Jerusalem Bells are Ringing

Hey Everyone! Sorry it has been a few days but it is pretty busy, we are all cramming for our midterms which are on Thursday. So I won't be able to post until after that point. But on Sunday we had a free day so a group of us spent all day in West Jerusalem exploring different areas. Our first area was the YMCA Tower. Our Branch President plays the tower bells there every Sunday so we had the opportunity to go and join him. I had the chance of playing the bells when it struck noon! So when you sing the song "Jerusalem Bells are Ringing" you can think of me and how I was able to do that! Cool huh?

Afterwards we all enjoyed a nice lunch at one of the parks near by. On our free days they provide us with sack lunches which is dorky to carry around but none of us really mind because it is better than buying food! Afterwards we went back to that open air market and spent our money on these delicious donuts that we recently found! We had no schedule so we roamed around different Jewish neighborhoods, the first one we went to was the second settlement and on the outside of every house there was a picture of the original owners of the house and their story which were all very interesting. It was right off of a main road but the way the houses were built it blocked off all of the noise so it turned into a quaint stroll. It was also an artistic neighborhood so there were murals and little parks everywhere. The next neighborhood was not quite as friendly. This was an Orthodox Jewish neighborhood and apparently the entrance gates just got torn down. It was like crossing into a different world, everyone was dressed the same the men had their black trench coats and tall hats on while women were wearing black and white dresses. We were all fascinated by this neighborhood and there were signs everywhere that asked visitors to be dressed modestly. Of course we were but the people there were not welcoming, we got the hint when the men started spitting on us. we left quickly afterwards. I wish I could take pictures but they did not allow it.

After we left we ran upon an Ethiopian Cathedral. This was possibly the most unique cathedral that I have ever been to, it was painted hot pink and had crazy designs. But it was beautiful and air conditioned so we hung out there for awhile.

On Monday we had a Service Day where we all did different service projects. I was able to go to an organization called Shekel, they teach disabled adults different skills, provide a place t live, and have professionals that work with them. All of them are different functioning levels and they all do different projects. They help over 80,000 adults! We helped them assemble kits for the Israeli soldiers and make candles that they sell. Afterwards the whole group made hygiene kits for people in the community. The Church provided all of the money and support for the project but we went out and bought from local stores all of the products and then we assembled them and shipped them. We made over 150,00 hygiene kits!
Today has been a long because I have been cooped up all day studying but tonight we had a late field trip to the Kotel tunnels! I will tell you more about them after I have gone through them but I am really excited. So I forgot to post pictures from the Negev desert field trip so here are a few pictures. These are the areas where Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob lived. It is the ruins of Beer-sheba

The Center and such

 The first night in Turkey we stayed at a crazy hotel called Cartoon hotel but the dinner we had there was on top of the building and we had a great view and an even better dinner

 

The Kids in the Old city like to get in their parents carts and race in the streets. It is always funny to see except for the few times when they almost hit you.

This is our apartment and balcony. It is really nice here. Sorry for all the random pictures but it is the Sabbath so we haven't done anything today so I decided to put up some randoms.

Arab Culture Night

 These are pictures from the Arab Culture night! The first few are examples of the food that we eat here. The third one is baklava, the desert here. The fourth one is me and my roommate. The fifth one is Kimberly, the cook and I. 

These are pictures from the past few days and the sights we saw. We found this delicious pizza in the Old City and I have a feeling I will be returning frequently. And we got a "Mormon Discount"

I am about to watch Fiddler on the Roof for our friday night activity so I will post more tomorrow!

