I also thought it might be helpful to include links to our theses.... especially for those who were with us on the journey, you can appreciate the outcome of our labors! :)
Justin's Thesis
Mandy's Thesis
Thursday, November 5, 2020
Links to Photo Albums
Blogger and Picassa split ways several years ago, removing our photo albums from this blog. I wanted to make sure they were re-added here...
Field Studies Spring 2010 - Part 1
Friday, December 16, 2011
Thesis Writing, the Final Christmas, and Other Tales from Jerusalem
So our fall semester has come and gone like a whirlwind (and once again we have not blogged in a timely manner) and Christmas time is upon us again, our third and final Christmas here in Israel. This semester was certainly our favorite in terms of our job here on JUC’s campus. Lots of factors combined to make this a really enjoyable semester for us but some of the biggest were the staff, which was a little different this time around, and this semester’s student body (if any of you guys read this, know that you have blessed us immeasurably and we won’t forget you!). So, as always we were busy with work, but this semester we have been focusing heavily on archaeology. Mandy has been working tirelessly to help the students pass Dr. Barkay’s archaeology exam and we have both been working a lot on our theses. Now that the semester has ended and the students are have mostly all gone home, we are trying to spend a lot of time on our papers, but before we really start drowning in our respective oceans of archaeological facts and figures, we thought we would pause and catch you up on what we are now spending every non-work related second on.
My (Justin) thesis centers around a small pottery vessel from the Iron Age II that has been found at nearly every major archaeological site in Israel. The Iron Age II, ca. 1000–586 B.C.E., the time period when the bulk of ancient Palestine was ruled by the of the kings of Israel, from David through the final rulers of the Divided Kingdoms of Israel and Judah. The vessel in question is a juglet, a “little jug,” known to Syro-Palestinian archaeologists as a “black juglet.” The black juglet is unique enough in the repertoire of Iron Age II pottery to be its own type because it has a very distinct shape, or rather a group of shapes typical to it, and because it is most commonly colored black! The black variety of this juglet is usually made of grayish clay with a thin coating of black clay on its surface (like paint, but known to ceramicists as a “slip”). The vessel is almost always hand-burnished, that is polished, with vertical strokes made by the potter with a tool such as a shell, piece of pottery, or a smooth stone. Even though the vessel is called a “black juglet” it comes in red, brown, or a plain buff color, but more important than its color is its shape and typical vertical burnishing lines.
Mandy’s thesis is entitled “A Study of Late Hellenistic and Early Roman Glass in Jerusalem from Excavated Sites: Understanding Local Production and the Economic Status of the Population from the Time of the Hasmoneans to Hadrian.” I (Mandy) got the idea to study this topic after turning in a rather substantial paper on glass for my Spring 2011 Archaeology class. I had been considering a topic centering on archaeology of the 1st Temple Period or earlier, but I wasn’t happy with the original topic I had picked. When I did this study in the spring, I fell in love with glass studies, and decided that, at the risk of looking inconsistent or flighty, I would ask my professor if I could change topics. Since he had already seen my spring paper, he agreed that it would be a good choice for me.
Western (i.e. European) glass studies have existed for a very long time, mostly because of glass that came out of the Roman Empire, as well as advancements during the Medieval period and the Renaissance, in Venice, Germany, and England. Eastern glass studies, however, is a relatively new topic for scholars; it has only been researched in this country for about 40 years. This is a little odd, since it is universally accepted that the invention of glassblowing most likely took place in the eastern Mediterranean (i.e. in or near the modern area of Israel) in the 1st century C.E. Since this country is so important to understanding the transition from molded glass to blown glass, it makes being on the cusp of the beginnings of research very exciting! Glass has been published from over 140 sites in Israel, and probably about 20-30 sites in Jerusalem alone (including the only discovery in this country of a 1st century glass factory to date, found in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City).
Through my research, I hope to put together the glass finds in Jerusalem from this time period, to better understand social relations (for instance, glass from burials versus glass from sites and why the differences in the assemblages… or acceptance of new wares into society), local and international business relations (including the interaction of primary with secondary glass factories, local production, and understanding possible imported glass or “luxury wares”), and the economy of Jerusalem in the Second Temple Period. 
I’ve been able to use all of my research from the Spring semester, and throughout the fall, I have compiled a catalogue of data showing glass finds from 39 sites around Israel, to understand Jerusalem glass in its geographical context. Over the winter break, my focus will be to finish synthesizing the catalogue of data from glass published from Jerusalem excavations, and throughout the spring, I will work to analyze all of the data to pull together my conclusions. With lots of hard work, and prayer from friends and family, my goal is to finish the thesis in May! I’m working quite a bit with my second reader, Dr. Ruth E. Jackson-Tal of Hebrew University, who is the leading researcher in Early Roman glass studies at this time. She is giving me lots of encouragement and advice, and we are working with pieces of glass she has published from various sites. It is so helpful to handle the glass from these periods to better understand the fabric, technology, beauty, and functionality of the vessels!
My (Justin) thesis centers around a small pottery vessel from the Iron Age II that has been found at nearly every major archaeological site in Israel. The Iron Age II, ca. 1000–586 B.C.E., the time period when the bulk of ancient Palestine was ruled by the of the kings of Israel, from David through the final rulers of the Divided Kingdoms of Israel and Judah. The vessel in question is a juglet, a “little jug,” known to Syro-Palestinian archaeologists as a “black juglet.” The black juglet is unique enough in the repertoire of Iron Age II pottery to be its own type because it has a very distinct shape, or rather a group of shapes typical to it, and because it is most commonly colored black! The black variety of this juglet is usually made of grayish clay with a thin coating of black clay on its surface (like paint, but known to ceramicists as a “slip”). The vessel is almost always hand-burnished, that is polished, with vertical strokes made by the potter with a tool such as a shell, piece of pottery, or a smooth stone. Even though the vessel is called a “black juglet” it comes in red, brown, or a plain buff color, but more important than its color is its shape and typical vertical burnishing lines. 
The black juglet has been recognized and discussed by archaeologists since the early twentieth century, but no one in the past hundred years has ever done a study specifically on this kind of juglet. So my work represents the first synthesis and analysis of the black juglets! This is very exciting and also a little intimidating. I only hope I do the topic justice and write something useful for people to use in future work.
So, here is what I am actually trying to do. The black juglets are pretty small, ranging in height from ca. 10 centimeters (3.9 inches) to ca. 7.5 centimeters (2.9 inches). In addition to this they also have a thin neck to limit how much liquid comes out of them. Because of these factors, it is generally accepted that the juglets were used for holding an expensive commodity, maybe perfumed oil. Okay, so basically we know what the juglets held, but here’s where the questions come in. What were the contexts in which the juglets were used? They have been found mostly in tombs; so where they actually burial gifts for the deceased, or were they used to anoint the body prior to burial and then left in the tomb? The second most common context is people’s houses, but not in royal houses it seems. They have also been found in military outposts and places of worship. What does this tell us? There are very few of them in Jerusalem, the capital of ancient Judah, but there are a lot of them in other places in the south such as Lachish whose black juglets may have been made in the vicinity of Jerusalem (based on an analysis of the clay)! Another issue that I am trying to understand is the chronology of the juglets’ morphology, their form or shape. The little black juglet stayed in vogue for about 400 years and they change styles at least twice over this time. Older scholarly works tend to date the juglets based on certain forms, for example, the juglet with a long neck is older than the one with the shorter neck, but this is not always so clear. I hope to bring some clarity to this issue if possible. Another question is the black on the black juglet. Why were some black and some red or brown? Did people like the black kinds better? Were they more (or less) expensive? How was the black color created, was it the clay itself, was it the way it was fired, did it require a certain kind of technology to create? All these issues pave the way for the anthropological questions that are very hard to answer, but nevertheless, have to be addressed as they will help us better understand the people who made and used this kind of juglet, which is the goal of any archaeological study.
Mandy’s thesis is entitled “A Study of Late Hellenistic and Early Roman Glass in Jerusalem from Excavated Sites: Understanding Local Production and the Economic Status of the Population from the Time of the Hasmoneans to Hadrian.” I (Mandy) got the idea to study this topic after turning in a rather substantial paper on glass for my Spring 2011 Archaeology class. I had been considering a topic centering on archaeology of the 1st Temple Period or earlier, but I wasn’t happy with the original topic I had picked. When I did this study in the spring, I fell in love with glass studies, and decided that, at the risk of looking inconsistent or flighty, I would ask my professor if I could change topics. Since he had already seen my spring paper, he agreed that it would be a good choice for me. 
