Sintra (by Luke)

    People say that Sintra, Portugal is a must see when visiting Lisbon, so we decided to go. The first thing that we did was go to the tourist booth and get tickets for two places, Castle of the Moors and Pena Palace. We hiked up to the Moorish Castle because we hike to everything, plus we had already parked. The walk was uphill which was a good workout. We all agreed that no sane army in their time period would ever attack them because the trek up was hard. This explained why they were never attacked. This has been a recurring theme of what ancient people wanted as their land. This is because there were no air raids during those times, so they could see the enemy attacking from the land.

    The Castle was really cool. At one point we saw a storm cloud coming and one second we could see 500 feet and then the next we could only see 5! We saw Lisbon and Monte Estoril where we stayed for our time in Portugal. We then climbed up to one point where we saw a glimpse of Palace of Pena where the Royal family used to live. We then climbed down and took a peak at their cistern. I wish we could have seen moor but we had to see the Palace of Pena.* We ate lunch and then hiked up to the Palace.

    The first thing we saw was a Buttress which Maggie and Mommy especially liked. The colors there were amazing. There were a ton of blues and oranges that mixed very well. We then went inside the Royal Palace. We saw the King's bedroom, the Queen's bedroom, the lounge room which they used to talk privately with royalty only, and an enormous ballroom. I noticed that their floors were very squeaky. This is because in case of somebody trying to come in and rob them the guards would know where the person is and then kill them. I also noticed that a lot of Royal families own very fancy china. 

    We then almost got lost coming down the hill. I really liked how the Moorish Castle was not like any of the other castles that we saw in Japan, Jordan, and other places. This one had a more European feel to it even though it was built by Northern Africans. I also liked the Pena Palace because it was more like the Hagia Sofia because it looked like a Mosque but had a ton of golden colors like the Hagia Sofia. It was really fun in Sintra except for the part about a few bug bites.

* Did you catch the pun in that sentence?

Hiking in Cappadocia (Luke)

    Cappadocia is in Turkey and is known for it's Fairy Chimneys. Fairy Chimneys are small rock mountains that you might see in a book of beautiful places.

We only stayed in Cappadocia for two days but we definitely could have gone for more. I really liked how Cappadocia is so empty. It felt like we got it all to ourselves. Our first day we went hiking after waking up in a cave.

One of the coolest things about the Fairy Chimneys is that there are sometimes stairs that lead up to places inside of them!
We spent our first hour hiking, climbing through little holes into the caves, and sliding on some ice. One time we couldn't find a way down but I found a ramp-like slide to go down on. It was so fun that Jacob, Maggie, and I found a different route up and slid down over and over again. We visited a church where my dad saw a little window where I got to climb through. It was like an attic. We then stopped for some lunch in a cave with mini seats.

    We then kept on hiking. At one point we got to a VERY steep hill which Jacob, Maggie, and I slid down and Mommy and Daddy walked very slowly down. We kept on walking admiring this gorgeous view. We the came across a 50 ft path of ice. We probably spent 30 minutes on the ice alone just running on it and slipping. We then came across a cemetery where we saw a grave that said the person lived in the 1300's and lived 663 years. We obviously misunderstood but thought it was very funny. We then came across the Cavusin which was like a church that Maggie and I tried to find a way up but didn't succeed.




    We were lost so we had to walk on the road to go back home. A half hour after sunset we were home and pretty tired. We had dinner at a place where Maggie and Jacob ate their food in a pot that the waiter cut open with a sword. It was a really fun day, one of my favorites on this trip. When I grow up I wouldn't mind living in Cappadocia because most of all the wifi passwords are all 1020304050 and because it is just so beautiful. If you ever do go to Turkey which you should, I recommend at least 4 days at minimum in Goreme, Cappadocia.

Cappadocia (by Maggie)

Cappadocia is a region in central Turkey with lots of sand-rock mountains.  It is a fabulous place to hike, run, and get lost.  It is known for their caves and "fairy chimneys" that are actually rocky mountains. They are called fairy chimneys because they look like what you would build if you built a chimney to fairy house.  On our first day in Cappadocia, we hiked in and out of the fairy chimneys and caves.

