Day 16
I can't believe our time us over. It seemed so long and now, early tomorrow morning we head west, back home to the United States.
This morning we headed to the Pater Noster church on the Mount of Olives. There are 176 languages displayed on ceramic tiles all over this church, both inside and out. It was pretty impressive to see so many ways of praying the Our Father. It is built on the site where tradition says Jesus taught his followers how to pray.
Then off to meet the folks of Sabeel, which is a word meaning "the way" and "source." We had the privilege of hearing from Naim Ateek, who with the help of the Holy Spirit and the Palestinian Episcopalians of his parish, they formulated a liberation theology of Palestine. How powerful to understand that Jesus was born, raised, and died under (and by) the hand of the occupiers....Rome. This is the beginning of a new and empowering theology that seeks to make sense of what is happening in their own lives.
From Sabeel we went to the City of David. It started off with a 3D movie that would not be something I would see again. But to walk around the city mount and to descend to King Hezekiah's tunnel was pretty cool. It was very strange though at the end. Some of the folks went through the wet tunnel and others of us went dry. When we got through on dry ground the Israeli Park Service attendant wouldn't let us go out through the easiest route! He was afraid for our safety! As Khaleil explained later, what he didn't want was for us to talk to the locals, who are Arabs, and who would tell us about the 40 houses that have been demolished in their community of Savile this past year because...?
We were back at the hotel by 2, and Beth, Ron and I went to the Garden Tomb literally behind the hotel. I bought a cool teaching book, and stopped myself from buying another Nativity set!
Tonight we retrieved off to a local Palestinian restaurant with Dahlia Habash, the tour company owner. Then early tomorrow it's back to the airport for our trip home. I hope to return soon, very soon!
Thursday, January 22, 2015
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Day 15
Today, after breakfast, our driver Fausi (sp) picked us up and we headed north out of the city and we retrieved Khaleil close to his home. Continuing north we went to Mt. Gerazim, the traditional site of the sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham. The town situated there is the home of the Samaritans - one of two places where they live. They are fewer than 800 people now. They keep traditional Jewish law, only use the first 5 books of the Old Testament their text, and their women rule the household. During their monthly cycle, they are isolated from the community and their families must care for them. Reminded me of the Red Tent book.
Here they still do sacrifice on the day of Atonement and people from all over come to participate and watch the event. During the festival of booths, the tent is adorned with all kinds of fruits and vegetables. They claim to have the oldest copy of Torah in existence, which is carefully hidden as someone broke in and stole the 800 and 700 year old copies!
From there we went to Nablus (whose ancient name is Shechem) and began our visit at the site of Jacob's well. It is a beautiful Greek Orthodox church whose iconography, glass work, mosaics, frescoes, and furniture are the handiwork of their priest, Justinian. The icons in this church ate some of the most beautiful I've ever seen! I hope the photos I took come out!
We then went to the market in Nablus, the largest in Palestine. Nablus is the second largest city after Jaffa. We experienced an olive oil soap factory, the second oldest in Nablus, but the oldest functioning! Olive oil soap smells simply wonderful!!! Clean. The whole process is done by hand. We watched the man who wraps the soap for a bit. He can wrap a bar in 4 seconds! Totally amazing place.
In the market, we shared a traditional snack called Kinaffa Nabutzia, which starts off as ground corn(?) topped with goat cheese. It is baked, turned upside down and then topped with just a little honey water. Oh my! Lunch was traditional Palestinian...assorted salads, chicken and this most amazing bread! Baked in a pizza - type pan topped with sour herbs and almonds, it truly was one of the best meal I've had!
It was a good thing that after lunch we went to the Sabastia National Park and walked around. This is the site of Samaria of King Omri fame. Greek before that, this site is way under developed. It would be huge! It's estimated that 90,000 people lived there!
On our way home, we dropped off Khaleil. This was the mostly beautiful day weather wise that we had.
Almost everyone is sick - coughing, blowing, and Beth's cold went to her eye. But by the afternoon it was almost back to normal. So far I'm OK health wise.
Today, after breakfast, our driver Fausi (sp) picked us up and we headed north out of the city and we retrieved Khaleil close to his home. Continuing north we went to Mt. Gerazim, the traditional site of the sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham. The town situated there is the home of the Samaritans - one of two places where they live. They are fewer than 800 people now. They keep traditional Jewish law, only use the first 5 books of the Old Testament their text, and their women rule the household. During their monthly cycle, they are isolated from the community and their families must care for them. Reminded me of the Red Tent book.
