Shakespeare in London

London was good medicine for my obsession for historic buildings on the eve of my return to the western United States. London's historic buildings would probably be more meaningful to me than some of the others I encountered this year but, in London, I didn't much notice them due to my love of theater. When I visited London years ago, I went to three musicals--including Les Miserables. Between that visit and this, I heard that a replica of the Globe theater had been built and have long wanted to see a play there. During this visit, I managed to make it to three. In between, I went on the tour and spent time reading the exhibits about the original Globe theater.

As a Shakespeare enthusiast, it was satisfying to learn something about the setting of most of Shakespeare's plays. First, why the theater was where it was: The original Globe was located across the river from the city which made it easier for the company to operate at a time when the Puritans were adamently against theater and the local authorities in London succumbed to the pressure and, inconsistently, applied restrictions. I'm not very clear about theater-politics in those days (royalty sponsored plays and Elizabeth was a Shakespeare fan too) but it being across the river next to the bars and brothels was a strategy to allow the play to go on. How the theater go there in the first place is also interesting. The business guy had a theater on the London side of the river on rented land and when the lease was over, he technically had the right to the building but, in practice, the building would come under the control of the land owner. So one night when the river was frozen over and the land owner was out of town, the theater business guy and some buddies took the building apart and moved it across the river and rebuilt it as the Globe--safe from the increasingly restrictive anti-theater regulations.

The second thing I learned about Shakespeare plays by having visited the Globe was pointed out during the tour of the place. It involves the ambitiousness of Elizabethan theater. A commentary I read soon afterwards explains it well:

Elizabethan theater ... [involves] a complex playing area, with a
central platform, an alcove or discovery space at the rear, flanked by doors, a trap door leading to a cellarage below, a balcony or balustraded space above, with possibly a second level above that,
and on the platform itself a pari of great columns that divide the stage. We have a versatile, multiple playing space which can represent locales such as a field, a castle, a city wall, a ship's deck, a forest, a
desert, a cave, a cell, a tavern, a hall of state, or a street, in free
alternation or succession. Characters can wander in from one
door and out another, lean out of windows or emerge from the alcove, skulk behind pillars or peer from over arrases, and they may occupy two or more parts of the stage simultaneously. ... [Such as] in historical plays, when besieging armies stationed on the platform challenge the defenders of a town or castle situated above ... other theaters aim at compression and selectivity, at making a little stand for a lot. The Elizabethans wish to drag the whole lot bodily onto the stage. The other theaters hedge themselves about with exclusions and taboos. The really exciting actions, the violence, the sensationalism, the amorous encounters, the magical occurrences, all happen, as Victor Hugo complained, frustratingly offstage. Only the Elizabethans, with
their split-level stage, theirm dumb shows, gods, and ghosts,
their gluttony for spectacular effects, try to make everying at once
visible, audible, and palpable" (Jonas A. Barish, "Multiple Scenes,
Characters, and Plots in Elizabethan Drama" 61-64 in Elizabethan Drama, Laura K Egendorf, editor).

The tour guide also pointed out that the Globe theater was destroyed by fire during a performance of Henry VIII. The company decided that they had to pull out all the stops to depict the founder of the Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth's father so they used a real cannon--the firing of which lit the thatched roof on fire and that was the end of the original Globe. I guess a case can be made for keeping it simple.

One of the interesting options for theater-goers in the Elizabethan era was to pay a minimal admission and stand up through the performance--to be a "groundling." This tradition was resurrected with the reconstruction of the edifice. When I heard about the modern version of groundlings, I had heard that they, like their Elizabethan era counterparts, yelled at the actors and that the actors responded to them but, unfortunately, the groundlings I witnessed were much more well behaved. I liked the idea of saving a substantial number of pounds for each ticket but figured that my hosts (who let me stay with them a bit outside London) deserved seats. I also wanted to save my legs for walking around town and rather than for standing for a few three hour Shakespeare plays. On my last day in the city I decided to go back for another Shakespeare play and would have done the "groundling" thing but none were available so I sat again.

If I make it back to London, I'll probably trade the ideal setting for the best acting and try to catch a play by the Royal Shakespeare Company. I'd also like to make the ultimate Shakespearean pilgrimage to Shakespeare's home neighborhood at Stratford upon Avon.

When in Rome

I finally succumbed to the enticement to stop off in Italy on a trip home from Israel. I looked into spending time in Venice and Ravenna and perhaps fitting in some cycling in the Po river valley but finally settled on a more conventional itinerary--Rome and Florence. My first impression of Rome was how quiet is was. I still don't know if my ears were confused after the flight (did I sneeze at high altitude?) or if it really is exceptionally quiet for a big city.

I walked from the airport to the train station and bought my ticket and noticed the train to downtown leaving. So I waited for the next train and hoped that I could still fit in the tourist bus ride around the city and the church and museum that I noticed were near my hostel. The train stopped for a while in the middle and took nearly an hour longer than it should have so I was only able to fit in the tour bus ride. It was the first time I had been on something like that and found it to be a great way to get oriented to the city.

Over the next three days I did a pretty good job of maximizing my exposure to Rome's top sites. The arch of Constantine was at the top of my list and I was prepared with an explanation of what was depicted on every corner of the triumphal arch. I took corresponding pictures and could quickly be prepared with a slide show were anyone to care to hear about it. A couple of days later I caught a different view of the arch from the Colosseum.

The forum is like an old graveyard for historic buildings. An archaeologists dream which I feared would be a tourist's nightmare. I went there on something like European historical site appreciation day. That meant everyone could go there for free and it seemed like plenty of folks took up the offer. I didn't think anything of it until I asked for an audio guide and was told that there were none available. I hadn't read anything about all those pilars lying around but I decided to walk around and try to make sense of the place. Fortunately I found the Arch of Titus and played the part of the Hebrew University student and noted the famous depiction of the manorah that the Romans took from Jerusalem's temple. The Arch of Titus is a lot less elaborate than that of Constantine so I had a more brief absorption period but definitely allowed it time to sink in. The forum has a lot more and I even figured out what a few other things were about but I'm afraid my appreciation of the famous hills and the figurative graveyard could have been more profound.

After having exercised my imagination with the idea of a hippodromo (chariot race track) in Istanbul, running across Rome's was nice. It was interesting to see that the track that the chariots raced around continues to be preserved by some of the more fit of the city's inhabitants. Other than the jogging track, there is little remaining--I'm sure most tourists don't take note of it.

There are various other monuments that I enjoyed seeing and which I'll probably write about as part of this entry later but one of the more memorable experiences involved catching up with an Italian friend who was a fellow student of the Hebrew University and who lives in Rome. We met for dinner and talked about contemporary Italy as well as the Europe (she's an activist advocating the E.U. becoming like the U.S.). Then we hopped on a bus back towards the central bus station as our hostel was very near to it. We tried to get her to explain to us how to pay but she explained that nobody in Rome pays for such things as bus fares. In fact, she noted that the national airline's trouble is largely due to so many Italians being able to fly free due to their being a distant relative of someone who works for the airlines or who works for a complany who has a contract with the airlines. That was one of those mind warping ideas that I still can't get myself to really believe. In any case, I'll confess that I didn't pay for the bus ride--when in Rome, right?

