Day 17 - Bethlehem

I think they're taking it easy on us during these days while we're staying in Jerusalem. We didn't leave until 8:00 and we were done by 4:30. And all this without having to pack up and move hotels each day! Its a nice change of pace.

Today we spent most of the day in the West Bank, Bethlehem in particular. When one sees the wall that Israel is building on TV, it doesn't look very daunting, but up close, its a massive structure. We had to pass through this to get into Bethelehem. There are guard towers every so often along the wall, and on the Palestinian side there is much protest art painted or posted on the wall. We didn't seem to have much problem passing from Israel into the West Bank, but this is not the case for everyone.

We started the day at the Herodion Fortress. It was Herod's fortress close to home and the place of his burial. Amazingly, his tomb has only been found in the last couple of weeks! So not much has been excavated around it yet. One of the more amazing things about this fortress was its later appropriation by the Jewish Rebels in the Bar Kokhba revolt. They dug numerous tunnels through the mountain and would pop out to surprise the Roman soldiers, then jump back in to elude capture. The tunnels are quite extensive and reminded many of us of the Viet Cong system of tunnels.

Our main attraction for the day was the Church of the Nativity. The church actually looked more like a fortress than a church (and it had been used as such by about 20 Palestinian gunmen a number of years ago). The Church hosted the traditional site of Jesus' birth and manger (picture at left) . They are two different spots but they are both under the altar in a cave. I was disappointed to not find any sheep, camels, or wise men.

Attached to the Church of the Nativity is a Roman Catholic Church called St. Catherine's Church. Below this church is the tomb of Jerome, a third century bishop and translator of the Latin Vulgate version of the Bible. The cave where he worked on the Vulgate was near his tomb, not the most inspiring workplace.

Before lunch at The Lutheran Christmas Church, we made a shopping stop in Bethlehem at a place that specialized particularly in olive wood products. The craftsmanship on many of the manger scenes was spectacular and the price showed it (we're talking many grand here...I'm sure that just made a couple of husbands out there quite nervous).

After lunch we made our last stop at the Garden Tomb. You may remember that we already visited one tomb of Jesus, the Holy Sepulchre. Well, this Garden Tomb is a fairly recent (last 100 years) alternative site. It is set in a garden and boasts the possible Golgotha rock near or on which Jesus was crucified as well as the tomb. It was a bit "kitchy" in the words of one of our team members. But it was certainly more what one imagines visually than the "tomb" in the Holy Sepulchre church. I have now checked both places, and I can witness that Jesus' body is in neither tomb (pictures of the last one were in a previous post...but given the rather untomb-like nature of the "tomb" it probably didn't register with one reader of this blog that is was a picture of an empty tomb. It looks more like an altar).

I have no pithy random thought from today. Overall, I continue to wrestle with each of these sites. I am certainly learning about what Jesus' life might have been like and am gaining new perspectives on a variety of biblical stories. But I am not having spiritual experiences at these sites. Maybe that is because we worship and follow a risen savior whose Spirit goes with us where ever we go. These lands are certainly holy by tradition, but by God's grace, any place can be made holy where God's Spirit resides. Thanks be to God.

Day 16 - Jerusalem (Old City)

I woke up this morning with a second wind. Maybe its the air in the Holy City. Its a good thing because today was a full day. We spent most of the day walking through the old City of Jerusalem.

We began by entering through the Damascus Gate and walking down the Suq (an ancient "mall"). It seems that every city we enter has a Suq. Its quite a mix of things to buy and look at. But we didn't have any time to do so as our guide hurried us past the store fronts to our first destination: the Wailing Wall.

The Wailing wall is quite a site. It is as close to the temple mount as devout Jews will go. They will not go up the mount for fear of stepping on the Holy of Hollies (the most sacred place in Solomon's Temple which is no longer there, and its absence makes the exact location of the Holy of Hollies a bit of a mystery). Many Jews and others stick prayers in cracks in the wall and spend time leaning on the wall and praying. It is called the "Wailing Wall" because the prayers are wailing for the loss of the temple. The temple that is now on the Temple Mount belongs to the Muslims.

