Jerusalem Day 26 - September 24th 2009

Today was our last day touring Israel. The next two days are the weekend here, so we will not have any more tour days. Our first stop this morning was Caesarea Maritime. This was one of the nicest looking Roman cities that was built by Herod the Great. It was a port city that took a full 12 years to build. The city was later taken over by the Romans when Herod was dead. It was one of the most intact places we have seen even though earthquakes have ravaged the land. There was a theater that was used for entertainment as well as politics. We also saw Roman bath houses and a hippodrome where chariot races took place. It was a city right on the sea and was absolutely gorgeous!

Our next stop was Mount Carmel. This is where Elijah called down fire from heaven when there was a drought in the land. He built an altar and had the pagans build altars. Then he essentially made fun of them until they gave up and he prayed to God to light his altar. The view from Mount Carmel was breathtaking. Our last stop of the day was the city of Akko. This was also an amazing thing to see. We went into buildings that had been built by the crusaders. It felt like we walked right into a medieval movie. The buildings had huge ceilings and really tall pillars. We walked through the Templar's Tunnel. The shafts and tunnels used for sewage during peaceful times were also used as escapes during times of trouble and war. Today was one of my favorite days even though it was our last day. I loved being on the coast all day and seeing the beautiful sea. It was bittersweet though......we leave Jerusalem in only two days....

Jerusalem Day 25 - September 22, 2009

Our day was supposed to begin with going to the Temple Mount, but when we got there it was closed off. Therefore, we went on to the Pools of Bethesda instead. This is the same pool where Jesus Healed the Paralyzed man. There are at least two pools and could have been more. The legend was that when the water was Stirred, the first one into it would be Healed. The Paralyzed man was laying at the side because no one would help him into the pool. When Jesus got there he Healed the man. This is also the site where Mary was born.

The rest of our day was spent going to all of the stations of the cross via the Via Dolorosa. This was one of the best things we have done thus far. The stations are as follows:

I. Christ condemned to death
II. The cross laid upon him
III. His first fall
IV. He meets His Blessed Mother
V. Simon of Cyrene is made to bear the cross
VI. Christ's face is wiped by Veronica
VII. His second fall
VIII. He meets the women of Jerusalem
IV. His third fall
X. He is stripped of His garments
XI. His crucifixion
XII. His death on the cross
XIII. His body is taken down from the cross
XIV. Laid in the tomb

Many people say that station XV is then his resurection. The walk was very interesting, stopping at every station to learn more about it. The Vio Dolorosa is what the Catholics believe to be the actual walk of Jesus to his death and then burial. The last four stations are all located in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The most interesting thing to me in the church was at the very opening of it. They have the stone that Jesus body was laid on to be anointed. Many people walk by and touch or kiss it. Another interesting thing about the church is that four different churches have ownerships on it. The Greek Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox, Coptics, and Roman Catholics all have parts of the church. Each church has three months of the year where they have people spend the night there so that the other religions will not harm the building. The funny thing is that the key holder of the church is a Muslim and not even a Christian at all! This day was one of the most interesting.

Jerusalem Day 24 - September 21st 2009

Most people on our trip would tell you that today was one of their favorites. We kicked off the morning by going to the City of David. Here we learned more of the history of how Jerusalem was set up during David's time. It is also the location for Hezekiah's Tunnel. When Hezekiah was king, he built a new tunnel for water to be brought into the city. He might have done this because the old tunnel was blocked off, the reason is not known for sure. The cool thing about the tunnel is that it was chiseled from both sides. The men carving the tunnel out of the rock actually met in the middle. From the rooftop we were on we also saw the valley in which King Solomon was crowned as David was dying.

Hezekiah's Tunnel was one of the most fun things we have done. It is a forty-five minute walk through a pitch black tunnel that has water in it. The water today was about mid thigh at the highest point, but closer to below the knee the rest of the way. During the rainy season it is obviously much higher. We were handed tiny flashlights as we walked in, but they weren't much help. Walking through the tunnel was really just a lot of fun. A lot of the tunnel was way too short to be able to stand up in and it was pretty narrow. When we came out we were in the pool of Siloam. The Bible story that takes place there is when Jesus healed the blind man.

Our other stop today was the Garden Tomb. This is where the tomb is that is believed to have held Jesus after he was crucified. We saw the hill of Golgotha and got to walk into the tomb itself. There are two different locations that are thought to have been Jesus' burial place. This was the first and the second is the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which we will see tomorrow. It was really interesting seeing this tomb and imagining Jesus coming out of it on the first Easter morning. All in all I really loved today.