Athens' Golden Age & Byzantine Period

After Byzantine Architecture ecstacy in Thessaloniki, I resolved to turn my attention to Ancient Greece--after all, I was heading to Athens. My travel companions and I went to the acropolis the first day. At that time, I found the Erechtheum more meaningful and more charming than the Parthenon. As we were preparing to leave, looking at one of the two theaters south of the acropolis, I showed one of the park workers my ticket to that night's performance of a greek tragedy and asked where it was. The answer shocked and disappointed. I had assumed the theater was in Athens but it was a couple of hours out of town. We reasoned together for a few minutes and determined to cut our losses and stay in Athens. There was plenty to see of course including the Theater of Dionysus which partially satisfied my theater loving side but not quite enough.


While the Parthenon didn't immediately strike an aesthetic chord in me, the idea of the statue of Athena (Athena Parthenos) by a sculptor named Phidias did. I longed to see the replica, known as the Varvakios Athena, in the National Archeological Museum of Athens. The Parthenon itself became an exercise in imagination as I tried to piece the parts of the building together. This extended to London where I saw the Elgin Marbles in the British Museum.

My level of interest in the building was high but becoming aware that it served as a Byzantine Church dedicated to Mary made it considerably more meaningful. From Istanbul, through Bulgaria, to Thessaloniki and even into Athens the theme remained the same. I was interested in Byzantium and there was no escape. I embrased my fate--aware that reality is multi-faceted and a place like Athens has a present as well as various pasts and that it can be appreciated through various lenses. The same thinking that led me to embraced Jerusalem's Mamluk era.


There were a few of Athens' Byzantine Churches that have proven memorable. One, the Church of Kapnikarea, is in the middle of a street. When Ermou Street was being planned, the idea was to knock down the old church but preservationists fought to save it and the street was built around it. The Church of Kapnikarea shows what the impressive Byzantine Museums in both Thessaloniki and Athens tell--at least some Greek folk value their Byzantine heritage.



I found the church of the Holy Apostles in the Ancient Agora to be the most meaningful of Athens' Byzantine Churches. This church, which was built in the late 10th or early 11th century, commemorates the apostle Paul preaching in the agora to the Greeks as recorded in Acts 17: "Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an alter with the inscription, to the unknown god. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you." Along with being meaningful in commemorating Paul's preaching, the church's design is attractive and it's setting is pleasing.


Another memorable church is the Church of Theotokos Gorgoepikoos and Ayios Eleytherios. This church is unique in it's being constructed of marble as opposed to the typical Byzantine brick.

I spent enough time in Athens to get a taste for other periods as well but the very ancient didn't excite me much and I wasn't there long enough to absorb much of the modern--seeing the original modern Olympic stadium reminded me that the Olympics has ceased to mean much to me. The Roman period ruins were impressive--more grandiose than the real Greek stuff--but not as meaningful as the era of Plato and Sophocles.

Byzantine Churches in Thessaloniki

Many of Thessaloniki's featured tourist sites are Byzantine Churches and on my first day in the city, I came across a free pamplet called "Byzantine Churches of Thessaloniki." This was very helpful since I hadn't studied much before arriving and my friend's western oriented tour book focused more on where to get drunk than on Byzantine Churches and provided very little information about the few churches it mentioned. The intact (undoubtedly heavily restored) churches functioning as such were a refreshing change from Israel where the Byzantine layer is often destroyed as archaeologists dig through it to get to the Biblical levels and from Turkey where most of the remaining Byzantine churches serve as mosques (in Thessaloniki, many of the churches had been converted into mosques but were converted back to churches at the end of Ottoman rule). I visited nine Byzantine Churches and caught glimpses of a few others but the following were particularly memorable and illustrate different styles of Byzantine Churches:

Galerius' Rotunda of St. George (Galerius' Tomb)

The uniqueness of this church's form is due to it's having been built as a tomb and only later made into a church. The tomb was to be for the Roman ruler Galerius--who was involved in Roman leadership during the Tetrarchy that began with Diocletian and ended with Constantine.
Galerius spent a lot of time in Thessaloniki between 299 and 303 c.e. and had his palace in the city as well an arch dedicated to his having defeated the Persians around 298 c.e. These remains are archaeological highlights of Thessaloniki today. Galerius didn't die there as he seems to have planned on doing so the tomb lay empty until the Emperor Constantine ordered that the empty tomb be converted into a church dedicated to the Archangels.

This transformation from tomb to church involved the addition of a sancturary as an extention of the east bay of the rotunda (shown here protruding towards the photographer from the cylinder-shaped building). There are supports at each side of the apse which were added after an earthquake.

Later, Christians added mosaics to the building. The apse is decorated with a 9th century fresco of the Ascension. The interior of the highest drum before the dome features mosaics interspersed with now enclosed windows. This is explained as having been an architectural feature that allowed significant amount of light to illuminate the gold on the mosaics and interior of the dome.

This church was interesting for me because I have read that the octogonal churches in the Holy Land that usually mark a holy site (such as Capernaum, the original Churches of the Holy Sepulcre and original Church of the Nativity among others) are modeled after Roman emperors' tombs. In this case, it may have simply been that a monument was available and Constantine, having recently adopted Christianity, decided to put the building to use.

Hagia Sofia (Holy Wisdom)

The 5th century Hagia Sofia church was inspired by the famous church with the same name in Constantinople / Istanbul. It may be that Thessaloniki's Hagia Sofia is a copy of the church in Constantinople that was destroyed before the larger Hagia Sofia was built by Justinian in the 6th century. Still, Thessaloniki's Hagia Sofia has features that serve as reminds of the renowned Hagia Sofia. First, there is a dome in the center with supporting pilars. The marble of the Constantinople's Hagia Sofia that stands out is maroon, deep green, and deep green and the walls in Thessaloniki's version are painted in the same tones. The upper gallery of the Hagia Sofia in Istanbul is painted in a dirty yellow with floral designs and Thessaloniki's exterior is a similar color. Finally, both Istanbul and Thessaloniki's Hagia Sofia churches are in a domed Basilica style.

The Saint Demetrios Church is an early Byzantine Basilica (without a dome) and also dates from teh 5th century. Although a reconstruction after having been destroyed in a fire in the 20th century, the Saint Demetrios Church is interesting for it's once standard 5 aisle form. Details such as columns and capitals from the original building and the crypt give the church a feeling of uniqueness. The crypt was part of a Roman bath-house.

These 5th century Basilicas served were designed for the processional liturgy of the early Byzantine church. Such events could involved thousands of worshippers who moved around within the building.

St. Katherine's Church & The Church of the Holy Apostles
Encountering St. Katherine's Church (pictured here) and The Church of the Holy Apostles lifted my Thessaloniki Byzantine church tour from the level of energetic intellectual curiousity to absorbed aesthetic appreciation. I first encountered The Church of the Holy Apostles when my companions had had enough and went back to the hostel to put in some time at the beach. I calculated that being done for the day would make it nearly impossible to hit all the listed Byzantine Churches so I stayed in town for an uncharacteristicly late evening.

I don't know what it is about these two churches that struck my aesthetic chord. As an observer or art, it's rare that I experience the sublime level of appreciation until after I've studied something pretty thoroughly--I reached that point with the exterior of Byzantine churches after chasing down quite a number of them and reading some brief commentaries about features from different periods. Most of my reading about things Byzantine is about emperors and diplomatic and religious issues.

