Pizza, Pizza, Pizza!

Hebrew was cancelled this afternoon, so we hit the Old City for some pizza. The food at the center is great, but we were very excited to go to the place "where Jesus ate his first slice of pizza" as we were told by the man who works there, which is definitely true. We all loved it. 

This was mint lemonade. I think it is my favorite drink ever. I also might have been really thirsty, but it was great. 

Veggie pizza, no cheese, and red sauce. My dream come true. I thought of Emmers when I got this. It was not as thin as the one we shared in Rome, it was still delish.

Steph enjoying her famous Shuk donut as we walk towards some shopping.

It was soooo hot. So, we caught the Palestinian bus #75. It was our first time on public transportation here. It was great! I only felt like I was going to die once or twice and we avoided the large hill we have to walk up to get to the center. I was ecstatic, hence the weird smile.

twinsies. round two.

So, my fantastic, favorite, fun, frivolous, flimsy, foolish,  friendly, little frindle of a roommate and I both seem to like shopping in the men's section at Target. It is great because, we have matching t-shirts that are very flattering on us. I was feeling a little identity crisis after yesterday's matching fiasco and so in order to help me feel a bit more comfortable in my own skin, Steph and I decided to match again.

I think we pull it off pretty well. Sisters from a different mister. 

twinsies.

The fashion here in Jeru can sometimes be a bit questionable. Thankfully, David and I have at least one great gender-neutral outfit.

I promise, this was not planned.

It's gettin' hot over here...

I feel like we went everywhere today. Our first stop was at the place of Samson's birth. We then went to the overlook of where David and Goliath would have fought. 

Obviously it was the perfect time for some rock slinging. I could throw a rock farther than I could ever sling it but some people were pretty good at it. 

I love these gurrls. 

We then went to this other place called Lakish. This was a huge room that stored doves for different uses. I came to the conclusion that if it was full, it would literally be my worst nightmare.

We were always so happy to go down into the cisterns and caves today. Most of this city was built underground and it was so apparent why. It was really really hot. Kinda just felt like you constantly had your face in the oven. 

These were the Bell caves. They were carved out as chalk mines during the Islamic period. They were really amazing and had cool acoustics. We sang a few hymns there, which was really beautiful. 

Free Day at the Israel Museum

I was really prepared for a droll day at the Israel museum, but luckily, it was actually really cool. I am such a big fan of museums that aren't just like a bunch of rooms. We started out looking at a second temple period replica of the old city. Ste-fanny and I could not resist taking a godzilla pic. Juan was a very patient photographer. The museum was pretty amazing. We saw the dead sea scrolls, ancient sarcophagi and paintings by Monet. What more could ya ask for? I would definitely go back.  

We might have gotten yelled at by a security guard. It was still worth it.

The LOVE statue in hebrew.  

The Israel Museum's version of the Chicago bean.

I don't really know what this is from, but the blue was so beautiful.
We saw some that were very similar in Turkey. 

I think arabic is so beautiful.

Warhol's paintings of famous 20th century Jews. Can you name them? I got Gertrude Stein, Kafka, Freud, Einstein and the Marx Brothers... I could probably goog the rest.

I was so surprised to see some really cool contemporary art. I just turned the corner and there was a Pollock. So great. 

If you were wondering, this is an apple core. I don't think there was any significance.

Arabian Nights!

Last night was Arab night! First, we heard from the Father and Son duo that sings the call to prayer for the Al-Aqsa mosque. They did the call for prayer for us and then some recitations from the qur'an. They had really amazing voices and it was so interesting to see the faces that we hear 5 times every day over the loud speakers in the city.
Then, we had a fab dinner. Have I mentioned how great our chef is? The food was really quite good and probably pretty authentic. After dinner, three Palestinian teenagers taught us traditional dance from the area and then we had a little dance party of our own.

Roomies! We had to self timer this photo, I almost didn't make it back in time.                                      

Juan and his Harem. Juan won the costume award and everyone wanted a picture with him.  

Some of my favorite Bedouin Babes

Snacky Snacks.