Cooking with Akhman

Today I had the opportunity to cook in the kitchen with the head chef Akhman. A few of us students were allowed to help the chefs prepare for the Arab Culture night, which is tonight and we are having a special dinner where we get to dress up like Arabians. I wanted to come as a bellydancer but apparently that is against BYU Honor code. But two sheiks are coming and speaking to us and also a professional "Call to Prayer" person. I am not sure what to call them but ya they are coming tonight and I am excited. I got to taste some of the food that I made (Muhkaran and Bushrak) and it is delicious. Watch out Amy and Jared I am becoming a better chef than you guys :) ok, maybe not but it was fun. Yesterday we had a relaxing day of classes and then a group of us just went into the Old city to explore.
So I hope I am not overdoing the Turkey trip but here are some more pics and notes about what I did:

While we were in Canakkale our tour guide took us to a delicious Baclava dessert place and when we arrived they were so excited to see Americans that they took out this mosaic made of baclava that looks like Obama. Baclava is a traditional dessert, I have no idea what it is but the chocolate one tastes like a half-baked brownie. 

On the way to troy we stopped on the side of the road to visit with a shepherd. He took one of the sheep and we got to pet it. naturally, this was one of my favorite stops. 

No this is not my body....I have been working out lately but my abs are not quite that sculpted. 

This is the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, this is the largest Mosque in Turkey

Scott and Scott flashing their library cards at Ephesus

I know the last Medusa pictures were a big hit so this is lindsey when we were at the underground cisterns. You can't see Medusa but they had pillars in the background with her face. So this is linds being Medusa and then turning into stone. Yes, she is in the acting major.

Bedouin Experience

After a full day in the Negev desert I am exhausted....like almost falling asleep while writing this blog but since I have devoted blog stalkers (yes, you guys) I decided I couldn't keep you guys waiting. And you have to read today's because there will not be a bedouin than this! hehe So here goes. We went to the Negev desert to have a "Bedouin" experience which means that we went to a few beduoin communities and also went to a place where they weave these beautiful rugs and pillow cases. The Church supports a few of the schools in these communities because they are not officially recognized by Israel so they receive no financial support.

The women are very inspirational, they have no money, not a lot of support but they are challenging themselves to go to school and receive an education. They have a 70% drop out rate for females but at least it is better than nothing.

Then we traveled to Be'ersheva which is the ancient city of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We saw the ancient well that Abraham dug in Genesis 21. There is also a temple that supposedly King Solomon built and then was torn down by Hezekiah.  There were ruins of sacrifical altars and we couldn't resist to re-enact these sacrifices.

ON the way home we the route took us next to the Dead Sea which was amazing. The road down there was filled with twists and turns and loads of camels on the side. The dead sea area reminded me a lot of Lake Powell, like exactly. The mountains on the Jordan side looked like the mountains at Bullfrog Marina and then the other side looked like the canyons in Lake Powell. It made me sad knowing that I am missing it this year but I think I will manage :) And now I need to go read for tomorrow so I will leave you with a few pics from Turkey.

OK so you only get one because I am too impatient to wait for it to download.

Turkish Delight

Ahhh the beautiful coast of Turkey. So this past week has been amazing, and has been filled with adventure after adventure. I arrived last night in Jerusalem around 3 am but luckily today is a free day so we are able to catch up on some much needed sleep. This may be a very long post so sit down, relax, and enjoy my week in Turkey.

The first picture is a group of us in front of the Blue Mosque and then the second is a picture of me and Lindsey inside the Mosque. Turkey is around 97% Muslim which means that there are Mosques on every corner, we kept joking that there are as many mosques in Turkey as chapels in Utah. The Mosques are very simple and the only decoration is stain glass and calligraphy. After that we went to the Topkapi Castle which is where the Royal family used to live and now it has converted into a Museum. This museum holds the Topakpi Dagger (the same one in Prince of Persia and apparently a movie with Angelina Jolie is supposedly coming out soon that is filmed here), an 86 Carat diamond, the remains of St. John, and also hair and teeth from Muhammed.

These are pictures from the underground cisterns. Turkey used the Roman aqueducts and built these underground cisterns that held the water for storage. It is no longer in use today but it was a cool relief from the hot sun. After shopping at the Grand Bazaar our group went on a private boat on the Bosphorus! After the boat ride it made me want to move to Turkey and buy a house on the river with the excess millions of dollars that I have. Everyday I was shocked on how beautiful Turkey was, I was expecting more of a deserty place but it was so lush and green. Some parts reminded me of a mix  between Switzerland and Slovenia.

