Mesopotamian Foods

Below list of foods found in ancient Mesopotamia.     Most of my information for this list comes from The Food Timeline's section on Mesopotamia and The Silk Road Gourmet, a blog about ancient and historical foods.   Some of these would be great for making and eating with kids, others are not as kid friendly...but I included all I found just to be thorough.

For those doing the Group VBS covering the story of the Daniel in Babylon, I've tried to include any details that might be relevant.  I believe all of these were all foods eaten during the Babylonian period (assuming the older recipes would still be around later).


MEALS & RECIPES

Everyday meals probably consisted of barley paste or barleycake, accompanied by onions or a handful of beans and washed down with barley ale, but the fish that swarmed in the rivers of Mesopotamia were a not-too-rare luxury.

- Food in History, Reay Tannahill 

I tried to make note of ones which were easier, or had more accessible ingredients...but included more complex dishes as well.  




MEAT DISHES

Lamb With Flatbread
This recipe was concocted based on what would have been available in the time of King Darius.  

Lamb with Barley and Mint (and other recipes)
This recipe (found  the end of the page...just scroll down) is the easiest of the meat recipes I've found.   Easy to find ingredients too.  Mint and lamb are both strong flavors many kids aren't used to, but some kids might still try this.   There are several other recipes also listed further up but they are straight out of ancient tablets without having been translated for the modern stovetop, so would take some experimenting. 

"Pigeon" (Cornish Hens) with Herbs
Moderately hard dish, but one I think kids might like, if they like un-breaded chicken (in fact, you could probably substitute chicken).   The ingredients don't seem hard to find, except asafetida which you could substitute with garlic and onion powder (more than the amount of asafetida called for, but I'm not sure how much more--asafetida is supposed to taste pretty potent).

Kofta
This is a Persian dish, so not one of the earliest Mesopotamian dishes (probably wasn't around in ancient Sumer or Ur)...but it may have been introduced when Cyrus the Great took over Babylon, and possibly could have been some of the fare on Darius' table (though it may have been introduced later).  The most likely candidate for the original meatball, kofta is a dish of minced or ground beef, chicken, pork, or lamb, mixed with rice, bulgur, or mashed lentils. Now typically fashioned into cigar-sized cylinders, kofta seems to have originated with the Persians, who passed it to the Arabs.

Lamb with Licorice and Juniper Berries
Neither lamb nor licorice are universally liked by children--both have rather strong tastes.  However, this seems like it's a little easier than some of the other meat dishes (less steps), although there's a few ingredients that might be tricky to find (especially juniper berries).  If you happen to have a Juniper bush or tree in your yard, please read this first before using any berries off it.   Some types of juniper "berries" (actually, small fleshy cones) are less edible than others, and none are good in large quantities (though used as a spice in small quantities others are perfectly safe).  Again, asafetida can probably be  substituted with garlic and onion powder (more than the amount of asafetida called for, but I'm not sure how much more--asafetida is supposed to taste pretty potent).    Oranges, limes or lemons can substitute for citrus.

Lamb with Licorice and Juniper Berries II
This one seems like it would take longer and be more complex than the similar recipe above, but has less unusual ingredients (save for the juniper berries).

Licorice Pork Tenderloin
Moderately hard dish.  Licorice is a strong taste, so many kids won't like this.   It contains some hard to find ingredients, but most of them can be substituted with commoner items  (they say asafetida tastes like garlic and onion, for instance)

Wildfowl Pie
This is a very complex recipe most kids probably wouldn't even try after all that work.   Has a few harder to find ingredients, mostly spices, which possibly could be left out or substituted. Cinnamon was an imported spice, so this would have be food for the well-off, not for the commoner.

Masgouf (Marinated Fish)
There is evidence that Masgouf, often considered the national dish of Iraq, was being cooked as early as 2700 BC in Mesopotamia.  It was a dish that would have been eaten by common workers, not just the upper class.  While today it's generally cooked with tomatoes (something they wouldn't have had), I found this recipe that does not include that.  Most of the ingredients are things they would have had.  They would not have had paprika, and they probably did not yet have black pepper (though pepper, which originates from India, had reached as far as Egypt by the time of Ramases II, who's mummy was found to have pepper stuffed in his nose).   

