Spring Break Academic Trips

Students explored the rich culture of biblical history while they grappled with the contemporary struggle between Jew and Arab in the modern state of Israel. Students focused on Israel since 1948 and were able to view battle sites in past Arab-Israeli conflicts as well as evaluate the impact of the Holocaust through visits to the Atlit holding camp and the Yad Vashem memorial.

Students experienced East Jerusalem with its Muslim population as well as noting how secular and orthodox Jews lived in West Jerusalem. They listened to an Israeli settler and saw the aftermath of several days of protest in East Jerusalem. Sleeping in a Bedouin tent in the Negev Desert introduced another tradition into their experience.

This class traveled to Turkey to view sites related to their study of the Byzantine Empire from the time of Emperor Constantine in 313 A.D. to its fall to the Muslim Turks in 1453. Students spent time in Istanbul (formerly known as Constantinople) and traveled through a number of cities in western Turkey such as Bursa, Ephesus, and Izmir. They also examined the beliefs and impact of Eastern Christianity as well as the society and culture of Byzantium.

Students were also encouraged to understand the contemporary Muslim culture they were experiencing in a country with a secular tradition created under Ataturk in the 1920s. Hearing the call to prayer each day and eating kebab and drinking tea in local cafes were part of the experience.