Here they still do sacrifice on the day of Atonement and people from all over come to participate and watch the event. During the festival of booths, the tent is adorned with all kinds of fruits and vegetables. They claim to have the oldest copy of Torah in existence, which is carefully hidden as someone broke in and stole the 800 and 700 year old copies!
From there we went to Nablus (whose ancient name is Shechem) and began our visit at the site of Jacob's well. It is a beautiful Greek Orthodox church whose iconography, glass work, mosaics, frescoes, and furniture are the handiwork of their priest, Justinian. The icons in this church ate some of the most beautiful I've ever seen! I hope the photos I took come out!
We then went to the market in Nablus, the largest in Palestine. Nablus is the second largest city after Jaffa. We experienced an olive oil soap factory, the second oldest in Nablus, but the oldest functioning! Olive oil soap smells simply wonderful!!! Clean. The whole process is done by hand. We watched the man who wraps the soap for a bit. He can wrap a bar in 4 seconds! Totally amazing place.
In the market, we shared a traditional snack called Kinaffa Nabutzia, which starts off as ground corn(?) topped with goat cheese. It is baked, turned upside down and then topped with just a little honey water. Oh my! Lunch was traditional Palestinian...assorted salads, chicken and this most amazing bread! Baked in a pizza - type pan topped with sour herbs and almonds, it truly was one of the best meal I've had!
It was a good thing that after lunch we went to the Sabastia National Park and walked around. This is the site of Samaria of King Omri fame. Greek before that, this site is way under developed. It would be huge! It's estimated that 90,000 people lived there!
On our way home, we dropped off Khaleil. This was the mostly beautiful day weather wise that we had.
Almost everyone is sick - coughing, blowing, and Beth's cold went to her eye. But by the afternoon it was almost back to normal. So far I'm OK health wise.
Day 14
I am writing this a day late, I was exhausted from all that we did yesterday!
We began our day at the Western side of the Temple Mount and walked through the tunnel that oncertain was the entrance gate. We saw a series of renditions of this site from Herod the Great's day to present day. The stones used to build it
his site were massive! Some of tge largest in the world. We walked through the tunnel along the Western wall and came to a cistern used by families whose houses were destroyed to secure the site.
We exited the tunnel at the site of Station 2 on the Via Dolorosa. We then we're treated to two very wonderful serendipitous events....we went into a bakery and got to see Jerusalem bagels being baked and then got to eat these wonders of dough hot from the oven with zatar and salt...yum!
Next, we were invited to Khaleil's family home for coffee. It was a wonderful experience!!
From here we went to the Wailing Wall, where Jesus from all over the world come to pray. Very powerful experience.
The Jerusalem Archaeological Park was next on the agenda for the day. We walked to the east side of the temple, saw some of the stone foundation of Herod the Great, some steps that would have been around in Jesus' day, saw the three palaces and the royal enrtrance to the Al-Asa Mosque on the temple mount. Khaleil also showed us spots where he helped to excavate.
Off to Bethlehem. The separation wall is HUGE! And this is the first time we saw this type of wall. We had seen secru it fences, but not the wall. Getting into and out of Bethlehem is no laughing matter...this is serious business.
We walked through the market and headed to Christmas Lutheran Church to meet with Pastor Mitri Raheb, who had both a Power point and a video presentattoo on the situation in Bethlehem from a pastor's point of view.
We saw lots of things , including Stars & Bucks!
Manger Square...something I've always wanted to see, and now I wa,ked across it!!!
Church of the Nativity is the spot where the churche batyle it out to see who will win! All the while, the true messayed of Jesus goes on. St Catherine's Churchave is a place where awe meets beaury. The spot where Jesus was born.
I am writing this a day late, I was exhausted from all that we did yesterday!
We began our day at the Western side of the Temple Mount and walked through the tunnel that oncertain was the entrance gate. We saw a series of renditions of this site from Herod the Great's day to present day. The stones used to build it
his site were massive! Some of tge largest in the world. We walked through the tunnel along the Western wall and came to a cistern used by families whose houses were destroyed to secure the site.