Jerusalem Day 23 - September 20th 2009

Because it was the last day of Rosh Hashanah, today was a little bit different than usual. We went to a Baptist church this morning. It was the first church service we have gone to on a Sunday morning; normally they are on Friday and Saturday nights. The speaker was the same man who spoke to us from Bethany Bible College about reconciliation a couple of weeks ago. After the service we walked back to school and had lunch on our own. The afternoon ended up being quite interesting....

We were to report downstairs at 1:30pm to begin Southeastern's version of the Amazing Race. It wasn't quite the same as the Amazing Race, but we tried. We were split into groups of four or five and given a list of ten places that we had to find and have our picture taken at. The rules were as follows: The pictures had to be in order of 1-10, each picture with all five group members got you a subtraction of 2 minutes of time, and whoever had the best picture at each site got a subtraction of 1 minute on the time. Each group left the campus in five minute increments. The problem was, the list of places wasn't just a list but rather a list of clues. We had to figure out what the places were. Some groups messed up on the very first site and therefore lost quite a bit of time. Our 10 sites ended up being as follows: 1) The Jaffa Gate: This is where the British came through Jerusalem 2) The Church of Dormition: This is where Mary supposedly ascended into heaven 3) The Western Wall: Where Jews go to pray for the peace of Israel 4) St. Mark's Church: Where the Last Supper took place and St. Mark actually lived 5) The Dome of the Rock: The Muslim Holy site located on the Temple Mount 6) The Damascus Gate: Where poor and rich could walk into the city 7) The Via Dolorosa: We had to stop at one of the stations of the cross; we stopped at station III 8) The Cardo: The Roman road that is still intact in places of Jerusalem 9) Christ's Church: The first Protestant church 10) The New Gate: Where Christians could walk through without being persecuted.

My team made it to all of the stops....even though we took quite a few wrong turns. In the end though we tied for first out of our six teams. Our time ended up being around an hour and a half. (Obviously we ran quite a bit of the way) It was a fun day and everyone is quite proud that they now know their way all over Jerusalem!

Jerusalem Day 22 - September 17th 2009

We stayed in the Old City today, so we walked everywhere instead of taking our bus. One of the first things we did was see the church that houses what people think is the real "upper room" where Jesus had his last supper. The church was smaller but still beautiful and we were introduced to one of the women who lives there and helps run the place. She told us some of the history of the church and then took us down to the upper room. The reason we had to go downstairs to get to it is because of how many years old the place is. Downstairs for us now is what was upstairs 2000 years ago. Then we went to our biggest site of the day, the burnt house.

The burnt house was really a site to see. It is a basement from a house that was around when the second temple was burned in 70 A.D. The basement walls are still somewhat intact and there were many items such as pots and spear heads that were found in the rooms. We watched a video portraying what it might have been like for the family that lived there. It is thought that the family was priests because of the pots and incense found in the basement. That was my favorite site of the day.

Our last major site was the Temple Institute. Here we learned all about the temple, the articles of the temple, different sacrifices, and how there are plans for a third temple. We actually saw the plans and the structure and found out that articles for the third temple have already been in the making for some years now. It was all very interesting and somewhat confusing at the same time. It is kind of scary to think that so many people are actually giving money to build this third temple....the Jews are only waiting until they can gain back control of the Temple Mount.

Jerusalem Day 21 - September 16th 2009

We had an early start this morning at 6:30am. We drove about an hour to a Bedouin Museum where we learned anything and everything you could want to know about the Bedouin people. We had a Bedouin tour guide and he explained things such as marriage customs and different instruments used by the people. We also watched a short video explaining things more in depth. There were tents set up outside and we got to try Bedouin sweet tea and their pita bread. It was a great experience. Next we drove out to the Negev. It is out in the desert and we went to the gravesite of Ben Gurion and his wife. Ben Gurion was the first prime minister of Israel. The mountains in the Negev look a lot like the Grand Canyon. It was beautiful!

Then we drove to Ben Gurion's desert home. It was nice to see that he lived in a small and normal home in the desert even though he was the prime minister and could have afforded much better. I really enjoyed seeing that he had a huge library of books that covered the walls of his study. Our last stop of the day was in Beer Sheva. We stopped there to see the well that Abraham dug when he came into the land. Now all of us can say that we have truly been from Dan to Beer Sheva....

