10 Days in Galilee

The ruins of a Talmudic Era Synagogue in Qasrin in the Golan Heights

The church on top of Mount Tabor

Saturday afternoon on the shores of the Sea of Galilee.

My roommate Chelsie and I sharing St. Peter's fish for dinner. yum.... if you like fish....

Not Far From Here...

The Garden of Gethsemane

One of the phrases we hear often here in Jerusalem is "Not far from here is where such and such took place" Here are a few pics of some of my favorite places which this phrase applies to.

The Garden Tomb

Shepherd's Fields at night



The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

The city of Amman with a giant size Jordanian flag flying over the city.


Goofing around at the ancient Roman city of Jerash (sometimes known as Antioch)



What do you do in Jordan? Petra of course! This city was built over 2000 years ago by the Nabateans. It is remarkably intact. Think southern Utah, but with massive buildings carved into the cliffs. This is the famous treasury. You may recognize this from Indiana Jones...
We had a wonderful time in Jordan the last four days. I wouldn't hesitate to go back!

I LOVE JC!

I can't help but post a couple of pictures of the beautiful building that I live in. It is inspiring in every aspect. Most of the pictures at the Brigham Young University Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies are taken from the opposite direction with the spectacular view of the city in the background. Thought you might like to see the actual place where I live, go to school, eat meals, go to church, play sardines, and have the most fun ever! You should be envious...

Just enjoying the grass outside the upper auditorium on a Saturday afternoon!

*JC = Jerusalem Center

The best two days yet!

Nothing could be better than a 6 Shekel felafel from the Old City after a full day of walking all over Jerusalem! P.S. That half of the room you can see in this picture is not mine... Mine is cleaner! :)

One of my favorite places in Jerusalem, the Church of All Nations which is adjacent to the Garden of Gethsemane.

The most beautiful sunset I've ever seen: it was enough to evoke an involuntary shreak and leaping in the air from me. Seriously!

These pictures really don't do justice to the amazing things I've experienced the last couple of days though. I don't think any picture could. This is just too awesome!

Olive Trees, Olives, and Olive Oil

Oil oozing out of the olives in the press. The Hebrew word for olive press is "gath shemen"

A few days ago we picked olives from the trees here at ther Jerusalem Center and used ancient olive crushers and presses to turn them into olive oil. We learned all about the processes and the symbolism. Now that's something you don't get to do anywhere else in the world!

Egypt!

We were recently in Egypt which was a really fabulous trip! It was a little crazy since that is just how Egypt is. While there we saw ancient temples, the valley of the kings, mummies, treasure from the tomb of Tutankhahmun, we rode camels, visited mosques, rode on falukahs on the Nile at sunset, got pestered by aggressive Egyptian merchants, ate shady food, rode the night train from Luxor to Cairo, and of course saw the great pyramids! On the way back from Egypt we drove to Mt. Sinai and climbed it at 2:00 am in order to be at the top for sunrise. It was really beautiful and something I won't soon forget.

Field Trips Galore!

The past 10 days we've gone on three fabulous field trips! The first was a geography field trip where we went to several places with views of the surrounding country. It was great to see Jerusalem from multiple points of view and see some other biblical points of interest. Our second field trip was a morning at the Israel Museum where the Dead Sea Scrolls are on display. The highlight was seeing the Great Isaiah Scroll. It hasn't been on display for 40 years and probably never will be again. It was awesome. In the afternoon I went with some friends to the Zoo :) A good time was had by all. Our third field trip was a day trip to Tel Aviv. I spent most of the day at the beach swimming in the Mediterranean. It also involved eating Falafuls in a Russian restaurant and of course our family staple when we're abroad...an ice cream cone at McDonalds! Speaking of field trips, we head out on Sunday morning for ..... ..... EGYPT! It should be an interesting and exciting trip.

Life in Jerusalem

I arrived in Jerusalem last Wednesday afternoon. This study abroad experience is incredible! When we first walked in the BYU Jerusalem Center I couldn't believe that I actually get to live in it! It is so nice and undoubtedly has the best view of Jerusalem including the Dome of the Rock and the Old City. I remember it being pretty cool when I was here 9 years ago, but when I set foot in the BYU Jerusalem Center this time, I knew it was truely something special! From the auditorium on the 8th floor to the "Oasis" caffeteria to my room and deck overlooking the city on the 4th floor I love it all! I still wake up every morning and go out on my deck just to look at the view. Some of my favorite activities outside of the Jerusalem Center so far include visiting the Garden Tomb, walking around amongst Muslims in East Jerusalem, just exploring the Old City, watching tourists get manipulated by rogue merchants, hearing locals yell "Hello Mormons!" everywhere we go (seriously, how do they recognize us???), listening to the call to prayer five times per day, watching Orthodox Jews go about their business, looking at the Dome of the Rock, etc. The list goes on and on.

Rookie!

I'm a blogging rookie and right now this might honestly be the ugliest blog ever! Just give me some time... I'm working on it.

Bon Voyage!

I'm on the way to Jerusalem now! I should be there in about 15 hours or so! I've heard that I'm not supposed to post pictures on this blog from Jerusalem since the internet connection there is a bit ghetto.

Under Construction

I intend to have my blog here, but have not quite gotten around to it yet!
Liz