And so we ascended a ramp to the Temple Mount to see the Dome of the Rock. It is a beautiful structure. The dome is coated with 24 carat gold; payed for by the late King Hussein of Jordan (a gift of $6,000,000). This is the temple mount on which Ariel Sharon took a "stroll" (with 3000 body guards) several years back to show that Israel could go where it wanted and ended up in riots and numerous deaths. Thankfully, no Israeli politician decided to take a "stroll" while we were visiting.

We descended the mount to visit Bethesda & St. Anne's Church. Bethsesda is the site of Jesus' healing a man. And St. Anne's Church has incredible acoustics. We spent some time singing various songs and the sound was incredible!

Many who are from a high church background are familiar with the "stages of the cross." They are usually depicted in Catholic churches and illustrate the various stages of Jesus' crucifixion. We participated in the "real" life stages of the cross on the Via Dolorosa. We began with the place where Jesus was sentenced and ended at the place where he was crucified and buried. The stages were marked with big bronze markers and the Roman numeral of the stage.

The grand finale of the Via Dolorosa was the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. This church is shared by six different Christian traditions (if you ask me to name them all I probably will get some wrong but they might include: Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Ethiopian, Armenian, Syrian and Coptic). These six churches have had in the past and present much conflict over sharing this space. This is so much so that the key to the church is owned and passed down by two Muslim families who open the church each morning and lock it up each evening.

The Church of the Holy Sepulcher is most well known for holding Jesus' tomb. Just in case you ever wondered whether Jesus' body was still in the tomb, I checked it and there was no body. You can see for yourself. While Jesus' body may not be there, I highly doubt whether any of the original tomb is there either. Its quite an ornate structure that remains.

After lunch in Papa Andrea's upstairs restaurant, we visited the Upper Room. It is not much more than a big open space. It was a little hard to imagine it being a good place for a meal. After the Upper Room we visited Caiaphas's home and his dungeons where Jesus and/or some of the disciples may have been held at some point.

After all these sites, we were set loose to amble back to the hotel on our own. I wandered back through the suq taking time to look around and see what was to see. It was a nice change of pace.

I continue to be impressed by the diversity of the people of this land. I think that most Americans have an image of the Middle East being completely Muslim. There are in fact many Christians living on these lands. We have seen them in every country (Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Palestine, Israel). The Old City of Jerusalem is no different. There is a Christian quarter, a Muslim quarter, a Jewish quarter, and an Armenian quarter. I passed from one to the next without barely noticing the difference. It seems that the average people have learned generally how to live together (until someone decides to take a "stroll" on the Temple Mount).

P.S. I found another METS blog.

P.S.S. And another blog.

Day 15 - Travel to Jerusalem

Today we traveled from Tiberius (and the Mt. of Beatitudes) to Jerusalem. Along the way we stopped at Zippori in Nazareth. It is thought that this is a town Jesus might have worked at as a carpenter or mason (The Greek word is more general than "carpenter" and probably means "craftsman").

We also visited Bet She'arim which is a place of many cave tombs including the tomb of Rabbi Yehuda Hanassi who compiled the Mishna. We walked in an enormous cave and learned that selling coffins (or sarcophagi) worked the same back then as they do today. There were fancy ones for the rich and cheap ones for the poor. And the fancy were pretty fancy.

We continued on to Haifa where so much conflict took place this past year. We saw a house that had been hit by a missile. We also so the world headquarters of Baha'i. And we stopped to eat at the Church of Stella Maris, the traditional site of Elijah's cave where he hid from Jezebel after a show-down the prophets of Baal. It was a beautiful church built over the cave. We also ate lunch at the church's hostel.