Sometimes there were even paths to get into the caves.  As we kept going on our hike the views kept getting better and better and finally we saw Goreme, which was the town we were staying in.  On the hike there were many hills full of dirt that my brothers and I used as slides, while my mom and dad held onto the rope getting down. Cappadocia gets so cold at night that we even found some ice on the trail that we pretended we were ice skating with no skates!  We had a fabulous time on our hike!

The next afternoon we rode ATVs which was fabulous.  We went up and down hills and almost in caves.  I was on the back of the ATV with my mom driving.  I thought my mom was going to go really slow, but it turns out she went pretty fast, although she was still in the back!

One time when we were riding on a bunch of small hills, my mom lost control of the ATV for one second and we went "OOPS" down a big hill.  I was a little scared for one quick second but then I was fine.  As we continued to go up and down hills, we finally were at the sunset point where we saw the sun fade behind beautiful mountains.

When the sunset almost faded my brothers and I got to each ride an ATV for a little while with the guide.  

Finally, it was time to drop off our ATVs.  We said that if we stayed there any longer, we would ride ATVs every day but the next day it was time to go.  We wished that we stayed in Cappadocia longer!

Blue Mosque / Cistern (By: Jacob)

When we were in Turkey, we went to two very important places in history: the Blue Mosque and the Basilica Cistern.
The first place we went to was the Cistern. The Cistern was an ancient underground water storage spot, built by one of the Byzantine emperors Justinian. In the Cistern there are pathways so people don't have to walk in the water. Inside the Cistern there are 336 marble columns to hold up the roof. I thought it was amazing how they got the measurements so even on everything, even without the modern compasses and technology. One of the best, and one of my favorite parts, was trying to find the two Medusa heads hiding on 2 of the 336 marble columns. It was kind of disappointing though, because all the tourist were taking pictures of it so it was a little too easy.

We got hot chocolate in the cafe inside the Cistern. Then we walked up out of the underground and walked over to the Blue Mosque.

 The Blue Mosque  is a historical and popular tourist attraction in Istanbul. The real name is the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, but people call it the Blue Mosque because of it's blue tiles on the dome part of the roof. The mosque was built from 1609- 1616 by the architect named Sedefkar Mehmed Aga. There is a huge courtyard connected to the mosque and we learned all about the lineage from Abraham to Isaac to Jacob to Joseph and his 12 brothers.  The Muslims believe that they were all Muslim and we learned the Muslim names for each of them. Inside the Blue Mosque was my favorite part because of the architecture. There was a separate space for tourists and men. In the very back there was a tiny area for women. I didn't like how they did that because I think it is a little sexist because the women have to be cramped and men get all the room.

Hebron (By: Jacob)

When we were in Israel, we went on a tour of Hebron, in the West Bank. The West Bank is an area owned by the Palestinian Authority. There is a lot of ongoing conflict between the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli government, about the land they get to own. One of the places  where they are fighting over is Hebron. The reason why we went on the tour was to better understand the conflict from both sides of the story. Even though it was an Israeli company tour, the guy leading us couldn't stress enough about listening to both sides of the story. 

The first half of the day was spent hearing the "Palestinian Narrative." The Palestinian people think it should be their land and there shouldn't be Jews living in Hebron. 

The Palestinians don't like how how 97% of the land is theirs, but there are still Israeli solders in guard towers, watching them. The Palestinians think they are treated badly by the Jews (who they call settlers) who live in Hebron.  For example, they say that the settlers throw trash on them and in the marketplace. They showed us the trash in nets above the marketplace, but there was one weird thing about it -  the trash looks really old, so I wasn't sure if they constantly throw it, or if it has been there a while and the Palestinians are trying to prove a point.  

Another example is that we met a family who said that some Jews threw snakes into their window. They kept the snakes in bottles to prove it, but it still seemed a little weird.

The second half of the day was spent hearing the "Jewish Narrative." The Jews also believe it should be their land because Abraham was buried there, and it is part of the State of Israel. Also, they believe it was their land, until there was a massive massacre in 1929, and that they should get the land and buildings back that belonged to their recent ancestors.  The Jews think it is not fair how they are only allowed in 3%, but the Palestinian people are allowed almost everywhere. 

 In the past, this has led to some terrorist attacks.  The Jews also think they get treated badly by the Palestinian people who live there. For example, one time a sniper shot a father and his 1 year old daughter, sadly the baby died. Another example, is when we were talking with a Jewish lady, she told us about how her father was murdered when someone jumped through their window and killed him.  Because of the problems on both sides, they have had to separate the Mosque/Tomb of the Patriarchs that is there into a Jewish side and a Palestinian side.  They have also closed down the street where the Jews live to Palestinians so there won't be any more attacks.

