Christmas at the concert tonight...), I'm already nostalgic about this place. It will be hard to leave, but I still have five more days here. And I intend to enjoy them. 

Galilee

A couple weeks ago we left the dry, rocky desert of Jerusalem behind and spent ten days in the green and lush lands of northern Israel, otherwise known as the Galilee.

I don't have the best pictures from this trip, and definitely not pictures of everything we did. I'm a little pictured out with it being the end of the semester, but I hope you enjoy of taste of Galilee.

This was outside the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth 

Latrines at Beth Shean

The synagogue in Nazareth, the traditional synagogue that Jesus was rejected in when he claimed that he was the Son of God

Our first look at the Sea of Galilee

The boat that took us across the sea

"And with joy I shall make the blest harbor and rest on the blissful shore"

Capernaum

The synagogue at Capernaum

Sunset in Capernaum

Mt. Tabor (aka the Mount of Transfiguration)

Galilee

The sea at sunset

A spring we got to go swimming in after one of our field trips

The ancient city of Dan

The Nimrod Fortress, a Muslim fortress from the 13th century

At the top of the fortress

An overlook we went to. We could see the borders of Israel, Lebanon, and Syria from here. 

The Jordan River

So, all around this baptismal site in the Jordan River were these plaques- with the verse in Mark in every language you can imagine, including this one. 

Mount Carmel