I'm In Love With Turkey

I’m in love, I’m in love and I don’t care who knows it!! Turkey was so incredible I seriously fell in love with that beautiful country. I was able to stay for a week and caravan across the country to various historical sites. We spent a lot of time on the bus driving which I really liked because of the scenery.  We drove through extremely green hills and alongside bright blue bodies of water. Breathtaking is an understatement.

  

We flew from Tel Aviv to Istanbul on Sunday, the 10^th of March. The flight was enjoyable.  Not only did I get to know students I sat by better, but I was also treated to the famous Turkish Air luxuries including the full course meal they provided. 

By the time we got to Istanbul we drove to the hotel and were set free to explore the streets if we so desired.  Well a bunch of curious students in a foreign country is the perfect recipe for exploring.  While exploring we stumbled upon a mosque and we were able to go inside. Something that is culturally fascinating is that about 98% of Istanbul is Muslim.  This means there are mosques everywhere.  It is so interesting to see how many mosques there are. I am sure it is similar to the phenomenon of going to Utah and seeing a church building on about every other road.

 I am really grateful I was able to go inside mosques in Turkey because I have not been in any in Jerusalem.  But the mosques they have in Turkey are exquisite.  Women are supposed to cover their hair because it is more modest. If you don’t happen to have a scarf, they usually provide a box of them at the entrance.   Everyone is also required to take their shoes off before entering.

On Monday we had a packed day.  We visited the Hippodrome, Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, Basilica, Grand Bazaar and finished with a Boat Ride on the Bosphorus.

The Hippodrome was just north of the Blue Mosque.  It belonged to Constantinople and was used for public
events such as horse and chariot races as well as civic celebrations.  I was expecting a dirt arena. However it
was paved over and appeared just like a sidewalk.  Something cool we saw on the Hippodrome was a giant 
stone column that Egypt gave to them.

Inside the Blue Mosque, also called the Sultanahmet mosque, was incredible.  It is called the Blue Mosque because of all the blue tile used in the interior. It was built in the 17^th Century by Ahmet I who wanted to build something his people could remember him by.  It took 7 years to build and was completed in 1616. Because of the grandness of the mosque it affected the economy of his empire.

There is a central dome and eight other domes that “cascade” down.  It has traditional Islamic architecture, and a large outer court yard that is as large as the base of the mosque itself.

Something that I think is really interesting about the construction of the mosque is the number of minarets(towers). The Blue Mosque contains six minarets which was very controversial  The Grand Mosque in Mecca which contains the Kaaba also had six.  The Kaaba is a stone building that is considered the most holy site in Islam. This is why they face the direction of the Kaaba, located in Mecca, when they pray.  Well the issue was resolved by adding a seventh minaret to the Grand Mosque. 

Lower level has over 20,000 blue ceramic tiles. 

The Topkapi Palace was where the capital was around the 1400s after Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II conquered Constantinople.  The Topkapi palace was the main residence of the Sultans for 400 years. After WW1 it was converted into a museum.

A small replica of the Palace.

Basilica Cistern was an underground cistern was built in the 6^th century by Justinian. The cistern was built to provide water for the Imperial palace. There are 336 marble and granite columns and walls 13 feet thick in order to hold 2,800,000 cubic feet of water.

There were two Medusa heads supporting columns. These stones were most likely from earlier Roman structures.

 According to the story of Medusa, if you look at her you will turn to stone. 

The Grand Bazaar consists of something like 4000 little shops. We had a few hours to shop around which if anybody knows me, knows I loved it. 

 We had one boat ride and two ferry rides over the course of the week. The first boat ride was by far my favorite. It was an hour or two and we were in the Bosphorus.  The Bosphorus is a 20 mile long strait that connects the Sea of Marmara with the Black Sea.  It also separates the continents of Europe and Asia. I thought it was so cool how on one side of the boat was the continent of Europe and if I looked on the other side was the continent of Asia. It was so relaxing and beautiful.  You could see all of the cool buildings, houses, and mosques via boat. 

