Throw This Rench in the Mix

Thursday, June 2, 2011

A Hole in the Wall, Literally

So I have this Palestinian teacher. He’s super smart, very nice, has a thick accent, and wears cool shirts. His first and last names are the same (convenient, right?), and most importantly, he’s a local. Every few classes, when we come back from our five minute break (it’s the only way we survive two hours of the history and current issues of Palestine) he surprises us with a new suggestion of some local food we MUST try.

This time it was Mutabbaq.

I have no idea if I spelled that right, but I’m guessing nobody reading this will know either. He told us the name of the guy who makes it, warned us of the sketchy appearance of the place, but assured us it was delicious—the best in Jerusalem. Apparently, this guy doesn’t even have a sign on his shop but he says he doesn’t need one because all the locals know about it and go enough to keep him in business. My teacher told us to walk around, ask people where he is, and we’d find him.

So after asking random shopkeepers around the old city, we came to an ugly one-windowed gray door under a staircase that opened to an even uglier interior. It was quite literally a hole in the wall. I mean, really, I felt like I was in a cave. It had a stone floor, stone walls, stainless steel appliances, and a few gray tables and chairs pushed to the side. There was no menu, no sign, and no decoration whatsoever.

A little Arab man who shockingly resembled a sad puppy greeted us and seemed a little bewildered to see a couple of American kids in his shop asking for mutabbaq, and probably pronouncing it completely incorrectly. Nevertheless, he asked us whether we wanted cheese or nut, invited us to sit down, and slopped some goo on the stove. I didn’t know he was going to make it fresh right in front of us.

We made ourselves at home in his little cave while trying to figure out how the heck we got there, and a few minutes later, he placed a plate in front of us with a powdered-sugar coated pastry thing. We looked at it a little skeptically, took a few pictures in case it was the last evidence of our lives on this earth, and then dug in.

Oh man, it was good! It was a cheesy, gooey, yet crispy piece of heaven. So worth the 20 shekels, and quite the cultural experience.

Well done, Palestine teacher. Well done.

Mutabbaq

And we even survived.

Awesome Pants

Last week we had Arab Culture Night. This meant we all dressed up in Arab clothes. This meant I needed to go shopping, and shopping in the old city is always an adventure. We navigated the maze of narrow walkways, said hello to a few of our favorite shopkeepers, and came to a nice looking shop full of colorful fabrics, racks of clothes, and shelves of other Arab stuff.

We stepped inside and went straight for the genie pants. You know the ones. Think of Genie on Aladdin. This shop was full of racks and bins of pants of all different kinds. They had silky, shiny, paisley, solid, striped, and more. As a bunch of over-eager American students, I guess it’s only fair to say we got a little excited.

“Check out these genie pants!”

“I like the green ones!”

And so on.

After a little while, the uncharacteristically calm shop owner came over and watched us utterly destroy his store. After a few minutes of watching us, he said, “Why you call them genie pants?”

We looked at each other, puzzled. It seemed so obvious.

“Haven’t you seen Aladdin?”

“Yes,” he said. We sighed, relieved.

“Well you know Genie, the big blue guy?” He nodded. “Well he wears these kind of pants, hence Genie pants.” Then it occurred to us, “What do you call them?”

“Allah-din pants.” Oh, Aladdin pants. Yeah, that would make sense too, I suppose.

“Well, since you have taught me something today, I give you discount. Twenty shekels.” They were just twenty-five.

“Sweet! Can we teach you something else?” This had the potential to be really good.

“No, I can only learn one new thing per month.” Blast.

“Well did you learn anything last month? We can make up for it. I’m a wealth of knowledge.” Sadly, the pants remained at 20 shekels, but that’s really not bad. 20 shekels is only about $6.00.

“By the way,” I said as we were leaving, “what’s your name?”

“Ahsom,” He replied, and then he smiled, “It’s awesome.”

And it was.

My awesome roommates

Most of the girls.

And here is a camel. Hopefully soon I'll ride a real one.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

A Mis Amigos en Espana

Hola a mis amigos en espana que conocen a mi hermano menor, Elder Rencher. Mi espanol necesita practica, pero quisiera decir hola a el, y los miembros de su barrio. Estoy en la ciudad de Jerusalem en el centro de Brigham Young University. Estudio la biblia, cultura, historia, y idiomas. Las clases son muy interestantes y aprendo mucho. La ciudad es tan magnifico y siento la influencia del Senor mucho.

El gobierno aqui en Israel nos ha prohibido a predicar el evangelio, y he aprendido la importancia de nuestros ejemplos. La gente en la ciudad nos reconoce como Mormones todos los dias porque ellos ven como hablamos, vestimos, y actuamos y ve la luz en nuestros ojos. Ellos nos quieren mucho y yo se que estamos missioneros como nuestros ejemplos.

Espero que tengan una semana buena y la obra misional este progresando muy bien.

Paz y bendiciones.

Adios!

Saturday, May 28, 2011

More Turkish Delight (not always on a moon lit night)

Underground Cistern in Istanbul. Phantom of the Opera, yes?

Random church we found through a gate in Istanbul

Shepherd of the "Sheeps and lambs"

Sunset in Cannakale

Cool lighthouse, probably covered in Turkish profanity

A Turkish Turkey! I had to take a picture.

Ruins in Pergamum

Largest Roman theater in the world, located in Pergamum

Theater at Ephesus

Ruins at Ephesus

Grand Mosque in Bursa

Haggia Sophia in Istanbul

Turkey...the Country

Last week, we took a week and traveled to Turkey. Immediately, I fell in love with the country, the people, the food (for the most part) and the sites. This country is so beautiful and intriguing. I don't want to totally bore you with the details, because nothing I say can describe it anyway. Just a quick overview though, we started our trip in Istanbul where we met our hilarious Turkish tour guide named Bulent. We visited some beautiful sights in the city such as the Blue Mosque and Topkapi Palace. We also cruised along the Bosphorus Strait which connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara.

We traveled south and saw each of the Seven Churches of Asia referenced in the Book of Revelations. After visiting the sights, what the New Testament says about each city makes so much more sense than it ever did before. We saw ruins like Troy where Homer's Illiad is believed to have taken place, and Ephesus where Paul and John lived and taught the gospel. While in Ephesus, we had the unique opportunity to sit in the amphitheater there were the people once sat and shouted "Great is Diana of the Ephesians!" for two hours during Paul's time. After a short lesson from our religion teacher, we stood on the stage and sang a hymn for a bunch of foreign tourists who clapped for us. It was incredible to think we were singing in a theater where 2,000 years earlier, John and Paul probably came to watch plays and shows.

We also visited cities like Miletus, Bursa, Pergamum, Hierapolis, Assos where the ancient temple of Athena once stood, and Nicaea where the Nicene Creed was developed by Constantine and the many bishops of the early Christian church. As Turkey is 97% Muslim, we visited a few mosques, and at some we had to wear head scarves.

We had our fill of Turkish Delight (delightful, if you ask me), had a few strolls along the waterfront, and made as many Turkey puns as we could. It was wonderful in every way.