After lunch we jumped on the bus and drove to Caesarea by the Sea. This is the spot where Peter met Cornelius and baptized his family. The old Roman city was beautiful sitting next to the Mediterranean Sea. We enjoyed the strong cool breeze blowing off the Sea and the deep blue water.

Along the way to Jerusalem we ran into a road block on the highway due to an accident. We were re-routed around the accident and ended up taking the scenic back-country route. It was wonderful driving through the hill country surrounding Jerusalem and getting off the main highways. Along the way we saw up-close the wall that has been erected by Israel around the West Bank. It is a very daunting structure of concrete, barbed wire, and guard posts. Our guide told us that the main issue is not the wall but where the wall is being built, on land deemed to be Palestinian land. Again we learned how complex the situation was as we saw huge modern "settlements" housing hundreds of Israeli families in the middle of the West Bank with the wall surrounding them. Only by God's grace will this situation be resolved. Yet I cannot help but wonder what part I (and we as the United States) might play in that reconciliation.

We are at the Notre Dame Hotel for the next four nights. The angels are singing!

Day 14 - Mt. of Beatitudes (Take Two)

What a glorious idea: We stayed in one place for two nights! It was wonderful to wake up and not have to pack up and move on. The pace is packed on METS and the traveling to a new hotel each night is exhausting. But today we had the luxury of not packing up.

Today was a day full of visiting places Jesus probably didn't visit. There are so many competing "traditional" sites that one is never really sure where these things happened. For instance, we visited the place where Gabriel probably didn't announce God's plans to Mary (The church of the Annunciation), the rock where Jesus probably didn't feed the 5000 (The Church of Heptapegon), the beach where Jesus probably didn't cook fish while Peter swam to shore to meet him (The Church of the Primacy of Peter), and the hillside where Jesus probably didn't preach the Sermon on the Mount (The Mt. of Beatitudes).

If it sounds like I'm being sarcastic, well, I am. It is a little hard for me to get into this as a spiritual experience when we're constantly being reminded about the historical slipperiness of all these places. So the best we can do is say that Jesus probably did do these things in a place very similar to the ones we are visiting (and forget about the other two or three competing places for the moment). We did take time at each to read scripture stories and these moments of hearing God's Word read were refreshing and revitalizing.

Besides all of these places that Jesus probably didn't visit, we did take a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee (a body of water that most are pretty certain Jesus did spend time on!). The Sea is beautiful. It is surrounded by mountains and its shores are lush green. The green is a stark contrast to the southern deserts of Israel. An interesting moment took place on the boat ride.

The captain put the American National Anthem on the loud speakers and raised the American Flag as we set sail. None of us stood or showed much interest in this. I was a little befuddled about how to take this gesture of goodwill. After this rather lackluster show of patriotism, our Palestinian Christian guide gave us a bit of verbal abuse for now being more patriotic. It led to some good conversations about the role of the United States in this region and our own ambivalent feelings about it all. (The picture at right is of Steve, our leader from Rhodes College.)

One last place we visited this day was Gamla. This was earlier in the day (this particular blog post is not chronological). It was another city that held out in the Jewish Revolt against the Romans and is situated on the side of some formidable terrain. This too was a city that had a suicide pact. When the Romans finally breached the wall, they found everyone dead except Josephus (the leader of the rebels), who was taken hostage and eventually transported to Rome to write Jewish history.

We ended the day back at the Mt. of Beatitudes reading the Sermon on the Mount. It was a beautiful setting with the breeze blowing through the trees as we looked out over the deep blue Sea of Galilee. It was an appropriate way to end a day where we continued to learn more about the conflict between the Palestinians and Israelis. It is a very complex situation. One of our lay people probably put it best when she said, "Someone is going to have to turn the other cheek for this conflict to come to an end." The response might be, "How many cheeks have already been turned?"