Both of the churches were both built in the early 14th century, during the Palaiologan dynasty near the end of the Byzantine Empire. These are "cross-in-square" churches, which were "dominant in [late] Byzantine ecclesiastical architecture until the close of the Middle Ages ... The idea was very simple and based entirely on structural elements deeply rooted in the Byzantine tradition: that of a dome rising above four barrel vaults, arranged so as to form a Greek cross." This type of church was small and "designed ... to hold a congregation of about one hundred ... the cross-in-square church arose in a monastic milieu. A Byzantine monestary normally numbered a brotherhood of between twenty and one hundred" (Mango, Cyril. Byzantine Architecture, 178). These churches were used for more private worship involving individual prayer and the interaction between the worshipper and icons. This type of worship lead to churches having numerous small spaces including private chapels (Ousterhout, Master Builders of Byzantium, 9-10).

The structure of the two churches is similar--they have five domes with the central and corner domes being nearly the same size. The height of the relatively small domes above the roof creates room for windows with stepped arches around small windows. I think this is what makes the exterior so appealing to me. In addition, each of the churches had appealing unique features: The Church of the Holy Apostles has decorative brickwork on its exterior while the St. Katherine's Church has double and triple openings on the facade.

The interior design of the churches of this period draw praise from art commentators but I wasn't too absorbed by this, although I have been in various of Istanbul's Byzantine churches.

The Church of the Prophet Elijah

The Church of the Prophet Elijah was the surprise of my visit. I had read about Mt. Athos and the style of church that is typical there and was pleased to find that such a church was on display in Thessaloniki. Like St. Katherines and the Church of the Holy Apostles, this church was built in the later Byzantine period which featured small churches built for monastic groups.

The Church of the Prophet Elijah's compact structure shares common features of later Byzantine church design but is also an example of a unique type. The lateral apses were added in order to provide space for monastic choirs. This design is "limited to Mount Athos, where about twenty examples are preserved, and to related areas in Northern Greece and in the Balkans" (Ousterhout, 29 note 40).

Thinking about Byzantine Churches in Thessaloniki brought me an appreciation of the last period of Byzantine: the Palaiologan Dynasty (previously, my interest in Byzantine had focused on the early period when the Byzantine Empire was much stronger and when the creeds were crafted). It turns out that the Palaiologan period was the high point of Byzantine art--and is said to have influenced, or even sparked, the Italian renaissance.

Works Cited

Mango, Cyril. Byzantine Architecture. 1974. Harry N. Arams, Inc.

Ousterhout, Master Builders of Byzantium. 2007. University of Pennsylvania Museum Publication.

Imaginary Return to Bulgaria

If I were to return to Bulgaria, I would follow the same basic route I took on my recently trip: enter Bulgaria from Turkey near Edirne, then to Plovdiv and Sofia, ending in the southwestern mountains before leaving the country. This path seems to include the most interesting cities in terms of history and provides plenty of great hiking opportunities. Of course the five days we spent along this route was not enough time to experience most of what is offered so here are some notes on what I didn't do but became aware of and would seek to do if I were there again.

First, I would enter Bulgaria after spending time in Edirne, Turkey. Edirne features what Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan considered his finest work, the Selimiye Mosque. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selimiye_Mosque. There are other Ottoman mosques dating back to before the time when the Ottomans conquered Istanbul which show the progression of architectural styles leading up to the pinnacle of Sinan's work.

On the Bulgarian side of the border, I would head straight for Plovdiv (if I really had a lot of time I would also visit Stara Zagora and get to nearby mountain city of Karlovo from which more hiking is available). Many Bulgarians asked whether or not we had seen Plovdiv so it comes highly recommended. The highlight seems to be the old town, which has a 19th century appearance. There are also Roman remains and a fourth century church called the Church of St. Constantine and Elena. They nearby Bachkovo Monestary in the Rodopi Mountains seems to be thought of after Rila Monastery but Rila has been destroyed more often and rebuilt more recently so I think I would appreciate the Bachkovo Monestary more than Rila. The Bachkovo Monestary was built in 1083 by two Georgian brothers and helped preserve elements of Bulgarian culture during the 500 years of Ottoman rule over Bulgaria--the exemplary tale being that the monks, apparently on the eve of some incursion by the Turks, hid an icon of the Virgin Mary and Child in the moutains allowing its preservation and rediscovered by shephards centuries later. I didn't hear the whole story but I imagine monks hiding the venerated icon before being attacked--perhaps it was the last thing they did before being killed.

I imagine that visiting the Bachkovo Monastery would put me on a mountain with well marked trails and mountain huts such as Rila provided. I love the balance of wilderness exercise and a museum / historic city experience. The tourist interest in the monasteries seems to inspire Bulgarians to provide options of public transportation to the mountains as well as well maintained hiking trails in the area.

After Plavdov and environs, I would return to Sofia. Downtown Sofia is an affordable European capitol and there are many churches and museums I bypassed. I would also return to Mt. Vitosha for additional hiking.

I would certainly return to the Rila Mountains and spend more time there. The trails were incredibly well maintained with colored trails and enough signage to prevent the first time visitor from worrying much. While we hiked in the Rila Mountains, we didn't make it to the featured destinations. A hike starting in the outpost town of Maliovitsa and straight up the path to Mt. Maliovitsa and then to Sedemte Ezera (the Seven Lakes) and ending at Rila Monestary should be given two or three days. To get to Maliovitsa, go the Yug bus station in Sofia at 9 a.m. (only available once a day). This seems the best option as you can start hiking and at least get to the Maliovitsa mountain hut the same day. I got mixed reviews about the mountain huts (hizha) and we didn't make it to one to allow for my own observations so I would take along minimal camping gear so as to not be reliant on them.

We considered this route for our recent stay but we were dragging too much stuff along so we made Blagoevgrad our base. This was effective. Blagoevgrad is a big enough city to have things available and is right on the train and bus routes between Sofia and Thessaloniki. It is a college town and was very quiet due to summer break. It also is easy to get from Blagoevgrad to Rila Village and then Rila Monestary and Mountains. It may be best to get up to Rila Village and spend a night there as the buses from Rila Village to Rila Monestary run at 7:40 a.m.; 12:40 p.m. and 3:50 p.m. (with returns available around 6:00 p.m.). It may be cutting it close to hike from Rila Monestary to a mountain hut after taking the 12:40 p.m. bus so the 7:40 a.m. bus would make the most sense.

The manager of Pirin Apartment in Blagoevgrad told of his spending a week every September hiking in the Pirin Mountains. He prefers the Pirin Mountains to the Rila Mountains and hiking there would be a major draw inspiring my return. I'm not sure if there might be another city more convenient as a base for the Pirin excursion but Blagoevgrad is not too out of the way and if Rila and Pirin Mountains are explored on one trip, Pirin is close enough to Blagoevgrad that backtracking wouldn't be too inconvenient.

Aside from Greece, Bulgaria borders other Balkan countries and taking off from the southwest to places like Kosovo, Serbia and / or Croatia might be more appealing than a return to Greece.

For a reader who is reading this as a temptation to travel to Bulgaria, here are some practical considerations. Even with the weak dollar in 2008, everything was on the affordable side. We spent less than $10 per person per meal for abundant food at mid-range restaurants, which is remarkable compared to the typical no-less than $20 that I've encountered in western European cities. The bus rides and train rides between cities and countries were in the range of $20 to $40 dollars. There was a lot of English but we traveled most of the time with a Bulgarian friend. Spanish came in handy a few times--even in the mountains we encountered shepherds and were able to communicate due to my knowing Spanish and one of them knowing Italian.

