Now In Jordan, for one more day

So internet has been hard to come by and if I had it Blogspot didn't want to work. Here are a few photos from recent days.
The Dead Sea was awesome, I don't remember the last time I floated on water. I also hiked up Masada, a Herodian fortress atop a hill overlooking the Dead Sea which was intense. On the same day we saw the spring at Engev, and Qumran, the city where the Dead Sea Scrolls were written. One privelage we had is our leader knows the location of the cave where the scrolls were found, he took most of us to the first cave and those who were able and felt like running behind him got to see Cave 2, there are 11 caves in all where scrolls were found. I followed him to cave 2 and according to him only about 100 people have ever been two Caves 1 and 2.

The trip to Galilee was really neat being able to swim in the evening and actually going to places where we know Jesus was. One of the coolest places was the Cove of the Sower. It is a cove on the Sea of Galilee with a sharp incline forming somewhat of an amphitheater from the top of the hill you could here the person reading Scripture on the shore probably about 150 yards away without him yelling. It is evident that Jeses would have used this cove which could hold close to 10,000 people.

Jordan has been fun, but not as interesting Biblically. Geresa was neat because Jordan has done a good job reconstructing and preserving the ruins of the Greco-Roman city. Petra was impressive although once again not Biblical. Although seeing the place where Indiana Jones found the Holy Grail was neat. I also went up to another impressive tomb that was an optional hike that was really neat, called The Monastery because Byzantine monks took it over and made it into a monastery. Another short optional hike took me to a viewpoint at a cliff where I was able because of rare clear conditions to see Israel. Finally today in Jordan we went up to Mt. Nebo where Moses watched the Israelites enter the Promised Land, but today was not clear.

Sunrise at Masada, Dead Sea below.

Arbel Cliffs at the Sea of Galilee, we hiked down.

Tunnel at Geresa, Jordan looking from the Theater to the Temple of Zeus.

Indiana Jones, now me. Really it is the Treasury at Petra, Jordan

Crazy TImes

I haven't been able to get on in days. Today is on a time crunch hopefully tomorrow I will be able to give a full review of the last few days.

Day 8 and 9 Pictures

Day 8Assyrian Siege Ramp

Swimming in the Med

Day 9

Zin Valley

Egypt in the foreground, just beyond that Israel, then the Red Sea, and on the other side of the Red Sea is Jordan.

Days 8 and 9

I did not have internet yesterday which accounts for the lack of a post. I will try to post some photos from the last two days but that will come when I wake up tomorrow I think. So here is the rundown.

On Tuesday we started at Tel Beth-Shemesh. This tel looks over the Sorek Valley. For those who remember the Sorek valley is important in the life of Sampson. He is born and buried in the valley and several other important events in his life occur here. Also Beth-Shemesh is a levitical city and this is where the Philistines returned the Ark of the Lord to Israel. This is also the location in which 70 men died because they opened the Ark.
After the Sorek Valley we went to the Elah Valley on top of Tel Azekah. This valley is famous for a story that eeryone know. David and Goliath. The Philistines were camped between Azekah and Socoh and the Israelites on the other side of the valley. David went down to the brook and got 5 smooth stones. I stopped by and got a few small sones of my own. The valley is also known for David hiding in the caves of Jormath.
After the Elah Valley we went to the Lacich Valley to Tel Lacich. This was one of the more impressive tels because it had Cananite temples, a Judean palace, and the only Assyrian siefe ramp that has been found in tact. Lacish is known Biblically for being a fortified city which was one of the last to fall against Babylon in 586 BC.
We ended the day by swimming in the Mediterranean Sea. It was fairly cold but refreshing on a hot day.