Meat Broth 

SOUPS AND STEWS

Babylonian Beef Stew

Mesopotamian Lamb Stew

Lamb and Carob Stew
Sounds yummy for soup lovers...but more steps than most soups/stews (and considerable time to make, which is pretty normal for soups).  Carob powder will be the hardest ingredient to find--the rest are not too unusual.


OTHER DISHES

Sasqu (Porridge with Dates) 
Scroll down to find this recipe.   Fairly simple to make, though date syrup, which can be omitted from the recipe, may be hard to find.    I think some kids would try this.  

Mersu with Cheese
Pretty easy recipe, similar to the cream cheese filled dates I listed in the deserts below, but more savory/spicy, less sweet (though the dates will provide some sweetness).   I haven't tried these so I'm not sure if kids would like them, but I do think kids would like the sweeter version, so it might be fun to have this too for contrast.   Labnah tastes almost identical to store bought cream cheese and so cream cheese can be substituted (though labnah is fun and not too hard to make).

Mashed Turnips and Herbs
Doesn't sound hard if you have a food processor, and the ingredients are easy to find, but I'm not sure how many kids would actually try this.   But on the other hand, this may well have one of the types of "vegetables" that Daniel would have been served, so it might be worth having just for that.

Roaster Barley and Herb Pilaf
Lots of steps to this, but I think at the end you'ld have something many kids would try and enjoy.   It contains a few strange ingredients, some of which can be substituted or omitted.   You could use garlic and onion powder for asafetida (more of it, but I'm not sure how much more, as asafetida is supposed to taste pretty potent).  "Blood" can be omitted, but it's inclusion in the recipe on a Babylonian tablet shows how hard it would have been for Jews like Daniel to keep the dietary restrictions of the Law while in Babylon, since even food that were primarily made of things that were permitted might be seasoned with things that weren't, like "blood." (Genesis 9:4, Leviticus 7:26).  


BREADS

Mesopotamian Wheat Bread
- Easy recipe kids would enjoy eating and making, with common ingredients.  To make this more accurate though, you'd need to use something less common (emmer wheat or spelt flour would be closest to what they had, or at least a whole wheat flour of some sort). 

Leavened Mesopotamian Bread - FROM SCRATCH
So, this isn't so much a recipe as a description of a trial of making leavened bread like they would have in Mesopotamia.   Someone familiar with making bread might be able to use this to make their own, but it would be daunting for a novice.  Still, if you are making an easier recipe using more modern ingredients, it might be a good idea to read this to get acquainted with the extra steps ancient Babylonians would have had to go through.


DESERTS

Cream Cheese Filled Dates
This is a simple recipe from a modern site, but it goes back to antiquity.   You could use pistachio nuts in stead of almonds for a more "Babylonian" feel (or no nuts, which many kids would prefer).     I can't speak for all kids, but I loved this as a kid (though the recipe we made at home involved rolling the cream cheese dates in sugar, in stead of adding honey to the cream cheese--but honey is more authentic).  

Pistacio Mersu

A simple recipe for Mersu with pistachios, and a lot of historical info to go with it.

Mersu Sweet Balls (with historical info)

These look delicious and not too difficult.

Mersu (2nd recipe - also with fun historical info)

Mersu (3rd recipe)

Dried Apricot Mersu

3 Date Deserts
Two of these seem pretty easy, and all of them sound delicious.  Ingredients are either easy to find or optional. 

Cheese Mersu
These date deserts are a little more authentic than the one above, but really, cream cheese is a fine substitute for labnah, though labnah is super fun.

Palace Cake
Scroll down to find this recipe.  Moderate difficulty.  Many kids would try and enjoy this.

Dried Fruit Compote
Scroll down to find this recipe. Doesn't sound too hard, but I think most kids would enjoy the dried fruit more than the compote made from them, so it might not be worth the trouble.

Cuneiform Gingerbread Tablets
Not authentic, at all, but you know what, these are just too fun not to include. 

CHEESE

Labneh
Labneh with Olive Oil
Labneh is a middle eastern cream cheese that may be close to what ancient Mesopotamians had.   It's extremely simple and easy to make...just takes a lot of time to drain.   Apart from being a little softer, it does taste very similar to store bought cream cheese though, so making it is more for the experience than the taste.


