PETRA, Jordan 9 BC - 40 AD

On 07/07/07, July 7th of last year, they announced the "voted" for NEW seven wonders of the world. I hear that the Egyptian government was so upset about the pyramids not making the cut that Khufu's pyramid now has an honorary "8th" position. Good grief. As if the pyramids could lose their mystique and people would stop going to see them. Anyway, I noticed that PETRA is a seven wonder now. I thought I'd write a sketch about when I went there myself.


Here's the basic skinny on Petra, according to the 7 wonder site:

On the edge of the Arabian Desert, Petra was the glittering capital of the Nabataean empire of King Aretas IV. Masters of water technology, the Nabataeans provided their city with great tunnel constructions and water chambers. A theater, modelled on Greek-Roman prototypes, had space for an audience of 4,000. Today, the Palace Tombs of Petra, with the 42-meter-high Hellenistic temple facade on the El-Deir Monastery, are impressive examples of Middle Eastern culture.

My skinny: Walk first through a skinny canyon and then poof, the place opens up to the famous "treasury" and there's tons to look at. Still an ongoing archaeological site, Petra is a national-parkish place that takes more than an hour to cross on foot. Arches, Capitol Reef, Moab, Goblin Valley--any of those places are similar in weather, red rock, and dust. The difference? Two, really. One, the eye-catching things at Petra are man made, while the Utah's are natural; two, southern Utah has breathtaking things all over the place, and Petra's ONE glory is the treasury. At least the treasury is so awesome that it's the only thing you need to be in awe. You'll walk around for hours see a bunch of ruins that are AMAZING...as far as ruins go (trust me, I've seen a lot of ruins,) and be impressed by a few things, like the odd swirly colored rocks. Also, it's a great place to find those cool souvenir camelbone necklaces. The Nabateans really were "masters of water technology" as the above paragraph mentioned; they even made raingutters to keep water from dripping off the canyon walls and onto the streets.

The heading photo for my blog is a diagonal cut from the "treasury" of Petra--the famous part--and if you look carefully at the urn, you can still see all the bullet holes in it. Some local chaps thought there was gold hidden up there (or so rumor has it,) and so they'd target practice on the urn to see if they could break it. (Insert eye roll here.)

Coolest things about Petra:

1. The scenic pictures, Jordanians included.
2. Camels everywhere.
3. Chariot ruts in the stone streets through the canyon.
4. Playing the Indiana Jones theme on my "iClaudius" iPod and sharing w/friends.
5. Pretty red rock w/color swirls that even geologists don't understand.
6. The chance to be in a canyon again. YES. Comfy, homey feeling there.
7. Talking to Tim about random musicals like Umbrella's of Sherbourg and anything that Sondheim has written, and discussing the contrast between Alfred Hitchcock's black and white and colored movies. This is where I really got to know Tim, who was a very quiet person that I'd tried to talk to before but with no success. Tim has good taste in movies and musicals. In fact, later he let a group of us watch "Sweeney Todd in Concert" that he had on his laptop--I'm now addicted to the "Johanna" song, and familiar with all the music. Thanks, Tim.
8. Everyone had a good time, no mishaps, and we all smiled and laughed.
9. Karey and Mike having to hoist everyone in our group 8ft in the air so we could get into the "Monastery" at the top of Petra that you have to hike 40min to get to. Come to think of it, I owe Karey brownies, actually--I better get on that.
10. Declining to ride a horse because I thought talking to Tim was more rare.
11. The picture-proof that I was THERE! WAH Haaa!
12. Realizing that the sunset-feature on my camera pulled the rosy color from the rock more than the plain. (see example)
13. Finding a grasshopper that would have scared my sister Melissa silly. Freaky! (Don't look Budds. It's black and yellow.)
14. Talking about "colored stones" the way Gadzooks the bear does in the Easter Bunny claymation movie when Sunny tells him that the eggs are really colored stones, so that Gadzooks wont eat them. "What does Gadzooks want with colored stones?"
15. Debating whether or not a rock formation looked like an Easter Island head. See picture below.
16. Wondering whether the Nabateans were related to the Anasazi. Check out the "indian dwellings," you'll know what I mean.
17. Thinking about swirly rocks and have "I'm doodles, and I'm Sw

Okay. Here comes the parade of pictures. I'm sorry there are so many, but at least I'm not writing a ton, eh? Believe it or not, I have more than twice this many. Be glad I'm not posting more.

In the pictures with me: The red head my arm is around is Shannon. We hung together for the first 45 minutes. Lance Evanson and Mikelle Laker are posing by the gorge. Rebecca Redd and I are showing off our Indi hats. Tim is walking ahead of me through the canyon as we were leaving, during our Soundheim discussion. I don't remember any other people other than the Arab dude whose name I sadly do not know. Drum roll...


































