A Year in Istanbul

Fieldtrip to Bursa

2009-05-08T06:19:00.000-07:00

The last weekend in March, we went with several of the other Fellows, and with our Director Scott, to the town of Bursa. By the 14th century, Bursa was the first Ottoman capital city, and there are several interesting and important medieval mosques and tomb complexes that still remain. It is an attractive city, set not too far inland from the Sea of Marmara, on the Asian side. It is only about an hour and a half away by fast ferry from Istanbul, which is how we traveled.

PANORAMIC VIEW OF BURSA

The earlier Byzantine walls of the city have been restored, but very poorly, and with no regard for their historical value.

AWFUL. JUST AWFUL.

Our first stop after the walls was the Shehadet Mosque. Originally built in 1365 by the Sultan Murad I, the building was extensively restored in the late 19th century. We did not go in, but stayed outside to inspect an extremely important inscription embedded in one of the walls.

Some scholars of Ottoman history consider this inscription to be the oldest datable example of the Ottoman script. Also, because the word "Gazi", or "holy warrior" appears in it, some historians have used it to bolster a theory that the Ottoman state was founded on the concept of holy war and the spread of Islam, rather than out of more purely political motivations and the desire to expand a state. It is fairly clear why this theory would be attractive to people of a certain mindset, but more current scholarly opinion is leaning away from this idea. Regardless, it is an important inscription for the study of Ottoman history.

From there we walked to the center of the town to see the 15th-century Han, which is still the center of sales of Bursa's most famous product: fine silk.

THE SQUARE OUTSIDE THE HAN

THE INTERIOR COURTYARD OF THE HAN

Our next stop was the Ulu Camii, a mosque constructed in 1399. The much later painting on the interior is quite interesting, especially an illusionistic representation of an arch over the main doorway.

EXTERIOR OF THE ULU CAMII

TROMP L'EOIL PAINTING ON THE MOSQUE'S INTERIOR

That evening we were to make a trip to the historic hamam (Turkish bath) for some relaxation. On the way we stopped at one more medieval mosque but, unfortunately, because we were on the way to the baths we had not brought our cameras. This was really too bad because the caretaker was kind enough to let some of us climb to the top of the minaret! This is a VERY rare occurrence. None of the Ottomanists had even ever been in a minaret. It was not one of the tallest I have seen, but was a good 50-60 feet. As it was so old, the balcony on which the muezzin used to stand to recite the call to prayer was quite narrow -- one person cannot pass another person on it. It also sloped down towards the outside quite steeply, and the stone railing came up only to about mid-thigh, so it definitely was not doing much to ensure safety! It is difficult to imagine climbing the narrow, pitch-black stairway to the top at dawn to stand on that small, high balcony and sing. We were very glad to have the opportunity to be up there, but we did not stay long!

The baths were very interesting. They are served by natural hot mineral springs, so the water in all the soaking pools is quite warm and heavy -- very relaxing. The mens' side is opulent, made up of a forest of Roman columns. The guys were treated to wraps of warm towels (refreshed periodically), cold drinks, and general extreme comfort. The women's side, however, is much smaller and less impressive, and entirely do-it-yourself (unless you purchase a scrub or a massage). No warm towels, no being waited on hand and foot. Of course, the price is the same (naturally). The one interesting aspect of the women's side is the "Lion's Mouth," which is actually a Roman drainpipe spout in the shape of a lion's head. At some point it was mounted on the wall where the hot spring enters the main chamber, and steaming water now pours out of its mouth. I have seen dozens of such spouts on ancient buildings, and lying around archaeological sites, but I'd never seen one in use.

INTERLUDE: A COUPLE OF INTERESTING IMAGES:

A WOMAN INSPECTS MOTORCYCLES OUTSIDE A MOSQUE

ONLY IN TURKEY: A PLAYGROUND CALLED "GUNPOWDER PARK" SET UP IN THE YARD OF A HIGH-VOLTAGE POWER STATION!

The next day, we started with a visit to the Yildirim Beyazid Camii. It is a small but attractive early 15th-century mosque, with later wall decoration. The most interesting aspect of the complex is the tomb of Beyazid I (1360-1403). He is perhaps best known as a character in the play Tamerlane by Christopher Marlowe. He was taken prisoner by Tamerlane (also called Timur) at the Battle of Ankara in 1403. Although he was originally buried near there, his body was later moved to this tomb in Bursa.

INTERIOR OF YILDIRIM BEYAZID CAMII

TOMB OF BEYAZID I

Our next stop was the Yesil Camii, dated 1412-1419. The tilework in that building is just unbelievable. Scott was able to get us access to the Sultan's loge, in the second story of the building. The deep blues, vibrant turqouise, and real gold inlay make a spectacular sight that cannot be adequately conveyed in photographs.

ME IN THE SULTAN'S LOGE

THE BEST PICTURE I COULD GET OF THE TILEWORK. DOESN'T EVEN COME CLOSE TO THE TRUE COLORS

THE VIEW DOWN TO THE FLOOR OF THE MOSQUE

Even the lower area of the mosque, for the use of common people, is covered in gorgeous tilework with inlaid gold:

We also visited the Turkish Islamic Art Museum. It was ok, but didn't blow anyone away. As usual, I was most interested in the mannequins dressed in traditional costumes. The courtyard also made a pleasant place to relax for a bit.

AS ALWAYS, THE MANNEQUINS ARE A BIT CREEPY

SOME OF THE FELLOWS RELAXING IN THE COURTYARD

Our final stop was the Muradiye Complex, a large grouping of tombs of Ottoman nobility. The setting is pleasant, quiet, and green.

Among the most interesting tombs is that of Cem Sultan (pronounced "Jim"), a rather dashing figure in late 15th-century Ottoman history. He was the younger brother of the ruling sultan, who chose to get rid of him by sending him into exile in Rome where he dallied with many women of high society and made quite a name for himself as a ladies' man and a cultured man-about-town. He died mysteriously in 1495, most likely poisoned by his brother. His tomb is incredibly garish on the interior, and one cannot help but think that his brother, while making an attempt to feign honor of his sibling, was also taking a bit of a last dig at him by decorating his final resting place in such an over-the-top and fairly unattractive way.

THE EXTERIOR OF CEM SULTAN'S TOMB

THE INTERIOR OF CEM SULTAN'S TOMB

THE COLORS ACTUALLY WORK IN THE DOME

Another tomb of interest is that of Prince Mustafa, the son of Suleyman the Magnificent. He died in 1553 and his tomb is covered on the interior with Iznik tiles of the highest quality. These tiles are in such high demand on the art market that some thieves with no sense of decency had recently broken into the tomb in the middle of the night and pried some off, breaking several in the process. They will have great difficult moving them, since they will be immediately recognizable to any Ottoman art historian who might be called on to make a ruling on their authenticity for purposes of valuation. Here's hoping they do get caught!

ALYSON, A HISTORIAN OF OTTOMAN ARCHITECTURE, INSPECTS THE RECENT DAMAGE.

Our two days in Bursa drawing to a close, we took the ferry back to Istanbul. Coming into the city from the west, we were rewarded with a view of Sultanahmet that is not often appreciated. Most photographs are taken from the Golden Horn, so images of the familiar skyline of the historic area almost always show Hagia Sophia in front of the blue Mosque. Coming in the way we did, the familiar vista was reversed. This is interesting and important, because it gives an opportunity to really appreciate how massive the dome of Hagia Sophia is. With the Blue Mosque sitting in front of it, closer to the viewer, it is obvious how huge the 6th-century building behind it really is -- even so much further from the viewer, it's dome is clearly huge in comparison to the domes of the Blue Mosque -- and how it effectively dwarfs the later construction.

The other thing we could appreciate from the water, of course, was the disgusting blanket of pollution that sits over the city. Sigh. Home again.

Christina's visit to Istanbul

2009-04-07T11:23:00.000-07:00

In mid-March (that's how far I am behind on this blog!), we had our first two visitors stay in our apartment at the Center. First my fellow grad student from USC, Nick, came for a few days. He was at the end of a 5-week or so trip all across Europe to photograph Roman art in major museums. He had not originally planned to visit Istanbul, but the lure of a free place to stay was too great, and I think he was pleasantly surprised by the richness of the collection in the Archaeological Museum here.

A couple of days after he arrived, my cousin Christina came as well, on her Spring Break from teaching middle and high school band in East Texas. For two nights the two of them shared our small apartment, and we all had a great time (at least I think so). Nick was a man on a mission, so he did not have a lot of time to play. But on his last morning in the city, he joined Christina and I for a tour of the Chora church (also known as the Kariye Camii). I have posted pictures of this magnificent church before, I believe. It is, quite literally, the site of some of the most important and well-preserved Byzantine fresco and mosaic work in the world.

While we were there we took the opportunity to stop by a nearby shop and visit our friend Volkan, who works there. He invited us to come to his house for dinner a couple of nights later, which we did do (more on that later).

Nick took off from the Chora for the airport, and Christina and I went on to Yedi Kule, the Turkish prison. Since I've written about that before also, I'm not going to recap it here, except to say that an older Turkish man gave us a "tour" this time. Since he didn't speak any English, he told us everything using pantomime. It was hilarious, even though he was mostly talking about people being shot with arrows, beheaded, and strangled. Between my basic Turkish and his wonderful pantomime, we "learned" that the hole in the floor of the inside of the Golden Gate was used by the Byzantines to throw the bodies of executed prisoners into the sewer system, where they would be disposed of by dogs, or washed out to sea and eaten by fishes (all of which he pantomimed). This is absolutely not true, but it was fun to watch him explain it anyway.

From there we crossed back to the side of the Horn I live on, and went to the top of Galata tower for some amazing view of the city.

CHRISTINA AT THE TOP OF THE GALATA TOWER

Since Christina and I were together the first time I ever visited Istanbul a few years ago, we have both done most of the "big" tourist attractions such as Hagia Sophia and Topkapi Palace. So once Nick left, we focused on some of the lesser-visited but interesting sites, and just tried to relax and have a good time, which she really needed!

The next day, Peter joined us for a daylong trip to the Prince's Islands, so-called because Ottoman sultans sometimes deposited potentially problematic brothers there to serve exile. In more recent times, the islands have become resorts, a place to escape the crowded bustle of Istanbul. We took the slow ferry from the European side of the city and island-hopped for several hours.

VIEW OF THE LANDING DOCK OF ONE OF THE ISLANDS WHERE WE DID NOT DISEMBARK

On Heybeliada we walked around and took in the view of the other islands and the horses that were wandering freely.

MEN WORK ON THEIR FISHING NETS

AN OLD OTTOMAN HOUSE

Then we climbed to the top of the island to visit the 11th-century Greek Orthodox monastery of Hagia Triada, which the groundskeeper was kind enough to let us into although it is not normally open to the public. We could not enter the buildings, which are now a boys' school, but we could look at all the wonderful animals!

AT THE GATES OF THE MONASTERY

AWWW...

HUH?

On Buyukada, literally the "Big Island," we were greeted by an amazing cacophany of sounds when we stepped off the boat. Although the islands can be very busy in the summer months, with holiday-makers from Istanbul and abroad, we were not expecting them to be so busy this early in the season. But what we did not realized was that with the Turkish elections only a couple of weeks away, all of the major political parties had set up their headquarters on the big island and were blasting their own personal theme songs! The entire island was covered with flags and banners, and it was madness!

ELECTION BANNERS EVERYWHERE

We were able to escape from this a bit by taking a horse-and-carriage ride (only service vehicles are allowed on the islands, no personal cars), around the island to see the gorgeous late Ottoman architecture.

IS THIS ONE HAUNTED?

Then Christina and I traded the horse cart in for donkeys (Peter was not interested, since we discovered in Petra that he is probably allergic) and rode up to the highest point of the island to see the church and monastery of Aya Yorgi, some parts of which date to the 6th century. Unfortunately it was not open, but the views of the islands were nice. They would have been nicer if the weather was clearer, but it was still pretty.

VIEW FROM THE TOP OF THE ISLAND

Day three, Peter took Christina to the Pera Museum, a very nice small museum close to our apartment which houses, among other things, the famous "Tortoise Trainer" painting by Osman Hamdi Bey, the most well-known of Turkish artists. I stayed home to get some work done. In the afternoon, Christina and I went to the spice market and the nearby Yeni Camii which, although it is not one of the most famous of the many mosques in Istanbul, is quite beautiful.

Later that day we got on another ferry, this time a fast one, and made the trip
to the Asian side to visit Volkan and his girlfriend, Janset. She is an amazing cook, and it was great to have a homecooked meal. For Peter and I, it was the first time in several months! It was also nice for Christina to have a chance to see how the "real people" live in Istanbul.

The following day, because the weather forecast called for steady rain, we went to the archaeological museum, which Christina had not seen because we did not do our research before our first visit to the city, and had overlooked it. Afterward we visited a small textile shop in the same part of town. It was recommended to us by Amanda, the Fellow at the Center who is writing her dissertation on Ottoman cushion covers. The family that owns it is based in Antakya (Antioch), but they have this small shop in Istanbul also. They specialize in silk textiles, and you can watch a man working the loom right there in the shop. Their stuff is amazing, and fairly inexpensive compared to the fake examples you can find in other, more touristy, shops. Christina purchased several souvenirs, and we frustrated the owner by refusing to have tea (we didn't want to take the time).

That afternoon, we took advantage of the awful weather (it was cold and rainy almost the entire time Christina was here, unfortunately) to relax in the Chamberlitas hamam, one of the oldest and most opulent in the city. All I can really say about that is "Aaaahhhh...."

That night, we headed to another area of town to have dinner with our friend Marco, who works for the State Department. He had been very excited for a couple of weeks because a Chili's opened down the street from his house. He tries to pretend like it is his young son who is excited, but it is really him! Unless you have lived outside the U.S. for an extended period of time, it is simply not possible to understand how thrilling the opening of an American chain restaurant can be. Christina said she didn't mind having some American food, so we went there with Marco and his son and daughter. His wife Karen was unfortunately tied up at work, busily preparing for President Obama's visit.

The next day, we visited Dolmabahce palace, which was the home of the last six sultans. It was designed and built, at incredible expense, as a way of proving that the 19th-century sultans were as modern and cultured as their European ruler counterparts. The harem is also famous as the site of the death of Ataturk. The grounds and the buildings are amazing, and the decorations are unbelievably lavish.

THE GATE OF DOLMABAHCE

ONE OF THE PALACE GUARDS

THE FAMOUS CLOCKTOWER. CHRISTINA APPARENTLY HAS THE "CURSE OF THE SCAFFOLDING" AS WELL!

Neither of us paid for the extra ticket that would allow us to take photographs inside (but I won't make that mistake again, when I go with Peter). The most exciting moment of the Dolmabahce visit was when we were walking around the grounds and got a bit off the tourist path. Christina saw some peacocks wandering freely and wanted to go for a closer look. An old groundskeeper came out of a nearby building, probably to shoo us away. I spoke to him in Turkish and he was suddenly very excited, and asked us to come into his building. We had no idea what we were in for, but it turned out to be the Ottoman aviary, still in use! There were thousands of birds of all kinds inside. I have no idea why they maintain it, since it is not open to the public. What are they using the birds for? It is a mystery that none of my Turkish friends have been able to help me solve as of yet.

We picked Peter up for a quick lunch at the Ara Cafe, which is owned by Ara Guler, the most famous photographer of Istanbul. He is known worldwide as the "Eye of Istanbul." His photographs taken in the 1950s and 1960s are iconic. We have even seen him eating in the cafe on at least one occasion, but this time we just enjoyed the yummy food.

Next we visited the fortress of Rumeli Hisar, which was constructed by Mehmet the Conqueror in the 1490s when he was besieging Istanbul. It allowed him to control the waterway of the Bosphorus, and block off supply ships from reaching the Byzantines in the city. Because of its location on the water it is an absolutely gorgeous site to visit, although often overlooked by tourists. Highly recommended.

For Christina's last evening in town, we took her out to SantralIstanbul, the Ottoman power plant that I have blogged about before.

YOU KNOW US -- ALWAYS GETTING INTO THINGS!

OUR BODY HEAT PORTRAIT

It was an especially fun evening because there was a well-known band playing in Otto (the pizza place). They are called BaBa ZuLa and are very good.

BABA ZULA TAKES THE STAGE

It was a fun night, despite the fact that we had to fight to get on the free shuttle home, and even missed the first one because we were not willing to shove our way on. We were not so nice when the second one pulled up!

Despite the cold, wet weather and the fact that I was very busy with work while she was here, we did find some time to have fun and see some of the sites that neither one of us had experienced yet. Christina, I hope you had a good vacation!

Fieldtrip to Konya

2009-03-30T07:27:00.000-07:00

Several weeks ago, we went with a group from the Research Center on a fieldtrip to Konya. Konya is a very religious, traditional city which is best known for its associations with Rumi (lived 1207-1273), also known as the Mevlana. Rumi was the founder of the famous religious order still known as the Whirling Dervishes, and he is buried here in Konya, where he lived most of his life. The religious beliefs that Rumi put forward in his writings are not always the same as those of mainstream Muslims. For example, many of his religious poems show what many Muslims would consider a very lax attitude towards following the dogma of religion, as well as a very open attitude about who might participate in the religious experience of his dervishes. From one of his most famous works:

Come, come, whoever you are.
Wonderer, worshipper, lover of leaving.
It doesn't matter.
Ours is not a caravan of despair.
Come, even if you have broken your vow
a thousand times
Come, yet again, come, come.

Despite the non-traditional nature of his religious teachings, his tomb is still regarded as an important place of pilgrimage for all Muslims, and the people of Konya, although very conservative in their own beliefs, are proud of their city's role as the home of the Mevlana.

The skyline of Konya , backed by gorgeous mountains, announces its religious devotion in all its interesting confusion. Look closely at the skyscraper in this picture:

DETAIL OF THE TOP OF THE SKYSCRAPER

Skyscrapers are considered by the citizens of Konya to be indicators that they are modern and advanced, so they love to construct them whenever possible. The top of this skyscraper in particular uses the forms of two important buildings: the lower pavilion-like section is based on the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, the holiest of Muslim sites, while the smaller section on top of that is the same shape as the tomb of Rumi, whose mysticism is both part of, and at odds with, mainstream Islam.

We took an overnight train from Istanbul to Konya, and when we arrived we found a frozen city, covered in snow. None of the mosques or museums we visited had heat, so by the end of each day we were fairly frozen!

The main point of the trip was to see some of the most important examples of Seljuk architecture. Scott, the Director of the Institute, is a Seljuk historian, so it was very educational to tour the sites with him. The Seljuks were a pre-Ottoman state that ruled much of Anatolia, into Persia, in the 11th-14th centuries. Konya was their capital, and much of their architecture remains.

Before seeing the buildings in town, though, we traveled outside the city to a caravansaray to see a fine example of the buildings that were used by caravans when they were traveling to and from Konya. This one is called Zazadin Han:

Our next stop was to see what is left of the original Seljuk walls of Konya. They are now to be found (and visited, if you have the right connections), in the basement of a "dershane", a center for test preparation. You can see all the college-prep test booklets stacked against them in the pictures.

Next we entered the Karatay Madrasa, (a madrasa, or medrese, as I have mentioned in previous posts, is a school for Quaranic learning). This building has been converted into a museum, and we were not supposed to take photos inside. I had, however, snapped one picture of the amazing tiled dome before they told us that. These tiles are especially amazing because the Seljuks did not have the technology to fire tiles with more than one color on them, so they had to fire each small piece of the design separately, in whatever shape they wanted, then fit them together to achieve the desired pattern:

From there we moved to another Madrasa, the Ince Minare ("Slender Minaret") Madrasa, which is now a museum of architectural elements such as stone and woodwork. Its highly-decorated carved portal is one of the most important remaining Seljuk monuments:

Our final stop of the day was the Alaeddin Camii, in the interior courtyard of which stand the tombs of most of the Seljuk rulers. None of my pictures of this are very good, probably because I was too cold to take anything decent by this point.

That night we were able to meet up at the hotel with a fellow Fulbrighter, Dee Dee from South Carolina, and her husband Michael. We were happy to hear that they love living in Konya, although it is a more difficult assignment because it is so much more traditional and conservative than Istanbul. Dee Dee was also able to join us for our tours the next day, which was nice.

We started our second day with a trip to the tomb complex of Rumi. It's greenish-blue tiled tower is the most recognized landmark of the city. No pictures are allowed inside, but in addition to the actual tombs of Rumi, his father, and various important individuals, we saw many other objects associated with the history of the Whirling Dervishes, such as musical instruments and manuscripts. It is really an amazing place to visit, and we highly recommend it.

After a nice lunch, we visited two more sites in town: the archaeological museum which, although not very well-kept or labeled, houses some very interesting objects, including this sarcophagus depicting the 12 Labors of Hercules:

Another interesting sarcophagus in the museum had an unusual version of the Jonah story. I've never seen him being swallowed headfirst before!

Next door to the museum is the Sahip Ata Kulliyesi, a dervish "convent." As with many of the other buildings we saw in Konya, the inside was beautifully tiled. Although the main central area has been rather harshly restored, the tomb area to the side is remarkable for the beauty of the tiling not only on the building, but on the coffins themselves:

The last goal of our tour was not in Konya itself, but in the nearby town of Beyshehir. Visiting required a drive of an hour and a half or so through beautiful snowy countryside:

The main attraction in Beyshehir is the Eshrefoglu mosque, one of a rare type of mosque with a wooden interior, beautifully painted. It was constructed in the Medieval period, late 13th century, and is in a remarkable state of preservation, considering that the columns, roof, and furniture are all made of wood:

A DETAIL OF THE CARVED AND PAINTED DECORATION AT THE TOP OF ONE OF THE COLUMNS

Beyshehir's other claim to fame is its location on the shores of Turkey's largest freshwater lake (for those of you who are wondering, Lake Van's water is part saline, part fresh), which shares the name Beyshehir. We were able to spend a half hour or so walking by the water and teaching Tsameret and Ilan's children to throw snowballs. Since they are from Israel, it was their first time to see snow!

BEAUTIFUL LAKE BEYSHEHIR

THE CITY SITS ON ITS SHORE, LOOKING VERY EUROPEAN

A HAPPY, BUT THOROUGHLY FROZEN, GROUP OF FELLOWS

Soon it was time to drive back to Konya to catch another overnight train back to Istanbul. We were prepared for a boring night: a little dinner, some chatting, then off to bed. But we found ourselves sharing the dining car with a group of young Turkish soldiers enjoying their last night of freedom before reporting for sniper training in Istanbul the next day. One of them had a guitar, and our "boring night" turned into hours of singing (and even some dancing) as we rode through the frozen Anatolian plain. It was definitely a night to remember!

Holy Land Trip Day 11: Jaffa

2009-03-22T09:39:00.000-07:00

The final day of our trip was much less hectic, much more relaxing and, consequently, much less interesting than those before. We spent the day in Jaffa (ancient Joppa), which is now more or less a suburb of Tel Aviv. It was nice to be on the waterfront, and to see what there was to see, but it didn't blow us away.

A bit of the more modern history (as opposed to the ancient or Biblical history) of Joppa will set the stage:

There used to be a saying among German and Dutch sailors, when a task was particularly difficult, and there was small chance of survival or success. They would say that to carry out that task was "to go to Jaffa beach." This saying came from the fact that the water around the port of Jaffa is shallow and peppered with sandbars and rocks that it is difficult for ships to avoid. Pilgrims who arrived to the Holy Land via this port were often dismayed to find that their ship had to stop a great distance from shore, and that they then had to ride smaller boats, or even walk through the water, to get to the land. But yet it was an important port, and may well be one of the oldest in the world, used by both the Canaanites and the Philistines.

It was conquered by Napoleon on March 7, 1799, during his conquest of the Holy Land. He was so angered by the residents' resistance that when his soldiers finally broke into the city, he slaughtered its inhabitants. Many of his own soldiers then died of plague they contracted through proximity to all of the rotting corpses. Two years after that horrible event, visitors to Jaffa said they could still smell the stench of decaying bodies. Lovely place indeed!

But for a town that has seen so much violence, its modern incarnation is very pleasant and peaceful. It prides itself on being a home to contemporary artists, and expensive showrooms line most of the small streets. The restaurants along the water are popular hangouts for locals, and we had one of the best meals of our trip there.

LOOK, I'M A HISTORICAL SITE!

In fact, the first thing we did there was eat. We had breakfast at a well-known local establishment, the Aboulafia Bakery. I had a doughnut. A real doughnut, warm and rolled in granulated sugar. That may sound like a simple pleasure, but it was the first time in months I had had one, and eating it while sitting on a bench overlooking the sea was just wonderful.

Our first visit was to the Visitor's Center in Kedumim Square, where some ruins of Roman houses have been excavated and filled with amusing mannequins:

There was also an extremely entertaining film shown there.

