Tourism Archives - Page 43 of 96

Tour of France and Spain with Mark Wilson

A unique trip has come to my attention that I think might be of interest to some of you. Mark Wilson is leading it, which automatically makes it worthy of consideration, and it is a tour of the Roman sites in France and Spain. The trip is jointly sponsored by Tutku Tours and Biblical Archaeology Society, which tells me that the quality will be high. Here is a brief rundown of what they’re calling “To the End of the Earth: Paul’s Journey to Spain”:

14 days, inclusive of all travel (Sept 15-29, 2019)
3 flights: Paris-Lyon, Barcelona-Seville, Seville-Paris
Visits to UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Orange, Arles, Tarraco, Merida, and Cordoba
Tours of museums in Lyon, Arles, Narbonne, Tarragona, and Paris
Biblical and early church connections include Paul’s potential visit to Spain, Irenaeus’s church in Pothinus, and the oldest Christian building in Gaul, the Basilica of St. Paul
Roman connections include two temples of Augustus, the birthplaces of Seneca, Claudius, Trajan, and Hadrian
In addition, you’ll see temples, theaters, amphitheaters, pyramids, triumphal arches, forums, mausoleums, nymphaeums, baths, necropolises, and synagogues.
Plus, you get a free day in Paris, which I would recommend be used for a return visit to the Louvre!

I can’t think of a better trip to France and Spain for those interested in the ancient Roman and New Testament worlds. So if you have this on your bucket list, this may be your best opportunity. All the details are here (pdf).

The Saint-Bénézet bridge and the Popes’ Palace in Avignon

Tagged Tourism

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

Archaeologists have discovered an underground chamber in Nero’s Domus Aurea palace.

“Ancient workers used molten iron to repair Pompeii’s streets before the historic and devastating eruption of Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79.”

Greek authorities have granted permission for the restoration of the interior of the Parthenon in Athens.

Turkish officials have discovered an ancient mosaic that was illegally excavated in Çanakkale.

“Ancient treasures pillaged from conflict zones in the Middle East are being offered for sale on Facebook, researchers say, including items that may have been looted by Islamic State militants.”

In light of ISIS’s plundering, researchers have attempted to quantity the market value of artifacts from a single site.

The Biblical History Center in LaGrange, Georgia, is seeking approval to build a replica of the Sea of Galilee.

The Minerva Center for the Relations between Israel and Aram in Biblical Times has announced the list of speakers for its 2019 conference “Between Israel, Aram and Phoenicia: Archaeological and Historical Perspectives.”

BibleX has posted a mini-review of the Photo Companion to Daniel.

HT: Ted Weis, Agade, A.D. Riddle

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Discoveries, Greece, Italy, Lectures, Tourism, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

In an article posted on his Academia website (abstract here), Joe Zias argues that the “Cave of John the Baptist” actually depicts the Crusader patron saint of leprosy suffers, the man Lazarus from Jesus’s parable in Luke 16.

A military fortress from the 26th Dynasty has been discovered in North Sinai.

The April Newsletter of the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities provides the latest in archaeological discoveries, exhibitions, inaugurations, and more. (As of this writing, the pdf has the pages in reverse order.)

The Harvard Gazette describes the background and value of the Digital Giza Project.

If you haven’t visited the Harvard Semitic Museum, you can now take a very nice virtual tour.

The topics on this week’s The Book and the Spade are the four-room house, slavery, and Selah.

Leon Mauldin writes about “the hearing ear” in the biblical and ancient world.

Israel’s Good Name took a birdwatching trip to Eilat.

Max Richardson has been photographing in Jerusalem since 1985 and he shares some of his photos in The Jerusalem Report.

Mark Hoffman reviews the new Daniel and Esther volumes in the Photo Companion to the Bible series.

HT: Charles Savelle, Ted Weis, Agade

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Jerusalem, Judah, Museums, Negev, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup

A statue likely depicting an Ammonite king in the 9th or 8th centuries BC was discovered near the Roman theater in Amman.

“Egypt’s antiquities ministry on Saturday unveiled a 4,500-year-old burial ground near the Giza pyramids containing colourful wooden coffins and limestone statues.”

Jerald Starr argues that a plaque discovered by Sir Leonard Woolley near Ur depicts a temple prostitute.

Gabriel Barkay provides a tour of important archaeological sites in east Jerusalem.

Roman buildings like the Colosseum may have withstood earthquakes because of “seismic cloaking,” though it’s questionable whether this design was intentional.

John DeLancey is summarizing each day of his current tour to Israel, with the latest post about their visit to the Judean desert, the hill country of Samaria, Shiloh, and Beth Shean.

The Tel Burna Excavation team has released their lecture and tour schedule.

Carl Rasmussen explains and shows how early churches may have met in a second-story room above a shop.

Justin Taylor interviews Weston Fields about the history and significance of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Clyde Billington and Gordon Govier discuss what the Bible has to say about horses and dogs on The Book and the Spade.

BiblicalCulture.org is offering a three-month long summer course in Biblical Hebrew. No previous knowledge is necessary. Classes begin in June.

