Sheep and Goats

In the Bible, sheep and goats were often used to portray spiritual truths. This would have been particularly effective since people living in Bible lands were well acquainted with the behavior of sheep and goats. 

In the photo below, a dog posed for a photo amidst a herd that was crossing the road in front of our car. (In Jordan, it is not unusual to have to stop your car to allow a shepherd to guide his sheep or goats from one side of the road to the other.)

More Doors

Doors

There is no other place on the planet like Israel. It is set apart by many distinctives. One of its unusual but probably mostly unnoticed distinctives is its doors. As an amateur photographer that is constantly on the lookout for something out-of-the-ordinary, I noticed them and photographed them from Rosh Pinnah in the North to Jerusalem's Old City.

 

 

 

Grapes

Ancient grape presses are not uncommon throughout the Holy Land. At Tel Mar Elias in Jordan, I decided to climb inside one for fun. This gives you an idea of their size. 

Figs

In Bible days, dried figs were often pressed into cakes or threaded on long strings, making them a convenient food for traveling. Bethphage, a town on the Mount of Olives, was famous for its figs; Bethphage means “house of unripe figs.”

Figs come in varying shapes, sizes, and colors. The most common types of figs are Turkish figs, Adriatic figs, Black Mission figs, Calimyrna figs, and Kadota figs.

Dates

I love palm trees. I think they are beautiful and I like to hear the sound of wind brushing against the fronds.

I also like dates, which is fortunate since when we are in the Middle East dates are part and parcel of our diet.

One of my favorite sweet snacks is to simply slice open a date, remove the pit, and stuff the date halves with walnuts.

And dates are a biblical food. In fact, when the Bible refers to honey, in most cases it is referring to date syrup!

Remember Jerusalem

The Psalmist's love of Jerusalem is reflected in his impassioned words: "If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy" (Psalm 137:5-6).

Outside

This is a typical scene in Jerusalem and other Israeli cities. Little cafes with outdoor seating are common. Because of the diversity of people in Israel, if you enjoy people-watching, sitting outside one of these many cafes would provide you with a great deal of entertainment!

Israeli Italian

You might not associate Israel with Italian food. But Israel has a number of Italian restaurants. One that we visited is Spaghettim on Hillel Street in Jerusalem. It is good...really good. Using sweet potatoes is big in Israel and they are available in several dishes at Spaghettim. Definitely a nice departure from our more standard fare of economical falafels, vegetables from the shuk, and hummus!

A Little Litter

During one of our visits to Israel, we were walking through the Valley of Hinnom - the same one mentioned in the Bible - and came across this piece of litter. The Arabic and French words caught my eye. Am I the only person who takes pictures of trash?! Perhaps. But it is not every day you see litter with words from two such very different languages.  

Mezuzahs

On the doorposts of many Jewish homes and businesses in Israel are narrow, rectangular containers. These are mezuzahs, amazing visual reminders of an ancient biblical commandment.

The word "mezuzah" means "doorpost." God commanded the children of Israel to post His commandments on the doorposts of their homes.

Inside each mezuzah is a tiny parchment scroll which begins, "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD" (Deuteronomy 6:4). The entire passage on the scroll is Deuteronomy 6:4-9; 11:13-21. 

When entering a house, an observant Jew will brush his or her hand across the mezuzah. Some mezuzahs are plain and inexpensive; others are beautifully ornamental, artistic, and expensive.

As seen in this photo, mezuzahs often have on them the Hebrew letter "shin," which is the first letter of the word Shaddai. 

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sites in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.

Deuteronomy 4:6-9

The Best Olive Oil

It was January 21st and Tu B'shevat was in full swing in our neighborhood in Jerusalem. It was chilly outside but Ben Yehuda Street was alive with pedestrians, street musicians and food vendors. We bought some Israeli olive oil from these girls and enjoyed it very much.

Among olive oil lovers, there is debate as to the best olive oil in the world. Some say the best is from Italy, others say Spain, Greece, or Australia, among a few other contenders. I simply cannot say. Everyone I hear talk about what they think is the best olive oil sounds convincing. I don't think I will be able to try them all to decide for myself. 

But I do like fresh olive oil, and what we eat when we are overseas is wonderfully fresh and delicious. I suppose you could say it is a little perk that helps balance the challenges of living overseas. There is nothing like olive oil that fresh.  

Kanafeh

I will not try to tout this as a healthy food. But no discussion of Arabic food is complete without talking about kanafeh. This is fried cheese, soaked in a sweet syrup, and topped with pistachios. It is difficult to eat very much at one time, because it is so sweet, but it is a classic, quite delicious "Arabic sweet."

Produce Truck

In Jordan, you can generally figure out what is being harvested in the Jordan Valley by checking out the trucks parked alongside the roads. If lettuce is in season, then you will see a lettuce truck every few miles. If watermelons are being harvested, then you will see a lot of watermelon trucks. In the above photo, Bill stopped to check the price on pomegranates, which were in season at the time. It can be a little dangerous, but if drivers see something they want, they just veer to the side of the road. 

Produce trucks certainly make for a colorful drive. You never know what produce you might see on the side of the road!