Another other building of note in the square is the Monastery of St. Peter, built in 1891 over the ruins of a Crusader fortress:

Just off the square, up a small hill, is the Wishing Bridge. It is decorated with bronze images of the 12 signs of the zodiac, and if you stand clasping your sign and make a wish while looking out towards the sea, it is supposed to come true. I can verify that it does not work. Or maybe it didn't work for me because I could not reach far enough to touch both of my signs, Sagittarius and Capricorn, since I am one of those rare people born on a day that falls between two signs. We will have to go back to see if Peter's wish came true, because he wished that they would make a better-looking image of his zodiac sign (the ram) to put on the bridge.

Other sites in Jaffa include this interesting living statue:

A SUSPENDED ORANGE TREE IN THE ARTISTS' QUARTER.

Since the late 19th century, oranges have been the main export of Jaffa, and many of you have probably had some of the famous Jaffa oranges at some point.

Jaffa (Joppa) was also the port from which Jonah embarked when he tried to flee from God, and was eventually swallowed by the big fish (Jonah 1:3). A whimsical statue commemorates this event:

Joppa was also one of the places where the apostle Peter stayed for some time, at the house of a man named Simon the Tanner (Acts 9:43). The house is still there (sure), but it was locked when we went by.

For those more interested in ancient Greek and Roman mythology, the port of Joppa was famous as the site where Andromeda was chained up as an offering to a sea monster, and where Perseus swooped in with the head of Medusa and saved her. Here is the actual rock:

YES, THAT LITTLE ROCK OFF TO THE RIGHT OF THE PICTURE. WOW, RIGHT?

It's really not very impressive at all, especially when you consider how shallow the water is around it. Some seamonster!

It was a pleasant day, and just what we needed to unwind from the intense touring we had been doing for almost two weeks.

A JAFFA MYSTERY: WHAT IS THIS MACHINERY? ANYONE? DAN PERHAPS? FOY?

THIS IS IT IN A VERY DEEP HOLE

But we had one more task to complete before making it back to the Research Center that night. We were bringing Tsameret's two children back from Tel Aviv to Istanbul. I was slightly surprised that we were even allowed to leave the country with them, since they have Israeli passports and we do not.

SHEKED IN THE AIRPORT.

ILAN AND YUVAL.

Their father, Ilan, was able to come with us to the gate, but even so I would have thought security would have been tighter. But of course we are all glad it was not. The plane ride home was VERY bumpy -- much more than usual, even with some weather turbulence. The kids thought it was great fun, but Peter and I were quite nervous. Of course the littlest, Yuval, fell asleep only about 10 minutes before we landed, so for a few hours we were very busy entertaining two kids that we don't even share a language with! But it was fun, and we came out of it with a new respect for parents traveling with small children.

We finally made it back home, completely exhausted, but with much to contemplate. History, religion, politics -- the trip changed or augmented our understanding of many things. It was a very valuable experience indeed.

Holy Land Trip Day 10: Jerusalem Day 3

2009-03-15T03:37:00.001-07:00

THE CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHER, SCAFFOLDING AND ALL. VIEW FROM THE BELL TOWER OF THE LUTHERAN CHURCH OF THE REDEEMER.

A MONK IN A DOORWAY INSIDE THE CHURCH

Our last day in Jerusalem started very early. We wanted to be back to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, where we had finished our previous day, early enough that there would be few people there. It opens at 4:30, and we managed to make it by about 5:30.

As I mentioned in the last post, the final Stations of the Cross are inside the church itself, which was constructed on the presumed site of the crucifixion and burial of Christ. So, in effect, the church was built on top of Golgotha, and encompassing the tomb at the foot of it.

After passing through the external courtyard, if you turn right inside the door and climb the steep stairway there, you find yourself atop Golgotha. There are three further Stations here:

STATION 11: CHRIST IS NAILED TO THE CROSS. THIS CHAPEL IS OWNED BY THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.

TO THE LEFT OF THE CATHOLIC ALTAR IS A SMALLER ALTAR CALLED THE "STABAT MATER," WHICH IS PLACED TO THE RIGHT OF THE SPOT OF THE CRUCIFIXION, MARKING THE PLACE WHERE MARY STOOD AND WEPT.

STATION 12: CHRIST DIES ON THE CROSS. THIS BEAUTIFUL GREEK ORTHODOX ALTAR IS PLACED DIRECTLY OVER THE SPOT DESIGNATED AS THE ONE WHERE THE CROSS WAS PLACED. YOU CAN APPROACH THE ALTAR, KNEEL, AND REACH UNDERNEATH TO TOUCH THE ACTUAL ROCK OF GOLGOTHA, AS I AM DOING HERE.

THE ROCK OF GOLGOTHA. LESS IMPRESSIVE IN PHOTO FORM.

Back downstairs, directly beneath the chapel at the top of Golgotha, there is a smaller chapel, built up against the base of the rock. It is called the Chapel of Adam (early Christian tradition held that Christ was crucified over the spot where the skull of Adam was buried), and you can see there a fissure in the rock of Golgotha that some believe was caused by the earthquake that occurred as Christ died:

THE ALTAR IN THE CHAPEL OF ADAM

Outside this chapel is the Stone of Annointment (or the Stone of Unction), a slab that commemorates the wrapping and preparation of Christ's body for burial. The marble that is there now dates only from 1810, but the spot has been revered at least since the Medieval period. Many visitors display a lot of emotion when viewing this spot, with many kneeling to kiss the stone:

Going another story below the church to the Chapel of St. Helena (the mother of Constantine, the one who discovered the "True Cross" of the crucifixion in the early fourth century and convinced her son to build the first Holy Sepulcher on this spot), you can see not only the scant remains of the first church that remain on this spot, but also many examples of graffiti carved over hundreds of years by devout pilgrims.

THE STAIRS DESCENDING TO THE CHAPEL OF ST. HELENA

THE WALL ON THE WAY DOWN IS COVERED WITH THOUSANDS OF CROSSES CARVED BY PILGRIMS

THIS CROSS ON THE FLOOR MARKS THE SPOT WHERE ST. HELENA DISCOVERED THE "TRUE CROSS"

The rest of the church is filled with small chapels, some of which were open and some of which were not. As I mentioned in the last post, each is owned and maintained by a different denomination. The morning that we were there, early as it was, there was already a mass going on on the spot of the 11th Station, as well as another service that was making full use of the impressive pipe organ. I will try to attach a video below so anyone who is interested can hear it.

We were very glad that we had been able to enter the Tomb of Christ the day before, as it was closed for a service this morning. There were four or five monks inside chanting, although we could not of course see what they were doing.

THE FRONT OF THE SHRINE OF THE TOMB, WITHOUT ALL THE TOURISTS OF THE DAY BEFORE

PETER BESIDE THE SHRINE BUILT AROUND THE TOMB

On the back of the tomb is the smallest chapel in the entire church -- the Coptic chapel on the back of the square shrine. The Copts claim that a stone inside is part of the original tomb, but this is highly doubtful as it is granite and the interior of the tomb is limestone. There is always a monk sitting here, and visitors may light a candle.

LIGHTING A CANDLE IN THE COPTIC CHAPEL. YOU CAN SEE A MONK BEHIND ME.

Behind the square shrine is the entrance to yet another chapel, the very interesting Syrian Chapel. The Syrian Orthodox church maintains this area, which many visitors miss. It is of great archaeological interest because inside, along the back walls, are several tunnels whose sides are covered with Jewish rock-cut tombs that date from 100 BC to 100 AD. This of course proves that this area was used for burial, which somewhat shores up the assertion that Christ's tomb may have been in this area. It also indicates the limits of the area that Constantine dug out of the rock to build his church:

THE ALTAR IN THE SYRIAN CHAPEL

A NOT-VERY-GOOD PHOTO OF SOME OF THE TOMBS. FLASH PICTURES INSIDE DARK CAVES NEVER TURN OUT WELL.

All in all, the Holy Sepulcher is not only the holiest site of all for Christian believers, it is one of the most important religious sites in the world. It is a case study in archaeology, religious history, and the mediation of modern conflicts between religious groups. Definitely a not-to-be-missed site.

From the church, we went back to the Jaffa Gate and walked the second section of walls, the one we had not had access to the day before because it passes the Muslim section of town. Some views:

A VIEW ALONG THE WALL TOWARDS THE DOME OF THE ROCK

SOME CHILDREN ON THE PLAYGROUND AT A SCHOOL. YES, THEY ARE WAVING AT US.

THE CHAOS OF JERUSALEM

The place where we came down from the wall is very close to the church of St. Anne's, which I mentioned in an earlier post. The archaeological excavations that are ongoing on the grounds of this church are fascinating. Archaeologists have determined that this was the site of the Bethesda pool, where the Bible says that people afflicted with various conditions would lie and wait for the waters to move (because they were stirred by an angel). When this happened, the first one into the water would be healed. Here, Christ healed a lame man who had gone to the pool every day for many years, but had no one to help him into the water. The site is most interesting not only because it matches up with the story in John 5, but because excavations below the Byzantine and Crusader churches built on top of the site have revealed an ancient temple to Asclepius, the Roman god of medicine, indicating that the water at the site continued to be utilized for its healing qualities in the centuries after Christ:

THE EXCAVATIONS AT THE SITE ARE IMPRESSIVE. THE TALL RUINS SEEN HERE ARE OF A CRUSADER CHURCH ON TOP OF A BYZANTINE CHURCH

AT THE POOL OF BETHESDA

After St. Anne's, we stopped briefly for a photo op at the Ecce Homo arch, part of a Roman triumphal arch that Christian tradition says is the spot where Pontius Pilate showed Christ to the crowd, who then called for his crucifixion. "Ecce Homo." "Behold, the man." The arch is actually datable to a later period than the crucifixion of Christ, so there is nothing but tradition behind its identification as this spot, which was more likely near the Citadel discussed in an earlier post.

THE SO-CALLED "ECCE HOMO ARCH"

We worked our way slowly out through the Muslim market to the Damascus Gate. There, we paused outside the city to contemplate the sheer number and diversity of the people passing in and out of that famous gate. It really does give one the feeling that everyone, sooner or later, comes to Jerusalem. Knowing that it has been just this busy, with trade and pilgrims, for many hundreds of years, makes it even more interesting:

Having left the Old City, we visited the nearby Rockefeller Museum. The collection here is astounding. Unfortunately, no pictures are allowed. The objects range from the first known mask in the world, a painted limestone face found in a Judean cave and dated to ca. 7000 BC, through Canaanite and early Hebrew objects, and into the Christian period. The carved lentils from the doorway of the Holy Sepulcher as it stood before a disastrous fire in 1808 are remarkable. The collection is fairly superb, but a lack of organization and explanatory labels, so common in this part of the world, mar the experience. Still, it should be visited.

From there we caught the servees to Bethlehem. Most of that experience I have already detailed in the first post about this trip, an account of our time in the West Bank. What I did not do in that original post, however, was discuss the Church of the Nativity and the Milk Grotto in any detail, and show pictures of them.

The Church of the Nativity obviously marks the supposed site of the birth of Christ. This is one of the earliest surviving Christian churches in the world, built in the fourth century, although various sections of it were reworked over the centuries. The nave itself dates to the time of the emperor Justinian, in the fifth century. It's interior is fairly astounding, including 44 pink limestone columns, most of them original to the 4th-century church, which were painted with images of saints during the Crusader period.

PETER SNAPPED THIS GREAT SHOT OF PALESTINIAN SECURITY FORCES PATROLLING THE SOUTH AISLE OF THE CHURCH

ONE OF THE CRUSADER-ERA PAINTINGS ON A PILLAR OF THE NAVE

Of course, the highlight of a visit to the church is the grotto beneath the altar, the site of the manger. The precise spot is marked by a silver star on the floor, and tourists (like us) take turns kneeling there.

WE WERE IN THE GROTTO WITH A GROUP OF PILGRIMS FROM NIGERIA.

In the smaller St. Catherine's church next door, stairs lead down to a grotto that is said to have been the study, and the burial place, of St. Jerome, and the site where, in the late fourth century, he completed the Vulgate, the definitive edition of the Bible, translated from Hebrew and Greek into Latin.

As we walked through the town, we stopped to watch some local workmen creating the olivewood sculpture that is prized all over the world:

The Milk Grotto, which I also described in an earlier post, is a modern building (1872) built on the site of another 4th century church. Although the story of Mary hiding in a cave with the infant Christ before fleeing to Egypt is not in the Bible, it was clearly important enough in the mythology of early Christianity to warrant a church. The building there today is somewhat bizarre because of its super-modern appearance:

EXTERIOR OF THE MILK GROTTO

A CHAPEL IN THE MILK GROTTO

THERE IS ALWAYS A NUN PRAYING IN THE GROTTO, DAY AND NIGHT

Since I have discussed the rest of our experience in the West Bank already, I will just take the chance to say again that our trip to Bethlehem was a powerful and moving experience, and I would urge others to take advantage of the opportunity to do so if it arises.

From Bethlehem it was back to pick up our bags at the hospice, then we caught the sunset bus to Tel Aviv (because Saturday is the Sabbath, the buses do not run until sundown). There we were picked up at the station by Ilan, the husband of Tsameret, my fellow Fellow here at the Research Center. Because we would be doing them the favor of escorting their two small children back to Istanbul from Israel the next day, her parents were kind enough to put us up for the night in their home. Tsameret's brother and sister-in-law came over, and we all had a nice family meal and discussed the upcoming Israeli elections (yes, politics over dinner. I know it is risky, but SO interesting!). It was nice after so many nights in hotels and on the move to relax in a family atmosphere.

Holy Land Trip Sidenote: The Streets of Jerusalem

2009-03-07T09:08:00.000-08:00

There's only one more day of our time in Jerusalem to write about, but I thought before I did that it would be nice to share some of the photos I took that are not OF any one particular thing. They capture the streets of Jerusalem, some odd things we noticed, even some interesting people. Hope you enjoy them!

A LITTLE BIT OF HOME IN THE HOLY CITY. UNLIKE HOME, HOWEVER, THERE ARE SOLDIERS AND HEAVILY ARMED POLICE EVERYWHERE.

MANY OF THE STREETS IN THE OLD CITY ARE NARROW AND COVERED, AND THERE ARE ALWAYS INTERESTING AREAS TO PHOTOGRAPH.

SERIOUSLY, WHOEVER THOUGHT IT MIGHT BE A GOOD IDEA TO RENT SEGWAYS IN JERUSALEM MUST HAVE BEEN INSANE. THE ENTIRE CITY IS COVERED IN STAIRS. AND LOOK -- EVEN ONE OF THE GUYS ON THE BILLBOARD ISN'T HAVING FUN! MAYBE BECAUSE HE KEEPS FALLING DOWN STAIRS?

ON THE OTHER HAND, THIS KID WAS DOING PRETTY WELL ON HIS ROLLERBLADES.

THERE IS ONE AREA WHERE LITTLE JEWISH BOYS ARE ALWAYS PLAYING DODGEBALL (ABOVE AND BELOW). DANGEROUS FOR TOURISTS!

THIS KID JUST REALLY WANTED TO HAVE HIS PICTURE TAKEN.

WE WERE A BIT SURPRISED TO SEE SANTA CLAUS.

OLD MEETS NEW IN A SIDE ROOM OF THE MEDRASA IN THE DOME OF THE ROCK COMPLEX.

THERE ARE SO MANY INTERESTING ASPECTS TO THE COSTUMES MEMBERS OF DIFFERENT GROUPS WEAR IN JERUSALEM. THESE JEWISH HATS ARE REALLY UNUSUAL.

Holy Land Trip Day 9: Jerusalem Day 2

2009-03-04T07:29:00.000-08:00

I'm looking back at my notes on what we did on our second day in Jerusalem, which was a Friday. If I hadn't written it all down I would say that it was impossible, that I was somehow misremembering. But there it all is, in a nice, numbered list in my little notebook:

We got up early in the morning and had breakfast in our hospice. I mention that because I wanted to show this picture of Peter. Doesn't every man dream of being alone in a roomful of women? Ha!

First, we visited the cathedral of St. James. This church, in the Christian Quarter, is an Armenian establishment. It is built over the supposed site of the tomb of James the Apostle. It was not open, but we were able to enter the courtyard.

PETER AT THE GATES OF THE CATHEDRAL OF ST. JAMES

Our goal for the morning was to see the sites on the Mount of Olives. This famous hill lies directly east of the city, and of course was the location for many of the events of Christ's time in Jerusalem. A cab driver took us the LONG way up to the top of the hill. Rather than trying to visit the various sites and churches in any sort of chronological order, it makes the most sense to start at the top and work your way down. The hill is steep, and even in February it was fairly warm!

Our first stop was, a bit ironically, a mosque. The Mosque of the Ascension was built over the top of an earlier Crusader church constructed on top of an even earlier church of the fourth century, to mark the supposed site of Christ's ascension to heaven after the Resurrection. The basis for this association is a "footprint" in marble, supposedly the footprint of Christ. This is apparently not a very visited spot, and poorly upkept. Because Jesus is also considered a Prophet in Islam, it is a site for veneration in that religion as well, but obviously not a popular one. Besides the small dome built over the site of the footprint, you can also identify some nice Crusader column capitals that were stuck in willy-nilly when the later Muslim construction was done.

THE MOSQUE OF THE ASCENSION.

THE "FOOTPRINT OF CHRIST" INSIDE THE SMALL MOSQUE.

Based on that site and the neighborhood immediately surrounding it, our first impression of the Mount of Olives was that it was dirty and rundown, full of litter. Luckily, as we worked our way downhill it became much more pleasant and picturesque.

Our next stop was the Church of the Paternoster (Our Father). This church was constructed in the late 19th century by a French princess. Interestingly, there was a church constructed here by Constantine's mother, Helena (St. Helen), because the site was believed to be where Christ ascended to heaven. Wait a minute...? Yes, there are many competing claims for lots of the Biblical narratives. It's something you just come to terms with when visiting the Holy Land. At any rate, by the time the present church was constructed, the grotto it was built over was considered to have been the site where Christ taught his Disciples to pray. Hence the name "Paternoster" ("Our Father, who art in heaven...").

THE SO-CALLED GROTTO OF THE PATERNOSTER

The church is very pretty. The main attraction is the fact that the Lord's Prayer is mounted on beautiful painted tiles all around the church and cloister, inside and out, in more than 60 languages, some of which we had never heard of.

I was particularly happy to see this one:

The next church we visited was the Dominus Velit ("The Lord Wept") chapel. It is situated in a gorgeous grove, overlooking the Golden Gate of the Old City. It marks the spot at which Christ wept over the future fate of Jerusalem before he made the Triumphal Entry (Luke 19:41). The view from inside the chapel is spectacular.

PETER CAPTURED THIS GREAT IMAGE OF TWO OF THE CHAPEL'S NUNS. THEY WERE SITTING ON THE WALL, LOOKING OUT OVER THE OLD CITY AND SINGING A SONG ABOUT JERUSALEM.

THE VIEW OF THE OLD CITY FROM THE DOMINUS VELIT CHAPEL.

On our way down the hill, we passed many Jewish cemeteries, located here as I mentioned before because the Valley of Jehoshaphat, at the foot of the Mount of Olives, will be, according to Jewish tradition and an Old Testament passage (Joel 3: 1-17), the site of the Resurrection of souls on the Day of Judgment. We did not go into any of the cemeteries.

A MAN VISITS A TOMB ON THE MOUNT OF OLIVES

The Garden of Gethsemane was our next goal. Although no one can be sure where on the Mount of Olives stood the actual grove that Christ prayed in, and where he was arrested, the trees in this grove are old enough to have been standing in the time of Christ. Because they are fenced off, the effect is somewhat sterile, but I suppose it is also important to protect them from people (like me) who want to pull off a twig to take home. Nope, you can't reach any of the branches!

Just past the grove stands the modern Church of All Nations (built using donations from 12 different nations, in 1924), which is built (supposedly) on top of the rock where Christ knelt and prayed (it is sometimes also called the Church of the Agony). As usual, there was an earlier Crusader church here, on top of an even earlier church of the 4th century. It is an impressive building, but I found the mosaics on the pediment too modern and jarring. Inside, the rock is surrounded by a cast-iron crown of thorns. We did not get to see it because there was a service going on at the time we visited.

We left the Garden of Gethsemane and crossed the road to the Tomb of the Virgin which is obviously revered as the site of the burial of the Virgin Mary. This site also has a long history. It is a subterranean burial grotto which lies in the Valley of Jehoshaphat (recall it's associations with the Day of Judgment). There are tombs inside the walls of the church that date to the 1st century AD. The main crypt area was carved in the Byzantine period from solid rock. There was once an upper, above-ground church which was built by the Crusaders, but Saladin destroyed it when he conquered Jerusalem in 1187. Today, ownership of the crypt is shared by Greek, Armenian, Syrian, and Coptic Christians. We were totally unprepared for what we would see there. It is without a doubt one of the most lingering impressions of our days in Jerusalem. Descending the steep stairs, past tombs carved into the walls, the crypt is mostly dark, but lit faintly by hundreds of lamps hanging from the ceiling, and by candles. The air is completely filled with incense, and singing and chanting is continuously performed. While we were inside, there were two competing services going on -- we know one was Greek and think the other was Armenian (maybe). They were definitely trying to out-sing one another! I will try to attach a video at the bottom of this entry for those who are interested in trying to sort it out.

THE STAIRS DOWN TO THE TOMB OF THE VIRGIN

From the Tomb of the Virgin we decided to walk back to the Old City through the floor of the Valley of Jehoshaphat (also called the Kidron Valley in the New Testament -- Jehoshaphat is the Old Testament name). Jehoshaphat means "God judges." I don't think, from the looks of it, that many people choose this particular route. There are interesting things to see there though, including three rock-cut Jewish tombs dated to the 1st and 2nd centuries BC, although one of them was thought in Medieval times to have belonged to David's eldest son, and was so called the Tomb of Absalom. One of them we know from inscription was the burial place of a family of priests.

THE "TOMB OF ABSALOM"

The Valley spit us out at its southern end into a somewhat depressing Muslim neighborhood. From there we climbed up to the oldest part of the Old City (that is, the area where the oldest settlement of Jerusalem is known to have existed), to see the City of David. The City of David is really the name for the whole area, since it is known to have been the site of the original founding of the city. Now a super-touristy archaeological area, it is worth seeing, but not very well interpreted. There are remains of a palace that "may" have belonged to David, as well as walls dateable to as early as the 13th century BC. But the main attractions are subterranean: the first is now known as Warren's Shaft, for the 19th century Englishman who discovered it. It is a tunnel dug by the Canaanites to reach a pool that is naturally replenished by the Gihon spring. You can walk through the tunnel and down to the pool, where you can see remains of the 18th century BC (!) Cannanite wall.

THE CANAANITE WALL AND POOL, DATING FROM THE 18TH CENTURY BC.

The other attraction we were not prepared for. In the 10th century BC, the Hebrew king Hezekiah famously built his own tunnel to bring the water from the spring all the way into the city, a much-needed resource in time of siege. The prepared traveler can bring (or buy there for a more-than-modest price) water shoes and a small flashlight and wade in water (which would have been thigh-high on me even in the midst of this dry season!) through the entire tunnel and out to the pool. The two tunnels start as one, then Hezekiah's tunnel branches off, so we were able to peek in. It is completely, 100% pitch black, and the water was REALLY rushing through it by the sound of it! I wanted to go, but we were both wearing jeans, and Peter was really not interested in walking around wet for the rest of the day. I know he was right, but I really really wanted to do it! But not by myself! So who will volunteer to go back with me and have that little adventure?

Believe it or not, or day was not even half over at that point. Back in the Old City, we happened to spy a spot that our guidebook had told us provided an access to a "shortcut" over the city -- along the roofs. We went up, and were rewarded with a really unique perspective on things. Markets below us, church towers at almost eye-level -- and lots of traditional Jewish men and boys crossing the city that way. We came out by a Jewish school, practically through their courtyard, which was a bit awkward.

Back on the ground, we walked back to the Christian Quarter, to the Syrian Orthodox church of St. Mark's. It is a pretty little church, built supposedly on the site of the home of Mary, the mother of Mark the Evangelist. The main attraction is an old, old, old icon of the Virgin Mary and the Christ child that tradition says was painted by Luke, from life! Of course that is impossible, but even a non-specialist can clearly see that it is an incredibly old icon, and painted on parchment, which is unusual. No photos of it are allowed, but the nun inside gave us handfuls of prayer cards with the image on it to take away. Also, the cellar room below the church is where some scholars do believe that the Last Supper actually took place.

THIS IS A SHODDY COPY OF THE REALLY OLD ICON. THIS ONE HANGS ABOVE AN ALTAR IN THE CELLAR WHICH MIGHT HAVE BEEN THE ROOM IN WHICH THE LAST SUPPER TOOK PLACE.