The Temple Mount Sifting Project is beginning a crowdfunding campaign in order to move and resume their operations as well as publish their results.

Helga Weippert passed away in March.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Charles Savelle, Ted Weis, Keith Keyser, Chris McKinny

Tagged Dead Sea, Discoveries, Egypt, Excavations, Italy, Jerusalem, Jordan, Sad News, Shephelah, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Global Smyrna Meeting on the Seven Churches of Revelation

I just received notice of a conference to be held next summer in Turkey. The invitation is open to all, and it looks like an outstanding slate of speakers and an outstanding itinerary including on-site tours led by the archaeologists. Opportunities like this, especially geared toward non-scholars, are all too rare. I expect it will be an very beneficial conference.

Below I have copied the invitation from Levent Oral (President, Tutku) and Mark Wilson (President, Seven Churches Network). Few people know biblical Turkey as well as Mark Wilson, and probably no one runs better tours of Turkey than Levent Oral.
—————

A unique Biblical event is coming to Turkey in June of 2020! And we’d like you and your congregation to be a part of it.

We invite you to the Global Smyrna Meeting on the Seven Churches of Revelation to be held in Izmir (ancient Smyrna) on June 21-27, 2020.

Not only will you visit each of the Seven Churches during the course of the Meeting, but you will also hear some of the world’s leading authorities discuss these churches from the perspective of history, religion, and archaeology. A time of worship will precede each of the inspiring evening sessions. So mark these dates on your calendar and make plans to experience the Seven Churches with us.

Lecturers:

♦ Dr. Mark Wilson http://sevenchurches.org/home/ Seven Churches Network & Asia Minor Research Center

♦ Dr. Ben Witherington www.benwitherington.com Asbury Theological Seminary

♦ Dr. Mark Fairchild http://www.huntington.edu/Bible/Faculty/Mark-Fairchild Huntington University.

♦ Dr. Carl Rasmussen www.holylandphotos.org Bethel College

♦ Dr. Jeff Weima http://www.jeffreyweima.com/ Calvin Theological Seminary

♦ Dr. Linford Stutzman http://www.sailingacts.com/the-sailors Eastern Mennonite University

♦ Pastor Bernard Bell, Peninsula Bible College, Cupertino, CA https://pbcc.org/

♦ Bishop Daniel Balais, Philippines https://www.intercessorsforthephilippines.com/

♦ …and more

Churches invited from:

USA, Canada, England, France, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Philippines, Russia,
Ukraine, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, and more.

To reserve a place, simply email Erin Dailey: [email protected]

For further details, please visit: www.globalsmyrnameeting.com

Tagged Lectures, Tourism, Turkey

Weekend Roundup

Eggshells discovered in the City of David are the first evidence of chicken eggs used the diet of ancient Israelites.

A group of high schoolers discovered a rare gold coin from the time of Theodosius II (AD 420) on a class trip in Galilee.

A new archaeological visitor center has opened at Jokneam, at the base of Mount Carmel not far from Megiddo. The highlight is a 9th-century statue of the city’s ruler. There’s a slideshow on Facebook.

The partnership between Israel Finkelstein and Tel Aviv University physics professor Eli Piasetzky began when the latter was volunteering undercover at the Megiddo excavation.

The new Petra Museum has been inaugurated. It is located next to the main entrance to the site.

Flora Brooke Anthony provides examples of how Egyptians depicted in art their northern neighbors in the Levant.

Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities Newsletter for March 2019 is now online.

Adriano Orsingher explains the purpose of Phoenician and Punic masks.

Salvage excavations in Larnaca, Cyprus, revealed more than 110 tombs from the Early Bronze to the Late Roman periods.

Lightning recently struck the Acropolis in Greece, closing it temporarily.

Emory University is receiving the Senusret Collection, “one of the most extensive collections of ancient Egyptian and Near Eastern artwork to be donated to a US museum.”

“Life Lessons from Israel: Dan” is the latest video produced by Biblical Israel Ministries & Tours.

Israel’s Good Name recounts his visit to Herodium.

Now is the time to register for the 2019 season at Tell es-Safi/Gath.

“The arched stone-built hall in Jerusalem venerated by Christians as the site of Jesus’ Last Supper has been digitally recreated by archaeologists using laser scanners and advanced photography.”

Carl Rasmussen’s posts this week focus on Jesus’s crucifixion, including (1) crucified man from Jerusalem; (2) bone box of Caiaphas; (3) Church of the Holy Sepulcher; and (4) the best rolling stone tomb in Israel.

Pilgrims in Jerusalem yesterday celebrated Good Friday and Passover.

Police arrested several people who were planning to smuggle two baby goats onto the Temple Mount for a sacrifice.

The Samaritans celebrated Passover on Thursday evening. See below for a few photos my son took at the event.

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Steven Anderson, Chris McKinny

“He was led like a lamb to the slaughter…”

“And as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth…”

“He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken…”

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Excavations, Galilee, Greece, Holidays, Jerusalem, Judah, Mediterranean Islands, Museums, Temple Mount, Tourism, Weekend Roundup