Jordan Trip- Day 3

Day three in Jordan began at the Jabbak River. This is where Jacob wrestled with an angel. Our professor gave a great devotional about wrestling. He talked about how worship is work. Worship is exhausting, it's like wrestling. Jesus Christ wrestled mightily so that He might overcome the sins of the world. So me must wrestle to overcome the natural man tendencies. 

Our next stop of the day was Jerash, a Roman city in the middle of the modern city of Amman.

Then the Royal Car Museum.

And the Amman Citadel.

At night we went to a yummy fruit salad place and strolled along Rainbow Avenue. This is the "cool" place to hang out at night. The local artists like to come here and perform. Some of the students brought guitars and did some performing of their own! It was a fun night.

Fruit salad, yummy yummy. 

One of the Seven Wonders of the World

On our second day in Jordan we explored Petra, one of the seven wonders of the world. And a wonder it was! There was a breathtaking view around every corner and it was a magical but exhausting day. We started the morning with our class and our Jordanian tour guide as we walked the mile or so through the siq. The Siq is the narrow gullies that leads to the treasury! 

In front of the treasury is where I rode my first camel! It was freaky but so fun and definitely a new adventure.

Then I hiked up to the high place. Oh man oh man. The hike wasn't super long but it was straight up. The heat also got to me. My headaches affect me more than I like to admit most days and I probably shouldn't have attempted to head up to the high place but I did and I made it...barely. 

The rest of the day was spent exploring the many sights of Petra and another camel ride. I guess you could say a picture is worth a thousand words so I'll just let the pictures do the talking :) 

Jordan Trip- Day 1

From June 30-July 3 we were in Jordan! It was a fun trip but it was hot, hot, hot, hot, hot.
Did I mention it was hot? :)

We left Jerusalem early in the morning on Monday in order to get to the border crossing when it opened. It can sometimes be tricky but we made it across with no issues. We loaded unto our new buses with our Jordanian guide and headed to Mount Nebo. From Mount Nebo is where Moses saw the Promised Land and tradition says that he was buried there but through modern revelation we know that Moses was translated.

The Brazen serpent

um... this is definitely in the women's bathroom. 

The next stop of the day was the St. George Church at Madaba. This church is unique because the floor mosaic has a map of the Holy Land. 

Funny story about this church- so usually when we go to sights we aren't there for very long but for some reason we were here for awhile. I'm not sure how long because I looked around at everything then sat on a bench a fell asleep. I am my father's daughter. 

alright.. someone explain the creepy blue hand.... 

After an unusually lunch where the power went out and it didn't even phase anyone... we continued on to Machaerus. This is one of Herod the Great's fortresses but only ruins remain, just like most sights that we go to. It was at this sight that John the Baptist was imprisoned and beheaded. 

Lets see you hike to the top of a mountain in the Jordanian desert in the middle of summer in the heat of the day. 

To finish off the day we headed to Petra by night! It was magical. It was our first experience with Petra. The hike into Petra is about a mile long and it was lined with lanterns to light the way. Then you come out of the canyon to see the treasury and the view is breathtakingly beautiful! In the words of Dr. Seely, "it's one of the most romantic things you'll ever do...alone." True statement. 

All things Jewish

So I survived finals week! barely. finals and migraines don't mix well but I survived and the past is in the past. After finals finished up we had a free day in the city before heading to Jordan. For the free day I headed to West Jerusalem in the morning and did some exploring around the town there. West Jerusalem is a really nice part of town that has some fun Jewish stores. We then headed to the Hurva Synagogue, made a stop at the Western Wall and ended the day at the Temple Institute. It was a day full of all sorts of Jewish activities. I loved the Temple Institute. I went there on my first free day here but I literally knew nothing about Jerusalem at the time so everything was so new to me. It was really amazing to go back with all the new knowledge that I have gained throughout my time here. Everything just made so much more sense!

I love all the cultures here in Jerusalem! It is such a mixture of people and cultures here and it's so fun to learn about more about them all. Just within the Old City part of Jerusalem you can visit the Jewish Quarter, Christian Quarter, Armenian Quarter and Muslim Quarter. Jerusalem has opened my eyes!