Eilat of fun in the sun.

Last free day basically the whole center went on a day trip to Eilat. Eilat is located right on the northern tip of the Red Sea, about a four hours drive from Israel. (In case you were wondering.) We got up really early so we could get to the beach by 10 AM. I made sure to sneak out some snacks from the Oasis for the long bus ride. And when I say snacks, I am of course referring to the chocolate cereal, filled in the center with little bursts of a nutella-like substance. Too much chocolate for breakfast, but the perfect mid-morning snack. Yum. 

When we finally got to Eilat, closer to 11 AM, the whole bus was itching to get on the beach. The temperature outside was perfect. 

Entrance to Coral Beach.

We spent the morning and early afternoon at Coral Beach, chilling on the sand or snorkeling along the reefs. My first attempt at snorkeling consisted of continual salt water pouring into my goggles and swimming against some pretty rough waves. I probably looked like I was drowning. However, attempt two was a success. The waves were less choppy and we were able to swim out to a better reef. I swam through a huge school of fish and saw some super skinny and brightly colored fish. Then I read The Things They Carried on the beach. The book is haunting and gut-wrenching, but insightful and thought-provoking. I love reading a good book on the beach.

danielle + charlotte + beach = happiness

 Me, Danielle, and Annahleah at the Red Sea. 

Couldn't resist the jumping picture.

After the beach, we spent an hour wandering around some of the hotels and shops in the city of Eilat. The area was definitely touristy and more European, but it was a nice change from the streets of Jerusalem. We enjoyed people watching. 

Reminded me of Mall Cop. 

Alyse, Me, and Eliza having fun at the Three Monkeys Pub. :)

Is there anything here not swimming in gravy?!

Continuing on my adventures in Turkey...

I forgot to mention the underground basilica cistern that we saw in Istanbul. Possibly one of my favorite sites, because we just stepped off the street, followed some stairs down, and bam! there's a huge, eerily lit underground cavern. Made by the Romans. Oh, and I might also have loved it because it was 100 times cooler down there.

Apparently people bring fish down here
because there were tons of them swimming around.

Our next stop was Troia (Troy). No, Brad Pitt was not there.

I'm not gonna lie, my favorite part was the giant Trojan horse just chillin' outside the entrance to the ruins. I'm pretty sure our group spent more time hanging out in the horse then wandering around the sites. But don't get me wrong, the ruins were amazing, and the surrounding countryside was beautiful. It reminded me of the Italian countryside.

Me and AnnahLeah.

Inside the original Trojan horse :)

We spent the night at a hotel right next to the Aegean Sea. Walking along the beach at sunset was awesome. Then we had a dance party on the beach with a huge bonfire. It was epic. Apparently other people thought so too, because about 8 Turkish men joined in for our last couple of songs. 

Some of our group at the beach.

I loved visiting Assos because the village was not very touristy. We hiked up the winding, cobble stone streets to get to the top of the hill. The site was where Paul went on one of his missions. I loved how our director, Dr. Skinner, reminded us that while it's neat to walk where the apostles walked, it's more important to do what they did, namely living as disciples of Christ.  

View from the top of Assos.

Here's a lovely picture taken while at Pergamon. We got right up to the top and it started pouring rain. Of course, right when we left it was sunny again. But I loved every minute of it. I will never forget those rainy moments because everyone embraced the rain and didn't complain.

Another day we spent at the ancient Greek city of Ephesus. There are extensive ruins there and it was fun to just wander around them. 

AnnahLeah, Me, and Danielle.

Danielle, me, and Kaitlyn at the great library of Celsus.

Here's one of my many creeper shots from Turkey. Classic European men. It's almost like they were posing for me.

Thanks Danielle for "posing for a picture" for me :)

We also got to visit the calcium pools at Pamukkale (Pamukkale means cotton candy in Turkish, which is a very good description of what the site looks like). It also looked like a snowy hillside so it was weird to feel the warm water on my feet.

Danielle and me.

One of our final stops was at the silk market in Bursa. I loved the arched walk ways around the shops. 

Me, Nicole, and Danielle (the seesters).

I think I have been rendered unconscious.

Never take shorts for granted, people. Never. Especially if you find yourself trekking across the Judean Wilderness. In long pants.

Also, whoever invented air conditioning is a saint. And whoever decided that ice water is not necessary in Jerusalem is crazy. "Modest is hottest" takes on a whole new meaning after spending hours below sea level in Jericho.

But talk about awesome. We saw possibly the oldest tower in history at the Jericho tell, an ancient bathtub at Herod's winter palace, a monastery built straight into the Mt. of Temptation, a camel at a gas station, and a tree similar to the one that a man climbed up to listen to the Savior. So much history packed into such a small place.

Jericho, "City of Palm Trees"

The cure for a hot, sweaty day? Swimming in the Mediterranean at Tel Aviv.