Jerusalem Day 20 - September 15th, 2009

Today was a rather hard day, even though we did not actually physically do much work. Our first stop this morning was at the Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem. It was one of my favorite stops because it is so interesting to me and because I think it is great that we all get to learn more about what evil human kind can do to others. The museum is in the shape of a knife because the architect wanted it to be symbolic. The museum takes you through history starting with the beginning of the Nazi Regime and ending with the end of World War II and the release of all of the prisoners. It was hard to see all of the faces of the Jews that had been killed or tortured in all of the concentration camps. The best part of the museum, and also the hardest part to me was the very last room. It was a circle in shape with a huge domed ceiling and bookshelves lining the walls. There were pictures and names of every person that they know for sure was killed in the Holocaust. After you leave the museum you can go into another room that is pitch black. There are four candles lit in the center but there are mirrors all around the room so it looks like a countless number of stars. It is meant to represent the 1.5 million children that were killed during the Holocaust. As you walk through there is a recording that plays saying names and ages of all of the children. If the recording were to play 24 hours a day, it would take over four months to finish....

After the museum we went to the Temple Mount Sifting Project. Here we were split into groups of two and sifted through debris salvaged from underneath the Dome of the Rock. We found quite a few things such as pottery, pieces of mosaics, and even a coin. It was neat to be a part of something like that which is going on today. It will take another 15 years to finish that project. We were only there for a couple of hours but we all felt like we learned a lot and were a part of something meaningful. Putting together history is always important and fun!

Jerusalem Day 19 - September 14th 2009

Today was one of our rather exciting days! We had to go into Bethlehem, which is off limits to any Israeli's. But we first started our day out by going to one of the palaces of Herod the Great, Herodiom. It was built on top of a mountain that looks like a volcano. It was not one of his largest palaces but it was one of his best protected ones. The most exciting thing found there in recent years is actually the tomb of Herod himself. We saw the excavation site that is still being worked on. We exited the palace by going through the waterway tunnels. They were really spacious which was surprising compared to some of the others we have gone through.

Next we went to Bethlehem. When we got to the borders of the city we had to switch buses and guides because they had to be Palestinian and not Israeli. We had to go through a security checkpoint and also a huge wall that is built along the Palestinian territory. Our time in Bethlehem was very interesting. We first saw the Church of the Nativity. Three churches have been built on top of the cave that Jesus was born in. The churches were beautiful, and one of them was actually one of the oldest churches in the world. The other one was built by the Crusaders. The best part though was going down into the cave and seeing the manger and the birthplace of Jesus. It was so inspiring knowing that we were right in the exact place that our Saviour was born 2000 years ago...

Our next stop in Bethlehem was Bethlehem Bible College. We had a lecture there and learned more about the Palestinian view of things rather than the Israeli side. The Palestinians are quite bitter and want more than anything to have the wall in Israel torn down. We learned about the one state and two state solutions and how Israel is not accepting any. It was an interesting lecture to end an interesting day!

Jerusalem Day 18 - September 13th 2009

Today was full of lectures and speakers. We started off with Dr. Waddell giving us a lecture on the history of Israel and Judah. We learned who some of the more important kings were and things such as the temple being destroyed twice. Next we had a guest lecturer from Mt. Carmel come. He was very interesting and extremely knowledgeable. He is originally from Japan, then America, then Israel. He helped us to better understand how he is trying to help Arabic people and Jewish people worship together. He pastors a church by Mt. Carmel that is multi ethnic. There are very few of those churches in Israel so it was interesting to hear about. He also gave us some review on some of the stuff we learned last week such as how Jesus proclaimed his Messiahship in Nazareth. After the lecture we were allowed to go eat lunch before we left for our afternoon in the Old City. We went back to a few of the places we already had been at in the past weeks. We learned more of the history of the Old City as well. The day ended early because we had seen most of the sights already. It was still an interesting day with some new information to add to our lists.

Jerusalem Day 17 - September 10th 2009

Today was a long and eventful day. We started off at 6:30am and headed out to Megiddo. This is also known by the name Armegeddon and is where the final battle will happen that is recorded in Revelation. Megiddo is an extremely large tel that has over 25 layers of history in it. The coolest part of Megiddo, in my opinion was the waterways. There were tunnels that were built thousands of years ago that would provide the city with outside water supplies. The waterway was hidden outside the city walls in case of an attack. We got to walk down into the water tunnels because the water has lowered over the years. It was 183 steps down into the ground.

Our next stop was Nazereth, the town that Jesus grew up in. There is a church there that houses the ruins of much of Nazereth, including the exact house in which Mary lived before she was married to Joseph. The church was beautiful and housed artworks from Catholic churches around the world. We visited another synagogue that was right up the street. This one was significant because Jesus was given the scrolls and taught there. It was amazing to be in another building which Jesus was in so many years ago.

We ate lunch at a park and then stopped off for a swim in a beautiful lake. The afternoon was definitely my favorite part of the day. We visited Beit She'an, another tel with almost as many layers as Megiddo. This tel was much more interesting to me than Megiddo because so much of the ruins were still intact. The layer that is showing at Beit She'an is the Roman city. It was gorgeious... Parts of Jesus Christ Super Star were filmed there. We saw a huge bath house, a stadium, all kinds of pillars and columns and then of course the tel itself with the ruins of the temples on it. So much of the ruins were still in good condition even after the earthquakes that have hit there. Today was another one of my favorite days because the afternoon was so great. We are all definitely ready for the weekend though!

Jerusalem Day 16 - September 9th, 2009

Our day was cut short today because we could only do part of what we had planned on. But what we did do was still very informative. Our first stop was Samuels' Tomb. We went up to the roof of the building that it is in and found out that we were higher up than Jerusalem itself is. Our new tour guide, Aton, then gave us a ton of information about all of the places that we could see. The actual building we were at was really sacred to Muslims and there was some sort of prayer service going on. We did not actually get to see the tomb of Samuel because of the service, but we were in the same building that it is in.

Our next stop was at a mall for lunch. We ate at a coffeeshop and were allowed to look around at the shops for about half an hour. Our last stop of the day was to be the most fun. We were taking part in an archaelogical dig in the Kidron Valley. All of the dirt that had been taken our from under the temple mount was dumped there illegaly. We were going to sift through the dirt looking for artifacts. When we got to the site, the guide told us that there was some sort of water problem and we would not be able to take part in the dig today. Then he gave us a speech on what had been found there so far. He told us how the different temples had been built on the Temple Mount and how the artifacts found were from different periods. We saw different pottery, mosaics, coins, and such from all different periods. One of the most important things found there was a seal that showed ties to Egypt. They also found tiles that were colored which proved Josephus right in saying that Herod used colored tiles in the temple. It was a really informational day and we saw a lot of interesting things but we were bummed about not being able to do the dig. We will go there next week though, so we will not be missing out completely. Tomorrow is going to be another long day, but will of course be exciting.

Jerusalem Day 15 - September 8th 2009

Today was a relaxing and yet very informative day. We spend the morning and half of the afternoon at Ein Gedi. This place is famous throughout the Bible but mainly goes along with the writing of David. Many of the Psalms were actually written in the deserts here. We went to a nature reserve and saw all kinds of animals on our hike to the springs. There are many hiking trails throughout Ein Gedi because it is such a large expanse of land. There were many different caves and it was really cool to think that David could have been hiding in one of those exact caves when Saul came in as he was being chased. David and all of his men hid out in the Ein Gedi throughout the periods of time when Saul was chasing David to kill him.

Something that we had to do today was pick a spot somewhere near the springs or on the rocks and write our own Psalm. This was of course an interesting thing to do. All of the Psalms are so different. Some of them are praising God while in others David is telling God how mad he is. We also read the passages of Scripture where David had the opportunity to kill Saul and yet he did not because Saul was God's anointed. Then everyone was allowed to swim in the springs or just sit around and read and stuff. It was a really fun day and everything we saw was so beautiful. Later in the afternoon we had a guest speaker come and talk about cultural perspectives. He taught us a lot about the Israeli and Palestinian perspectives and about their religions. Learning about different cultures is always interesting. Tomorrow we are actually going to take part in an archaeological dig. We will be sifting through materials that have been taken out from under the Temple Mount. It will be an interesting day!

Jerusalem Day 14 - September 7th, 2009

Today was a walking day, through the Old City. We spent the morning by the Western (wailing) Wall. We were allowed to walk right up to the wall with the rest of the Jewish community. It was neat being able to touch something that so many other people have touched and that has such a history. Another major stop of the morning was the Temple Mount. We were not allowed to go into the Dome of the Rock because we are not Muslim. But we were allowed to walk up to it and take pictures and everything. Mark gave us a speech about Islam and its background and everything. We reviewed the five pillars of Islam as well as its origin and importance. We also saw the Eastern Gate of the city. This was the gate that was closed up by the Muslims so that the Messiah could not come through.

Then we had a change in plans. We were supposed to go on a tour through the Western Wall tunnels (build by Herod) this evening. But instead our appointment got moved up and we did that tour this morning. It was really cool to walk through all of the tunnels that went directly under the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock. It is crazy to imagine that so many years ago there were people that used those streets and rooms on a daily basis. The tunnels were probably the highlight of the day in my opinion. The stones in the tunnels and on the outer side of the wall are absolutely amazing. The smallest ones still weigh over 2 tons!

After a lunch of falafel, we had one more stop. We went to the synagogue where Jesus turned over the tables of the money changers and threw them out. (Matthew 21:12) I loved sitting on the stairs leading up to the temple and knowing that Jesus feet had hit those exact stones so many years before. The entire day was full of sites and experiences I have only imagined I would ever see. Reading the Bible is like a whole new world to me now, having seen all of the places that are talked about. The Temple Mount is a truly sensational place on earth.

Jerusalem Day 13 - September 6th, 2009

Today was a long day, with a lot packed into it. We started out at 6:30am and headed for Galilee. Our first stop was to see a 2000 year old boat that was found in the Sea of Galilee about 20 years ago. The boat was an amazing sight for many reasons. First of all, it is the exact type of boat that Jesus and his diciples would have used 2000 years ago. Secondly, it was so coated in mud when it was found, that much of it is still intact. After seeing the boat, we went on our own boat ride out into the Sea of Galilee. It was amazing to think that we were on the very water that Jesus walked across so many years ago. When we landed, we were in Capernaum.

So many things happened in Capernaum, even though it was such a small town. We saw the Church of Primacy, which is dedicated to the memory of Jesus asking Peter three times if he loved him. We read the passage of Scripture and went down to the shore of the Sea. Our last stop in Capernaum was at a synagogue that was built on top of the synagogue in which Jesus taught when he was at Capernaum. This was also the site of Peter's house. It was extremely neat to know that we were in the same synagogue in which Jesus taught over 2000 years ago. He spent much of his adult life in Capernaum. Our lunch was one of the highlights of the day as well. We ate at a place right on the Sea of Galilee that served fish like the one that Peter caught with the tax money in its mouth. The fish was delicious although a few people were freaked out about the fact that the entire fish (head, bones, eyeballs and all) was on our plate.

The afternoon was spent between the Mount of Beatitudes and the Jordan River. There is a church on the Mount of Beatitudes to commemorate the Sermon on the Mount which is found in Matthew 5-7. We talked about the fact that Ghandi used the Sermon on the Mount during his movement in India. We also learned that the beatitudes are about resisting, but without evil intentions. Our last stop of the day was at the Jordan River. We didn't have much teaching there but we did some worship and prayer and then about 14 people from our group got baptized. Even though the day was long, it was all worth it and beautiful to see!

Jerusalem Day 10 - September 3rd 2009

Our day today started at 5:30 AM. The sun rises at 6:15 and we had to pack up and get ready to go to Masada. The sunrise was completely gorgeous, it rose between two mountain peaks out in the desert. Most of our camp got up early enough to see it. Breakfast was also really great, and we got to watch the sun even more. We left the camp at around 7 and headed for Masada. This was probably one of my favorite sites we have seen. There is so much history there it is absolutely amazing. It was built by Herod and the name literally means "fortress". The palace is up on top of the mountain, therefore we had to climb the mountain. It was a pretty steep climb but didn't last more than about 20 minutes. I was really surprised to see how much of the ruins are left. You can still easily tell what all of the buildings were and everything. The view from the palace is incredible; it faces out towards the Sea. It only had one weak side, which is the side that we climbed up. That is where the Romans built a ramp and overtook the fortress. There are three levels of the palace on the mountain. Herod made sure that it was built according to all of the latest standards. I really enjoyed seeing the bathhouses and how they worked. There is still a bath house in pretty good condition located in the ruins. I find it incredible that people were so far advanced so many thousands of years ago. The bath house had columns about a foot and a half tall all over its floor. The columns were there because they used to hold up another layer of the floor. The bottom layer would be filled with all of the hot, dry, desert air, while the top layer would have the water for the baths. They could make steam baths by putting cold water on the floor. The bathhouse was also extremely large....the palace would have been so amazing to see when it was in prime condition. Masada is also the place where so many Jews committed suicide when the Romans took over.