We exited the tunnel at the site of Station 2 on the Via Dolorosa. We then we're treated to two very wonderful serendipitous events....we went into a bakery and got to see Jerusalem bagels being baked and then got to eat these wonders of dough hot from the oven with zatar and salt...yum!
Next, we were invited to Khaleil's family home for coffee. It was a wonderful experience!!
From here we went to the Wailing Wall, where Jesus from all over the world come to pray. Very powerful experience.
The Jerusalem Archaeological Park was next on the agenda for the day. We walked to the east side of the temple, saw some of the stone foundation of Herod the Great, some steps that would have been around in Jesus' day, saw the three palaces and the royal enrtrance to the Al-Asa Mosque on the temple mount. Khaleil also showed us spots where he helped to excavate.
Off to Bethlehem. The separation wall is HUGE! And this is the first time we saw this type of wall. We had seen secru it fences, but not the wall. Getting into and out of Bethlehem is no laughing matter...this is serious business.
We walked through the market and headed to Christmas Lutheran Church to meet with Pastor Mitri Raheb, who had both a Power point and a video presentattoo on the situation in Bethlehem from a pastor's point of view.
We saw lots of things , including Stars & Bucks!
Manger Square...something I've always wanted to see, and now I wa,ked across it!!!
Church of the Nativity is the spot where the churche batyle it out to see who will win! All the while, the true messayed of Jesus goes on. St Catherine's Churchave is a place where awe meets beaury. The spot where Jesus was born.
Monday, January 19, 2015
Day 13
we started off early this morning, 7:45,and headed out to Herodium, yet another archetectural marvel of Herod the Great. This time he builthis "Summer Palace" on a hill that he had built up to look like the cone of a volcano! He loved this place so much that he was buried there! It's an amazing feat of engineering. We went up to the top and down into the cisterns. It was mind boggling to realize that this was built in 35BCE!
We then went to Ephrat and met with Bob Lange, a Jewish settler who grew up in upstate New York and obtained degrees in agriculture from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and other degrees since then. He shared with us his understanding of life in Israel. I obtained maps from him to help me see his side of things.
From there we went to Hebron and went to a glass factory that has been doing the mouth blowing of glass and ceramics since 1910. We watched a cruet being made. Then we went into the ceramic shop where artisans were painting ceramics before firing. The glass factory shop was full of temptation!
From there we went to a Holy site the cave of Machpelah, the site that Abraham bought to bury his wife, Sarah. Then, Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob and Leah were buried as well. It is now both a mosque and a synagogue and shared uneasily by both.
Hebron is, to me, the conflict here in a nutshell. Two groups who each claim ownership of the land and the history...and both are correct. How do you resolve such a conflict? Bob Lange and Bishop Younan bothe sayou the same thing! Dialogue not armies...compromise not conflict. Peaceful coexistence...so...why isn't it happening?
Off to Bethlehem and to the Shepherd's Fields. This is a beautiful spot in Bethlehem where it is assumed that those shepherds so many years ago heard the birth announcement of Jesus and quite possibly be the place where Maryou and Joseph stayed, too during the birth! Beautiful chapel built by Bartilucci in the shape of a Bedouin tent.
Beit Sahour is right next door, so some did further shopping. I shopped but did not buy!
Hotel again ànd a super early start tomorrow. We are walking out at 7am!
we started off early this morning, 7:45,and headed out to Herodium, yet another archetectural marvel of Herod the Great. This time he builthis "Summer Palace" on a hill that he had built up to look like the cone of a volcano! He loved this place so much that he was buried there! It's an amazing feat of engineering. We went up to the top and down into the cisterns. It was mind boggling to realize that this was built in 35BCE!
We then went to Ephrat and met with Bob Lange, a Jewish settler who grew up in upstate New York and obtained degrees in agriculture from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and other degrees since then. He shared with us his understanding of life in Israel. I obtained maps from him to help me see his side of things.
From there we went to Hebron and went to a glass factory that has been doing the mouth blowing of glass and ceramics since 1910. We watched a cruet being made. Then we went into the ceramic shop where artisans were painting ceramics before firing. The glass factory shop was full of temptation!
From there we went to a Holy site the cave of Machpelah, the site that Abraham bought to bury his wife, Sarah. Then, Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob and Leah were buried as well. It is now both a mosque and a synagogue and shared uneasily by both.
