Jerusalem Overlook

     We got to go on our very first field trip this Monday!! We went to several different vantage points that overlooked Jerusalem. The goal was to give us a better feel for the land, valleys, hills, and just orientation in general. I am living in what has to be one of the most beautiful places! I don't know how I got so lucky to be here but I thank God that I have this opportunity. 
    With that being said, the weather was not as beautiful. In fact, it was awful! It was very cold and soooooo windy. It didn't help that we spent the entire day on top of hills. We were never in the bus long enough to thaw and so I was pretty much numb (literally) from 8 AM until 3 PM. Nevertheless, it was great. 

Augusta Victoria

     Our first stop was the Augusta Victoria. This is a church/hospital that is right next to our center. It was built by the Lutheran church and is breathtaking. I feel like being here gives me such a neat opportunity because it is a center for so many different religions and people all over the world. I not only get to see Middle Eastern architecture but European and Russian and many other countries make their mark as well.

Here is a picture of the ceiling. I tried to get a panorama (the whole thing is AMAZING but my camera wouldn't let me)

This is the front. You can get a sense of how high the ceiling was. Once again, there were paintings that covered the entire ceiling.

A view from upstairs overlooking the entire nave or chapel

     You might be able to get a feel from those 3 pictures the magnitude of this room. It was big! Everything was made of stone. Jerusalem has a law that every building must be built with limestone. That way, when the sun rises, the whole city turns golden. I will have to get a picture of the sunrise soon! But I'm digressing. Ok, so the room is really big and the acoustics are insane. We had to use headsets simply because it echoed too much when my teacher spoke that it was hard to understand her. We got to have our devotional in there to start off the day. We sang Nearer My God to Thee. I don't even know how to describe it. This is my favorite hymn and it just hung in the air. It was really cool.

They had a nice little rendering of the Ark of the Covenant in the back. 

The pulpit along with a Christmas tree. This is the second one I've seen now. They are almost like a pine tree but they just don't quite make it.

     The Augusta Victoria is on top of the Mt. of Olives and has a large tower that overlooks Jerusalem and all of its surroundings. Unfortunately, it was freezing up there and we all just wanted to get down as soon as possible. When it warms up, I hope to go over there again and get some better pictures. However, I did get this one! It's overlooking the Judean Wilderness. I wanted to show that there is part of Israel that looks how I imagined it. Which brings me to another side point. Because I came during the rainy season, I get to see it when it is green and flowery and beautiful. All of my professors said this is the best time because you really get to see Israel in all it's beauty. Most of the rest of the year it is brown. 

The outside of the Augusta Victoria

Tayelet

     Next, we went to Tayelet. This one was a little closer to the city but gave us a great view of the valleys as well as the City of David. I already have learned so much about the Bible in terms of geography. For example, knowing how the valleys and the cities are laid out, it makes sense why the armies always attacked from the north. 

Don't let the blue skies deceive you. It was not as nice as it looks! However, the view was amazing. 

I think the craziest thing so far is how the view never gets old. Especially the Dome of the Rock. It is a beautiful building and sticks out among all the white!! 

Do you see all the rocks on the graves? There is a Jewish tradition of placing rocks on loved one's graves instead of flowers. Flowers die quickly but rocks last forever. This symbolizes that their love is everlasting as well. It's kind of a neat tradition. 

Nabi Samwil

   We headed off to Nabi Samwil (the Prophet Samuel) next. This is the traditional sight of the Prophet Samuel's burial but unfortunately, not the actual sight. However, this sight did have a lot of cool history. First, we had a great view of the City of David. To save everyone time and trouble, I outlined where the ancient city was. You can see it is right outside the walls of the Old City.

This is just a pretty view. We stood at the top of this hill, overlooking all of this, as we had our lesson. It really is such a neat experience to be able to learn about all this history as we look at where it happened. 

