The Church of the Holy Sepulcher...visiting restricted areas :)

So, on December 2nd, we (Sarah Ingalls, Steph Price, Nathan Mahler, and me) went out after doing Humanitarian kits (hey we met our goal for the semester of doing 10,000 kits! We've been having little humanitarian kit days for an hour or two throughout the semester, and on Wednesday we made the goal! Horray!)

We decided we wanted to go to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and see if we could go into the Relic room. Well, that didn't happen because the Greek Orthodox monk who has the key to the reliquary wasn't there...but the doorman (who, coinsidentially enough, is a Muslim man, because all the different denominations fight over who would get the key if it was left to a Christian...), told us when to come back, so we will do that sometime.

Well, since we couldn't go into the reliquary, Nathan introduced us to an Armenian Deacon that he had met, Artook. He's really nice, and he took us up into the galleries of the church, and we saw the parts that tourists and visitors rarely get to see! It was really cool. He even let Nathan try on some priest robes...kind of funny. He was a really nice guy.


Nathan in priest's robes :)

This is the Holy Sepulcher from the upper galleries in the dome :) I was totally giddy the whole time getting to be up there.

The entrance to the sepulcher...

Then after that he took us down into the basement of the church, down where the original foundations are, and also where people rarely get to go. It was so fun! Nathan was climbing all around down there. It was so sweet. I was trying not to be a tourist and take pictures, but I did get some.

Him leading us across the church to their section of the foundations..

This is the line of the foundation from Helena's original church and the one built on top of it after that one was destroyed by the Muslim invasion. The next one was a crusader church.

This is us under the church. From left to right, it's Sarah, Steph, Nathan, Artook, and me. Sorry the lighting isn't the best...the spotlight right behind us didn't help much with that.

Anyway, we talked with him for a long time after that and he told us that he has about a year until he can become a priest, but he has to decide if he wants to have a family or not. There are two options, he can become a priest and get married and then not really progress anymore up the chain of the Armenian priesthood, or he can remain unmarried and become a priest, which will give him the ups to continue. Interesting.

Anyway, he let us help this lady light her keepsake candles. What you do is buy a bundle and then light them with holy fire, and then extinguish them and take them home. So we did that...and then he gave us our own little bundles as gifts and let us light them with holy fire. It was so cool! I love being here longer term and getting to do sweet stuff that we probably wouldn't get to do otherwise. I love it!

This is me lighting candles with the Holy Fire from the Sepulcher, right at the entrance.

We didn't have much time, just a couple hours before the sunset, so we went home after that, but it was an amazing day!

A Day on the Mount of Olives 12-1-09

After classes on Tuesday, we decided that we would get out and see the beautiful area of Jerusalem!

We set out to stay on the Mount of Olives. It was me, Lauren Hays, Emily Andersen, and Lexi Young.

Our first stop was going to be the Garden of Gethsemane, but they weren't open yet, so we went to Mary's tomb. It was so nice because we just got time to sit and be there, even though we weren't worshiping or anything, we just sat and talked because we were the only ones there. It was nice. We read scriptures and just talked about the Resurrection, actually. Kind of random, but I always wonder where all the bodies are in the tombs that we visit, and that led us to the Resurrection, somehow :).

Next we finally made it to the Garden of Gethsemane. It was beautiful. We first went to the Church of All Nations, and we just sat in silence and thought and read and etc. (The Church of All Nations is the church that the Garden of Gethsemane is in.) It is a beautiful church, and it is nice to just sit and think. We have the time now, just to take things slowly and enjoy these last weeks being here in Jerusalem. It's so nice.

We love nuns...

It is a gorgeous church, and the main colors used are gold and purple. It is just absolutely beautiful.

Loved the purple stained-glass windows...I didn't realize for a little minute that they had crosses in them, but they are still beautiful.

After that we walked around the garden. The trees in the tourist garden are really, really old. Much older than the private garden, so that is one thing that is so cool. It takes Olive trees ten years just to start producing olives when they are young. They can live indefinitely, until something kills them. And they grow very, very slowly. So an old tree is very rare, and very precious. It explains why the one at the Salt Lake Temple is so, so precious, and also there is an old one here at the entrance to the Jerusalem Center. It's amazing.

