One thing of interest, which is actually the reason why I decided to post today, was one of the things I learned on my trip in Turkey, at the Museum at Topkapi Palace in Istanbul. This museum, well, its one of a kind. First off, I've never seen so many jewels in my life. They have one of the biggest diamonds in the world, (86 carats (17 g)), they have tons of swords and most of them have jewels in them, and they have hairs from the prophet Muhammad's beard. Talk about cool. In the exhibit where Muhammad's beard hairs are found they have lots of other important religious artifacts, including Moses' staff artifacts from Mecca. So this is my main point today- Because of the religious importance of that room with all the artifacts, a previous sultan had required the Koran to be read outloud without stopping, every day. I walked through the rooms and sure enough, in the last room with Muhammad's beard and cloak there was a man reading the Koran. It was pretty cool, they read in such a distinct manner, changing intonations so it sounds musical. I love listening to it.
As far as the rest of the Turkey trip went... It was amazing. I did eat Turkish delights, my favorite was the pomegranate and pistachio. Mmm thats good. I went to a few bazaars and loved seeing all of the spices and food that they had out. Their ice cream is made out of goat milk and is the best! They give you a small scoop, but it goes a long way because it is so stick. You can lick the ice cream and make a peak 6 inches high. Good stuff.
I saw some pretty impressive ancient sights, including Ephesus. It was so crowded there, but so big. The Temple of Artemus is nearby. It is one of the 7 ancient wonders of the world, but all that is left is half of a pillar. There were other more impressive sights.
The library of Ephesus is really cool. Its huge and has intricate carvings covering the whole face. The other good part is the tourists that go see it. Not only did we get pictures of the ruins, we also got some good shots of shirtless sunburned tourists with beer bellies. I'll have to post that one too.
Well, now I'm back from Turkey. I still have some cool things to say about Jerusalem though. And some more misconceptions to clear up, but some are political so if you aren't into that, then just skip over it.
But before that, I have good news. Yesterday I found a great fruit store. I got a pomelo. Mmm it was so good, and a bunch cheaper than
before. Exploring the Wadi Joz
neighborhood was a much-needed break from being in the center. And more good news. Today I found another fruit store that is even closer to the center! I got two pomegranates. Mmmm so good. They were huge and red and delicious. My friend got a Guanabana (thats the spanish name, I don't know it in english). It was good too. I think fruit is my favorite drug. Which I've been needing because its finals for a few of my classes and stress
levels are running high in here. It
doesn’t help that most people haven’t left the center for days. I can't handle that. That is why I had to get out today and yesterday to find my goods.
Speaking of finals, I have another common misconception that
needs correction…The Two State Solution.
I’ve been learning in my class about the formation of Israel, and my
other class from the Palestinian perspective, about the ins and outs of the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict and possible solutions. Basically, the conflict isn’t over religion
as many people think. That may be a part
of where some riots and stuff like that break out, but there are much bigger
issues at play. But since I’m on the
subject I might as well add that many Palestinian Arabs are Christians, not
Muslim, but they of course support Palestine.
That may help illustrate that this isn’t a religious conflict.
Basically, the Jewish people were promised this land at the
End of WWI by the British. The British
made a bunch of other deals and didn’t follow through with their promise. Eventually, the Jewish people were given only
part of the land they were promised, so they weren’t happy. And the Palestinians weren’t happy because
their land was taken from them.
Now people talk about a two state solution,
which is basically what my mom did to my brother and I when we were kids. “You go to this room and you to the other and
don’t talk till I tell you to come out.”
Unfortunately, you can’t do that with millions of people who all live in
the same communities. So that’s one
reason why the two state solution isn’t the best idea. Thats all I'm going to say about the subject. There are other things that are more fun for me to talk about. For now though I'm going to call that good. If I make it any longer I may have to print it out and bind it into a book. Ok, till next time. Peace!