Day 13 - Mt. Of Beatitudes (Take One)

Well, its been a quiet couple of days because we've been staying at the Mt. of Beatitudes which is a beautiful spot but is a bit off the beaten path and had no Internet cafe. We are now in Jerusalem at the Notre Dame Hotel, and while the hotel has Internet, it isn't set up to let me upload pictures from my camera. I appreciate everyone who has been reading my blog and who signed the guest book. It looks like the pictures are a hit, so I'll have to upload some later when I find another Internet cafe that is more flexible. (An hour later: I found another internet cafe and am working on uploading pics). Anyway...

Two days ago we traveled from Arad to Tiberius on the Sea of Galilee. The day was jam packed with sights. We began with a trip to Masada. Masada was the last stronghold to fall in the Jewish Rebellion. Josephus, a Jewish historian, tells the story of how the Romans seiged Masada and when they finally broke in they found that all 900 Jews had committed suicide (well, actually they killed each other and the last one committed suicide). As with so many stories in this land, the historicity of this one is heavily contested. But it makes for an amazing visit.

After Masada, which overlooks the Dead Sea, we did what every visitor to the area must do: float in the Dead Sea. The salt content in the Dead Sea is so concentrated that one floats on top of the water. The water also stings every cut or abrasion (or other sensitive areas) that are exposed to it. Its quite an experience.

Up next: Qumran. Qumran was the site of a Jewish community that sought to live purely in the wilderness. The significance of Qumran is that the Dead Sea Scrolls were found at this community. They contain some of the oldest manuscripts of the Hebrew Scriptures that we have. The only cave we saw was cave four (out of 11). But we only saw it from a distance.

If our group is characterized by anythings, its a desire to shop! Shopping was the next stop on our day. We went into the West Bank of Palestine and stopped at a Hebron Glass shop. Attached to the shop was a food market that sold many local treats. While others were buying glasses and ceramics, I loaded up on some nice treats. The scales were old-school and used large weights to measure how much one was buying. The hospitality we received was great. While in Jericho we also stopped by the ancient Tell of Old Jericho. Its not much of a sight at this point, just a big dirt pile and some big holes. This is the traditional site for Joshua's march on Jericho.

To finish the day off we stopped by Tell Bet-She'an. Bet-She'an is another Roman city. I'm starting to get a little tired of ancient Roman Cities. Most of them pale compared to Palmyra anyway. But we did visit Bet-She'an at the end of the day and the shadows created from the low sun were beautiful. We also found the ancient toilets.

After all this touring, we headed to the Mt. of Beatitudes Hostel. This is the traditional site where Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount. I found it ironic that the Hostel/Church was a gated community. I'm not sure that "Blessed are those who build walls around their communities" was one of the beatitudes. The irony and contrast continues in the Holy Land.

Guest Book

The other night I came back to my room, and my roomate, Kip, said, "Half of Atlanta is reading your blog." Tonight Beth told me, "A former METS member emailed my husband to tell him that his wife was on the internet." I'm becoming quite curious about who all is reading this blog. If you're reading the blog, would you take a moment and sign this post in the comments section like a guest book. Just put your name (you don't have to put your whole name), and who you know on the trip or your relation to METS. To post a comment, just click on the comment link below and follow the instructions.

Day 10 (Travel), Day 11 (Sinai), Day 12 (Travel)

We've reached Israel. Unfortunately, I can't upload photos at this computer (A couple of days later: I just uploaded some pics). So pictures will have to come later. Until then...

On Day ten we traveled from Petra to the Sinai peninsula via the port of Aquaba. We took a huge ferry across the Red Sea and landed in Egypt. The process of getting our luggage from the ferry and getting through customs was a sight to behold. It was chaos. Thankfully our guide navigated us through the chaos and onto the bus. One sight will probably not leave my mind, though I don't have a picture of it. Our luggage was loaded onto a large rolling cart (about 10 feet by 20 feet with about 6 feet high sides). Ours was the first to go on this cart so it was on the bottom. When the cart was pulled off the ferry, about 20 Egyptian men climbed on top of the cart and began pulling everything off. Luggage and men were flying everywhere. Amazingly by the time we got around to our luggage, it was all there.