After we finished learning about Masada, we took a cable car down to the buses. We switched our luggage from our bus to a Jeep Truck that would take us on a safari ride through the desert. The truck had no windows or doors, just seats and bars to hold luggage in place. We rode for an hour or two, stopping to take pictures at the tops of mountains. Then we ate lunch in an abandoned casino building from the 40's. Our afternoon ended with the truck driving us to a natural spring to dip our feet in before going back to school. The day was a lot of fun, and also extremely educational!

Jerusalem Day 9 - September 2nd 2009

Today was one of my favorite days. It started out with us heading toward the Dead Sea. Our first stop was at Qumran to learn some more about the Dead Sea Scrolls. We saw some of the caves that the scrolls were found in and also an amazing view of the Dead Sea. Our next visit was to the Dead Sea itself. The Dead Sea is 35% salt, whereas the oceans are only 3%. Therefore, our bodies completely float in the Dead Sea. It also causes major burning if you get the water in any cut or scrape. One of the things the Dead Sea is famous for is the mud that comes out of it. We were in gift shops that sold all different kinds of concoctions that contained mud from the Dead Sea. A lot of the people in our group rubbed mud all over their bodies before rinsing off to leave. I tried a new food for lunch called Schnitzel. It is chicken with a type of breading and sesame seeds on it. You eat it the same way as Falafel; in a pita and with vegetables. It was pretty good but I still like Falafel the best. Then we came to the best part of the day. We had like an hour or two drive along the Sea and out into the desert. The scenery was the most gorgeous we have seen yet and we all took a ton of pictures. We ended up in the middle of the desert at a tiny little Bedouin camp. Our first priority was to take a camel ride. That was quite interesting! The camel that was behind us kept trying to catch up, and she didn't look to friendly. The ride was fun even though it wasn't the most comfortable thing. When we were finished we unloaded our luggage and went into the camp. Our host was a Bedouin musician who could sing and play all kinds of interesting instruments. He told us some of the history of the Bedouins. One of my favorite facts was about welcoming guests. Bedouins welcome anyone into their home, as long as the person coughs three times outside of the tent. When the guest comes in, the Bedouin decides if they are a threat to their family. If there is no threat, the following will procede: The host will grind coffee and serve a small cup followed by an even smaller cup to the guest. Lasltly, the guest will serve a large cup. This means that the guest is welcome in the home. If the guest is dangerous, he will be served one large cup of coffee. This means "I do not want to embarass you, but please leave quietly." I love learning about different cultures and customs, so I found this intriguing. Our host then taught some of our group how to play some different Bedouin instruments. It was a really relaxed and fun evening. Dinner was great, and the sunset was beautiful. To end the night we sat around a bonfire and sang worship songs. I really really enjoyed being out in the same desert that Jesus was in for 40 days and nights. It felt so peaceful and free...

Jerusalem Day 8 - September 1st 2009

Our day today was spent on the coast in the city of Tel Aviv. It is the largest city in Israel and is much less religious than Jerusalem. Our first stop was at a University Campus which housed a museum of Jewish History. The museum held a huge store of information abour Jewish traditions and life. One of the first things we learned was about the Diaspora, or the dispersing of the Jews. We also found out that the central focus of Jewish life is their family. Another interesting part of the museum was the festivals and holidays that Jewish people celebrate. Bar Mitsvahs are held for 13 year old boys who are ready to be responsible for his own actions and morals. Yom Kippor is actually a holiday that is coming up and I will be in Jerusalem for. It is a 25 hour fast and ends on the Day of Atonement. One more interesting fact I found out about Jewish traditions is that during their weddings they break glass. This is done to commemorate the destruction of the temple. In this way, no matter how happy the occassion, the Jewish people always remember that there were and always will be hard times in life. I think that is a really neat way to go about life. After the museum we went to a market for lunch. We ate a cute little cafe type place that had really good food and coffee. After lunch was the beach. The Mediterranean Sea was absolutely beautiful. The beaches were pretty packed and the water was almost uncomfortably warm, but everyone enjoyed our afternoon there. After the beach came our last stop of the day, Jaffa. In English Bibles this city is referred to Joppa and is essential to both the Old and New Testaments. In the Old Testament Jaffa is a central part in the story of Jonah. When Jonah ran away from God's call for him to go to Ninevah, he fled to Tarshish and ended up at the Jaffa port to get on a ship. In the New Testament, Jaffa is the city where Peter had his vision in Acts 10. This is important because it is when God showed Peter that His word was not just for the Jews but also for the Gentiles. Jaffa is one of the major historical sites around Tel Aviv. The day was a success! As usual....