So, I know that I'm really behind on blogging my experiences. The main reason is, that I just don't have time. Between classes, 5 page papers on Sennacherib and Hezekiah, and trying to get everything in that I can before I leave in less than two weeks, blogging has definatly taken a back seat. I promise, however, that I will get caught up...eventually. I might not be before I get back to the States, but it will happen.
So, this blog is about all the awesomeness that happened inbetween Jordan and Galilee. And counting down to the awesomness that was our week in Galilee, because really, what could be more awesome than Galilee?
To start with, Bethlehem. Bethlehem is probably one of my favorite places that I've been to this trip. It's in the West Bank, and the center is very serious about people in the JC, including the faculty, about going. They actually have a seperate branch of the church there. It's kind of lame, the members in Ramallah have to drive three hours to go around Jerusalem to get to the branch in Bethlehem, instead of the 40 minutes or so it would take to get to the Jerusalem branch because of the seperation wall.
Anyway, that day our first stop was the Herodion, one of Herod the Great's palaces, and the place where he was buried. It's really cool, they built a fortress, then covered the sides with dirt to make it look like a volcano, but to provide a good defense. From the top of the Herodion, you could see signal fires from Machaerus (I should have talked about this site in my Jordan post) and also Jerusalem, so it was an important place. They actually discovered Herod's tomb there not too long ago. Like everything else cool, they put it in the Israel Museum.
Side story about the Israel Museum. Basically, anything cool archaeologically speaking found in the last century in this area, since the fall of the Ottoman empire, makes it's way to the Israel museum. Dead sea scrolls, the horned alter from Beersheva, the inscription talking about Pontius Pilate from Ceasaerea, it's all to be found in the Israel Museum. Anything found before the fall of the Ottoman empire is in the Istanbol Archaeological Museum. The Israel Museum is definatly one of my favorite places in Jerusalem, just because it has so much cool stuff! It's basically like the Smithsonians in Washington D.C., but all the museums are in one building. Like they have a huge archaeology section, and then a world archaeology section, an art section, and a section just on Jewish culture. And those were just the exhibits that I was able to see in the two free days that I spent there! To anyone who ever comes here, the Israel Museum is a must see. And plan on plenty of time for it!
From the Herodion, we travelled to Bethlehem. Our first stop was the Church of the Nativity. Apparantly, the church of the Nativity is the oldest church that has been continually a church. Fun fact, about 600 A.D. or so the Persians came through and conquered the Holy Land, and were destroying all the Christian churches that they could. When they came to the Church of the Nativity, however, they didn't destroy it. There were mosaics on the wall depicting the three wise men as Persians, and so the Persians venerated the church as a holy place.
Another fun fact. There is a similar status quo in the Church of the Nativity as there is in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. My teacher showed us a video on youtube of a fight between priests in the church where they started attacking each other with brooms.
We went through the chruch, and through the grotto, and saw the places where the Savior was born, and where he was laid in a manger.
After the Church of the Nativity, we went next door to the Church of St. Catherine, and went to Jerome's grotto. That was the place where the Latin Vulgate version of the bible was written by St. Jerome. We weren't allowed to sing in the Church of the Nativity, but we sang just about every Christmas song in the hymn book in St. Catherine's.
We came out, and had some time to walk around Manger Square. There is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints who lives in Bethlehem who makes and sells baby blankets. It wasn't on my list of things to buy, and I never intended to buy one...but then I was there...and they were cute...and it's a Bethlehem baby blanket...so my first baby is going to have a baby blanket from Bethlehem.
After some free time in Manger Square, we visited two different churches commemorating the Shepherd's field, and then we went to a legit shepherd's field, with sheep poop and everything. We sang some hymns, and some people prepared musical numbers for the event. We were given free time after that, just to sit and think and write in our journals and read some scriptures.
And that concludes the Bethlehem experience. The only other really cool thing that happened before going ot Galilee was doing the Via Dolorosa. There are a group of Franciscan priests who lead a group every Friday at 4 to go through all the stations, stopping at each station to talk about it. It was really cool, to actually follow the Via Dolorosa.
Coming up next, Galilee!