Class ended at 11 today, so I basically just studied and did some shopping in the Old City. We stopped and got some genie pants at a favorite vendor (we had Arab night, so they were a necessary buy). Then, we headed to the Jewish quarter for a snack. I got my first bagel in Israel-Kate, I knew you would be jealous of this. It was sweet sesame. 

Lane and Heather got one of these. They are ginormous. My cousin Carter would be sooo jealous:

Then, we walked into the little market across the street and I wanted to try every kind of these. 

I felt like Papa John would love all of these. Pops, don't you love Mike n' Ikes, or was I just making that up? On that note-why does this country have such good and varietious candy. I just want to try it all. 

Arab Night Post to come!

gag reel?

So,  I have posted lots photos on my blog thus far. I know it will be a surprise but I have taken a bajillion more than I have posted. Interestingly enough, some of those photos have not turned out to be nearly as cute as I would have hoped. With the help of Heather and Rachel, I have plenty of questionable shots. It seems like it would be a good idea to show the whole world wide web a few. So, be prepared to laugh... or not. I might be the only one who thinks these are funny.

yep, we may have been making gobble gobble turkey faces right after landing in Turkey. I was obviously well prepared for this shot.

Here is another winner:

One of these things is not like the other. I was probably bossing someone around.

And sometimes I am a bit of a temptress...

Probably not the most appropriate... but we thought it was funny.

I also like to fall asleep at sites.

It is a great look for me, I know. 

And we get giggly in the Hagia Sophia...

Karen and I look great on Ferry Boats:

And Heather and I are aspiring models.

And what could be better than this little rascal eating some sausage on the steps of the Blue Mosque...

More Turkey!

The fifth day that we were in Turkey, we trekked out to Ephesus, which was by far my favorite historical place in Turkey. It was so unbelievable how much of the city was still there/well reconstructed. Just walking through, I felt completely like I could imagine how beautiful it must have been while it was inhabited.
My favorite part of the day was when we acted out Acts 19 where it actually happened. I am continually amazed by Paul and his dedication to the gospel. It was such a great experience to follow the places that he taught while learning what he taught.

Megan and Pamella Jo in front of the Library of Celsus in Ephesus

Check out your pictures in the back of your bible. I bet you will find one pretty similar to this!

I was model posing, obviously. But, this is Sardis in what used to be a Roman gymnasium. 

Remember Jericho Road?

It was a really great EFY band. Luckily we didn't listen to them today on our way to the real thing: Jericho. I guess it would be difficult to compare to the ruins we saw in Turkey, but these were a little less exciting than most we had seen. We had a security escort today because Jericho is controlled by the Palestinians. It was so interesting to see Palestinian guards and even flags, you never see them in Jerusalem, even East Jerusalem which is predominately Palestinian. We started by going to an outlook point in the Rift valley where you can see many monasteries are dug into caves. It was really cool, and also one of the lowest spots on Earth. Then, we went to one of Herod the Great's many winter palaces. There was not much left of it, but cool to see either way. We then headed to the archaeological site, or Tel, of ancient Jericho. There is a Neolithic era tower there that is the oldest tower ever to be constructed and it is also thought to be the site of the oldest true city in the world. Across the way, we went to Elijah springs, which was the water source of the ancient city. It was a pretty hot and sunny day, so I was really happy that this field trip only took up the morning.

Esta somos Camila y yo en frente del Palacio de Herodes. Me gusta ella mucho por que me ayuda con español y es muy chistoso. 

Look down and to the right. Yep, oldest tower in the world. Super exciting. 

This is my fabulous class checking out the spring at Jericho. 

I just couldn't help myself. We took a bathroom stop by the place that is traditionally believed that Jesus was tempted by Satan on the mountain. And, yep, there was a very cute gnome that I wanted to steal so I decided the next best things would be to take a picture. 

Ode to Baklava

As I am sure many of you know, I am slowly trying to get myself to eat most types of red meat. Unfortunately, none of the restaurants in Turkey knew that and we were served an exorbitant amount of meats at every meal. This often left me to the rice and bread (fresh foods were off limits to us because  Doc worried about how sick they would make us.) Other things looked a little scary. 