P.S. The last picture is what's REALLY inside the door of the treasury. No grail, no knight, and no really really cool "leap of faith" test. But of course not. That was all destroyed in the early 40's when that stupid Nazi chick took the grail past the seal. DUH. This is all that's left. Tragic. ; )

No Jesting

This car can be seen in Tel Aviv, Israel. ("you jest!") Nope, no jesting.

Happy Passover

In celebration of my favorite movie of all time--and I'm not kidding--I always watch at least part of the Ten Commandments on Easter. That Christian holiday came so early this year that instead I've bumped the tradition to Passover. It is appropriate, for Passover was the similitude foretelling of the redemption of Easter. And so, on this the last day of Passover, I watch again the lovely Debra Paget singing "death cometh to me."

I'm obsessed with this movie. I even own a 1956 commemorative book filled with concept art painted by, ironically, my favorite artist-- Arnold Friburg--the 94 year old genius of iconic imagery. I know random trivia about the whole movie too. For example: did you know that Debra Paget, who plays Lilia, was the only slave who wore shoes in the film? Apparently her feet were misshapen by the 1950's heels of the time, and to hide the fact and preserve authenticity, Cecil DeMille made her wear moccasins? Ha!

When we watched the movie at the Jerusalem Center, I spouted tons of information (during the credits only) and my friends made me swear to keep quiet during the film. I was silent. ...and it was really hard. I LOVE this movie. And the Sinai scenes are even more spectacular to me now, because I mingle my own memories of climbing its peak to the scope of the film. How majestic are the mountains of the Sinai! And what spirit they possess.

This time I noticed something new, and I nearly choked for laughing. When talking to Jethro, Moses says "Health, prosperity, and life to you, Sheik of Midian." That is a near reproduction of a common Egyptian phrase, "Life! Prosperity! Health!" used when mentioning the Pharoah. (I learned this in my Ancient Texts class this semester.) It's kind of like saying "King Rupert...may he rest in peace." It appears in some texts so often that translators abbreviate it, if you can believe that. Every other sentence sometimes has "LPH!" in it. Dig Cecil DeMille and his details. WOW, that's funny.

Oh, and another funny-- upon learning of Charlton Heston's recent death, my friend Greg said "Wow. Moses finally died." AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHAHAHAHAHAA! Way to go, Greg, that was hilarious.

Can You Picture That?

http://www.3disrael.com/jerusalem/kotel_prayer.CFM

Now YOU can go to the Western Wall too. In all its heyday. Take a "virtual tour" of Israel at this site, and you'll get to see a clear picture of what I really did see for myself. That link will take you a virtual tour of a 'prayer at kotel.' The "Kotel Tunnel Tour" lasts 45 minutes, and they take you underground modern Jerusalem to the base of the Western Wall. I'm not sure exactly what "kotel" is, but it must have something to do with the wall. Anyway--do the virtual tour! I order my family to do so (you hear me, guys?) Eh. They'll love it anyway. It was new for me too--I got to see the men's section.

The funny thing is that I saw this picture before I saw the date and I said to myself, "hey, this is really recent." I could tell because the flag that's flying in the courtyard has a rod in the top keeping it straight, and that feature wasn't added until December. Which is when they took the photo for this tour. :D

If you don't watch all of them (even though you should,) I strongly recommend the Muslim Quarter tour, and Church of All Nations 1 & 2. If you view Church of the Holy Sepulcher tour (holiest site in all Christendom, or so I'm told) be sure to scroll up to the ceiling or you'll miss the best part. Trust me, I used to stare at it for minutes at a time--and yeah, it's that big. Seriously, do them all. You won't regret it. "Yehuda Market" is in West Jerusalem--frequent visits there--dig the Jewishness. It's a really odd angle of it though. Not even a long shot of the fruit stands or the bakeries with the pastries. HA! What a funny rhyme.

Ask questions and I'll discuss details--feedback, people!

P.S. Zoom and self-controlled scrolling features exist. Use them!

PPS, My posts are low because I'm having troubles uploading pictures. Aggravating. Sorry.

Rachel's a Sweep

This winter semester I've been taking Bro. Ludlow's Isaiah class at BYU. It has a reputation for being...difficult. We had a project due--an 8 page outline of an Isaiah topic. We were told to be creative in our topic and to make it interesting. I have a genetic talent for writing, so it wasn't that difficult to be clear, concise, and to do it with the proper grammar. Besides which, it was an outline, and thus did not require intricate-formulated-paragraphs, so you'd think it would be easy schmeasy. But no. Not with Bro. Ludlow. It has to be perfect. Being familiar with his teaching style (having spent hours with him daily in Jerusalem,) I didn't spend too much time on it, thinking that I'd do okay. That's really all I was expecting.

