Every generation gets a chance to change the world.

Coming back to Jerusalem after our week adventure in Turkey felt good. Like coming home. Despite the sudden inundation of classes and homework, I made sure to get out in the city. I love how I can finally find my way around most of the Old City.

Yesterday, I went out to the Old City with Eliza, Shalyn, Kristine, and Tiffany. We rushed over to the Dome of the Rock and barely made it before the guards' lunch break. It was my first time there and even though I've seen the Dome of the Rock in pictures, it still was a little unreal. I had never fully appreciated the blue decorated tiles all around the structure and the sun was shining perfectly on the golden dome. Also, there were very few people there, so it was very peaceful and quiet.

First time seeing the Dome.

I love the contrasting blues and golds. 

Me, Eliza, Tiffany, and Kristine. 

After the Dome of the Rock, we meandered through the Jewish Quarter. The Jews are currently celebrating Rosh Hashanah, their start to the New Year. Hey, this would be a perfect time to make some goals. You only have to keep them until January 1st! We stumbled across this sign at the entrance to a home close to the Western Wall. 

Yeah for Fiddler on the Roof. :) "Tradition!" has been stuck in my head ever since. You're welcome.

Our final stop was for some challah at a local bakery. This is bread that the Jews make on Shabbat and holidays. It is a specially braided sweet bread and tastes absolutely delicious. I will have to restrain myself from eating challah every Sabbath ;)

Me and Eliza outside the bakery. 

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).

Istanbul (Not Constantinople)

Just got back from Turkey!

No more fish, mystery meat, and desserts soaked in honey.
No more brushing my teeth with a bottle of water.
No more sketch bathrooms with tiny showers.
No more squatty potties.

YESH.

In other news, Istanbul was brilliant! (the rest of Turkey will come later...)

I had no idea what to expect, but I loved it. The city reminds me partly of a European San Francisco, with windy, steep streets, green landscapes, and the Bosphorus winding through the city, occasionally covered by bridges. Also, Istanbul reminds me of something out of Star Wars, with all the different mosques scattered across the horizon. After dry, hot, and brown Jerusalem, Istanbul's greenness and 60 degree weather was perfect. 

The Blue Mosque.

We only had 2 days in Istanbul, so we were constantly herded from site to site like a bunch of cattle. Our Turkish tour guide Fatih would continually say "hurry up, hobbits!" Not quite sure why he called us that, but he always made me laugh. Other favorite quotes from him: "Attention all Harper bus!" "Hello aliens." "I'm a mountain goat."

On the first day we saw the Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace (where the sultans of the Ottoman Empire lived for over 400 years), and the Grand Bazaar (4000 shops + over 60 streets + in-your-face shopkeepers = craziness. *Favorite comment from a shopkeeper: "You are so beautiful, like angels. I will be your Charlie." Wow). We also took a boat ride on the Bosphorus. It was great to sit on the boat after walking around all day and watch the sun set on Istanbul.

Inside the Blue Mosque.

At Topkapi Palace.

The Grand Bazaar.

Boat ride on the Bosphorus.

Sitting on the back of the boat.

The fish I ate at dinner. The eyeball was disgusting.
(AnnaLeah seems pretty excited about the food)

Our second day in Istanbul was equally exciting. We saw Hagia Sophia and walked through another bazaar. 

Inside Hagia Sophia.

The upper deck at Hagia Sophia. 

One of the mosaics. 

Cat sleeping at Hagia Sophia. I felt like joining him.

Enjoying our last Magnum ice cream bar in Turkey.

Life comes at you fast.

Remember when you were 13 and you went away to camp and it was going to last 1 WHOLE WEEK? And everyday felt sooo long and years went by before you went home. And remember when Christmases and birthdays were so far apart? And high school seniors were so old? And college was just a distant blur in the future?

This coming Wednesday will mark three weeks of living in Jerusalem. Ok, so it's not been that long. But it still means that I am almost 1/3 of the way through my time here in the Holy Land. Say what?! I feel like I was just packing my bags to leave on this study abroad. I have loved every minute here, and I can't wait for all the coming excitement and adventures.

I just wish that it went by a little slower, that I could watch each Jerusalem sunset in slow-mo, rewind the spontaneous bursts of laughter, and freeze the moments when walking through the colorful market-places of the Old City.

But what minutes!  Count them by sensation, and not by calendars, and each moment is a day.  

~Benjamin Disraeli

At the Western Wall.

Participating in the stations of the cross, 

on Friday along the Via Dolorosa.

View of Jerusalem.

The Church of the Condemnation.

The streets of Jerusalem.

Blink of an eye.

Human beings do not live forever. We live less than the time it takes to blink an eye, if we measure our lives against eternity. So it may be asked what value is there to a human life. There is so much pain the world. What does it mean to have to suffer so much if our lives are nothing more than the blink of an eye? I learned a long time ago, that a blink of an eye in itself is nothing. But the eye that blinks, that is something. A span of life is nothing. But the man who lives that span, he is something. He can fill that tiny span with meaning, so its quality is immeasurable though its quantity may be insignificant. Do you understand what I am saying? A man must fill his life with meaning, meaning is not automatically given to life. It is hard work to fill one’s life with meaning. That I do not think you understand yet. A life filled with meaning is worthy of rest. I want to be worthy of rest when I am no longer here. 

From The Chosen, by Chaim Potok

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. 

The past few days, in pictures.

Visiting Shaban's store in the Old City.

The Garden of Gethsemane.

The Pool of Bethesda.

The Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

Sunset at the Jerusalem Center.