The next day (Tuesday) we had about a four hour bus ride to Gallipoli.  Gallipoli was a battle during WW1. The Ottoman Empire became allies with the Central Powers (Germany and Austria- Hungary) who opposed the Allied Powers (United States, Britain, France, and Russia.) To summarize what happened, the British and French wanted to pose an attack on the Dardanelles, controlled by the Ottomans, so they could get Istanbul. There was a stalemate and they wanted to open the sea passage to Russia.  This attack included soldiers from the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps(ANZAC.) However due to poor planning and communication the battle was a huge slaughter for both sides.  The ANZAC troops attempted a land invasion on the western side of the peninsula. Unfortunately the troops initially arrived in the wrong location which happened to be right in front of a huge hill that was fortified by the Ottomans. Many people died due to combat and disease (about 250,000 on both sides.) The Allies eventually retreated and the Ottomans won.  

It was interesting to visit this site because I had watched a movie on it a week earlier. I fell in love with the characters and stories which made the battle seem more real to me. Many Australians and New Zealanders visit this site, and celebrate ANZAC day on April 25^th. We happened to be there when there were some people visiting.  One of them came up to my professor and thanked him for teaching about this site and for having American students remember and honor their people who died there.  It really touched me. 

We took a ferry over the Dardanelles to visit Troy, our next site.  By doing this we left the continent of Europe and went to the continent of Asia. It is so crazy how you can do that so simply. It was also cool because are huge bus went on the ferry with us. I know this may sound naïve, but I had no idea that buses could get on ferries. They just seem so big and I hadn’t really seen very big ferries before.

They have squatter toilets all over in Turkey.  This is the one on the ferry. It was just as much fun to use as it looks. 

Troy is a really cool site. This is the site of the famous Trojan War. As the story of the Trojan War goes, there was Paris, the prince of Troy, who took Helen, the queen of Sparta. This made a lot of people upset which led to Greece sailing over to Troy and engaging in a 10 year war.  Greece finally won by making a wooden horse and having the soldiers hid inside. When the Trojan army brought the horse inside the city to celebrate, the Greek soldiers came out and slaughtered the Trojans.

I was really excited to see the replica of the Trojan horse they had on site. But to my surprise, the horse was under construction. Where I thought I would see the famous symbol, I saw a huge object covered in black tarp. This was kind of sad, but it was still a cool site.

Touching the leg of the wooden horse.

Anne and I's reenactment 

Wednesday was the day we visited Assos and Pergamon. These were two of the prettiest sites in my opinion.  Assos is a city on a hill that overlooks the Aegean Sea. To put this into better context, you were practically surrounded by a bright blue glass blanket.  In the Bible we learn that Paul stopped in Assos during his third mission in 57 A.D.  Some of Paul’s companions and other missionaries such as Luke sailed and stayed at Assos as well before going to Mitylene. Aristotle also moved to Assos to establish an academy.

5^th century B.C. temple dedicated to Athena.

Meditation. 

According to Greek Mythology, Pergamum was founded by Telephus, the son of Herecules and the grandson of Zeus. It was SO green there.  Most of the buildings were built in the 3^rd and 2^nd century B.C (Hellenistic time period.) We had to ride a lift to the top which was really fun.   

Pergamum has the steepest theater in the ancient world with a total of 10,000 seats. This seemed evident when you started going up and down the step. Those steps are steep!

It was really windy there. My hair is an indicator of this.

The Church of St. John was our first site on Thursday.  This is where many people believe that John was buried.  Many people came and visited this church because they believed the dust from his grave had healing powers.

  

It had such fun places to take pictures. 

In the distance you saw one measly reconstructed column. However this one reconstructed column use to be part of the Temple of Artemis.  Believe it or not, this temple use to be one of the ancient wonders of the world. It is sad to only have one column left.  It was dismantled and the stones were used for other buildings including the Hagia Sophia.

Ephesus was incredible.  There was so many buildings and structures that were in good condition. It was the capital of the province of Asia and it became one of the largest cities in the Roman Empire.  Paul visited Ephesus while returning from his second mission, and at the beginning of his third mission.  He said in Ephesus for about two years where he baptized people, gave them the Holy Ghost, taught at the school of Tyrannus, and performed many miracles. He also wrote his first epistle to the Corinthians while in Ephesus.

Nike. 

There is a picture of Ephesus in the Bible. 

The library was built in 2^nd century A.D.

