Bet Guvrin and the Bell Caves

Next, we drove to Bet Guvrin, named on 1949 when Israel took it over.  Originally named Maresha, it was one of the cities of Judah during the time of the First Temple and is mentioned among the conquests of the ancient Israelites in the Book of Joshua and later in the Books of Chronicles as one of King Rehoboam's fortifications. According to the Madaba Map, Maresha was the place "whence came Micah the Prophet."^[4] In the 6th century BCE, as result of Zedekiah's rebellion  against the Babylonian kingdom and its king Nebuchadnezzar II, the latter occupied the Judean kingdom and sent many of its inhabitants into exile. This marked the end of Maresha as a Judahite city. (Wikipedia)

This is a National Park site,  and as we walked up the hill to see the caves, there were sheep being led by a modern shepherd.

The first thing we came to was a large area of "extra" antiquities--old olive presses and stands that were so numerous they were just laid out on the ground

We walked in the "dove cote" caves, where hundreds of niches had been hewn for the doves to lodge in, as keeping of doves was a lucrative business back in the day...

 Doves flew in while we were there, but given my dislike of birds (after having seen the Alfred Hitchcock movie at an impressionable age) I got out of there just as soon as I had the picture!

Other caves had basement cisterns that connected with the next-door neighbor's dwelling, and went on for more caves than we could go through (or that I wanted to go through--it was a bit claustrophobic)

Olive presses were also in the caves to keep the oil cool--another big business

 These were burial places within the caves

Sidonian burial sites underground--painted Fresco style-

The Greeks, Sidonians and Edumite people used them

David and Goliath

We went to the Valley of Elah, where the ruins of Azekah, a Philestine stronghold, have been found.  The valley is the one where David fought Goliath, saying, "This day will the Lord deliver thee into my hand; and I will smite thee...that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. 1Samuel 17
We were standing on the Philistine side looking down into the valley, where there is a stream and smooth rocks.

 Looking over the Valley of Elah

 The Philistine ruins

Bet Shemesh and the Stalactite Caves

(From Wikipedia) The ancient city of Beit Shemesh ("house of the sun" or "temple of the sun" in Hebrew) was originally named after the Canaanite sun-goddess Shemesh, who was worshiped there.  The ruins of the ancient biblical city are located at a site called Tel Beit Shemesh, a tell located near the modern city.

Beit Shemesh is first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible in the Book of Joshua,^] as a city in the territory of the tribe of Judah on the border between their territory and that of the tribe of Dan. In Joshua 21:16, this city was set aside as one of the 13 Kohanic cities for the priests of the tribe of Levi, the Kohanim.

The city located in the territorial bounds of the tribe of Judah is mentioned in the 6th chapter of 1 Samuel as being the first city encountered by the Ark of the Covenant on its way back from Philistia after having been captured by the Philistines in battle. The stone on which the Ark was placed is recorded as still being located there at the time of writing the Books of Samuel. In the King James Version this stone is described as "the great stone of Abel".

In 2 Kings 14, Beit Shemesh is again mentioned as being the site of the battle between Amaziah king of Judea and Jehoash king of Israel.

After the destruction of much of Judah by Sennacherib in 701 BCE, the city was abandoned for a while, but there seems to have been an attempt by a group of Judahites at resettling Beth Shemesh, judging by the refurbishing of the water reservoir in the 7th century BCE.^[8]However, after the Babylonian conquest of Judah in the early 580s, either the new Babylonian rulers, or the nearby Philistine metropolis of Ekron favoured by them, apparently put an end to the initiative by sealing and covering over the vital water reservoir,^[8] which was not uncovered until 2004. During the first Jewish return, at the beginning of the Second Temple period, there was no lasting revival of the city, as opposed to many other places in the vicinity such as Beit Guvrin.
                                                      Stalactite Caves

After seeing these ruins, we went to the Stalactite Caves outside of Bet Shemesh.  There are caves all over the mountains (see below) but this cave was not discovered until blasting was done to get the limestone in the mountain. 

A Sabbath Walk

We had a full capacity Sacrament Meeting today with over 370 people in attendance. I led the music because the students are in Galilee this week.  After church our branch had a  potluck lunch, which was fun because we got to talk with some of the branch members we didn't know well.  In the afternoon we walked around the Jerusalem Center--there is a National Park with gorgeous views very close by.

Jaffa Gate

 Walking from Church of the Holy Sepulchre to Jaffa Gate we see many vendors.

Jaffa Gate, where we were told that long ago when enemies came oil would be poured on them from up above.

Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu

This church commemorates Peter's triple denial of Christ and has the rooster atop a black cross on the roof. It is thought to be built on or near Caiaphas's house.  The church is built on a hillside and has four different levels.  We went to the dungeon where it is said that Christ was let down through a hole in the rock (with rope) to the PIT, or dungeon to await trial.