Hebron is, to me, the conflict here in a nutshell. Two groups who each claim ownership of the land and the history...and both are correct. How do you resolve such a conflict? Bob Lange and Bishop Younan bothe sayou the same thing! Dialogue not armies...compromise not conflict. Peaceful coexistence...so...why isn't it happening?
Off to Bethlehem and to the Shepherd's Fields. This is a beautiful spot in Bethlehem where it is assumed that those shepherds so many years ago heard the birth announcement of Jesus and quite possibly be the place where Maryou and Joseph stayed, too during the birth! Beautiful chapel built by Bartilucci in the shape of a Bedouin tent.
Beit Sahour is right next door, so some did further shopping. I shopped but did not buy!
Hotel again ànd a super early start tomorrow. We are walking out at 7am!
Sunday, January 18, 2015
Day 11
The Walk
This morning we walked into the Old City of Jerusalem through the lion's gate also known as St. Stephen's Gate, the place where Stephen was martyred. On the way Kaliel showed us the spot where the Crusaders breached the city wall so long ago. We then headed to St. Ann's Church, the site where Mary was born. This church has amazing acoustics! We sang 2 verses of Beautiful Savior making one of our group sad as this was both her wedding hyen and one hymn sung at her husband's funeral. This church is the only one not built on the site of a previous church or pagan site in all of Jerusalem. Why? The other St. Ann's church was next door and the floor was under water so the Crusaders wisely built off site a bit.
We continued our walk to the church of the Flagellation, the place that Jesus was first whipped by Pilate's guards after Pontius Pilate condemned Jesus to death.
Via Dolorosa
We walked today where Jesus may have walked as he went from Pilate to Golgotha. Jears was condemned byou Pilate at Station 1. It is a school today.
Station 2. In this chapel Jesus takes up the cross and begins his death march. Most of us understand that Jesus carried the whole cross, buto that would have been impossible! He carried the cross-beam on his shoulders and then he was presented to the people with the words, "Behold the man."
At the 3rd station, Jesus falls for the first time. Beautifulart in this station.
Station 4. The small Armenian Catholic church is here and there is a relief above the door commemorating the time Jesus met his mother.
At the 5th station, Simon of Sirene is chosen to help Jesus carry his cross. Here, outside the door, there is a stone where Jesus placed his hand for support.
6th station. Here, St. Veronica wipes Jesus' face, and the impression is supposedly someplace,
At the 7th station Jesus falls for a second time.
Station 8. Jesus, as he passes women crying for him, tells them not to be weeping for him, but for them and their children.
At Station 9 Jesus falls for a third time. There is a column builTinton the door of a Copic church to commemorate this spot.
Just outside of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, is the spot where Jesus is strpiped of his garments and thesoldiers cast lots for them.
We took a break here and went to Redeemer Lutheran to meet with Bishop Yunan. He spoke for nearly 45 minutes about the Palestinian situation and possible solution. Such an amazing man! I'm so glad this happened!
Lunch was in the market at a place that served traditional Middle East fare. I ate a patty that was ground beef and lamb mixed with spices and wrapped in grape leaves and baked. Yummy!
Back to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher for the remaining stations...
Station 11, Jesus is nailed to the cross. Not dun, and I don't think I have to say more,
At sration 12, Jesus is crucified and dies. This is Golgotha, the place of the skull. Not only did the stone look a lot like a skull, but skulls were buried unDer Jeses' cross.
Station 13. Jesus is taken from the cross and laid in Mary's lap. Can this really be, did this just happen?
At this station, Jesus is by used in a Tomb.
There are 6 ancient churches in charge at the Church of the gongoing on here: Roman Catholic, a Greek Orthodox, Armenian, Coptic,Etheopian, and Syrian who are responsible for the maintenance and upkeep.
Then off to do some shopping!
The Walk
This morning we walked into the Old City of Jerusalem through the lion's gate also known as St. Stephen's Gate, the place where Stephen was martyred. On the way Kaliel showed us the spot where the Crusaders breached the city wall so long ago. We then headed to St. Ann's Church, the site where Mary was born. This church has amazing acoustics! We sang 2 verses of Beautiful Savior making one of our group sad as this was both her wedding hyen and one hymn sung at her husband's funeral. This church is the only one not built on the site of a previous church or pagan site in all of Jerusalem. Why? The other St. Ann's church was next door and the floor was under water so the Crusaders wisely built off site a bit.