DAY 2:
Every morning we woke up at 6 am so we could eat breakfast and load up on the bus and head out to the next stop. Today the bus ride was a fairly long (around 6 hours) because we had to cross the sea and then drive to Troy. We stopped in the ancient city, read the Iliad, and climbed in the infamous Trojan horse.

The city of Troas is right on the ocean and it has a magnificent pier. So after dinner we all got some Turkish ice cream and walked around the pier. The city was hoppin at night and there was a basketball court on the pier so a group of guys from our group challenged the Turkish guys to a game. It was a brawl and people were gathering around and they were cheering for their team but the American team prevailed. USA USA

DAY 3:
The next day we drove to Pergamum to see the Temple of Athena, the theater, and the Altar of Zeus. While we were in the theater we read from Rev 2 to read about Paul's letter to Ephesus. Where ever we went we always read the scriptures that applied to the sites which made the whole experience that much better because we were able to experience the exact location as biblical prophets. It really changed my perspective on the stories and made them more personable.

I was taken back by the amazing view on top of Pergamum. We walked through this ancient city to the top of the ruins. There was this amazing overlook of the sea. The Acropolis of Pergamum held the theater and also the altar of Zeus. The Altar of Zeus is where Paul said that the throne of Satan was so of course we had to take a this picture......

The last stop of the day was at the Asclepion, which is considered the World's first health center. It was a culmination of different temples that were dedicated to Asclepious, the Goddess of Health. This is also where we see the first symbols of the wrapping snakes which we see today on the Red Cross and most hospital symbols. They believed in the magic healing water that was there. Ironically a few girls thought it would be funny to drink from these waterfalls to cure an illness but the next day all of them were throwing up. Not the best idea.

DAY 4:
Today was our visit to Ephesus! Now my experience was radically different from Rob and Kat's. It was around 60 degrees, not a whole lot of tourists, and the food we had was great. We toured around the ruins and me and lindsey reenacted what was happening at each temple so you guys can guess what the purpose of the temple was by Lindsey's poses.......

 

Ok so #1- The Temple of Medusa. I am Medusa and Lindsey is turning into stone. 

#2- Roman Baths 

#3- Asclepion: Lindsey is throwing up and acting ill. 

We had an amazing devotional in the theater our group performed a song in front of the whole crowd. I didn't think it was very good but we got a standing ovation so apparently it was decent. The theater was magnificent and the I was overwhelmed by its size. 

The Library was my favorite and I could not get over how well put together it was. 

 

Day #4:

This day we were in Pamukkale or the "cotton castles" These are natural hot springs. I didn't get the greatest pictures but you should google it to see what they look like. The picture above is at the Hierapolis, a large theater, during this trip we went to multiple theaters and while we were there we would try to reenact the gladiator fights that would occur there. This is one of my favs and it brings me back to James Bond Island!  

 

Day 5:

The night before we drove to Bursa and enjoyed the most delicious kebabs and walked around the city. BUrsa is not a big tourist spot so no one spoke English and no one would accept american dollars which was a downer when we tried to go through the McDonald's ice cream walk-through. In Bursa there is a beautiful mosque that we toured through and we had a muslim couple that gave us the run-down of the Muslim faith. 

After the Bursa trip we voyaged back to Istanbul and took the ferry back to the Asian side. Once arriving we immediately went to the Hagia Sophia. This is the most famous mosque in Turkey and after seeing I understand why. It was such a large mosque, the statue of liberty could fit inside of the mosque. This is also the location of the famous tile works and where Justinian is presenting the Hagia Sophia to St. Mary.

Well that is the quickest summary of the whole trip that I could think of. Over the next few days I will continue to post facts and pictures from the trip!