I designed a lesson outline targeted for early-morning seminary students. I called it "discovering Isaiah through latter-day hymns," and I tried to show how much Isaiah is in hymns we sing frequently... just to show kids that they needent be afraid of Isaiah because they already know more of his verse than they think. I also attached a chart that I had made of every Isaiah hymn, with the theme of the doctrine, and the scripture reference along with it. (There are over forty, by the way.) I also mentioned how Janice Kapp Perry and Kenneth Cope quote Isaiah in their albums as well. Surprise, kids! Isaiah isn't that daunting.

Who knew? Like I said, I didn't spend that much time on it. In fact, I think it was short of the length requirement even. But guess what? I got a 96%. Ah ha! That's right, hail me--I got the second highest grade in all of his three sections. You can't tell, but I'm extremely smug about it. I totally swept the curve!

Too bad that the score I'll get on the final will drag my grade down so far that it won't do me any good. I'm taking it tomorrow morning. Holy-finals-of-doom, Batman!

Off the subject. Sorta.

PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS, by Rick Riordan.

THE LIGHTNING THIEF
THE SEA OF MONSTERS
THE TITAN'S CURSE
THE BATTLE OF THE LABYRINTH (coming soon)

I've fallen in love with a new children's fiction series! Yay! I luhhhhhhhhhhhhhve: PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS. Imagine a cross between Harry Potter and a series of unfortunate events, cram it full of mythology, and you'd have this. The first three books are out, and the fourth comes out May 9th. I'm dying to get my hands on it.

What is it about?

Percy Jackson is a sixth grader suffering from ADHD and dyslexia who discovers that his teachers are not quite...normal. Then he sees the fates knitting socks. In a flashwhirl of events, Percy learns that the Greek gods are currently living on the 600th floor of the Empire State Building, and that his long-lost father is... one of the olympic gods. (I won't tell you which, it'll give the story away.) Anyway. Because of who his father is, Percy is accused of stealing a "divine" artifact of great importance, and to clear his name he undergoes a quest to the underworld. Along the way he meets dozens of characters from Greek mythology.

I love ancient stuff. Hence, my major. I owe most of this to my favorite teacher of all time, Pam Fossum, sixth grade, Wasatch Elementary. She introduced me to many of my life's passions: astronomy, good stories, and ancient history by locale: Roman, Greek, and Egypt especially. I still take notes the way she taught me to. I still measure my timelines by the duct-tape measuring sticks she had along the ceiling of her classroom. (I ran into her last week and recommended Percy Jackson. I was surprised she hadn't heard of it. She's excited to read it now, as should you be.) t was during her class that I was exposed to greek mythology, and I tell ya--this book is what her class was all about: exposure to things you hadn't heard of or considered in fun ways you want more of.

The books are hillarious! The similies and metaphors are classic. At one point, Percy describing the way monsters smelt said it was "as if a skunk had been living off leftover mexican food." Great mirth and merriment gained from these books. Furthermore, it helped with my mythology class by familiarizing me with the Greek olympians. I was the only one who remembered who Dionysus was on our last quiz. Huzzah!

READ THEM. Screen them for your kids, see if you're okay with them reading it, whatevs. I strongly recommend them.

if you wish to read more of my pretending-to-take-notes-during-ancient-texts-blogging-surreptitiously ramblings, continue, otherwise, goodbye:

I love to read, but I am picky. I don't like to waste my time on "classics," because I so often disagree with whoever decided that they were "classic." Who makes those lists, anyway? Take Wuthering Heights, for example: he digs up her corpse and cradles it in his arms, weeping. After she's decomposed for ten years! Sick. Not a classic in my book. The Scarlet Letter? Don't get me started. I'm sorry, call me uneducated if you wish, I know that so many of my college friends adore reading Les Miserables for enjoyment purposes. In French, even. And yes, I've heard that Dostoevsky has a "beautiful soul made evident in his literary pain." But so help me, no English teacher will ever again compel me to read literature from Walden, Nietzsche, or Shakespeare. Nor am I likely to listen to a friend's endorsement. If I like the plot, and the first chapter is engaging, I might. Otherwise--forget about it, pal. I'm picky. Most of the things I read are targeted for children. Again, call me crazy, but I get more out of those than I do the er... "adult" "dignified" texts. Besides which, I'm a sucker for stories. Yaaaaaaay for rambling!