We took the bus to our hotel, Morgen Land Village, which was near the traditional sight of Mt. Sinai. The entire area is in a dessert. Water is very sparse. But as we pulled up we were told that the hotel had a pool in the shape of a cross. When we got out and saw the pool and the abundance of water in this barren land, I didn't know whether to cry because of the obscenity of it all or exegete the significance of it. It was a moment of contrasts (as has been most of the trip).

We had dinner and got to bed early, because the next morning we woke up at 1:30 AM to ascend Mt. Sinai so that we could see the sun rise from the summit. It was hard to get up so early but we were all excited to be summiting the mountain that Moses summited to meet God and receive the ten commandments (actually, no one is really sure which mountain that was but this one is the "traditional" sight).

The summit began with a camel ride up about 2/3 of the mountain. The camel ride began with a bang. As we walked up to get our camels, the Bedouin camel guides were arguing and fighting about contracts and who would get the contract for their services. It was loud and contentious. We were told that this took place every year. Eventually the contracts were resolved and each one of us was given a guide and a camel.

The actual experience of riding a camel up a mountain is an experience I hope to never have again in my life. Here is what is like: imagine trying to do the splits and holding it for an hour while bouncing up and down. A camel is a very wide animal, and they don't come equipped with stirrups. But now I can say I've ridden a camel up Mt. Sinai.

I was unsure what to expect of this entire experience and what I did get I could never have expected. There were dozens and dozens of pilgrims making this same trek. A number of Asian Christian groups were among the pilgrims. One such group was Pentecostal and sang and spoke in tongues the entire way up (the latter is contended by others in my group, but having grown up Pentecostal myself, I claim to have a special ear for tongues).

After the camel ride we had about 800 steps to climb to the top. We arrived at the top in the dark and awaited the sun rise. We were quickly joined by at least a 100 other people. Again, many of them were Christian groups and were having worship services on the top of the mountain. The cacophony of noise in various languages was quite an experience. I'd like to say that this was a great spiritual moment for me, but I'd have rather been on another mountain that wasn't the traditional sight and be by myself or with my group. But it was a beautiful sight nonetheless.

A while after the sunrise, we headed back down the mountain, this time via 3000 steps. We went to the hotel to pack up and have breakfast then headed out to St. Catherine's monastery. St. Catherine's holds the distinction of hosting the "original" burning bush as well as the second oldest and biggest collection of ancient books in the world (second only to the Vatican). One of these books was an extremely early manuscript of the New Testament. We were given special permission to visit the library and it was quite an experience. I only wish I hadn't been up since 1:30 AM!


After St. Catherine's we jumped on the bus and drove North to the Sonesta Resort on the Red Sea. We spent the rest of the afternoon swimming in the Red Sea or enjoying the beach. It was a great change of pace from the hectic schedule we had been keeping. I spent some time swimming among the coral about 50 feet off the shore. I slept well that night.

Today we got to sleep in a little and then hit the road again. The day was spent in travel from Egypt to Israel. The border crossing between Egypt and Israel was the most extensive yet. Most of us sailed right through, but we have one student who is from Kuwait. His acceptance into Israel was not so easy. The whole process took about two hours while we all waited on the other side. It was certainly a test of patience for him. But he got through eventually, and we moved on our way.

Our first stop in Israel was McDonald's. I'm not exactly sure why we went to McDonald's. And it wasn't just any McDonald's, it was a McDonald's in a mall! Maybe our Israel guides were trying to make us feel at home. I think most of us would have preferred to go elsewhere (especially since many of us had seen Super Size Me).

Besides the odd choice of lunch, our guide in Israel is superb. He is an Palestinian Christian who worked on his M.A. in peace studies in Sweden. He was full of information and the conversation about the Palestinian and Israeli conflict was very helpful and insightful. I am looking forward to learning more about this as we go along.

