Trip to Ramla

One of the beautiful things about Israel is the coexistence of modernity and the ancient world. For instance, Ramla is a town which was founded sometime in the 8th century. The ruins of a mosque from that same century are still lying around with modern buildings just beyond them.

A couple hundred years after this mosque was built a large tower was constructed next to it. While the mosque was destroyed in an earthquake hundreds of years ago, the tower still stands and you can climb the circling staircase all the way to the top (which is the point from which the above picture was taken).

Ramla also offers an underground boating experience which was delightful and unexpected. There is an aquaduct that runs from the mountains (maybe around Jerusalem area) to Ramla. In the first picture above you can see stone square holes in the ground, these are shafts to this aquaduct. The aquaduct continues to the "Pool of Arches".

Shortly after arriving, my friend Miranda and I were the only ones left (Miranda also writes a blog, if you want to check it out you can at A Year in Israel). We canoed around and around the arches. At one point I tried to spin us in place between them. It worked for a couple of circles before I started hitting the pillars. This quickly became one of my favorite places in Israel.

It happened to be Sunday when we visited Ramla so we stopped in at a Franciscan church service which was being held in Arabic!

We finished the day by visiting the local outdoor market, my favorite way to shop for groceries. 

I'm going to feel like a tourism advertisement as I conclude this post because I'm still blown away by the fact that I was able to have such a wonderful day trip for under $10!

Soulful Sunrises

I spend most of my time right now either reading or sitting in class. The classes are great and I find the readings very interesting. Staring at a screen or the insides of buildings for hours on end, however, can be a bit draining to the soul.

That is why I am so incredibly grateful that my bedroom window opens to the east. I watch the sunrise most mornings. Sometimes it's just the sun rising but quite often it is something rather spectacular and soul-refreshing.

Some days I even have time to go and bike along the beach, thus balancing the warm beauty of sunrises with the cold beauty of the Sea.

I guess there are uglier places to be studying.

Bean Bag Blessings

This year is a red-letter year for reading. I had read about 36 new books before I started school. I haven't read a single book in the past month but that doesn't mean I haven't been reading. Every week I read hundreds of pages worth of articles on various topics related to my courses.

I am taking 8 courses. These include international law, negotiations, history of the Middle East, research methods, an interdisciplinary seminar, and classes on various approaches to conflict: socio-physchological approaches, cultural approaches, and political approaches. Needless to say, I am reading on an almost non-stop basis right now.

So, how does one break up the oft experienced monotony of non-stop reading? After all, to quote Pride and Prejudice, one needs something refreshing "after sitting so long in one attitude".

The library here has provided at least some degree of solace in this regard. They have a bean bag room! You can sleep there if you like (well, as he likes). But you can also change your "attitude" by reading in a colorful bean bag!

There are so many bean bags to choose from, there are even more than are pictured here!

What an ingenious idea for a university library! It makes me want to go do some more reading!

Jocular Sculptures

On Mount Bental there is a UN outpost. From this outpost you can see into Syria and you can see the valley of tears. The valley is so named because of the number of lives lost there during wars with Syria. Also on this mountain top there is a garden of sculptures. These sculptures are made from reclaimed iron.

In contrast to the heaviness of a UN outpost and the valley of tears, these sculptures are quirky and quite jovial!

I guess it is good to remember that even in the midst of difficulties and tragedies there can be joy just around the corner.

22 Years

22 years ago the Prime Minister of Israel, Yitzhak Rabin, was assassinated at a rally supporting the Oslo Accords. My parents and some of my siblings had been in Israel either that summer, or the preceding one. I was in Israel for the 10-year anniversary of this event. This year I joined tens of thousands of other people in Tel Aviv commemorating it. The rally was held in the exact location of his assassination.

There were many political speeches voicing different ideas but generally communicating a desire for peace. Interspersed amongst the speeches were songs! A beautiful range of musical styles which captured me. It was hard for me to leave because I kept wanting to hear what the next song would be.

And of course there were balloons. It's nice to know that politics, music, and balloons can all still get along.