Anytime that you feel like a week where
you: toured a Herodian Citadel, entered a tomb which billions of Christians
revere as Christ’s temporary resting place, visited a tel (hill) where one of
the most prolific Assyrian battles occurred, threw stones in the same valley
that David slew Goliath, and get treated to an authentic Arab culture
night....and considered it a "slower" week...well, Mr. Webster would
throw that under the definition of either ingratitude or incompetence.
King David Museum: One of the highlights of this tour was our British tour
guide. She and her husband moved to Israel a few years back and she volunteered
to do the English tours. I was impressed with her love of the Israeli state as
I have been with many 40-50 year old Jewish immigrants who I have met. It was
great to learn about the ever-evolving city walls and how there transformation
took place from the original City of David, to Solomon’s expansion, to the days
of Herod, to the Crusades, and up to the British Mandate.
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| Inside of King David Citadel |
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| In front of Christ's tomb |
Church of the Holy Sepulchre: We have visited this historic Christian site
identified by Helena (Constantine’s mother) as the place of Christ’s crucifixion
and resurrection. I enjoyed standing in line and observing individuals ranging
from nuns, to secular observers, to a father praying over a picture of his two
young girls. Many members don’t enjoy this site as much because of its orthodox
and catholic feel but I think it’s an awesome site and very likely the site of
these important events.
Lachish and Elah Valley: Jerusalem’s major geography ranging from west to east
includes the coastal plain, shephelah (low hills), Judean hills, Judean
wilderness, and the Jordan Rift Valley. We visited 5 major valleys in the
shephelah which included ancient cities set in place to guard Israel from the
Phoenician and Philistine kingdoms. Lachish was one of the major cities to fall
during the Assyrian conquest of ancient Israel. A few valleys over we stood in
the same valley where David gained fame for slaying Goliath. We tried throwing
the stones using David-like slings and I have no idea how he killed someone
using that thing.
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| Assyrians were quite brutish. This is the famous side of the hill |
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| Dove breeding cave |
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| Overlooking Elah valley. Jonathan also killed Philistines in this valley |
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| I did win the stone throwing contest |
Arab Culture Night: This fun night included witnessing the call to
prayer and evening prayers of two leaders at the Al-Asqa Mosque. The call to
prayer sounds five times a day and my favorite part of it is the line which
says “to pray is better than to sleep”. These men have chosen this profession
based on the fact that only their blood line has been endorsed to sound the
adhan since the mosque was established. Next we enjoyed an authentic meal with
all kinds of fairly nasty food and also some pretty great stuff. The night
ended with learning some folk dances and this of course evolved into a dance
party (as anything we do with the big speakers does). Oh and everybody was
dressed up all cool like.
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| Me and the dudes |
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| Me and roomies. This is how Muslims stand when they pray. Thats why we did it |
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| Lots of food |