Western (i.e. European) glass studies have existed for a very long time, mostly because of glass that came out of the Roman Empire, as well as advancements during the Medieval period and the Renaissance, in Venice, Germany, and England. Eastern glass studies, however, is a relatively new topic for scholars; it has only been researched in this country for about 40 years. This is a little odd, since it is universally accepted that the invention of glassblowing most likely took place in the eastern Mediterranean (i.e. in or near the modern area of Israel) in the 1st century C.E. Since this country is so important to understanding the transition from molded glass to blown glass, it makes being on the cusp of the beginnings of research very exciting! Glass has been published from over 140 sites in Israel, and probably about 20-30 sites in Jerusalem alone (including the only discovery in this country of a 1st century glass factory to date, found in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City). Jerusalem is incredibly important for glass studies in the Late Hellenistic and Early Roman periods (i.e. 2nd century B.C.E. – 2nd century C.E.), yet no one has done a synthesis of the glass from Jerusalem to understand key types, as well as anthropological implications, such as the economy of the people at the end of the Second Temple Period, basically between the birth of Jesus and the destruction of Jerusalem, in 70 C.E. That’s where I come in!
Through my research, I hope to put together the glass finds in Jerusalem from this time period, to better understand social relations (for instance, glass from burials versus glass from sites and why the differences in the assemblages… or acceptance of new wares into society), local and international business relations (including the interaction of primary with secondary glass factories, local production, and understanding possible imported glass or “luxury wares”), and the economy of Jerusalem in the Second Temple Period. 
I’ve been able to use all of my research from the Spring semester, and throughout the fall, I have compiled a catalogue of data showing glass finds from 39 sites around Israel, to understand Jerusalem glass in its geographical context. Over the winter break, my focus will be to finish synthesizing the catalogue of data from glass published from Jerusalem excavations, and throughout the spring, I will work to analyze all of the data to pull together my conclusions. With lots of hard work, and prayer from friends and family, my goal is to finish the thesis in May! I’m working quite a bit with my second reader, Dr. Ruth E. Jackson-Tal of Hebrew University, who is the leading researcher in Early Roman glass studies at this time. She is giving me lots of encouragement and advice, and we are working with pieces of glass she has published from various sites. It is so helpful to handle the glass from these periods to better understand the fabric, technology, beauty, and functionality of the vessels!So there you have it! We are both working hard on our theses with the goal of finishing by May, or at least having things completed enough that we can finish at home. We are both working with wonderful people at the Hebrew University who are guiding us as we go along, and of course we have the help of our primary reader and advisor, Dr. Barkay. We’ve decorated for Christmas and are trying to keep in the spirit of things, but really are looking toward going home in the summer. Thoughts of spending next Christmas at home are keeping us going this holiday season as we devote most of our time to our big papers.
We wish you, our family and friends, a very Merry Christmas! Thank you all so much for your prayers and support. We ask that you would continue to keep us in prayer as we strive to finish up. By the way, we have uploaded three new photo albums to catch you up on some of things that we have been doing since our last entry. Blessings everyone!
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Milestones and Distant Horizons
Greetings everyone!
It has been quite a while since we last updated this blog. Some people are really good at keeping these online journals, us on the other hand, we get busy and forget about it. Oh well, better late than never. Anyway a lot has happened since we last chronicled our journey on the other side of the world. Another semester at JUC has gone by and a new semester has begun. The passing of the Spring 2011 semester marked a number of important things for us: the completion of all of our coursework at JUC, the completion of our first year as Student Life Directors, the completion of our second year in Israel, and the beginning of our final year here, which means beginning serious work on our theses, completing our remaining comprehensive exams, and setting our sights toward going home! It’s really hard to believe that we have been here for two years already—in many ways the time seems to have flown by and on some days it feels as if it couldn’t go any slower. Looking back it is amazing to remember that two years ago to the day almost we were getting settled in our apartment in the southern Jerusalem suburb of Baka.
This spring our only class was Archaeology of Jerusalem II with Dr. Gabriel Barkay, though I (Justin) audited a course on the cultural background of the biblical world. This meant that our only homework for the semester was a term paper in archaeology, which we spent a LOT of time on. We needed to write on an archaeological topic that pertained to the history of Jerusalem from sometime between the building of the Second Temple in the Persian period (the fifth century B.C.E.) up to the Islamic period (the seventh century C.E.). Mandy wrote a paper entitled “A Brief History of Glass Emphasizing Eastern Developments and an Examination of Late Hellenistic and Early Roman Glass in Israel with Jerusalem’s Contribution to Vitrics [i.e. Glass] Technology.” Mandy’s paper covers the history of glass in the Near East which is a relatively new field of archaeological study as well as the glass-finds in the excavations done in Israel (and Jerusalem) over the years and what those finds can tell us about the history of the use and production of glass vessels. I wrote on “The Archaeology and Early History of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.” My paper covers the history of the site upon which the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was built in 325 C.E. and the archaeological excavations done within and in the vicinity of the church and the contributions of these excavations to the understanding of the site itself and also the history of Jerusalem. Writing these papers, or rather small books—both of our papers were over 150 pages—has been quite a process, which, as Mandy and I recently discussed, is much like an archaeological excavation in miniature—extremely tiring and demanding while at the same time fun and very rewarding.
JUC, as you have gathered from previous entries, has a lot of programs and various options for students, so for us, the conclusion of the semester means the beginning of the short-term programs. These two or three week programs run at various times throughout the academic year, but take place consistently in May and June and part of July. So after a brief reprieve following the completion of our spring semester we had to help get the campus ready for the short-term students who arrived mid-May. The staff and long-term students usually have a number of “jobs” to do while the short-termers are here and our job for May, June, and July was preparing all of the lunches for the field trips. This particular job is a lot of work, we will spare you the details, but will suffice to say that we made over 3,000 servings over a period of two and a half months for 382 people. At any rate we made it through and by mid-July we were really ready for our trip home.
We left for the States on July 20th and spent a refreshing month with Mandy’s family in Colorado. It was amazing to be home again after two years (the passport control guy in Charlotte, North Carolina, was shocked that we had been out of the country that long). We were really ready to go home, in fact we were longing for it, like we have never longed for anything before. Being in another country, no matter how “Western” it may be (and Israel is pretty westernized), makes you long for the tastes, smells, and culture of home. Eating American food again was overwhelmingly good (not that the food in Israel is bad, its just not the same). Our first big meal upon arriving at home was a burger and fries at Red Robin. The other restaurant that we were craving, and still are, was Rubio’s (our friends on the West Coast know what we’re talking about), but they are not in southwest Colorado, only in Denver, and we didn’t have time to drive out there. Ralph Rubio, if you happen by this blog entry, please send a fish taco our way! Mandy’s parents treated us to many meals both homemade and at various restaurants, all of which was wonderful. I think we came back to Israel heavier than when we left! The weather was also so nice with rain almost every afternoon and cool evenings—a stark contrast to Jerusalem’s dry summer season and scorching August days.
While we were home we tried to earn our keep a little bit, mostly by trying to help out Mandy’s parents with various projects they have been meaning to get to and haven’t had the chance yet. Our biggest project that we tackled was organizing Mandy’s dad’s workshop, which took us about a week total of consistent work, but it was an accomplishment that we are really proud of. Mandy was the mastermind of this operation, who allowed us to organize and clear out something like 30 years of accumulated stuff. Though of course, it wouldn’t have been possible without Dad, who was so patient with us as we dragged him from one big pile of stuff to another and made him decide what to keep, toss, or sell. We’re proud of you Dad for all your hard work out there.
Overall it was a great trip, though we didn’t get to visit anyone else during the month that we were home. We just weren’t able to make it happen financially or practically. Sorry to all our friends and family who we missed this time around. We will try to make a way to see you soon!
The time at home went by quickly as time usually does and we were back on a plane on August 20th to head back to Israel. We arrived with a week to spare before the beginning of the semester and we quickly set to work getting events planned, and getting the “student life” end of JUC’s semester ready to go. The students arrived the weekend of the 26th and classes began on Monday, August 29th. So the semester has now been in full swing for almost two weeks. As noted above, we don’t have any more required course work, so now our priority has turned to our theses as far as academics are concerned (more details to come on our thesis topics as we get the details nailed down). We are, however, auditing Biblical Archaeology I again with Dr. Barkay just to keep refreshed on the key topics in our field. We are also continuing to volunteer at the Institute of Archaeology at Hebrew University in the Tel Rehov lab sorting pottery for the final publication of the site.
The semester seems like it is going to be a good one. We have a great cohort of students this who seem serious about their studies and are just pleasant people to be around. Added to this, our perspective has been renewed after our refreshing time at home and we are geared up for another year of study and service. All the while we are trying to set our sites towards moving back home and thinking and praying about what’s next for us after Israel.
As always thanks for your prayers and support everyone (and your patience with our blog entries). Blessings to all of you.
Justin & Mandy
It has been quite a while since we last updated this blog. Some people are really good at keeping these online journals, us on the other hand, we get busy and forget about it. Oh well, better late than never. Anyway a lot has happened since we last chronicled our journey on the other side of the world. Another semester at JUC has gone by and a new semester has begun. The passing of the Spring 2011 semester marked a number of important things for us: the completion of all of our coursework at JUC, the completion of our first year as Student Life Directors, the completion of our second year in Israel, and the beginning of our final year here, which means beginning serious work on our theses, completing our remaining comprehensive exams, and setting our sights toward going home! It’s really hard to believe that we have been here for two years already—in many ways the time seems to have flown by and on some days it feels as if it couldn’t go any slower. Looking back it is amazing to remember that two years ago to the day almost we were getting settled in our apartment in the southern Jerusalem suburb of Baka.