Through out both parts of the day, I was thinking about my narrative.  When I look back at it I feel like I was a little biased because I didn't come in to the Palestinian narrative with as open a mind as I should have. For example, the reason why I feel that way is because I was focusing more on what they did wrong. I also feel like both sides of every story have been changed over time to make it sound like the other side is bigger and meaner then it actually is. I believe that before making your choice listen to both sides of the story, even after both sides have been said the truth usually lies somewhere in the middle.

If I could change one thing about the tour itself, I would allow for more time spent asking questions to the Palestinian and the Jews who live there. I wouldn't want to live in Hebron because I wouldn't want to endanger my life and my family's life, but I understand now why the people who live there choose to live there.  I had a great time at Hebron, I highly recommend going to Hebron to learn about the conflict and what it is like to live there.  

This is a picture of me at the Tomb of Jacob!

The Old City (Luke)

    I have always fantasized of visiting the Old City in Jerusalem and seeing the Dome of the Rock and praying at the Kotel (Western Wall). We already knew that Israel had some problems with neighboring countries but I didn't learn that the Muslims and Jews often had conflicts inside the walls. When we arrived through the west gate we could see the Kotel barely but we weren't going to the Western Wall we we were going to the place where the first temple was built. Now in it's place stands the Dome of the Rock. It was so big.

At one point a lot of Muslim ladies started yelling at a Hasidic Jew. They were about 50 women all chanting Allah Akbar which translated in Arabic to "Our g-d is greater!". There is lots of conflict between these two religions mainly because the Al-Aqsa mosque is on the Temple Mount as well. Marty our guide taught us a ton about the two religions and how they have diced up land in the Old City with each religion getting a quarter. We then went in the Muslim Quarter because we are not allowed be on the Temple Mount during Muslim prayer time which happens 5 times every day.

We then walked down the Via Dolorosa or the road of pain. We followed the 14 stations on the same path that Jesus walked on his death day. It was really interesting seeing the place where people 2,000 years ago had not only stood on but done famous things on. Once we were at station 13 we were in the Christian quarter.

     We walked in the Jewish quarter as we made our way to the Kotel. I wrote a note when we got there and placed it in the wall. We then exited the Old City of Jerusalem pleased with the day.

 
 We were not even done that day as we were going to visit the City of David. We watched a movie when we got there about the Jews and how they managed to beat the Assyrians. We then walked down into a cave where a tunnel was. This tunnel had water flowing through it. We took of the bottoms of our pants and shoes and socks and started walking.

At one point I just stopped and thought, we are walking through a underground tunnel that people 3,500 years ago used to defeat their enemies! After 25 minutes of walking with just our flashlights to show us the way we saw light and were at the end of the 533 meter long tunnel. We got our shoes on and then learned we would be walking through a sewer!  It is not what you think it is though. It used to be a sewer that was in use until it blew up and then became a tunnel for tourists. One we got out we were cold and pretty tired. Today we had seen Dome of the Rock, Western Wall, walked through an underground water tunnel, and an out of order sewer. It was probably one of my favorite days so far. It was really fun and exciting to go back 3,000 years in the past to an Old City.

Our Day Being Archaeologists (by Maggie)

We woke up one morning in Israel to the sun shining. We got in the car and headed to an ancient city called Tel Maresha that was around 2,200 years ago. When we arrived, we met our guide named Elena. She told us about the history of this ancient city and what we were going to do that morning.  Archaeologists dig at Tel Maresha because they want to know what their ancestors were like.  Tel Maresha was a Jewish city until the Greeks took over more than 2000 years ago.  When the Greeks took over, the Jews were given three options: 1) switch religions, 2) die, or 3) go somewhere else.  The reason we get to dig at the site is because the Jewish people who decided to leave just took what they could carry, but did not want the Greeks to get their things (pots, vases, urns) in their homes, so they pushed it all in to their basements.

We were going to be archaeologists for the day! First, we went into what was a basement 2,200 years ago.  After Elena showed us how to use the tools, we started digging and digging.

