Hasty photo update

Ashleigh had prepared an entire entry dedicated to the cuisine of the near east; but her writing was so amazing that the internet deleted it. For now, then, in lieu of something more substantial, here is a brief photo essay to document some our journeys:

Our dorms are just behind those buildings on the left. On Friday morning, we walked several miles down the coast to the 4,000-year old city of Jaffa

Ash exploring the streets of the Old City of Jaffa

Remains of an Egyptian fort in Jaffa, ca 1,400 BCE

We spent Sunday in Jerusalem. This is the Western Wall at sunset.

Ash covering her shoulders at the Western Wall

Dinner with other students in Jerusalem.

On Monday we visited the Necropolis at Beit She'arim, a series of mausoleums and tunnels carved beneath the city. Here's the entrance to one of the tombs, which dates to about the 3rd or 4th century. 

Inside a large, public tomb. The holes in the sides of the sarcophagi were cut by grave robbers. 

A large (6 ft tall) menorah carved into the limestone wall.

An ancient Hebrew inscription. The text is short--just a name--but it's remarkable because they're not usually this clear.

Sarcophagus with fine Hellenistic ornamentation. 

We ran into Eduardo, my roommate from New Haven, in one of the tombs!

The ruins of Sephoris, the second site we visited on Monday

The ground at Sephoris is covered with small shards of glass, pottery, and tiles from floor-mosaics

A large floor-mosaic from a private house in Sephoris, probably from the Byzantine period judging by the expressiveness of the animals's eyes and the artist's effort to give his figures three-dimensional form

Same mosaic in detail

A Roman-style toilet (top left) found in the largest house in Sephoris. The Greek inscription reads: "to health"

Students studying another fine mosaic in the toilet house.

The floor of the Sephoris synagogue dating from the 5th or 6th century, which has a large mosaic of the signs of the Zodiac with a symbol of Helios, the Greek sun-god in the center. Is this an example of religious syncretism, or of how paganism gradually became emptied of its religious significance altogether? Or both?

Hilarious and politically incendiary t-shirts from the market.

Ash and I found some shade at the summit overlooking the old port of Jaffa, where the first picture was taken. Shalom!