TOPPINGS/INGREDIENTS

Rose Water
This site shows how to make your own rose water several ways.   If you are using roses from your own garden, please make sure that they are organic roses only (no dangerous pesticides, including fertilizer that contains pesticides).  Rose water can also be found in some health stores.

Rose Water Syrup
So, I've noticed rose water in another Mesopotamian recipe, so I imagine the syrup might be just as old, and it sound really interesting.   I'm not sure what it would have gone on.   



MORE STRAIGHT FROM THE CUNEIFORM
Other than being translated to English, these recipes are just as the ancient Mesopotamian wrote them.   In other words, it may take some experimenting to figure out cooking times and other things that were left out....but if you enjoy that sort of thing, these links will give you something to play with:

Ancient Mesopotamia Cook-off Challenge
Some of these others have already attempted, and you will find those recipes above.

An Assyrian Banquet
Some of these also have been attempted and are listed above.

 Warriors swimming on inflated skins among fish.
"Over fifty different types [of fish] are mentioned in texts dating before 2300 BC,  although the number of types had diminished in Babylonian times"
--Food in History, Reay Tannahill

INGREDIENTS THEY USED
All of these were found on The Food Timeline's section on Mesopotamia unless specifically noted or linked to another site.


MEATS

Generally, meats were either dried, smoked, or salted for safekeeping, or they were cooked by roasting, boiling, broiling, or barbecuing.

- Handbook of Life in Ancient Mesopotamia, Stephen Bertman

Various fish (over 50 kinds)
Lamb (meat of a young sheep)
Mutton (meat of an adult sheep)
Pork
Beef and Veal
 -  Cattle were not usually slaughtered until the end of their working lives, so the meat would be more tough and stringy.
Ducks
Pigeons
Geese
Ducks
Deer
Gazelle

Fried-fish vendors...did a thriving trade in the narrow, winding streets of Ur. Onions, cucumbers, freshly grilled goat, mutton and pork (not yet taboo in the Near East) were to be had from other food stalls.

- Food in History, Reay Tannahill

DAIRY
Milk (from goats, cows, and sheep)
Cheese
Butter
Yogurt
Eggs (goose and duck)


GRAINS
Barley
 - Barley paste, barley cake, bread, grain soup
Emmer Wheat
 - Cakes, Bread
Millet



VEGETABLES/FUNGI
Legume Soups were a common dish
Chick peas
Lentils
Bean
Peas
Carob/Carob Seeds*
Onions
Garlic
Leek
Cucumber
Muskmelon (similar to cucumber)
Cress/Cress Seed
Mustard
Lettuce
Cabbage
Carrots
Radishes
Beets
Turnips
Truffles
Wild Tulip Bulbs -  Andahsu - (or possibly wild crocus or lily bulb)
    - NOT ALL TULIP BULBS ARE EDIBLE

*These were listed on The Silk Road Gourmet article Some Mesopotamian Ingredients Revealed


FRUITS & BERRIES
Fruits were often preserved in honey, and any fruit that could be dried was also dried to preserve it, as well as eaten fresh.
Dates
  - Most important fruit crop in Mesopotamia
Apple
Fig
Apricots
Peaches***
Cherries
Melons
Mulberries
Pears
Plumbs
Pomegranate
Quince
Citron** (can substitute orange, lime or lemon in recipes)
Juniper Berries*
Grape
 - Raisins
 - One source says that grapes were rarely used.

*These were listed on The Silk Road Gourmet article Some Mesopotamian Ingredients Revealed
**Mentioned in pork recipe on ancient mesopotamian tablet
***From DK Eyewitness Books:  Mesopotamia

SEEDS AND NUTS
Sesame Seeds
Pistacios
Walnuts



SPICES/SWEETENERS

King Merodach-Baladan II (721-710 BC) of Babylonia grew 64 different species of plants in his royal garden. He kept records on how to cultivate many spices and herbs such as cardamom, coriander, garlic, thyme, saffron, and turmeric. The religion of Babylonia involved an ancient medical god of the moon, who controlled medicinal plants. Potent parts of herbs were not allowed sun exposure and were harvested by moonlight.