The Garden :) So the gardener was working around the outside today, and one of the gates was open, and so I definitely tried to get into the inner part where nobody is allowed to go. By trying to get in, I mean that I asked the gardener, and tried to convince him we'd be very respectful if we could just walk on that lovely white-pebble path. He didn't really go for it. Darn.

Next we climbed up the hill, but in the opposite direction of the JC. We passed the Jewish Cemetery on the way, which was really, really cool. We even saw some Jewish people gathered around some tombs...
This is the group of Jews at the tomb... They're in traditional garb, with all black coats and hats (for the men.) They were worshiping here, and may be in mourning. They always wear those clothes though, don't get me wrong. It was just really neat to see them in the Jewish Cemetery.

Tombs...

Me and tombs.... and you can see the rocks on the tombs in the background. They put rocks instead of flowers on the tombs here. Maybe cause rocks last longer? Just an interesting tradition, I think.

And of course, we took the opportunity to take a shadow picture. Naturally.

At the top we went to a church at the top of the Mount of Olives called Dominus Flevit, which is the Church commemorating Christ weeping over Jerusalem. We got there and there was a wall that faced the entire city. It was beautiful. We sat for probably an hour, just talking, and looking at the city that we have come to love so much. We talked about our goals for when we go home, and just how being here has changed us. I hope to always be different. I want this semester to be a changing point in my life. Something that I can look back on and say that it monumentally changed my life, my actions, my thoughts, everything. I think it will be just that for my life.

The view from the wall. Oh Jerusalem, how I love you!

Me, Lexi, and Emily.

It was so beautiful with the evening, fall sunlight. The pictures just don't do it justice.

The is the apse inside the church. It had a clear glass window! It was so beautiful, you could see the Old City of Jerusalem. Props to whoever designed that. It reminds me of the temple with the clear window overlooking the Sacred Grove. So beautiful. Again, thanks mom and dad for all the fun trips and things I've seen!

Anyway, after that we walked up the rest of the hill and walked down a street along the top to get back to the Center. I'd never been up there, just walking, so that was fun. We did see one very ironic thing, however. A HUGE Israeli flag, flying high, right in the middle of a Palestinian neighborhood. The conflict is real, and we live in the midst of it. It's so interesting to think that something like that could be happening today, and that daily life can go on. So many lives here are affected by it, though. It's so sad to see two groups of people that are so loved by our Heavenly Father, fighting against each other, and completely unable to accept each other.

Interesting.

Anyway, after that it was home again, home again, jiggity-jig! (Love you Dad and Mom!)

Christian Quarter and Herodian Fortress Field Trip! 11-30-09

This day we went on a field trip into the Old City! I have decided that these field trips into the Old City are my absolute favorite. I love, love, love Jerusalem. I am going to miss it so badly when I get home. Please forgive me if I'm a little sad upon coming home...I hope you'll all understand.

This day we caught buses that took us to New Gate, which is in the Christian Quarter. The first stop on the list was to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. I will admit that I haven't thought very highly of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher before, but I really, really enjoyed it. It was great going through every part with the professors. I was under the impression that everyone was crazy for thinking that was the site of Christ's crucifixion and burial and resurrection, but I was informed that there is valid evidence for it, and that it is as much a candidate as the Garden Tomb is, because they both meet all the requirements.

They were both outside the walls of the city at the time of Christ. They both have hills where he could have been crucified, and both have tomb candidates. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher just has a church built over it, so the tomb isn't really preserved (or the hill) in its natural form. The tomb walls have all been carved away and etc, and now there's an etitaph (?) over it. Or a big....wooden....tent, thing. Kind of like a mini house. Oh it's made out of stone with a scaffolding around it, because it's so old.

Anyway. Here's some history. Constantine, the emperor of Rome who converted to Christianity and made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire, sent his mother, who was a Christian that married a pagan emperor, Helena to the Holy Land in the 4th Century to find the Holy Places of Christ's life and to build churches around them. He gave her a huge bank account, basically, and told her to go find Christ in the Holy Land. So, she came here and talked to Christians in the area and asked them where they sanctified Christ for all of the different parts of His life. So all the areas that are traditional and have huge churches built on top of them are because of her and the traditions of Christians in the area. And they could be valid, it's true. I mean, if it is passed down from people, it could still be the same places that Christ did perform these acts. But that's the story.

