46 Harding University in Greece (HUG) was a semester-long study abroad program based in Porto Rafti, Greece. During the semester, students had the opportunity to explore other countries such as Egypt and Israel. During their trip in fall 2022, the HUG group decided to do something special to commemorate the trip during their time in Israel. Despite only having known each other for a short time, a group of students got tattoos together. Sophomore Theo Westbrook explained the significance of the tattoo artist they chose. “Razzouk Tattoo Parlor is the oldest tattoo parlor in the world,” Westbrook said. “They have been in business for over 700 years, and it has been in the same line of father and son that entire time. These guys were around to tattoo the crusaders when they came through Jerusalem, and the guy that gave me my tattoo was the 28th generation of Razzouk tattoo artists.” While the group of students went to the tattoo parlor together, they did not get matching tattoos. Everyone got something meaningful to themselves. Sophomore Braden Lehde explained the meaning behind his tattoo. “I got a cross with Romans 8:1 on the side of the cross on my upper arm,” Lehde said. “Romans 8:1 is my favorite verse, and I really liked their cross design.” Getting tattoos together helped connect the group, who had only known each other for two weeks at the time. Sophomore Emma Kate Scott talked about how this experience helped the group grow closer together. “Personally, I didn’t know any of these people coming into the trip, but somehow the 10 of us have grown as close as family and we spend as much time together as possible,” Scott said. “I think getting tattoos together allowed us to find out deeper things about each other, like the meanings of our tattoos and what happened in our lives that led to this, but also to support and cheer on each other.” For some students, this was the first of a few tattoos they planned to get and for others, this was the only one they intended on. “This is a one and done,” Westbrook said. “Some of us want to get more, but for me, there will never be anything else significant enough to put it on my skin permanently. My tattoo is a part of a long tradition of bearing the cross in the face of persecution and that is what convinced me to get it, but there will be no more after this.” Written by: Ethan Conn IN ISRAEL Students at Harding University in Greece get tattoos at the oldest tattoo parlor in the world.
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