Taking in the Scenery...

I have this constant mindset when traveling around Jerusalem that I'm always into finding a good view. I'm not sure if it's just because I'm not used to living in a city, but there's something incredibly beautiful about seeing Jerusalem sprawled out in front of you. It's not unusual if I'm out somewhere to walk well out of my way just because I think there may be a great view from a certain spot. And once I find a spot I like.... there's nothing quite like lingering and taking in the scenic view. I am studying abroad in a once in a lifetime city after all.

Anyways, the pictures add up and I don't necessarily want to flood Facebook or Instagram with a bunch of random landscape pictures. So here are some of the best I've collected in my wanderings along the way:

A view of the old temple wall and the Dome of the Rock from a vantage point off the highway on Mount Scopus.

Just off to the side of a building in Jerusalem giving a nice view of the center of the city on the hill on the right and the surrounding area.

A different angle of the religious epicenter of Bethlehem. I loved the way the clouds were descending in relation to the minaret.

The not so unusual phenomenon of me trailblazing along the way to some new vantage point. Here I had just climbed over the guard rails along the edge of a street near my apartment complex to check out the view over Jerusalem.

The view of Tel Aviv in the distance from a roof I was standing on in Jaffa.

Another roof top, another view.

Jerusalem at night from behind the Israel Museum.

I wanted to attach this photo because it's scenic in its own way. Cause, you know, um, the ocean...

An awesome view from a rooftop cafe I recently found in the Old City.

Another view from the cafe.

If you look from one side of our campus you can see the Jordanian desert sprawling in the distance.

And my academic building offers this lovely view every time I walk past.

Looking out over Jerusalem from my apartment building. There's no place like home.

Class Outing to Jaffa

Last Thursday my Arabic Immersion classmates and I boarded a bus bright and early and headed toward the beautiful coastal town of Jaffa. There we spent the day exploring around and experiencing all the culture the city had to offer us.

The Jaffa-Tel Aviv coast.

My Arabic class wandering around outside St. Peter's Church.

St. Peter's Church is the supposed location of where Jesus' disciple Peter raised Tabitha from the dead (Acts 9:36-42). Jaffa holds significant for a variety of very interesting theological stories. The port of Jaffa recieved the building materials of Solomon's temple as well as the Second Temple in Jerusalem. The city is mentioned a total of 4 times in the Hebrew Bible. Additionally the port of Jaffa is where Jonah departed from before being swallowed by a whale.

A picture of the front of the church (borrowed from Wikipedia).

Inside St. Peter's.

The view of the Mediterranean from a window inside the church.

Another interesting religious tie to Jaffa exists in Greek mythology. Andromeda was a daughter of a king in the Jaffa area who bragged she was more beautiful than Poseidon's sea nymphs and Poseidon sent a sea monster to destroy her fathers land in response. Apparently the only option to appease the monster was to strip Andromeda and chain her naked to a rock in the sea. The rock she was supposedly tied to is the rock in the above picture with a white flag on it. 

A run down soap factory we walked past from the Ottoman period.

If you look closer at the above photo you'll realize what just looks like shadowing in the arch is actually hundreds of bats just hanging out.

My class failing to pose for a picture inside one of the mosques in Jaffa. I'm the one in the head scarf looking away from the camera.

We also got the chance to meet up with an interfaith organization in Jaffa working to uplift women in the Jaffa community through a variety of different initiatives. The woman who spoke to us had incredible stories of struggles some of the local women go through and it was exciting to see what sort of grass root opportunities are rising up to help combat them.

My classmates and I at the organization in Jaffa.

Afterword we got a little free time to enjoy the coast and everything else Jaffa had to offer before ending our not-so-little field trip and heading back to Jerusalem.

Up close and personal with the Mediterranean sea.