We continued our walk to the church of the Flagellation, the place that Jesus was first whipped by Pilate's guards after Pontius Pilate condemned Jesus to death.
Via Dolorosa
We walked today where Jesus may have walked as he went from Pilate to Golgotha. Jears was condemned byou Pilate at Station 1. It is a school today.
Station 2. In this chapel Jesus takes up the cross and begins his death march. Most of us understand that Jesus carried the whole cross, buto that would have been impossible! He carried the cross-beam on his shoulders and then he was presented to the people with the words, "Behold the man."
At the 3rd station, Jesus falls for the first time. Beautifulart in this station.
Station 4. The small Armenian Catholic church is here and there is a relief above the door commemorating the time Jesus met his mother.
At the 5th station, Simon of Sirene is chosen to help Jesus carry his cross. Here, outside the door, there is a stone where Jesus placed his hand for support.
6th station. Here, St. Veronica wipes Jesus' face, and the impression is supposedly someplace,
At the 7th station Jesus falls for a second time.
Station 8. Jesus, as he passes women crying for him, tells them not to be weeping for him, but for them and their children.
At Station 9 Jesus falls for a third time. There is a column builTinton the door of a Copic church to commemorate this spot.
Just outside of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, is the spot where Jesus is strpiped of his garments and thesoldiers cast lots for them.
We took a break here and went to Redeemer Lutheran to meet with Bishop Yunan. He spoke for nearly 45 minutes about the Palestinian situation and possible solution. Such an amazing man! I'm so glad this happened!
Lunch was in the market at a place that served traditional Middle East fare. I ate a patty that was ground beef and lamb mixed with spices and wrapped in grape leaves and baked. Yummy!
Back to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher for the remaining stations...
Station 11, Jesus is nailed to the cross. Not dun, and I don't think I have to say more,
At sration 12, Jesus is crucified and dies. This is Golgotha, the place of the skull. Not only did the stone look a lot like a skull, but skulls were buried unDer Jeses' cross.
Station 13. Jesus is taken from the cross and laid in Mary's lap. Can this really be, did this just happen?
At this station, Jesus is by used in a Tomb.
There are 6 ancient churches in charge at the Church of the gongoing on here: Roman Catholic, a Greek Orthodox, Armenian, Coptic,Etheopian, and Syrian who are responsible for the maintenance and upkeep.
Then off to do some shopping!
Day 12, 2nd Sunday in the Holy Land
This morning we woke up early, had breakfast (I'm sure you are missing the play by play on food, but it's just ok-nothing to write home about [pun intended]), and met Khaleil for another walk through the Old City of Jerusalem, and then through 2 security Check points to get to the Temple Mount. On this strategic acreage lies the heart of the three major religions of Israel. Alet Asa Mosque, the Dome on the Rock, and the Wailing Wall are here. For the last decade no one has been allowed to enter the Dome of the Rock except Muslims for prayers. We were able to come close to the doors and see that there was renovation going on inside. Khaleil was very passionate about this place and rightly so!
Off to church at Lutheran Church of the Redeemer where Bishop Munib Younan presided, and Bishop Elizabeth Eaton pteached. It was an amazing experience sitting there and worshipping. After church I connected with Professor Barbara Rossignol from my LSTC days, and with Pastor Raphael Malpica-Padilla from church wide staff. I also met Dennis Frado who I will be in touch with in CA soon.
From church we went to Hadassah Hospital to the synagogue on site that has 12 beautiful Marc Chagal stained glass windows. The explanation of each wad beautiful as well. Each winow tells the story of the 12 sons of Jacob. Worth a visit!
From there we went to the Israeli National Museum, ate lunch (a vacant sandwich) and toured the model of Jerusalem in 66CE. It's huge!!!! And then we visited the separate building for the Dead Sea Scrolls. It's a beautiful place to walk through! Beth and I stayed extra time at the museum to take in more of its collection.
We came back, ate dinner, had our meeting and now I've written my blog so...good night!