Prienne structures that still stand today were built in the 4^th century B.C.  Alexander the Great lived in Prienne while he was besieging Miletus.

Dr. Jackson. This is my program director.

We had actually great luck with the weather. Sometimes I forget that I am visiting all of these sights when it is winter.  There was chance of rain most of the week, but Friday was the first day it rained.  Some of Sardis’ inhabitants were Jews. These Jews were threatened with destruction by Haman. We learn of this story in the book of Esther in the Bible.  These Jews were saved by Mordecai and Ester.

Another biblical connection with Sardis happens at the end of the 1^st century A.D.  The church members were rebuked by the Lord for hypocrisy. The Lord also tells them to repent for his coming. Revelations 3:3

This is the gymnasium where boys would fight and learn about philosophic things. Interesting fact is they usually did these things naked.  

Sardis has the largest ancient synagogue discovered outside of the Holy Land. 

Thyatira was famous for the production of purple dye which came from a certain kind of shellfish in the Mediterranean.

The Grand Mosque in Bursa was unbelievable. It was built around 1400 and has 20 domes.  I was fortunate enough to be able to witness Muslims praying during the Call to Prayer. Although I have heard the Call to Prayer many times, this was the first time I have ever been inside a mosque while it goes off. It was really incredible to be able to witness up close Muslims worshiping.  I really feel blessed to be able to witness other people’s devotion to their religion.  Every religion worships in unique ways that may be different from each other, yet they still all possess dedication and love.  It is a really beautiful thing.

Our week long tour guide teaching us about the mosque. 

Saturday

Nicaea is where the Nicene Creed began.  Emperor Constantine brought the early Christian Church leaders for the council of Nicea.  Nicaea was the location of two of the seven Ecumenical Councils.  These councils took place post-apostolic and they were used to establish the official church doctrine and beliefs of Christianity.  Latter-day saints do not believe that these councils had authority due to the fact that the keys of apostleship and revelation had been taken from the earth at that point.  One of the topics they discussed here was whether or not Christ was a created being or if he is the same as the Father. The second question they discussed was if worship of images of Jesus and other saints allowed. Over the course of the Turkey trip I visited six of the seven council locations, and could look at the seventh one from a distance.  

Pondering about the questions in life.

We rode the ferry back over to Istanbul. Once we were in Istanbul we visited the Hagia Sophia. We had 10 minutes to spare before they stopped letting people in.  I am really glad we made it because the Hagia Sophia is one of the wonders of the world.  The Hagia Sophia was the largest church in the world for almost 1000 years.  It originally was a Christian church, however it was later converted into a mosque when the Ottomans conquered Constantinople in 1453. It is now a museum and has been one since 1935.

When the Ottomans converted the church into a mosque they covered some of the mosaics with plaster.  This actually ended up preserving them. 

For dinner we had fish. This was the first time we had fish as a main course which was surprising because our teachers made it sound like we were going to have fish a lot. For most meals in Turkey they would start out by bringing out lentil soup and bread, then they would usually bring out rice with vegetables and meat for shish kebabs. It was very interesting how they would bring out one small item of the meal and not bring out the next part until everyone was done with the first. Sometimes it seemed like it was a nine course meal. It was all really good though. 

Good thing I like fish.

Aside from eating at really nice restaurants  we stayed at really nice hotels.  My favorite hotels were the ones where we stayed by the beach. 

We liked to mess around. 

There were a lot of Jelly Fishes in the water, and dead ones on the beach. 

 Random:

Turkey has the prettiest tiles everywhere. 

"Cheers to The Freakin Weekend"

Rihanna said it right-"cheers to the freakin weekend." This past week has been so crazy. We have had six exams and one huge paper that was due.  All week long we would move from studying for one test to the next.  Hours and hours and hours I put into memorizing facts, dates, and history. But I am so glad it is over...especially because tomorrow I fly to Turkey. Woot.Woot. I am so excited!!!

Jenessa's Mission Call

So I just wanted to give a shout out to my home girl Jenessa.  She is the best nook mate I could ask for.  She was just recently called to the Jacksonville, Florida mission.  We have spent many hours talking about this decision and I am so proud of her decision.  She is going to be an AMAZING missionary.

Right after she found out her call was at the J.C.