Anyway, the Church today is pretty funny because there are about 6 denominations that lay claim on it. They all have a set schedule for worship, and the whole thing is divided into sections that each denomination claims. The three main ones are the Roman Catholics, the Greek Orthodox, and the Armenian Church. The others include the Syriac Church, the Ethiopians, and some others. It's pretty crazy. They have had disputes, and actually there have been some fist-fights, between priests over some things like sweeping a particular area at the right or wrong time. Kind of interesting.

So we went around and saw Golgotha, which is in the Greek Orthodox side, and then Adam's Church underneath it, because most Christians believe that Adam's tomb is underneath Golgotha and that is why it is "the place of the skull." We went around to all the different denominations, and where they think Christ was held in prison. Christ's fourth prison, and the different places where they....pay tribute (I guess) to the different events, like the Roman Soldier spearing Christ's side, the soldiers dividing his clothes, and then there's a spot where Mary fainted when she saw Christ on the cross. It's really an interesting place. It's even more so now that we know what each little nook and cranny means.

This is Brother Emmett outside the Church in the courtyard, teaching away :)

This is upstairs at Golgotha. It's really an interesting layout of the Church. Like they found the holy site and then constructed this huge building to fit into the landscape. I didn't understand it at first, but now I do and it is easier to make sense of.

These are out of order, but this is outside at the top of the column on the left hand side of the entrance.... it's graffiti from 1389. You can't see the date very well, but it's there, on the left of the bit triangular thing... How cool is that? These places are OLD!

Kind of fuzzy...but proof that I was here!

It was a bad hair day.....but don't worry, I eventually put it up haha. So, there's the Church of the Holy Sepulcher!

After that we went to Saint Savior's Church, where brother Whipple played the concert a while ago, with all the Mendelssohn Sonatas. A Filipino Priest, Father Angelo, who is the only one who will take Mormons on tours for some reason or another, and who is an amazing, brilliant man who decided to become a monk at age 39 (and sold everything he owned to do so -- which I have heard included a $3 million dollar home...), took us around the monastery. He showed us where Orson Hyde stayed there, once upon a time, and carved his name into the back of a door. I guess that's one way to leave your mark...literally. But hey, it's pretty sweet.

This is Father Angelo, leading us around the Monastery. I just liked it...

Orson Hyde's graffiti... :)

The door the Orson Hyde scratched his name into is in a room that is now the tailor's office, so here's all 41 of us cramming into the tailor's room :)

This is, from left to right, Adam Bahr, Richie Beck, Chelsea Ellsworth, Father Angelo, Me, and Michelle Christensen.

After that we went over to the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer and we saw a courtyard which Brother Emmet pointed out is similar to a lot of styles of courtyards in homes of Muslims and etc, so the women don't have to be exposed to the outside world and can have a private outside area. Then we went into a chapel and we all sang hymns from their hymn books! There were a bunch in English. We sang mostly Christmas songs, in English, and then at the very end we sang Silent Night in German! It was beautiful.

This is the inner courtyard, which was beautiful...perhaps I should have one in my home someday. Complete with ivy and big beautiful trees...oh and a very old church. Yes?

The Lutheran (Protestant) Chapel. I just like the contrast between Catholic churches and Lutheran Churches.

Us singing from their hymnals. They had a ton of Christmas music in there! It was great!

