An advantage of having visiting friends is the chance to learn by visiting museums. While I had been to parts of the museums below before, there is always more to see and learn. A few tidbits...
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| an arrowhead from Israel, authenticated as being 'from the time of the Judges' (in the Istanbul Military Museum) |
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| fish symbol (in similar spots, images of crosses had been removed) (in the Hagia Sofia) |
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| figures from Mesopotamia - one appears to be a winged unicorn, a similar relief was from the Babylonian Ishtar Gate. Does pegasus cross with unicorn in ancient mythology as well as modern children's play? (in the Ancient Orient Museum in the Istanbul Archaeological Museums) |
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| an altar (in the Istanbul Archaeological Museum) |
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| another perspective on the altar |
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| The 'wall of partition' beyond which Gentiles were not allowed to enter the Jewish temple. It is believed to be from Herod's temple. (at the Istanbul Archaeological Museums) |
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| The Turkish would be better translated 'no foreigner' instead of 'no intruder', as is confirmed elsewhere online: "No foreigner is allowed in the courtyard and within the wall surrounding the temple. Whoever enters will invite death for himself." (at the Istanbul Archaeological Museums) |
An item of interest which I didn't take a picture of is the Siloam Inscription (pictured here) which describes the conduit that Hezekiah had built as mentioned in 2 Kings 20:20. This is apparently one of the earliest extant Hebrew inscriptions.
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| Caltrops - historically used to stop calvary charges; here apparently used against infantry (in the Istanbul Military Museum) |
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| a daffodil, with a snail inside (between Gulhane Park and the Archaelogical Museum) |
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