  While in the PIT or dungeon, we thought about Joseph of Egypt being in the pit as a symbol of Christ being in a pit.  Also Joseph Smith was in Liberty Jail, which was similar to a dungeon.  In D&C 122:7-9 we read "if thou shalt be cast into the pit or into the hands of murderers...The Son of Man hath descended below them all.  I don't know if Christ was put into a dungeon, but I did feel the Holy Ghost witness that Christ did understand what Joseph Smith had experienced.

Hole in the upper rock where prisoners were let down with ropes into the dungeon.

Excavatons at St. Peter in Gallicantu have revealed a water cistern, corn mill, storage chanbers and servants' quarters.  Artifacts include a complete set of weights and measures for liquids and solids as used by the priests in the Temple, and a door lintel with the word "Korban" (sacrificial offering) inscribed there.

These steps were discovered by excavations and are the stepped street which in Christ's time descended from Mount Zion to the Kidron Valley.  These stone steps were certainly in use at the time of Christ.  On the evening of his arrest, he probably descended them with his disciples on their way from the Last Supper to Gethsemane.  And, even if the House of Caiaphas was situated further up Mount Zion than the present church, it would have been by this route that Jesus was brought under guard to the high priest's house. 

 Stones and mosaic floor probably from 5th century Byzantine

 Lovely grounds around the church

Byzantine ruins just beyond the current church

The Last Supper in the Cenacle

 The Cenacle was the first Christian church built by the Crusaders in about 1200  and it is traditionally held that it is the site of the Last Supper.  On the floor below is the Tomb of King David.

Church of the Holy Sepulchre

Today, March 18th,  we visited the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.  According to traditions dating back to 4th Century, this is where Christ was crucified at Golgotha and where he was buried and resurrected.  There is a rock slab that is said to be where Christ was readied for burial after He was crucified.

 Where Christ is said to be crucified

 The rock slab where Christ was prepared for burial

The enclosed building behind me is purported to be the burial site of Christ.  Many pilgrims come here to worship.

New Idea for Purchasing Power

Most of the stores give the receipt in Hebrew, so it's really hard to know how much you paid for which item--especially, because many stores also don't have the price tag on the item or even on the shelf. Yesterday, the store did have price tags (little stickers with the price printed on it and stuck to the item) so when we got home, we looked at the price and tried to match it to the sticker and then we wrote what the item was.  We paid $6/pound for the chicken, $4 for a half size bag of marshmallows, $34/pound for cheddar cheese (we won't do that again) and about $24 for 3/4 pound pastrami.  In our defense, the cheese didn't have a price on it and Lee wanted the pastrami desperately, so we bought it!

Last week we saw a sign with a 6 shekel mark on it so we thought it was 6 shekels for the container.  It turned out it was 6 shekels for 1/2 kilo, and it weighed over a kilo, so we paid 14 shekels for it.  Today, we saw the same thing in Old Jerusalem and it was 10 shekels for the whole container--a bargain!!  Strawberries are in high season right now and we are taking advantage of it.

Dreaming of BREAD!!

Glorious Ka"ak (pronounced Kike), bread rings with sesame seeds.  They are soft and slightly sweet and very delicious.  We bought one today from a vendor.  You see bread vendors everywhere.  This ring was 3 shekels, or about one dollar.

One month in Jerusalem

 St. John the Baptist church in Ein Kerem.  Walk down the stairs into a nave which is a rock cave, where John the Baptist was hidden when Herod had all the babies killed in surrounding areas.

Stained glass windows by Chagall in the Hadassah Medical Center

Mamilla Mall in downtown Jerusalem--many American brands are sold here.  The Jerusalem Center has Byzantine period mosaics that were found when Mamilla Mall was built.

Damascus Gate in Old City Jerusalem

Sunday, March 9^th, we went to the Bethlehem branch and were the speakers.  There was one Palestinian member there (six were not there), the Branch president, Bro. Spendlove and his wife, their daughter and grandson who were visiting and Sarah, a member who goes to Bethlehem to do Primary (but no children were here this day).  Our talks went well—I spoke about prayer and needing to not just ask, but seek and knock (meaning do something, work toward what we are asking for).  Lee spoke about how God gives us growth opportunities that are often painful because God is more interested in our growth than our comfort.  The Sacrament was the best part and the scripture “where two or more are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of them” came to mind.  It was a simple structure church, a small gathering, but the Spirit was abundant.

The Rome Temple open house has received a lot of discussion here as all Twelve apostles and First Presidency are there for the dedication.  Pres. Nelson met with the Pope, which I think is a first.  One of the service couples, Dennis and Linda Brimhall flew to Rome for the dedication.

Monday, after several meetings, Lee and I walked to the Old City and walked around.  We walked for about 4 hours, from Old City to downtown Jerusalem near City Hall.  We bought strawberries and pickled beets from a vendor.  Lee bought a falafel for 10 shekels (about $3.25) at the place John had taken us to when we were here in 2017. Later that night Lee helped the Hebrew University students get set up for their practice concert.