This morning we woke up early, had breakfast (I'm sure you are missing the play by play on food, but it's just ok-nothing to write home about [pun intended]), and met Khaleil for another walk through the Old City of Jerusalem, and then through 2 security Check points to get to the Temple Mount. On this strategic acreage lies the heart of the three major religions of Israel. Alet Asa Mosque, the Dome on the Rock, and the Wailing Wall are here. For the last decade no one has been allowed to enter the Dome of the Rock except Muslims for prayers. We were able to come close to the doors and see that there was renovation going on inside. Khaleil was very passionate about this place and rightly so!
Off to church at Lutheran Church of the Redeemer where Bishop Munib Younan presided, and Bishop Elizabeth Eaton pteached. It was an amazing experience sitting there and worshipping. After church I connected with Professor Barbara Rossignol from my LSTC days, and with Pastor Raphael Malpica-Padilla from church wide staff. I also met Dennis Frado who I will be in touch with in CA soon.
From church we went to Hadassah Hospital to the synagogue on site that has 12 beautiful Marc Chagal stained glass windows. The explanation of each wad beautiful as well. Each winow tells the story of the 12 sons of Jacob. Worth a visit!
From there we went to the Israeli National Museum, ate lunch (a vacant sandwich) and toured the model of Jerusalem in 66CE. It's huge!!!! And then we visited the separate building for the Dead Sea Scrolls. It's a beautiful place to walk through! Beth and I stayed extra time at the museum to take in more of its collection.
We came back, ate dinner, had our meeting and now I've written my blog so...good night!
Friday, January 16, 2015
Day 10
After a terrible night's sleep, I was up early and wrote the previous day's blog. I'm glad I did because after a day like today I'd be hard pressed to remember much. Even with waking up early, I had a terrible time keeping myself together and almost missed breakfast. Two hard cooked eggs later, I was ready to go.
We started off our morning at the Israeli Holocaust Museum, Yad Vashem. It was overwhelming from the first video right to the last room. I kept thinking that one of my Swartz ancestors could have participated. It's creamy and freaky,.
From there we went to Dimes Flavout, a church on the Mount of Olives. This is a pretty church, built by Bartilucci, is shaped in the former of a tear drop.in it's earlier days rain would be collected from the room in clay jars.
We exited, had a vendor selling scarves, prayer shawls, and hats. Down the street we went to take a look at the view, admire some Graves and the panoramic view and then off to the Garden of Gethsemane. There are 8 trees in this tiny garden that were alive when Jesus was. Who knows? Jesus my very well have prayed there!
The Church of the Nations, built during the 1920's was supported by 20 countries and majorly supported by 12 is next to the Garden of Gethsemane. Thought to be one of Bartilucci's best architectural feats, the church is gorgeous! Purple alabaster windows and a star - filled ceiling make 7th feel like the night of Jesus' betrayal, even on sunny days. 3 apses portray the scenes and the stone where Jesus knelt to pray is under the central altar. A Holy place to be sure. All Christian religions agree that this is the spot!
Lunch today was Upside Down at a local Palestinian restaurant. Upside Down is what a lot of people eat and it is chicken leg quarters and the most amazing rice! Our tables were filled with all kinds of salads, and we finished with a tangerine. Yum, yum.
We then went to LA headquarters and Augusta Victoria Hospital and met with David Miller, the director. It was a very quick visit to this site, bur now I have a real experience to go with my passion for Healthcare for the least of these. This hospital treats Palestinians and is specializing in cancer, renal, ENT, and preventative medicine with all female mobile mammography vans.
We then went to the Church of the Ascension which is a Church within a church. Open air to remember Jesus going into heaven, and the fooreprint of Jesus is now inside a tiny chapel. Interesting spot - loved the open air idea of a church except when it rains! Like it's been doing today and tomorrow's predicted to be the same. Yippie, the Via Dolorosa in the rain...
Back to the Mount of Olives to Saint Peter Gallocantu church the place of Peter's denial of Jesus, the High Priest's house and the site where people remember Jesus' trial, torture, and scourging before he walks to Calvary.
This was the place that 20 experienced the biggest crowds to date. People of all nationalities were here to remember and to experience the final hours of Jesus' life. The hole in the ground where they retained Jesus was a powerful reminder that his trial took hours and there were times when he would have suffered alone. Kaliel explained that after his beating they would have poured sour vinegar on him to intensify the pain he easy experiencing and his connection to what is done to the Passover lamb was powerful and poignant. Jesus become the Passover lamb for the world.