Our next visit was to the Alexander Hospice. This is the most important church in Jerusalem for the Russian Orthodox believers. It is also extremely important archaeologically. Inside this church lie some of the scant remains of the original Church of the Holy Sepulcher, constructed by Constantine on the site of the crucifixion and burial of Christ. I will share later about our visit to the "modern" Holy Sepulcher church (itself quite old) which lies next door, but we wanted to see what we could of the fourth-century building -- which, unfortunately, is not much. But the ruins of the church and other monuments excavated inside the Alexander Hospice are extremely important. I'll walk you through a few pictures of the site so you can see what the great importance is:

TRIUMPHAL ARCH FROM HADRIAN'S FORUM, CA. 135.

IN THIS ROOM OF THE CHURCH, THE ONLY ONE WHERE PHOTOS CAN BE TAKEN, LIE SOME REMAINS OF WHAT IS PROBABLY AN ALTAR FROM ONE OF THE MANY CHAPELS IN THE ORIGINAL HOLY SEPULCHER. YEP, UNDER THAT RED CLOTH!

YES, I ASKED FOR PERMISSION BEFORE SNAPPING THIS. THE PICTURE DOESN'T SHOW MUCH, BUT IT'S SOMETHING.

The other important archaeological find within the church is something that they will not allow pictures to be taken of, unfortunately. It's the remains of a Herodian-era wall with a large gate in it (so, late 1st century BC- early 1st century AD). To one side of the major gateway in the wall is a much smaller opening with a tapering top. This may be the "Eye of the Needle" (as in, it's easier for a camel to pass through it... (Matthew 19:24)). Whether or not that is the case, the discovery of this wall proved once and for all that the site of the Holy Sepulcher, and therefore of the supposed tomb of Christ, was outside the city walls at the time of the Crucifixion (a fact which many scholars had previously doubted). Although this does not prove the location of the tomb, it does lend credence to its identification. That would also make this particular gate the famous Gate of Judgment through which all condemned criminals were led to execution.

From there we popped across the street to the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer. Not to be deterred by a little exhaustion, we climbed the 177 steps to the top of the belltower, to look out on the city:

NOW WE WERE LOOKING DOWN ON THE PEOPLE WALKING ACROSS THE ROOFTOPS, AS WE HAD BEEN A FEW HOURS BEFORE!

FROM UP THERE WE GOT A REALLY FINE VIEW OF THE CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHER, WHICH I WILL TALK MORE ABOUT BELOW. OH HEY -- IS THAT SCAFFOLDING?

177 steps back down (very dizzying!), we decided to take advantage of another opportunity to see the city from a high angle. By the Jaffa Gate there is a tiny entrance that leads up to the top of the Old City walls. For a reasonable fee, you can walk two different stretches of the wall. Together, the two routes almost completely circumnavigate the city, and walking them is a fantastic way of grasping the layout of the often confusing city. However, it requires going up and down several small but steep flights of stairs, and in most places the only safety guard on the interior side of the wall is one of those ridiculous railings that hits you at just about the height where if you fell against it it would cause you to fall off the wall, rather than stop you. If anyone is prone to vertigo, this is probably not the activity for them. But for the rest of you, it is highly recommended! Because it was now a Friday afternoon and time for Muslim prayers, we had to avoid the section of the walls that passes near the Dome of the Rock, and above the Muslim Quarter. So we walked along the Christian and Jewish quarters instead, from the Jaffa Gate to the Dung Gate, near the Western Wall. So we saw mainly sites on the west and south sides of the Old City:

I WAS COMPLETELY UNAWARE THAT THERE WAS A WINDMILL IN THE MODERN CITY. IT WAS BUILT BY SIR MOSES MONTEFIORE, A RICH BRITISH JEW WHO FOUNDED THE FIRST JEWISH COMMUNITY OUTSIDE THE WALLS OF THE OLD CITY IN 1891. HE CALLED IT MISHKENOT SHAANANIM ("DWELLINGS OF TRANQUILITY"), BUT PEOPLE WERE AFRAID TO MOVE THERE BECAUSE THEY WERE AT THE MERCY OF BANDITS IF THEY LIVED OUTSIDE THE WALLS. MONTEFIORE WANTED THE RESIDENTS TO BE SELF-SUFFICIENT AND MILL THEIR OWN FLOUR. UNFORTUNATELY, THERE IS NOT ENOUGH WIND IN JERUSALEM TO DO THAT! NOW THE NEIGHBORHOOD IS VERY UPSCALE, AND IS CALLED YEMIN MOSHE.

When we got back down, we did what all guidebooks and US consular personnel advise against: we walked smack through the middle of the Muslim Quarter after noon prayers. And guess what? No problems whatsoever. Of course this is not always the case, and you have to be on your toes and very aware of the vibe in the area. But don't allow the overly cautious to keep you from doing something you really want to do, and we had a goal: to walk the Via Dolorosa with the Franciscan friars, who traverse the route every Friday afternoon.

But before meeting up with the friars, we visited briefly the Church of St. Anne. It was so amazing that we had to go back the next day and take another look, so I will save the description of the church and grounds until that point. But this first visit was interesting because I fell into a conversation with a priest who had been a parish priest for many years at a church not a mile away from my old apartment in North Hollywood. And there we both were in Jerusalem.
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Walking the Via Dolorosa, the path that Christ walked on the day of his Crucifixion, should be a highlight of anyone's trip to Jerusalem, whether they are Christian, or religious at all, or not. Although the walk can of course be made on your own, every Friday at 3 pm, the Franciscan friars lead a group in the walk, and in prayers and song along the way (if you don't know the Catholic mass in Latin, you are out of luck for following along though!). I was surprised by the size and diversity of the crowd that walked with us. In many ways what we saw during this hourlong experience encapsulated the experiences and tensions of living and worshiping in Jerusalem, home to so many faiths. Again, I hope some pictures and captions can tell the story.

THE MEETING-PLACE FOR THE VIA DOLOROSA WALK IS A MUSLIM SCHOOL COURTYARD. HERE, A CATHOLIC NUN GAZES OUT THE WINDOW OF THE COURTYARD AT THE NEARBY DOME OF THE ROCK, WHERE FRIDAY'S PRAYERS, THE MOST IMPORTANT OF THE MUSLIM WEEK, ARE BEING CARRIED OUT.

OUR GROUP INCLUDED NOT ONLY CHRISTIANS, BUT OTHER INTERESTED INDIVIDUALS. YOU CAN SEE FROM THE HEADGEAR OF THE CROWD THAT IT INCLUDES MUSLIMS AS WELL.

THE MONKS GATHER. NOTICE THE MUSLIM MAN ON THE RIGHT.

SEE WHAT HE IS CARRYING? A WHIP? HE ACCOMPANIED US THE ENTIRE WAY. WE DID NOT UNDERSTAND HIS SIGNIFICANCE AT THE TIME, ALTHOUGH WE WONDERED ABOUT IT. ONE OF OUR FRIENDS HERE IN ISTANBUL WHO LIVED IN JERUSALEM FOR MANY YEARS TOLD US THAT HE IS THERE TO KEEP THE PEACE. BECAUSE THE ROUTE OF THE VIA DOLOROSA PASSES THROUGH THE MUSLIM QUARTER, AND FRIDAY IS A PARTICULARLY SENSITIVE DAY, HIS WHIP ASSURES THAT NO ONE WILL BOTHER THE MONKS OR THEIR CROWD.

AS WE MOVED ALONG THE ROUTE, WE WOULD STOP AT EACH STATION OF THE CROSS, AND THE FRIARS WOULD RECITE, OVER A LOUDSPEAKER SYSTEM, A READING OR A PASSAGE OF SCRIPTURE RELATED TO THAT STATION (SOME STATIONS ARE NOT MENTIONED IN THE BIBLE). THEY RECITED FIRST IN SPANISH, THEN IN ENGLISH. AS WE MOVED BETWEEN STATIONS, THERE WAS SINGING AND CHANTING IN LATIN. INTERESTINGLY, AS WE PASSED THROUGH THE "TERRITORY" OF OTHER CHURCHES AND MONASTIC GROUPS, WE WERE JOINED BY MORE AND MORE MONKS AND NUNS OF DIFFERENT ORDERS. THEY WOULD BE STANDING READY AT WHICHEVER STATION WAS INSIDE THEIR CHURCH, THEN WOULD CONTINUE WITH US.

EACH STATION IS MARKED BY A SIGN AND INSCRIPTION. HERE YOU SEE THE TITLE "ST (WHICH STANDS FOR STATION): FOLLOWED BY THE FRANCISCAN "JERUSALEM CROSS" THAT IS MADE UP OF FIVE SMALLER CROSSES. THAT IS THEIR WAY OF INDICATING THAT THIS IS THE FIFTH STATION, THE SPOT WHERE CHRIST FELL AND SIMON OF CYRENE WAS FORCED TO CARRY HIS CROSS. FROM THIS POINT, THE VIA DOLOROSA ASCENDS THE HILL TO CALVARY. THE ACTUAL STATIONS ARE INSIDE SMALL CHAPELS OR CHURCHES. WE COULD NOT ALL FIT IN, SO MOST OF US STOOD OUTSIDE WHILE THE MONKS WENT IN, THEN PEEKED IN THE DOORS AS WE WALKED ON ALONG.

THE FINAL FIVE STATIONS ARE INSIDE THE CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHER. APPROACHING THE CHURCH, ONE OF THE LAST STATIONS OUTSIDE OF IT IS STATION NINE, WHERE CHRIST FELL FOR THE THIRD TIME. SOMEONE HAD LEANED A CROSS AGAINST THE WALL.

WHEN WE ENTERED THE COURTYARD ON THE BACK OF THE HOLY SEPULCHER, WHERE STATION TEN IS LOCATED, WE FOUND A LARGE NUMBER OF MONKS AND NUNS WAITING SILENTLY FOR US TO ARRIVE. IT WAS A VERY DIFFICULT AREA TO WALK INTO!

WHILE WE WAITED FOR THE LARGE GROUP OF PEOPLE TO FILE INTO THE COURTYARD, WE ADMIRED THE BUILDINGS ON THE ROOF. THESE SIMPLE STRUCTURES ARE ACTUALLY AN ETHIOPIAN MONASTERY. MULTIPLE RELIGIOUS GROUPS "OWN" VARIOUS PARTS OF THE HOLY SEPULCHER (MORE ON THAT LATER), AND THE ETHIOPIANS GOT BOOTED UP TO THE ROOF ON THE BACK WHEN THEY COULDN'T PAY THEIR TAXES TO THE OTTOMANS IN THE 17TH CENTURY, AND HERE THEY STAY!

TWO OF THE ETHIOPIAN MONKS

WE PASSED THROUGH THEIR CHAPEL ON OUR WAY INTO THE CHURCH (THE BACK WAY). IT IS MUCH MORE COLORFUL THAN ANY OF THE OTHER CHAPELS IN THE CHURCH.

I'm not going to describe the Stations inside the Holy Sepulcher at this point, because we went back the next morning, very early, to look around the church when there were not hundreds of people inside and I would rather "narrate" it and show you those pictures in another post. I am glad that we went twice though, because the first time it was a hive of activity and we needed to see it that way, too. Each of the monastic groups that owns one small portion of the church was trying to carry on a service, or a procession, all at the same time, and they kept bumping into each other! At one point I am certain that the Armenian monks organized a procession JUST BECAUSE the Roman Catholics were holding a mass in front of the tomb. There seemed to be no other reason for the Armenians to suddenly line up and march from one side of the church to the other, chanting loudly! The disagreements over who owns what part of the church have been so extreme that back in November, a fistfight broke out between the various groups of monks, and they started hitting each other over the head with chairs! Nothing like that happened while we were there, but they were definitely trying to outdo each other.

AN ARMENIAN ORTHODOX MONK PREPARES TO JOIN THE PROCESSION ACROSS THE CHURCH (WHERE THE CATHOLICS ARE HOLDING A SERVICE)

But we did have a very special opportunity on this first visit. As you can see in the pictures below, there were dozens and dozens of people lined up waiting to see if they would be allowed to go into the actual tomb of Christ.

THAT LARGE BOX IN THE CENTER IS THE SHRINE ENCLOSING THE ACTUAL TOMB. I WILL INCLUDE BETTER PHOTOS OF IT IN THE NEXT POST.

The rock of the mountain where the tomb was said to be was cut away by Constantine in the early 4th century, leaving only the tomb itself as a free-standing structure. Over the years, the box enclosing it became more and more ornate. All of the denominations own it in common, and take turns holding services inside and manning the door. Today, if you receive permission to enter that box-shaped shrine in the center of the church, you pass through a small antechamber and into the actual tomb itself, which is tiny: maybe seven feet long by three feet wide. Of course everyone wants this experience, but the monks who tend the tomb do not allow everyone to go inside. We were very dismayed when we saw how many people were waiting, and how few were going in. I walked over to one of the Armenian monks standing to one side and asked him if we would be able to go inside if we came back very early the next day, when there was not such a crowd. He just said, "I will take you in. I will tell them you are Armenian." So before we knew it, he swept us up past all of those people, spoke to the two monks guarding the door, and we were inside!

The first small antechamber inside holds a piece of rock that tradition says is part of the stone that was rolled away from the door of the tomb by an angel. Through a second small door is the actual burial chamber. There is just room to kneel by the side of the shelf that was carved for a body to be laid on it. There is no doubt that this was a tomb of roughly the 1st century AD, although the marble slab here now, which was intentionally cracked to make it unattractive to Ottoman looters, was only installed in 1555. While we may never know with certainty that it is actually the tomb in which Christ was placed, the experience is still a powerful one. Hanging a few feet above your head, if you look up, are dozens of red glass lamps, which give the effect that there is no ceiling, only a dark expanse with tiny lights. We only stayed inside for a minute or so, but we were allowed to touch the rock-cut shelf the way countless thousands of pilgrims have done for 1700 years before us. It was truly the experience of a lifetime!

IN THE TOMB OF MARY:

Holy Land Trip Day 8: Jerusalem Day 1 (How's that for a confusing title?)

2009-03-02T07:26:00.000-08:00

The first thing we realized when we started planning our days in Jerusalem was that there was no possible way we could see and do everything we would like to. Also, we had to be very careful about scheduling our days since we were to be there on a Friday and a Saturday. Friday afternoons mean closure of Muslim sites, Saturdays (from dawn to dusk) of Jewish sites. So it was imperative that we carefully structure our days. Of course since I am a huge stickler for organization anyway, this was right up my alley. And as you will see, in the end we did a pretty awesome job of seeing a lot of things! It helps that the Old city of Jerusalem is actually scarcely larger than an average city neighborhood. Religious sites and historical points from so many periods and cultures are stacked literally one on top of the other. Navigating is tricky because of the narrow, winding streets, but nothing is ever far away!

We did see so much, though, that to really write a good description and historical discussion of each of the many sites would take a long, long time, and no doubt tax the attention of readers. So a brief synopsis will have to be enough, followed by some pictures with explanatory labels.

We started in roughly chronological order, by spending the first day seeing sites related to the Hebrew history of Jerusalem. Our first stop was the Western
Wall (also known as the Wailing Wall). Most of you are very familiar with this monument. It is the one wall that remains of the Temple Mount on which the temple of Solomon once stood. That temple was replaced by a new one in 586 BC (the Second Temple), which was then massively reworked (if not completely rebuilt) by Herod the Great in the 1st century BC. Herod's temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE. The Western Wall is actually a Herodian retaining wall, which buttressed the massive artificial terrace on which the Second Temple stood. This is the holiest site in Judaism, and Jews come every day to mourn the loss of the Temple, and to pray for the day when it will be rebuilt.

A VIEW OF THE WESTERN WALL

THE MEN'S SIDE OF THE WALL. ONLY JEWISH MEN ARE ALLOWED INTO THIS AREA (OR AT LEAST WE DIDN'T SEE ANYONE WHO WASN'T OBVIOUSLY JEWISH, SO PETER DIDN'T EVEN TRY TO GET THROUGH THE SECURITY)

SOME DEVOUT JEWS COME TO THE WALL EVERY DAY TO RECITE THE ENTIRE BOOK OF PSALMS

I WAS ABLE TO ENTER THE WOMENS' SIDE AND APPROACH THE WALL. IT WAS A VERY MOVING EXPERIENCE. PETER TOOK A PICTURE OF ME ON MY WAY BACK.

HERE YOU CAN READ ABOUT THE WESTERN WALL IN THE WORDS OF THE JEWISH RELIGIOUS AUTHORITIES

The top of the Temple Mount is now taken up by the massive complex of the Dome of the Rock, the third holiest site in Islam. Although non-Muslims are no longer allowed inside the actual mosque, we were free to wander the expansive grounds, which we had mostly to ourselves (a very rare occurrence).

AS WE APPROACHED THE HARAM ESH-SHARIF (THE TEMPLE MOUNT), PETER TOOK THIS GREAT PICTURE OF A YOUNG MAN GIVING AN OFFERING TO AN ELDERLY WOMAN.

TO PROVE WE HAD THE PLACE TO OURSELVES...I'M THE LITTLE SPECK BY THE DOME OF THE ROCK. THIS MUST BE A RARE PICTURE TO HAVE FROM A TRIP TO JERUSALEM!

PETER UNDER THE UNDER THE DOME OF THE CHAIN, THE LOCATION OF WHICH IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HARAM ESH-SHARIF INDICATES THE CENTER OF THE ENTIRE WORLD (ACCORDING TO MUSLIM TRADITION)

HERE I AM UNDER THE DOME. WHAT ARE WE LOOKING AT THAT IS SO INTERESTING?

THIS 13TH CENTURY TILING ON THE DOME, WHICH SOME SAY IS MORE MAGNIFICIENT THAN THE WORK ON THE INTERIOR OF THE DOME OF THE ROCK ITSELF.

WE MADE OUR WAY TO AN AREA THAT IS TECHNICALLY OFF-LIMITS: THE "GOLDEN GATE." ACCORDING TO JEWISH TRADITION, THIS IS THE GATE THROUGH WHICH THE MESSIAH WILL ENTER THE CITY; CHRIST PASSED THROUGH IT DURING THE TRIUMPHAL ENTRY. IT WAS SEALED UP BY THE MUSLIMS IN THE 7TH CENTURY (FOR OBVIOUS REASONS). I HAVE NO IDEA WHY THERE IS A WHEELCHAIR IN THERE.

AS HAS HAPPENED MANY TIMES IN THE PAST, WE FOUND OURSELVES ACCOMPANIED BY TWO IMPROMPTU "GUIDES." THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO BE IN SCHOOL (OR AT LEAST THERE WERE PLENTY OF BOYS THEIR AGE THAT WE COULD SEE THROUGH THE DOORS OF THE MEDRESES WERE IN CLASS), BUT THEY PREFERRED TO WALK WITH US AROUND THE HARAM.

I TOOK THIS PICTURE OF A LITTLE BOY PLAYING IN ONE OF THE PAVILIONS ON THE HARAM. I JUST THINK IT'S CUTE.

A VIEW FROM THE TEMPLE MOUNT. THIS IS A SIGNIFICANT VANTAGE POINT. THE ARCHES IN THE FOREGROUND ARE PART OF ONE OF THE "QANATIR", THE ARCHWAYS THAT MARK THE STAIRWAYS UP TO THE PLATFORM OF THE DOME OF THE ROCK. THEY ARE ALSO CALLED "MAWAZIN" WHICH MEANS "SCALES." ACCORDING TO MUSLIM TRADITION, GOD WILL HANG THE SCALES HE USES TO WEIGH SOULS ON THE DAY OF JUDGMENT FROM THESE ARCHES. THROUGH THE ARCHES YOU SEE THE MOUNT OF OLIVES, COVERED IN JEWISH TOMBSTONES. JEWISH TRADITION STATES THAT IT IS IN THE VALLEY OF JEHOSHAPHAT, BETWEEN THE TEMPLE MOUNT AND THE MOUNT OF OLIVES, THAT THE SOULS OF MANKIND WILL BE RESURRECTED ON JUDGMENT DAY.

After this brief detour into the Muslim world, we turned our attention to the early history of Jerusalem. We visited the Ariel Center for Jerusalem in the First Temple Period. There, a very knowledgeable young woman gave us a brief private lecture on the history of the earlier temple, and the Jewish people in the Holy Land in general. We felt a bit awkward, but because we were pressed for time I eventually broke into her excellent presentation and told her that we were archaeologists, so she skipped to the "good stuff" and took us to see the model of the city as it appeared at the time of King David (as far as archaeologists can tell). This was an extremely educational museum, although there were no real artifacts to see. But we set off with a much better knowledge what was under our feet, and how Roman Jerusalem, which is much more visible to the eye, relates to the Jerusalem of the time of the Prophets and Kings.

At her direction we passed by a monument which is known as the Broad Wall. It was excavated not too long ago. It is from the First Temple period, possibly part of an extension fortification that the Bible says was completed by King Hezekiah in what historians believe was the 8th century BC, to enclose a new neighborhood constructed to house refugees of the Assyrian invasion in 722. The discovery of this wall proved once and for all that the city was larger at that early date than most historians and archaeologists assumed it could have been.

THE BROAD WALL

Our next stop was the Wohl Archaeological Museum, which was built over the excavation of several houses from the time of Herod and later, which apparently belonged to members of the priestly upper-class. Some show the tell-tale signs of having been burned when the Romans sacked the city in 70 AD.

We continued to the Burnt House museum, which is a similar museum built over another house that was burned by the Romans. There is some film they show that is a completely fabricated story of the people who might have lived there. We were completely unimpressed with the site, and frustrated when the film was not being started although we were the only people in the one-room museum, so we left. Of all the things we saw on this trip, this is probably the one thing we would NOT recommend to anyone!

More archaeology awaited us at the Jerusalem Archaeological Park, which is located at the foot of the Temple Mount. This park contains excavations from multiple periods, from the Second Temple period to an Ottoman palace garden. Here are a couple of the highlights (in our opinion):

THE STONES JUTTING OUT FROM THE WALL ARE CALLED "ROBINSON'S ARCH" FOR THE ARCHAEOLOGIST THAT IDENTIFIED THEIR FUNCTION. THEY SUPPORTED THE MASSIVE STAIRS TO THE TOP OF THE TEMPLE MOUNT, AS ILLUSTRATED IN THE IMAGE BELOW:

THESE MASSIVE STONES WERE CAST DOWN FROM THE TEMPLE MOUNT WHEN THE ROMANS DESTROYED THE TEMPLE IN AD 70. IT IS DIFFICULT NOT TO THINK OF WHAT JESUS SAID ABOUT THE TEMPLE WHEN HE STOOD THERE THREE DECADES BEFORE: "NOT ONE STONE HERE WILL BE LEFT ON ANOTHER; EVERY ONE WILL BE THROWN DOWN" (MARK 13:2). THE WALL BEHIND ME IS A CONTINUATION OF THE WESTERN WALL, SOUTH OF THE AREA USED FOR JEWISH PRAYER.

Our next stop was The Citadel, which is now the home of the Tower of David Museum of the HIstory of Jerusalem. The present citadel is from the 14th century, but excavations have revealed remains on the site from at least the second century BC. It is highly probable that a fortress was here in the time of Herod, and possible that this was the site of the trial and condemnation of Christ. I confess to being confused here. Site fatigue had set in a bit, and there was so much to see related to so many time periods. We saw a very odd animated film on the entire history of Jerusalem, and walked through many different exhibits on various historical moments. Not much of it sank in. But what we DID get was an excellent view of the New City when we climbed one of the Citadel towers.

THERE ARE LAYERS FROM MORE THAN A THOUSAND YEARS OF HISTORY IN THIS SHOT: THE TIME OF THE KINGS OF ISRAEL, OF HEROD, OF THE CRUSADERS AND THE OTTOMANS. WE WERE TOO TIRED TO FIGURE THEM OUT.

MAYBE NOT THE MOST BEAUTIFUL THING WE SAW FROM THE CITADEL TOWER, BUT INTERESTING ANYWAY! SOMEONE WAS CAMPING ON A NEARBY ROOF.

After a quick lunch, we dashed to catch a cab out into the modern city, to the Israel Museum, which houses the magnificent archaeological collections put together from finds all through Israel. We were looking forward to seeing Hittite, Canaanite, Hebrew and other objects, many taken from sites we had already visited. But it was not to be. Apparently, the museum is closed until 2010! This was probably the most disappointing moment of the trip.

HOWEVER, one part of the museum remained open: the Shrine of the Book. This remarkable building houses the Dead Sea Scrolls and other objects discovered at Qumran, on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea. Here a monastic group, the Essenes, lived and studied. It turned out to be perhaps one of the best museum exhibits either one of us had ever seen. Although we could not photograph what was inside, we highly recommend that anyone who has an opportunity make the trip. It is really remarkable what has survived in the hot, dry desert around Qumran. For example, we have both seen hundreds and hundreds of clay lamps from the Roman period, but here we saw something entirely new: a clay lamp with the ORIGINAL WICK still in it! One highlight of the exhibition is the Isaiah Scroll, a complete copy of the book of Isaiah dating from 100 BC. Although all of the Scrolls are not on display (some are traveling the world, so many of you may have a chance to see them in a museum near you!), a copy (or two, or three) in a variety of languages (Greek and Aramaic as well as Hebrew) of every book of the Old Testament, with the exception of Nehemiah and Esther, were found at Qumran. This of course was of immense importance in understanding the development of the Hebrew Bible.

