Building on the Past—Literally! (Part 3 of 3)

The thing about Israel, is that there is SO MUCH HISTORY literally everywhere that it's many-layered and multi-faceted.

I just spent 2 weeks talking about sites specific to the 2nd Temple, which also are the very places that things happened in the time of the 1st Temple.

We know this because in Israel, you build on top of the past. It's very practical... the materials are already there. If the foundation is solid, why not? Now, it's also done in the name of historical preservation. 

This means, if you dug deeper, you'd find remains from the 1st Temple.

But we're actually going to move forward in history now:

I want to say again that I am a student of Israel and have soooooooo much to learn. I'm still learning all the different time periods and things. That's significant, because the rest of the structures in Jerusalem Archeological Park that I want to feature are from the Umayyad Caliphate (638 AD). A palace was actually constructed in the 8th century using the fallen rocks from the Temple Mount walls. Can you imagine? But it's practical- the materials are right there. Work smarter, not harder, and all that.

Then, a Byzantine building was constructed over where the palace had been. The building in the photo is a reconstruction based on their materials and techniques.

Which is why I'm going to end the series with this picture, because it shows this perfectly:

It was early afternoon when I took this, so I know the shadows are severe. But hopefully you can see it, either in the structure or in the sign. Basically, this building here is an example of 3 different time periods built on each other. Can you see the differences in the stone wall directly across from the sign, and how they differ from the one on the side?

I love this stuff! So cool!

What was your favorite part about this series on Jerusalem Archeological Park? Let me know in the comments below!

Is this where Jesus overturned the tables? (Part 2 of 3)

After leaving the ancient steps, I went to a place that took my breath away.

There, along the Wall, an ancient street. And rubble. Massive rock piled up on top of each other as if they’d been flipped and left with no stone on top of the other: remains from the destruction of the Second Temple in AD 70.

It was too much for me; I had to sit down.

Down that street, Yeshua and thousands of others- millions even- would have walked, passing vendors in the market stalls (that are partially still there!). This, right here, evidence of stone cold, recorded history.

Is this where Yeshua overturned the tables of the money changers?

These stones are bigger than I can describe. They reached above my head, and had to weigh literal tons. And, they are only a small portion of the original walls. When Roman soldiers destroyed everything in AD 70, they literally left no stone unturned (sounds like Matthew 24 here?). That's because fire would first of all weaken the limestone and make it like dust. It also would melt the gold filigree and any gold between the stones—and the Romans wanted to take it ALL.

According to Josephus, they spared the Western Wall so that the soldiers could rest there. Everything else was destroyed.

Streets where Yeshua walked.

Steps that millions climbed to go to worship.

Can you see it? All at the foot of the Mount of Olives, in the heart of Jerusalem.

But, we're not done with Jersualem Archeological Park yet! Come back next week for Part 3 of this series!

Celebrating Hanukkah, Christmas, and New Year's in Israel (Part 2)

After Hanukkah, came my favorite season: Advent and Christmas! 

I had assumed that, since Christmas isn't a Jewish holiday, it wouldn't be celebrated here, and I was trying to brace myself for a very different Christmas.

Well, I was both right and wrong. It was a very different kind of Christmas, but it turns out that in towns like Nazareth, Haifa, Bethlehem, and even Jerusalem, there are areas of Christmas (or other holiday) festivals and celebrations! The weather also took a turn and became a lot cooler, as rainy season (winter) is here. So for this Georgia girl, it actually felt like Christmas!

The entire month of December, I got to enjoy these festivals, which was so fun. And then for the weekend of Christmas, I had the most different Christmas of all: spending it in Jerusalem, and actually spending Christmas Day in Bethlehem!

It was an incredible weekend, and it was also bit of a juggling game because late Christmas Even and most of Christmas Day were on Shabbat. So my friends and I had to make sure to get there before things closed, and that's why we decided to go to Bethlehem on Saturday. Besides, spending Christmas in Bethlehem... how many people actually get to do that?

And since the borders are currently closed to foreign tourists, thanks to Omicron, that meant there were only local tourists there—a very different from past years. I kept having pinch myself for how amazing it was!

On Christmas Eve, we got to Jerusalem in time to go to the Western Wall before Shabbat began, and then also went to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in the Armenian Quarter after an amazing late lunch/early dinner. 

Christmas day, we took a bus from outside the Damascus Gate to Bethlehem. Our bus driver could have qualified for the Fast and the Furious! There was one point where I even closed my eyes, haha. But we made it, then walked to the Church of the Nativity, said to be over the cave that Jesus was born in. The line to see the cave was so long that we just walked around and then started walking to our other destination in Bethlehem: the Shepherds' Fields, also known as the fields of Boaz and Ruth. That was a long walk, so on the way back, I was so thankful to find a taxi!

The day after Christmas, time was short for us. We checked out of our Airbnb, went back to the Temple Mount, and this time we also walked up to the mosque above. That was my first time being up there. I didn't realize how big the area was up top! There's an amazing view of the Mount of Olives too. Leaving the Old City, we went to a busy shuk for spices and then headed out, stopping at the top of the Mount of Olives for a photo of the city. 

What an incredible weekend!!!

And honestly, after all of that excitement, and because the week after New Year's Eve is the week of finals in my Hebrew class, I kept the day much lower key—staying in my room, being a happy introvert, haha. So that might be a little bit of a let down to anyone who isn't an introvert, but I loved it. All I needed was my poodle, Annie, snoozing on my ankles. So, just for fun, here's a picture of her from last New Year's Eve:

We are just over a week in, so I'll say it again: Happy New Year!