- History of Spices:  McCormic Spice Institute

Asafetida**
Cardamon****
Coriander
Cress
Cilantro***
Cumin
Dill***
Fennel
Fenugreek
Garlic****
Leek
Licorice**
Marjoram
Mint
Mustard
Poppy****
Rosemary
Rue
Saffron
Sea salt*
Sesame****
Silphium****
Thyme
Turmeric****



**These were listed on The Silk Road Gourmet article Some Mesopotamian Ingredients Revealed
**Mentioned in pork recipe on ancient Mesopotamian tablet
***Mentioned as Mesopotamian food in recipe for Wildfowl Pie
****Mentioned in History of Spices:  McCormic Spice Institute and Tasty Bite and Cameo  (it was also used as a dye...see Tasty Bite).   This post has more info on dyes in Mesopotamia.



OILS
Sesame Oil****
Possibly Other Vegetable Oils

****Mentioned in History of Spices:  McCormic Spice Institute



SWEETENERS

Honey


ALCOHOL
Barley Beer
Wine? (One source said grapes were rarely used)

 

Wrapped Walking Stick - Alternative Wilderness Craft

Several years ago for Vacation Bible School our church decided to trek into the "wilderness" and bring kids into the story of Moses and the Israelites in a very hands-on way. One craft we did for this, which wasn't part of the original program but just fit perfectly, was decorating walking sticks. It took a little scrounging around for materials, and a lot of sawing, but it was absolutely worth it--the kids loved them.

This is a fun craft that, while it takes some adult prep, is easy for kids to do. It can be simplified for a young child, yet is still an enjoyable creative project in the hands of an adult.   Our teen volunteers enjoyed this craft as much as our kindergarteners, as both were able to work on it at their own level.

Learn how to make your own below! Below the craft instruction there's tips on how to use this as a group project (and if you're using it for Wilderness Escape VBS like I was, there's a ton of extra info at the bottom on how to tweak this especially for Wilderness VBS.)

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How to Wrap a Walking Stick With Yarn
We decorated our sticks with either yarn or cloth (or both). Below is a video showing how to wrap the stick with yarn. At the beginning of this video I said that I have "a few inches of yarn." I misspoke...I actually had a few feet...but what I meant was that I had a few inches of yarn left over to form a "tail."   You can add beads other charms to the left over yarn tails, as shown in the picture at the top of this page (more on that below).

I love how the yarn looked on this curvy stick.  

How to Wrap a Stick With Cloth

You can also wrap a stick with cloth tied in yarn (or leather if you can afford it).  

This is actually a useful feature as it creates a padded area for a hand-hold (the more padding you want, the more layers you will want to wrap around your stick). We used strips from old t-shirts, but you can use any type of cloth you want (or even scraps of leather).

Wrapping cloth on a stick is fairly simple. First roll a strip of cloth around the stick. Then take a long piece of yarn and tie it tightly near to top of the cloth.  Make your tie in the middle of the yarn so you have two fairly equal lengths of yarn hanging down, and leave about an inch of cloth above where you tie it. For a criss-cross design, spiral one of these down the cloth, and the other in the opposite direction, so that the two lengths of yarn criss-cross, then at the bottom (about an inch from the edge of the fabric), tie these two yarn-tails together tightly.

Adding Decorations

You can add beads or charms to the strings that are left when you are done tying your yarn. You will need beads with a hole large enough that yarn can fit through. I look for beads with holes just slightly larger than the yarn, because then after I've put them on the yarn, all I need to do is tie a double or triple knot in the yarn and that holds on the beads. You can also get charms that tie on the yarn, and those will hold up all the beads above them.

Getting beads onto thick, fuzzy yarn can be tricky! But I have a trick that makes it easy! I use floss threaders (the kind found in the dental aisle of most supermarkets). Just put the yarn through the large hoop of the floss threader, insert the bead over the small pointy end, and then pull the bead down over the yarn. You can see floss threaders in use in the picture below.

Some Bead Suggestions

I personally prefer wood, glass, or clay beads to the plastic pony beads for this project, because they are closer to what they would have actually had, and I think it's special for kids when things feel real.  If you limit kids to just 2 or three beads each it's not that costly--one $10 mixed bag got me through all of VBS with plenty to spare.  My mixed bag also had shells, which worked well with the story.  I told the kids I picked them up crossing the Red Sea.  These had holes too small for yarn, so I put jump rings through the small holes, which could then be easily tied to the yarn.

Below is a set that looked workable on Amazon (click on picture to click through).   You probably could find similar sets at your local hobby or craft store.

Other Decoration Ideas 

And a few practical considerations

You can add lots of other decorations as well. You could use decorative tape, paint, ribbons...whatever you can think of. You could even carve patterns in your stick if you like to whittle. Skies the limit!

But whatever you do keep practicality in mind. Make sure to leave a smooth surface to hold (or a soft one). Don't put hanging beads and baubles where it will hit your hand as you walk. Be careful of putting paint where you will hold your stick as it might rub off over time (stains might work better). And make sure that whatever you decorate with, it's able to withstand a little weather and wear.

Guide for Using This Craft in Wilderness VBS

Gathering Sticks

The hardest thing about doing this craft as a large group is obtaining the sticks. Luckily, when we needed them, it was in springtime when everyone is pruning their trees. We happened on a large pile of branches from a lot that had been cleared and contacted the owner who let us remove branches to use. You can ask landscapers to see if they would mind you taking branches from trees they trimmed. You can contact your local parks and wildlife office to see if there is any public land that needs clearing (where we live, Bamboo is an invasive species, and we could have easily gotten a permit to go cut some). You can also go on Craigslist to find individuals wanting to get rid of wood from tree prunings, or post a request on a local facebook page.

Look for sticks that are relatively straight, and about 1-2 inches in diameter. Watch out for sticks that are rotten or molded, and make sure to ask if any of the wood had been treated for pesticides (which you will want to avoid). You will want sticks of varying lengths for people of various heights.   A good height for a walking stick is about 6-8 inches taller than a person's elbow if their arms are hanging straight down (got that tip from Boy's Life). 

Setting Up

It can be helpful to cut lengths of yarn beforehand, as well as cloth if you're using that. Set beads in small bowls that aren't easily tipped, and put the floss-threaders with them. Since there were two of us teaching we piled sticks on two sides of the area so that we could pass them out more easily.

Once People Arrive

We had everyone stand up so that we could match them with a stick as they arrived. If you're doing this craft with kids this is also a good time to explain what this craft is and isn't used for (i.e....this is a walking stick, not a fighting stick). Once everyone had a stick we had them sit down and demonstrated ways they could decorate their sticks. Then we showed them the various materials we had available to work with, and let them pick out some things to get started.

NOTE:   Walking sticks with thin pointy ends can't just be turned upside-down, so watch to make sure people are decorating the top end of their stick (the skinny end, not the fat end).   A few of our kids ended up decorating the wrong end of their stick (not that it's wrong to decorate the bottom...but they meant to decorate the top). 

A Few More General Tips

for using this for Wilderness VBS

• We had problems with the sticks catching on the side draping on our tent. I suggest either using a high canopy and securing any draping up high where it's harder to catch on, or not using a tent at all. This is a craft that could be done around a campfire (a nice fake one) where it would have been natural to stack sticks. "Look at all these sticks...some of these are just too good for the campfire" your character could say.

• If you aren't using the Sandal Making Shop, the sign for it can be used for walking sticks.

• I made up a story about how other Isrealites kept using my walking sticks as firewood, so I started decorating my walking sticks so people wouldn't use them for kindling. This is fun background story, and you could even work at a little skit about it with another shopkeeper.

• I find it's best to try to get your script/questions in right at the beginning, before you start explaining the craft. While this is a fairly simple craft, you'll still be busy helping younger kids who have trouble tying knots, re-explaining to kids who weren't paying attention in the beginning, and cutting yarn and passing out other supplies.

• You probably don't want kids to take their sticks with them to game time and other stations, so I suggest having kids leave their sticks with you and collect them after celebration. If you're worried about them forgetting you can take the sticks to the door and hand them out as people leave.