THE EXTERIOR OF THE "SHRINE OF THE BOOK." IT IS DESIGNED IN THE SHAPE OF A LID FROM ONE OF THE JARS IN WHICH THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS WERE FOUND. THE CONSTANTLY FALLING WATER SYMBOLIZES THE RITUAL PURITY IN WHICH THE ESSENES ATTEMPTED TO LIVE. YOU CAN HEAR THE WATER WHEN YOU ARE INSIDE LOOKING AT THE SCROLLS AND IT IS A *VERY* NICE EFFECT!

THIS WAS ON DISPLAY OUTSIDE THE MUSEUM: STONE PIPING FROM THE ROMAN PERIOD. THIS PICTURE IS FOR YOU, JIM!

We then returned to the Old City and managed to squeeze in a few more sites, believe it or not! They are all on Mt. Zion, which is just outside the Old City walls, to the east. Many scholars (and non-scholars) believe that the Last Supper occurred somewhere on this mount, although opinion is divided as to where.

The first site we visited was the Tomb of David. Although there is absolutely nothing to suggest that this is really the tomb of King David, the tradition is strong enough that it is an extremely holy site for both Jews and Muslims (who consider David a Prophet). During the period between 1948 and 1967, when Jordan controlled the Old City and Jews were restricted from visiting the Western Wall, they came here instead. It is not an impressive site visually. Men and women visit different sides of the room, separated by a curtain. Interestingly, a second tradition names this site as the room in which Christ washed his Disciples' feet after the Last Supper (John 1: 1-17).

THE WOMEN'S SIDE OF THE TOMB OF DAVID

OUR "GUIDE" INSISTED ON TAKING OUR PICTURE OUTSIDE THE TOMB. WE THOUGHT IT WAS WEIRD.

This association is linked to the tradition that the room directly above this is the Hall of the Last Supper. I am unsure how far back the tradition goes, but the Crusaders believed it enough to build a church on the spot, so what you can visit today is a Gothic hall, which the Muslims later converted into a mosque. Today it is nothing more than a tourist site. I tend to favor another site as the probable location of the Last Supper, but more on that in a later post.

THE "HALL OF THE LAST SUPPER" WITH ITS GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE.

Directly next door to the Hall of the Last Supper is the gorgeous Church of the Dormition, built on the supposed site of the death (the "dormition" or "Falling Asleep") of Mary. This site, like others in the area, has no proof of being the location of the event with which it is associated, but archaeological evidence suggests that there was a church on this spot as early as the fourth century (so shortly after Christianity became the official religion of the Roman empire, which suggests that this was a highly sanctified site for early Christians), and definitely by the sixth century. The modern church was built on the order of Kaiser Wilhelm II in the early 20th century. We had very little time inside, as it was closing up when we arrived, but we were able to appreciate beautiful views of its belltower over the following days (these will appear in later posts).

THE CHURCH OF THE DORMITION

AN INTERIOR SHOT, FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH

ONE OF THE MOSAICS INSIDE THE CHURCH. I JUST THOUGHT THIS PICTURE TURNED OUT NICELY!

It was a very full first day, but we were beginning to get our bearings. After a meal at a traditional Armenian restaurant, we called it a relatively early night, because we had a lot planned for the following day!

Holy Land Trip Day 7: West Coast of Israel

2009-03-01T04:49:00.001-08:00

After spending another night in Nazareth, and picking up our rental car (which we had left parked at the hotel there, which was, incredibly, easier and just as cheap as renting a second car upon our return to Israel), we left early and drove to the west coast, to the town of Akko

Akko is more famous by its earlier name, Acre, and is probably best known as the last stronghold of the Crusaders to withstand Arab conquest. It provided a port through which the Crusaders could communicate with and receive supplies from Europe. Saladin conquered it at one point, but Richard the Lionheart recaptured it and it was the last of the Crusader outposts to fall. It was also important under the Ottomans, and one of its proudest moments came when the Ottoman governor Ahmed Pasha el-Jazzar was able to withstand a vicious siege by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1799.

It is a very pleasant city. We spent all of our time in the Old City, which is surounded by high walls. Our main goal was to visit the Crusader city, which preserves remains of the Crusader fortress (heavily restored), including halls of individual orders of knights, as well as a large refectory where it is very likely that Marco Polo at one time dined.

THE REFECTORY HALL OF THE CRUSADER FORTRESS

You can also walk quite a long distance through an underground Crusader tunnel, with water rushing past beneath your feet.

We also enjoyed walking along the walls of the Old City, which are the original Cursader walls, rebuilt and further fortified under the Ottomans. There are signs along the way indicating where decisive moments in the defeat of Napoleon took place.

It was also very pleasant to walk along the sea here and imagine what it must have been like to live here during Crusader times, watching for reinforcements and supplies to arrive from Europe.

VIEW OF THE HARBOR OF AKKO (ACRE)

FISHING BOATS IN THE HARBOR OF AKKO

We also had a great lunch here, at a place that serves nothing but hummus (it's called Humous Sa'eid and is found in the bustling old covered market in the Old City). There was a line out the door. Actually, out two doors, one on either side of the business, but it moved quickly and we ate the best hummus I have ever had in my life, elbow to elbow with tourists, locals, and Israeli soldiers.

From Akko our plan was to drive on down the coast to the site of Roman Caesarea. This entailed passing through Haifa, and although there is much to see in that city, such as Mt. Carmel, we had decided we did not have time to stop. Fate had other plans, however, and as we found ourselves more and more lost and disoriented trying to "pass through," I suddenly looked up from the map and realized that we were passing one of the most important landmarks of the city: the gorgeous Baha'i Temple and Gardens. This is the headquarters of the Baha'i faith. One of our fellow Fellows here at the RCAC is Baha'i, and had suggested that we see it. When we told him we did not think we had time, he was a bit disappointed. So we were happy to pull over, take some photos, and show him when we got back that, like it or not, we had seen the site! It is incredibly beautifully landscaped:

We finally found our way out of Haifa and back onto the main highway south along the coast. We arrived at the site of Caesarea Maritima (Caesarea on the Sea) in plenty of time to get in and look around. We had heard wonderful things about the site from Asa, another Fellow, who has excavated there. We had also eagerly read up on it.

THE ROMAN THEATER AT CAESAREA MARITIMA

Caesarea was founded by Herod the Great on the site of an earlier Phoenician port, and he built many magnificent buildings there. The most important of his projects was a spectacular harbor (built between approximately 22 and 9 BC), constructed where there was no natural breakwater. It was a marvel of construction, using poured concrete put into place by divers (the Romans had devised a mixture of concrete that could harden underwater). Fun fact: the term for professional divers in Latin was "urinatores" because they spent so much time underwater without bothering to come out that they...well, we'll let you figure the rest out.

The harbor largely sanK over the course of centuries, and although it was described in ancient texts, archaeologists doubted for a long time that the Roman engineers had been capable of executing a feat of its magnitude. Eventually, however, underwater archaeologists did prove that the ancient descriptions were correct. Those with diving certifications can now swim amongst the ruins and check the construction out for themselves.

Famous historical figures who hailed from Caesarea include Eusebius (the historian and friend of Constantine the Great), and one of the most important Church Fathers, Origen. Caesarea also figures prominently in several New Testament passages, including the story of the centurion Cornelius (Acts 10). We also know that Philip the Evangelist lived here for a time (Acts 21), and that it was here where Paul was confined by Herod for awhile before requesting to invoke his right as a Roman citizen to be tried in Rome before the emperor (who had him executed) (Acts 23).

In many ways, the site of Caesarea was very disappointing, though. In recent years it has been made into a "destination" that has nothing to do with archaeology.

A SUPER-CREEPY MODERN STATUE INSTALLED IN THE SITE OF CAESAREA

Shops, restaurants, bars, and boutiques have been opened amongst the ruins, and trendy Israelis were walking their dogs in the Roman hippodrome:

A tad bit deflated, we made our way back to the main gate to leave and discovered that we were locked in!

YES, WE HAVE TO CLIMB THAT FENCE!

Apparently we had missed the exit time, and the staff had closed up shop. There was one young staffer still outside, but she had no keys. Unlike at most sites, there was no revolving gate that will let you out but not back in. We had two choices: walk up the beach for a few miles to the far northern edge of the site, or climb the fence. Climb it was!

Before leaving the site, we drove north along the beach to see one of the other engineering marvels of the site: a dual aquaduct. If you look closely at the pictures, you can see that what looks like one construction is really two. Apparently, Herod constructed the first (on the left), and the emperor Hadrian later doubled its capacity by building a second flush against it. This is not found anywhere else in the Roman world (to my knowledge), and survives here for a great distance, running along a popular beach.

THE SUN SETS ON THE BEACH OUTSIDE CAESAREA

After leaving Caesarea we drove back to Ben Gurion airport to return our car and catch a shuttle to our final destination, Jerusalem! The shuttle ride in was quite interesting. I had always picture arriving to the Old City of Jerusalem as some sort of mystical experience, but suddenly here we were driving in a madly swerving van full of an interesting mix of people -- European tourists, a Hasidic Jew who looked completely traditional and local, but pulled out his cell phone and made a call with a thick New York accent. Barreling through the traffic of modern Jerusalem with Stevie Wonder's "Part-time Lover" blaring on the radio, it was not QUITE what I had always imagined. But once we were finished driving around trying to find the home of the sister of one of the elderly Jewish ladies on the van (she could only remember that her sister's house was "old"!), we were finally dropped off outside the Jaffa Gate, tired and a bit shell-shocked, and walked into the Old City around midnight to find the monastery where we would be staying. Tomorrow we would see Jerusalem!

Holy Land Trip Day 6: The Rest of Jordan

2009-02-28T04:52:00.000-08:00

This morning we woke up to very cold temperatures and a lot of fog. Our plan was to leave Madaba and drive north, past Amman, up to Jerash, the site of ancient Roman Gerasa. Remarkably, we found our way out of town without much trouble, despite fog so thick we could see only a few feet. It was slow going for awhile, but as the sun managed to come out and burn off the fog it turned into a pleasant drive.

The northwestern part of Jordan is the most lush and greenest section of the country. It makes quite a contrast to the desert mountains we passed through on the way down to Petra. Our only adventure on the way was getting "pulled over" by Jordanian traffic police. They do not chase after people in patrol cars, but somehow they identify the cars they wish to stop, and have a partial roadblock set up further up the highway at which they step out and wave the cars down. We were picked out and stopped, but we are not sure for what because when the officer realized we did not speak Arabic, he gave up on trying to communicate whatever it was we were doing wrong. We are lucky we did not get a ticket!

It takes a couple of hours to make it from Madaba to Jerash, but once we got there, we had no trouble finding the archaeological site. It sits directly in the middle of town, beside the highway, surrounded by everything modern in the highly polluted, dirty town of Jerash:

The site itself is fairly spectacular. Of course, we were still buzzing from Petra, and it can't compare to that, but as Roman sites go it is fairly well-preserved. The pollution and fog settling into the hills around the city even made for a picturesque, if not healthy, scene:

The monumental entrance to the ancient city, a gate built in honor of the emperor Hadrian, for whom Gerasa was a favorite city, is quite impressive.

PETER CHECKS OUT HADRIAN'S ARCH

OF COURSE THERE HAS TO BE SCAFFOLDING!

The first thing you see after passing through that arch is the hippodrome for chariot races. During the high season, there are chariot races and Roman military parades put on by costumed actors here a couple of times a day.

CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS IS THE BEST PICTURE WE HAVE OF THE HIPPODROME?

A STREET IN JERASH

PETER TAKES A SEAT

Other excellent sites include the Temple of Artemis, where we came upon a few makeshift stalls of locals selling jewelry and mint tea, which we enjoyed in the shade of the ancient columns alongside the few other tourists who had come that day.

THE TEA SELLERS SET-UP IN THE TEMPLE OF ARTEMIS

The most iconic view of Gerasa is an oval-shaped plaza, unique in the Roman world, surrounded by 160 Ionic columns:

We also went a bit further afield to see the Byzantine Church of St. George, whose remarkable mosaic floors are unfortunately sitting open to the elements, inviting more damage. These floors display excellent example of the "pixellation" of the mosaics by Muslims in later periods (see Holy Land Day 3: On to Jordan).

The most unusual thing that we saw in Gerash was not, however, an ancient monument. We had wandered into the theater, and while we were looking around, a man in a Jordanian military uniform came in with bagpipes and began playing. We were definitely not expecting that!

After a few hours at Gerash, we made the trip back to Amman, to return our rental car and catch the bus back to Israel. On the way we saw an interesting sight. An apparently highly devout Muslim man, prayer time upon him, had pulled his car over to the side of the busy mountain highway, taken out his prayer rug, and was praying on the shoulder of the road, cars whizzing past. Now that is dedication!

We got back to Amman in plenty of time to return our car, or so we thought. We had been given directions back to the rental agency by the agent who gave us our car, but for some reason he thought we would come in from Jerash on a different highway. Since that did not happen, his directions were useless to us. We had a map with us, but could not find a street that was marked with the same name as any streets on the map. We stopped in a McDonald's, where none of the workers could identify where we were on the map. They instructed us to go to a different neighborhood and that maybe someone there would know the area we were looking for. So we drove to another neighborhood, where we stopped at a Burger King. Again, everyone said we were not in the correct neighborhood, and no one could point to where we WERE on a map! But one of the guys behind the counter took pity on us and called the rental agency, who gave us directions through him. We finally made it back to the agency, but with only 20 minutes left to make it to the rendezvous with the bus! One of the men from the rental agency knew where the hotel where the bus originated was, and offered to drive us. We got to within a few dozen yards of the place, but were caught on the wrong side of a very busy divided street and had to drive another half mile until a turnaround, where the traffic light was out and the cop directing traffic (a woman, much to our surprise) was doing a terrible job and not allowing anyone to turn. It was a very nervous twenty minutes, but we finally did make it to the bus with not a moment to spare. All in all, it took us two hours from the time we arrived back in Amman to the time we found the bus. I think we were both about to pass out from the stress! (Again, Peter gets major bonus points for being able to navigate Amman, even though we didn't know where we were going!)

The bus ride back to the Israeli border was uneventful. The only site of note that we passed was Gadara, which sits right on the border of Jordan and Israel, in a very lush valley. This was the site of the miracle that Christ performed in which he caused demons (a group of them, who called themselves Legion) to move from the body of a man they were possessing into a flock of pigs, all 2000 of whom then fled off a cliff edge. (Matt 8:28; Mark 5:1; Luke 8:26).

But when we re-entered Israel, we had an unfortunate incident. The young woman border control agent (very young, perhaps 19) who was checking our passports agreed not to stamp them as we asked. But she then became distracted and "accidentally" stamped my passport. So now any plans to go to Syria in the near future are shattered, since I must either acquire a second passport or wait until the end of this trip and request a new one (my research permissions for the remainder of my time in Turkey are in the current one, so I cannot get rid of it). This was a very frustrating moment for me because we had faced so much questioning during the other four border crossings we had already made, and it was disappointing that just because the young woman was not paying attention, it had all been for nothing and now I will have to go through the lengthy and potentially expensive process of obtaining a new (or second) passport.

But I suppose, all things considered, we should be glad that we made it back from Jordan to Israel that day at all!

Holy Land Trip Day 5: Petra!

2009-02-14T06:58:00.001-08:00

Oh boy, this post is going to be difficult to write. Let me start by saying that Peter and I both agree that Petra is a spot that completely met all of our expectations. That is really saying a lot. It is beautiful, atmospheric, and really, really impressive. If it's not already on your list of things to see, it absolutely should be!

I'm going to use the space to post more than the usual number of pictures, since they really convey best the sense of the place. I'll put in captions where I think they are necessary.

But a LITTLE background (I just can't help myself). Petra, sometimes called the "Rose-Red City" was dug primarily out of the sheer rock of the canyons and gorges just north of the Wadi Rum desert in southern Petra. It was constructed by a civilization called the Nabateans. Historians don't know exactly where they came from, but they took over this area from the Edomites. They inhabited the site of Petra, their capital, from approximately the 3rd century BC through the 1st century AD, when the Romans moved in, made them allies, then more or less absorbed them (apparently). At the height of its glory, the city housed probably 20,000 people. The Nabateans were obviously a very advanced civilization, as you can see plainly from looking at their buildings. They also were a literate society, and archaeologists and linguists have deciphered their writing, the cursive form of which was actually the basis for the modern Arabic alphabet. We know who their gods and goddesses were, and a little bit about their way of life.

Most of the monuments you will see in these pictures were constructed by the Nabateans in the 1st century BC, although the theater is later, from the Roman period, as are a few of the temples. Also, most of what you will see are tombs and structures related to religion.

The people in the pictures are Bedouins. They have inhabited this area for centuries. In the 1980s, the Jordanian government built a nice little community for them outside the Petra park, but about 35 families have moved back into the park and live in some of the Nabatean rock-cut constructions scattered throughout the area. The others come into the park everyday. They make their living by selling handicrafts to the tourists, and giving rides on horses, donkeys and camels. It's very tempting to take them up on those -- the site is huge! Before you even really get in, it is a mile on foot from the gate to the city: a half mile through a valley and another half mile through the siq (see below). I don't know how many miles we walked (and climbed) that day, but we certainly got our exercise.

So now I'll start your "tour" of the site, and post the pictures in the order that we visited the various areas. I'll also write a few impressions here and there:

WALKING THROUGH THE SIQ, YOU CAN ADMIRE THE NABATEANS' ENGINEERING ABILITY: SEE THE WATER TROUGHS THAT RUN ALONG BOTH SIDES? IT GOES ALL THE WAY FROM A DAM IN THE VALLEY INTO THE CITY. IT WAS COMPLETELY ENCLOSED LIKE A MODERN PIPE, BUT IS NOW OPEN. THE PAVING STONES ARE ALSO ORIGINAL!

THE SIQ GETS NARROWER AND NARROWER, AND DARKER AND DARKER, THEN SUDDENLY, THERE IT IS! THE "TREASURY", THE MOST FAMOUS MONUMENT IN PETRA.

OK, SO NOT ALL BEDOUINS RIDE CAMELS AND DONKEYS. BUT THE TRUCK DOES GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF THE SCALE!

We were almost the first people there -- two young men made it in ahead of us, but we never saw them again. Until noon when we came down to the main area for lunch, we had the place mostly to ourselves, besides the Bedouins. That is really rare!

SOME BEDOUINS IN FRONT OF ONE OF THE TOMBS THAT IS NOW UNDER SCAFFOLDING (OF COURSE).

PETRA TAXI SERVICE

THIS HAS TO BE THE WORST JOB IN THE PLACE

The first thing we did was climb to the "High Place of Sacrifice." As advertised, it was high. Along the way, we acquired a kitty "guide" who climbed with us most of the way in return for some cheese and water.

Here are some views of, and from, the High Place of Sacrifice:

THE TOMB OF AARON ON THE HIGHEST MOUNTAIN IN PETRA: THREE HOURS BY HORSE PLUS A THREE HOUR CLIMB AWAY.

On our way back down by a different route, we saw quite a few monuments, and met some Bedouins:

PETER INSPECTS THE TRICLINIUM TOMB

THE INTERIOR OF THE TRICLINIUM IS CARVED, TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE BEAUTIFUL NATURAL PATTERNS IN THE ROCKS

THE NABATEANS ALSO CARVED IMAGES INTO THE CLIFF FACES. THIS IS THEIR GODESS, AL-UZZA, WHO HAD THE FORM OF A LION.

Sometimes, as we climbed the rocks, we heard sounds that we could not identify, and we could not see any source for them. They might have been birds, animals, or maybe even the Bedouins. They must have some language they can use to communicate over a great distance in these canyons. There is also a certain type of bird that lives there that mimics the sound of a laughing child, so we often did not know what we were listening to. The donkeys and camels also often made loud noises that echoed around off the rocks.

We saw many Bedouin women and their children. Many of the women have tattooed faces.

THIS BEDOUIN GIRL WAS SORTING ROCKS TO SELL TO TOURISTS

HER FAMILY ALSO HAD A BABY GOAT THAT THEY WERE MILKING WITH A BOTTLE

THIS IS A VIEW FROM THE OLD MUSEUM, WHICH IS IN ONE OF THE CAVE-STRUCTURES. I LIKE IT BECAUSE IT PROVES HOW FEW PEOPLE WERE THERE THAT DAY. FEBRUARY IS THE PERFECT TIME TO VISIT!

After a break for an awesome buffet meal, we were ready for another adventurous climb, this one up more than 800 stairs (some original, carved Nabatean stairs, some put in for the benefit of modern tourists). Our goal this time was the largest monument in Petra, know as the Monastery. It is on another peak opposite the High Place of Sacrifice. There were more tourists making this trek than to the High Place, but we still had some of the trail to ourselves. We could have taken donkeys, but we didn't.

It is difficult to describe what it is like to come to the top of the mountain, turn a corner, and see this massive construction. It may have been a temple, and it was almost definitely used as a church after the Nabateans converted to Christianity in the 4th century -- there are many crosses carved on the inside, although we did not go in.

CAN YOU FIND ME?

THERE I AM! I WAS IMPRESSED WITH MYSELF FOR CLIMBING THAT BIG ROCK UNTIL I SAW THIS YOUNG BEDOUIN GUY:

LOOK AT THE PICTURES OF THE MONASTERY AGAIN. HE IS HANGING FROM THE VERY TOP! SHOWOFF!

From There, there was only one place we could go:

A JORDANIAN SCARECROW?

From the viewpoint at the "End of the World" we could see the Arabian Desert stretching out just beyond the mountains. That adventure will have to wait for another trip.

YOU CAN SEE THE ARABIAN DESERT BEYOND THE MOUNTAINS.

By the end of the day we again had the place almost to ourselves, again except for the Bedouins:

WAIT A MINUTE...THIS ISN'T QUITE RIGHT!

DOING HOMEWORK ON THE WAY HOME ON THE "SCHOOLBUS"

We took the advice of a young Bedouin and climbed to the platform of one of the Royal Tombs to watch the sun set. We were not the only ones with the idea:

WATCHING THE SUNSET FROM THE ROYAL TOMBS

HAVING A SMOKE AT DAY'S END

Below us, a Bedouin boy sauntered by on his donkey, playing on some kind of flute. Besides that and the sounds of the camels who were restive at the end of the day, it was completely peaceful. After the sun went below the horizon, we made our way back to the entrance. By the time we were halfway back through the siq it was almost completely dark and very, very still. Thankfully, it was light enough outside the canyon to easily find our way back along the road to the visitor's center. Along the way we turned down one last offer for a horseback ride to the gate -- VERY tempting at that point! When we got back to the entrance, we had to stop for one more picture:

ME AND MY HERO!

We left Wadi Musa right away and drove back to Madaba for the night. We took the Desert Highway this time, because we knew it was straight, and thought it would be faster. We had no idea that it had speed bumps every few miles. Imagine, a highway with speed bumps! Also, the guy at our hostel had told us there would be somewhere to stop and eat on the way. Sure, if you count butcher shops with big raw hunks of eat hanging in the windows. Apparently there is no concept of fast food in Jordan, or of having any kind of services along the main highway. We did not want to wander off into a little town in the dark with no idea of where we were going, so we stuck it out and got back to Madaba almost 3 hours later, very hungry and kind of cranky. The owner of our hotel was kind enough to order food sent over for us. I guess that's the kind of service you get when you are the only guests in the place.

Holy Land Trip Day 4: Tour of Jordan, North to South!

2009-02-13T05:43:00.001-08:00

This was the day we drove from Madaba to Wadi Musa (the little town outside of Petra), stopping along the way. As with our day in Galilee, we had picked out quite a few sites we wanted to visit en route, and we fully expected that we might not be able to make them all. But we did!

We left Madaba fairly early, and our first stop was a detour west off the King's Highway, which we intended to take all the way to Wadi Musa. But first we wanted to go to the top of Mt. Nebo. This was the spot from which the Bible says God showed Moses the Promised Land of Canaan before he died: "Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab to the top of Pisgah, across from Jericho. There the LORD showed him the whole land—from Gilead to Dan, all of Naphtali, the territory of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the western sea, the Negev and the whole region from the Valley of Jericho, the City of Palms, as far as Zoar. Then the LORD said to him, "This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said, 'I will give it to your descendants.' I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it." (Deuteronomy 34).

These are exactly the areas that you can see today from the mountaintop. Although it was raining slightly when we arrived, we could still see remarkably far, and as it cleared up a bit, the clouds made fantastic patterns of shadows on the hills and valley. It was really striking:

Archaeologists have been working there for quite some time, uncovering evidence of Byzantine churches dedicated to the memory of Moses. The excavation was closed when we were there, but we were mostly there for the view, so it didn't really matter too much. There was an interesting, but small, exhibition of things related to the history of the excavations. I found these two pictures quite amusing:

THE FIRST ARCHAEOLOGICAL TEAM THAT WORKED HERE

THIS ONE WAS LABELED "FIRST DAY IN THE FIELD." THEY SURE HAVE THEIR WORK CUT OUT FOR THEM!