Exhibit A:

The top left is a bitter yogurt dip, top right is a lentil squash dish, bottom left is a tomato/eggplant spread (out of the four, it was my favorite) and the bottom right were anchovy wrapped olives. No one could have paid me to try those. These were pretty typical flavors and appetizer dishes. 

Even with questionable food, we still had tons of fun-

Then, there was usually a rice and bread combo with some meatballs, and, if we were lucky, BAKLAVA followed. I do not want this to be misleading, I have had baklava before, but it just tastes better in Turkey. It is a thinly layered pastry, juicy with honey and often some type of nuts. My mouth is salivating just talking about it. It was that good. One night, after dinner (where we ate two pieces), we walked over to the Asian side of Istanbul and got some at our tour guides favorite place. That totaled five pieces in one night, which is quite a feat because of its richness. I got these:

The one on the left is a traditional pistachio baklava, the middle is chocolate and absolutely divine and the right was more of a n egg roll one. I loved them all. I guess I will have to go back to Turkey sometime again, if only just to eat some more!

Hagia Sophia!

The last day we were in Turkey, we were so busy. Our first stop was in Izmir, and then we went to Nicea, where we sat and learned about the place where the Nicean creed was written. It was decided by the Council of Bishops at the palace of Constantine that Christ was begotten of Heavenly Father, not a separate being, which is a common belief among Catholics today. 
It was a beautiful spot. Who would have guessed that Turkey was one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. Every time we took a turn in the bus I was just astounded by the variety and over-all gorgeousness of the space. I don't really know what I was expecting, but it exceeded anything I could have ever imagined.

Then we headed back to Istanbul by Ferry. Did I mention that I forgot my Dramamine? It was a bit of a problem. Luckily, Doc Peterson had this miracle Tiger Balm. It was this really strong smelling paste that you would rub underneath your nose and it totally stopped my from getting sick. Who knows if it was all psychological or legal (all of the writing was in Chinese characters), but it worked miracles. 

Then, we got to the Hagia Sophia. From the outside, it looks like a huge, but simple building. 

MJ and I in the front of Hagia Sophia
It was just so cool.

Then, we walked across the way a little bit to the Blue mosque. I think it was the most beautiful inside of a church I have ever seen. And, this picture totally does not show that, but it is the only one I have. 

It was such a successful trip. More to come later!

We got our Assos to Assos!

Ok, so this was probably my most favorite place. We sat on the ruins (Don't tell Brother Jackson) and read from Acts 16 and 20, were Assos is mentioned and just watched the Aegean sea. It was so great. 

Me and Anna Marie making a Pam sandwich. Can you even believe that view? 

I never thought I would see so many so many columns. But, I still love them. Then, we drove to Pergamum, which was another one of the Seven Churches of Asia (Check out Revelation 1-4).  And, there were more columns, so get excited.  

My eyes might be closed. It was really bright. 

Turkey Shmirky. I love Turkey.

Just got back from an absolutely amazing week in Turkey. We saw so many different sites and were able to follow a lot of places that Paul taught. It was an absolutely amazing experience. There was plenty of traveling time. We were alllways on the bus. But, it really wasn't too bad. 

One of the best parts of this trip was that I totally found which people in our group will let me sleep on them. Shout out to Geoff, Heather and Camila--bus buddies 4ever.

One of our first stops was the Grand Bazaar. I used a lot of self restraint there. There were sooo many nice fake purses and "genuine fake" watches. I was just so overwhelmed by the sheer size of it all.  

This picture is for Marky Mark-There were so many cool tea sets everywhere! I just did not have any space to bring them home and keep them safe :(.

We then went to Topkapi Palace. It was the Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II's palace. It is now a museum and had some pretty cool stuff, like a lot of the jewels and clothing worn by the Sultan. 

Mary Jane and I in front of Topkapi Palace. Lovin' the fanny pack.

Istanbul!