Bulgaria

The bus ride from Istanbul to the border wasn't far and my long time friend Carolynn and I had our first extended conversation in a long time so the trip went by quickly. The border took a bit more than an hour as should be expected and then we were in Bulgaria and on the same bus towards Sofia.

The scenery had become a bit more hilly as we approached Bulgaria by bus from Istanbul and once we were on the other side of the border it was getting mountainous. On both side there were many fields of sunflowers. I had initially been attracted to Bulgaria when I heard about the Soviet encouragement of hiking as recreation and the claim of well mark trails was later confirmed. We, unfortunately, sailed through Plovdiv. People rave about it but we had only around five days and split that time between Sofia and the Rila Mountain area, including the city of Blagoevgrad.

We arrived Friday afternoon and went to a restaurant with live Bulgarian music and Bulgarian style cuisine that we enjoyed so much that we returned the next day. Saturday we hiked on the nearby Mt. Vitosha. This mountain provides a convenient escape for Sofia's residents and getting a bus ride there on Saturday morning meant competing for bus space with numerous locals. Our half day made it clear that there were many paths that could keep one exploring for many days. The first part of the hike was along a bolder covered river called "the Golden Bridges" which featured large bolders covering a stretch of the river longer than we managed to explore. We left the trail for a time and sometimes had to jump between the bolders.

We rejoined the trail and hiked along the mountain and then down to Boyana Church, which is famous for frescoes considered forerunner of the Renaissance due to their realism and emotional expressiveness. Outside, it appeared as a quaint neighborhood Byzantine church with a peaceful forest setting most of the way down Mt. Vitosha.

We spent the afternoon sightseeing in Sofia. We saw a Russian Orthodox Church, a Bulgarian Orthodox Church and then a Byzantine Basilica.

The Bulgarian Orthodox Church, called St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is neo-Byzantine style cross domed basilica. with a central dome and barrel vaults. Among the paintings are realistic depictions of scriptural scenes as well as saints--all of which were well laid out such that the interior didn't feel noisy despite all wall space above about 6 feet being covered with some art work. With the choir singing for the religious service it was a satisfying scene to absorb.

The Byzantine Basilica was in great condition (undoubtedly after restoration) and there was a memorial plaque to Bulgaria's King Boris III, who had refused Nazi requests regarding Bulgaria's Jewish population. I talked to my new friend George about this king and was very impressed by his courage. George explained that Boris was invited to Germany during the war and "fell ill and died." Of course, Bulgarians believe that he was poisoned--a martyr to resistence to the Holocaust. The story was inspiring and I'm hoping to soon read about this King Boris.

Sunday after church we traveled to Blagoevgrad and then to Rila Mountains where we engaged in a long hike with exceptional views and close up encounters with flocks of sheep. Wednesday morning we felt rested and refreshed as we alighted the train to Thessaloniki, taking with us memories of a brief introduction to a surprisingly fascinating country.

Boat Rides around Istanbul

After passing through Turkey my companions and I spent a number of days in Istanbul. Since my last visit, I have read about Byzantium and Byzantine monuments still existing in Istanbul so I visited a number of additional Byzantine sites and revisited many others (I have added many notes to the February 2008 blog entry on this topic). But one of my companions is a photographer in search of the scenic regardless of historic significance and he wasn't especially interested in historic monuments. He prefered to roam far beyond the walled old city that is so full of historic sites that I was content staying there. I found that there is a lot to see beyong the city walls. Much of our roaming involved walks through picturesque neighborhoods and much was by boat.

Our first scenic boat ride was from the mouth of the Golden Horn to a point beyond the old city wall at a historic and religious neighborhood. From there, we hiked through a moslem cemetary to a scenic outlook where there is a cafe and gift shop dedicated to the French author Pierre Loti. I paid the $6 for his first novel and read a little less than the first third before shelfing it for perceived lack of depth. I haven't yet encountered much of the descriptiveness of late 19th century Istanbul which make his works marketable to visiters to the city. But the view is worth the excursion.

The second excursion by boat was up the Bosphorus--much longer and more rewarding.
Along the way, there are a pair of Ottoman Castles that were used by the Ottomans to cut off supplies to the Byzantines during the seige that lead to the ultimate demise of the Byzantine Empire. The final destination is a Byzantine castle that must have played a role in controlling the strategic Bosphorus. We walked up from the village to the castle and from there caught a glimpse of the Black Sea.

I had taken ferries before to get from the European side to the Asian side but it took a friend's fresh prespective to provide me with the different angle on the city I'm becoming quite familiar with.

Konya

I felt like the stars where aligned for us when we arrived in Konya and heard that once a week there was a free whirling dervish ceremony in the order’s cultural center. We had dinner and went in search of the place. The ceremony was certainly less energetic than folk dancing concerts I have witnessed. In fact, it was relaxing enough and my bed time is early enough that if it had gone on much longer I would have probably fallen asleep. But it was interesting and reading the short explanation about it in the guide book (again, afterwards as intellectual preparation wasn’t a theme of this trip) enhanced my appreciation.

The guidebook description of The Mevlevi worship ceremony, or sema:

The dervishes dress in long white robes with full skirts that represent their shrouds. Their voluminous black cloaks symbolize their worldly tombs, their conical felt hats their tombstones.
The ceremony begins when the hafiz, a scholar who has committed the entire Quran to memory, intones a prayer for Mevlana and a verse from the Quran. A kettledrum booms out, followed by the plaintive sound of the ney (reed flute). Then the sheyh (master) bows and leads the dervishes in a circle around the hall. After three circuits, the dervishes drop their black cloaks to symbolize their deliverance from worldly attachments. Then one by one, arms folded on their breasts, they spin out onto the floor as they relinquish the earthly life to be reborn in mystical union with God. By holding their right arms up, they receive the blessings of heaven, which are communicated to earth by holding their left arms turned down. As they whirl, they form a ‘constellation’ of revolving bodies, which itself slowly rotates. They sheyh walks among them to check that each dervish is performing the ritual properly. The dance is repeated over and over again. Finally, the hafiz again chants passages from the Quran, thus sealing the mystical union with God.

The museum surrounding the tomb of the poet Rumi (whose followers created the Dervish society) was another highlight.

The mosque on a small hill in the center of town had remnants of Byzantine buildings in the doorway and reused Byzantine columns in the worship area. However, the more interesting part of the site were two tombs in front of the entrance. These were the tomb of Seljuk rulers including: Alaeddin Keykubat I, Sultan Mesut I, Kilic Arslan, Kilic Arslan IV, Rukneddin Suleyman II, and Giyaseddin Keyhusrev I, II, and III.

We met the master felt maker at his workshop. I didn’t know the first thing about felt so my basic questions led to an explanation of what fur from the sheep is initially harvested and a bit about how the process works. We saw some felt at different stages of the process but mostly admired finished and near finished products. It was clear that he was a provider of felt hats to the dervishes and he explained some of the process of making the hats. He told of how he goes to wool festivals in the U.S.A. and that he will be bringing a couple of yurt to sell during his next trip.

At the end of the day, we got on an overnight train to Istanbul. I had been exposed to a new corner of the world that was foreign enough to be full of surprises.

Urfa Style Dinner Party Anyone?