     This hill is where the ancient town of Gibeon once stood. Now it is called el-Jib. The story of Gibeon is in Joshua I believe. Basically it goes like this. Joshua and his armies were over taking all the land. People were starting to get nervous because they seemed to be unstoppable. The people of Gibeon dressed up in their worst clothes and brought moldy bread and went to Joshua saying that they came from a far land and needed his protection. He didn't ask God if he should enter into a covenant with them promising to protect them, he just did. Then, all the other Canaanites (it might be Midianites but they're the same thing) found out that the Gibeonites entered into a covenant with their enemies and they were mad. So they went to kill them. But Joshua had to protect them. So Joshua came and fought the Canaanites. (This is probably done in that big open space you can see in the picture above) They were losing so the Canaanites fled to the top left to the Ayalon Valley (or Ajalon in the Bible). Joshua commanded the sun to stay over Gibeon and the moon over the valley and God poured down hail and the Israelites killed the bad guys! 

Gibeon sat on top of this hill.

The Ayalon Valley is just behind those hills

    The land that Ephraim inherited is just beyond the hills in this picture. Most of us are probably from that tribe so this is the land of your inheritance! I think it hit me for the first time that I was looking at the land of my inheritance. Not just somewhere where lots of cool stuff happened. These were my ancestors and this is my family history. 

Some ruins from the Crusaders times

If stones could talk, this church would have some tales to tell. It was built by Crusaders (the king during Robin Hood's time actually stayed in it. I think it's King Richard the Lion Hearted) was destroyed by the Muslims, was rebuilt in 1911 by...someone (maybe the Turks) and is now a mosque on the upper levels and a synagogue on the lower levels. Quite the history!

Here is where the Crusaders would train for battle as well as parade their horses. 

 You can see the Wall of Separation in this photo. It separates the West Bank from the rest of Israel. They originally put it up to stop the high flow of suicide bombers. While it has done that, it has also separated families and made what should be simple very difficult. It's very reminiscent of the Berlin Wall. 

Bethlehem Overlook

     Our last, and probably my favorite stop, was where we could overlook Bethlehem. Now, overlooking Bethlehem is a very loose term. We could see way off in the distance a tower where the Church of the Nativity stood. However, it is in the West Bank and we can't go there so for now, that's all we get. We got a lot of other cool stories there! 

    Where we were you could actually see the road that led from Hebron to Beersheva. You can't see it in the picture but I figured this was a good time to talk about it. This road probably means nothing to you, but it should! It is the road that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would travel as they moved their flocks back and forth according to the season. A lot happened along this road. Abraham built altars to the Lord, Jacob took a stone for his pillow in Bethel and had a vision, Joseph and Mary traveled this road. A lot of history has happened here. Along this road is the place of Rachel's grave as well. In the bible it says that the stone stands there to this day. Scholars believe that is true. The sight has been kept as a monument throughout the years. It was really neat to look down on that road and think of all that happened and all the people who traveled along it. 

You can tell a little more how windy and cold it was here. I am standing on barracks from the 1967 war. Where we were standing actually used to be part of Jordan. 

We saw a shepherd with his sheep as we were up talking about Mary and Joseph making their journey to Bethlehem. Pretty neat timing. Also, you can see the road to Hebron in the background of this one.

Then we met these nice boys, Mohammed and Amir who were carrying baby goats who had fallen behind

They let us all hold the goats. This one is for you Maddi! They were so cold they were shivering as bad as the rest of us. 

Just below the hill was an olive garden that had been in this family for centuries. 

The hill was covered in these thorns. If you barely even brushed one, it would go right through your jeans and they hurt! I couldn't help but think of the Savior wearing a crown of thorns. I imagine it could have been made out of these very plants. 

     One of the neatest things about being here is your perspective on everything. You look at a plant and think, "Jesus could have used these very same plants." You walk down the road and wonder how many prophets have walked there as well. You sit on the balcony of the center overlooking the city and wonder who else had sat in that spot overlooking the city. I know I've said again and again but I just feel so blessed to be able to learn and study the Bible while being here and experiencing at least some of the things the prophets of old have experienced. If you ever have a chance to come, you need to!!

Until my next adventure, 

Lindy