On Wednesday we started by going to Tel Ashdod. This tel had bronze age walls and houses. Along with an iron age fort and temple which were Judean. The temple had a holy of holies and an altar, which was against the law, along with two altars and incense burning stones. It is clear that this fort is breaking the law first of all by worshiping outside of the Temple and worshiping more than one God.
Following Ashdod we traveled to Tel Beer-Sheba. This Tel had an altar that had been dismantled showing that at one point the city worshiped outside of Jerusalem but reforms took place that changed it, which matches the Biblical record of King Hezekiah, the same guy who built the tunnel we went through.
The next stop was Nahal Zin, which simply means the valley of Zin. This was just a hiking stop for us through the canyon and then up the cliff. It was not too bad of a hike there were a lot stairs, handles, and ladders. It was beautiful and a fun stop.
After the hike we went to Mactesh Ramon which is a natural crater. It occurred because the ground bowed and then cracked allowing water to come in and erode the area. The crater was massive. All of this of course is occurring in the "Wilderness." The next stop was a random place in the wilderness just off the road where we had time to reflect and read the Bible, thinking about what it would be like to spend 40 years wandering.
Our last stop of the day was a viewpoint right next to the border with Egypt, I wa about 10 feet away. Also from here was a great view of the Red Sea and the border between Israel and Jordan. Tonight we are staying right next to the Red Sea and will be snorkeling first thing in the morining.

Quick Report of Day 7

Today was a test and free day, although I think that is contradictory. I did well on the test only missed two. For the free day I went to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and saw the traditional site of Jesus' death and resurrection. It was not moving because it is a church and there is little semblance of any history there at all other than the history of that church. After this I went up to a viewpoint near the hotel at David's Tower, it was built by Herod and has nothing to do with David. Great view. The place also had ruins from teh first wall of Jerusalem built by the Hasmonians circa 160 BC. It also had houses from that time period. On top of the houses were large stones that could possibly be the foundation for Herod's palace.
After the tower I had lunch and then went to the Israel Museum for the second time on this trip. I went because when we visited the first time they were about to open an exhibit which had the Isaiah A scroll. This is an extremely important scroll. It is the oldest scroll of a complete book 120 BC, and the secon longest 250 cm. It was very interesting seeing the Hebrew words, a few that I could make out although it was difficult because they did not provide vowel pointing at that time. I caught a few words. It was also interesting to see scribal corrections and damaged areas. This is the first time the scroll has been placed on display in forty years, so it was well worth the trip. While leaving I saw they had an art portion that was "Orphaned Art." It was an exhibit of art that was stolen by the Nazis during the Holocaust and was able to be claimed by people. it included a couple of Monets, a Manet, a Renoir, and some other important artists. On the bottom floor while leaving I noticed a side room with some artifacts, I went in to fine the Tel Dan Stele. This is the only extra-Biblical evidence that we have of a Davidic line of kings. It is extremely important when validating the Bible as a historic account. After the Museum I went shopping and then to dinner and a lecture.

This could be my last post for a few days because internet access will be questionable in the hotels over the next four days.

Day 6

Gezer Solomon Gate


Not a lot of pictures for this day because they aren't very interesting. We started out at Gezer which is in the Shephelah, rolling hills area west of Judah. At Gezer, was a Tel which had remains from a gate of Solomon. This matches the story in the Bible where Solomon fortifies Gezer along with Hazzor and Miggeddo.
After Gezer we went up onto the Beth-Horan Ridge Route, a roud taken from the West to Jerusalem, one of only two ancient routes taken. We took pictures and read the story of Joshua chasing the Caananites from Gibeon.
We next went up to a view point where we saw the Central Benjamin Plateau. Here we saw where the cities of Gibeon, Ramah, Gibeah (Saul's birthplace), and Mizpah. After lunch we went to the pass which is between Geba and Michmash, it is a kilt that is not very steep that is in two Bible stories, one with Jonathan the other a prophecy of Isaiah.
After this we went up to Shiloh and saw where the Tabernacle stayed for 300 years. The Tel did not have many excavations. The one of interest had houses from the time of the Tabernacle. Also at Shiloh, the Benjamites came and took wives from girls that were dancing at a festival.

Day 5 Continued

Solomon's Pools, really reservoirs bilt by Herod.
The tome og King Herod at Herodium.

Jericho supporting walls.

Me at the wilderness viewpoint.

