Israel, Replayed in Memory

With July about to turn into August, it is now two years to the day since I returned from a summer archaeology dig/pilgrimage to Israel in 2010.  Like most things that you recall over a span of years, there are things I scarcely remember as well as things that I remember as vividly as if they happened yesterday.  Yet for obvious reasons, this trip meant an awful lot to me, and what follows are ten very treasured memories which fall into the latter:

Beginning almost every dig workday with a breakfast of coffee and Nutella slathered on bread.

Seeing firsthand that archaeology is not, in fact, performed in a fedora while brandishing a whip, but rather is performed in clothes you prefer to never use again while brandishing buckets of dirt and pickaxes.  The pickaxes at least were really cool.

Uncovering a miniature, almost completely intact, Iron Age jug.

Seeing the walls of the Old City in Jerusalem for the very first time, and the walls of the former Israel-Jordan border just beyond it.

Praying at the Western Wall.  What was I praying for, you ask?  To not inadvertently commit some massive cultural or religious faux pas at that exact moment.  No lie.

My archaeology professor, Aaron, guiding us to this hole in the wall restaurant a stone’s throw from the Western Wall, where I had the very best falafel of my life.

The freaking Dome of the Rock.  I’m not sure I’ve ever seen such a beautiful building before or since, even if I wasn’t allowed to go inside it that day.

Drinking Gold Star beers with my fellow dig workers during the evenings on the beach in Acre.  Yes, Israeli beaches have bars—as in, right there on the sand.  Yes, it was awesome.

Climbing the walls of the old Crusader city of Acre to take photos of its Mediterranean port where the historic Tower of Flies once stood.

Seeing Mass performed in the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth.

As this list would indicate, visiting Israel was such a blessing, and it had a profound impact on me.  There are many aspects of being there that I miss immensely, and I hope to visit again one day.  Being able to put into tangible sights and sounds the places you can otherwise only read about is an experience that cannot be replicated, and I am so grateful and blessed for that.

What travels, events, or memories stand out to you as most profound to your faith, or are the most foundational to your own spirituality?

Yours in Christ,

Eric