Athens: First Impressions

In front of the Parthenon, the famous temple to Athena, after whom Athens is named. Literally breathtaking. The Parthenon is located on top of the Acropolis, the hill which literally means "edge of the city," or the citadel of the city. Is this the wrong country for that pose?!


The Temple of Hephaestus and Athena Ergane through a pomegranate vine. Best preserved temple in Athens!


Changing of the guard in front of the Greek Parliament - playing footsie?


Athens at night from the top of the building where we're staying in the suburbs. Gorgeous!

Off to Corinth tomorrow morning for a one-night, two-day trip! Back to Athens on Thursday night.

Greek Beaches, Monasteries, and Iconography

The beach at the resort on the Aegean Sea where we stayed for two nights! Mt. Olympus (home of the Greek gods) is in the background. We got a free day on the beach, which was so nice to have in the midst of these days filled with history (even though it is absolutely fascinating). I used the day to do nothing and just enjoy the Greek beauty. :-) The first day we got there, it was stormy, so we were thankful that it was nice the following day (our free day). The weather at that area around Mt. Olympus is pretty quick-changing - made me feel like I was really at the home of the gods!


The foundations of a bath house at the base of Mt. Olympus in the city of Dion. You can see how the floor would have been on top of all these "mini-poles," allowing the steam to come up through the floor and create a steam room. The bath houses were centers of debate and discussion among society's elite.


We visited Meteora, a place which literally means "hung in the air." Starting in 1340, hermit monks began to build Greek Orthodox monasteries on top of these huge sandstone rock pillars. Here I'm standing overlooking the Varlaam monastery.


Me and our crazy Greek tour guide, Voula! I feel like I'm in the movie "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" 24/7. She's great. Oh, and the beautiful rock pillars with monasteries on top are in the background!


The Greek flag from the top of one of the monasteries. Notice the cross at the top. The blue represents the sea and the white, the cloudless sky. The nine stripes represents the nine syllables of the phrase "Freedom or Death," in Greek.


We visited an icon factory that makes iconography for Greek Orthodox churches and even the Vatican! Here a man is hand-painting one of the icons. It was incredible to see their process first hand. They even make their own canvases! They were also selling small icons, but they were very expensive. I saw one triptych (a three-fold icon piece) that was being sold for 14,000 euros - that's about $17,500! Wow!

One of the things I got to thinking about a lot in Turkey and now in Greece is the concept of sacred space. In the Greek Orthodox Church, their worship space is clearly set apart: it isn't used for other "activities" like we use our sanctuaries. These spaces are clearly defined as places for meeting God. I think in the West we miss the power of a sacred space, originating even from the Jewish Holy of Holies. A specific, physical place that is dedicated to sanctified worship and service. The Greek Orthodox view decoration as an earthly reflection of heavenly beauty. As a result, their sacred spaces are often heavily adorned, gilded and mystical. Is there a place for that? Is that idolizing a place? Confining God?

The Orthodox view iconography as a reflection and celebration of the Incarnation: because God has become flesh, we can represent him through icons, and that is an honor and privilege. So is there a place for iconography? Is all iconography idolatry? Do visual images help in our worship?

These questions swirl in my head as I explore the roots of early Christianity and forms of worship foreign to my own.

Peace.

Mosques, Whirling Dervishes, and Conversions

I'm writing this from Thessaloniki, Greece! Our internet in Turkey was pretty bad, so I was unable to post an update. I've included in this post pictures from both Turkey and our first day in Greece. The trip is going great - I thought it was going to be hard to top Israel, but this is pretty awesome!


The Haghia Sofia, a huge church in Istanbul. It was originally a Christian church and was the "jewel of Christendom" in Constantinople (old name of Istanbul) until the fall of Constantinople in 1453 to the Ottomon Turks. At that point, the Muslim Turks took over the building and converted it to a mosque. (They also changed the name of the city to "Istanbul," or "City of Islam") It is now used as a museum. It contains beautiful frescoes and mosaics, and you can fit the Statue of Liberty under the center dome! There exists a strange dichotomy in the place - Christian works of art all over, with huge circular wooden panels surrounding the church, on which are written things like "Allah" in Arabic script. Again, we see these contrasts.


Istanbul is full of mosques. The Blue Mosque, in this picture, is the foremost mosque in Istanbul. In Turkish, the words "six" and "gold" sound similar. When the sultan requested gold minarets on his mosque, the architect thought he said "six," and so we are left with the unmistakable six-minaret mosque in Istanbul! You can't see all six in this picture, unfortunately.


The inside of the Blue Mosque - named so because the predominant color of the tiles lining the walls is blue!


A HUGE cistern under the city of Istanbul


At Ephesus - the library (2nd biggest in its day, behind Alexandria) is in the background! The road you see in the picture is slanted downwards so horse chariots could enter the city. Ephesus was a very influential city in the 1st century AD.


