Week 3 – Exploring Israel
It’s been another great week here in the Holy Land! This week I was able to see more of Israel than just Jerusalem. On Sunday, a big group of us went to Tel Aviv to go to the beach and the markets. It was so fun! I am a big fan of the Mediterranean Sea now.
I went with some friends to the market first. The markets here are so fun to walk around! Everyone here comes to the market for groceries instead of a grocery store, so we passed stands selling everything and anything.
After the market, we walked down to a part of town called Jaffa, which was an old coastal city. Fun fact, it was where the apostle Peter received revelation that the gospel should be preached to the Gentiles! We got gelato and walked around the cobblestone streets. So fun!
The Mediterranean is so warm and beautiful! I seriously could not get over the ocean here.
We spent quite a lot of time at the beach in the afternoon! I definitely got a bit sunburned. But it was worth it!
After the beach, I went with some friends to a beachside cafe for dinner. The food was so good and the view was beautiful.
All in all, our trip to Tel Aviv was a huge success and I’m in love with another part of Israel.
Our field trip this week was to the Negev, which is the southern part of Israel. We took quite a long bus ride to get there but it was a great field trip. We saw lots of ruins in archeological sites. Here are some pics I got during the field trip:
I really loved this field trip. Clearly there was lots to see! The other fun thing we did this week was sign our names on the walls underneath the Jerusalem Center.
I am really loving my experience abroad. Those of us living in the BYU Jerusalem Center are growing close and it’s hard to believe we’ve only been here for a couple of weeks! We have a lot of homework and a lot of classes but it’s fun to apply history to these real places we are visiting. The reality of the events in the Bible is sinking in for me and I am growing to love my ancient ancestors. The Spirit is teaching me so much here. I am starting to understand why they call it the Holy Land.
Hi the picture of you standing in front of the huge rock and ancient walls with your navy blue tee shirt and kaki pants and cloth hat makes me think that you look like an archaeologist! Your attire is similar to what I wore as an archaeologist working in Utah in the Four Corners Area! Looking at those ruins must have been very interesting!
The ancient sacrificial altar is very interesting. I can’t imagine building one of those deep wells! It blows my mind! Those stones/rocks are so precise in the walls! Exquisite!
Thanks again for sharing!