From there we went to the place of the Last Supper and David's Tomb. Since Jerusalem has been built and destroy ed 47 times, almost nothing is from the time of Jesus, including this site which is now operated by the Israeli Department of Religion. It has been a chapel, a mosque, and now is a large room with traces of a long history! A column is here that depicts a mother pelican feeding her children from her breast which is a symbol of Jesus dying to save the world. And the writing is Arabic as is a window showing the Mosque time as well. Right underneath is the space where people remember the death and burial of King David. It was closed for the Sabbath, abut I found it fascinating to see a lace where the three major religions of the area were all at the same spot.
After a terrible night's sleep, I was up early and wrote the previous day's blog. I'm glad I did because after a day like today I'd be hard pressed to remember much. Even with waking up early, I had a terrible time keeping myself together and almost missed breakfast. Two hard cooked eggs later, I was ready to go.
We started off our morning at the Israeli Holocaust Museum, Yad Vashem. It was overwhelming from the first video right to the last room. I kept thinking that one of my Swartz ancestors could have participated. It's creamy and freaky,.
From there we went to Dimes Flavout, a church on the Mount of Olives. This is a pretty church, built by Bartilucci, is shaped in the former of a tear drop.in it's earlier days rain would be collected from the room in clay jars.
We exited, had a vendor selling scarves, prayer shawls, and hats. Down the street we went to take a look at the view, admire some Graves and the panoramic view and then off to the Garden of Gethsemane. There are 8 trees in this tiny garden that were alive when Jesus was. Who knows? Jesus my very well have prayed there!
The Church of the Nations, built during the 1920's was supported by 20 countries and majorly supported by 12 is next to the Garden of Gethsemane. Thought to be one of Bartilucci's best architectural feats, the church is gorgeous! Purple alabaster windows and a star - filled ceiling make 7th feel like the night of Jesus' betrayal, even on sunny days. 3 apses portray the scenes and the stone where Jesus knelt to pray is under the central altar. A Holy place to be sure. All Christian religions agree that this is the spot!
Lunch today was Upside Down at a local Palestinian restaurant. Upside Down is what a lot of people eat and it is chicken leg quarters and the most amazing rice! Our tables were filled with all kinds of salads, and we finished with a tangerine. Yum, yum.
We then went to LA headquarters and Augusta Victoria Hospital and met with David Miller, the director. It was a very quick visit to this site, bur now I have a real experience to go with my passion for Healthcare for the least of these. This hospital treats Palestinians and is specializing in cancer, renal, ENT, and preventative medicine with all female mobile mammography vans.
We then went to the Church of the Ascension which is a Church within a church. Open air to remember Jesus going into heaven, and the fooreprint of Jesus is now inside a tiny chapel. Interesting spot - loved the open air idea of a church except when it rains! Like it's been doing today and tomorrow's predicted to be the same. Yippie, the Via Dolorosa in the rain...
Back to the Mount of Olives to Saint Peter Gallocantu church the place of Peter's denial of Jesus, the High Priest's house and the site where people remember Jesus' trial, torture, and scourging before he walks to Calvary.
This was the place that 20 experienced the biggest crowds to date. People of all nationalities were here to remember and to experience the final hours of Jesus' life. The hole in the ground where they retained Jesus was a powerful reminder that his trial took hours and there were times when he would have suffered alone. Kaliel explained that after his beating they would have poured sour vinegar on him to intensify the pain he easy experiencing and his connection to what is done to the Passover lamb was powerful and poignant. Jesus become the Passover lamb for the world.
From there we went to the place of the Last Supper and David's Tomb. Since Jerusalem has been built and destroy ed 47 times, almost nothing is from the time of Jesus, including this site which is now operated by the Israeli Department of Religion. It has been a chapel, a mosque, and now is a large room with traces of a long history! A column is here that depicts a mother pelican feeding her children from her breast which is a symbol of Jesus dying to save the world. And the writing is Arabic as is a window showing the Mosque time as well. Right underneath is the space where people remember the death and burial of King David. It was closed for the Sabbath, abut I found it fascinating to see a lace where the three major religions of the area were all at the same spot.
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