The Prince's Palace and Servant Caves

Some of my friends have this thing they do in the spring called "Spring Time Fun Time."  Now that I've participated in several of the activities, I understand why they have it.  Winter here is yucky...cold and rainy and you can't warm inside your house so why would you go play outside in castle ruins?  Winter is so hot and you can't cool inside your house, but at least you're not in the sun in your house so why would you go play outside in national parks?  But spring time...it's (mostly) stopped raining and everything has turned green, and the temperature is oh so perfect that of course you want to get out of your house and go play.

So for our first Spring Time Fun Time activity, we went to the ruins of a Prince's Palace, and some nearby caves of his servants.  Turns out the prince was a Jew, so the palace has lions (you know...of the tribe of Judah...) still pretty well preserved on the palace.

The palace itself was not that well reserved, but it was fun to climb around.

There were several goats hanging out as well.  I took lots of pictures of them.  I'll spare you the 20 goat pictures and just show you this one.

The view from the palace.  Look how GREEN my desert country is in spring time!

Maybe we should call it Spring Time Green Time.

I always have so much fun with these girls.

There were six of us total.  We found an open door and went climbing all inside the Palace.  It wasn't very big.  Maybe it was the Prince's summer cottage?

I was having a great time!  I think anytime I get to be outside I make this excited face.

POPPIES!!!  That made this Provence girl so happy.

Next we headed over to the caves.

The view from the caves out over the valley.  So pretty.

The other girls were more adventurous and went deep inside the cave.  I wasn't feeling it and just stayed out looking over the valley.

On our way home, we passed this sign for the Iraq Amir Women Cooperative Society.  I thought I would April Fool's Prank my family and friends and tell them that this is where I would be teaching my jewelry and sewing classes in the future.  Don't worry.  I'm not teaching there.  And I didn't go to Iraq.  But the picture would've been a good prank, don't you think?!

It was super cloudy that day, but we didn't get rained on, we didn't get hot, and we had a great time.  Palace ruins are fun even on a cloudy day.

Another instagram photo of the valley.  Who would ever think that this same place is brown for 10-11 months of the year?!

Spring Time Fun Time with these FUN girls!!!

Maps, Mosaics, and M-town

Way back in 2013, I went to Dixie for Christmas to visit Bound.  On my first day, I saw this awesome tiled map of J-town.  She told me of its significance and I later forgot about all of that.

Fast forward to 2016.  Maple suggested we drive to M-town, which is well known for its mosaics.  She said there were some on a church floor, and that we'd go shopping for mosaics ourselves.  I, with my selective listening skills, zoned in on the word "shopping" and didn't really think much about seeing mosaics on the church floor.

We arrived to the church, and I asked Maple what the floor was supposed to be.  She stared at me incredulously and asked, "Didn't you Wikipedia about this place last night before we came?"  (She knows my deep affection for Wikipedia, the source of all true knowledge.)  I didn't know it was worth looking up.  As she began to describe what the mosaic was--the oldest known map of the Middle East, bells of recognition began to ring in my head.

Historians are able to date the map from between 542AD and 570AD, according to the sites found on the map.  Below is the Dead Sea, with a boat going across.

You can see the Dead Sea at the top, part of the mosaic missing below the Sea, and then the circle with the line through the middle of it is J-town.

A close up of J-town.

Other parts.

Another section.

And just a little more.

The church has other mosaics depicting the life of Christ.  Here He is being baptized (see the Dove coming down?).

This is the Nativity scene.  You can see Baby Jesus directly in the middle, with the 3 wise men coming near.

I have no idea.

Jesus being presented at the Temple as a baby.

Jesus at the temple as a young boy.

The baptism again.

The Transfiguration.

Random Ugly Baby Painting.

John the Baptist.

Elijah being fed by ravens.

A close up so you can see how cool the mosaic work is.  Tiny little rocks.

Calling Lazarus out from the grave.  Love this.

Another close up.  So awesome.

I mean, really.  That is so intricate and beautiful!!!

The Triumphal Entry before Passion Week.

I zoomed in so you could see Zachias up in the tree!

For some reason, the crucifixion was not a mosaic, but a painting.

Look at the weird skull at the foot of the cross, with Jesus' blood dripping down on it.  Anyone know the meaning of that?

Being laid in the tomb.

And then the Resurrection, too, was a painting instead of a mosaic!  Maybe, because those two are the most significant parts of His life, something happened to the mosaics through the years?  Maybe they're currently being restored?  (Cause the others sure look to be in awesome shape!)  I don't know.

Notice, again, the weird thing in this photo...the chained up body under the coffin.

Then the Ascension.

And another Ugly Baby Painting.

And yet another.

At the front of the church, this is the picture of Jesus.  Oh my, how weird they make Him look.

And cause I always love a good Saint George painting, this was at the exit.  He killed a dragon...of course he's going to be my favorite saint!

Outside, there was a key to help us know what the parts of the map were.

I finally figured out that the map is sideways.  J-town appears to be north of the Mediterranean Sea, and south of the Dead Sea, instead of in between them east/west.

Moving on from the church, we went shopping to buy our own souvenir mosaics to remember our time in this special country.  We got to see a workshop where an artist was creating a mosaic.

Now if that isn't the best looking Jesus I ever did see!

Didn't you always want a camel t-shirt from the "Holly" Land Desert?

This is the mosaic that I bought.  The 10 fruits represent the 10 commandments, and the hanging fruit reminds me of the spies who researched the land in the book of Numbers.  But most of all, it being a circle reminds me of Gilgal, that special place God takes me to remind me of lessons learned and to renew my relationship with Him.

The one I bought is a slightly different version of the famous Tree of Life mosaic here in the Middle East, which you can see below.  (Maple bought a table with this design.)  The deer on the right is being attacked by a lion, and her shed blood gives life that enables the tree to grow.  The deer on the left are safe from attack because there are two of them (life is better in community), and the one is looking behind to ensure their safety as they approach the tree.

It was a great, great day.  I was/am so happy with my souvenir from this place, and look forward to displaying it proudly whenever I end up moving and am reunited with my other things.  I really enjoyed the church and the artwork of the mosaics on display inside of it.