I mentioned earlier that this whole trip has been a study in contrasts: a cross shaped pool in a barren wasteland, ritzy resorts next to desert lands, conservative dress and American music videos, Christians and Muslims living side by side, and so many more. The contrasts tend to break down the easy boxes in which we put these lands and their people. Learning the nuances would take a lifetime.

Day 8 - Tavel to Petra

(Somehow I ended up with Day 8 before Day 9...)
Yesterday we spent the day traveling to Petra. We had numerous stops along the way. We first visited St. George's Church. This church was in Madaba which was known as the city of mosaics. This church had a famous mosaic on the floor that was a map of the holy lands. It is an important mosaic because it helps scholars determine what cities were named and where they were located.

After St. George's, we headed to a mosaic factory. This factory employed and taught disabled individuals how to make mosaics and then had a huge store room to buy them (and many other things). We spent about an hour shopping. Steve, our leader, told us that in the ten (or so) years he's been leading METS, only one person a year buys a table at this place. Our group bought four. We are becoming known as the shopping group.

Our next stop was Mt. Nebo, the traditional sight where Moses looked into the promised land but did not enter it. It was an amazing view of the Jordan River and the Dead Sea and the Jordan Valley that surrounded it all. We also visited the Moses Memorial Church at the top of Mt. Nebo which is a Franciscan Church.

Back in the bus, our next sight to see was the Wadi Muja. It was the biggest Wadi I have ever seen (not that I've seen too many Wadis to begin with). It was like the Grand Canyon. It was extremely windy and the long hair of the ladies was blowing everywhere.

We moved on to the Kerak Castle. But after the Crac Des Chevalier, this was but a mere shadow. I took very few pictures.

We finally arrived at the Grand View Hotel and had the opportunity to watch the sunset off the back porch. The other METS team was also at this hotel, so we had a night of sharing stories and catching up with one another.

Most in our team have what I have deemed the Crusader Crud (aka: Montezuma's Revenge). So whenever we stop for the restroom, there is always a long line.

Here's a random thought that has been brewing in my mind ever since I've been here in the Middle East. There is almost no homeless problem in the Middle East. The tribal structure and the extended family appear to make homelessness almost non-existent. We have seen no one sleeping on the streets. As well, there seems to be very little gross poverty. We are constantly asked to buy things, but I have seen no beggars. I remember a poignant moment in Italy when I climbed the Spanish Steps out of the "Madison Avenue" of Rome and found a woman laying prostrate spread eagle with her face to the ground banging a metal tea cup on the sidewalk while wailing. I expected to see more like that. But have not seen anything. What does this say when compared to the richest country the world has ever seen which prides itself on "family values?" I'm not sure it bodes well for we Americans. The Middle East has abundant wisdom to share with us.

Day 9 (Petra)

I'm sitting here at the Visitors Center at Petra using their computers for a daily update. They've got some kind of program going where you can vote for Petra as one of the new seven wonders of the world. Check it out here.

Today has been amazing. Petra is stunning. Most have probably seen Indiana Jones and the Search for the Holy Grail. The final scene is shot at Petra. But most of you, just like me, probably thought that this one place was all that existed at Petra. Well, I was wrong. This one carving in sandstone is only one of dozens of similar such carvings. This one is just the best preserved from erosion. There are so many of these kind of edifices and that one is not even the biggest one. It is a truly amazing place.

We first began by walking down the As-Siq. It is a gorge that has been carved out of the sandstone by natural forces. The Nabataeans were the ancient inhabitants here and they are the ones who are responsible for all the carvings in the sand stone. The large and impressive ones are probably tombs. There is not much inside, especially no holy grail and no Knight Templar (but we all know now that the real Holy Grail was Jesus and Mary Magdalen's son...thank you Dan Brown). The Nabataeans have carved water channels into the sides of the Siq to direct the rain water down the gorge. They even created a dam at one point and tunneled 88 meters to another Wadi to protect them from flash floods!