To get to Ephesus on Monday, we took the earliest flight out from Istanbul and the latest flight back, all in one day. On our flight back, we got to see the sunset from the plane over the sea on the western side of Turkey - wow!


"Whirling dervishes" the last night in Istanbul. The whilring dervishes are an Islamic tradition where men spin around for an extended period of time in hopes of reaching "Nirvana." It's a spiritual act, and I was just amazed they didn't fall over from dizziness! Frankly, it was absolutely entrancing. They had their right hand facing up to Heaven and left hand facing down to earth to symbolize their connection by means of this ceremony.


We had an 8-hr. drive from Istanbul to Kavala, Greece, where we stayed a night before going to Philippi yesterday. Kavala is where Paul crossed to Europe after seeing the vision of the Macedonian man in Acts 16 - "Come and help us." Philippi was also a very meaningful place, and we reflected on the story of Acts 16 and the conversion of the jailer. Here you see our group in one of the churches on what is now an archaeological site. Philippi was on the Egnatia Road, a main highway of sorts that Paul used in his journeys.


Nearby Philippi is the place where Paul converted Lydia, also in Acts 16. Our group went to the church that commemorates this event, the first European convert to Christianity. Right by the church is a stream, where our group sang worship songs and prayed, praising God for our salvation in the place where the Gospel was first spread to the West! What an honor.

Tonight we're going to a hotel right on the Aegean at the base of Mt. Olympus - very exciting! I appreciate your continued prayers!

Peace.

Sunsets, Aqueducts, and Fishing in the Galilee Region

Greetings! I hope everyone is doing well. We returned back to Jerusalem from our trip to the Galilee region on Thursday night. Since then, we've had a test, a "graduation ceremony" (from the program here at Jerusalem University College), done some shopping, an essay, a church service, and washing clothes! We leave in an hour for Turkey! Israel has been incredible and wonderfully transformative, and I praise God for the opportunity I have had to be in this beautiful country.

I don't know what my internet access will be like in Turkey, Greece, and Rome (for my itinerary, see the first post!), but I will keep this blog updated as much as possible.


Sunset on the Sea of Galilee the first night! We stayed at this beautiful resort called Ein Gev. I shared a cabin with two other guys, and we were right on the beach. It was paradise! It was so meaningful to spend time on the Sea where our Savior walked on water. One night, we had a worship service on the beach, looking at the same coastal topography that Jesus would have seen.


Sitting on the top of Mt. Arbel, a steep hill right on the Western edge of the Sea of Galilee. It was beautiful!


Aqueduct at Caesarea. Caesarea is a town built by Herod the Great as a Hellenistic port on the Mediterranean. Caesarea was not a natural port, meaning it had no "inlet" for boats to dock. Really, Caesarea was just a way for Herod to express his "meglomania" and build another monument to his kingdom. Caesarea does not have a natural spring, so they had to channel water in from 25 miles away (from Mt. Carmel) by means of an aqueduct. Here, our group crowds around the ancient aqueduct!


Scythopolis (Beth-Shean in the Semitic time) is an incredibly well preserved Hellenistic city in the Galilee region. In 64 B.C., it was even made the capital of the Decapolis, or the group of ten cities that Rome controlled and used to "Hellenize" the land.


On Thursday morning, we took a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee (or "Lake Kinneret" as the locals call it). Here you see one of the guys on the boat showing us how 1st century fisherman used cast nets to catch their fish.


Here I am in the Jordan River! The Jordan is a pretty calm and narrow river, flowing from the slopes of Mt. Hermon to the Sea of Galilee and emptying in the Dead Sea.


Jerusalem University College is where we've studied for the past 3 weeks. I'll miss you, JUC!

On Friday we returned from a spectacular three-day trip to southern Israel. On Wednesday, we traveled through Judah, Philistia, and the Shephelah (the foothills). Thursday included the Negev region, and on Friday we traveled to sites on the Dead Sea. We're leaving this morning (Monday) for the north (Galilee) and won't return until Thursday night. No internet again. But here's a post summarizing the past week down south and a couple of pictures from our weekend in Jerusalem. I'm having an absolutely INCREDIBLE time! Being away from Jerusalem for a few days last week made me realize how much I love living here. I'll miss it.

WEDNESDAY


Hiking through the area of Sataf, a former Palestinian village. Here we saw "house-caves" made out of cenomanian limestone.


The Valley of Elah, where the battle between Judah (David) and the Philistines (Goliath) occurred.


The infamous "foundations map" that we use to mark the contours of the land wherever we go!


Standing in what some call the oldest arched city gate in the world in Ashkelon (the bottom part of the sides is the original - you can see the difference in material easily). The city thrived during the Middle Bronze Age, from 2000-1550. It is right on the coast of the Mediterranean.


The beautiful Mediterranean Sea at Ashkelon - we had about an hour at the end of the day to swim!