• One thing I wish I had done was take pictures of all the kids in their tunics with their walking sticks before they left. If you do that, write down the kids name and tribe before they leave so you can get the picture to their parents later. (If you print them yourself from home you can get all but the last day's to the tribe leader to pass out to the kids).

• Many churches do a celebration on their final day of VBS where they invite families to enjoy extra activities for everyone. A great activity for this would be a hike through the camp or around the church grounds (or even around the neighborhood if this was feasible)...and you could invite kids to bring their walking sticks with them.

Picture showing a typical egyptian staff

Photo taken by Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin and shared under

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International

Biblical/Historical Significance of Moses' Staff

Of course, I can't neglect saying a few words about the most important walking stick in the Israelite camp--the "Rod of Moses"--more significantly called the "Rod of God." It was an ordinary walking stick, but God used it, and Moses, and ordinary man, to do extraordinary things.

"You shall take in your hand this staff, with which you shall perform the signs.”

It is significant that when God sent Moses to Egypt he commanded him to take his staff, and that he asked Moses to use it when God performed most of His miracles both in Egypt and the wilderness. In Ancient Egypt the staff was a sign of authority, power and dominion. The Pharaoh, Egyptians priests, and many of the Egyptians gods were often pictured with a staff.

And so it makes sense that God would have sent Moses with such a symbol of authority, one that the Egyptians could easily recognize. Imagine what Pharaoh must have thought, a man who considered himself a god, when Moses arrived with his ordinary shepherd's staff, and did wonders Pharaoh could only dream of?  It was a display of God's true authority.

Sources and Additional Info

The Rod and Staff of the Lord - The Dawn Magazine 

A thorough article about the significance of the Rod and Staff in scripture from the Christian Life and Doctrine section of The Dawn Magazine, August 2009.

Shepherd's Staff Represents God's Spirit - Bibletools

This article overviews how shepherds in Bible times used the staff.
    

Was-Sceptre - Wikipedia

I got my information on the use of the staff as a symbol of authority in ancient Egypt here.

Historical Background: Yarn

While the Egyptians mainly used linen, the Israelites mainly used wool for clothing.   They would have had plentiful wool to make yarn from their herds.   Can you imagine crossing the desert wearing wool? But since the Bible says they took clothes from the Egyptians when they left, as well as gold and silver items, it's likely they would have had linen clothing items too.

The Israelites did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold and for clothing.  The Lord had made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and they gave them what they asked for; so they plundered the Egyptians.
 - Exodus 12:35-36 NIV 

Tents though, most certainly would have been made with wool, which is water resistant (making tents more waterproof).   Modern Bedouins still make wool tents with small, transportable looms that are carried with them.   I assume the Isrealites would have done the same.

The section in Group's material for the Weaving Tent Host should have some historical background related to the making of yarn...and you can also find more at my page on weaving and dying I did for Nazareth.

Historical Background: Beads

If you want to use beads that seem authentic to the time period and the story, you have a lot of choices. Egyptians used beads for jewelry and also for their hair. We know that the Isrealites took gold and silver items from the Egyptians when they left Egypt, so metallic beads would make sense. They also had beads of glass, stone, wood, and bone in Egypt. In my shop, I also included sea shells beads (I told kids I gathered them when we crossed the Red Sea). These had holes too small for yarn, so I put jump rings through the small holes, which could then be easily tied to the yarn.

Beads shown at right are actual ancient Egyptian beads from the Walters Museum.   Picture is in the public domain.  That and more pictures of Egyptian beads from the museum can be found on Wikimedia Commons.

Wilderness Bible Points - Alternate Tent Host Script

Here is a daily script you can use which goes along with the daily Bible point for Wilderness Escape. This is from the perspective of an Israelite who trusts God and is trying to encourage others who are worried about the dangers they are facing on their journey.  You can also find a printable version here.

DAY 1: Israelites Cross the Red Sea

What a year it's been. Here we were, stuck making bricks for Pharaoh in Egypt, and along comes Moses and starts doing all these amazing things trying to convince Pharaoh to give us a break so we could go worship God in the wilderness. He throws down his staff and it turns into a snake, and then back into a staff. He goes out to the Nile river and hits the water with his staff, and all the water turns to blood. All sorts of crazy stuff like that. Have you heard about all that? Well, let me tell you, I thought thought that was one amazing staff he had. I thought it was magic or something! But when I met Moses he told me "No, this staff isn't magic...it is just an ordinary walking stick"....an ordinary stick just like we have here, and he told me he's just an ordinary man. It was God who was really doing all that amazing stuff. Isn't that great to think about...that God can take an ordinary stick and an ordinary man and use them to do all that?