Our outing this week was to Ein Kerem, about a 30 minute drive from Jerusalem and the town where John the Baptist is purported to have been born. We visited two churches which were built to commemorate John the Baptist’s birth and one was built on the hill where there was a cave, which is said to be the one where Elizabeth hid   the Baptist during the slaughter of the innocents by King Herod.  This story is told in the Apocrypha.  It was the loveliest Spring day we’ve had so far and  walking the grounds of the churches was really nice. After a picnic lunch we went to Hadassah Medical Center and saw the famous stained glass windows by Chagall which are in the Hadassah Medical Center synagogue.  

After the Ein Kerem trip, that night was the Hebrew University concert.  We were not in charge of it, as they were just using the building, but we ended up ushering and helping the guests and performers get situated because there was no one else to do it.  There had been a shooting at Lion’s Gate in the Old City earlier that day, so the security guys were really vigilant and helpful.  Imagine our horror when all the lights in the auditorium went out just after the concert ended.  Three security men raced in there (I’m sure worried that there would be a shooting) and eventually it was discovered that someone had unplugged the main connector—why they had all the light connected to one connector I will never know, but at least they got the lights on within about 4 minutes of them going off.

The rest of the week was somewhat slow as we continued to have to get our phones fixed, dealt with the very cumbersome banking systems here (Lee is the District Clerk and has been trying to get the finances straightened out), and didn’t have a lot to do for the concert programs, as there is a 2 week break between seasons.  But Lee did figure out why my Facetime wasn’t working and got that fixed, and we had the Earnshaw's over for a game night.  And I figured out how to start a BLOG!!

The students are wonderful and extremely busy with their studies and field trips.  This week they went to the Old City Jewish Quarter and to Bethlehem and had midterms!  I honestly don't know how they keep up with everything.  We have a Come Follow Me student group to our home each Saturday (Sabbath) and I think they really like being in a home and getting homemade American treats!

Third Week in Jerusalem

 Tel Aviv from Tel Gezer

 Oldest Canaanite calendar

 Lee at Caananite city

 Crusader Castle remains

"Stonehenge" from Canaanite era

Last Monday we went with other service couples to hike Tel Gezer, which is a National Park but very out of the way.  We had an Indiana Jones type ride in our van going over deep water filled gullies and over boulders, but we finally made it.  It is an area where the earliest Canaanite calendar was found, and later a city was built during Solomon’s reign.  And finally, it was the castle/outpost of a Crusader’s army.  It was really fun to be there in the wilderness.  You could see Tel Aviv and the Mediterranean Sea from the top point.  There was also a “Stonehenge” area with standing rock pillars from the Canaanite era.

We’ve now been here 3 weeks and are starting to get in a rhythm of our duties.

Saturday—choir practice and church; after church we invite a student “Come Follow Me” group to our apartment for their student led discussion and our providing treats.  I made brownies.

Sunday: Carillon Bells at the YMCA in West Jerusalem with students, Concert Series from 5-10 PM (we do the setup, greet musicians, ticket orders, manage the crowd and then clean up after the concert

Monday:  Our day off—for the first time we have time to go into Old Jerusalem tomorrow.  Last week we went with the other couples and explored Tel Gezar, which has ruins from the Canaanite period, the Solomon period and the Crusader period.  It is spring here and the wild flowers (the lilies of the field) are in bloom.  From Tel Gezar you can see Tel Aviv, the Mediterranean Sea and other valleys. 

Tuesday:  We start office work on getting the Concert programs started, answer email which are usually requests for tickets

Wednesday-Friday:  We keep doing office work and also do tours and Lee plays the organ for the tours during this time.  We have our own Music office with 3 computers.

And that’s our week.  In between we get to interact with the students, can go to their classes (haven’t done that yet) and to the Monday field trips—our first one will be in a few weeks tracing Christ’s steps on the last week of his life.

Some “it’s a small world” items:  There are 2 students here that know my sister Mary Kay and her husband Alan. One was in the mission where they were Mission President/wife in Chesapeake VA and the other one had lived in their Loveland, CO home as a missionary there.  THEN the most astounding thing—we met a young man who is from Sammamish (the Issaquah part) and knew my mother because she had been the ward music director for several years when he was growing up in the same ward she was in. My parents were loved everywhere they went because they were so inclusive and loving.  Today, March 10^th is my dad’s 93^rd birthday, had he still been living. 

AND the doctor who is here is named Mark Earnshaw.  The name is very familiar to me, as we had an Earnshaw family in Huntsville when I was growing up.  But he and his wife kept talking about living in Maine and New Hampshire, so I thought it couldn’t possibly be any one related to the Earnshaw's in Huntsville.  On this outing he asked where I grew up and I said “Huntsville, AL” and he said he did too!  It was the exact Earnshaw family and he is the Mark Earnshaw I remember.  He was younger than me and in the other ward and I didn’t known him well, but it was fun to make that connection. He remembered a lot of the same families that I do.