As we left Mardin, I realized that Tekin’s pattern was to feel hungry and duck into the first restaurant he encountered. It didn’t seem to matter what was on the menu or what the atmosphere was. I guess it was a fast food mentality although the restaurants were certainly not party of any chain. I read through the restaurant section of the tour book for Mardin and noticed the experience we could have had and then searched for restaurants in Urfa which was our next destination. I noticed that there was a restaurant that “occupies a wonderful old Urfa house where you dine on floor cushions in a series of rooms set around a courtyard.” I have vivid memories of eating in such a room in the home of a Druze family in the village of Majd al-Shams in the northern Golan Heights and in a restaurant in Jerusalem and would like to create such a room someday so I recommended to the companions that we go there. I also determined that paying 2 or 3 dollars more for better food would help me as I scout out dishes that I would like to learn for a chapter on Turkish food in the next edition of my next dinner party cookbook.

Finding the restaurant in Urfa required a little of extra effort but the wandering paid off in that it lead us to a CD shop that had traditional Urfa style music CDs for 4 dollars each. I bought two and sensed that the Turkish dinner parties I will throw will be done Urfa style. When we reached the restaurant, we were initially disappointed. Rather than food served nearly instantaneously in the cheap restaurants on the corner, we had to wait for food to be prepared—and this after we found that various menu items were unavailable because the main cook was not there. It may have been because it was well after normal lunch time (two in the afternoon) and he was home taking a nap. But the wait was worth it. The food was excellent and I noted the name of the dishes to later search for the recipes—Bostan and Et Sote. I took some pictures of the rooms with pads around the walls and in a niche in the wall—I imagine stick some pillows and pads in a closet and set up the room for dinner parties and then clear it our for other uses.

Back in Istanbul, it finally sunk in that one of my favorite restaurants here features Urfa’s cuisine. It is even called Halil Ibraham—Halil means friend as Abraham is known in the middle east as the friend of God—I think that’s Biblical. Anyways, Hebron is also called Al-Khalil, which makes sense since it has the Tomb of Machpaleh where Abraham was buried. The restaurant had paintings of scenes from Urfa on the walls. I then noticed that other restaurants in the area mentioned Urfa and Tekin confirmed that this little corner of the Aksaray section of the old city of Istanbul, for some reason, features a concentration of restaurants from Urfa. I returned in search of Et Sote a few more times--once to the Aksaray neighborhood when I had some time alone as well as with the group in restaurants in other sections of the city, including one featuring cuisine from Hatay, which is near Urfa in southern Turkey. There, a sojourner had et sote with mushrooms which I liked even better. If anyone wants to get a taste of it before I refine the recipes and invite you all over, http://www.turkish-cuisine.org/english/ seems to have a good collection of turkish recipes.

Second Oasis: Ihlara Valley

My second oasis was exactly what the doctor ordered. I think the doctor in this case was a psychiatrist. I used to half go crazy on long road trips and then learned that if I take hikes along the way I can manage just fine. So when I planned on a trip across Turkey and scheduled in a number of hikes. Unfortunately, the first couple of these, which were both to have happened around Lake Van, didn’t happen. By the time we left Urfa, I was in serious need of some added variety to the routine.

So I split off from Tekin and David at Belichek and took an overnight bus to Aksaray—a modern city of around 100,000 people on the west end of the Cappadocia region. It was a bit after 4:00 a.m. and I was at the new central bus station and needed to get to the new one. So I started walking the few kilometers figuring that I had plenty of time before the mini-bus would leave from the old central bus station to Ihlara Village. After a minute or two of walking someone pulled over and offered me a ride. My knowing no Turkish eliminated the possibility of a conversation with that man and another who, at the old central bus station, invited me in to a café where I couldn’t explain why I was refusing his offer of coffee or tea. I left the café after a while and happened upon a young man who spoke English and the remainder of the wait passed comfortably. After a bit of grocery shopping the mini-bus to Ihlara Village finally arrived and I was off towards my long awaited first hike in Turkey.

I arrived at the hostel at mid-morning expecting to find numerous tourists sitting around exchanging tips and making arrangements for day trips. Instead, I found the place a ghost town—perhaps all the hikers all hit the trail earlier. I read a bit and took a nap to supplement the negligible amount of sleep I caught on the bus. I awoke again around 10:30 or 11:00 a.m. and decided to get to the valley for some hiking.

I started the hike and determined that I would hike now and catch the featured cave-churches later. I walked and walked and walked along the flat riverside trail. It was scenic but I wasn’t in the mood to take many pictures. This was a break from being a tourist. When I arrived at the Selime Monestary—a point where I felt okay with turning back—I decided to take in the site. Perhaps the cone shaped hills I saw across from a village I walked through piqued my interest. I then headed back towards the valleys entrance at Ihlara Valley. At the end of the hike I looked at a few of the cave churches. The frescoes of the snake church seemed most interesting.

I returned to the hostel to find out that I was the only client of the hostel. I found that out at 10:00 p.m. after having gone to sleep at least an hour before. The manager hadn’t asked for my passport which always happens at hotels and hostels in Turkey—some registration requirement for the police—and his replacement knocked on the door dispite there obviously being no light on inside. I told the stranger that I wasn’t going to give him my passport as he could be any Joe and that I’d deal with it in the morning unless he was willing to bring the manager who I had met before. He accepted my reasoning and waking up the manager evidently wouldn’t have been as pleasant an experience as waking up a guest so he tried another tactic to keep me from sleep—he brought the cook by asking what time I wanted my free breakfast in the morning. I told him whatever I thought was going to get him out of there so I could go back to sleep but he brought the cook by and they insisted that I needed to tell him a time so he knew when the cook had to go to work. I then realized that I was the only one in the hostel and I told the cook that he could take tomorrow off as far as I’m concerned I would eat from the food I already had (I had purchased sheep yogurt, some fruit, and wheat bread in Aksaray) and GOOD NIGHT! I doubted that I had dealt with real hostel employees (the whole conversation was through the window as I refused to open the door) until the next morning.

The next day I read until Tekin and David showed up in the mid-afternoon. They had hiked the valley before arriving at the hostel so we decided to go to the nearby town of Guzilyurt where we walked around town in the evening and then visited some more cave churches the next day. By mid-morning we were on our way back to Aksaray and then off to Konya.

Two Days in the Land Between The Two Rivers

A short trip from Batman and we were at the Tigris River. The next two days would be spent in Turkey’s Mesopotamia (from the Greek meaning "The land between the two rivers"—the area located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers). The first day we visited Hasankayf, Midyat and Mardin.

Hasankayf overlooks the Tigris River. It was apparently avery ancient city and features cave dwellings. There are Ayubbid buildings including a mosque with a stork's nest on top of the minaret (the El Rizk Mosque). The nest has been there long enough to be mentioned in the travel guide book. There was also a mosque and castle atop the hill overlooking the river. The bridge over the Tigris looks to have been quite impressive but the spans between the pillars have collapsed.

We got off the bus in Midyat and walked straight through the small town to a Syriac or Syrian Orthodox Monestary not far out of town (this was not the famed monestary which would have required a 20 minute bus ride and which we didn't make it to). Then we climbed a few stairs of a building that provided a nice view over the city. From there I took various photos of the characteristic Syrian steeples. There are 9 Syrian Orthodox churches in the town.

Mardin has a castle on top of the hill and features a view over the Turkey Syria border. We visited a few monques and madrasas, mostly from the 14th century, from an Seljuk empire—one of the successors to the main Seljuk empire. I stopped at couple of soap shops and bought a bar each of olive oil, pistacio and almond soap. That’s all they had—it seemed Mediterranean. The trip out of town took us along the Syria border. Tekin pointed out the the two countries were clearing a mine field on the border and would allow some folks to grow an organic garden there.

After dark at the end of the first day between the two rivers, we arrived in Urfa. I could tell from the size of the street that we were in a bigger city than where we had been before. The city name is known in history and until very recently as Urfa. The theme for the tourist in Urfa is Abraham as apparently he spent some time in the city. We first went to the citadel overlooking the city and then went to a monument commemorating Abraham's birth (claiming to be his birthplace) and then place spent the remainder of the day visiting mosques and the Urfa museum.

Belichek is on the Euphrates River. We arrived on a bus and I walked over from the bus stop a few minutes before sunset to take some pictures of the river. I was soon on an overnight bus to Aksaray and then to Ihlara Valley where I spent some time reading a chapter about Turkeys dam building in the region. It gave the impression that Turkeys use of the two rivers water would transform the region with irrigation allowing agriculture in the region to flourish not to mention the hydroelectric power. Turkeys use of the water would also inhibit similar development in Syria and Iraq where agriculture is also needed. My time in Mesopotamia and the benefit of my meager Arabic language skills had come to an end.

First Oasis: Batman

FIRST OASIS: BATMAN

After the descent through the Bitlis Pass, we encountered flatlands that were to continue through the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and beyond. Our first stop was the city of Batman. Tekin’s mother and sister live in this modern town and our agenda was rest. I spent much of the time putting captions on photos as I expect my memory would fade and sights would lose meaning if I didn’t get to them quickly.

We arrived at what appears to be the most recent addition to the northern end of the city and spent a day and a half secluded there before my impression of Batman as po-dunk was corrected. It turns out that Batman is quite a large oil industry boom town. Turkey produces very little of its own oil but oil exported from Iraq through Turkey is refined in Batman.

Our time in Batman was also about spending time with a wonderful family and enjoying great food. Tekin’s brother in law is a true Turk. He talked of his hunting adventures and taught us to barbaque. The dinner was incredible—lamb kabab well balanced with eggplants and hot peppers cooked directly on the coals before being peeled.

Nobody in the family speaks a English aside from Tekin but they spoke Arabic so I was able to communicate—I realized in Palestine that a little Arabic goes a long way but I didn’t realize the extent to which this would be the case in certain sections of Turkey. I continued to benefit from this through the next three cities until we left the Mesopotamia region. Unfortunately the 80-some year old aunt didn’t seem to understand that I am a novice Arabic speaker so many times she lost me. When we were able to communicate we mostly talked about family history and I floated the idea of Tekin writing down a short biography of some of his aging relatives’ fascinating life stories. Tekin liked the idea so I’ll have to follow up with him later.

The Highland Country around Lake Van

Tekin and I had talked about the idea of flying to southeastern Turkey and visiting various sites on a long trek back to Istanbul over the past few years. He was born in Mardin and has family nearby in Diyarbakir and Batman, but it is more common for his family to visit Istanbul than for him to go east. He prefers the big city and logs travel to Europe and the United States for academic conferences. By February of this year when I stopped by Istanbul (having visited once before) it was clear that the scheme was going to become reality and my exposure to Turkey would finally extend beyond Istanbul.

David and I flew out of Tel Aviv in the afternoon and crashed at Tekin’s place overnight before getting on an early morning flight to Van—a city on the Lake with the same name. We quickly went from the airport to downtown and found a bus to the other side of the lake. Although the bus ride into the city and walking through the main drag for around 15 minutes provided some impressions, I immediately realized that there would be many places we would miss on what could have easily been a journey of four or more times as long. While still on the east side of the lake road signs and glances at a map helped us realize how close we were to Iran.

After a short bus ride we were on a boat to Akdamar Island. The boat trip to Akdamar Island was extremely short as far as boat trips go but the small island is far from land in terms of a place for a church. I wondered what was the purpose of constructing such a church on an island where few if any people could have ever lived? The church is noted for carvings of Biblical and Christian scenes on its exterior. Scenes depicting Adam and Eve and David and Goliath were easy to identify and conveyed their meaning most clearly to me. There are other Armenian Armenian churches in the area and after abandoning Van without so much as absorbing a site this was a mere token nod to eastern Turkey’s Armenian past. But the interest Tekin, who is a practicing Moslem, and I could find in common led us to focus our attention on the Seljuks and their sites are concentrated on the Lake’s western shore.

Our first stop was the small city of Adilcevaz. This was to be the base camp for a hike of Mt. Suphan. However practicalities, elevation and travel weary energy levels sapped interest among the less avid hikers in the group and we merely hiked up a small hill to the town’s Seljuk castle (the Kef Kalesi). From there we descended to the mosque that was next to our hotel but which we had paid no attention to. Lonely Planet only mentions it as the nice little Ulu Camii, built in the 13th century and still used for daily prayer. However the sign on the building indicated that it was designed by Sinan—the masterful architect for Suleiman the Magnificent whose collossal mosques in Istanbul should be near the top of the A list for those visiting that city.

A half day in the small city of Ahlat (population around 30000 near the south-west corner of Lake Van) was the highlight of our time in the area. Ahlat was a Seljuk city—it features impressive Seljuk tombs and a Seljuk cemetary bridge ruins of a bathhouse and a small scale Seljuk museum with finds from the city. Ahlat was the base of the Seljuk leader Alp Asplin when the Seljuks defeated the Byzantines in 1071 c.e. at the Battle of Manzegirt (unfortunately we missed out on the nearby but remote town of Malazgirt where that battle took place). The Seljuk victory in that battle opened Anatolia to Turkish settlement that eventually led to the destruction of the Byzantine Empire by the Ottomans in 1453. As interesting as the historical significance was the realization that Ahlat’s residents still identify themselves as Seljuks. The townsfolk’s friendliness and helpfulness left a lasting impression.

We spent the second night in Tatvan--a small city of Kurdish folk at the south-west corner of Lake Van. Our hotel was about 50 meters from the waterfront and the views over the water were peaceful. There are no antiquities in this modern city but a sunrise stroll yielded some interesting views of peasant houses and women out gardening.

While encountering the unexpected in Islamic architecture wasn’t so unexpected the area’s cuisine was really a surprise. The uniqueness is probably based on the fact that the small cities around Lake Van are inhabited by highland folk. Not only does Van have an elevation of elevation 1,640 meters / 5,381 feet with mountains around it reaching 4,058 meters / 13,314 feet but the inhabitants originate from various highland cultures including Kurds and Seljuks. Even the region’s former inhabitants the Armenians are highlanders. The agriculture and cuisine reflects the environment and cultural background of these traditionally pastoral peoples. There is a lot of lamb and yogurt but the selection of fruits and vegetables is sparce. I couldn’t even find an orange to maintain my citrus-first-thing-in-the-morning habit.

I decided not to insist on hiking Mt. Nemrut as I had hoped to do and we were off to the valley city of Bitlis. While we saw various types of Seljuk ruins in Ahlat we did not encounter a Seljuk mosque. We did so in Bitlis and it reminded me that my knowledge of Islamic architecture has large holes. The minaret is across a small courtyard from the mosque which I believe is exceptional as the minaret is usually attached to the mosque. Why was it built this way? On the inside of the mosque there was a domed ceiling but from the outside there was no dome but rather a cylinder. Is that the way things were in early Seljuk architecture?