Day 5 was probably the craziest day so far. It took 12 and a half hours to go from hotel back to hotel. I took 140 pictures and I don't like to take pictures. We started by going to the Mount of Olives. Here we looked at a new angle of Jerusalem and discussed the topography and what areas we could see. While on the Mount of Olives we went down to another good view point this time at a church which marked the place where Jesus wept. At this same location we found estuaries dating back to Jesus' time. An estuary is a box that is as wide as the widest bone of the body, the skull, and as long as the longest, the femur (thigh-bone). While still on the Mount of Olives we descended a little further to the Garden of Gathsemene. We saw olive trees which would have been similar to the trees Jesus was near. THe location may not have been exactly right but it was near. Ther is a Catholic Church at this location which marks the stone where Jesus prayed to the Father right before he was arrested. Once again I think that the churches that are built upon these locations for one makes it difficult to know because it prevents the search for archeaological evidence, two they make shrine and idols out of them which pervert the weight of the sight and make it into a side show.
After the Mount of Olives we hopped onto a bus and drove to Herodium, a fortress and Palace of King Herod. It was an interesting site which gave a good view of Bethlehem and Tekoa, the home of Amos for those who remember the minor prophet. Also at this site was the tomb of Herod which is a very important archaeological site.
Following Herodium we went to Bethlehem. Here we stopped at the traditional location of Jesus' birht. At this site was built a Greek Orthodox and Catholic church. The cave at which Jesus was born has a star at the exact location. I think this very well could be the actual place, because of a very early tradition, but once again they have, in my mind, ruined the location by turning into a shrine. When you enter it feels nothing like a cave or a place Jesus was born but instead like some legalistic ritual that can clear away sin. The thing I found more interesting at the site was the cave in which the Christian Theologian Jerome lived and wrote. It was here that he learned Hebrew so he could translate the Bible into Latin.
After Bethlehem we went up into the hills just south of it to fine Solomon's Pools, which were really reservoirs built by King Herod to bring water to Jerusalem through aqueducts. They were impressive in size but not entirely relevant to the Bible.
After Jerusalem we stopped at another viewpoint south of Jerusalem for some pictures but quickly moved on to Jericho. At Jericho we saw the Tel (a location where a city was built then destroyed, then another city, and so on creating a large mound) which was formerly Jericho. We saw teh supporting wall for the city walls. Then we saw an ancient Tower dating to 6000 BC. Also in the excavations we found a pot burned, just as Joshua said they did to the city after the walls fell. The pots like this that they found had grain in them showing that it was likey at harvest time, matching the Bible, and that it was not a long siege, also mathcing the Biblical story. Also in jericho we went and looked at the remains of one of Herod's palace. It was massive strecthing from one side of a kilt (canyon or valley with steep sides) with a bridge that would have connected them. This was his favorite palace according to historical sources.
Following Jericho we drove up to a viewpoint of the wilderness of Judah. It was beautiful especially with the sun setting at the time.

Day 5 Extra Photos

Where Jesus might have prayed before being arrested.
Where Jerome translated the Bible into Latin

Pot in Jericho excavation.

Day 5

From the Mount of Olives looking westward at Jerusalem. Dome of the Rock in the foreground, blue domes up and to the left is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
The Garden of Gethsemane, likely in very close location to where Jesus would have been during prayer and arrest.

The traditional birthplace of Jesus, kind of ruined by the church which operates and turned into a shrine, people bend down and kiss the star which is supposedly the exact place Mary gave birth to Jesus.

The Judean Wilderness, not where Jews wandered, this is in the Promised Lands, it is where David hid from Saul and Jesus went to be tempted. Of course not necessarily this picture but in an area with the same characteristics.

Day 5 was extremely busy and in my opinion the coolest so far. Since I spent tonight updating the last two days which I was too exhausted to write about when I got home then, I am only going to post a few pictures and save the description of the day's activities and my thoughts for tomorrow since the evening will be more free. I took over 140 photos today so I think it would be better to get an extra post of picture which helps rationalize a smaller post tonight. There are only two more days in Jerusalem, then we will head south.

Day 4

Robinson's arch which would have supported a massive staircase going to the Temple Mount. Located on the Western Wall near the southwest corner.
Ritual bath outside the Temple Mount which Jews would have used to become ritually cleansed.

The Double Gate on the Southern Wall of the Temple Mount. The frame and structural support are from the original construction. Jesus would more than likely have passed through this gate.

The Garden Tomb, not where Jesus was buried although a very nice tomb from Old Testament times. Supposedly there is a cross carved into the side but I think you can find most shapes with all the cracks.