From Nebo, we doubled back to join the King's Highway and got lost (again) briefly in Madaba. I did see a funny sign there while we were wandering around, and although I did not get a picture of it, I thought some of you might find it amusing. It was an advertisement for a Turkish bath in town proudly touting its "Tot Tiled Floor!"

We drove on to another site with Biblical associations, the hilltop fortress of Herod known as Machaerus. Tradition says that this was the spot where the daughter of Herodias danced for Herod the Great and, captivated with her, he promised her anything she wanted. At the urging of her mother, the girl asked for the head of John the Baptist on a plate, and it was here that legend says Herod had him executed and the head presented to his wife and her daughter. (The Biblical passages are Matthew 14: 1-12 and Mark 6: 14-29, although no specific location is given for the events).

It is an astonishing site. Incredibly, it is not even mentioned in the "Eyewitness Travel" guidebook we had, but we had seen it in a book on Jordan in the library here, and were able to find it on another map of the country besides the one in the guide, but we were basically on our own to find it. I get the idea that it is COMPLETELY off the normal tourist itinerary (it's a shame), since we had to drive a fair distance off the highway to reach it. Then we became confused in a village because we did not realize that the site would be marked as a "Shrine of the Prophet Yahya" (now we know that's John the Baptist to Muslims). When we found the parking lot, we realized that the fortress itself was high on a lonely mountaintop, and it would require some serious uphill hiking to reach it!

VIEW OF MACHAERUS FROM THE PARKING LOT -- CAN YOU SEE IT ON TOP OF THE FLAT MOUNTAINTOP THERE?

But it was early in our trip and we were still full of energy, so we did it. And we are SO glad we did! The view was spectacular, particularly of the Dead Sea. The ruins are interesting, but there is not that much to see of them. It is really the feeling of isolation that gives the place its appeal, and of course it gives a unique understanding of the power (and the paranoia) of Herod.

A ZOOM VIEW OF THE RUINS OF THE FORTRESS. THE SQUARE BUILDING IS A MODERN SHELTER FOR THE CARETAKER, WHO WAS NOT THERE.

VIEW FROM THE FORTRESS. THAT'S THE DEAD SEA. YES, MY EYES ARE CLOSED -- IT WAS REALLY BRIGHT UP THERE!

It was quite cold at the top, so we did not stay long. Also, just when we made it to the top we looked down and saw someone standing near our rental car (wouldn't you know it?), so we decided to head back down after only a few minutes. Our car was fine -- it was probably just a curious local, surprised to see someone stopping there in the off-season. There were several caves on the surrounding hills and mountains that seem to be the homes of small families, and we saw one man herding his goats in the ravine below. It was all very peaceful and beautiful.

On the way back down, we did make one stop: we went inside the cave that tradition says was the lonely cell where Herod kept John the Baptist up until his execution:

Our next stop on the way south was the Crusader castle at Kerak. But before we could reach it we had a couple of hours of driving to do along the King's Highway. We had no idea what to expect, but the scenery turned out to be amazing. When we weren't driving through desert mountains, we were passing through tiny towns. People were definitely surprised to see us. The further south we went, the more they seemed to be interested in us, and eventually I started covering my head when we drove through the towns, which cut down on the staring quite a bit. Again, I think most tourists just don't drive through there in a car. And the buses probably take the Desert Highway, which is to the east and runs straight through the flat desert. But it is not nearly as scenic as the route we took! One interesting thing that you can see all over Jordan, in the big cities, the small towns, and scattered along the roadways, are "unfinished" houses, like these:

One of our friends here at the Research Institute informs us that "unfinished" structures are not taxed in Jordan, so people are more than willing to leave unsightly metal bars sticking up out of their roofs to prove that they are eventually going to add another story, thus rendering their building "unfinished" and non-taxable!

The further south we went, the more completely we were surrounded by the desert. But there are also wadis (ravines which are filled with water in the brief rainy season), so there are spots with trees and vegetation. We also got to drive over the massive Al-Mujib dam, built over the wadi of the same name. We had no idea it was there, and then suddenly we came around the corner and there was a huge, HUGE dam.

A CLOSEUP. WE THOUGHT FOY MIGHT LIKE TO SEE IT.

All in all, the drive through the empty landscape was very interesting and impressive, but we would not want to do it at night -- lots of sheer drop-offs, hairpin curves, and not so many people around in case of trouble. We did, however, see some Bedouins camping in one of the valleys near the wadi.

A JORDANIAN ROAD CONSTRUCTION CREW. NOT A JOB I WOULD WANT.

A BEDOUIN ENCAMPMENT. THE TENTS ARE PROBABLY CAMEL-HAIR.

After descending to the bottom of the wadi canyon where the dam is, we climbed back up the other side. At the top rim we spotted a few places where the adventurous traveler could stay if they wanted to enjoy the scenery and the emptiness: The "Sunshine Resthouse" the "Rest House Trajan" and the "Black Iris Camping" area. Just throwing that out there. Interestingly, when we got back to the top of the canyon, the landscape on the other side went from being dusty yellow colored to an amazing, deep red. This is basically the same color that the rock of Petra has in it, and I'm sure some geologist could explain what type of landscape we had moved into, but all I know is that it was really pretty!

A few other things of note that we encountered as we drove were some Roman ruins in the town of Ar-Rabba (we did not stop), and several checkpoints of military and police groups at crossroads (we did not have to stop very often -- they didn't seem TOO interested in us, as long as we slowed down and waved at them, but occasionally they wanted to know where we were from and where we were going). Also, interestingly, the road signs were less and less frequently translated into English the further south we got. Anyone traveling here should be prepared for that -- having someone who can read Arabic would be a big help! Also, those signs that WERE translated into English were inconsistent -- the name of a town or a site would change in spelling, sometimes drastically, from sign to sign. You really have to work entirely on phonetics, saying each sign out loud and then figuring out what it is for. For instance, the Crusader castle of Shobak (see below) showed up these several ways, all within a few miles:
Shobak
Ash Shobak
Ash Shawbak
Al-Shawbak
And these were all "official" road signs posted by the government.

Other dangers of driving in rural Jordan include sheep, goats, dogs and donkeys, the latter of which are often hobbled by their owners with straps on their ankles so they can't get far, then sent out to wander freely. This means they CANNOT get off off the road quickly!

TRAFFIC JAM ON THE KING'S HIGHWAY

But obviously we survived the drive without incident and made it to Kerak. This city was once the capital of Moab, and this was an important fortress for the Crusaders since it was highly defensible -- it is surrounded by sheer cliffs on three sides. It is a very popular site because it has been heavily "restored" (freely interpreted and rebuilt might be a better description), so it is easy to understand. Also, it is simple to get to -- it is in the center of the sizeable town of Kerak, which also means we had somewhere to eat and stock up on road provisions. We acquired a guide in the site that we did not really want, but he was very friendly.

THE CRUSADER CASTLE OF KERAK

PETER EXPLORES THE CASTLE

PETER AND OUR FRIENDLY GUIDE

And, for the first time that day we encountered other tourists: two men from, of all places, Concord, California. They were Rotary Club members on their way to Ethiopia to assess a clean water project they are starting there. I have to say, it was nice to talk to some other Americans for a few minutes (especially since they weren't a huge, annoying tour group of Americans).

From Kerak we drove further south to another Crusader fortress, this one called Shobak. This castle, built in 1115, was one of the first Crusader outposts constructed to the east of the Jordan river, and it controlled the important road between Egypt and Damascus. It was conquered in 1189, and there are Mameluke inscriptions and some of their stonework here (the Mamelukes were an Egyptian Muslim dynasty). It is quite an impressive site, well worth a visit. Unlike Karak, it is isolated and has had little reconstruction done. We liked it more! There were no other tourists there, only a few locals who live in cave-houses nearby and apparently like to hang out in the ruins (who wouldn't?). We arrived just before the sun started to go down and paint the surrounding desert amazing colors, casting shadows of the castle on the mountains:

SHOBAK FROM A DISTANCE

YOU CAN SEE THE CASTLE'S OUTLINE IN THE SHADOWS ON THE HILLSIDE

SHOBAK CASTLE: A LOCAL HANGOUT

At that point, our light was failing and we had to move on to Wadi Musa, where our hostel was located. We managed to get there just as the sun fell behind the massive mountains that hide Petra. It was so exciting to stop and take pictures, and try to figure out which gorge might be the siq, the entrance to the ancient city!

PETRA IS OUT THERE SOMEWHERE!

When we arrived at our hostel, we were given tea and sat down to chat with the man working the counter. Two other guests came out to the lobby, a couple of young ladies from Australia. We got to talking with them and discovered that they also live in Istanbul! They teach English to elementary school children here. What a small, small world it really is.

We were also pleased to find that our room had a fine view of the mountains, so we were able to say goodnight to them, and then wake up eagerly the next morning bright and early to head to the park! It was like the night before Christmas -- we were both so excited to finally see something we had dreamed of seeing for years.

THE TOWN OF WADI MUSA AT NIGHTFALL

Holy Land Trip Day 3: On to Jordan

2009-02-12T07:16:00.000-08:00

On Saturday we got up early and rushed to make one touristic stop in Nazareth before boarding a bus to cross the border into Jordan. We wanted to see the interior of the Church of the Annunciation, built on the spot where the angel is supposed to have come to Mary bearing tidings of the birth of Christ. It had been closed both of the previous evenings by the time we go into town, so we took 10 minutes between the time that it opened at 8 am and the time we had to be to our bus at 8:15 to see it.

VIEW OF NAZARETH WITH THE TOWER OF THE BASILICA OF THE ANNUNCIATION

It is a really interesting church. Very modern, but with some elements of old architecture in it. A smaller chapel behind the main church is constructed over what is supposed to be the site of Joseph's carpenter shop. In my opinion, at a certain point all of these associations become a bit ridiculous. How could we possibly know where Joseph's shop was? But there is something to making a pilgrimage to a spot and saying "This is where it happened," and knowing that thousands and thousands of other people thought the same thing on the same spot. I guess that's really the point.

INTERIOR OF THE DOME OF THE BASILICA OF THE ANNUNCIATION

Anyway, we made it to the bus, which was bigger than we expected, and full of Arabs making the border crossing. The border is very close to Nazareth, and we were there in about 30 minutes. It did not take too terribly long to cross, but of course we had to go through security and passport control twice: once to leave Israel, and once to enter Jordan. Plus we had to pay an exit and entry tax for each of the countries. We had purchased our Jordanian visas ahead of time, so we didn't have to mess with that line. The process was a pretty smooth one, and the most interesting part about it was watching the "pit crew" come out and change the license plates on all the buses over from Israeli to Jordanian. They just stack them on top of each other, and pull whichever one they need to the front when they hit the border. I suppose that's legal! We did have to wait about 30-45 minutes on the Israeli side, but we think it was because our bus driver was doing some duty-free shopping. At any rate, we got through without incident, and were able to convince the agents on both sides not to stamp our passports, since either an Israeli stamp or a Jordanian land border stamp would indicate we had been in Israel, and we would be denied entry to some other Arab countries in the future. We had already convinced the passport control gal at the airport not to stamp them, but they are never happy about it. They want to know why, where else you want to go, and what business you have there. It makes for a lot longer and more thorough questioning, but is potentially worth it.

One interesting border note: On the Jordanian side, a member of the Tourist Police boarded the bus and talked to us, then rode the 2 hours or so on into Amman with us, where he made sure we got a reliable taxi to the rental car service. They really really want to make sure that tourists are not treated badly because tourism is the only real source of income they have! (we thought they might have some oil, but we were told that is not the case).

Amman is big and dirty, dirty, dirty. Oh, and did I mention it is an absolute catastrophe in terms of driving? I don't think many tourists take the plunge. I'm basing this on the fact that the rental car place actually had my name written on their wall calendar for that day! We did make it through and out of the city alive, but I don't think Peter's heart will ever quite be the same. Just to illustrate what it was like, here is a sequence of events that took place within a minute of each other. First, an old man stepped into the road directly in front of Peter, who was already trying to negotiate three invisible lanes of traffic. He slammed on the brakes, swerved a little, and went on. Seconds later, some kids did the same thing! Again, the brakes, a swerve, luckily no sideswiping of another vehicle, and another sigh of relief. But literally 30 seconds later, a woman WITH A BABY stepped out! Unbelievable! My job as Navigator was anything but easy, but Peter definitely had the hard job.

YOU DO NOT WANT TO MESS WITH THE JORDANIAN PARKING POLICE!

Seeing the city, we were SO glad we had decided not to stay there in a hotel. Really, it just seemed pretty gross. But we did want to see some of the ancient ruins before heading out, so we drove to the center of town (again, big points for Peter) and miraculously found a parking spot directly in front of the famous Roman theater.

Then we climbed to the ancient acropolis (now called the Citadel). We had a bit of a hard time finding it, winding our way up through some pretty dismal back alleys and climbing stairs covered in broken glass and other trash. But finally we made it.

Amman was the capital of the Ammonite people (hence the name), but he most impressive ruins are, as usual, Roman and later. The massive Temple of Hercules towers over the city.

SOME RANDOM GUY IN THE TEMPLE OF HERCULES

SOME NOT-SO-RANDOM GUY IN THE TEMPLE OF HERCULES

VIEW OF MODERN AMMAN FROM THE ANCIENT ACROPOLIS

Also well worth seeing is the Umayyad palace (built in 750 AD and only used for 30 years!). The Umayyads were a Muslim dynasty, the second Arab Caliphate established after the death of Mohammad, for those of you who do not know -- and trust me, I didn't know until I moved to Turkey and started living in a building full of historians! It was an important empire though, the fifth largest ever in the history of the world in terms of land size and the percentage of the population of the world that it ruled over. The remains of impressive Umayyad buildings are dotted all over the Middle East, and this is a fine example.

We also planned to visit the Jordan Archaeological Museum on the acropolis. Inside we could have seen some Nabatean artifacts from Petra, among other things. Unfortunately, when we got there we discovered that the reason it had been so difficult to find the Citadel was that we had come in through an illegal back way and so had not purchased a ticket, so we could not get into the Museum. It was only 15 minutes to closing time, too late to go buy a ticket and come back, so we missed out on that.

But we were able to rush out of town (very slowly, in traffic), and make it to Madaba, a small town to the south of Amman.

SUNSET ON THE ROAD FROM AMMAN TO MADABA

Our goal was to get to town before the Church of St. George closed. The Church is built over the ruins of a much earlier church, from the time of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian (ca 527 AD). The main attraction is a mosaic map which shows the area of the Holy Land, including Jerusalem in detail, as it was at that time. We did not in fact get there before the church closed for services, but I pleaded with the caretaker and he let us in for a few short minutes, and rolled back the rug so we could see the map and take photos. It is interesting, but not incredibly impressive. Perhaps the most interesting thing about it is that it was altered later by Muslims. Because the Koran includes a rule against representing living beings in art, medieval Muslims would sometimes alter antique mosaics by rearranging the tesserae so that the figures now appear "pixellated." That way, the beautiful decoration of the floor was retained, but the human and animal forms were no longer present. There are some very good examples of that work here. The guidebook we have says merely that the figures were "gouged out by later iconoclasts" which is clearly not true, and unfortunately glosses over the interesting reasons for the reworking of the art:

THE MOST FAMOUS SECTION OF THE "MADABA MAP": JERUSALEM

THE TWO FISHERMEN ON THE SEA OF GALILEE WHO WERE REWORKED IN THE "MADABA MAP"

Madaba is an interesting town that became somewhat important in the 19th century. It was at this time that a fairly large community of Arab Christians were forced out of nearby Kerak by the greater number of Muslims, and settled here. Today it is a mixed community of Muslims and Christians, but there is certainly a large number of churches for such a small town! The woman and her son who own the hotel we stayed in (The Black Iris, which is actually their family home converted for use as a small hotel) were apparently Christian. We guess this because she did not have her head covered, and because there were several crucifixes hanging on the walls, as well as a Christian fish symbol. The place was a bit drab, but they were incredibly friendly and helpful, and her homemade hummus for breakfast in the mornings was wonderful!

Madaba is a small town, but it is under construction everywhere, and is full of confusing roundabouts and one-way streets. In the two nights we spent there, we never ever really understood how to navigate it. We would set off, map in hand, to find some simple marked destination, and end up completely lost. Very frustrating. But it was still much better than Amman, and we had probably the best meal of the entire trip (cheap too!) in a restaurant there. Traditional middle eastern food, served on low couches in front of a crackling fire. Wonderful!

Holy Land Trip Days 1 and 2: The Galilee

2009-02-12T06:07:00.000-08:00

We arrived in Israel, at Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv, on the afternoon of January 29th. The airport is gorgeous. The new terminal, which our friend Ilan tells us is called Terminal 2000 because it was supposed to be completed by 2000 (it was finished in 2005), looks exactly like we expected architecture here to look -- big blocks of white stone, shining in the desert sun. So imagine our surprise when we rented our car and exited the airport, only to discover that Israel is green, green, green!

Peter did an admirable job of driving in both Israel and Jordan, which is a good thing since I discovered at the counter of the rental car company that my license had expired on my birthday a month before. Oops! We only got lost once on the first day, when our only task was to find Nazareth, which would be our base of operations for visiting sites in Northern Israel. We made it through rush hour in Tel Aviv. It's a very attractive city, at least in parts, and from the passenger seat, I got to enjoy the futuristic architecture of the city:

We rolled into Nazareth just at 6:00 pm. We were greeted by the bells of the great Cathedral of the Annunciation (more about the church later). We found our hotel with only a little difficulty, and ventured out to eat. We were lucky to stumble on an absolutely wonderful restaurant that we returned to three times on our trip! We've traveled enough to know how lucky we were.

The next morning, we left bright and early, because we had outlined an ambitious itinerary of Biblical and Crusader sites in the area and we were not sure we could navigate well enough to find and see them all. But in the end we did, and with some time to spare! The Galilee area is gorgeous, lush, and very compact. It really bakes at other times of the year, but in the early spring of this fairly dry year, it was very pleasant.

Our first stop (ironically) was Megiddo, otherwise known as Armageddon (from Har Megedon, or "Mountain of Megiddo"), most famous for its prophesied role as the site for the Apocalyptic battle at the end of the world. It certainly is peaceful today, and we were early enough to be the first visitors and have it completely to ourselves:

THE PLAIN OF ARMAGEDDON, SURPRISINGLY GREEN

Megiddo lies at the head of the Jezreel valley, and by the 3rd millenium BC had been fortified. The Canaanites were there early, but were eventually overtaken by the Egyptians (in 1486 BC), who were then conquered (probably) by Solomon, who later lost the city to the Assyrians in the 8th century BC. Archaeologists have identified at least 20 successive settlements, built in layers. There was much of interest to see, but most striking were the stables for the horses, the discovery of which proved that people in this area fought with chariots at a very early date (which corroborates Biblical accounts) and the Canaanite tunnel dug from inside the city to a spring outside the walls:

THE STABLES. YOU CAN CLEARLY SEE THE POSTS BETWEEN HORSE STALLS

THE ENTRANCE TO THE UNDERGROUND WATER SYSTEM OF THE CANAANITES

The museum was small and silly, especially the diorama of the sacrificial site discovered here:

BIZARRE DIORAMA IN THE MUSEUM. DO ANY STAR WARS FANS THINK THE "PRIEST" LOOKS LIKE A TUSCAN RAIDER?

Next we traveled to Beth Alpha. This was the site of a 6th-century Jewish settlement and synagogue of which the mosaic floor has survived. It is a second-rate mosaic at best. Not really an impressive site, but the funny thing is that there is a sound and light show that they ran just for us (the only visitors). A screen drops down and they play a video and shine lights on different parts of the mosaic as they talk about them. The film is the story of the construction of the mosaic, and it's all about how the Rabbis of Beth Alpha didn't have enough money to put in a really good floor, so they had to hire a cut-rate hack artist. Talk about telling it like it is! Really, the only reason this site is as important as it is now is because the mosaic was discovered by some Jewish colonists who arrived in Israel in the 1920s after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, and it gave them a tangible link to their past heritage.

THE SECOND-RATE MOSAIC

A SCENE FROM THE CHEESY MOVIE REMINDING US THAT IT'S A SECOND-RATE MOSAIC

A SCENE FROM THE MOSAIC: THE SACRIFICE OF ISAAC. SEE THE RAM CAUGHT IN THE TREE? YES, THAT'S A RAM.

Next on the list was Beth Shean, an incredibly impressive site. Most of the monumental remains here date from the Roman period -- it is the best-preserved Roman city in Israel in fact, but the history of the site goes back much further. The Canaanites were here as well, 5000 years BC, followed as at Megiddo by the Egyptians.

A VIEW OF ROMAN BETH SHEAN FROM THE TOP OF THE ACROPOLIS

Here at Beth Shean, the house of the Egyptian governor has been discovered on the high acropolis overlooking the city. Imagine our surprise when we finished the climb and saw an Egyptian stele!:

The Philistines took Beth Shean in the 11th century BC, and Solomon took it from them (are you starting to see the pattern in this area?). Alexander the Great came through, conquered the area, and named this place Scythopolis, and the Romans kept that name when they took it in the 1st century BC. It was a major center of Byzantine Christianity until an earthquake in 749 all but destroyed it. The Biblical associations of the site are grim. It was on the neighboring mountain of Gilboa that Saul and his sons were killed in battle (or, in the case of Saul, committed suicide).

THE VALLEY AT THE FOOT OF MOUNT GILBOA (WE THINK)

The Bible says that the Philistines, when they found Saul's body the next day, cut off his head, stripped him, and "put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths and fastened his body to the wall of Beth Shean" (I Samuel 31:10). Archaeologists have found some remains of the walls from that bloody period:

ISRAELITE-PERIOD WALLS AT BETH SHEAN

Moving forward in time, we next visited the Crusader fortress of Bellevue. The name means, literally, "Beautiful view." On a clear day you can see across the Jordan river into Jordan. We did not have a clear day, unfortunately, but the view was still pretty spectacular. The ruins are of a fortress of the Knights Hospitallers, and are quite impressive:

From here, we were moving on to the sea of Galilee itself, to view some of the sites associated with the life and ministry of Christ. Along the way, we took a detour to visit the famous Yardenet Baptism Site, where thousands of people come every year to be baptized in the Jordan, supposedly near the site of Christ's own baptism. It is so commercialized as to be almost offensive. Really, it's a store and restaurant where they will "rent" you a baptismal robe for $10 and will only allow you to touch the water if you have paid. Some religious experience! Here's a nice picture of the Jordan though. And luckily, the other sites we visited were more interesting.

First was Tabkha, an area on the shores of the Sea of Galilee that hosts three churches almost side-by-side, each built on what has been identified as a site where Christ delivered an important sermon and/or performed a miracle. The first is the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes. Although the church was built in 1890, the mosaic (including the loaves and fishes), are from the 5th century.

Beside it is the Church of the Primacy of Peter, marking the spot where Christ appeared to the Apostles after the Resurrection. It is a striking building, constructed by the Franciscan order out of black basalt. Here we also went down to the waters of the Sea of Galilee for the first time.

A VIEW ACROSS THE SEA OF GALILEE FROM THE CHURCH

I DON'T KNOW WHAT KIND OF CREATURES THESE ARE, BUT APPARENTLY THEY ARE IN THE BIBLE. I DON'T REMEMBER THEM TALKING, THOUGH!

Higher on the hill behind these two churches is an absolutely gorgeous structure, the Church of the Beatitudes. While we waited for a large group of Korean tourists to finish taking their pictures inside the church, we read some of the Sermon on the Mount from the little New Testament we carried along with us. Wherever the Sermon was delivered along the Sea, it was a very beautiful spot!

From here we drove a short distance to Capernaum, at the northern shore of the Galilee. It is a strange site. According to the Bible, it was to here that Christ came when he left Nazareth as a young adult, and it served as the focus of his ministry in the Galilee area. It was also the hometown of several of the Disciples. The remains of a very early house-church were excavated here, which was then naturally identified (whether correctly or not) with the house of Simon Peter, who the Bible says was a local. A church was constructed directly on top of the excavations, elevated above it, and you can look down through a glass floor to see the house below. The result is kind of a space-age looking church that seems ready to take off.

YOU CAN'T REALLY SEE MUCH OF "PETER'S HOUSE" THROUGH THE GLASS FLOOR OF THE CHURCH, BUT HERE IT IS

Other interesting excavations here include a synagogue reliably dated to the time of Christ, and therefore called the Synagogue of Christ, since it may be assumed that he attended temple here during his time here. Capernaum is small, but well worth a visit. It was interesting to us for another reason as well, for it was here that we first encountered several busloads of Nigerians. Little did we know that we would see more and more groups of them practically everywhere we went in Israel. Apparently the pilgrimage to the Holy Land is extremely popular in Nigeria! And boy do they like to sing!