The city of Bitlis is on the east end of the Bitlis Pass which leads from the area of Lake Van at higher than 5,000 foot elevation to around 2,000 or 3,000 at Batman. Historically, it was strategically significant not just for the topography but for its location between empires such as between the Byzantines on the one hand and the Persians then Seljuks on the other. The bus ride was scenic—sort of a long Provo Canyon. I reflected on a few days in an area that was foreign enough to reveal various surprises and raise many new questions. I felt that my two previous visits to Turkey, which were limited to Istanbul, had not shown me the real Turkey. Now, however, I felt that I had really encountered Turkey. Unfortunately, the area is so off the beaten track that I may never return to gain much of an understanding of the region’s fascinating people with simple lives.

Wadi Qelt and Jericho

A hike down the eastern half of Wadi Qelt is enough to restore anyones enthusiasm for desert hiking. The hikes around Eilat have some interesting features and was a great escape from the snowfall a couple hundred miles away, but it doesn't compare to the beauty of the valley that heads eastward from Jerusalem to Jericho. Wadi Qelt has plants at reasonable intervals as well as some man made scenery, including a few monestaries, to go along with interesting rock formations.

At the end of the hike is Jericho. An ancient city that came under Palestinian control in the 1990s. There, the group enjoyed a typical Palestinian lunch featuring the Arab Salads that I love so much. After lunch, we walked through town to Tel Jericho--the ancient city whose wall miraculously fell down in the Bible story.

Ancient Jericho was a disappointment. I had visited the site years ago while it was still under Israeli control. Now, under Palestinian control, it has completely gone to pot. There was virtually no information and most of the fences to keep people from walking around on the ruins were laying on the ground. I imagined that the PA would have put up their own signs that omitted any mention of Israel and emphasized other eras of history but was surprised to find that there was very little signage and that which existed was run down. Still, there were a couple of noticable features such as Rahab's Tower and the city's fallen wall.

Bible Tourism in Northern Israel

This week's trip to the Sea of Galilee was less well planned than I am accustomed to. It started out as other recent trips have--a trip in a local bus across Jerusalem to the central bus station and an intercity bus for a couple of hours. But we (David Sandberg, who is visiting from the states and I) only had a rough outline of where we would be going and we had a long list of what we wanted to see. We ended up hiking a lot less than expected--I don't mind hot weather but David wasn't doing too well in it--so we saw the sites on our list more quickly than anticipated.

We arrived in Tiberias Monday evening, did some shopping and walked around town. The next morning, we hopped on rented bicycles for a little less than 10 mile ride to the Christian sites on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee. It turns out that the bikes, aside from being heavy mountain bikes, had some minor technical problems that made the trip a bit more of a challenge than it should have been. But we managed to get first to a church that commemorates the Beatitutes and then to one commemorating the miracle of multiplying the loaves and fishes and finally to Capernaum. At each site, we read scriptures that went along with the site.

By the time we were done seeing the sites, we were in for a ride back to Tiberias in hot weather. That afternoon we took a bus to Beit Shean--a small Israeli city around 25 kilometers south of the Sea of Galilee. We checked into a small bed and breakfast, after being told that there were no rooms available in the hostel, and relaxed--I started reading and before long was ready to sleep--it was 7:40 p.m. The next morning, we visited Beit Shean's archaeology park. It features the very interesting remains of a Roman City--the capitol of the Decapolis. The most interesting features are a Roman style theater, Roman bath house, mosaics, and a Roman bridge over a river. The city was located at a strategic point along the Jordan Valley and the Jezreel Valley so it was fought over many times and there is a tall tel with many layers. I also took note of the story of King Saul's demise at the nearby Mount Gilboa and the connection with Beit Shean noted in 1 Samuel:

Now the Philistines fought against Israel: and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gilboa. And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchi-shua, Saul’s sons. And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him; and he was sore wounded of the archers. Then said Saul unto his armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword, and fell upon it. And when his armourbearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell likewise upon his sword, and died with him. So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armourbearer, and all his men, that same day together. And when the men of Israel that were on the other side of the valley, and they that were on the other side Jordan, saw that the men of Israel fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook the cities, and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them. And it came to pass on the morrow, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen in mount Gilboa. And they cut off his head, and stripped off his armour, and sent into the land of the Philistines round about, to publish it in the house of their idols, and among the people. And they put his armour in the house of Ashtaroth: and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan. And when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard of that which the Philistines had done to Saul; All the valiant men arose, and went all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and came to Jabesh, and burnt them there. And they took their bones, and buried them under a tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.

After Beit Shean, I felt like we should go to Nazareth. As we got off the bus near the Basilica of the Annunciation, I asked a young lady and her mother where they were from (I had noticed that they spoke english). They are from Logan, Utah. We visited a few churches together in Nazareth. My favorite was the simple "Church Synagogue." The current building was built in the 12th century but it was supposedly built over a synagogue where Jesus' family likely worshipped as Jesus was growing up and where Jesus first publically suggested that he is the Messiah (Luke 4:16-30):

And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph's son? And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum do also here in thy country. And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country. But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land; But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow. And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian. And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong. But he passing through the midst of them went his way,

We caught a sight of the cliff from which tradition claims the folks of Nazareth wanted to toss Jesus to his death as we and trekked down a long street, around a corner and up the hill to catch the bus to our next destination.

David and I then decided to backtrack a bit in preparation for visits to Mount Tabor and Megiddo the next day. Mt. Tabor is a candidate as the site of the Transfiguration. The hike was very steep--pretty much straight up (and later straight down) so we decided to hit the dirt roads and make it longer but less steep. It ended up being a reasonably long hike. Upon reaching the top, we read the account of the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-13):

And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afriad. And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid. And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only. And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead. And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them. Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist.

Reading a handful of verses about a scriptural event while you're at a site where it happened, or at is commemorated, has an amazing effect. I wasn't in the mood for the church though. It was built in the 20th century over remains of a 4th century Byzantine church and a 12th century crusader church. Before descending we sat down again and read the verses more carefully.

Then we were off to Megiddo--an archaeology site of an ancient strategic outpost and the future battle of Armaggedon. The sites has a great view of the valley (but it was a dusty day so there are no good photos to show) including Nazareth and Mount Tabor to the northeast. There are remains of various buildings but I took note of the city's gate, the grain storage pit, water system and horse stables. The scriptural connection I took note of was 1 Kings 9:15-19:

And this is the reason of the levy which king Solomon raised; for to build the house of the LORD, and his own house, and Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer. For Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up, and taken Gezer, and burnt it with fire, and slain the Canaanites that dwelt in the city, and given it for a present unto his daughter, Solomon’s wife. And Solomon built Gezer, and Beth-horon the nether, And Baalath, and Tadmor in the wilderness, in the land, And all the cities of store that Solomon had, and cities for his chariots, and cities for his horsemen, and that which Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.

While the the mentioned tax is more important in connection with the building of the Temple, I took note of the cities for his chariots--one of which was Megiddo. We dragged ourselves down to the main intersection and waited around 10 minutes for the direct bus to Jerusalem. I took out my mini Israel map and followed along as we passed arab villages and cities, some on Israel's side of the wall and some on the other, to the east of the highway. Before long we were back in Jerusalem to rest before a few last excursions before my role as David's tour guide in Israel comes to an end.

By the Dead Sea: Masada & Ein Gedi

Tuesday afternoon David Sandberg, who is visiting me from the U.S.A., and I made our way across Jerusalem to the central bus station and got ourselves onto the bus that goes through the Jordan Valley to Eilat. It first heads east towards Jericho, skirting it to the south, and heads south past Qumran, Ein Gedi and Masada. We got off in Masada and went to the hostel there. The hostel was not the normal hole-in-the wall hostel. There was a nice pool and everything was emaculate. I noticed a plaque that mentioned that the Ministry of Tourism had a hand in it. That makes sense since Masada is an important symbol in Zionism.

For those who haven't read Josephus or seen the movie (also named Masada), the story takes place few decades after Jesus was crucified, during the Jewish rebellion that lead to the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. A group of Jews, called Zealots, took refuge at Masada as it was clear that the Romans had quelled the rebellion. The Romans surrounded Masada and the 1,000 or so Jews who had taken refuge there. The Romans couldn't climb up the path because they would be picked off one by one so they built a seize ramp and eventually destroyed a wall and made their way in. The Jews, once they saw that they could not escape, killed themselves. The seize ramp still exists--it would have eroded faster but there isn't much rain in these parts.

Modern Israeli Zionists admire these 1st century Zealots for killing themselves rather than being taken slaves by the Romans but say "Masada will not fall again." The lesson being that Israel has to be strong to avoid the be killed or be captured dilemma. School children and soldiers are brought to Masada and taught about the lesson. For me, the place isn't so much about a lesson but it's an expression of the New Testament character Herod and illustrates something about about the historical period of time when Jesus was in the region--although he isn't reported to have visited this remote desert hideout.

After an early night we woke up around 4:00 a.m. and headed up the desert plateau. David had his caving headlamp on but after about 20 minutes, it was no longer necessary. The path, called the Snake Path, starts on the south-east of Masada and the climb isn't long nor particularly challenging. The views were worth slowing down for. Masada is directly west of the Dead Sea and there is a flat area between the Dead Sea and a row of plateaus to the west. The country of Jordan is on the other side of the Dead Sea.

We arrived at the top and my instinct for thoroughness kicked in and we headed to the north side to see the minor attractions. The highlight of that side was a cistern. We then made our way along the west side and encountered the synagogue and then the main attractions--a bathhouse and palaces. We made it back to the hostel in time for the 9:00 a.m. breakfast. Later that day, other hostel visitors arrived and our group room started living up to its name (we had been the only inhabitants of the room with 8 beds the night before). Since everyone hikes Masada before the sun rises to escape the heat, it was apparent that there was no escaping the ritual 4:00 a.m. wake up time.

I woke up early the next day to hike around, rather than up, Masada. I had a copied a hike description and basic map from a book--which ended up being accurate and informative except in one way that was later to become apparent. The hike was as expected until I arrived to the area southwest of Masada. There, I encountered a steep incline which lead up to Mount Eliazer--the mountain to the south of Masada. I managed to get to the top without much difficulty and enjoyed the sights of Masada across the gorge. Then I continued on to the other side of that mountain expecting to hike down to the hostel which was directly below. The hiking guide book mentioned that that portion of the hike was steep but did not elaborate further. It was apparent that it was not just steep but precarious. I decided to walk down a few meters to get a better view and this confirmed that me and my mild vertigo would not be fit for this descent. Not only did the path stay near a cliff as it switched back and forth down the hill, but I encountered a rock with hebrew writing on it and a wilted flower in a jar. The rock was a memorial to "our granfather [name forgotten] who died from on fall on such and such date." I was already leaning against the steep path and was the nail in the coffin. I turned back figuring that death was worth avoiding--even if it meant not making it back before the free breakfast buffet closed at 9:00 a.m. So I trekked back the same way. That usually would mean that I would see a while new set of scenery but this was thought of as a scenic hike from the start so I had already turned around and taken pictures many times. But the hike wasn't long and it was pleasant enough. It wasn't particularly hot even when I arrived near the end and asked someone what time it was. I was told it was only 8:15 a.m. so my breakfast was assured.

I returned to the hostel and we worked out a ride to Ein Gedi with some sojourners--a couple from England. They needed a nap though so I worked on my term paper for a while. We arrived at Ein Gedi around 2:30 p.m. and hiked up Wadi David. There was a stream with waterfalls and a lot of living things in an otherwise very barren area. We got to the top with time to spare so we decided to go back in a round about way. We made it over to the spring and Chacolithic temple. I subsequently read about the folks that lived in that period (c. 4300-3300 b.c.) and learned about their making copper things and about what they ate as well as some other things about them. I decided not to read the section of the chapter about their pottery. Near the end of the hike we made it to the Ein Gedi synagogue. I've been interested in churches and synagogues from around the time of Jesus until the moslem conquest so that was a bonus but then we were done. It was back to Jerusalem.

Weekend Trip to Jaffa and Tel Aviv

I couldn't really avoid Tel Aviv this time. After all this time, on and off, living in Jerusalem, a friend from the states was actually coming to visit. It's about a one hour project to get down there on public transportation so I could have made it an afternoon project but I decided to make it an excursion.

I looked up things to do in Tel Aviv in a way reminiscent of planning to visit sites in Los Angeles after having rarely been inclined to delve into the place all growing up. Like Los Angeles, I found some sites that could easily keep me entertained for a day or two. I talked to a friend who is also living in Jerusalem and we headed down for an afternoon walking around the old city of Jaffa and most of the next day going to museums in Tel Aviv.

We arrived and found the hostel in Jaffa and were told that there wasn't any room except in a tent on the roof. We probably would have chosen that in any case as it was cheapest and there was no possibility that we would be cold overnight in late May along Israel's coastal plain. We dropped off some stuff and walked around the old city, found a Bulgarian food restaurant to eat at--I found that appealing since I'll soon be passing through Bulgaria on a trip that includes Turkey and Greece. Then it was getting late and there wasn't much else to do. But my friend noticed a theater where something was happening. We crossed the street and found out that it was the Gesher theater--one of the two renouned professional theaters in the Tel Aviv area. We soon found out that the play was by Hanoch Levin--thought by many Israelis as the best playwrite modern Israel has produced. We paid our $20 (in shekels, of course) and went in. As we sat down, I asked our neighbors what the play was about and we discussed the playwrite for the 20 minutes until the play started. The play was professional but unusual. My friend is a science guy and seemed to not appreciate the virtue promoting theme under the crust of the play--a perspective that I find is rewarded in theater both ancient and modern. Nevertheless, he took it as a cultural experience. For me, it was a magic moment. I had heard of Levin and bought a book of a handful of his over 60 published plays but had never arranged to see one produced.

We woke up and after the expected interesting conversations with sojourners in the hostel, we walked along the coast from Jaffa to Tel Aviv. We were soon at the building where the Israeli declaration of independence occurred. It is a solid building that was described by the lecturer we stayed around to overhear as a bomb shelter. The table and chairs are left from the historic day and it was very informative.

The other objective as the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. My friend would soon be off to the Diamond museum as I headed to the airport and he talked as if he had some interest in the art but after I described some different eras and pointed out features of Cezanne, Chagall and Van Gogh's work, he sat on a bench waiting for me to get my fill.

I then asked a worker at the museum how best to get to the train station and was on my way. There are a few other museums in Tel Aviv that I'll try to get to but the couple of days helped me to come to terms with the big city on the coast. Like Los Angeles, there are things there that hold my attention for a day or two hear or there. But for much longer than a couple of museums and an ethnic restaurant, I prefer a smaller pond.