Waqqas Picnic

    



The last time we lived in Jordan, we stayed in an apartment building in Husn, Jordan. From there we oversaw three Arabic churches. Our neighbors in the building, and also the building owners, were very kind to us. We got to know Abu Fawzi, the patriarch of the family, his children and grandchildren very well. We spent a lot of time in their home and in their courtyard, visiting. 

One day, they invited us to to to a piece of property a family member owns in Waqqas, in the northwestern area of Jordan. We all piled into three cars and drove into an area Bill and I had never been. (I have written an article about this day, which I will include in a Walking Ancient Paths book at some point.)

They brought a portable grill and so we had meat, plus other foods familiar to Arab culture, such as olives and hummus. Abu Fawzi pointed out a canal, shown in one of the photos above, that he helped engineer. It was a memorable day. 

Arabic Coffee Lesson

This is a picture of Sister Shanas. We were blessed to know her before she got married. She translated English into Sinhalese for the Sri Lankan services for Brother Ferrin and the other preachers. After she married Brother Moses in Sri Lanka, they both came back to Jordan and Brother Moses became the pastor of the Sri Lankan church in Amman. They are sweet and kind people. 

One cold day, they and the Solitarios came up to Husn, where we lived, to do some work on the church. While they were there, Sister Shanas showed me how to make Arabic coffee. 

I had been shown before, but by people that could not speak very good English. For me, making Arabic coffee is a show and tell process. I needed to be shown, but with some explanation. First, Sister Shanas and I went to the store and she showed the right kind of coffee to buy. Then, we went back to the apartment and made it. 

Since I have an aversion to coffee, I cannot use the taste test method to see if is good. But after my Arabic coffee lesson, I was able to prepare coffee for the people that came to the church services in Husn. (We always had a time of fellowship after each service.) The first time, the people told me it was a little strong, but I think they appreciated my efforts and were surprised as well that I attempted this feat of making Arabic coffee. After a while, I got the hang of it and got smiles and "Shukrans" as my reward.

One never does know what skills one will need in life! :)

Soapy Roads

Look carefully at this road. It was November 18th and it had not rained in a long time. What you see on the road are soap suds. There is a severe water shortage in Jordan and when people wash cars, they use the same bucket of water to wash AND rinse. Since the soap never really rinses off of the "clean" cars, when it rains, all that soap comes off the cars and onto the roads. 

Zarqa Mansef

We have shared some photos with you of the mansef we ate in Musdar. This mansef  pictured here was prepared by Khader's mother. Khader was our translator when we oversaw the church in Zarqa. In the middle photo, Khader is holding dried yogurt. Every mansef has a yogurt sauce poured over it and each lady makes her own version. The dried yogurt ball Khader is holding is from Karak, reported to be the best from which to prepare yogurt sauce for mansef. 

Musdar Mansef

 

In 2010, we ministered for the church in Musdar, an area of Amman. Yasmeen and her brother Yousef wanted to have us and Sister Reed to their apartment to eat mansef, Jordan's national dish. It is considered an honor to be invited to eat mansef in someone's home. We have eaten mansef several times and always enjoy this flavorful dish of rice, chicken or lamb, spices, and nuts. Yasmeen's was delicious!

Onions for Sale

On the road from Iraq al-Amir into Amman, we spotted these green onions for sale beside the road. Nobody was close by, but if we would have lingered, someone would have appeared to sell them to us. I imagine they were quite fresh, probably picked that day from someone's garden nearby. Can't get more "fresh" and "local" than that!

Arabic Sweets

In the Arab culture, a host's honor is tied to their hospitality. Part of what makes a host honorable is that they offer their guests food. It is nearly impossible to visit an Arab home without being offered food, often in the form of fruit or what they call "Arabic sweets." An Arabic sweet can be any one of many bakery items. But when we visited Ramzi and Rania and their parents in their home, the Arabic sweets they offered us were actually presented in a box entitled "Arabic Sweets." The baked items were not nearly as sweet at Ramzi and Rania, though, who are not only sweet, but also lovers of God and His Word. 

Melon Display

    

We were in Jerash, Jordan...lost. Bill saw a cluster of guys and stopped to ask them for directions. We were right beside these neatly aligned and creatively presented melons. Seeing this cool melon display almost made getting lost worthwhile!  

Jordan Olive Oil Factory

  





One day, on our way to teach Bible studies in northern Jordan, our translator took us by an olive oil factory. His family, who had an olive grove, used this factory and he knew the owners. 

It was olive harvest in Jordan and each family brought their olives to a factory like this for processing. 

First, the sticks and leaves were separated from the olives, the olives were then mashed, and the oil was separated from the solids. The olive oil was then poured into containers that each family would take home with them. Men and women waited there in the factory for their olives to be turned into oil. 

The owner grabbed a (used) plastic water bottle and filled it with oil. He handed it to us. It was a gift for us. We accepted graciously but must admit that we did not use the oil. Although it was fascinating to see how locals process their olive oil and it would be impossible to get oil fresher than this, we were quite sure that the sanitation was probably not up to par. 

Nevertheless, the people were excited to have us visit their factory. It is possible that we were one of the few Americans to ever step foot inside it.