Teaching English

Something I love about the Jerusalem Center is there are countless opportunities to serve. One service opportunity I was able to participate in was teaching English at a nearby school.  I taught four year olds how to say school supplies such as bag, eraser, pencil, and lunchbox.  I also reviewed the letter F with them by teaching a frog song, and playing “duck, duck, frog.” I had so much fun. It was actually a lot harder than I had originally anticipated though. You get there being so excited to teach. However, when you start trying to explain what you are going to do, you realize they can’t understand anything that you are saying. Failure. The kids there speak Arabic so there is that language barrier… if only I would have learned more in my Arabic class. However the teacher was a wonderful translator. 

The children were all SO DARLING!!!

Half Marathon Baby!!!

Here in Jerusalem we have a saying… “YOJO.”  This is an acronym that stands for, “you are only in Jerusalem once.” This is how we students justify everything we do.  Let me give some examples. Perhaps you are debating on whether or not to eat your fifth chocolate pita… “YOJO.” Maybe you are wondering if you should buy that really cute scarf… “YOJO.” Or maybe you are debating on running a half marathon that you have not trained for… “YOJO.”

Well this acronym is how it all started.  I have always wanted to run a half marathon which is why it was on my bucket list.  A lot of my girl friends and I decided it would be really cool to say our first half marathon was in Jerusalem.  This is why we decided to sign up for the Jerusalem half marathon. However pre and post sign up I was REALLY nervous because my legs had been really sore from running only just a couple of miles at a time...  Jerusalem is really hilly.  I also live on a small mountain, the Mt. of Olives. Because of this, it is really hard on your legs.  I was nervous that I was going to run this half marathon and injure myself so that the rest of my trip here would be affected.  However I am not really keen on backing away from a challenge.  I also could not stand to have a lot of my friends run the half and accomplish such a feat without me.  This is why I didn’t switch to the 10 K ( which most students were doing.)

The night before the race everyone who signed up for the half marathon were invited to attend a pasta dinner….carb load! However the entire time I was not really enjoying myself because I was freaked out for what the next day entailed. 

Well the next day rolls around.  The van we hired to take us to the race dropped us off almost two miles away from the race because he couldn’t find any roads that weren’t blocked off.  It is kind of hysterical if you think about it. Here is a car load of kids walking two miles to find the start of a 13.1 mile race.  It was even funnier how a majority of the people working didn’t even know where the start of the race was. But we found it in time.

Right before the race. 

The race began and there were thousands of people there.  I think with all of the races combined(10k,1/2 marathon, and marathon) there was a total of 17,000 people signed up. There was such fun energy.  Before the race I talked to my friend who has run a few marathons and she told me your body gets to a point where it becomes a machine.  Your body is doing the motions while your mind is elsewhere. I kept this in mind as I ran.  I decided to start off slow and gage how I felt as I went. The first mile or two my legs were receptive to the burn.  However shortly after something miraculous happened. The Lord had seriously answered my prayers.  My legs became numb and I couldn’t feel any pain.  I felt so energized and I was smiling and waving my arms in the air as I passed spectators and camera men.  I ran with my darling friends Jenessa and Lindee. When we got to the hills there were usually people dressed up in costumes and music blaring.  They always had water stops and fans to help you along the way.  We ran all over the city.  It started in west Jerusalem and we made our way through the old city and along the roads of Jerusalem.

This man was trying to offer moral support during the race. 

 I felt so great the entire time.  It was the most invigorating feeling ever.  I sincerely felt so happy and at peace with life.  I ran the entire time.  The very end was the hardest when we had a hill.  But for the most part I felt good. And oh man was it wonderful to see that finish line arch.   

I crossed the finish line holding Lindee’s hand with my arm raised. I had accomplished my goal and I felt like I was on top of the world.  I got my medal, and shoved my face with oranges, bananas, and chocolate bread.  Some of our friends also brought gummies and chocolate bars that we ate after as well….I know super nutritional.

It has been about a week since the race and I feel great.  The two days after the race I was sore but not too bad.  So moral of the story is that we can accomplish our goals.  We can do hard things, and the Lord will look out for us. 

Shepherding Is Not In The Cards For Me

Neot Kedumim is a land reserve that captures what the land would have looked like during biblical times. One activity we did there was herding sheep. I never thought the day would come when I would get the opportunity to herd sheep and goats.  I gained so much respect for shepherds that day because it was really hard.