After leaving Capernaum we rushed to another point on the shore of the Sea, back to the south, to a little Kibbutz (an type of settlement where many young Israelis go to live and do manual labor in a communal atmosphere for a year or so of their lives) called Kibbutz Ginosar. Near here, amateur archaeologists discovered a fishing boat in the Sea of Galilee. Luckily, they called in the professionals, and a team was able to retrieve the boat from the water and it is now on display in a very attractive museum here. We arrived after closing, but the woman at the desk was kind enough to let us in.

The boat has been dated to roughly the time of Christ. So of course the question is, was it one of the boats that he or his disciples rode in? In reality, probably not. But it does illustrate the type of boats they were working with.

By the time we left the boat museum, it was starting to get dusky. On our way back to Nazareth we missed a turn and ended up taking the scenic route. That was fine, because we got to at least wave at several other interesting sites in the landscape:

Mt. Tabor and the plain below it, where Deborah and Barak defeated the armies of Sisera and the Canaanites. The settlements nearby are still called Daburiyya and Ahuzzat Barak after them.

We also drove by, but did not photograph because it was getting dark, the Kibbutzes of Nain, where Jesus healed the widow's son (Luke 7:11-17) and Endor, the home of the witch that Saul consulted in Samuel 28:3-19 (now known as Ein Dor).

It's safe to say that by the time we made it back to Nazareth we were completely steeped in Biblical associations!

An Afternoon in the West Bank

2009-02-10T23:27:00.001-08:00

As many of you know, Peter and I have had the important opportunity to observe reactions to the war in Gaza while here in Istanbul. Events which are no more than concerning news items to many people around the world have been of vital importance to several of our friends and colleagues here, some of whom have family living in Israel, or even children currently serving in active duty in the Israeli military. The conflict has been the source of discussion, and occasionally some disagreement, among the Fellows here at the Research Institute.

We have also watched with interest and concern the pro-Palestinian rallies that for several weeks took place on a daily basis, sometimes two or three times a day, on the street outside our residence. Many of these had overtly anti-Semitic overtones, as well as elements of anti-American propaganda.

Many of you are also aware that we had planned a trip to Israel and Jordan before the war broke out. We watched the developments closely, wondering whether we should call off the trip or go ahead with it. At the advice of our Israeli friends, and after exchanging several emails with the U.S. Consular offices in Jerusalem, we decided to make the trip. By the time we departed for Israel, the situation in Gaza had calmed down somewhat. Nevertheless, the Consulate told us that although there were no restrictions in place for non-diplomatic U.S. citizens, it "could not recommend" that we do three things (and had forbidden its own staff from doing them): 1) take lodging inside the Old City of Jerusalem, 2) enter the Muslim Quarter of the Old City on Friday afternoon, or 3) enter Palestinian territory in the West Bank. In the end, we did all of these things.

We will write about our experiences in Jerusalem in later posts. But I feel that it is important that we share our experiences in the West Bank first. Partly this is because I want to do it while it is still fresh in my memory, and partly because I am still struggling to make sense of what we saw and experienced, and writing always seems to help with that process. It is not overstating the case to say that our few brief hours there have affected us deeply, enhanced our understanding, but also shifted our viewpoints regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. That being said, I am not writing this to forward a particular political viewpoint. I hope that this will be read by many of my friends and family members, some of whom will have very different views of the political situation. I am certainly not wishing to offend anyone with this. I also understand that although this experience has given me a vantage point from which to speak about the situation that I did not have before, I am not an expert on the politics of the conflict. I realize that I am susceptible to emotional manipulation, and that not everything that was told to us by the Palestinians that we spoke with may be completely true, or can possibly be unbiased. But I believe that it is still important that it be heard:

Last Saturday, we took a "servees" (an Arab shared taxi) from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, which is in the West Bank. Since these are vans that regularly carry mostly Arabs with Israeli ID cards, who are free to move between Israeli and Palestinian territory, they may bypass the military checkpoints, which potentially saved us a lot of time spent in a taxi sitting at the border. We arrived in Bethlehem in the early afternoon and had a nice lunch in Manger Square, facing the Church of the Nativity, which commemorates the supposed site of the birth of Christ. The town is pleasant and quiet (at least currently, since tourism is way down). The main public building on the square is the Bethlehem Peace Center. Bethlehem is a town that desperately wishes to be associated with peace.

Our first stop was the Church. Outside the building, as at most tourist sites around the world, license tour guides offered their services. 'Only 40 shekels; (about $10). No, we didn't need a guide. '30 shekels.' No, thank you. '20 shekels.' Only later did we realize how desperate the survival situation has become for many of the Palestinians living here, and we wished we had taken a guide that we didn't need.

Although in other seasons, and in other years, Bethlehem has been a major site of pilgrimage for tourists from around the world, while we were there we saw only a few tour groups: one small group from the United States, some Germans, and a larger group of Nigerians. They crowded into the small grotto underneath the church with a bronze star on the floor marking the site of the Nativity, and sang "Silent Night." This is a scene that is probably repeated hundreds of times a year on this spot, and we could not help but note the irony. "All is calm, all is bright...Sleep in heavenly peace." After maybe an hour in this church and the one next door with a grotto puported to be the study (and tomb) of St. Jerome, the tour groups were hustled back onto their buses and back to Jerusalem.

Leaving behind the tour groups, who never ventured off the main square, we walked further into town to visit the Milk Grotto. Legend has it that this cave was the site where Mary and the infant Jesus hid from Herod's soldiers, before the Flight into Egypt. It is said that a drop of Mary's breast milk fell onto the ground when she was nursing Christ, and turned the rocks of the cave white. The chalky powder scraped from the walls and ceiling is sold as a remedy for lactation problems and female infertility. While we were walking to this church, we were approached by a young Palestinian man who offered to be our guide, no charge, if we would come visit his shop after we were done looking around. I had planned to do some shopping in Bethlehem anyway, being interested in purchasing some of the beautiful olivewood sculptures made locally, so we agreed.

It soon became clear that this young man, Said, was not your average salesperson. Often in our travels we have encountered these "guides" who know the very basic facts of a site, often less than is in the general guidebook, or who are only passing on confused information they have heard from other guides, hoping for a small fee or a visit to their shop. Said, however, was extremely knowledgeable about Bethlehem and the surrounding area, and particularly about the history of the Roman period of Palestine under Herod. He said that he would like to work as a tour guide for all of Israel, but that it is impossible for him to get the papers that would allow him to leave the West Bank.

We left the Milk Grotto and accompanied Said to the small store where he works, where we were greeted by an older man and woman (family?), offered tea, and shown various examples of the local sculpture. While we picked out our purchases, we began talking to the three about their experiences living in the West Bank. What had started as a typical middle eastern shopping experience quickly turned more serious. Tourism is down they said. It was already low before, but now, with the war in Gaza, no one comes to Bethlehem. When they do come, they come only in a group, on a bus. The tour operators used to walk the groups through town, bring them to the small shops on the side streets. They no longer do that, but rush their groups into and out of the two main churches and back to Jerusalem. No one is selling anything. No one has money. They have no way to make money, no way to support their families.

But it is not only the loss of revenue, of livelihood, that concerns these people. As the older shop owner related, 'I love the Jewish people. I speak better Hebrew than I do Arabic. They were my neighbors, my brothers. They were my best friends when I was growing up. We lived next to each other.' Now, the only Jewish people living in the area are in the walled settlements. They no longer have daily contact with the Palestinian people living here. With the division of the land has come a loss of community, and a great alienation for the Palestinians.

ONE OF THE ISRAELI SETTLEMENTS IN THE WEST BANK

Our hosts are eager to know what the view of the war in Gaza is in the outside world. When we tell them that there are many people around the world concerned about the situation, they are happy. Said says, 'This is the only thing that keeps us going -- knowing the world is thinking about us.' Then he asks us if we will come with him to visit the wall. He will call his cousin to come and drive us there.

At first we are skeptical. After all, it is hardly the safest thing to go in a vehicle with someone you have barely met in a foreign country. But we have a good feeling about Said, and he is genuinely concerned that we see the wall, so we decide to do it. While we wait for our ride, I talk more with the female shopkeeper. I ask how the war in Gaza has affected them, since we had not felt during the rest of our trip that it was affecting northern Israel at all, except perhaps in a slight decrease in tourism. "It is peaceful here," she says. "We don't see anything. We only wake sometimes in the morning and hear that soldiers came in the night and took some people."

Said's cousin arrives in a 20-year-old, beat-up white sedan. There is no handle on the passenger door on my side, so I crawl in the other side. The two young Palestinians laugh and call it a "classic car." They drive us across town to the limits of their world, the Israeli wall. It is covered in graffiti, and we want to take pictures. "We can't stop here," Said tells us, "there are security cameras and they will wonder why we are looking at the wall. We'll drive to an area where we can stop."

The wall, of course, is the barrier constructed by Israel beginning in 2002 to stop the suicide bombings and shootings of civilians in Israeli towns that were being carried out by Palestinian terrorists. While the politics of the barrier and its route are complicated, there is no doubt that it has been effective in decreasing suicide attacks, saving the lives of an unknown number of Israelis. The question that must now be answered is whether it is the most effective way to achieve a lasting peace between Israel and Palestine, and at what cost to the Palestinian people. Again, I am no expert on the politics or the history of this conflict, and I am not attempting here to sway anyone's political opinion, but it was clearly of critical importance to Said that we visit the wall with him, and that we hear his story and share it with others. So I will let him speak for himself, and post here our photos of the wall:

"This is the cage of the Palestinian people. You would need wings to get over this wall."

THE BLUE LINE RUNS THE LENGTH OF THE WALL IN BETHLEHEM AND REFLECTS ONE GRAFITTI ARTIST'S DREAM THAT THE WALL SHOULD BE SO HIGH.

THE WALL SEEN THROUGH THE REAR WINDOW OF THE CAR, WITH A STICKER ON THE GLASS

"We have no cars. We have no nightclubs. We have no girlfriends. We have no life."

A YOUNG PALESTINIAN STANDS IN FRONT OF THE WALL.

"We are Palestinians. We can do anything -- we can do it for the entire world. But we don't have the chance."

Who do the Palestinians blame for the state of their lives? Completely contrary to what I would have expected, we heard over and over, from different Palestinians that we talked to, that they do not blame the people of Israel. Just as the shop owner misses the mixed community of Jews and Palestinians that he once enjoyed, Said says of the current conflict, "It is not the people that cause this problem, but the governments."

Also, contrary to what we have often been told by the media, many of the Palestinians are not buying the line that Hamas is trying to feed the world -- that they are the saviors of the Palestinian people, defending their rights against the Goliath of the Israeli state. Says Said, "Hamas and the directors do not care about any living Palestinian. They only care about staying in charge. They are like gangsters, with guns." He urges us to tell our friends that if they are sending aid to Palestine, make sure it does not go to an organization that will pass any of it on to Hamas. He is convinced that none of that money ever reaches the people. He wishes more people understood that, and that if they want to help, they would send money to organizations like the Red Crescent.

I am sure, of course, that there are Palestinians who feel differently, and the situation may very well be different in Gaza, where the struggle to survive has become even more immediate than for those in the West Bank who are losing their livelihood but not necessarily their lives. But it was very striking to us that continually the Palestinians were talking about a reconciliation with their Jewish neighbors that could be brought about on the level of the people, although they have no faith than any government or politician can, or will, do it (not even Obama, although they are optimistic about him in general). This complete lack of ill will towards the Jewish people on the part of the Palestinians we talked with makes the often anti-Semitic rallies that we have seen in Istanbul all the more tragic. It seems that the Palestinian people are being used as a banner by anti-Israeli groups whose ultimate goals do not reflect what many average Palestinians would wish for.

The few hours that we spent in the West Bank gave us much food for thought, and I certainly have not reached any conclusions yet. I look forward to conversations with friends and colleagues about these issues, and we welcome the posting of any comments that those of you who are reading this may have.

SantralIstanbul

2009-01-25T06:46:00.000-08:00

The exterior of the main building at Santral power station.

Last night, we took a fieldtrip along with our fellow Fellows Amanda, Ivana, and Asa. We visited a place called SantralIstanbul. "Santral" refers to the fact that the building was the first power station built by the Ottoman empire (so it was the central one of course). It has now been converted into a museum and art gallery. We did not really know what to expect, but they run a free shuttle from Taksim square near us out to the power plant, which is about 20 minutes away, and there are restaurants in the complex (including a branch of our favorite pizza place, Otto). The museum and gallery space is also free admission, so we decided it was worth a trip to check it out. It turned out to be way cooler and more interesting than anyone expected! Because we were thinking of it as an art gallery, neither Peter or I took our cameras along, but luckily Amanda did. I have shamelessly stolen some of her pictures to post here!

The building is huge, and well-renovated. They preserved the interior of the main power-production rooms in the state they were in in the 1950s when the plant was closed. We were there after dark, which was very cool because they have installed red and blue lights that give the space an interesting feel. First you are directed up an escalator (which is clear, so you can see all the moving parts inside of it, very neat), then along a catwalk above all of the machinery:

Peter inspects the machinery.

A huge...something.

From there, you enter the control room, where you are free to wander around and push buttons, pull levers, etc. Very fun!

The Control Room. A thousand things to push or pull!

Asa, Peter and Ivana take control.

Amanda, Ivana and Candace take a turn.

Then you are allowed to go downstairs and walk in around all of the big machinery that you have already seen from above. In another level below that one, they have set up a small "museum" about electricity. It is really a series of experiments like in science museums in the U.S. --- Van de Graf generators to make your hair stand on end, bicycles that you pedal to run electrical appliances, things like that. As Ivana said, it is "for children," but we still spent an hour or so running around to play with all the stations! One of the neatest things they had was a big screen that projected body-heat sensor images of whoever was standing in front of the camera:

Wow, Candace's nose is cold!

The other half of the main building has been cleared out and made into an exhibition space.

A large (several storeys-tall) sculpture inside the art gallery section.

The two exhibitions up currently are photography made in the 1960s, mostly in Germany, that documented the student and workers' riots there. They were quite good, but we had spent so much time in the electrical area that we had to kind of speed through it. But we will definitely return there, and will happily take any and all guests who are interested.

Cyprus: Day 3 -- More Gothic architecture, and two kinds of ruins

2009-01-08T08:40:00.000-08:00

NOTE: Many of the pictures in this post are better seen in their enlarged version. Click on them, then click "back" on your browser to get back to the blog post.

Our final day in Cyprus was absolutely jam-packed with touring. We started in the capital of Nicosia, which has the dubious distinction of being the only divided capital remaining in the world. The Northern half belongs to the Turks, the Southern half to the Greeks. As soon as we arrived in town, our bus driver drove us along the No Man's Land and wall in the middle of the city. It is such an odd arrangement. One moment you are on a street, the next moment there is the wall. It cannot be compared to divided Berlin in that there is not a large disparity between the standards of living on the two sides, but it is still unsettling and sad to see such an obvious, unmoving symbol of conflict in the middle of a city.

Our main goal in Nicosia was to see the Gothic cathedral of St. Sophia. There are six cathedrals that remain in the city, but St. Sophia (Holy Wisdom), which is now Selimiye Mosque, is the most impressive and important. Construction on the church was begun in 1209, but not completed until 1326. although this is over 100 years, it is actually a respectably quick time for Medieval builders to finish a cathedral of this size and complexity. It was built on the site of an earlier church of the Knights Templar, in which Guy of Lusignan (the founder of the French dynasty here) was buried.

The exterior of St. Sophia from the back (the only angle that we could get a clear photo).

St. Sophia is a true French Gothic cathedral. It was designed on the model of Reims cathedral in France, which was the coronation church of the French kings. This was appropriate because this church served as the location for the coronations of the Kings of Cyprus. Although the decoration on the interior of the church was stripped away by the Muslims when it was converted to a mosque, they left much of the exterior sculpture decorating the entrance way. You can still see stone hands holding crowns reaching out over the niches by the doorway, symbolizing that this is the coronation church. We were surprised to see many sculpted human figures left in the porch of the church, since we had assumed that the Muslims would have destroyed them since the Koran includes an injunction against representing the human form in art. But luckily they did not, and scholars have been able to determine from the style of carving that they were created by French master sculptors, who probably accompanied Louis the Pious here on the way to (or from) his Crusade.

In its original state, the interior of the nave had a blue ceiling spangled with gold stars (it must have been beautiful!). But you can see from our pictures that the whitewashed walls and ceilings also give the building a certain impressive appearance.

The interior of St. Sophia/Selimiye Mosque

Another interior shot

A strange sight in a Gothic cathedral!

After seeing the interior of the cathedral, some of us went to a small building behind it to visit the Lapidary Museum, which houses examples of Gothic stonework that have been found in Nicosia. It was a tiny museum, but very interesting. The window below, which probably would have held stained glass, is not from a cathedral, but from the palace of the Venetian rulers who eventually took the island from the French. Gorgeous!

An older Turkish gentleman sits in front of a Gothic window at the Medieval stonework museum.

A little (weird) Christmas in Nicosia.

It began to rain on us in Nicosia, unfortunately. We reboarded the bus and drove to another major city, Famagusta. Those of you who are literature buffs may know that Famagusta is considered to be the probable setting for Shakespeare's Othello. The stage direction for that play states that the action takes place in a a port city on the island of Cyprus, and there is a castle/fortress here that was the base of the Venetian governor Cristoforo Moro (1506-08). Since Othello was a Moor and Moro actually does mean "Moor", some scholars have taken the leap and named Famagusta as the location Shakespear had in mind. Whether it is true or not, the city definitely benefits from the assocation as tourists come to visit "Othello's Tower" in the fortress. We did not make it there before it closed for the night, but we saw it from the outside, which was enough.

Before we delved into the history of the city, though, we had to encounter the disturbing reality of its present state. There is a section of town called Maraş that in the 1960s was a thriving upscale resort area. Tourists from all over Europe poured in to stay in boutique hotels and sun themselves on the best beach on Cyprus -- made of sand imported from Egypt! In 1974, when the Turkish military moved in to occupy the Northern section of the island, the vacationers and all the locals who lived in that neighborhood fled in a panic. There was no time to pack properly, to turn off lights, to retrieve personal belongings, even to finish breakfast. Since that time, this area has been a No Man's Land, and remains frozen in time exactly at that moment of violence. Locals report that on some nights they still see lightbulbs flickering inside hotel windows. The few reporters who have been allowed in to document the area report car dealerships stocked with the "newest" 1974 models, breakfast dishes with the remains of the last uneaten meal, even cars standing with their doors open in the street, abandoned suitcases beside them.

We drove along the military road that bisects this area, going as far as we could before we were turned back by an army fence.

The end of the road in Maraş

Although pictures are forbidden, some of us snapped them as best we could from the windows, when there were no soldiers near the bus. It is a compelling and creepy scene. Empty homes and churches fall into decay; decrepit windmills turn in the breeze, still pumping water that no one is drinking.

But, to make a strange situation even stranger, the beach is still in use, and still advertised as the most luxurious beach on the Northern half of the island.

A military sign warns people away from the No Man's Land.

A close-up of one of the rotting luxury hotels.

Although it was not beach season when we were there, we climbed off the bus and walked up the beach to take photos of the area from that vantage point. As you can see, the once-magnificent resort hotels appear desolate and bombed-out. It's difficult to imagine that in the summer season tourists can lounge on this beach without feeling the empty eyes of those buildings staring at them from behind the fence.

Just outside the military barrier, stacked beach chairs wait for the partying beachgoers who come here every summer.

But the locals seem to have come to terms with it as well. Here, two men have a beer in front of the most famous of the ruined hotels:

Many of us were very affected by what the desolation of Maraş still signals about how far Cyprus has to come to heal the wounds that violence has inflicted on it. But the fact that the local people, and happy holidaymakers, can so easily ignore the destruction and the utter waste does not seem to bode well for the future.

Next we visited the campus of Eastern Mediterranean University and had lunch in the faculty restaurant with the members of the archaeology department there, who were extremely friendly and interested in each of our projects. One of the young professors, Luca Zavagno , who had been a Fellow here at the Research Center last year, escorted us to the ancient site of Salamis after lunch. This city was first mentioned as an independent city-state on an Assyrian monument in 709 BC. Like most of the cities on Cyprus, it was later taken by the Persians, the Ptolemies, the Romans, and eventually the Byzantines. Of course those of us who are archaeologists were very interested to see the site, but it was quite a disappointment.

Its location is stunning, set directly on the beach. It is quite a large site as well, with the partially excavated areas covering about the size of the ancient site of Aphrodisias, for those of you who have been there.

The Roman theater at Salamis, one of the nicer monuments at the site.

However, enjoyment of the site was marred for us by the realization that it is being badly excavated, badly reconstructed, and badly preserved (note the concrete rows of seats inserted into the Roman theater in the picture above. It makes the building usable for holding modern concerts, but can be destructive to the original construction). Alessandra explained to us that it is unfortunately all too common that archaeologists who are working on Cyprus feel that they are outside the limits of normal Turkish governmental supervision, and away from the critical eyes of most of their colleagues, who do not bother to visit this out-of-the-way island (and those who do mainly stick to the Greek side it seems). Because of this, they proceed in any manner they wish, using the excavations as their personal projects without regard for their responsibility to publish their findings, or even to be careful with their work. At Salamis, the idea of "restoration" and "conservation" seems to be to pour concrete on top of everything.

None of us could figure out what these niches are supposed to be, but they definitely should not be covered in plaster! In the foreground you can also see where the team here has poured grey concrete along the tops of the walls to "seal" them.

In addition, trenches that had been dug during the last season were not filled in or even covered, but left open to the elements, so every bit of rain or heavy wind slowly destroys the evidence that could have been gleaned from these areas.

Part of a bath(?) building at Salamis.

Like Maraş, Salamis left a bad impression. But the visit to the site was not completely without interest or enjoyment. One area of the site which is well away from the normally visited areas, but to which Luka led us, is a Byzantine church and Bishop's residence. It is located directly next to the beach at the far side of the ancient city, and its lonely location and the beautiful mosaics made it well worth a visit:

The ruins of the Byzantine church by the sea.

Looking down into the Bishop's palace from the church.

Finally, we returned to Famagusta. We arrived in the late afternoon and so did not have a lot of time to see the sights of the city, which is a shame because it seemed to be one of the more pleasant areas we visited. We met back up with Matthew, the archaeologist who had taken us on the tour of the shipwreck museum in Girne. First, we rushed to the Gothic cathedral of St. Nicholas.

The exterior of St. Nicholas

Like St. Sophia in Nicosia, this church is also a copy of the famous Reims cathedral in France. Again, this is because of associations with coronation ceremonies. Just as St. Sophia was the coronation church of the kings of the island of Cyprus, St. Nicholas was the coronation site for the kings of Jerusalem. Ironically, the church was finished in 1326, several years AFTER the Crusader State in the Holy Land ceased to exist and the role of King of Jerusalem was no longer relevant. However, the Europeans continued to crown a King of Jerusalem here for 50 more years -- now that is optimism!

This church also witnessed two key events in the history of the island. It was here that the wife of the last of the French Lusignan dynasty rulers, who had passed away leaving an infant son who also died, handed the ownership of the island over to the Doge of Venice in 1489. Venice held the island until the Ottomans successfully besieged it in 1571. After a long siege, the Venetians agreed to surrender on the promise that they would be allowed to live and to return to their homeland. However, when the Ottoman military commander, Lala Mustafa Pasha, entered the city and discovered that Ottoman prisoners of war had been executed, he decided to break his vow and retaliate. He took the Venetian commander, Bragadino, drug him to the square in front of this church, chained him between two columns brought from Salamis, and skinned him alive. The cathedral was then converted to a mosque and named after Lala Mustafa Pasha, the name it still bears today.

The plaza in front of St. Nicholas -- where Bragadino was executed.

We only admired the outside of the cathedral before hurrying on to a second monument nearby that we wanted to see while it was still light outside, and we figured we could return to the interior of St. Nicholas afterward, since its role as a mosque means it should be open to visitors even in the evening. This second important Gothic building is St. George of the Greeks, obviously a Greek Orthodox church. Only the shell of the building remains, but it is interesting for a couple of reasons. Along the exterior of the building marks made by the Ottoman cannon balls during the siege are clearly visible. If the light is right (which it was not for us), you can even see reflections off of the metal of some cannon balls still embedded in the wall!

What remains of the east end of St. George of the Greeks. Note the cannonball holes.

Inside what remains of the church (it's not open to the public, but Matthew got us in), some frescoes from the Paleologan period, that is one of the late periods of the Byzantine empire, still remain. But they are in serious danger because they are exposed to the elements, and because birds nesting in the ruins make a mess on them, which is of course very acidic and damaging. Archaeologists and historians in Cyprus have worked to have the site put on UNESCO's list of the most endangered cultural sites in the world, but that status expires this year and they have been unable to put together money to do anything in the meantime! Very sad.

