Final Stop in Friesland

Went for a ride on the ol' bicycle through the countryside one day.

Hey guys, Nathan here, I hope you are all still thinking that we have a travel blog here and not an Israeli/Jewish Historical Education blog after Kevin's last few posts! Haha, Im joking of course, but only a little bit! Anyways, down to business.

While Kevin was sweating and huffing under the hot Israeli sun, Theo and I were a few thousand kilometres away sipping drinks in the warm and green flatlands of Friesland. We left Israel bright and early Saturday (May 28th) and flew back into Schipol Airport in Amsterdam. There we were picked up by two of Theo's cousins, whom he had only had slight memories of, and we headed north to 'the fatherland'.

Tea in the morning...

... Heineken after.

To go into detail about every activity we did every day there would be too painful for both me as well as you. Plus it's also kind of a mashed blur for both my dad and I. But I will share some of the highlights from our 8 days there with family. First of all we were able to visit more family than I thought we would be to. Cousins, Aunts, Uncles, Pacas, and Beppes were coming at us fast and furious (so to speak), I had a pretty solid idea of who was who and who came from where. Theo on the other hand, seemed to be having a bit more trouble than me, but by the end I'm proud to say he was able to recall the town we stayed in as well as the cousin's that we stayed at!

Windmills and...

... castle gates.

We saw farms, windmills, dikes, and canals with our local guide(s) and I think it's safe to say we both enjoyed our time there immensely. I could tell right away that my dad was in love with the farmland there, it seemed like no more than 30 seconds went by before he'd say something along of the lines of "boy, there sure is some nice farmland here" or "beautiful country, yap thats for sure".

A good portion of the cousins that we met one night.

The whole experience was very relaxing and enjoyable for the both of us, so if there is any family back in Friesland reading this I'd like to thank-you once again for your hospitality, you made us feel like family! Haha. Well, thats all I have to say, I will try let the pictures speak for themselves and hopefully they'll tell some stories of there own. All for now, thanks for reading.

Lates, N8

Of course I couldn't resist posting this, first time Theo has been on a bike in over 20 years! Or so he says...

Extreme Makeover: Rome Edition

After shoot of the square our team excavated with the square supervisor Dr. Peterson doing paperwork. 

Wow, what a week! It is amazing that waking up at 4 in the morning to throw rocks in the Israeli sun could be so rewarding. Archaeology definitely falls under the "delayed gratification" category. After seeing Theo and Nathan off to Holland I went to a guest house outside of Jerusalem and met up with a volunteer team from Associates for Biblical Research (ABR). I had no idea what to expect of these experience other then it was one I could not pass up. My roommate from Prairie–Jeremiah who had arrived a week earlier–gave me a heads up on what to expect. On an archaeological dig the second word is by far the most dominant one. I cannot believe how much dirt we moved in such a short time.

Our team, Dr. Peterson, Myself, Jeremiah Zuo and Abigail Leavitt.

Our schedule was pretty intense; 4:00 am wake-up call, 4:30 breakfast, 5:00 load the bus, 6:00 arrive at the site, 10:30 lunch, 2:00 load the bus again, 2:30 ice cream stop, 3:00 pottery washing, 4:00 pottery reading, 6:00 dinner, 7:00 lecture, 8:00 bedtime. If is wasn't for the daily showers and nice beds it would be harder then tree planting.

The 2011 "Search for Ai" Group with Leaders Gary Byers and Scott Stripling. 

After the first day of no exciting discoveries I was thinking "if I wanted to pick rocks I could have just stayed on the farm". But early the second morning we discover the interior of a Roman wall and I never looked back. It was so incredible to see this entire house taking shape before my eyes with every load of dirt moved. By the end of the third day we had a full room exposed with a doorway and threshold. the forth and fifth day reviled an interior dividing wall with two windows in them (similar to the building style in Capernaum). Although we were looking for evidence of Joshua's late bronze age Ai and not a 1st century residents, it was exciting for me to unveil a little part of history. As a team we also found coins, tools, stoneware, glassware, sling stones, and an abundance of pottery ranging from 1200 B.C. to 500 A.D.

Many coins were found this dig season, these were some from Herod Agrippa. 

I would recommend this experience to anyone with an interest in the field of archaeology regardless of experience or education. You can find more information here.

Next up the Netherlands to see some old friends Jonny and Karine, and some newer friends Peter and Sarah. Also to meet up with Nathan and Theo to fly home.

--Kevin

5 Days in J-Town!

Kevin on the Mount of Olives.

Think for a moment about cities in the world, especially the long successful cities and you begin to find obvious trends. It is most likely they are built on a water source, have a natural defence, and are on a strategic trade route. If you can think of a major city that does not have one of these three please leave a comment below. I will give you one right now, Jerusalem. Surprisingly this legendary city does qualify in any of these. The questions then arises: how can a city with nothing going for it can survive so long and be so popular? This it what our guide has been trying to answer for us the last five days.

Dome of the Rock.

After visiting the Temple Mount, Holocaust Museum, Upper Room, Mt. Zion, Israel Museum, Hezekiah's Tunnel, City of David, Mt. of Olives, Garden of Gethsemane, Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Via Dolorsa, House of Caiaphas, Rabbinical Tunnels, Pool of Siloam, Gehenna Valley, Garden Tomb, Bethlehem, Dome of the Rock, Golden Gate, Wailing Wall and Golgotha I have a small clue of the significance of this city.

Wailing Wall. (That's our group pastor, Jimmy, in the middle)

Jerusalem is the holiest Jewish city, holiest Christian city and third holiest city to the Muslims. That should explain it all. This is a bottle neck of heightened tension, everybody has their own agenda not only religiously but politically. This makes it a fascinating city to visit and one I would recommend to anyone. But be warned the tourist trail here is well worn in with likeminded travellers. Highlights of the city for me were the Temple Mount and the City of David. Herod was an amazing builder, but as our guide said today, "he is the man we love to hate." And seeing the location of the City of David and how the water source was manipulated into the city walls gave great visualization to Old Testament accounts.

A couple photos from churches in Jerusalem, to many churches if you ask us! 

Although this is the end of the guided tour of the Middle East the adventure does not end here. In fact the next two weeks will bring about their own stories as Nathan and Theo head to Holland to visit relatives and I stay behind in Israel to meet a Professor and dig for the Biblical city of Ai (Joshua 7 if you would like to read the story.)

Stay tuned.

--Kevin