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.