Turkey; Haifa, Israel; and Bethlehem, Palestine

Went to a really cool biblical reserve where we learned about the healing properties of hyssop; mustard seeds/flowers/trees; water collection in cisterns and wells (Gen 24:17); use of the alpha sheep in shepherding (John 10:27); made and ate: fig tree syrup/lintel soup (Gen 25:30)/stone-cooked bread (John 6:9)/cracked wheat/herbal tea; and saw cool trees: sycamore (Luke 19:4)/almond (Num 17:8)/judas (Matt 27:5). After making our own ancient meal (I contributed to the fire making only out of spite to the girls who were calling for eagle scouts to do it) we learned about Torah scribes. In Judaism its a pretty intense process to create a Torah scroll appropriate for synagogue worship.   

Mashing up some herbs

Drawing some water. Getting big kick out of this

Garrett as Zacchaeus

Torah scribe: Full-time, 1-2 scrolls finished a year, must be Jewish, has to be done perfectly

 I taught a few members of the Bahai faith on my mission and so the highlight of our trip to Haifa was seeing the Bahai's headquarters. There are about 6 million Bahai's in the world. The religion is extremely similar to Islam except for they believe God called another prophet in the 1840's. They are very open and nice people.

In front of a Bahai tomb

The gardens were immaculate except for they do not believe in killing and manifest this by allowing local hogs to graze the land as they please

Walking these terraces is a part of the Bahai pilgrimage. I like to think I did my Minnesota Bahai friends a service by being here 

So I went to this awesome country called Turkey. Who knew that this is the meeting place of Asia and Europe, a feast for Greek ruin enthusiasts, and the stomping grounds of the Apostle Paul. The land is rich in religious history. The giant Byzantine cathedrals turned into Ottoman mosques are awesome. The cheap ice cream and souvenirs are awesome. The secular and developed nation with a majority Islamic population is awesome. Turkey is awesome.  

Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. One of those places I have never heard of but turns out to be a world-renown deal

6th Century Church made by Justinian, later made into Mosque, now museum

From the entrance to ancient Babylon. Was in a Turkey museum but I thought about my brother Seth's visit to Baghdad

You can only really see the obelisk but there are other remnants from an ancient hippodrome (stadium for chariots). They placed the nation monuments and treasures in the middle of track

In the Blue Mosque a famous Islamic mosque. Indian tourists are unaware we wanted them in our picture

Topkapi palace entrance. Ottoman empire headquarters

We took a ride on a ferry through the Bosphorous straight and the Dardanelles for that matter. This is Istanbul though. Here is your chain of bodies of water: Mediterranean Sea, Aegean Sea, Dardanelles Straight, Sea of Marmara, Bosphorus Straight, Black Sea (resting place of Crimean peninsula FYI)

Medusa stone reused in a huge cistern. I am supposed to be frozen because I looked in her eyes

Went to a whirling dervish.  Sufi (Muslim sect) mystical practice where they try to reach a state of nirvana by spinning in circles

WW 1 site commemorating the Battle of Gallipoli. The Ottomans be allied forces mostly comprised of Australian and New Zealand forces and then the newly formed Turkey nation made this site as a commemoration to them 

Battle sites always get me thinking

Me and fellow soldier Joe Moxon. I hope you can read this quote

Some favorite tombstones. Notice the mottos, ages, and religions

Dr. Seely is a fan favorite. He recited a bunch of Homer poetry for us

That distant mountain is Greece. I am standing in Assos (Acts 20:13-14)

In Troy. Not actual horse. Actual place though

Kinda lame picture for Pergamon (Rev 1:11)

Pergamon was just about my favorite. The seven cities mention in Revelation aren't symbolic FYI. Oh most things in Revelation aren't just symbolic FYI. 

In Priene bought some herbs from this nice lady

I love the ancient stadiums and theaters.

Nike Goddess of Victory

Symbol of healing. See in USA ambulances

Jeff is a cool guy

This was in a church dedicated to John the Beloved. This is the baptismal font, bend your knees

Wrestling in front of a Greek gymnasium at Sardis

I keep seeing things I want in my dream house. I think it will be heavily Greek influenced. I was tempted to steal this small one for display in my home but then realized its heavy

Look in your LDS scriptures for this picture reenactment at Ephesus

AK Party is getting out the vote in Bursa, Turkey

Necipt our guide in Turkey. Funny guy, ask me about the goat story when I get home

The two most visited Christian sites in Israel are the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (Old City Jerusalem) and the Church of the Nativity (Bethlehem). Our day in Bethlehem was one of my pilgrimage highlights. The city is in the West Bank and was such a great place to talk to local Palestinians. Completely changed my perception of the West Bank. I also had very special moments contemplating the birth and life of Jesus Christ. This was the best Christmas I have ever had. And yes we did sing Christmas songs all day (and yes it was mildly annoying at times).  

Spot where Jesus was born

A manger is a stone trough for animals. This is where Jesus lay

Altar memorial to the children killed by King Herod when Joseph and Mary fled to Egypt

I like the stadium seating okay

The Herodian. Awesome palace made by a supreme builder and very wicked man: Herod the Great

In Bethlehem there is a church which proposes to have healing powers because Mary nursed Jesus on that spot and some of the milk fell on the ground

This is an Orthodox Shepherds Field church. The Catholics also have one. And the Mormon shepherd field was on a nice hillside looking into Bethlehem where we had a very sweet Christmas program and pondering time

One paragraph each for centuries of Palestinian and Israeli history

The “start date” for Judaism as a religion is debatable but our teacher Ophir identified it as around 600 BCE when the Babylonian Jews began to identify with Jerusalem and develop culture. The Pharisees believed in the “oral Torah” which later became the Mishna (Talmud) when Rabbinic Judaism developed after the Romans expulsed the revolting Jews from Jerusalem in the 2^nd century. Jews who went to Spain are Sephardic, European Jews are Ashkenazi, and Middle Eastern Jews are Mizrahi. The 1789 French Revolution did a lot to define Judaism and is when the Hassdic and Mitnagedic ultra-orthodox sects took shape as well as Spinoza’s call for secular Judaism. Jews began to identify both as citizens of their countries and as Jews. Modern Jewish denominations including the reform, conservative, and orthodox sects took shape in the 19^th century. Theodor Herzl developed the ideas of Zionism in response to Jewish pogroms (organized killings of Jews). Jews begin to slowly make Aliya (immigration) to Eretz Israel which was the Palestine portion of the Ottoman Empire. The British declared the Balfour Declaration in 1917 which included Britain occupying Palestine until both a Jewish and Arab state could be established. The 1947 two-state partition plan was rejected by the Arabs because it gave an unequal portion of land and resources to Israel. This lead to the 1948 War of Independence in which Israel used its organization and military might to gain control of Israel excluding the West Bank and Gaza. In 1967 Israel attacked Jordan, Egypt, and Syria and gained control of the Sinai peninsula, Golan Heights, and West Bank (the Golan Heights and Sinai peninsula were later given back). The Israeli Jewish State has a parliamentary congress which uses a multiple party/coalition style of government. The Likud (right) and Labor (left) parties are the leaders. Israel is defying international law by placing Jerusalem as its capital and promoting Jewish settlement in the Palestinian controlled (PLO under Israel control) West Bank. The 1993 Oslo Accord signal a positive move towards accomplishing the two-state solution but it took a turn for the worse when a radical Jew assassinated Prime Minister Yitshak Rabin and the peace process was derailed. The first intifada had led to this peace conference and the second intifada led to the 2005 de-settlement of the Gaza strip. The USA has been a major obstacle in bringing to pass a two-state solution.

There is a difference between the Islamic religion and political Islam. Political Islam is a modern term but early Islamic caliphs and the later Ottoman Empire did create an Islamic nation using military force though they did not force conversion on monotheistic believers. The political Islam debate is mostly rooted in the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafis. From these two groups the terrorist organizations which cause Islamaphobia, as well as the establishment of successful Islamic nations, are rooted. The Ottoman Empire ruled Palestine beginning in the 1500’s after beating the Mamluke empire and mostly continued its rule until 1917. Palestine was under Islamic rule since 638 AD except for a couple hundred years during the Christian crusades. The Arabs in Palestine began to identify as Palestinians around 1900. They were the far majority in the Israel boundaries until 1948 when the nekbeh(desolation in Arabic)/War of Independence created thousands of refugees and ethnically cleansed much of Israel. In 1965 the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) was established with Yassar Arafat as its leader and slowly the Palestinians gained global recognition against the western world backed Israeli state. Today the unstable Hamas leads the Gaza strip and the PLO leads in the West Bank. Israel continues to infringe on Palestinian lands and the state continues to seek organization.        

February in Israel

Exploring: I feel like a kid again out here. Our inhibition on knocking on doors which we don't know what is behind, climbing things which are awkward to climb, going into dark holes, and just generally trying to get into trouble seems to have evaporated. What I have learned about getting into cool places in Israel: be persistent/slightly pushy, embrace randomness, a few shekels always helps, always tell people "we are students and we came a long way for this and we will be very fast", choose adventurous companions, and of course keep the rules but, ya know. 

Hidden monastery

Her hair has a propensity to do this

I'd say my tomb count is almost over 456

This is cool because it was off the beaten path

I will be quick on a synopsis of stories and advice: thousands of people died and were buried in tombs in this region so there are plenty, but the ones on peoples private property are more prestigious to get into; when there is loud music playing it is always smart to go towards it even if its in Silwan/highly contested grounds of the original City of David; ask monks about cool places to go because they will lead you onto exclusive rooftops and down into ancient cisterns; if your sight of a monastery is limited then its most likely got cool stuff in it; if you see a German in Mea Shearim and the ultra-orthodox also noticed him, he might need your emotional support; if you are the first one in your group to go to the Dead Sea then you are right; Israelis do have a fun night life and you just have to talk to them to find out where to go to dance with Hebrew women (young and old); try to have local Arabic speakers (possibly dog whisperers) near you to save you when you take a short-cut and stray dogs realize you are a foreigner and want to bite you; realize that if a man is trying to sell you postcards and seems unnaturally close to you, well its because he is opening your jacket pocket; if you hang out with 3 or 4 brown recluse spiders then the rest of the day you are likely to feel paranoid that spiders are under your clothes; the kid selling $30 Nike look-a-likes on Friday wont budge on price but the kid two blocks away trying to sell a muzuzah for $90, will go down to $10; kids are less likely to throw rocks if you speak Arabic to them, but no guarantees; your gay friends would be pleasantly surprised how welcoming Tel Aviv is to them; and if you ask people in Israel for directions, they will always give you one even if it is completely bogus, its a hospitality thing.          

Don't wear a white shirt when you go in holes

In children s memorial at Yad Vashem depicts a class photo

On the right is depicted the submissive attitude of Jews and on the left the Zionist aggression

 Elias Kindelberg and Yad Vashem: We had the great honor to hear the first hand account of Holocaust survivor Elias Kindelberg. Elias is 96 years old and one of those peoples who fills a room with genuinity and happiness. He survived 9 camps including Auschwitz, was the only survivor in his family, and had near death experiences including hiking with a bag of potatoes for a few miles to a river where he was instructed to insert himself into the bag, only to be saved by American liberators (including the first blacks he'd ever seen). He said that what kept him going was his "desire to have a family of his own" and this quickly came to fruition when he met his wife in the refugee camp. 

Me, Elias, Tanner, and Ellie. Us three are graduated and just loving life

Yad Vashem (national Holocaust memorial) was a most humbling experience and the whole time I was struggling for some kind of justification as to why the Nazi's did what they did. I realized that answer is not possible, what they did has no explanation, it is nothing but a tragedy and my analytic mind trying to justify it was a disgrace to the victims and heroes.   

How I felt

One of the waterfalls at Ein Gedi

Oskar Schindlers grave

Absalom tomb. Kings Dale. Limited explanation

Pool of Siloam at foot of Hezekiah tunnels

The Shook (Jewish Market) with hala bread which is um heavenly

Prison from British Mandate period (1918-1948)

Tomb Theodor Herzl the father of Zionism 

At Dead Sea, unfortunately I don't have pictures of us in the water but it was an out of body experience

Ein Gedi was fun for waterfalls and stuff

My niece Annie wanted to see my room

They set us up quite well here, its comfortable

Legit Passover Seder. Not calendar wise but well-done

If you have an hour and patience I will read you this Hebrew