The interior of St. George of the Greeks

An example of the endangered Paleologan wall painting.

Another interesting aspect of the building is the grafitti that has been scratched into the painted walls. At some point during the Ottoman period, someone gouged the shapes of dozens of Ottoman-style ships into the walls. No one knows why, but it certainly is interesting!

One of the many ship grafitti scratched into the plaster.

We returned to the Gothic cathedral just as the evening Call to Prayer was being sung. It was very interesting to hear it coming from a Gothic building! It just didn't seem right.

The porch of St. Nicholas illuminated in the evening.

There were four of us together at that point: Peter and myself, Dror, and Sait, one of the Turkish Senior Fellows. We waited patiently and quietly at the back of the mosque for the prayers to finish. Well, most of us did -- Sait went forward to where the prayers were being held, which was an area we could not see from our vantage point. He might have been going to pray himself. When the prayers ended, we started to move forward to look at the space of the cathedral, but the imam came and asked us to leave, refusing to let us walk around or make pictures. This was the first time in Turkey that we have been asked to leave a mosque. We certainly were not doing anything wrong (I had my head covered), but even with Sait speaking Turkish to the imam and telling him who we were and why we were there, he refused to let us stay. This seemed to be just one more example of the lack of hospitality in Cyprus! It was disappointing, but we got to see about half of the building from our where we had been standing at the back.

What we were able to see of the interior. That's Candace talking to Dror.

By this time it was completely dark, but a few of us walked to the so-called Othello's Tower to take pictures from the exterior.

For the literature buffs: "Othello's Tower." It actually looks quite Shakespearean in the darkness doesn't it?

Then we went to a very cozy dessert place and had hot drinks and too many different kinds of sweets. This was the first time Peter and I tried a traditional Turkish winter beverage called sahlep. It is a hot steamed milk drink flavored with ground orchid root and cinnamon. Yum! I highly recommend it if you are ever traveling over here, or can for some reason find it where you live.

I guess that pretty much sums up our Cypriot adventures. Our flight home the next morning was uneventful, but even now these few weeks later, we all occasionally talk about Cyprus and our impressions of it. They were not, on the whole, very positive, but it is definitely a place worth visiting. Maybe we did not give it a fair chance in some ways since we were there in pretty nasty weather, and did not see the nightlife or party beaches. Someone else will have to go and fill us in on those details!

Cyprus: Day 2 -- A Monastery, Bitter Lemons and a Castle

2009-01-02T07:42:00.000-08:00

The Gothic Abbey of Bellapais

We started our second day in Cyprus by getting our first taste of the amazing Gothic architecture to be found on the island. Before we started reading up on the history of Cyprus for the trip, neither one of us realized that it is home to some of the most well-preserved and important Gothic architecture in the world. Because Candace's minor field for her Ph.D. is Medieval art and architecture, she volunteered to do short site reports on the major Gothic monuments that we would be visiting during the trip.

Candace delivers her talk in front of the Abbey.

A captive audience in the porch of the church.

Some of you might be wondering from the outset why there should be Gothic architecture on Cyprus at all. When most of us think of Gothic cathedrals, we think of France, Spain, and other Western European countries. So what is it doing so far east and south on Cyprus? The short answer is that it was brought to the island by the Crusaders. But the long answer is much more interesting than that, and a brief lesson on the Medieval history of the island will give a much clearer picture of why the buildings are there, and why they are so important. For those of you who want to skip down to the pictures, please feel free -- it won't hurt our feelings!

Because of its geographical position just off the coast of Asia Minor, Cyprus was a holding of the Byzantine part of the Roman empire. The last of the Byzantines to rule the island was Isaac Ducas Comnenus (I'll just use Isaac from here on). Isaac had been governor of Cilicia (a region of Asia Minor), but he was captured by the Armenians and sold to the Knights Templar. The Byzantine emperor bought him back from the Templars, but he sent more than the required ransom, and Isaac used the extra money to raise an army and invade Cyprus, where he became, in effect, the Emperor of the Cypriots. Then he did something incredibly stupid.

In 1190 Richard I, the Lionheart, was en route from England to Palestine with other members of the Third Crusade, as well as with his sister and his bride-to-be, Berengaria of Navarre. Their fleet was separated in a storm and the ship with the ladies on it put in to emergency port at Lemessos on the southern shore of Cyprus. Rather than welcoming them, Isaac was so rude to them, so the story goes, that they did not even leave their ship. Of course Richard was not far behind them and when he arrived he was so furious at their treatment that he waged war and took the island before continuing on on his Crusade.

Richard soon found himself in need of funds to continue the Crusade, so he sold the island of Cyprus to the Knights Templar. The Templars decided the island was a drain on their resources and tried to sell it back, but Richard had no use for it. Instead, he brokered a deal with Guy de Lusignan of France, who happily bought the island from the Templars for the same price they had paid Richard. And so in 1192 began the Lusignan Dynasty in Cyprus, a dynasty which would last until 1489. Vast amounts of wealth flowed onto the island under the Lusignans, and the urban fabric of the major cites was transformed, a process which was marked by the construction of great Gothic cathedrals.

The social effect of these cathedrals on Cyprus must have been tremendous. For the Western Europeans who came here on their way to or from the Crusades, some of whom stayed, they must have been a strong and emotional reminder of their homelands. Also, these buildings were a statement of the triumph of the Latin Church over the Greek Orthodox Church.

When the island passed into Muslim hands, the cathedrals were converted into mosques. This is important because the result was that the elaborate interior decoration of the churches in the form of frescoes and tapestries, etc., was stripped away or covered. While we may mourn the loss of these works of art, what these structures now provide is a whitewashed case study in which the immense skill of the Gothic masterbuilders who designed these buildings, and of the stonemasons who constructed the walls and vaults, becomes more evident to the eye than in any of the churches of Europe. In effect, the essence of the buildings can be appreciated in a completely different way than is possible when visiting Chartres or Notre Dame. This makes the Gothic cathedrals of Cyprus unique and important, and while they are much less famous than those of Europe, they deserve to be visited, studied, and preserved. Candace definitely plans to include them in any courses on Medieval art and architecture she teaches in the future, so this trip was very formative for her.

The first of the Medieval buildings we visited was not a cathedral, but a monastery. This monastery was first constructed between 1198-1205 by a monastic group called the Premonstratensians, also known as the White Canons, because of the color of their robes. The Premonastratensians were not a completely cloistered order, but were dedicated to a life of preaching. They were the first to be sent to the Holy Land, where they arrived as early as 1131. When Jerusalem fell to Saladin in 1187, they fled to Cyprus and founded this monastery, which they named Abbaye de la Paix ("Abbey of Peace"), shortened over the years to Bellapais (pronounced bella-pie-ees). Over time, the Premonstratensians became wealthy and badly behaved. Church representatives sent to investigate in 1571 found some of the monks living here with as many as two or three wives! However, that same year Cyprus was absorbed by the Ottoman Empire, which turned the monastery over to the Greek Orthodox Church. The Orthodox continued to use it as a place of worship until as recently as 1976. Now it is a museum.

Most of what remains now dates to between 1267 and 1284. The cloister is of the 14th century. Much stone was taken from here over the centuries by builders constructing other projects in the area. It is a testament to how well it was constructed originally that so much of it remains intact, and in good condition.

The entryway to the cloister from the top of one of the walls.

The Gothic arches in the cloister.

An ancient column stands in the center of the chapter house (where the monks held meetings).

This pictures gives a good idea of the size and shape of the chapter house.

Peter stands in the chapter house doorway. There is a cliff beyond it.

The contrast of Gothic arches and tropical palms is difficult to get used to!

After enjoying the monastery, we walked a short distance up the hill to the house of a famous writer named Lawrence Durrell. Neither of us were familiar with him before this trip. He was a British author of (among many other things) a book about the political and social troubles in Cyprus in the 1950s, called Bitter Lemons of Cyprus. He experienced the unrest on the island first-hand, while he spent several years living there and working in public relations for the British government.

Apologies -- this is the only picture we have of Durrell's house. Everyone was ordering what they wanted for dinner that night.

Several of the Fellows are big fans of his writing, although most agree that the Cyprus book is not his best work -- he is best known for his series The Alexandria Quartet. He lived all over the world and wrote about his experiences, and the house where he lived on Cyprus is a well-known tourist attraction. We were able to view it only from the outside, where our British Fellow, Alison, gave a talk on the author. Durrell had also spent some time in Serbia, so Alessandra asked our Serbian fellow Ivana what she knew about him, and she surprised us all by saying that while he was in her country he had actually stayed with her family in her home!

An interesting decoration over a door in the village where Bellapais and Durrell's home are located (it's called Guzelyurt).

Next we traveled east up the length of the Karpas peninsula. Our first stop was Kantara Castle, a Medieval Lusignan fortress constructed on a high point and used as a location from which to light signal fires to send warnings about possible invading forces approaching the island. The landscape in this area is very rugged, and it was extremely windy and quite cold, so we did not linger very long after climbing up to the castle. The views were amazing:

Kantara Castle from below.

A view of the approach to Kantara castle from one of the towers.

Some of our group in one of the defensive towers of the castle. In front is Canan, our zooarchaeologist, behind her Dror (to your left) and Sait, behind them L to R Amanda and Ben, then Ivana and Fulya, and Peter in the back.

A view of the landscape around the castle. There is a tiny house on the top of the next mountain. Just the kind of place Candace's parents would like to retire to!

Our Director, Alessandra, stands at the brink of the cliff. Is she admiring the view or has the group finally gotten to her?

After descending from the mountaintop, we drove further up the North coast. We stopped for lunch at the small Oasis hotel and restaurant, barely large enough to accomodote the twenty of us.

The Oasis.

It sits at the site of ancient Carpasia, directly on the shore, from which are visible the remains of a Roman breakwater and harbor and, as Asa informed us, Roman fishponds as well. This was undoubtedly the best meal of the trip. The fish was very fresh, and the dark and desolate mood of the shore, with the waves crashing up on the beach, was very dramatic.

The Roman breakwater (T) and fishponds (B)

The most interesting thing about this hotel/restaurant is its location. It has the feeling of being very far removed from civilization, and the only building within sight is actually one of historical importance. A few steps from the restaurant are the remains of Agios Filion, a 12th century Byzantine church built over an Early Christian basilica of the 5th century.

The 12th century church of Agios Filion

There is some debate as to whether the hotel actually owns this significant building or not, but at any rate it is in a fairly good state of preservation, although we cannot guess how long it will stay that way. The most astonishing thing about it is the elaborate and (for now) well-preserved mosaics belonging to the earlier church. They are lying here exposed to the elements and to any passing tourists, without any protection at all. We can only hope that someone is keeping an eye on them!

Agios Filion: mosaics from the 5th century church.

A well-preserved example.

Dark was already falling when we finished poking around Agios Filion and boarded the bus to continue almost to the tip of the peninsula, to the monastery of Apostolos Andreas. We have already written about this in an earlier post called "Christmas at the Patriarchate." If you have not read that post, please do scroll down and do so. We feel that our visit to that location was one of the most interesting, and important, events of the trip.

Cyprus: Day 1 -- Girne and Vouni

2008-12-30T07:25:00.000-08:00

The two of us at the site of ancient Vouni

Our second fieldtrip with the group from the Research Center was to Northern Cyprus. Originally, the plan had included a day in Greek (Southern) Cyprus. However, despite having an invitation from an academic institution on the Greek side of the island, the Turkish citizens in our group were denied the right to cross the border. Rather than split the group up, we all decided to spend the four-day trip solely in Turkish territory. This was probably the best use of our short amout of available time anyway, as the distances and driving times between the sites we were hoping to see turned out to be significantly greater than originally thought.

Peter's shot of Tsameret's young son Sheker on the bus. You can see in the reflection that he has figured out how to turn on the microphone the bus has for tourguides to use to talk to passengers. span>

We arrived in Cyprus mid-morning on Saturday and checked into our hotel in the northern coastal town of Girne. The hotel was called Club Z (or ClubZ depending on who you ask). That's short for Club Zeus, which is the casino on the hotel grounds. The breakfast they provided was good, but the rooms were shabby. Only later that evening after returning from a long day of touring would we all become acquainted with the new, small friends in our various rooms. Judging solely by the exterior of hotels in the town, this type of lodging is probably par for the course, unless you are willing to shell out big bucks to stay right on the water.

After having breakfast we walked to the harbor area of town. This area is quite pretty, with a nice walkway along the seawall in front of a Crusader fortress.

Peter inspects a Crusader-era defensive tower on the water at Girne.

Remember that young Turkish men like to pose for pictures constantly? Here, our friend Dror does the honors.

A little bit of home in Northern Cyprus. Click on the picture and check out the name on the sign over the snack stand.

A replica ship in front of the real Crusader castle walls.

We milled around a little, had some seriously overpriced tea and coffee (5 lira apiece, even for the single bags of Lipton tea and hot water), then convened at the fortress where we were met by Matthew Harpster from Middle Eastern University. Matthew is a young professor of archaeology, specializing in underwater archaeology, which he studied at Texas A&M (Gig 'Em). He had agreed to give us a guided tour of the important exhibit housed in the Castle -- the famous Kyrenia shipwreck, one of the best-preserved Greek ships ever found, and one of the first to be excavated, in the early 1960s. We were very lucky to have him with us, and the fact that he was there was a result of pure serendipity: a few weeks ago one of the Fellows, Asa, was traveling to the States for a conference and happened to be seated next to Matthew on the plane, and they struck up a conversation. When he found out where Matthew teaches, he told him that we Fellows were planning a trip to Cyprus and asked if he would come lend us his expertise for the day. Such a small world!

The exhibit of the ship is indeed very interesting. Having seen the boats at Yeni Kapı (see earlier post), we knew a bit about the process of bringing up and restoring shipwrecks, but it was quite interesting to hear about the various recovery techniques that had been planned and tried out for the first time there off the coast of Cyprus. One of the (luckily) abandoned ideas had been to lift the boat from the seafloor using a helicopter, an experiment that would definitely have resulted in the disintegration of the fragile wood. Fortunately, they had were not able to find a helicopter large enough on the island so that plan was never carried out.

The Kyrenia shipwreck.

The story of the shipwreck was also the first of many tales we heard on Cyprus in which the unfortunate conflict between Turkey and Greece plays a major role. At the time of the discovery of the shipwreck site, the island was not divided. The Greek government sunk a lot of money into raising the boat (pardon the pun), and into preparing the exhibition area in the castle and preserving all of the finds. They viewed the ship as a window into Greek culture at the height of its power in the fourth century BC. However, by the time the exhibit opened, Northern Cyprus was in Turkish hands, the Greek government was expelled, and suddenly this boat which was supposed to symbolize the essence of Greekness was located in an area occupied by Turkish military. Now it is Northern Cyprus that benefits from the tourism the shipwreck generates, but, interestingly, Greek Cyprus still uses its images on currency and tourism materials.

After seeing the shipwreck, we spent another hour or so wandering around the castle itself. The views from the top of the towers were quite impressive.

The landscape of Cyprus around Girne, from the top of the Castle walls.

Peter atop the castle walls.

Inside some of the towers were some prime examples of displays of mannequins which the Turks so love. These showed the historical usage of some of the rooms in the fortress, although there was very little explanation given about the particular time periods that were being represented. Also, the exhibits had apparently not been so much as dusted in who knows how long, and were getting pretty shabby, which only added to their weirdness. The most disturbing of the exhibits were in the so-called dungeons, where startlingly graphic scenes of nude mannequins being tortured were exhibited. They are probably best not posted here, but if anyone is interested, I can send them.

A Venetian soldier mannequin makes gunpowder.

There was really not much more to Girne than that, at least what we saw. There was one amusing street sign though. "Watch out for old people"(?):

Slow Waaaaaaaaaay down. (Yavaş yavaş!)

After the castle, we all piled into a bus that was WAY too small to accomodate us, and drove to the site of ancient Vouni, which is high in the hills above the coastline. None of us knew much about the site, besides that it was a settlement of the Greeks(?) who were pro-Persian, and that it dates from the 5th century BC. Apparently the palace there was modeled on the Persian palace at Persepolis in Iran, although there was really nothing visible at Vouni that could illustrate that to the casual viewer. And like most archaeological sites there was little to no information given on the signage, so it was not as enjoyable as it could have been if someone had had time to do research and make a presentation as we often do on these trips. We did not spend much time there, as it was already getting dark. In fact, the sunset on top of the mountain was the best part of that visit.

The landscape at the site of ancient Vouni:

Peter's picture.

Candace's picture. Aren't we supposed to be taking photos of the historical stuff?

OK, there's one. Something cult-related at Vouni.

Soooo thrilled to be there!

Sunset over Vouni

We headed back to ClubZ for the dinner they had prepared for us. It seemed alright, especially because we were all hungry since there had been no lunch worked into the schedule for that day! It was not until later days in the trip that the food at the hotel would take a turn for the worse, but when you travel you have to be able to find humor in every situation, which we definitely tried to do. But that is a story for a later post.

Christmas at the Patriarchate

2008-12-27T09:00:00.000-08:00

Candace's actual birthday happened while we were in Cyprus. We will write about most of that trip in the next few posts, but we want to tell a little bit about what happened that day because it explains some of what we did on Christmas Day as well.

One of the many sites we visited in Northern Cyprus was the monastery of Apostolos Andreas. This is a very important, though not much-visited religious site. It is a Greek Orthodox monastery dedicated to St. Andrew, the patron saint of sailors. Located near the very eastern tip of the Karpas peninsula, where the island narrows to a long, thin point, the monastery is effectively cut off from the rest of the island by long stretches of desolate wilderness.

Apostolos Andreas was once a flourishing monastery, and still enjoys an influx of visitors during twice-yearly pilgrimages of Orthodox faithful from Southern Cyprus and the Greek mainland, in August and November. Regular services are held here throughout the year, but the location is so remote that almost no one attends.

In 1974, when the Turkish military seized the northern third of the island, their paratroopers dropped in well to the west of Apostolos Andreas, near modern-day Girne. Apparently, by the time word of the invasion reached the middle of the Karpas peninsula, it was too late for the small Greek community of Rizokarpaso there to evacuate with the majority of their countrymen. As a result, there are still about 350 Greeks living there. It may have taken even longer for news of the events to reach the tip of the peninsula, where the monks and nuns of Apostolos Andreas were tending the monastery. Or perhaps they knew what was happening further inland but made the conscious decision to stay at their holy site rather than flee. In either case, the result was a Greek Orthodox monastery in Turkish Muslim territory, cut off from the vast majority of its faithful.

Because of the ongoing political situation in which Northern Cyprus is recognized as a sovereign nation only by Turkey, but viewed by the rest of the world as military-occupied territory, the Orthodox church cannot assign new monks or nuns to the monastery. Over the last thirty years, all of the monastics living and worshipping there have passed away, leaving one sole caretaker: a ninety-two year old nun named Sister Vespina.

Sister Vespina arrived at Apostolos Andreas fifty years ago. For the last half-century she has maintained a spartan existence there -- electrical lines finally reached the monastery a mere three months ago! Her only regular company are Turkish police officers who have installed an office in one of the rooms of the monastery. This is probably a small consolation since they cannot communicate -- she has never learned Turkish. The priest also comes to the monastery church to perform services two days a week, but for the rest of the time, Sister Vespina is alone.

We arrived at the monastery shortly after 5 pm. Because it was the 21st of December, the Winter Solstice and longest night of the year, it was already dark. Strong, cold winds accompanying one of the rare rainstorms on the island were churning up the waves along the rocky coast at the foot of the church. Sister Vespina had retired for the night, but when Alessandra knocked on her bedroom door and Ivana explained to her in Greek where we had come from and that we would really like to see the church, she came out. First she went to another room in the monastery complex and retrieved a huge, ancient key for the church door. Then she led us to the church.

Sister Vespina unlocks the door of the monastery church.

The wind was blowing very hard, and the sounds of it and the crashing waves were loud as we walked, but the moment we passed through the portal of the church, we entered into complete silence. The smell of incense from the last services held there was still strong.

Sister Vespina lit some candles, and there was enough light to see the icons hanging high up on the screen in the east end of the church. For once, we were experiencing an Orthodox church as it was meant to be experienced -- without electricity, flickering candlelight illuminating the gold leaf on the images of saints that gazed down from shadowy corners of the building. For a few minutes we stood silently contemplating the small building. Several of us dropped money onto the offering plate and lit candles.

Sister Vespina helps Zeynep, the daughter of one of our Turkish friends, light a candle in her Greek Orthodox Church. We feel that this picture is a strong statement of the potential for understanding and reconciliation.

It is difficult to explain how powerful and moving an experience it was for many of us.

As Sister Vespina blew out the candles and Ivana helped her walk back to her room, she asked repeatedly for the Patriarch of the Orthodox Church. "Tell Bartholomew he must come and visit us." She has either forgotten or prefers to ignore that fact that it is impossible for the Patriarch to visit her. As the head of all of the Orthodox faithful in the world, he cannot appear to legitimate the situation in occupied Cyprus. But Ivana assured her that we would do what we could to make him aware of her situation. Before leaving, we took up a collection of snack food from our bags and presented a grateful Sister Vespina with an offering of crackers, chocolate bars, and fruit -- small luxuries that she has limited access to in her remote location.

I think more than a few of us were introspective during our long, dark ride back down the peninsula. On that far point of the island where you are more likely to encounter, as we did, a herd of shepherdless sheep and a pack of wild donkeys than you are to see other people, the military and political problems that afflict the rest of the island seem so remote and senseless.

***********

This brings us to our experiences on Christmas Day here in Istanbul. Some of us had talked amongst ourselves since our visit to Apostolos Andreas and decided that the best thing we could do for Sister Vespina would be to present the Patriarch with some of the pictures we took of her and of her church. We did not have time to print high-quality images, so we decided to collect photographs taken by the Fellows in digital form, and Peter burned them to a CD. Then on Christmas morning a small delegation of us (Peter and I, Ivana - who is Serbian and therefore grew up in the Orthodox Church, and our Georgian Fellow Nino) attended the Christmas liturgy at the Patriarchate, where we were going to make sure the CD made it into the hands of the Patriarch's secretary.

Note: from here on, the pictures were not taken by us. Very regrettably, we neglected to take our cameras! But we wanted to include some photos we found on the internet, to give an idea of the church and the service.

His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, Archbishop of Constantinople (New Rome) and leader of the Orthodox Church.

The service was really an amazing experience. It lasted over three hours, but we did not arrive until the last hour. Because the Patriarchate of Constantinople is the highest ranking church in the Orthodox world, attending this service was similar to attending Christmas Mass at the Vatican, with the Pope presiding. There were several hundred people there, although it did not seem overly crowded. This is in part a sad testament to the small number of Greeks left in the city of Istanbul.

The church of the Patriarchate is a relatively new building, having been built only in the 19th century. Peter and I had never attended an Orthodox service before and we were surprised by how relaxed it was. This is not to say that the liturgy itself was anything but solemn -- the rich vestments worn by the officiating clergy were gorgeous, and the singing of the monks was beautiful. But the people attending were strolling around the church, conversing with one another -- even answering cell phones! Ivana told us that this is the usual practice for Greek Orthodox churchgoers, although she said that in the Russian Orthodox church they are much more rigid and traditional. We watched the service for an hour, Peter and I from the third-level gallery where we could see everything that was going on. We were sprinkled with holy water by a deacon, and at the end of the service we lined up with hundreds of other people to receive a benediction and a piece of bread from the Patriarch, and to kiss his hand. This in itself was an amazing experience, but it is a very formal process, and everyone is moved through in a matter of seconds (or else it would take all day).

As the service was drawing to a close (but still going on!), Ivana walked us around the church and pointed out the most important relics kept there, including some of the bones of Saints John Chrysostom and Gregory of Nazianzus (two of the most important Church Fathers, who wrote in the fourth century). The most important and interesting relic in the church is the Column of the Flagellation, which is built into the wall of the South aisle. This is supposedly the column to which Christ was tied when he was beaten prior to the Crucifixion. Whether it is or is not that very column, it is one that was brought to Constantinople in the fourth century by the mother of Constantine, and has been revered by thousands upon thousands of Christians for the past 1700 years. Unlike most of the important relics in the Vatican, this column is available to be seen, touched, or kissed:

Subdeacon Maximus of the Patriarchate touching the Column of the Flagellation.

We still had our mission to accomplish, so we found a deacon and asked to see the Patriarch's secretary. We were told that he was not there, so we asked who we could leave our CD of photographs with to make sure that the Patriarch would receive it. To our surprise, the deacon told us to wait to one side until the Patriarch exited the church in procession, and that we could give it to him ourselves!

The Patriarch of Constantinople is an extremely important world figure. He is the head of all of the Orthodox churches (Greek, Russian, Romanian, Bulgarian, American, etc.), and so the spiritual leader of approximately 300 million Orthodox faithful. He was included by Time magazine on their 2008 list of the 100 most influential people in the world, probably for his work to reconcile the Orthodox church with the Vatican, or for his struggle for the recognition of the history and traditions of the Greek Orthodox Church by the Turkish government. We had not really expected to be able to talk to him personally.