I found my first piece of pottery!! Elena thought that it was a piece of a bowl that hadn't been touched since 200 years BCE. We kept digging and found more pieces of bowls, plates, and even bones and teeth!

The biggest bone that I found came from a camel, Elena said.   We put our "finds" in one bucket and all the dirt in another bucket.

The next step of being an archaeologist is sifting.  You might be wondering what sifting is. Sifting is when we go through the bucket of dirt to make sure we didn't miss any finds.  There are two people who hold two handles of a board with a screen in the middle, and shake, shake, shake the dirt through.  Here are pictures of us sifting:

After these two steps, all the pottery and bones that we found go to a lab where they try to find clues to what people used to be like.  It was an experience that I'll never forget.  So if you go to Israel, you should definitely be an archaeologist for a day!

Petra (By: Luke)

 I couldn't believe it! We were going to see one of the 7 Modern Wonders of the World!  Petra is an ancient city built at earliest 300 B.C.E. It is considered special because of it's big rocks shaped and cut. It is most well known for the Treasury, a huge carving into the rocks. Petra has been an UNESCO Heritage Site since 1985. With that information Iyad (our tour guide) took us into the famous city. We learned that the holes in the rocks that looked like small caves were not houses but burial sites. It was very interesting learning about the history of this place. We walked through the siq (a shaft) which was like a rock hallway with no roof. We kept on walking as Iyad showed us the narrowest part in the siq. Jacob and I spread our arms out and were almost able to touch hands and both walls at the same time. 

   At one point Iyad told us to look at this rock and tell us the colors of red that you see. I thought it was a little weird until we learned that right behind us was the Treasury! I was flabbergasted. I had seen some pictures of the Treasury but in the moment, I was in awe of it. It is 40 feet high by 30 feet long and jaw-dropping.

 

    We walked some more and started our steep descent to the Monastery. After the first 50 out of 837 steps I ran the whole way up. The Monastery also left me speechless. Except for the designs on it, it was exactly like the Treasury but a little bit bigger. We climbed to a place called The View where we got some really good pictures of the Monastery.



While we were walking we met a lady selling a book called Married To A Bedouin. The Bedouins lived here in Petra for 600 years. They lived in caves and didn't use electricity or other modern conveniences. She was from New Zealand but met and married a Bedouin when she came to Petra for a visit 30 years ago. Her husband passed away many years ago but the Bedouins still accept her as part of their community. We took a pit stop at a place Iyad called The Loo with a View. It is called this because the bathroom was built into a cave.

    We then visited a place called the Urn Tomb where we hiked up a lot of stairs. We came to a place up there where we could explore the burial sites. We spent an hour doing that and finally departed into the siq.












We got to take a few more pictures in front of the Treasury and ventured back down the road we had walked up earlier. We then slowly walked back to our hotel. I had a lot to write about in my journal that day.

 Petra was simply amazing and I highly suggest going there if you can.

Jerash (By: Jacob)

Outside Amman, Jordan there is a small Roman city, called Jerash. The city was built by the Greeks, but was used mostly by the Romans. The city of Jerash is the best preserved ancient Roman city. The nickname for Jerash is Pompeii of the East and it was founded in 2000 B.C.E. The way you get into the old city of Jerash is by going under the Arch of Hadrian. The name Hadrian is because of the visit from emperor Hadrian.

The first place we went to was the old horse racing track, the racing track was called the hippodrome. We raced around the track pretending to be ancient chariot riders.

The next place we went to was the South Theatre. The South Theatre is a place where they did plays and other performances, for all the people in Jerash to see. The best part besides the views was that if you put your ear and mouth on the lower wall and someone else does the same opposite you, you can hear each other through the wall.

The next place we went to was the Oval Forum which was the center of the old city of Jerash. The Oval Forum is made up of 64 limestone beams. Then we went up to three temples.  It was very interesting how all three temples were under the same roof. My favorite was called the Artemis Temple. It was the biggest in all of the the old city of Jerash. The only problem was that, only a tiny fraction of it remains, but the archaeologist put a sign up and it showed what they thought it looked like during the Roman times.

Finally, we went to the fountain where everyone in the city got their water. Because the Romans were here thousands of years ago the fountain is ruined and there was no water.  This is my grandfather and I near the fountain.










Our last stop inside the city was going through the Cardo Maximus which is a road that connects the north part of the city to the south side of the city.