 I was taught that you must love the sheep.  Well I guess the sheep were not feeling the love because they did not acknowledge my presence or attempts to herd them in the slightest. It was kind of hysterical watching other people try, however I am sure it was even funnier watching my group’s attempt. Some groups of students did better than others..based on the pictures I will let you decided which category I fell under.

Despite my failure, someone who will never fail is the Savior. He is my shepherd and he will gather those who are lost. “As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day….I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick.” -Ezekial 34

We made some Hillel, a common spice that we put on our homemade pitas.  We set up camp by building a fire that we used to make ourselves lunch.  With some flour, water, salt, and oil we concocted dough for pitas.  Other students helped make some lentil soup to go with it. It was actually pretty good.  We also had sack lunches just in case, but overall I am impressed with the meal we made.    

Fun fact about the camp site.  They had the most artistic toilet seats I have ever seen.  That is what I call camping with style. 

Meeting a Torah Scribe was another incredible stop on this field trip.  We watched him read a 200 year old Torah scroll. These Torah scrolls usually take 2-2 ½ years to make( one year to write, and another year to double check it.) These scrolls could be sold for $25,000- $35,000.    Something really cool I learned was what they do with sacred text that they mess up on.  They do not believe one should burn these papers so they will literally bury them in a cemetery opposed to throwing them away.  I think that is so astounding. He also showed us some prayer ornaments, telfillin, that they will wear on their head and arm as they pray.  These boxes usually take 5 months to make.

Here is some grade A team work. Olive presses are pretty big in Jerusalem.  

Tel Aviv

So the Jeru Crew got a group together to go to Tel Aviv.  There were about 78 students who went and it was quite the party.  I have serious doubts whether Tel Aviv is really in Israel or not. The entire time I was in Tel Aviv I felt like I was in California somewhere.   I had to keep reminding myself that I was actually in Israel.  When our vans arrived we got out to a beautiful view of the Mediterranean Sea.  Everybody flocked down to the sand to put their feet in the water.  It just reiterated to me how much I LOVE beaches. I can now officially say I have been in the Mediterranean Sea now.

One thing we were excited about was this fabulous flea market we had heard about.  However the first one we went to seemed more like a garage sale then a flea market. This is a picture of some of the merchandise they had. Yes, that really is a Barbie head.  Fortunately for us we found some other markets that had things other than Barbie head necklaces.  We continued to wander around Old Jaffa when we stumbled upon an old church.  That is something I love about Israel.  There are old churches EVERYWHERE!

 Although we were going to Tel Aviv, I didn’t bring my swimsuit top because I didn’t think I would want to swim. I luckily brought my swim bottoms just in case I wanted to put my legs in.  But how can you just sit and look at the sea without getting in?  So I was super impulsive and I swam in my tank top and swim bottoms. I am so glad I did.  It was so much fun!

Does everyone remember that book, If You Give a Pig a Pancake? Well essentially the book talks about if you give a pig a pancake, he is going to need other things to go with it. Like syrup for example.  Well that is how I felt with riding bikes in Tel Aviv.  If you go to a Beach with a boardwalk, you are going to need to go on a bike ride.  So that is just what I did.

 They had self check out machines for the bikes.  This was an adventure in itself.  My friends and I could not figure out how to check them out. After going to two different bike stops, giving 15 minutes of sheer determination, we figured it out and were off!! It was so great. I felt so much bliss just crusin around the city with my girls.

 Purim is a Jewish holiday.  They read the story of Ester and people dress up.  So essentially it is kind of like Halloween for Americans. People in Tel Aviv were celebrating this holiday while we were there.  IT was fun seeing lots of people dressed up in fun outfits.

 To top off the night we found a stellar restaurant.  We were looking around for a good place to eat when we stumbled upon this place. I can’t even tell you what it was called because the name was in Hebrew…I think.

  They brought us out dozens of little dishes of toppings we could put on yummy pita bread.  That served as the appetizer because after we had chicken shish kabobs.  It was all so good. After dinner we decided we would end the night with a bang by getting gelato. I would definitely say the day in Tel Aviv was a success. 

Fun pictures that I like: