To Explore Caves with Candles is to Explore Caves the Right Way.

    I've been skimping on my blog posts, and for that I apologize. I'm all settled in here and find other things to do, such as nap or watch movies, just as I would at home. Of course, at home there aren't 81 other students poking in to see what's being watched and naps aren't interrupted by the call to prayer. Midterms end tomorrow, so naturally Finals start next week. It's a bit complicated, because my Islam (Modern Near East), Israel (Judaism and Zionism), and language (Arabic) classes all end pretty soon, as does Old Testament. We'll only have New Testament and Ancient Near East for the remainder of the semester <insert collective sigh of longing>. The reading load is supposed to go way, way down and I'm so tired of reading that I can't even cheer. 

     This is a quick update before my next class on what I did this weekend, and any details I missed will be filled in later, as will the other field trips and the last bit of Jordan. Turkey is coming up pretty soon, so I'm trying to get caught up by then, but there are finals to be worrying about so I wouldn't hold my breath.

     On Sunday (remember, Saturday is Sabbath here) I went out adventuring with Matt C, Matt K, Caleb, Chris, Charity, Julia Ford, and Heather. It was a bigger group than usual, but somehow we managed to stick together for most of the day. We went in search of the Tomb of the Prophets (including Malachi, Haggai, and Zechariah) only knowing the general area, in that it is above Gethsemane. We took a route that we aren't technically supposed to through more olive gardens that are kept by Greeks, I think. There's a church for the Virgin Mary that might be her supposed burial place in there, as well as a small crusader graveyard and the bones of a dead horse that we happened upon. We had to hop the fence up by Orson Hyde Park (which is above this on the Mount of Olives) to get out and cross the street in search of the tomb. We went uphill and then downhill through the Jewish Cemetery (that big white area to the right of Gethsemane, if you're looking at the Mount of Olives from the Old City) and then back around past the front of Gethsemane and the tourists lined up for photos on the steps in front of the Church of All Nations, only to go back up that hill again but not turn right above the church. We got to the top of this steep hill--no sidewalks here, cars are speeding past and it's narrow--and went back down to the first turnoff, where we hiked up even further and found the tomb. 

     There was a tourist group there, (warmer weather is marking the start of tourist season) but they left and we got to explore around a bit on our own. It's a central area with four splits that circle back to the center and none of it is lit, so we paid a shekel to use the candles the man at the entrance handed out and explored. I never want to use a flashlight ever again. Granted, flashlights are better for actually seeing what's in front of you, but you can't beat the adrenaline that comes from walking through a black cave with only a flickering flame. I got a couple good pictures, which I will post. 

     We stopped at a church that had some neat carvings up on the walls of its dome and an incredible view through its window of the Old City. I forgot what it's called but I bought a couple postcards there, so I'll check and put that in later. We had lunch at some more tombs in the Kidron Valley between the Mount of Olives and the Old City. The coolest ones are the Tomb of Absalom and the Tomb of Zechariah. We had lunch sitting on Zechariah's and watching local boys walk past carrying extremely cute puppies.  

     From there we went into the Old City and eventually to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. There are cisterns underneath that are allegedly pretty cool, but you have to pay to get in and we heard of people that got in for free, so we didn't go in. To get there you have to walk through this mini-church, which was beautiful. I want to say it was Armenian, mainly because it was near the Armenian section and it's unlike anything else we've seen. We explored around Holy Sepulchre. Our teacher, Dr. Seely, told us that a door is ever unlocked we should go inside, so we tried all the doors (no luck). We did find a room I'd never seen before that led to a tunnel, which undoubtedly led to caves that were used as tombs, but it was too narrow to go inside. 

    I got some ice cream (Kinder flavored and delicious) and we shopped around a bit (I got a really neat ring). I went with Heather and Matt K to Mamilla Mall outside Jaffa Gate. I needed a new black shirt because I lost mine somehow in the laundry process and managed to procure a white and black v-neck. I can't tell you how great it is to have a different shirt to wear. I'm getting real tired of my clothes. 

    My roommates didn't get home until dinner, so I opened up the patio doors and relaxed in the sun, took a nice long bath, and went to dinner entirely contented. It was a fabulous way to start the week. 

    

     Monday is field trip day, and we went to Neot Kedumim, which is a nature reserve devoted to the flora and fauna of the Bible. We got to herd sheep and goats. Taking pics with them was the highlight of the day for everyone. We messed around with an ancient well, looked at some trees and plants--my favorite of which were these purple flowers underneath these trees with purple blossoms. It was like stepping into a painting! We ground our own hyssop and made soup (the same soup that Jacob made maybe?) and bread for lunch (to go with our sack lunch, which was tuna sandwiches again, to the dismay of many). Something about being in nature in the camping setting brings a real calm to people, and lunch was really chill. People sat around and talked, a group tried to play stickball with pinecones and tree branches, and it was exactly what we needed, I think, to rejuvenate after Midterms. 

     I'll update about the other field trips and our Seder night after our ANE midterm tomorrow. The formal talent show is on Thursday, so it's going to be busy until Friday (I'm on the talent committee). I actually wrote a song last week on the ukulele and adapted it to the piano, so that's what I'm playing. I'm also accompanying Heather and Mark with All I Ask of You and Kari with To Make You Feel my Love, so I get to play the $170,000 Steinway at least three times on Thursday, and for rehearsal on Wednesday. I can't wait!

I'm changing my ringtone to make camel sounds.

     Went to Jordan, and I loved it.
     The border crossing took several hours, even though the bus ride took less than an hour. It was quick on the Israel side--we were only standing around for about 30 minutes. We had a mini jam session with Tabor's ukulele (I left mine at the JC) and talked some story. We sat on the Jordan side for a long time waiting to get our passports back and started to go stir crazy. We were all starving, so we bought snacks in the duty-free store. They had a lot of wine, perfume, and cigarettes in there. Is it just me, or do they just sell tons of perfume everywhere here?
   We switched buses on the Jordan side and met our tourguide, Eyad (and with him a security guard from tourist security but honestly though he was apparently with us all the time this was the only time I saw him, they are assigned to every tour group and also in booths around the big cities...). He (Eyad) was a lot of fun, and I think we all learned more Arabic from him than from anywhere else. His trademark phrase? Yalla, habibi. It roughly translates to get a move on, darlings. No offense to Brother Woods or Dr. Whitchurch but Eyad was a lot more interesting on the bus and easier to listen to while we were driving around.
   We made some stops, first at Mount Nebo, where we were all exhausted and hungry. Really, really hungry. I don't know about you but...80 hungry college kids who have been in buses all day? We were like zombies squinting into the distance looking for the cities Eyad was pointing out. Lunch was the greatest part of the day. Lunch was sweet relief! We were a bit nervous about the food, but it was really delicious (or was it just that the only thing we'd had since breakfast at o-dark-30 were Crunchips and Kinder from the border?). The pita bread in Jordan...words can't describe. And they had these little dessert balls...Like a crunchy little cream puff but with honey instead of cream. They were amazeballs. Ha.
     Our next stop was Madaba, where the famous mosaic map is. Pieces of this mosaic are missing, since the people that found it didn't realize that it was a mosaic for a while, but it was still pretty incredible. We had already seen a couple of copies or pictures, so it was really neat to see it in person. Hard to be quiet in the church, since we were finally fed and anxious to stretch our legs, but we managed.
     Our final destination was Petra--aka Wadi Musa, the town where it's located. I posted a video of our arrival on Facebook that hopefully everyone got to see (and hopefully I will be able to add to this post when I'm home with better wifi bandwidth). There was a band playing and we got to drink some kind of orange-mango juice and eat pita. We loved it. Dr. Whitchurch made it sound like we had to stand there and appreciate it and it would be lame, but we were tripping out. It was like being a celebrity! We had dinner in the basement of the hotel, which was pretty good. All the food we eat is pretty great so this was another mediocre meal. Afterwards we went into the Siq, the famed canyon/wadi that leads to the even more famous Treasury. I suggest re-watching Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade before continuing.
     Remember the part where Indy rides through the canyon (the Siq) on a horse? We walked that in the dark. It was pitch black out except for little brown bags with candles in them lighting our way through the rocks to the Treasury and when we get to the treasury there were hundreds of candles sitting in the sand. It was unreal. We listened to some traditional Bedouin music while looking up at the stars and the candles and the huge carving in stone in front of us. Definitely one of my favorite things that we've done so far.