Truly Scrumptious

Many American cities have hot-dog-stands. Including my hometown--"j dawgs" is a common food source for most BYU students (my usual is a polish dog with special sauce and onions, but that's beside the point.) West Jerusalem might have had a hot-dog stand, but I never saw one. The CREPE stand on Ben-Yehuda street, however, was to die for.

Homemade crepes made on a pan at least a full foot wide, and options for over twenty toppings. I'm not exaggerating. So good. They were huge, and the one time that I bought one I split it with Jason Bentley. I'm trying to remember what we put on it-- white chocolate, dark chocolate, hazelnuts, raspberries, whipped cream, pecans, caramel...and a couple other things. OH MAN. Delectable goodness. The crepes were almost better than their toppings. It was hard to remember that half of that concoction belonged to Jason. I wanted more. Which reminds me of a song. Melissa and Alicia eat your hearts out:

"I'm Greeeeeeeedy, yes indeedy. Gimme gimme gimme gimme more!"

(In this photo: Amie Ostler, and Whitney George, who is now Whitney Tanner. Posed holding their crepes in front of the crepe-stand. These sweet girls were inseparable. And because they always shared a seat near the front of the bus, they were often my companions as well. Ha. I have a ton of pictures of them asleep on the bus, now that I think of it.)

Technical Space

Students are not allowed to go into the space underneath the Jerusalem Center, fondly known as "technical space." We were told in no uncertain terms to keep out. After begging the center's director, Eran, for months and months if we could see the technical space with supervison, like a lecture or a tour. He agreed to take us! I couldn't believe it. We got to see all of the wiring, plumbing, and water storage for the entire center, and also the 150 foot deep cement pillars that anchor the center deep into the heart of the mountain so that it is entirely earthquake proof. So exciting! Last Winter I worked on a research project with a professor of mine, Blair VanDyke, and with him I was privileged to research the beginnings and history of the Jerusalem Center. I knew all about how it was built. I couldn't wait for the opportunity to see TECHNICAL SPAAAAAACE. (Said in booming tones akin to Bill Nye announcing his whatchagigger popsicle stick-of-science.)

What surprised me most about about our tour is a) we had to wear hard hats, and b) that Eran let us write our names on the walls with chalk. I inscribed, "MILDENSTEIN-07," and drew a small white pillar to go with. :D Unfortunately, I did not have my camera at the time. But no matter--the walls bear testimony that I was there.


In this photo: The lovely Mikelle Laker.

PHOTO OP: Cairo Museum

"Egyptian Museum." Yes, I was there. For full details, read my published works. (The whole three-part volume is on my blog. You'll probably die before you finish reading it . If you try to read it all, that is. Most people see the length and burst into tears. If it helps, just think of how long it took me to write it.)

Mosque of Muhammad Ali, Cairo

I will not attempt to give full details on the history and scope of this mosque. If you're interested, there is always Wikipedia. I was tested on all of it, and I have no further desire to dredge it from my memory. Study on your own time, please. In the meantime, here are pictures. And a few basic--

FACTS:

1. The dome has a perfect 21 meter-diameter. It's 52 meters high.

2. The interior is lit by over three hundred circled orbs of light, suspended from long chains from the high ceiling. They represent each day of the year. (Some of the lights had gone out when I was there, and I was thinking about how those must have been dreary days for someone.)

3. The largest mosque built in the first half of the nineteenth century (took 18 years to build,) it was commissioned by Muhammad Ali Pasha (its namesake,) and was a memorial for Ali's oldest son, Tusun Pasha, who died in 1816.

4. The interior walls are alabaster. The exterior is mostly marble. That's a lot of expensive rock.

5. The carpets inside are OLD. Really old. You have to take off your shoes. How old are they? Um, older than my grandma. By a few decades. They've only been replaced once, and the mosque was completed in 1848, so you do the math.

6. The balcony has a superb view of all of Cairo. I stood there with Greg and we talked about how just one city had 13 million people in it (and yes, I realize that there are cities that scrape a billion, but work with me) and we realized that if we took every Mormon in the world and shoved them into Cairo-- we would only make one city.

7. I have been there. But at the time, I was so exhausted (it was the last thing I saw before leaving "Egypt" for the Sinai peninsula. Egypt is in quotes here because the Sinai is part of Egypt, it's just not... Egypt. The Sinai is its own piece of barren wasteland, I don't see how its tied to Egypt at all. ...but don't tell the Egyptians that. Where was I? Oh yeah. The Mosque.

8. I did not take all of these photos. I just took most of them. ;) In fact, I took the night capture from the highway when I was inside a bus. Aha! Top that.

9. I posted way too many photos, and I talked much more than I intended to. Ooops.