Surfin’ USA

Visit to the Holy Land

As I wrote earlier, I spent three weeks in Israel this summer. My visit was part of a research cooperation that we at UCI have with a group at the Technion University in Haifa. My Israeli hosts arranged for a nice room on campus for me and I spent most of my time with work related to our project.

I did, however, manage to explore Haifa itself as well as go to Jerusalem for two days. The latter was especially impressive with its rich history and religious significance for several major religions. Most of my stay there was spent in the Old City with its maze-like alleys, street bazaars and countless churches, temples, shrines, etc. I had come prepared with plenty of information about various sites and their significance, but it was still tough to keep up with all the different religious denominations and their respective beliefs. Among other things, I visited the Western Wall of the Old Temple (the holiest site in Judaism) and followed the Way of the Cross, along the Via Dolorosa, to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built on the site where it is believed that Jesus was crucified and later buried.

Naturally I’ve taken many pictures, a selection of which you can check out below.

All in all it was great trip, both from a work perspective as well as personally. Israel is a very fascinating country, and I hope I can return one day to visit more places, learning hands-on about its impressive history.