     In the morning, it was freezing. I'm not just saying that because I'm always cold. Everybody was shivering. It was more than a little bit chilly. I wrapped a scarf around my head for warmth and not fashion, and that's why I'm wearing a scarf on my head in all of the Petra photos. Wearing a scarf on your head is very snuggly and cozy, besides, and I highly recommend it. Eyad led us back through the Siq and when it came time to see the Treasury around the corner, we had to stare at the ground for about twenty feet and then look up, to enhance the awe. There were many cheaters, but I would say that it enhanced the awe. This is where we took our $3 camel rides around in a circle outside the treasury to get photos. Camels. Camels. Camels are my new favorite animal. They are the greatest thing I've ever seen. That was the best $3 I ever spent and also the greatest several minutes of my life. Notice how their back knee joints bend in the opposite direction as the front. Very cool. So I climbed on my camel and the guy nickered at it and it stood up. I thought I was going to fall off the back and may have exclaimed a little bit but it was awesome. Camels are so awesome. They make the most ridiculous sounds and they aren't afraid to spit at you if you piss them off. Camels are just the greatest thing.
     After that, we were left to our own devices. I don't think I was the only one who felt like we were going to stumble across some Dead Sea Scrolls or have to swing across caverns with whips. There are these amazing tombs carved into the rock. It's not just one or two, they're all over the place! I went with Mckay and Matt C exploring and we made some good time. They probably could have done more manly exploring if I hadn't been lagging along, but in my defense mother nature had struck me with the red death the day before in the middle of the bus ride and it was something fierce. You're welcome, I know you wanted to know all about that. We went to the High Place first, to see the sacrificial altar. We found a pretty sweet obelisk and shouted to some guys (Steven and Phil?) making some Tarzan sounds on a cliff across from us. I was feeling the burn in my thighs climbing up to the altar, which was actually pretty lame. Just an altar with a really amazing view.
    Our next destination was the Monastery, but we got sidetracked often what with the tombs around every corner to be explored. Matt and Mckay climbed down into a sketchy underground cistern, and Mckay and I peer pressured Matt into parkour jumping some stuff and almost into laying down in a tomb (but it was full of garbage and he wouldn't do it). I sang to them in one tomb that had a really great echo. Singing when you can hear yourself echo back is one of my new favorite hobbies.
     The tombs are stunning. It's amazing to see the detail in these massive carvings, and how they're melting away with the elements. Before they rebuilt this mini dam thing to block water from flooding the wadi the rain would bring flash floods through. The ceilings are--I don't even know. Looking up from the inside is like looking at a painter palate. I don't know how the rock gets to be all these black and red and white swirls but it was fabulous. Pictures document the experience better than I can. The things you don't see in the pictures are our kids-in-candy-store-eyes and the jumping and climbing and general adventurousness of the whole thing.
     It was a long day but it was over quickly and we were back on the bus to Amman. There's a street there called Rainbow Street which is supposed to be the hip place where the young people hang out on, but we must have been there on the lame days. We got gelato and explored a bit but there wasn't much to see aside from people sitting on couches and smoking hookah. I was rooming with Paris but all we did in the room was sleep because I've never been so exhausted or slept so well in my entire life. Plus, the hotel beds were way nicer than the ones here in the JC.
    We saw the Amman Citadel, one of the best preserved Roman cities that didn't really seem that well preserved to me, but we've seen a lot of mostly-destroyed walls and, well, they kind of all look the same. We saw the Jabbok River, where Jacob struggled with the angel before reuniting with Esau. The water is gross and we were told not to touch it, but we got to sit and ponder in the sun for a while, which felt nice. It's good to have some quiet time when you're with all of your peers all of the time even if it's quiet time with all of your peers sitting around you.
     We had lunch at this place that is famous for making fresh pita. There is a reason they're famous for fresh pita. That is all that needs to be said.
     Next was Jerash, a really awesome Roman City. There were hundreds of columns--still standing! They have this town square that's a circle surrounded with columns and we were all joking like we'd knock them all down like Hercules does in the Disney movie. The two classes had a race in the old racetrack (Woods class one, represent!). Eyad was very proud of us because he says never have both the girls and boys beat the other group and he got to brag about it. The theater had crazy acoustics. They had circles cut in the rock where they put metal disks to amplify the sound, so all the way at the top people can hear you whisper if they're listening. We sang some hymns and then had a dance party to bagpipes, but who is surprised? It feels like 60% of the things we do end in a dance party. We went out and explored the ruined temples and stuff for an hour and I sang to a bunch of Muslim tourists in the theater. It was tons of fun!
     Our last stop of the day was the Royal Automobile Museum. Lots of cool cars. Some cool stories to go with the cars. A good way to show the big events in Jordan's history. I love that their royal family does stuff like race cars. They sound like really fun and down to earth people. The Jordanians obviously love them, as everybody and their dog as their pictures up in every room.

That's all for now. I'll update with our last day in Jordan and our last two field trips later. It's midterms right now so we're busy with all of our reading and I have another paper due on Tuesday. Talk about information overload here!