Blow Dryers and Fires

Today was another day learning about archaeology. We had a tour of the Old City again and a lecture about the history of building styles in the Levant. Everyone woke up sore from the dig yesterday. Sitting in awkward positions around jutting stones for six hours can really make your legs and back sore, especially if you haven't been on a dig in a long time. We were all in pain and needed our joints to crack.

The tour was interesting, and we saw some new things and learned a little more about Old Akko. Eliezer Stern, the chief archaeologist of Akko and the Western Galilee, was our tour guide. It was cool getting personal attention from the boss of every archaeologist and in the region. On our tour he showed us where Napoleon lay siege to the city, gave us more information about the Crusader and Ottoman walls, and took us through areas of the Hospitaller Fortress that were not open to the public. We walked through tunnels underneath the city that were once ground level for the crusaders. One of the coolest parts was when we walked through the sewers into the pit beneath the latrine room above. It sounds disgusting, but I think it was really cool. Eliezer also showed us areas of the city where the Ottoman buildings incorporated the old Crusader buildings above-ground, including columns and stones that remained three-stories high and had survived naval cannon-fire. Even though we had already had a tour of the city, I'm glad we went on this one.

The lecture contained a lot of information that I already knew or used to know from my classes at OSU. We talked about the history of building construction in Israel going back ten thousand years. Seeing pictures of examples in places in Israel was interesting, and there was some information that I didn't know. Even though it was a repeat, it was still informative.

Today I was on dinner duty again, and we decided to make beef shish-kebabs. Getting the grill started was definitely an experience. After we finally succeeded in lighting the charcoal, we used a hair dryer to fan the flames and supply oxygen. Standing over a metal pan that's on fire with a blow dryer in the dark on a balcony was definitely a first experience for me. The kebabs came out tasty, though, so it was another dinner success.