Day 4 seemed a little easiet than the earlier days. We began at the Souther Temple Mount Excavations. Here we saw the remnants of what the area around the Temple Mount would have looked like the days of Jesus including part of a broken arch which would have had a staircase leading into the Temple mount, also the stairs on teh southern side which most people would have used for access with two gates a double gate, which is mostly blocked but half of one of the two entries in the gate. Some of the original stones from the gate are there although it has been fixed and blocked, this gate would have been the exit from the Mount. The other gate, a triple gate was the entrance, only one of the original stones is left. The stone at the left edge of teh gate is an original frame stone. There were other excavations here from teh Hasmonian (Maccabees) period that were interesting but not necessary for a Biblical understanding.
After this we went to the Israel museum and say a model, 1/50 size, of 2nd Temple Period(Herod to Roman Destruction in 70 AD). Also at this museum we saw the Shrine of the Book which has portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls. We missed the lare portions of the most important scroll, the Isaiah A scroll by 3 days, meaning on my free day on Monday I will go and see it.
From the museum we went to tombs dating back to the Old Testament. The tombs were very interesting because they had slabs where they would lay the body and then after one year they would come back and take the bones and place them in another area of the tomb so that they could place other family members on the slabs. It was in one of these tombs that they found the oldest manuscript of Scripture, a small silver scroll of the High Priestly prayer in Deuteronomy dating back to 700 BC. We then went to another tomb which is the only tomb from Jesus' time that has been found with a rolling stone.
From the tombs we had a quick, late lunch on our way to the garden tomb and Gordon's calvary. Gordon's calvary is a possible site of the crucifixion. A man named Gordon went to Jerusalem in the 1800s and was appalled at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and found it inside of the sitiy walls, and the Bible says he was crucified outside of the city walls. So Gordon thought that the cross and tomb could not have been at this site. He then went around looking for other possible locations and found a hill outside of the gates that on the side looked like a skull, which matched well with his understanding of the Bible. Also on this same hill is a tomb which has a trough for a stone to roll and a tomb. The problem with this being the site of Jesus death and resurrection is first of all a very late tradition, only about 150 years, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre would have been outside of the city walls in Jesus' day, and the tomb dates to the Old Testament. It is a nice tomb and a good presentation by Christian guides which are rare in Jerusalem. Many Protestants have held strongly to this site in recent years but contextually the case for the site as the actual place of Jesus death and burial is very unlikely. It is however likely that it could be the location of Stephen's stoning in Acts.

Day 3 Continued

1st Century Street, likely Jesus would have walked here, new excavation not open to public but our guide had a connection.

Location of Upper Room, not the original Upper Room though.

Western Wall Excavations, largest stone in Temple Mount about 50 feet long, they estimate 577 tons, 3rd largest stone in the world, only one not touching the ground.

So here is the actual rundown of Day 3. We started by going to the Temple Mount. I felt very uneasy the entire time there. Something about the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque being on top of the Temple Mount seemed terribly wrong, that and street cleaners cleaning it, the paving over of gates and removal of part of the Mount. It just seemed wrong for place that the Temple of the Lord stood. I also felt wierd because had the Temple been there I would not have been able to go to the places I went because I am a Gentile. Although that thought comes in conflict with Jesus' death removing the need of the Temple.
Next we went to the City of David, the original Jerusalem that David would have encountered when he took it over from the Jebusites. We went through Hezekiel's tunnel which took water from the Gihoam Spring to the western side of the City of David. It was about a third of a mile walk through a foot and half of water, barely enough room for shoulders to pass by, and rarely a ceiling of more than six feet. Nevertheless it was very cool, if I can get a faster internet connection I will try to post a video I took while in the tunnel. The tunnel lead us to the Pool of Shiloam where the blind man went to wash his eyes that Jesus covered with mud in John 9. Also we got to see a 1st Century road that most tour groups don't see because it is a newer excavation, however our tour guide knew the archiologists so they showed us. They also sold me a Roman coin from Jesus' time for about 15 dollars. From there we went to another archeological site that showed a support structure possibly for David's Palace, along with a 1st Century house among other things.
After the City of David we had lunch and then went to see the supposed Tomb of David although it is not the tomb because it is in the wrong location Biblically. Just by chance this tomb is on the first floor and the traditional Upper Room location is on the second floor. The room dates to the Middle Ages but it is built in the lovation that is historically understood as the Upper Room. This site is more likely, while not hard fact. I personally can accept it from the proof we have.
After this stop we went to the Western hill and saw excavations of homes from the Herodian Period. Even though they were just the basement floor they were impressive. After dinner we came back to the same area and went to the Western Wall excavations which give a tour of the tunnels under a Muslim neighborhood of excavations of the entire Western Wall of the Temple Mount. It was fascinating to see well preserved portions of the wall, which showed the amount of work done to build the Mount. There was also a prayer area at the point in the wall which is closest to where the Holy of Holies would have been.

