The Theology department visited Jordan, Palestine and Israel over the October half term break. Review by Alexandre O’Callaghan-Brown (Year 12):
Day One
Waking up at 2.30 am for a flight is never easy for anyone, but somehow even Mr Begbie (teacher of Theology, Philosophy & Ethics) was cheerful as we checked into the airport for our flight to Amman.
We arrived at our hotel and set out straight away into the city to start our theological expedition. We only had time to see the Citadel, but we were able to try some stunning falafel (which was the first of much to come).
Day Two
We had an early start the next morning, setting off to Jerash, an ancient city with a great deal of history. We witnessed theology at its best, with biblical readings from teachers, Mr Begbie and Miss Fletcher. Soon we were off again. No sitting around on this holiday! The next stop was Tell Mar Elias, which is the very religious site of Prophet Elijah’s ascension. After a long coach drive, we arrived in Madaba where we stayed the night.
Day Three
Another early start (prior to this some had already braved a run!) for a trek around the Archaeological Park of Madaba. Amongst many mosaics we saw the oldest map of the Holy Lands. We then headed off to Mount Nebo, where Moses was shown the Promised Land by God. Being able to view everything around the park was extraordinary. But the day was nowhere near done. We then headed off to Umm ar-Rasas; a ruined fortress, with another very well-preserved mosaic. Our final stop of the day was to Machaerus, a ruined fort of Herod Antipas. And at last, “sick and tired of mosaics” as Mr Bebgie put it, we arrived at our hotel outside of Petra.
Day Four
This was a truly amazing day. Petra was superb. We must have walked about 18km just to try and take in as much of this incredible place as possible. Afterwards, we were all exhausted. But we had another treat, the Wadi Rum conservation area. Here we stayed in a Bedouin Camp with traditional food, and a lot of sweet tea. A view of the Milky Way brought the day to a close with the feeling of tranquillity.
Day Five
The highlights of the day included; a jeep tour of the desert, running up the sand dunes and more sweet tea. Reluctantly leaving the desert behind, we had a very long coach journey with one theologically based stop at Lot’s Cave, before reaching our final destination, the Dead Sea. At first everyone’s reaction was of hysterical laughter as we floated around and lathered ourselves in Dead Sea mud.
Day Six
Our final visit in Jordan was to the Baptism Site of Jesus Christ and a rather murky River Jordan. We then prepared ourselves for the dreaded border crossing into the West Bank. We were through, however, surprisingly quickly. We ventured on, visiting Herodium, the ruined fortress of Herod, and Bethlehem. We also saw the Church of the Nativity; the birthplace of the Jesus. After a two hour wait, we only managed to see the site in a disappointing ten seconds. So after an ice cream break, we left.
Day Seven
Our final day of our theology trip started on the Mount of Olives and then Gethsemane. We trekked through Hezekiah’s Tunnel, which was a 30 minute walk through a narrow tunnel without light and with streaming water. It was much better than it sounds… We then witnessed the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. The visit to the Austrian Hospice for cake and coffee afterwards was rather relaxing, considering that it was 35 degrees. We finished the trip at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre; a truly busy but humbling site.
We could not have asked for a more action-packed trip. The balance between theological interludes and relaxation was perfectly crafted.
 |  |
 |  |
 | |
 |  |
 |  |