THURSDAY


Ellen and me in our hard hats at the Iron Age (i.e. around rule of Saul, David, and Solomon) town of Beer sheva. You might recognize the name Beer sheva from the phrase "from Dan to Beer sheva." Beer sheva is one of the southernmost cities of the Biblical land, and Dan is one of the northernmost cities. We wore hard hats because we went through the massive underground cistern system that the town used...we hardly needed the hard hats! But it was so fun. :-)


Standing in the Holy of Holies at the ruins of the temple in Arad


We got the chance to hike through a beautiful national park called En Avedat. We climbed through the valley behind me, then hiked up the side of the canyon on the right. We ended up at the top - the bus met us there. :-) We sweated A LOT, but as Dr. Wright says, "Jesus sweated under this sun and in this land, too!" Can't argue with that!


Roman-style arch at Avdat


Israeli and National Parks flags


We ended our day on Thursday with a visit to the largest erosion crater on the globe, Macktesh Ramon!


Standing on the edge of the Macktesh Ramon crater

FRIDAY


Masada was fortified by Herod the Great as another one of his palaces during his reign. In 66 BC, Jewish zealots rebelled against Roman Rule, and Romans sought to silence the revolt. Thus started the infamous war that eventually led to the fall of Jerusalem and Israel. Masada was the last place to fall to the Romans in 73 AD and has since become a national symbol for the strength of Israel: "Masada will never fall again," goes the mantra.

The picture above is of Herod's Masada fortress from the west, looking out with the Dead Sea in the background.


On top of Masada, looking out onto the Dead Sea. The famous story goes that while the Romans were placing a siege on the remaining 900 rebels at Masada, the rebels killed themselves to defend their honor in lieu of being captured and enslaved. Hence the place has become this national symbol for honor. The story, however, is not supported by various historical evidence. First, Josephus, a first century historian, is where we get this story. Josephus wasn't even at Masada, but he claims to have heard the story from a few "cowardly women and children" who didn't kill themselves and survived. Secondly, suicide is not a noble way to die for the Jews - in fact, it is against Torah. Suicide is a noble way to die for the Romans. Could it be that Josephus, who was writing to a Roman audience about the land of the Israelites, told the story in such a way that would have an impact on Roman citizens? I guess we'll never know. But we do know that 900 people died at this site, and it is an incredible place of mystery and power.


Again at Masada. You can see the Roman columns with their fluting and the frescoes on the wall. These styles were "imported" by Herod from the Roman empire.


Some friends on top of Masada. (left to right: Jacquie, Claire, me, Daniel)


With a 38% salt content, you can actually float in the Dead Sea -- it was amazing! The Dead Sea is the lowest place on earth, and it is 1200 feet deep. Because it is so salty, it dehydrates you very easily, so you can't stay in the water for too long. Ancient empires (most notably Egypt) traveled to the Dead Sea to harvest salt and tar.


The waterfall of Ein-gedi, the spring where David hid from Saul in 1 Samuel 23:29. En-gedi is right on the coast of the Dead Sea. Having come directly from tasting and experiencing the salty, dehydrating water of the Dead Sea, I pondered the significance of the location of this fresh spring of living water and a place of protection for David. In fact, we also learned that as the Dead Sea is drying up, they are finding many freshwater springs on the floor of and close to the sea. For me, this speaks to the imminence of Christ - fresh water in the midst of a salty sea, what some have called a poison sea.


Me in front of the waterfall at Ein gedi


Being refreshed by the fresh water (living water) at Ein gedi. It felt SO good to swim in and drink of the pure water after being covered in the almost overwhelming salt of the Dead Sea.


This is the main entrance to Cave #4 at Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. It was so neat to be at the place where such historic documents were found!

SATURDAY - Back in Jerusalem


This is the Garden Tomb, the place some believe to be the site of the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, where Jesus was buried. Archaeological evidence suggests otherwise, but it was an interesting place to visit, since it is really a 1st century tomb and looks much like the tomb in which Jesus was most likely buried.


Our tour guide was great - he reminded us that it doesn't even matter where the tomb is exactly. The important thing is that the tomb is empty, for He is risen! Praise be to our Redeemer, our Rock and our Salvation.

SUNDAY


On Sunday morning, we got up at 4 am and went to the Mount of Olives to watch the sunrise over Jerusalem. It was so beautiful! In the foreground are graves (discussed in a previous post), then you descend into the Kidron Valley before rising again to Dome of the Rock and the rest of the city. As we watched the sunrise, I listened to the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4-9) being sung on my Ipod and read Psalm 48.

Sunday afternoon we had a test over the trip, then class, dinner, a worship service, and a reception at our professor's apartment.

FATHER SAMUEL


Father Samuel and his incredible beard! (The story was told in a previous post - we went to visit Father Samuel, a priest, at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre last Saturday night).

I'm really looking forward to Galilee - we leave in twenty minutes, so I have to go!

Peace of Christ.