We continued hiking and eventually took a turn that led up. There were hundreds of stairs carved into the sandstone leading up to an amazing vantage point where we could see the entire town of Petra and many large tombs carved into the cliff sides. We then hiked back down into the main town area and then headed back up again to what is called the "Monastery." Some hired a donkey to take them up the steep steps. Many of us thought we were going to a real monastery, and were surprised to find that it was not an actual monastery but one of the larger carved edifices in a cliff high up in the mountains.

We stopped for a while at a tent/store near the Monastery that sells jewelry from the Queen Noor Foundation. Queen Noor bought equipment and brought in craftsmen to teach the Bedouin women to make jewelery. She then leased the equipment to them and eventually gave the equipment to them. There are now 60 women who are in business making jewelry from this endeavor, and some have bought their own equipment and are making it from their homes. The jewelery was beautiful, and I may have taken the opportunity to pick up a 10-year anniversary gift since I am on this trip over my ten-year anniversary, May 31. But no promises made here...

After taking a stop at the shopping tent we continued up to another vantage point that looked out over the entire Petra mountain range and plains beyond. It was a breathtaking view.

We headed back down for lunch, and after lunch I was itching to do some more hiking in this amazing place. I asked around but most were pretty tired. So I went out on my own and got of the beaten trail. I bought a topo map at a book store near the restaurant and headed up the Wadi Al-Mataha to the Sadd Al-Majan and finally back down through the Wadi Al-Mudhlim. The hike was one of the best dayhikes I have ever done. I followed the wadi all the way up and it was hard to get lost even though I was unsure about whether I was in the right place. The wadi was broad and wide to begin with but soon became very narrow. At one point for about fifty yards, the wadi had turned into a gorge no more than four or so feet wide. It snaked back and forth so that I could not see what was around each corner. And no one was here but me (I did bump into one other couple coming down the wadi). At numerous points flash floods had jammed huge boulders in the gorge prohibiting me moving forward. I was in each instance able to shimmy my way up the gorge by jamming my back on one side and my feet on the other and climbing up the wall and over the boulder. At the end of the hike, I came across a tunnel cut into the sandstone. At first I could not see the other side, and it was pitch black. But as I got closer and could see through the tunnel (about 20 meters tall, 10 wide, and 80 long), I realized that I was back at the dam I spoke of earlier and the carved tunnel to keep the Nabateans safe from flash floods. It was an amazing hike and the only think I would have appreciated more was if the hike was longer.

We headed back to the hotel after this great day at Petra and most of us jumped in the pool and cooled off. It was a great day.

P.S. I also added Day 8 today. So check that one out too.

Day 7 - Ihrbid, Jordan

Today was a shorter day than the rest. We actually got into the hotel around 5:30 and had a generous 2 hours before dinner. I used the time to wash clothes. My packing strategy so far seems to be working. I was determined to pack in a single carry-on suitcase and a small backpack. In order to do this I have had to wash clothes each night. I brought only synthetic clothing so they are easily dry by morning. I suspect after three weeks I'll be tired of doing laundry by hand. We Americans are so pampered that sometimes its just pathetic. But you probably aren't reading this to hear about my laundry...

Last night we stayed in a university town that was crawling with young adults. The nightlife was out and about. I'd have to say that compared to Syria, Jordan is quite a bit more liberal. Women dress more freely, though still quite modest by Western standards. Syria was also leading up to an "election" which is more of a confirmation of their president (one person running and you get to vote "yes" or "no"). So pictures of the president were everywhere. I don't know if the same campaign strategies are used in Jordan or not, but there are fewer pictures of King Abdulla II in Jordan than the president in Syria. Though enough that if Bush had his picture posted around the U.S. in the same way, it would raise considerable eyebrows.