DAY 2: God Provides Quail and Manna

Session 1 (Before the Manna): 

Not much to eat here in the wilderness. Some people are worried that we're going to run out of food. But I don't think God would rescue us from Pharaoh just for us to starve in the wilderness. What do you think?

Session 2 (After the Manna): So, did you hear about the manna? Did you try some? See, here everyone was worried about running out of food, but I knew God would come through.

DAY 3: The Amalekites Attack

It can be really scary out here in the Wilderness...first with the Egyptians chasing us, and now with the Amalekites! It's good to have a nice sturdy walking stick for defense (though I better not see any of you using your sticks on each other! We only use these for walking in the camp, understood?) But then, a stick isn't much good against swords and spears and arrows...and that's all a lot of us have! Well...not all we have. We have God, and I know he can keep us safe. Do you trust God to keep you safe?
    

DAY 4: Remembering the Passover
For a walking stick, you need a stick that's light enough to carry, but strong enough to hold your weight. If it's not strong enough, if you lean on it, it will break, but if you choose a good strong sturdy stick, it will help make your journey easier.

Hmm...you know, that makes me think about some of my fellow Israelites--a lot of them don't seem to trust God very much. It's like they don't think he's strong enough to lean on, like a puny twig. But after all he's done I would think they would trust him. Maybe they've forgotten how strong and powerful God is, and how much he loves them? How can we help them to remember?
    

DAY 5: The 10 Commandments

So, you're interested in making a walking stick? A good staff can be very useful. You can lean on it while you're walking, you can use it to help herd your sheep. But it's not very good if you don't use it, is is...it would just be a weight to carry around. That's kind of like God's word...if you trust in what God says, it's useful to you. But if you don't trust enough to obey, knowing what God commanded won't help you any more than a staff you don't use.  Do you trust God enough to obey what he says?

More Greco Roman Decor

Just a mish-mash of cool Greco-Roman decorating pics from various churches doing Holy Land VBS.

Pictures by Jill Bettinger

Picture by by Jill Bettinger - Mural by Tiffany

Picture by Michelle Barrera from 

Teaching Word Faith Center (Fort Worth, TX) 

Picture by Michelle Barrera from 

Teaching Word Faith Center (Fort Worth, TX) 

Picture by Michelle Barrera from 

Teaching Word Faith Center (Fort Worth, TX)

Picture by Michelle Barrera from 

Teaching Word Faith Center (Fort Worth, TX)

More VBS Rome Resources and Ideas

How to Make A "Tile" Roof

If you looked out Greece and Rome, you would see, in many places, a sea of tile rooftops.   It was the same in ancient time.   So many of the buildings in ancient Greece and Rome, as today, had red tile roofs.


I wanted to include at least a little of this when we did Rome VBS, and I found the easiest way was just using red construction paper.   It was simple, cheap...and not unreasonably time consuming, though it would take more time for a larger area.   It was much easier than cutting up and painting paper cups or oatmeal cannisters...some of the other materials I had considered. And the matte texture of construction paper is actually close to the look of real roofing tiles.

Here is a picture of our small tile roof.  I had meant for it to go on a portion of slanted roof...but alas, it ended up getting put up straight up and down.   Still, it didn't turn out badly.

And below is a close up of how we made it...

To make the roof tiles I stapled red paper at a curve to black paper (12" x 18" for both, not 9" x 12").   If you stagger the paper you can keep going up to make more rows.

It actually would have been a little easier if I had made this more accurately, because most ancient Roman tile roofs had a flat space between each curved tile, like these ancient Roman tiles below....

Imbrex and Tegula Tiles

So an ancient tile roof would have looked a little more like this....

Picture by Wolfgang Sauber licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, 2.5 Generic, 2.0 Generic and 1.0 Generic license.