This spring our only class was Archaeology of Jerusalem II with Dr. Gabriel Barkay, though I (Justin) audited a course on the cultural background of the biblical world. This meant that our only homework for the semester was a term paper in archaeology, which we spent a LOT of time on. We needed to write on an archaeological topic that pertained to the history of Jerusalem from sometime between the building of the Second Temple in the Persian period (the fifth century B.C.E.) up to the Islamic period (the seventh century C.E.). Mandy wrote a paper entitled “A Brief History of Glass Emphasizing Eastern Developments and an Examination of Late Hellenistic and Early Roman Glass in Israel with Jerusalem’s Contribution to Vitrics [i.e. Glass] Technology.” Mandy’s paper covers the history of glass in the Near East which is a relatively new field of archaeological study as well as the glass-finds in the excavations done in Israel (and Jerusalem) over the years and what those finds can tell us about the history of the use and production of glass vessels. I wrote on “The Archaeology and Early History of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.” My paper covers the history of the site upon which the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was built in 325 C.E. and the archaeological excavations done within and in the vicinity of the church and the contributions of these excavations to the understanding of the site itself and also the history of Jerusalem. Writing these papers, or rather small books—both of our papers were over 150 pages—has been quite a process, which, as Mandy and I recently discussed, is much like an archaeological excavation in miniature—extremely tiring and demanding while at the same time fun and very rewarding.
JUC, as you have gathered from previous entries, has a lot of programs and various options for students, so for us, the conclusion of the semester means the beginning of the short-term programs. These two or three week programs run at various times throughout the academic year, but take place consistently in May and June and part of July. So after a brief reprieve following the completion of our spring semester we had to help get the campus ready for the short-term students who arrived mid-May. The staff and long-term students usually have a number of “jobs” to do while the short-termers are here and our job for May, June, and July was preparing all of the lunches for the field trips. This particular job is a lot of work, we will spare you the details, but will suffice to say that we made over 3,000 servings over a period of two and a half months for 382 people. At any rate we made it through and by mid-July we were really ready for our trip home.
We left for the States on July 20th and spent a refreshing month with Mandy’s family in Colorado. It was amazing to be home again after two years (the passport control guy in Charlotte, North Carolina, was shocked that we had been out of the country that long). We were really ready to go home, in fact we were longing for it, like we have never longed for anything before. Being in another country, no matter how “Western” it may be (and Israel is pretty westernized), makes you long for the tastes, smells, and culture of home. Eating American food again was overwhelmingly good (not that the food in Israel is bad, its just not the same). Our first big meal upon arriving at home was a burger and fries at Red Robin. The other restaurant that we were craving, and still are, was Rubio’s (our friends on the West Coast know what we’re talking about), but they are not in southwest Colorado, only in Denver, and we didn’t have time to drive out there. Ralph Rubio, if you happen by this blog entry, please send a fish taco our way! Mandy’s parents treated us to many meals both homemade and at various restaurants, all of which was wonderful. I think we came back to Israel heavier than when we left! The weather was also so nice with rain almost every afternoon and cool evenings—a stark contrast to Jerusalem’s dry summer season and scorching August days.
While we were home we tried to earn our keep a little bit, mostly by trying to help out Mandy’s parents with various projects they have been meaning to get to and haven’t had the chance yet. Our biggest project that we tackled was organizing Mandy’s dad’s workshop, which took us about a week total of consistent work, but it was an accomplishment that we are really proud of. Mandy was the mastermind of this operation, who allowed us to organize and clear out something like 30 years of accumulated stuff. Though of course, it wouldn’t have been possible without Dad, who was so patient with us as we dragged him from one big pile of stuff to another and made him decide what to keep, toss, or sell. We’re proud of you Dad for all your hard work out there.
Overall it was a great trip, though we didn’t get to visit anyone else during the month that we were home. We just weren’t able to make it happen financially or practically. Sorry to all our friends and family who we missed this time around. We will try to make a way to see you soon!
The time at home went by quickly as time usually does and we were back on a plane on August 20th to head back to Israel. We arrived with a week to spare before the beginning of the semester and we quickly set to work getting events planned, and getting the “student life” end of JUC’s semester ready to go. The students arrived the weekend of the 26th and classes began on Monday, August 29th. So the semester has now been in full swing for almost two weeks. As noted above, we don’t have any more required course work, so now our priority has turned to our theses as far as academics are concerned (more details to come on our thesis topics as we get the details nailed down). We are, however, auditing Biblical Archaeology I again with Dr. Barkay just to keep refreshed on the key topics in our field. We are also continuing to volunteer at the Institute of Archaeology at Hebrew University in the Tel Rehov lab sorting pottery for the final publication of the site.
The semester seems like it is going to be a good one. We have a great cohort of students this who seem serious about their studies and are just pleasant people to be around. Added to this, our perspective has been renewed after our refreshing time at home and we are geared up for another year of study and service. All the while we are trying to set our sites towards moving back home and thinking and praying about what’s next for us after Israel.
As always thanks for your prayers and support everyone (and your patience with our blog entries). Blessings to all of you.
Justin & Mandy
Friday, March 25, 2011
News from Jerusalem...
Hi friends and family. I’m sure you all have seen the news about the recent bus bombing in Jerusalem. We thought it would be good to write a quick entry in light of this recent event to not only let you know that we are alright (if you don’t already know), but more importantly to fill you in on some of the details and what the implications of this event could be.
It’s interesting to note first of all how quickly this bombing made American news. Usually demonstrations and moments of tension don’t make it past Israeli and Palestinian news channels and if they do, they end up on European news. This time, however, the event ended up on news in the States (and around the world) almost immediately! This is probably because it is the first bus bombing in Jerusalem in four years, the last one being during the last stages of the Second Intifada (the second of two major Palestinian uprisings against the Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Gaza). As a result of the events of the Intifada, in the early 2000s the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) built the large concrete West Bank Barrier, which was intended, among other things to prevent suicide bombers from detonating themselves on buses. This had become a fairly common occurrence at that time.
In the past two weeks there have been two explosives found in the vicinity of Jerusalem. Last week there was one in Giloh, a suburb of Jerusalem at its southern extremity (this small explosive detonated, but didn’t cause any injuries or damage), and then the one at the bus stop on Wednesday. This latest bomb was left at the northbound bus stop on a major highway, just near the Central Bus Station. The bomb was in a phone booth near the bus stop and it detonated as Bus 74 was pulling away from the. It blew the glass out of the windows of Bus 74 in the front and the back, damaged one other bus, injured about 30 people (most of whom were not seriously hurt), and killed one older lady, who we now know to be a dear friend and colleague of a former JUC student and her husband. For those of you who are interested, this particular bus stop is located about 2 miles northeast of where we live. The news reports seem to have made it sound worse than it was saying things like the explosion “rocked Jerusalem,” whatever that means—we had no idea what had happened until it appeared on the news.
As far as we know from local news, no group has claimed responsibility for the bombing, though many are quick to blame Hamas, the Palestinian resistance group that governs the Gaza Strip, and is known for its violence. Hamas has recently been firing rockets into Israel (into Ashkelon, Ashdod, Kiryat Gath, and Beersheba), which they actually do all the time (just some of the events that don’t make American news), but they have been increasing in number lately. The IDF usually retaliates each time with an air strike in Gaza, which prompts another missile barrage from Hamas, and another Israeli strike … you get the idea, the cycle is ongoing. This bombing in Jerusalem may or may not be related to Hamas or the increasing tension in the Gaza Strip. There is also no evidence of a connection to the explosive left in Giloh.
So what this means for us is that the director of the JUC has restricted the students from using Israeli public buses and from frequenting places that have been known targets in the past (such as coffee shops, etc.). We usually use the buses to get back and forth from Hebrew University every week, so we will have to change our plans until we see whether things calm down or not. It is likely that everything will eventually simmer down, it usually does after a few weeks.
So anyway, we are fine as are all the other students at JUC. These kinds of incidents are usually isolated and life tends to go on as usual for most people. If you have any questions feel free to let us know. Thanks as always, for your prayer and support. We love you.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Up On the Downs
Hello friends and family! We hope that this post finds you well and enjoying the beginning of the new year. As for us, we just finished welcoming our new cohort of students for the Spring 2011 semester at JUC. They are settled, have gone through orientation, and are ready to begin their classes this week. In the midst of getting ready for our new semester, we have thought fondly of our two-week trip to the English countryside, from which we just returned only two weeks ago. As you know, a month ago we were on a field study in Egypt for a week (hopefully some of our readers have checked out the pics!). Two weeks after returning from Egypt we packed up again and headed to the UK. We had an amazing trip thanks to our friends David and Sheila Holden, who were kind enough to host us and make our stay in England a wonderful and special time. So, read on if you’re interested in hearing a little more about it.
Our trip to England began with the realization that we were really in need of getting away from Israel for a little while. We have been in Israel for nearly a year and half, working and going to school, and so time away (and time in a “western” environment that feels more like home) was really becoming a necessity. About the middle of the fall semester, our first time out as Campus Life Directors at JUC, we started planning, and after deciding that it would be too expensive to fly to the States, we thought of England. We have never been to England and it sounded like a nice place to get away. So, with our very limited budget in mind, we reached out for some friends of Mandy’s parents who live in England, and asked them if they wouldn’t mind letting us stay with them for a couple weeks. The Holdens responded very graciously, offering to take care of us, and let us stay not only in their home in Lewes, but also suggested that we spend a few days in their flat in the coastal town of Eastbourne. With their confirmation, we made our plans, finished up our projects with work and school and then headed to the UK on December 27.
After a short flight of about 5 hours, the Holdens picked us up at Heathrow Airport in London, and took us for a whirlwind trip to lunch (which consisted of amazing “ready-made” BLTs), to their grocery store for supplies, and finally to their flat in Eastbourne. Originally we had planned to stay at their house first and then spend the second week in Eastbourne, but due to unforeseen circumstances we ended up switching that around and staying in Eastbourne first, which worked out nicely for us because we were able to have nearly a week to ourselves to just unwind.
From the moment we hit the ground in London we realized that transitioning from a country where English is a second or third language to a place where it is primary was going to be our first stages of “reverse culture shock.” There were no Hebrew or Arabic signs, newspapers, or decals to be found, which was a strange and welcome change. I (Justin) almost can’t begin to describe the feeling of being in a western grocery store again. We went from aisle to aisle as our friends inquired of us “what we fancied.” In a store such as we were in with a huge (or so we thought) selection of items which included non-kosher things like bacon, we pretty much fancied everything we saw. And, after a year and a half without flavorful cheese, this became a high priority fancy on our list. (By the way, we discovered that the cheese is amazing in England.) If you’ve lived abroad then you know the feeling of the first time you returned to a place that had the things you like to eat. It might sound silly, but it is quite an overwhelming and exciting experience. I should also point out that after a warm and dry beginning to Israel’s winter, heading to England’s foggy and cold countryside was absolutely wonderful (though we had a hard time convincing the locals that someone could actually enjoy such “dreary” weather).
Now, for the first location of our trip, we were in Eastbourne, which means “East River.” Eastbourne is located on the southeastern coast of the English Channel in a county called East Sussex (the overarching county of Sussex that includes both West and East Sussex, basically designates the southeastern English countryside). This area is known primarily for its rolling chalk hills that run along the coast called the “Downs,” which start in Eastbourne and continue west for some 70 miles. Eastbourne itself is known for two areas of the Downs called Beachy Head, which we visited, and the Seven Sisters just beyond. One of the amazing things about where we were in England is that locals really seem to value getting out and enjoying the countryside. In fact there are a number of laws in place that prevent development of certain areas, specifically for the purpose of preserving the natural beauty of the landscape. There are literally footpaths, lookouts, and places to sit, everywhere in the south of the country, which include the Downs, but also most of the southern cities. The city of Eastbourne is small and quaint with a lot of Victorian-style architecture. We enjoyed walking back and forth between the flat and the downtown area. And, it was downtown that we had our first fish and chips experience at a pub, which wasn’t really very good, but which we were able to redeem later by going to the renown Harry Ramsden’s World Famous Fish and Chips. We also got coffee at Starbucks (multiple times in fact) for the first time in a year and a half!
After a week of enjoyable walks into Eastbourne and on the Downs, and amazing meals (which were supplemented by as much good cheese as much as was humanly possible) in our borrowed flat, we then headed to Lewes to spend the majority of our time left in England with the Holdens in their home. David and Sheila live in a sixteenth century cottage that they have worked tirelessly on over the years to make it into a very unique blend of ancient architecture and sleek modern style and convenience. The building’s plan, frame, and brickwork reflect the Victorian period (the 1800s) and the Elizabethan period (early 1900s), but the building was actually put there in medieval times, around the 1400s, and much of the extant wooden superstructure has oak beams from that time period. This was fascinating to us coming from Israel where wood and organics are not preserved over long spans of time except in extremely dry climates. In fact there is a lot of archaeological data from the UK, most of which comes from the Roman period, but in some places, like Eastbourne, remains go as far back as the Neolithic period, or New Stone Age (ca. 4,000 – 2,200 BCE in European archaeological chronology).
Anyway, we enjoyed spending time with the Holdens, going to their church, meeting some of their friends, and eating lots of local British cuisine (cooked regularly for us by Sheila!), which consists most often of a roasted meat, like lamb or beef, and potatoes, steamed “veg,” and gravy, with the most amazing desserts (or "puddings") afterwards. We also had the opportunity, while staying with the Holdens, to walk around their suburb of Lewes, a little village called Barcombe Cross, and visit Lewes’ old town (which is situated around the ruins of a Norman castle that was built in the 1400s CE). There is so much old and breathtaking architecture to take in wherever you go in the countryside. The old churches are especially beautiful and are like things that we had only seen in the movies prior to our visit.
One of the things we had set our sights on prior to taking our trip to England was visiting the British Museum, which we were able to do once we were staying with the Holdens, since Sheila is an expert on the train schedules. We took the train from Cooksbridge into London on a very rainy Thursday morning of our second week in England. Once we arrived at Victoria Station we had to catch the subway (usually referred to as the “Underground” or the “Tube”) to a street near the museum. After an interesting train ride and a little time getting lost in London, we found the imposing façade of the British Museum that mimics the front of a large ancient Greek temple. Our time in the museum was a bit limited (and really a person could easily spend a week there in order to see everything) so we only had enough time to look carefully through a few sections, namely the ancient Levant and Mesopotamia. We also tried to breeze through the Egyptian artifacts. The highlights of the museum are certainly the seventh century BCE Assyrian wall-reliefs from the palace of Sennacherib, which are present in the museum in their entirety and also the Rosetta Stone from Egypt. One of the really nice things about the British Museum is that you are permitted to take pictures of just about everything, unlike the Cairo museum, which we had just been to a few weeks prior.
We stayed at the museum until it closed and then went to dinner at a place called My Old Dutch, which specializes in crepes … huge crepes, like 16 inches in diameter—I had one with maple syrup and butter and Mandy had one with cream and a berry medley. Then we caught the Underground back to Victoria Station. Since we had a couple of hours to kill before our train that would take us back to Lewes arrived, we walked to Buckingham Palace, which is just a short distance from the train station.
The craziest thing that we did while we were in England was rent a car, and for all practical purposes, learn how to drive all over again! Not only do you have to master being on the opposite side of the road than we are used to in the States (and in Israel), but I have only driven a couple of times since we left home. So with my sense of direction and depth perception all off, and lots of tiny country roads, city highways, and roundabouts ahead of us, we hit the road in our little Toyota Auris Hybrid. Mandy was an excellent and encouraging navigator and all in all it took us about three days to get accustomed to driving, and it did actually become comfortable after a little while. In the end, we came away with only a few little scrapes to the front passenger wheel of the car! However, our biggest accomplishment on the road was driving back to Eastbourne from Lewes, about a 35-minute drive, where we finished out the last few days of our stay. I think that I was most comfortable driving on the day that we had to take the rental back to Enterprise. Oh well, it was a fun experience and I hope that the next time we attempt it the learning curve will be a little quicker.
Our stay in England was, overall, amazing and we couldn’t have done it without the support of the Holdens and their wonderful hospitality. God certainly blessed us through them and we are very grateful. Our trip was so relaxing and we were able to process and recuperate from our first semester out as staff members at JUC. England, and in particular, Sussex, with its quaint countryside, rolling Downs, and friendly people was great, and though it wasn’t quite home, it still captured a piece of our hearts. Interestingly, we picked up a little book in one of the antiquarian bookshops in downtown Lewes called The Book of Sussex Verse, which is an anthology of poetry by various authors, some of them really well known, on all things Sussex. To close this entry on our time in England, we thought it appropriate to cite a poignant passage from Rudyard Kipling that reflects our newfound love of southern England.
God gives all men all earth to love,
But since man’s heart is small,
Ordains for each one spot shall prove
Beloved over all.
Each to his choice, and I rejoice
The lot has fallen to me
In a fair ground—in a fair ground—
Yea, Sussex by the sea!
Please keep us in your prayers for finances as we begin our new semester and make our plans to head home for a little while in the summer. We also have some small school expenses (mainly a few books) that are coming up. Please also pray for strength for us to make it through the semester strong so that we can support and care for our students and also make it through our studies. You are in our thoughts and prayers. Thanks everyone and blessings to you.
Saturday, December 25, 2010
The Gift of the Nile
As promised, we also wanted to update you on our recent 8-day adventure to Egypt! This trip was tied to a class we had this fall, entitled “Ancient Egypt and the Biblical World.” As with most classes at JUC, this one included a field study, at the very end of the semester, of 8 days in Egypt. This field study was a true JUC field study, with at least 12-hour long days, a lot of travel, a lot to see, and minimal food and sleep. We’ve gotten relatively used to this pattern in our time here, so we came prepared with at least snacks.
We left for Egypt at 5:30am on Saturday, December 4th. Most of the first day was simply travel. After 5-6 hours of travel to the Eilat/Taba border, we had a moderately uneventful border crossing, and then hopped on an Egyptian bus for an additional 7 or so hours of travel, to Cairo, via the pilgrim route (straight across the Sinai), crossing under the Suez Canal along the way. We got into Cairo and to our rather nice hotel, in time for dinner around 9pm. The first thing we observed when we arrived in Cairo was the traffic – the lane markings are mere suggestions here. Looking ahead, it was absolutely impossible to make out a straight line in the traffic in front of us (and it was rush hour, so there was plenty of traffic to observe).
Sunday was focused on Old Kingdom remains (ca. 2613-2125 B.C.E.), as well as a bit of recent history, in Old Cairo. We saw our first pyramid, the Red Pyramid, which was the second pyramid built by Sneferu (the first king of Dynasty 4), and which was the first true pyramid. We also saw Sneferu’s first pyramid, which is appropriately named the “Bent Pyramid,” and which looked quite funny. Scholars think that the Red Pyramid was commissioned after the Bent Pyramid, and the structural flaws were corrected. We were able to go inside both the Red Pyramid, as well as Teti I’s pyramid (which now looks like a rubble heap). Both pyramids are accessed by way of a sloping shaft, which only stands about 4 feet high. This means that the visitor must go down the shaft stooped over, with bent knees. The shafts were each at least 30 feet long, descending into the belly of the pyramid. We weren’t allowed to take pictures inside, but one of our fellow students did manage a picture, which we have posted in our album. All of the burials in ancient Egypt were on the West side of the Nile River, which was seen as the Land of the Dead (the land of the setting sun). These burials, to protect them from the annual flooding of the Nile, were set at a distance from the bank, out of reach of the flood plains. This plain even today has an incredibly distinct line, separating the green valley from the Sahara Desert beyond.
Not only did we see Old Kingdom remains on Sunday, but we also had a chance to see a bit of “Old Cairo,” its village life (which despite the large city of Cairo, is still alive and well and steeped in ancient methods of technology and transportation), and a few of its religious sites. As we traveled up and down the canals of the Nile that day, we were surprised to see how trashy the water was. The Nile up in the Delta is not well taken care of, and people seem to simply throw their trash in heaps along the banks of the canals (which they also fish) and then burn the trash. It was sadly a very dirty place, with trash piled up behind some of the bridges for 30-40 feet in some places. We also observed many vehicles loaded with produce, right next to mules and carts on the same highway (even some of the freeways), also pulling their own produce. Cairo is a very strange blend of ancient and modern. Many people live by mule-pulled carts and fishing with nets and using cars I have only seen in old movies, but just a few blocks away, we could find Western companies we haven’t seen since we left the states (like Radio Shack and Starbucks), and a modern flare that is difficult to find even in Israel. The city is huge with high-rise buildings, and people live in buildings with at least 20 floors, packed in close together, with no appropriate roof on top, allowing room for future construction, when needed. Even the roads are squeezed into the congestion, with multiple levels of roads right on top of each other, and the highest road running parallel to all of the roofs of the high-rises.
At the end of the day, we ended up at the train station, where we boarded a sleeper train going south to Aswan. The train took 14-15 hours to reach our destination, but with the frequent stops, it was hard to get an accurate picture of the distance we covered. When we lived in the States, it took us that long to get from California to Colorado, but we also didn’t stop nearly as often as this train did. Still, the distance from the north to the south of Egypt is quite a bit longer than it looks on a map, and it was helpful to travel the distance to experience it first-hand. Justin and I had never been on a sleeper train, much less the Orient Express, so it was an interesting journey, to say the least. We slept, but not very well. We’ve posted pics of our berth, in case any one is curious. :0)
We arrived in Aswan and began one of the funnest days of the trip. Aswan is very near the southern border of Egypt and Sudan, and because of this, there has always been a significant Nubian population, which gives Aswan more of an African than a Middle Eastern flair. Many of the homes are built of unfired mudbrick, without keen detail to alignment or level. They simply use the local building materials that are available, and since there is practically no rain here ever, it doesn’t harm their homes. Our tours that day consisted of several Greek (yes, Greek) temples, which copied ancient Egyptian architecture in many ways. It was our first experience with temples here, and we were absolutely astounded with the amount of detail that covered every single towering wall of each temple. Hieroglyphs and pictures told and retold stories on every wall, every column. In addition to the carving, these were all originally painted in rather gaudy colors, and some of the colors are still preserved on these buildings! It was absolutely breathtaking. To get to at least one of these temples, the Philae Temple, we had to get there by way of a boat on the Nile. Throughout the course of the day, we actually had 2 boat rides on the Nile, which is much cleaner and prettier down in the south.
Towards the end of the day, our boat tour took us to a camel ride – Justin’s and my first camel rides ever – and to a Nubian village at night. The Nile down here is rather peaceful, even though the many different currents pushed our boat this way and that. We sat on the roof and enjoyed the stars and the chilly breeze. Our camel ride was oh-so-much-fun, except for the fact that camels have narrower backs than horses, and it was a little difficult to stay comfortably on, especially when your guide wanted to run the poor animal downhill. We survived, though, and got halfway descent pictures as we attempted to capture the moment whilst hanging on for dear life on our respective animals. The Nubian Village (which was used to tourists such as ourselves) was upstream, and when we arrived in the evening, we sat in one of their houses, enjoying the atmosphere and music and dancing with the kids. The house also was the home to two small crocodiles, which they let us hold. All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed our day in Aswan, being around the Nubian population, which was very friendly and had an African flare of warmth and passion.
On Tuesday, we had “Temple Day,” where we worked our way upstream, first seeing a few more Greek temples, and then after lunch, going to the grandeur of Karnak. Each temple we visited became more elaborate, and Karnak held so many of the famous reliefs and documents that Justin and I have studied over and over, especially during our time at JUC. We got to see with our very own eyes the city lists of King Shishak (who according to the Bible attacked King Rehoboam of Judah, and whose list includes the “Rehov” that we have dug at twice now) and Thutmose III (whose most famous battle was against a Canaanite coalition at Megiddo). We also got to see the Hittite Peace Treaty of Ramesses II and the Victory Reliefs of Merneptah, which include depictions of Shasu Bedouin (and whom Anson Rainey thinks may depict the “Israel” that is mentioned in the Merneptah Stele). In the evening, we went to see the Luxor Temple. It was breathtaking to see the temple at night, and it was a nice change, since after awhile, many of these temples start to resemble each other. The statues are so impressive, and one can still see the lane of the sphinxes that connected the Karnak Temple with the Luxor Temple (some of which are still being excavated). The size and grandeur of these temples is so hard to capture, and I appreciated that our guide mentioned that the gigantic columns were intentionally shaped to look like lotus flowers, to make the worshipper who comes to the temple feel very small. They were indeed some of the most imposing columns I’ve ever seen, and the fact that every one of them is absolutely covered with decorations and carvings makes them even more impressive.
On Wednesday, we headed to the West Bank of the Nile once again, this time across from Karnak and Luxor, to the Valley of the Kings. This Valley holds most of the tombs of the New Kingdom Pharaohs, who wanted to hide their burial locations to protect their treasures (which, despite their efforts, were looted soon after their burial). We weren’t allowed to even bring our cameras into the valley, much less into the tombs, so unfortunately, you will have to google images of these locations if you want to see them. Or, plan a trip to Egypt. :0) We got to go inside the Tombs of Ramesses III, Thutmose III (mentioned above) and Tutankhamun (King Tut). I thought the pyramids and temples were impressive; the tombs were even more so! Though they had been looted, the treasure of the tombs are today still preserved on the walls of the caves, which are still intricately detailed with drawings and texts, painted in vibrant color. Each one is so unique, and it is absolutely unbelievable to think of what exists underneath the desert rock. Visiting King Tut’s tomb was surreal, thinking about when Carter first discovered it and opened it. One of Tut’s anthropoid coffins was still inside the tomb, as well as the stone sarcophagus and his actual mummy. The other remains are either today in the Cairo Museum, which we will mention below, or they are scattered around the world, on exhibition.
As part of our class, each student had to prepare a research paper on some aspect of ancient Egypt and then present a portion of it at a site we visited on our field study. Justin’s paper was on magic, and he presented in the Valley of the Kings, just below the tomb of Thutmose III. Magic in ancient times was a mix of medicine and religion and everything in between, and thus it impacted every aspect of life, from everyday activities to burials. I (Mandy) also presented the same day, at Medinet Habu, the temple constructed by Ramesses III. The temple’s entrance is flanked by two granite statues of a lioness, named Sekhmet. My paper was concerned with classical Egyptian warrior deity iconography, and in this paper, I compared the representations of deities in Egypt to those which were contemporary in Palestine at that time. There are very distinct differences, which were especially apparent in the New Kingdom (of which Ramesses III was a part), when the Pharaohs concentrated on outside conquest, and subsequently adopted Syrian and Canaanite deities as part of their own pantheon.
In the evening, we again boarded the clickety-clacking sleeper train (this one much faster and a bit scarier than the first) and headed north, back to Cairo. We got into Cairo around 5am, only an hour delayed this time (we were three hours late on the train heading south). After a very brief rest at the hotel, we left around 7am for the traditional land of Goshen, where the Israelites were said to have lived during their captivity, and Tell el-Yehudiyeh, the “ruin of the Jews.” This tel was the first we had seen in Egypt, and it was a bit like seeing an old friend, since we are so used to tels in Israel. This tel is actually quite famous, since it was excavated by the one and only Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie, the Father of Egyptology, Syro-Palestinian Archaeology, and Pottery Typology. From the top of the tel, we had an interesting view of the Nile Delta region, full of fertile soil, green, and water, which stretched out before us in the foggyness of the morning. It was interesting to think about the Israelites, and the adjustments they must have had to go through… knowing only this region their whole lives, and then adapting to a Bedouin lifestyle first in the Sinai and then in Canaan. The contrast between the two regions is stark and provides perspective to their complaints.
After visiting Yehudiyeh, we headed to one of the most famous historical sites in the world: Giza, the Great Pyramids, and the Sphinx. We began our visit in the Solar Boat Museum, which is at the base of the Great Pyramid of Khufu. When the kings died, they were often carried from the east side of the Nile to the west side by way of a boat constructed solely for the event. This boat was then dismantled and buried along with the king. An entire boat (more than 4,000 years old) was actually excavated from this site, which had been dismantled, but which still had its beams and ropes preserved! After studying archaeology in Israel, it was simply mind-boggling to see this boat, knowing that it was so incredibly old. It is so hard to even comprehend the possibility of the boat surviving this long span of time, when we are used to a land where cloth and wood do not survive this long due to moisture.
The pyramids were impressive, but their size, I think, is difficult to fully comprehend. The triangular shape may be a bit deceptive, for even in person, they don’t seem as big as they really are. We were able to go into the smallest of the three pyramids, which contained a shaft very similar to the other two we entered, described above. After seeing the inside of the Valley of the Kings, it was interesting to once again see the inside of a pyramid, for they are more highly decorated on the outside than the inside, whereas the Valley of the Kings tombs were exactly the opposite.
Our last stop of the day was the Cairo Museum, where we had approximately 2 hours to see some of the most incredible finds the world has ever known… a full day’s visit could not have afforded us the amount of time needed for a sufficient visit. The museum is simply overflowing with important pieces, and I was once again overwhelmed with the notion that these pieces were simply pulled from the ground. Statues and stela we had only seen in pictures were there for us to see in person… we even got to see some of the Amarna letters that the Cairo Museum still possesses. We were able to see the mummies of such famous pharaohs as Thutmose III and Merneptah (mentioned above), Hatshepsut (one of the few female pharaohs), and Ramesses II (whom many link to the Pharaoh of the Exodus). It is simply unbelievable to still be able to see the bodies of these people who have left such significant and long-lasting impacts on history.
In addition to all of this, the museum boasts of many of the treasures of King Tutankhamun’s tomb. King Tut was buried in multiple layers of coffins and shrines, and the amount of elaborate detail and wealth that was put into this was all astounding. In addition to the mummy wraps, which would have been filled with amulets and spices, his body first had a solid gold faceplate… which is the main piece people know. The faceplate has to be one of the most incredible things I’ve ever seen, with intricate details of small inlaid pieces of semi-precious stones, and a face fashioned that looks as real as the person himself. His body was then placed into three anthropoid coffins (coffins in the shape of a body), each one slightly larger than the last, and made respectively of solid gold, inlaid semi-precious stones and glass, and gilded wood. These coffins were then placed into a rectangle stone sarcophagus, which was then placed into a series of 4 wooden rectangle shrines, with the largest shrine being almost the size of the tomb itself. The “treasury” of the tomb was then filled with every kind of object one can think of, for the Egyptians believed that whatever you used in life had to be placed inside the tomb in order for it to appear for you in the afterlife. So, think for a moment of every possession you have that you use on a regular basis… every one of those would have had to been placed or replicated and placed in the tomb with you in order for you to have it in the afterlife. Not only this, but the tomb was worked on and filled throughout the owner’s lifetime. King Tutankhamun lived to be only about 18 years… if his tomb contained so many treasures, just think of, say, the tomb of Ramesses II, who reigned for more than 60 years and died an old man! His tomb, had it not been plundered in ancient times, would have held more treasure than multiple museums could hold.
On Friday, we said goodbye to Egypt proper and headed for a day in Sinai. After crossing the Suez Canal again, we drove south along the border of the Sinai on its western side, for an hour or two, where we stopped at a café (filled with men playing some kind of board game or watching a sport on television). From here, we boarded Land Cruisers for the wildest jeep rides of our lives… heading straight into the Sinai desert. It was an incredible experience! Once the vehicles left the main roads, we flew through the desert on the sand, stopping at a Bedouin home for tea. We ended up in the middle of nowhere, about an hour or so into the heart of the Sinai, where we got out of the vehicles and began to hike. We hiked to a place known today as Serabit el-Khadim, which boasted among other things of a turquoise mine used by the Egyptians in antiquity, a temple to the goddess Hathor, and the very first evidence of writing. Our climb back down the mountain was in the dark (a bit scary, for the way was steep with loose rocks), and then we boarded the vehicles for the wild ride back to civilization, stopping at another Bedouin camp along the way for dinner (or, rather, “lunch” at 6pm). Our bus continued on to St. Catherine’s, at the base of Mt. Sinai, and we arrived a little after 10pm. Justin and I skipped “dinner” and went straight to bed, setting our alarm for 1:50am.
Our group left for the long trek up Jebel Musa, the traditional site of Mt. Sinai, at 2:30am, to see the sunrise. It was very cold, but the way was a continual grade, so we got warm in a hurry. We also were hiking with the sustenance of a granola bar prior to leaving, so it felt very much like a pilgrim trek up the mountain. The stars were absolutely brilliant, and we could look up the mountain and trace the line of the trail by the flashlights of others who were going up ahead of us. After 2 hours of hiking, we came to the final leg of the hike: 700 stairs straight up to the top. This took the last hour, with constant turns, steep stairs, and the wind getting stronger and colder. By this time, everyone who was climbing the mountain had come together, and hundreds of us climbed the final stretch of the mountain slowly, in a single-file line.
At the top were vendors (of course…this is the Middle East) and a building (possibly an old monastery?) which everyone crowded around on various levels, all facing east towards the sunrise. We still got up there about 30 minutes before the sunrise, so we huddled together against the wind and the blowing sand, taking pictures and watching, unbelievably, a thunderhead in the distance, which displayed occasional flashes of lightning. The sunrise was absolutely breathtaking, and we also welcomed its new warmth to our frozen appendages. We were on the summit an additional 30 minutes or so, watching the sun come in and out of the clouds and highlighting the rocky slopes beneath us in ever-changing shadows. Our group huddled together and listened to Exodus 19 (the giving of the Law on Sinai to Moses) and Habakkuk 3 (displaying God’s greatness and power), in awe over where we stood.
The descent felt almost as long as the ascent, but we descended with happy hearts. We had successfully climbed Mt. Sinai, which so many only dream of doing. We were on our way back to the hotel to make our tummies happy and to get warm. And, after one of the most incredible trips of our lives, we were turning homeward.
Our reentry into Israel was an eventful experience, as one of the members of our group went back through the border crossing with a round, 5” diameter alabaster ball, which caused the Israeli security to do an emergency shut-down of the border crossing and send in the bomb squad. The weather that day was also incredible, with sand storms in the Sinai and in the Negev so tall that I’ve only seen their equal in movies. The winds also had stirred up the Red Sea in the Gulf of Eilat with waves so large that the water ran into the buildings of the border crossing. After so little sleep, we were just glad to get home, to our own beds and to food at normal meal times. :0)
Our trip to Egypt was one of the most incredible experiences of our lives. Even now, I can’t believe all we saw in those 8 days. It wasn’t an easy trip, and the locals, I have to admit, were not always friendly. It was surprising to us how different the culture was from Israel, though they are not that far apart. We enjoyed the company of the Nubians and the Bedouin of Sinai, and we learned so much about the history and geography of the land. It was an amazing and an exhausting journey, and we hope you have enjoyed our stories as much as we enjoyed living them.
Our field studies, at this point, are mostly done with JUC. In the spring, we have 1 final Archaeology class (Jerusalem in the 2nd Temple Period), and we will be auditing a second class which we will not be attending the field studies for. After that, our goal is simply to complete our theses and our work at JUC, so we can head homeward! We will also have four comprehensive exams that we will begin to work through in the Spring, so we invite your prayers for us to get through those. Please also continue to pray for our staff position and the work we do at JUC, as well as for the time we need to complete our theses.
Justin and I wish each of you a very Merry Christmas, and we pray that God will bless you all in the coming year. We love you, and our hearts look wistfully homeward as we begin the downhill portion of our journey in Israel.
Mandy & Justin
We left for Egypt at 5:30am on Saturday, December 4th. Most of the first day was simply travel. After 5-6 hours of travel to the Eilat/Taba border, we had a moderately uneventful border crossing, and then hopped on an Egyptian bus for an additional 7 or so hours of travel, to Cairo, via the pilgrim route (straight across the Sinai), crossing under the Suez Canal along the way. We got into Cairo and to our rather nice hotel, in time for dinner around 9pm. The first thing we observed when we arrived in Cairo was the traffic – the lane markings are mere suggestions here. Looking ahead, it was absolutely impossible to make out a straight line in the traffic in front of us (and it was rush hour, so there was plenty of traffic to observe).
Sunday was focused on Old Kingdom remains (ca. 2613-2125 B.C.E.), as well as a bit of recent history, in Old Cairo. We saw our first pyramid, the Red Pyramid, which was the second pyramid built by Sneferu (the first king of Dynasty 4), and which was the first true pyramid. We also saw Sneferu’s first pyramid, which is appropriately named the “Bent Pyramid,” and which looked quite funny. Scholars think that the Red Pyramid was commissioned after the Bent Pyramid, and the structural flaws were corrected. We were able to go inside both the Red Pyramid, as well as Teti I’s pyramid (which now looks like a rubble heap). Both pyramids are accessed by way of a sloping shaft, which only stands about 4 feet high. This means that the visitor must go down the shaft stooped over, with bent knees. The shafts were each at least 30 feet long, descending into the belly of the pyramid. We weren’t allowed to take pictures inside, but one of our fellow students did manage a picture, which we have posted in our album. All of the burials in ancient Egypt were on the West side of the Nile River, which was seen as the Land of the Dead (the land of the setting sun). These burials, to protect them from the annual flooding of the Nile, were set at a distance from the bank, out of reach of the flood plains. This plain even today has an incredibly distinct line, separating the green valley from the Sahara Desert beyond.
Not only did we see Old Kingdom remains on Sunday, but we also had a chance to see a bit of “Old Cairo,” its village life (which despite the large city of Cairo, is still alive and well and steeped in ancient methods of technology and transportation), and a few of its religious sites. As we traveled up and down the canals of the Nile that day, we were surprised to see how trashy the water was. The Nile up in the Delta is not well taken care of, and people seem to simply throw their trash in heaps along the banks of the canals (which they also fish) and then burn the trash. It was sadly a very dirty place, with trash piled up behind some of the bridges for 30-40 feet in some places. We also observed many vehicles loaded with produce, right next to mules and carts on the same highway (even some of the freeways), also pulling their own produce. Cairo is a very strange blend of ancient and modern. Many people live by mule-pulled carts and fishing with nets and using cars I have only seen in old movies, but just a few blocks away, we could find Western companies we haven’t seen since we left the states (like Radio Shack and Starbucks), and a modern flare that is difficult to find even in Israel. The city is huge with high-rise buildings, and people live in buildings with at least 20 floors, packed in close together, with no appropriate roof on top, allowing room for future construction, when needed. Even the roads are squeezed into the congestion, with multiple levels of roads right on top of each other, and the highest road running parallel to all of the roofs of the high-rises.
At the end of the day, we ended up at the train station, where we boarded a sleeper train going south to Aswan. The train took 14-15 hours to reach our destination, but with the frequent stops, it was hard to get an accurate picture of the distance we covered. When we lived in the States, it took us that long to get from California to Colorado, but we also didn’t stop nearly as often as this train did. Still, the distance from the north to the south of Egypt is quite a bit longer than it looks on a map, and it was helpful to travel the distance to experience it first-hand. Justin and I had never been on a sleeper train, much less the Orient Express, so it was an interesting journey, to say the least. We slept, but not very well. We’ve posted pics of our berth, in case any one is curious. :0)
We arrived in Aswan and began one of the funnest days of the trip. Aswan is very near the southern border of Egypt and Sudan, and because of this, there has always been a significant Nubian population, which gives Aswan more of an African than a Middle Eastern flair. Many of the homes are built of unfired mudbrick, without keen detail to alignment or level. They simply use the local building materials that are available, and since there is practically no rain here ever, it doesn’t harm their homes. Our tours that day consisted of several Greek (yes, Greek) temples, which copied ancient Egyptian architecture in many ways. It was our first experience with temples here, and we were absolutely astounded with the amount of detail that covered every single towering wall of each temple. Hieroglyphs and pictures told and retold stories on every wall, every column. In addition to the carving, these were all originally painted in rather gaudy colors, and some of the colors are still preserved on these buildings! It was absolutely breathtaking. To get to at least one of these temples, the Philae Temple, we had to get there by way of a boat on the Nile. Throughout the course of the day, we actually had 2 boat rides on the Nile, which is much cleaner and prettier down in the south.
Towards the end of the day, our boat tour took us to a camel ride – Justin’s and my first camel rides ever – and to a Nubian village at night. The Nile down here is rather peaceful, even though the many different currents pushed our boat this way and that. We sat on the roof and enjoyed the stars and the chilly breeze. Our camel ride was oh-so-much-fun, except for the fact that camels have narrower backs than horses, and it was a little difficult to stay comfortably on, especially when your guide wanted to run the poor animal downhill. We survived, though, and got halfway descent pictures as we attempted to capture the moment whilst hanging on for dear life on our respective animals. The Nubian Village (which was used to tourists such as ourselves) was upstream, and when we arrived in the evening, we sat in one of their houses, enjoying the atmosphere and music and dancing with the kids. The house also was the home to two small crocodiles, which they let us hold. All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed our day in Aswan, being around the Nubian population, which was very friendly and had an African flare of warmth and passion.
On Tuesday, we had “Temple Day,” where we worked our way upstream, first seeing a few more Greek temples, and then after lunch, going to the grandeur of Karnak. Each temple we visited became more elaborate, and Karnak held so many of the famous reliefs and documents that Justin and I have studied over and over, especially during our time at JUC. We got to see with our very own eyes the city lists of King Shishak (who according to the Bible attacked King Rehoboam of Judah, and whose list includes the “Rehov” that we have dug at twice now) and Thutmose III (whose most famous battle was against a Canaanite coalition at Megiddo). We also got to see the Hittite Peace Treaty of Ramesses II and the Victory Reliefs of Merneptah, which include depictions of Shasu Bedouin (and whom Anson Rainey thinks may depict the “Israel” that is mentioned in the Merneptah Stele). In the evening, we went to see the Luxor Temple. It was breathtaking to see the temple at night, and it was a nice change, since after awhile, many of these temples start to resemble each other. The statues are so impressive, and one can still see the lane of the sphinxes that connected the Karnak Temple with the Luxor Temple (some of which are still being excavated). The size and grandeur of these temples is so hard to capture, and I appreciated that our guide mentioned that the gigantic columns were intentionally shaped to look like lotus flowers, to make the worshipper who comes to the temple feel very small. They were indeed some of the most imposing columns I’ve ever seen, and the fact that every one of them is absolutely covered with decorations and carvings makes them even more impressive.
On Wednesday, we headed to the West Bank of the Nile once again, this time across from Karnak and Luxor, to the Valley of the Kings. This Valley holds most of the tombs of the New Kingdom Pharaohs, who wanted to hide their burial locations to protect their treasures (which, despite their efforts, were looted soon after their burial). We weren’t allowed to even bring our cameras into the valley, much less into the tombs, so unfortunately, you will have to google images of these locations if you want to see them. Or, plan a trip to Egypt. :0) We got to go inside the Tombs of Ramesses III, Thutmose III (mentioned above) and Tutankhamun (King Tut). I thought the pyramids and temples were impressive; the tombs were even more so! Though they had been looted, the treasure of the tombs are today still preserved on the walls of the caves, which are still intricately detailed with drawings and texts, painted in vibrant color. Each one is so unique, and it is absolutely unbelievable to think of what exists underneath the desert rock. Visiting King Tut’s tomb was surreal, thinking about when Carter first discovered it and opened it. One of Tut’s anthropoid coffins was still inside the tomb, as well as the stone sarcophagus and his actual mummy. The other remains are either today in the Cairo Museum, which we will mention below, or they are scattered around the world, on exhibition.
As part of our class, each student had to prepare a research paper on some aspect of ancient Egypt and then present a portion of it at a site we visited on our field study. Justin’s paper was on magic, and he presented in the Valley of the Kings, just below the tomb of Thutmose III. Magic in ancient times was a mix of medicine and religion and everything in between, and thus it impacted every aspect of life, from everyday activities to burials. I (Mandy) also presented the same day, at Medinet Habu, the temple constructed by Ramesses III. The temple’s entrance is flanked by two granite statues of a lioness, named Sekhmet. My paper was concerned with classical Egyptian warrior deity iconography, and in this paper, I compared the representations of deities in Egypt to those which were contemporary in Palestine at that time. There are very distinct differences, which were especially apparent in the New Kingdom (of which Ramesses III was a part), when the Pharaohs concentrated on outside conquest, and subsequently adopted Syrian and Canaanite deities as part of their own pantheon.