This morning began in a unique way with Habitat for Humanity in Jordan. I served for three years on the Northwest Michigan Habitat board so I was particularly interested in what Habitat was up to in Jordan which is basically the same thing, building houses with no-interest loans. The context and some of the details are different, but the same situations exist here as in the States. I was surprised by own experience with Habitat how much work goes into negotiating various social networks and expectations. The same thing happens in Jordan just in a tribal social setting.

The intro to Jordan's Habitat began first with the American director, then the local committee, and then a family who now owns a house. The local custom is to serve coffee to everyone using communal cups. It was something of a Eucharistic moment except that the common cup was coffee. When you were done with your "shot" you had to remember to shake your cup three times or else you would soon have more coffee, which happened to some people. I am not a coffee drinker but I shared out of hospitality's sake.

When we got to the family's house, we were all seated in the living room at couches that sit on the floor. At first the husband spoke while his wife stayed in the background. But someone from our group asked her a question and she almost came running out from behind to answer. She was incredibly animated and clearly ruled the roost. She was very "spunky" and had a wonderful presence. She even argued and joked with the Habitat director while cajoling him to help her family more! It was a great peak behind the curtain of family life in the Middle East, and it was the first native woman we have had the chance to interact with. Out of everything we have done, I have been most moved by this experience. It was an opportunity to really get to know someone a bit more. I am continually impressed with Habitat's work, and the way that God uses Habitat for God's purposes. And it was nice to get off the tourist sight-seeing path for a while. But the sights were waiting and were off to Jerash.

Jerash is an ancient Roman city (go figure). It is most known for its Hadrian's Arch (picture of me at the left). We also saw the Oval Plaza which is unique in its oval-ness. Moving on from the plaza we went to the theater. This was much bigger than Palymra's theater. There were Syrians playing bag-pipes and drums for the tourists. They had an interesting mix of pieces: Amazing Grace, Yankee Doodle, and the Hallelujah chorus. While they played, a group of Italian tourists belly-danced. It was a moment of contrasts!

After the Theater we visited the temple of Artemis. It was an amazing temple high on a hill. Our guide pointed out to us how the columns were engineered to be able to withstand an earthquake by flexing on their base. He put a pocket knife in a crevasse at the end and shoved on the column. The knife moved up and down as the column swayed back and forth. The swaying was imperceptible to the eye, but made perceptible by the knife. One could stick their fingers in the crevasse and feel the column moving. Thankfully it didn't fall on us!

Following Artemis' temple, we visited the Nymphaeum, an amazing fountain system along the "cardio maximus" (the main road through any Roman town). We continued down the cardio maxium and out to the bus.

On the way to our hotel (the Radisson SAS), we stopped by the Wadi Jabok. It is the wadi the Jacob crossed over after wrestling with God and receiving his new name, Israel. There were some sheep and goats and a shepherd there.

Well, that's our day. Here's a couple of random thoughts. We've been escorted by a tourist policeman. His main job seems to be finding us a place to park. Our guide explained that when they opened the border to Israelites back in the 90s, they were afraid that people might hurt Israeli tourists, but this never materialized. But the police escort was helpful for the tourists. Imagine having a police escort with you when you visit Chicago making sure you get a good parking spot and quickly cutting through red tape. What a gift!

One more thought: As I catch the news about the turmoil in Lebanon, I am struck by how little it appears to affect other places in the area. The conflict is very localized. I had always imagined these kind of conflicts causing mass chaos throughout the entire region. But this is not the case. Thus, another incorrect assumption broken down by the experience here in the Middle East.

We get up tomorrow and leave at 7:30 AM for Petra. We are there for two days. I don't know if there will be Internet access so you may not hear from me for some time. All for now.

Peace and grace,

Tom

Check out Amy's Shutterfly site.

Check out Marissa's Blog (a student in the other METS group with Max, we're with Steve).