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Greco-Roman Decor: Fountains

Having a fountain is a great way to bring in Greco Roman Decor.   Below there's see some examples of how other churches have done it and some links to other sites showing other ways to do it.


Make a 3D Fountain

There are several ways to make a three dimensional fountain (some working, some merely decorative). 

Kiddy Tub Fountain 

You can make a fountain with kiddy tubs.   The cool thing about this is that they can hold real water!    The fountain pictured below works like an actual fountain, but even still water without the "pouring" aspect would be fun for kids to splash their hands in.   If you do want to try your hand at a running water fountain, this tutorial on a stacked planter fountain may help  (its a similar concept to the fountain below).   You may want to put a tarp under Your fountain and towels around it to protect floors from water that may splash out as kids play.

Photo by Mauri Willis-Jones

Photo (and fountain) by Jane Wentz

But, the fountain doesn't have to have real water.   This one looks beautiful with silver streamers and blue lights to look like water.     The woman who made this put together various items in a way that seem to fit, and some of the item are placed upside down.     While she doesn't remember exactly what she used, this fountain includes....

• 2 kiddy pools of different sizes
• A bird bath
  
• Some planters
• A plant stand pedestal
• 1-2 plates
• Blue "waterfall" lights
• Metallic Fringe Door Curtains (cut to fountain length)
• Grey Spray Paint

Stacked Planters and Tinsel

Picture by Michelle Barrera from 

Teaching Word Faith Center (Fort Worth, TX)

I love this ides...planters and tinsel, stacked, and you have a fountain.  

Foam Fountain

This looks difficult, but impressive.

 Borrow a Fountain

From Dayspring Baptist Church

Fountain Statue Borrowed From I-35 Statuary

We were blessed at our church to be able to borrow several statues from a nearby statuary, including the one above, which doubled as a fountain.  We had a tub underneath it which we surrounded by stones and greenery.

Something simpler, like a bird-bath, could work too in a pinch, and is something one of your church members might have and be willing to lend.

Make sure you have a good safe means to transport anything you borrow.   We asked about a multi-tiered fountain but there were concerns about being able to transport and assemble something like that without it breaking (and of course there's always the concern about kids knocking things over, so be careful about where and how you set up anything borrowed).  

Make a 2D Fountain

A two dimensional fountain can be stunning too.  Check out the examples below.

Picture by Michelle Barrera from 

Teaching Word Faith Center (Fort Worth, TX)

I love how just adding a little tinsel gives a flat drawing a three dimensional feel.

From Dayspring Baptist Church

This fountain was painted by a lovely and talented woman at our church.   It was on cut plywood, to allow us to store it and re-use it later.  

More Greco-Roman Decor Here

More VBS Rome Resources and Ideas

 

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Decor: Making "Pottery"

Michelle Barrera let me use lots great pictures of how her church, Teaching Word Faith Center (Fort Worth, TX) decorated for Athens VBS several years back. Here is how they made large pots.

You can see the bases of the vases

are made of cardboard and duct-tape

which is then covered with paper mache.

They then covered the vases with plaster 

(At least, I think that's plaster).

The greenery really looks stunning on these.

More Greco-Roman Decor Here

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Colonnade Gallery

Some pictures of colonnades from various churches doing Holy Land Athens or Rome Vacation Bible School.

From Vineyard Church in Hopkinton, MA taken by Areli Biggers




From Faith Baptist Church

From Snowd Branch Church

Picture by Jennifer Mounce 

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TIP:  How to Create Depth

If you are making a colonnade on a stage you can create depth and and add an illusion of a larger scene by starting with taller columns and then using descending smaller columns, set at an angle like the picture on the right...continuing the colonnade with a backdrop with painted columns at the back.   You'll notice that in many of the colonnades above.

(The drawing at right is by cdevries, who writes a number of wonderful articles on theater design. It was from a section on 3 More Ways to Improve Your Theater Set about creating depth. Used with permission.)

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Made from large cardboard box, with roof added
Picture by Michelle LaFlamme

From Dayspring Baptist Church

Pictures by Michelle Barrera
From Teaching Word Faith Center  in Fort Worth, TX



Learn more about how to make columns here.

More VBS Rome Resources and Ideas. 


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