In the evening, we again boarded the clickety-clacking sleeper train (this one much faster and a bit scarier than the first) and headed north, back to Cairo. We got into Cairo around 5am, only an hour delayed this time (we were three hours late on the train heading south). After a very brief rest at the hotel, we left around 7am for the traditional land of Goshen, where the Israelites were said to have lived during their captivity, and Tell el-Yehudiyeh, the “ruin of the Jews.” This tel was the first we had seen in Egypt, and it was a bit like seeing an old friend, since we are so used to tels in Israel. This tel is actually quite famous, since it was excavated by the one and only Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie, the Father of Egyptology, Syro-Palestinian Archaeology, and Pottery Typology. From the top of the tel, we had an interesting view of the Nile Delta region, full of fertile soil, green, and water, which stretched out before us in the foggyness of the morning. It was interesting to think about the Israelites, and the adjustments they must have had to go through… knowing only this region their whole lives, and then adapting to a Bedouin lifestyle first in the Sinai and then in Canaan. The contrast between the two regions is stark and provides perspective to their complaints.
After visiting Yehudiyeh, we headed to one of the most famous historical sites in the world: Giza, the Great Pyramids, and the Sphinx. We began our visit in the Solar Boat Museum, which is at the base of the Great Pyramid of Khufu. When the kings died, they were often carried from the east side of the Nile to the west side by way of a boat constructed solely for the event. This boat was then dismantled and buried along with the king. An entire boat (more than 4,000 years old) was actually excavated from this site, which had been dismantled, but which still had its beams and ropes preserved! After studying archaeology in Israel, it was simply mind-boggling to see this boat, knowing that it was so incredibly old. It is so hard to even comprehend the possibility of the boat surviving this long span of time, when we are used to a land where cloth and wood do not survive this long due to moisture.
The pyramids were impressive, but their size, I think, is difficult to fully comprehend. The triangular shape may be a bit deceptive, for even in person, they don’t seem as big as they really are. We were able to go into the smallest of the three pyramids, which contained a shaft very similar to the other two we entered, described above. After seeing the inside of the Valley of the Kings, it was interesting to once again see the inside of a pyramid, for they are more highly decorated on the outside than the inside, whereas the Valley of the Kings tombs were exactly the opposite.
Our last stop of the day was the Cairo Museum, where we had approximately 2 hours to see some of the most incredible finds the world has ever known… a full day’s visit could not have afforded us the amount of time needed for a sufficient visit. The museum is simply overflowing with important pieces, and I was once again overwhelmed with the notion that these pieces were simply pulled from the ground. Statues and stela we had only seen in pictures were there for us to see in person… we even got to see some of the Amarna letters that the Cairo Museum still possesses. We were able to see the mummies of such famous pharaohs as Thutmose III and Merneptah (mentioned above), Hatshepsut (one of the few female pharaohs), and Ramesses II (whom many link to the Pharaoh of the Exodus). It is simply unbelievable to still be able to see the bodies of these people who have left such significant and long-lasting impacts on history.
In addition to all of this, the museum boasts of many of the treasures of King Tutankhamun’s tomb. King Tut was buried in multiple layers of coffins and shrines, and the amount of elaborate detail and wealth that was put into this was all astounding. In addition to the mummy wraps, which would have been filled with amulets and spices, his body first had a solid gold faceplate… which is the main piece people know. The faceplate has to be one of the most incredible things I’ve ever seen, with intricate details of small inlaid pieces of semi-precious stones, and a face fashioned that looks as real as the person himself. His body was then placed into three anthropoid coffins (coffins in the shape of a body), each one slightly larger than the last, and made respectively of solid gold, inlaid semi-precious stones and glass, and gilded wood. These coffins were then placed into a rectangle stone sarcophagus, which was then placed into a series of 4 wooden rectangle shrines, with the largest shrine being almost the size of the tomb itself. The “treasury” of the tomb was then filled with every kind of object one can think of, for the Egyptians believed that whatever you used in life had to be placed inside the tomb in order for it to appear for you in the afterlife. So, think for a moment of every possession you have that you use on a regular basis… every one of those would have had to been placed or replicated and placed in the tomb with you in order for you to have it in the afterlife. Not only this, but the tomb was worked on and filled throughout the owner’s lifetime. King Tutankhamun lived to be only about 18 years… if his tomb contained so many treasures, just think of, say, the tomb of Ramesses II, who reigned for more than 60 years and died an old man! His tomb, had it not been plundered in ancient times, would have held more treasure than multiple museums could hold.
On Friday, we said goodbye to Egypt proper and headed for a day in Sinai. After crossing the Suez Canal again, we drove south along the border of the Sinai on its western side, for an hour or two, where we stopped at a café (filled with men playing some kind of board game or watching a sport on television). From here, we boarded Land Cruisers for the wildest jeep rides of our lives… heading straight into the Sinai desert. It was an incredible experience! Once the vehicles left the main roads, we flew through the desert on the sand, stopping at a Bedouin home for tea. We ended up in the middle of nowhere, about an hour or so into the heart of the Sinai, where we got out of the vehicles and began to hike. We hiked to a place known today as Serabit el-Khadim, which boasted among other things of a turquoise mine used by the Egyptians in antiquity, a temple to the goddess Hathor, and the very first evidence of writing. Our climb back down the mountain was in the dark (a bit scary, for the way was steep with loose rocks), and then we boarded the vehicles for the wild ride back to civilization, stopping at another Bedouin camp along the way for dinner (or, rather, “lunch” at 6pm). Our bus continued on to St. Catherine’s, at the base of Mt. Sinai, and we arrived a little after 10pm. Justin and I skipped “dinner” and went straight to bed, setting our alarm for 1:50am.
Our group left for the long trek up Jebel Musa, the traditional site of Mt. Sinai, at 2:30am, to see the sunrise. It was very cold, but the way was a continual grade, so we got warm in a hurry. We also were hiking with the sustenance of a granola bar prior to leaving, so it felt very much like a pilgrim trek up the mountain. The stars were absolutely brilliant, and we could look up the mountain and trace the line of the trail by the flashlights of others who were going up ahead of us. After 2 hours of hiking, we came to the final leg of the hike: 700 stairs straight up to the top. This took the last hour, with constant turns, steep stairs, and the wind getting stronger and colder. By this time, everyone who was climbing the mountain had come together, and hundreds of us climbed the final stretch of the mountain slowly, in a single-file line.
At the top were vendors (of course…this is the Middle East) and a building (possibly an old monastery?) which everyone crowded around on various levels, all facing east towards the sunrise. We still got up there about 30 minutes before the sunrise, so we huddled together against the wind and the blowing sand, taking pictures and watching, unbelievably, a thunderhead in the distance, which displayed occasional flashes of lightning. The sunrise was absolutely breathtaking, and we also welcomed its new warmth to our frozen appendages. We were on the summit an additional 30 minutes or so, watching the sun come in and out of the clouds and highlighting the rocky slopes beneath us in ever-changing shadows. Our group huddled together and listened to Exodus 19 (the giving of the Law on Sinai to Moses) and Habakkuk 3 (displaying God’s greatness and power), in awe over where we stood.
The descent felt almost as long as the ascent, but we descended with happy hearts. We had successfully climbed Mt. Sinai, which so many only dream of doing. We were on our way back to the hotel to make our tummies happy and to get warm. And, after one of the most incredible trips of our lives, we were turning homeward.
Our reentry into Israel was an eventful experience, as one of the members of our group went back through the border crossing with a round, 5” diameter alabaster ball, which caused the Israeli security to do an emergency shut-down of the border crossing and send in the bomb squad. The weather that day was also incredible, with sand storms in the Sinai and in the Negev so tall that I’ve only seen their equal in movies. The winds also had stirred up the Red Sea in the Gulf of Eilat with waves so large that the water ran into the buildings of the border crossing. After so little sleep, we were just glad to get home, to our own beds and to food at normal meal times. :0)
Our trip to Egypt was one of the most incredible experiences of our lives. Even now, I can’t believe all we saw in those 8 days. It wasn’t an easy trip, and the locals, I have to admit, were not always friendly. It was surprising to us how different the culture was from Israel, though they are not that far apart. We enjoyed the company of the Nubians and the Bedouin of Sinai, and we learned so much about the history and geography of the land. It was an amazing and an exhausting journey, and we hope you have enjoyed our stories as much as we enjoyed living them.
Our field studies, at this point, are mostly done with JUC. In the spring, we have 1 final Archaeology class (Jerusalem in the 2nd Temple Period), and we will be auditing a second class which we will not be attending the field studies for. After that, our goal is simply to complete our theses and our work at JUC, so we can head homeward! We will also have four comprehensive exams that we will begin to work through in the Spring, so we invite your prayers for us to get through those. Please also continue to pray for our staff position and the work we do at JUC, as well as for the time we need to complete our theses.
Justin and I wish each of you a very Merry Christmas, and we pray that God will bless you all in the coming year. We love you, and our hearts look wistfully homeward as we begin the downhill portion of our journey in Israel.
Mandy & Justin
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