Our last stop for the day was to St. Mark's Church, which is the Aramaic Church. Aramaic is the original language of Jesus Christ, it is believed. That church is also where the Upper Room supposedly is (there are two claims on the upper room....), but it's in the basement now because of having 2000 years of growth built up around it. It's pretty crazy. It also has been cut in half because they started entombing priests in the other half of the room... So there you go! The woman who is the caretaker is quite the Character. She spoke English, but not entirely fluently, and she told us about the miracles that have happened in the Church. There was one she said happened a year ago, and a man who spoke only Hebrew came to talk to her, in Hebrew (which she doesn't speak) and she heard English and responded in English, and he heard Hebrew. They talked for an hour, never realizing it, and then he left. Three months later he came back, and tried speaking to her again, and they both became very frustrated (and the man was angry because he thought she was just not speaking Hebrew to him.) Then a man came and translated and they figured out what happened. So. Miracles do happen. I sat there skeptically, listening to her, and just thinking she was some crazy lady. And someone pointed out that as Mormons, we don't have the corner on miracles. If someone has the faith to be healed, they can be healed. God loves all of His children, and gives equally to all those who are faithful. So that put me in my place a little bit. I repent.

St. Mark's Church - which is called "The First Church."

This is inside. It's pretty humble, not very big. That is the Aramaic-speaking lady :) God Bless her :)

This is the basement, which is the upper-room!

And here's me in the upper-room, even though the flash only shows me, instead of the room...

After that we had a little bit of free time, and we got some bread with Zatar - that spice that I love so much. It was yummy. Then we got our lunches from the bus, and we all hopped on and we rode to part two of the day....the herodian fortress!

The herodian fortress is one of Herod's many projects. He built it for...you guessed it....war! It's a fortress...come on people. It was cool though. It had a great view at the top, a lot of old foundations of buildings. Some crusader buildings on top of those buildings...and a huge cistern/water system underneath. SO basically it was very, very familiar to us....but the cool thing is that it had an awesome view of Bethlehem, Shepherd's fields, and it was in the West Bank! We had to go through a checkpoint to get there. It was cool. You could see the differences. It definitely looked less "big city" and more poor. It was a neat experience. Especially because we're going to Bethlehem on Thursday!

Me and the Herodian Fortress.

That is Bethlehem off in the distance!

Bethlehem to the back top right, and the Shepherd's fields off to the left!

This is inside the fortress, with the tower and etc. Love ruins! They're so....old.

YEESSS! More cisterns! Actually, they are way cool. There just not as unique or uncommon as I once thought they were. :)

Anyway, after that we rode home and got our tired bums off the bus, and went to dinner!

Ma'salame folks!

"Friends cannot be divided" 11-27-09

The Separation Barrier Field Trip...

We had an awesome guy come and talk to us and give us a lecture on the conflict in Israel and Palestine. It was really informative and great. The guy's name was Danny Seideman. He's an Israeli Jew, but he is in favor of a Two-State Solution between Israel and Palestine, and is pretty brutally honest. He's not very biased, either. And he's Funny. It was a great morning.

We walked out to a lookout point just east of the center and looked over into the West Bank, over Perea and over the Dead Sea and Danny talked about how the main cause of conflict was Jerusalem and "Area E" (I belive is the name...). It's the area northeast of the Mount of Olives, and is a main area of conflict because it is a place of building of Israeli settlements. If they build up to Jerusalem, which they wanted to do for a while, then it would undermine the Two State Solution, by taking a slice out of the West Bank and cutting it in half.

This is Area E or what not, that is the problem area. The city off to the top right is the city in question.

This is a highway that is divided, as a solution to cutting off Palestine. They gave them 16 yards of pavement :)

The other main area of concern is Old City Jerusalem and East Jerusalem. The differences come because Palestinians view these areas as part of the West Bank, and Israelis view them as part of Israel. It's a huge hot spot area. Danny called it "the hot spot of the big volcano waiting to erupt." Pretty good imagery.


This is the seven arches overlook...which was our first stop on our first field trip... We came full circle.

This is Danny...

He did say one thing that really interested me, though. He said that Jerusalem is not a city of contention and difference, it's a fairly stable city, and is an example of cohabitation and cooperation. Because even though the different religions have their little bouts of contention...there are a ton of very, very religious groups who have extremely opposing views, and they coexist in a fairly small area for the most part. I found that interesting.

And then we went to a section of the wall... I'll just let most of the pictures speak for themselves.


Except this one... this is my new red coat :). Lyndsay took some fun pictures for me, and I'll post them sometime.




Anyway, I think I'm just going to say that, since I can't do the conflict justice in a blog post. I hope you enjoyed the pictures!