Day 3

Just a short post for now, there is much more to be said, and many more pictures, these are just from the morning. Today was rigorous, especially Hezekiah's tunnel, 1/3 of a mile crouching. More details and photos and maybe a video to come.

Me on the Temple Mount

The City of David (Original Jerusalem)

Inside Hezekiah's Tunnel

Pool of Siloam (Where the blind man washed his eyes in John 9

Day 2

Overlooking the Old City, Dome of the Rock behind

Western Wall

Me at Western Wall

Man Praying at Western Wall, Prayers shoved into cracks in the wall.

Broad Wall

Today was a busy day, with a ton of information and sights. My camera battery died about 2/3 way through the day, so some interesting pictures were missed. Thankfully I will be able to get pictures of most of those sights in future days.
We started the day by looking east of the Old City. The Old City is the part of Jerusalem which is surrounded by walls built during the 1500s. We saw the Hotel that President Bush is staying at right now because it is the 6oth Anniversary of Israel becoming a nation. Then we went to the top of a formerly nice hotel, now a hostel, to get a view of the Old City and talk about basic geography.
After this we traveled to the Western Wall. This is the holiest site for Judaism. It is the western wall of the Temple Mount built by Herod the Great in the 1st Century B.C. It is not the wall of the Temple. The Temple was on top of the Temple Mount, also called Mt. Moriah or the Eastern Hill, it is the place which is now occupied by the Dome of the Rock, golden dome. The wall is divided into two areas, one for men and one for women, because it is considered a synagogue an orthodox synagogues divide the congregation for services. The men's are is much larger and has a portion that is covered where one can see the original street level and an arch that was once part of a bridge from the Temple mount to the Western hill. Between the two is the central valley which is no longer a valley because it has been filled in with hundreds of years of debris and construction. The wall is shorter now than Herod built it, probably by 10 to 15 feet. The destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D. destroyed a large portion of the Temple Mount as well.
From here we went to the Cardo Road which was the main road in Jerusalem during the Roman period, post 70. It still divides the city but is only an alley now, during the Roman Period it would have been 4 to 5 times wider. I did not take pictures of this because the camera was starting to die and it has no relevance to Biblical Jerusalem. We are lunch at the ruins. We then saw the ruins of the broad wall of Hezekiah, it establishes the northern boundary of 2nd Temple Jeeusalem. It was a massive wall 20 feet thick 30 feet tall. It is on the north side because Jerusalem has valleys to the east, south, and west making all attacks come from the north.
From here we walked all the way up the Cardo to the Damascus Gate. We climbed up inside of the gate to the top of the wall, we walked the wall getting view of many sites on both sides of the wall including, what some people consider the place of Jesus' crucifixion and burial, the Garden of Gethsemane, and the Mount of Olives. which then led us to Saint Stephens Gate.
From the wall we went to the pools of Bethesda and St. Anne's church, the only Crusader Church left. After this we wend down the Via de la Rosa, which is supposedly the way Jesus went carrying the cross but the starting point is likely not true.
The trip finished at the Church of the Sepulchre, which is the historically viewed site of the crucifixion and resurrection. It is a church which has several different chapels for different sects of Christianity none of which are Protestant. I was unable to take pictures because of the camera battery but will be going back later, at which point I wll post pictures of both possible location of the death of Jesus and my opinion.
That was the end of a busy day which had a ton of walking. Now to bed and off to the Temple Mount tomorrow at 7:45.

Day 1

I made it to Israel today. The security at the Tel Aviv Airport was impressive. There are not a lot of pictures to be shown, what I do have is from the drive from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Coastal Plain

Rolling Hills area, there is a Hebrew name for it but I was too jetlagged to remember.

Hill Counrty

Joffa Gate to get into Old City

Off to Israel!

I will be taking a three week course in Israel called A Field Study of the Bible. I leave tomorrow, May12 and come back on June 2nd. Check back here for updates and pictures.

Welcome

Hello Everyone, this is Andy Shurson's Blog. I hope to post thoughts and insights as well as other things on this page. There is a reason for the title and it will come in a later blog.