The Patriarch and the Pope in 2006, at the Patriarchate here in Istanbul.

We waited for awhile until the Patriarch came out with a group of deacons and monks from the behind the screen that closes off the east end of the church and began the ceremonial procession down the main aisle. We had expected Ivana to speak with him and pass the CD to him, but when he was a few steps away from us she suddenly turned to me and said, "Candace, I cannot, I cannot! I can't speak to the Patriarch! My legs are shaking! You have to do it!" It was probably best that she waited until the last moment, so I didn't have time to become nervous. I just stepped up quickly and told him who we were, where we had been, and that we had pictures of Sister Vespina for him. He nodded and said, "Oh yes, Apostolos Andreas." Then he took the CD and passed it to one of his attendants, stopped for a moment to bless the four of us and wish us Happy New Year, then continued on out of the church. It was all over in half a minute, but we will certainly remember it for a long time!

This experience definitely made for a special Christmas, and we feel good knowing that we did what little we could to bridge the sad gap, caused by divisive politics and violence, between Sister Vespina and the head of her church. Although it does not seem likely that the political situation will allow His All Holiness Patriarch Bartheolomew to visit Sister Vespina in the near future, Ivana will write her a letter now telling her that we spoke to the Patriarch about her and gave him pictures of her and her church; hopefully that will provide some comfort to her.

Candace's Birthday Party

2008-12-26T08:26:00.001-08:00

Candace and her Cakes (Peter picked them out)

We just got back from Northern Cyprus, and we know some of you want to hear about that, but first we wanted to share some more time-sensitive things. This first post is really just an easy way to share some pictures with our family.

Just before we left for Cyprus last Saturday, Candace had a birthday party (her 32nd) on Thursday up on the rooftop terrace of our building. Several friends from the Fulbright program came, as well as Marco and Karen (our friends from the State Department), and a few other people that we have met since coming to Istanbul. And of course most of the Fellows were there as well. It was cold but fun! We only have a few photos, but here they are:

Us with our friends Volkan and Janset (Mom and Dad will recognize Volkan!)

Us again, with Candace in the cute hat and gloves Volkan and Janset gave her as a gift.

Bayram and Topkapı Palace

2008-12-14T11:08:00.000-08:00

This past week was one of the most important Muslim religious holidays, Kurban Bayramı. This Bayram commemorates the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son. In the Muslim tradition, the son that he was commanded to sacrifice was Ishmael, as opposed to Isaac as in the Biblical version of the same story. For devout Muslims, participating in Kurban sacrifices indicates their willingness to make sacrifices in the name of Allah. Although the meaning is figurative -- that is, they are signaling their willingness to sacrifice money, time, pride, and other intangibles, the sacrifices themselves are very real animal sacrifices.

Because Candace's dissertation deals with the sensory experience of the worship of the Roman emperors, which included blood sacrifice, this Bayram presented an amazing opportunity to really experience animal sacrifice in a way that is not possible in the United States. One of the Senior Fellows, Sait, was kind enough to arrange for a representative from the Department of Health, which oversees the sacrifices, to take us to one of the sacrificial sites.

Due to the graphic nature of the sacrifices we have decided not to blog about them. If anyone is interested in knowing more about it, or seeing pictures, let us know by email or posting a comment here.

Besides the sacrifices, Bayram is also a week-long holiday from work and school, and our neighborhood is a very popular one for holiday shopping and hanging out. Locals and tourists from other areas of Turkey come to Istanbul for the holidays, and many of them visit our street. Here are a couple of pictures to show the number of people that were here on our street over the last week!

Besides Bayram, not a lot has been going on here. The break was a good time for both of us to get some work done (Candace on her research, Peter on his artwork).

We also wanted to share some of Peter's pictures from our visit to Topkapı Palace a few weeks ago. Topkapı was the home of the sultans and their families from the 16th through the late 19th centuries, and is the location of the famous harem of the Ottoman royalty. There is much to see there. Besides the gorgeous architecture, Topkapı is the location of the treasuries that house the collections of jewels and other luxury objects collected by the sultans, as well as religious relics of Mohammad and other figures revered is Islam (such as Jacob and John the Baptist). There are also displays of armor and weapons of both the Ottoman armies and their historical allies and enemies. Rather than writing a lengthy discussion of the palace, we thought we would just post a few photos of our visit.

Main gate of the palace.

A model of the palace complex.

Tower on top of the divan, the room where the sultan and his advisors made governing decisions and received ambassadors.

PICTURES FROM THE HAREM:

The "throne room."

An interesting architectural design.

A luxurious room that includes typical examples of Ottoman stained glass, tilework, and woodwork inlaid with mother-of-pearl..

Interesting shadow on the tiles.

A passageway.

Candace in the interior courtyard of the harem. Τhose of you who have visited Topkapı realize how AWESOME it is that there is no one else in this picture!

One of the "harem women."

PICTURES FROM THE PALACE KITCHENS:

A man where he belongs!

Candace in the passageway outside the kitchens.

Bulgarian Border-Run

2008-12-06T12:55:00.000-08:00

The picturesque Turkish-Bulgarian border.

As some of you already know, we just returned from spending a night in Bulgaria. We had to leave the country so that Peter could re-enter with a new visa, good for another three months. It was definitely an interesting experience.

We took the bus from Istanbul to Edirne, which is a town that boast 5 borders: two with Bulgaria and three with Greece. We were to cross the border at the point called Kapikule on the Turkish side, passing into the checkpoint known as Capitan Andreevo on the Bulgarian side. Our original plan involved catching a bus from Edirne to the small Bulgarian town of Svilengrad, near the border, where we had booked a hotel room for the night. Things did not go according to plan.

We arrived in Edirne without incident, then asked for a bus to Bulgaria. We were told to take a dolmus -- a van that is sort of a shared taxi that runs on a regular schedule -- into the center of Edirne and that we would be able to get a bus from there. When we got to the city center we asked for a bus to Bulgaria and were quickly herded onto yet another dolmus which took us to the border and put us out. Rather than waiting for a dolmus to take us back into town and attempting to find an actual bus into Bulgaria, we decided to make the crossing on foot.

From the moment we passed the first Turkish checkpoint, things began to look a little like the movie "Mad Max." The area between the borders is barren and desolate, with run-down, empty buildings on either side and a lot of construction. Apparently there will be, at some point, some very nice parking and shopping facilities, and multiple high-tech booths for cars to pass through customs and visa control. But for now there is only a lot of scrap metal, mud, and a series of small shacks staffed by Turkish border patrol who seem to have very little to do. There are no pedestrian lanes. Actually, there are no lanes at all, just a big open area that cars and buses occasionally pass through, so we had to watch our backs and be on the lookout for vehicles while we walked. We thought it was probably best not to be strolling through snapping lots of pictures of the border area, but Peter snuck a couple that give some idea of what it is like:

Empty checkpoints on the Turkish side of the border.

There was not really much to see on the Turkish side, other than a burning trash dumpster (see picture at top).
There is a duty-free shop, but the prices are as high or higher even than in regular stores in Turkey, so there seems to be no point to it.

After walking about a mile we reached the last Turkish checkpoint, only to be told that we had somehow missed an important earlier checkpoint and had to go halfway back to get our exit stamps from one of the little border patrol shacks. We finally made it to the first Bulgarian checkpoint, where the border guard did not want to give Candace an entry stamp because he did not recognize the additional visa pages that had been added to her passport. Luckily he was able to find a bare spot large enough for his stamp on one of the pages that had already been technically filled, or otherwise we might have had a problem! We are a bit nervous now that that might be an issue again in the future, but we don't really know what to do about it -- when your passport is full but not expired, the US government just adds the official additional visa pages, so what do you do if you travel so much? Maybe it was just that this particular border is not one where American citizens pass much so they did not recognize what they were seeing. We hope!
(We'll get back with you on this when we go to Cyprus in two weeks).

Once we made it through the Bulgarian checkpoints we were not sure how we would get the last 18 km to the town of Svilengrad. But there were several local men hanging out just inside the border, asking if we needed a "taxi" into town. Of course they were not really taxis, but we took one of them up on the offer since there were no marked taxis around. Our Bulgarian friend Rossitsa had told us that this might be a problem since very few people make the crossing on foot (we certainly didn't see anyone else doing it), and that the people waiting with cars at the border would try to charge the "stupid tourists" much more than a taxi would for the same ride. We are sure that this man did. We ended up paying 20 Bulgarian leva (about $13). However, in a country in which the average monthly income is about $400 U.S. dollars, we did not mind, for once, playing the role of "stupid tourist" and giving what was for us a small amount of money to someone who needed it much more than we do.

We made it into Svilengrad earlier than we had thought we would, since we made the crossing faster as two weirdos on foot than we would have as two of thirty people on a bus who all had to have their papers checked. This meant that we had plenty of time to stroll around the town and see what there is to see. That would be pretty much nothing.

The nicest building we saw in Svilengrad.

Svilengrad seems to be a dying city. There were few people walking around. Many buildings are derelict. There is quite a bit of new construction, mostly of cheap apartment complexes, but the overall feeling of the city is such that the buildings that are half-built seem less like they are being constructed than that they have decayed to that point. The general depressed air of the the town is greatly heightened by the tradition of hanging black and white posters all over town with the names and pictures of people who have recently died. They were tacked to houses, trees and telephone poles, and taped to fences. There were dozens and dozens of them, everywhere. Other examples of what make the town so strange and slightly creepy must be accidental. We can only assume that the name of this building is a mistranslation of "hostel":

The hotel that we had booked a room in turned out, on inspection, to be of questionable character. It's not just that it was not clean, but that it seemed to be a place where certain unsavory business transactions probably take place. We declined the room and found a vacancy in what is surely the nicest hotel in town. It set us back a mere $35 or so. That was the one good thing about Svilengrad -- everything is ridiculously cheap. Our meals cost about $7 for the two of us. A beer was $1. Candace even bought Lindt chocolate bars for about $.75, and socks for the same price. Yes, it is a little weird that we went sock-shopping, but clothes were SO cheap but yet we were going to have to carry everything we bought for the next 24 hours, so socks seemed like a good thing to pick up.

The next morning we got a real taxi back to the border. We noticed that the meter had only reached about 7 leva just shy of the border, when the driver suddenly turned the meter off, but again we did not balk when he asked us for 12 leva. "Stupid tourists" once again, we even tipped him an extra 2.

Then it was back across the border on foot. There was much more traffic passing from Bulgaria into Turkey, probably because Friday was the first day of the Bayram weekend. We will write more about the Kurban Bayram holiday after we really experience it this coming week, but it is a HUGE travel time for Turks, and there are many Turks living and working in Bulgaria and elsewhere in eastern Europe, who make their way back to family in Turkey for the week of Bayram. Whereas we had seen one or two cars the day before, there were 15 or 20 now waiting in the various lines at the border. Because there are no lanes dedicated to pedestrians, we had to stand in line between vehicles, just as if we were a car. Some drivers were happy to wave us in front of them, but others would have cheerfully run us down to keep their place in line, so we had to be very cautious.

So it was back across the border in reverse. Bulgarian exit stamp: check. Duty-free shop: check. Burning dumpster: check (yes, still burning). New Turkish visa for Peter: check. On the Turkish side it was easy to catch the same dolmus that had dropped us at the border the day before and make our way back into Edirene.

We made it back into the city by mid-morning and had plenty of time to look around. Edirne is a very pretty and interesting city, and well worth spending a day (or two). It was the capital of the Ottoman empire until the Turks captured Constantinople and moved their capital there, and many of the Sultans continued to spend time in Edirne even after the capital was moved. There are several very important and beautiful buildings there. In ancient times this area of Turkey, and into the southern Balkans, was known as Thrace. The men were world-renowned as expert horsemen. The Thracians were also highly prized fighters, and slaves taken here by the Romans were often trained as gladiators for the arena. The "Thracian" was even the name of a type of gladiator who fought with a curved sword or dagger and a small shield, whether they were actually from the geographical area or not. Spartacus, the gladiator who led the somewhat successful slave revolt against the Romans in 73 BC, proving that the Roman army was not invincible, was most likely a Thracian.

Ancient Edirne was founded by the Roman emperor Hadrian and named for himself -- Hadrianopolis. The only remains of the ancient city are part of the Roman wall, including a defensive tower:

Part of Hadrian's city wall. The top section of the tower is an Ottoman addition.

The area is technically an archaeological park, but is not frequently visited and was locked up when we arrived. We were peering through the gate when the caretaker showed up, let us in, and gave us a tour. There is really not much left to see, and what is there was built over in the Byzantine and modern periods, but there are the foundations of a church and a couple of Byzantine pottery kilns. After showing us around the small site, our guide took us to the mosque next door, which is called Üç Şerefeli Camii, or "Mosque of the three balconies" because one of the minarets has three separate balconies with three separate stairways so that three muezzins can stand on them at the same time and harmonize the call to prayer (although this is no longer done). You can see the tower with the three balconies behind the Roman tower in the picture above. The mosque was built in 1447 and is quite pretty on the inside, though heavily restored:

Interior of the Üç Serefeli Mosque

Our guide spent quite a bit of time telling us the history of the mosque, and we thought for sure he was going to expect some money for his trouble, but it turns out that it is the mosque where he and his family worship, and he just wanted to make sure that we saw it. After showing us around he happily went back to guarding the Roman ruins.

We visited two more mosques next. The Eski Camii (Old Mosque) was the first mosque of the city (built from 1403 to 1414). The decoration includes large calligraphic renderings of the names of the Mohammed and his followers. It was Peter's favorite:

Calligraphic decoration in the Eski Mosque.

The Dome of the Eski Mosque.

There is also restoration work going on on this mosque. The men were busily at work:

Next we visited the Selimiye Mosque. This is an extremely important building because it was built by the greatest of all Ottoman architects, Sinan, who also designed the Suleimaniye Mosque in Istanbul, as well as dozens of other buildings and bridges throughout the Ottoman empire. He considered the Selimiye his masterpiece, having designed it towards the end of his career when he was 80 years old (he lived to be 98). Although it is nowhere near as large as Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Sinan was able to make the dome a few centimeters greater in diameter than the dome of that famous building, an accomplishment of which he was justifiably proud. It is an impressive building. The other buildings in the complex house two museums with collections of Turkish calligraphy, metalwork, etc.

The Selimiye Mosque built by Sinan

The interior and dome of the Selimiye Mosque.

After that mosque we visited the archaeological museum. It was interesting, but nothing was particularly spectacular, compared with other archaeological museums in Turkey. After viewing it, we took a dolmus out to another neighorhood to visit the mosque complex of Beyazit II, built between 1484 and 1488. The mosque itself was empty and we had it all to ourselves. More interesting than the mosque, though, is the rest of the complex. It was constructed as a hospital and medical school, and it is now a Museum of Health. The rooms are filled with dioramas showing the original usages of the spaces. The tableaux are based on illustrations in Ottoman medical textbooks from the 15th century. Here are a couple of examples:

An Ottoman doctor operates on the head of a boy who has encephalitis.

Making a viper bite a rooster, which will then become the test case for perfecting an anti-venom.

It is really cool! The most interesting space is a large centralized hospital for the insane and depressed. It was the first centrally-planned hospital in the world, a design that allowed for greater efficiency on the part of the staff. It also meant that the central area could be filled with a fountain and an area for musicians to play, because the doctors thought that the sounds of water and music would soothe the "lunatic" patients. They were probably right, at least in some cases. Here are a couple of pictures of the crazies:

An insane patient.

A "lunatic" patient.

We highly recommend the museum to anyone who goes to Edirne, although it is a bit off the beaten path.

After taking a dolmus back to the city center, we traded it for yet another dolmus that took us outside of town in a different direction to Thracian University's campus, where there is a memorial commemorating the Turkish soldiers and civilians killed in and near Edirne during the Balkan Wars in 1912-13. It is particularly meant to commemorate 20,000 soldiers who were left to starve in nearby Sarayiçı:

The memorial is interesting, and the main building of Thracian University is the old Edirne train station, which is worth seeing:

An old Turkish train in the station. Can you find Candace in the picture?

After looking around, rather than catching a dolmus back to town we took advantage of the pleasant weather to walk about a mile and a half back, down a tree-lined street with farmland on either side. We stopped at the river and had tea overlooking a bridge built by Sinan, then caught a dolmus the remaining half-mile back into town. We made a quick stop in the covered bazaar (also designed by Sinan) to buy a local trinket -- a broom with a mirror and evil eyes on it. Edirne is still the nation's center for traditional broommaking and they attach mirrors to decorative brooms to further ward off evil. Here is a statue in the city center of a man performing traditional broom making, which apparently requires so much strength that the artisans must chain themselves to a fixed point in order to exert enough force to bind the brooms!

It was also in Edirne that we finally learned why it takes packages to and from Turkey so long to get to us. Check out the Turkish UPS truck:

After a quick dinner we got on yet another dolmus to ride out to the otogar and catch our bus back to Istanbul. All in all, we rode 9 different buses that day, which must be some kind of record! But we could leave saying that we really felt like we had seen Edirne. It would be worth going back to though.

What we were NOT expecting came at the end of the trip. Our bus to Istanbul was about 45 minutes late. Anyone who has done bus travel in Turkey knows that this is highly irregular. Usually the buses run like clockwork and if you are only halfway in when the bus is scheduled to leave, the driver will take off with you trailing out the door. But this time it was very late. When we arrived back in Istanbul a couple of hours later, we saw why. There were literally thousands of people at the bus station taking buses to visit their families for Bayram. We sat in lines and lines of buses, creeping towards the station, for hours. When we finally got to the main bus station we had to get on yet another bus to go to a smaller bus station to catch a dolmus to get back to our apartment. This is a process that normally takes 30 minutes, 45 at most. This time it took almost 3 hours. You just can't imagine the people! And of course everyone was making it worse by wandering all over the road on foot, or driving on the wrong side of the road to get ahead of traffic. It was a nightmare. We highly suggest that anyone traveling in Turkey try to avoid traveling on the first day of a Bayram. We certainly learned our lesson!

But we did make the trip successfully, and got Peter's new visa, which was the important thing. Now we have two weeks to rest before our next trip, to Cyprus.

Visit to a Turkish Prison

2008-11-30T23:35:00.000-08:00

The two of us with Kirk (left) and Duncan on the "Stairs to Nowhere" on top of our building.

A couple of weeks ago we had a lovely outing with a small group of people: Amanda and Ivana from the Center, two of Ivana's friends (one who is a professor of Byzantine art at a university here in Istanbul, the other one a visiting professor of Early Christian art from Athens), Kirk (a fellow Fulbrighter we have mentioned from time to time), and Kirk's college friend Duncan who was visiting for a week. Duncan has an awesome job -- he is originally from horse country in Kentucky, and he lives in London where he works for Sheikh Muhammad, the ruler of Dubai, selecting racehorses for him and helping run his racehorse stables. Pretty cool, right?

Since we had the expertise of three professors at our disposal that day, we asked them to take us on a tour of a lesser-known area of Byzantine Constantinople, outside of the usual (and important) tourist area of Sultanahmet. So naturally they took to us to a Turkish prison.

Have you ever wondered where the saying about horrible Turkish prisons came from? (Yes, it dates back much further than the movie "Midnight Express"). Last week we visited the source of all of the dark stories -- the Ottoman prison called YediKule (Seven Towers). This was the spot where prisoners, both important and expendable ones, were thrown and forgotten during the years of Ottoman rule. Our Serbian friend Ivana reports that even now in eastern Europe, parents frighten their kids into behaving by relating tales of naughty children sent to Yedikule and never heard from again. One of the Seven Towers has a series of small cells built into the curved walls around a central shaft at the bottom of which is the well into which the heads of executed prisoners were tossed unceremoniously after they met their grisly end (known as the "Bloody Well", naturally):

looking up at the cell doors from the "Bloody Well." We stepped out onto that metal platform for a second, but we didn't trust it!

This site was not always such a dark place. In the Byzantine period this area was outside the walls of Constantinople, but there was a massive triumphal arch, the Golden Gate, constructed here along the road to the city, so no one could miss the fact that they were about to enter the capital of a mighty empire. The entire gate, which is largely still standing, was plated with gold (hence the name), and was decorated all over with sculpture. Imagine it shining in the sun! It must have been beyond impressive:

The Golden Gate from atop one of the flanking towers. You can see the triple Byzantine archway that was progressively blocked in over the centuries to make the fortifications more secure, until only a tiny door in the central arch remained.

Eventually, in the reign of the emperor Theodosius (379-95), the city was extended out to this point, walls were built completely enclosing it, and the Golden Gate was incorporated into them as part of the fortifications. Then, under the Ottomans, the stronghold that still stands was constructed in the shape of an octagon, with two of the seven towers being those of the Byzantine Golden Gate. The building served as a military base, which had its own mosque within the walls (you can still see the remains of the minaret in the center of the picture below), as well as a prison.

Legend has it that once you went into Yedikule, you never emerged. Guilty or innocent, prisoners were forgotten, abandoned, and eventually died in the isolated towers. Probably the most famous prisoner here was the Sultan Osman II. He was one of the "mad sultans" who was kept for years in the Cage in the harem of Topkapı Palace while his older brother (Sultan Ahmed, for whom the area Sultanahmet is named) ruled. As long as Osman was locked in the harem, he could not challenge his brother for the role of Sultan. This practice of locking the younger siblings away was considered a humane bit of progress over earlier tradition which dictated that all the younger brothers be executed as soon as the eldest came to the throne.

Locked away from the real world for his entire life in a small series of rooms with only concubines and his mother for company, by the time of his brother's death when he was brought out and made Sultan, he was more or less completely insane and incapable of functioning in any normal way. Rumor has it that he liked to practice with his bow and arrow, using his own men and palace attendants as targets. After only a few short years it was clear that he was nothing but a menace to the empire, and he was deposed by his own guards, the Janissaries, dragged to Yedikule, and executed in a gruesome fashion. Tradition dictated that sultans be strangled with a bowstring, but in this case they added to his punishment by crushing his most sensitive private parts at the same time. That is only one example of a long line of greater and lesser prisoners executed here, or left to rot in the towers.

Gruesome as its past history may be, the site is very beautiful, and we spent several hours wandering around the battlements and the insides of the towers. Care must be taken, however, as some of the modern stairways and balconies are rickety. In fact, Kirk stepped too far out onto the wooden covering over the well (where the heads were thrown), and his foot broke through. Given the fact that the site is not well-maintained overall, and that there are few people around, either tourists (who seem to as a whole miss this amazing spot) or attendants, there is ample opportunity for accidents, which we happily were able to avoid. Here are some pictures of us wandering the grounds:

At the top of the tower with the "Bloody Well" inside.

Inspecting the Ottoman battlements.

Ottoman cannonballs lined up inside the fortress.

Yedikule is probably the best place in Istanbul to go and learn about Byzantine fortifications. Standing on the Golden Gate and looking down, you can appreciate the practically impregnable defenses of Byzantine Constantinople -- of course, the Turks did eventually breach the defenses, but for hundreds of years the Byzantine emperors and their armies were successful in repulsing many invasions. In fact, when the great Attila the Hun swept up to the city with his fearsome hordes, he turned away immediately, unwilling to face a long siege in front of the walls, exposed to the missiles of the Byzantine army. Even when Constantinople fell to the Crusaders of Latin Christendom in 1203, they came in through the sea walls, finding it easier to defeat the legendary Byzantine navy than to attack the well-designed land walls. Although it was too difficult to photograph, from atop the Golden Gate you can study their ingenious four-stage defense structure: a moat, then a small outer wall (short enough to fire projectiles over from the inside walls), then a broad passageway between the outer and inner walls that was used for moving troops around when under siege, then the massive inner walls of which the Golden Gate was a part. The walls extended all the way around the city, including both land walls and sea walls. Here is a picture of some of the better-preserved remains of the Byzantine walls just inland from Yedikule:

Here you can see the inner, main wall (with towers), then the shorter outer wall. The green area in front was the moat.

The area between the inner and outer wall, and the moat area, are now mostly filled with peoples' vegetable gardens, and even a few small impermanent dwellings. Little by little we would like to walk the entire circuit of the walls. We have already walked quite a bit of the sea wall, and a little of the land walls. It's a big project!

Yedikule is really an incredible site in terms of its aesthetic appeal and historical importance. From now on, anyone that comes to visit us will be forced to tour it, probably as their first introduction to the city. So be prepared!

Sunset from the top of the Golden Gate.

The sunset and the walls reflected in the site plan of the fortress. Well done, Peter!

A Little bit of Texas in Turkey

2008-11-25T13:29:00.000-08:00

Candace found this while perusing a newstand here in Istanbul. Apparently, there is a very popular comic book character here known as "Teksas." So now we know what Turks really think of her home state. Here are the front and back covers of one issue: