Experiencing the City of Jerusalem Vicariously Through Me

Today I walked into the new city of Jerusalem (that which has been built in the last 150 years) to buy for myself a new Biblia Hebraica Stuttengartensia... Dede, you know what I'm taking about... and I decided that I had to attempt to describe what it's like. The traffic in Jerusalem, and all of Israel for that matter, is like a large United States city (aka New York, Chicago, Boston, etc...) except with twice as much honking. The excessive use of the car horn in this city is unnatural. Everyone honks and it drives me bonkers. I'll stand at an intersection and hear someone lay on their horn for a good 5-6 seconds without cease... and lo and behold, all that noise just came from a little old lady. Jew and Gentile, young and old, beautiful and hideous, everyone abuses the horn and the situation has escalated to an unhealthy level. Ha... alright, just had to get all that off my chest. Perhaps I just wasn't cut out for the big city. Alongside the honking and traffic, people drive crazy here... and no, pedestrians DO NOT have the right of way. As a general rule, the larger your vehicle the more you have the right-of-way. The city buses are the craziest. They have these accordian style double buses which FLY through the city. It is not the drivers responsibility to watch for pedestrians, rather the pedestrians responsibility to watch for the crazy city buses, driven by insane city bus drivers. The hairpin turns those guys make are incredible. So now I've described the traffic, honking and crazy city buses. Now add to this picture Ultra-Orthodox Jews walking and always reading their Torah to themselves alongside secular Jews in skimpy western clothing alongside huge tour buses pouring in and out of the city full of Middle Eastern groups, European groups, North American Groups, Asian Groups, South American Groups, Russian Orthodox Groups... you get the picture. Now imagine crazy 16 year old kids running around with beers in their hand (they hardly have any kind of drinking age in this country). Especially late at night, the city of Jerusalem is a madhouse... and of course, every group of people is speaking in their respective tongue so that Jerusalem is not only a madhouse... but a madhouse at Pentecost. Lastly, Jerusalem is a pungent city. You never know what you're going to get, sometimes I smell sweet fragrances and spices and other times I smell excrement and urine... It can all be very overwhelming. So there you have it, the city of Jerusalem in a nutshell.

The Land of Benjamin

The Great Wilderness east of Jerusalem.

Everyone ready for a history lesson? Alright... on Monday we traveled on our fourth field study day and this particular trip highlighted the land of the Tribe of Benjamin and it's political and religious significance. It is located between the tribes of Ephraim and Judah and bordered on the West by the tribe of Dan. Located along the Patriachal Highway (which follows the natural watershed) from South to North the land of Benjamin contains the cities of Jerusalem, Gibeon, Ramah and Bethel. From the watershed to Jericho there are three main passes which were pivotal to controlling the land of Benjamin... Jerusalem to Jericho (the Ascent of Adumim), Ramah to Jericho (the Way of the Wilderness), and Bethel to Jericho (the Taiybe Ridge Route). To the West, the land of Benjamin is connected to Gezer on the Philistine Coast via the city of Gibeon (which is a hill in the middle of the Benjamin Plateau... the most fertile area in the land of Benjamin. Jericho and Gezer are so very important because they connect the rough hill country of Judah to the two main highways (the King's Highway in Transjordan and the Coastal Highway following the Mediteranean). The king who can control Bethel in the north and Jerusalem in the South, along with Jericho in the east and Gezer in the west will naturally become an important player in the greater Middle East and indeed we see this trend in what the Hebrew Bible purports about certain Kings. In 1 Kings 9:15 we read that Solomon fortified Hazor, Meggido and Gezer... and indeed, we have archaeological finds at all three sites which date roughly to the Solomonic time period. Maximalists teach us that these structures are Gates distinct to Solomon while minimalists argue that these date to a later Phoenician period. Nonetheless, here is the 'Solomonic Gate' at Gezer.

Solomonic Gate.

Walking down the Ascent of Adumim in the Wadi Qilt from St. George's Monastery to Jericho. From Herod's palace at Jericho looking up at the formidable wilderness.

Pictures!!

The Garden of Gethsemane

The Church of the Nativity

Herod the Great's tomb which was discovered this past spring

The remains of Herod the Great's Herodium east of Bethlehem

Tel Aviv Beach (Left to Right): Kent (Texas), Theo (Roommate from Wheaton),

Steve (Roommate from Nevada)

Here are a few gems:

The Pools of Bethesda.

The Herodian road directly outside the second temple that

Jesus would have certainly walked upon.

The Pool of Siloam (and Gracie).

Hezekiah's Tunnel

Remains of the Jebusite wall that stood previous to David's capture of the city.

An ancient potty.

The stepped stone structure that more than likely held up the larger public buildings at the north end of the eastern hill. Also, Babylonian arrows and a significant burning layer were found that probably coincide with the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BCE.

Part of Hezekiah's outer fortifications against the Assyrian Army under Sennacherib.

The Western Wall (Wailing Wall)

Shalom! (finally)

Hello Friends!

Well... today officially recognizes my twelfth day in Israel and there is so much I wish I could share with you all. I apologize for not updating this blog earlier but I have been so utterly perplexed and overwhelmed with all that has come to pass that, in retrospect, it seems that it would have been impossible for me to post any earlier.

What a city. I have never experienced a city so consumed in conflict. It is a divided city representing the three major monotheistic religions... each of which is unwilling to budge for one another. Every individual that I have come to converse with has been very loving and interested to get to know me and tell their story. It is only when you get any one of these individuals discussing the topic of religion that the real storm brewing beneath comes to surface. Perhaps the most heated topic is (and may always be) the 'temple mount.' You should never refer to the area of the Dome of the Rock as the 'temple mount' when talking to a Muslim. For centuries the Muslims have denied that their holy area is the same area as the 'temple mount.' Yet, every historian, no matter their religious persuasion, has come to the same conclusion that this is indeed the area of the 'temple mount.' Specifically under the area of the al-Aqsa mosque. At this very moment their is digging underway on the 'temple mount' to run new electrical wiring for the mosque. They are tearing up precious archaeological evidence, yet the government is saying nothing for fear of another intifada. It is only the archaeologists and historians that are pulling their hair out in angst. It is a very controversial area indeed. A symbol of the deep divide that runs throughout the region of Jerusalem and greater Israel.

On a lighter note I have made some great new friends.

Left to Right: Autumn (Bethel), Kent (Texas), Chad (Northwestern), Gracie

Left to Right: Benjamin (South Carolina), Jonathan (Illinois)

By the way... the weather in Israel is beautiful! The temperature rises to the mid 90's by the afternoon but it is never humid so the heat is nice. Then at night the temperature falls into the 60's and it is great cool sleeping. There is never a cloud in the sky.

I'll post again soon... I promise. I miss you all and hope you are all enjoying the beautiful Minnesotan fall.

Benjamin (Ben-yah-meen)

And of course....Grace didn't get it

So...when Ben first made this blog and told me the sight name, I couldn't find it for the life of me. Searched every search engine...climbed every mountain..yada yda ydad...little did I know that when he told me what I thought was "Experience is real" he was really saying "Experience ISRAEL".....and I felt stoopid. (He made me mispell that, bufoon that he is).

This is the bloggining of Ben's blogspot which I (Grace) will probably be contributing to. But you can also visit my own at gracetroedson.blogspot.com. And now, without further adeiu.......


Hullo, Ben Steen here. Truth be told, Gracie didn't quite catch the play on words that was so generously mine. So, this blog has been christened and I hope that many of you might add to this space and fill it with a little loving. Peace to you all from Israel and beyond.