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.
Thursday, January 15, 2015
Day 8
Today, I'm skipping all the breakfast chat and getting down to the details of the day...Cumran , Masada, En Gedi Wildlife Preserve, and the Dead sea.
Cumran and Masada, two of the places that have reminded me most of one of my Seminary professors, Dr. Ralph Doerman, from whom I took Old Testament, Biblical Archaeology, and Between the Testaments.
Cumran, that place where the Bedouin shepherd tossed a rock to find his goat (which he eventually did find) and found a treasure of scrolls that is priceless. Kaliel had the privilege of hearing this story right from the person's mouth! This story involves a cobbler from Bethlehem, Sidonian Orthodox Priest, the NY Times, and the State of Israel!
Some of the scrolls have yet to be opened and translated.
Cumran was the home of the Essenes, a sect of Judaism that believed that the temple was built of flesh, not of stone. And this fleshy temple must be pure, so they bathed in a mikvah's many times each day - before prayers, before meals, before studying or copying the Torah. This community was only men, and there is a theory that John the Baptist was a part of this community - though there is no proof of this.
I loved the pottery shop and kitchen! It's still a mystery as to what happened to them - why they left and why all the scrolls stored away. However the theory of the storage bears repeating. As the scrolls were being copied, if a mistake, sloppy letter, or drop of ink is on the scroll, it is deemed unworthy of use. So, what to do? Anything with God's name on it cannot be destroyed! So, they put these imperfect scrolls in jars and stored them in caves called ( ) . What a gift to us all these thousands of years later!
At En Gedi Wildlife Preserve, we were greeted before entering by Ibex, the symbol of the National Park Service here. We saw a lot of Ibex, females with straight horns and males with bent horns that can reach up to six feet long. The Hyrex were there, too. En Gedi has three waterfalls, each higher and faster the further back you hike. We made it to the second falls and could see the third was occupied by Israeli school girls on a field trip! We chose to admire it from afar!
Masada was next. Built by Herod the Great on top of a horst (the 2nd of 2 we saw in Israel. What's a horst? A geological pimple that hardened) and on top of other more primitive ruins. It is an amazing place! We took a cable car ride up to the top of Masada (though two of our group walked up) and spent a long time simply looking around this feat of engineering! Storage rooms, cisterns and a double walled fortification system that was incredible to see. Herod constructed this palace so that 6,000 people could live there for 4 to 5 years! You can see for miles in every direction and the round stones used for defense lay ready even today. The northern palace is 3 tiered and build right into the mountain. From the top of Masada you can see the square outlines of the Roman encampments, especially the huge one needed to build the rampart to finally break into this fortress.
From there we went to the Dead Sea. Most of us took a swim, I chose to wade in. I love the effects of the Sea water on the skin, it makes it soft almost oily. Off to the hotel in Beersheba. Very nice! We had a great view of part of the city.
Today, I'm skipping all the breakfast chat and getting down to the details of the day...Cumran , Masada, En Gedi Wildlife Preserve, and the Dead sea.
Cumran and Masada, two of the places that have reminded me most of one of my Seminary professors, Dr. Ralph Doerman, from whom I took Old Testament, Biblical Archaeology, and Between the Testaments.
Cumran, that place where the Bedouin shepherd tossed a rock to find his goat (which he eventually did find) and found a treasure of scrolls that is priceless. Kaliel had the privilege of hearing this story right from the person's mouth! This story involves a cobbler from Bethlehem, Sidonian Orthodox Priest, the NY Times, and the State of Israel!
Some of the scrolls have yet to be opened and translated.
Cumran was the home of the Essenes, a sect of Judaism that believed that the temple was built of flesh, not of stone. And this fleshy temple must be pure, so they bathed in a mikvah's many times each day - before prayers, before meals, before studying or copying the Torah. This community was only men, and there is a theory that John the Baptist was a part of this community - though there is no proof of this.
I loved the pottery shop and kitchen! It's still a mystery as to what happened to them - why they left and why all the scrolls stored away. However the theory of the storage bears repeating. As the scrolls were being copied, if a mistake, sloppy letter, or drop of ink is on the scroll, it is deemed unworthy of use. So, what to do? Anything with God's name on it cannot be destroyed! So, they put these imperfect scrolls in jars and stored them in caves called ( ) . What a gift to us all these thousands of years later!
At En Gedi Wildlife Preserve, we were greeted before entering by Ibex, the symbol of the National Park Service here. We saw a lot of Ibex, females with straight horns and males with bent horns that can reach up to six feet long. The Hyrex were there, too. En Gedi has three waterfalls, each higher and faster the further back you hike. We made it to the second falls and could see the third was occupied by Israeli school girls on a field trip! We chose to admire it from afar!
Masada was next. Built by Herod the Great on top of a horst (the 2nd of 2 we saw in Israel. What's a horst? A geological pimple that hardened) and on top of other more primitive ruins. It is an amazing place! We took a cable car ride up to the top of Masada (though two of our group walked up) and spent a long time simply looking around this feat of engineering! Storage rooms, cisterns and a double walled fortification system that was incredible to see. Herod constructed this palace so that 6,000 people could live there for 4 to 5 years! You can see for miles in every direction and the round stones used for defense lay ready even today. The northern palace is 3 tiered and build right into the mountain. From the top of Masada you can see the square outlines of the Roman encampments, especially the huge one needed to build the rampart to finally break into this fortress.
From there we went to the Dead Sea. Most of us took a swim, I chose to wade in. I love the effects of the Sea water on the skin, it makes it soft almost oily. Off to the hotel in Beersheba. Very nice! We had a great view of part of the city.
Day 9
Breakfast this morning was interesting! The food was different and my breakfast very
Companion didn't speak English! After he devoured his food and came back to the table with his coffee, we did exchange a smile! I ate eggs and had cheesecake and coffee.
On to Tel Beersheba via our bus, saw a horned altar (replica) and saw a 300+year old well that was dug by Abraham who made the treaty with Abimelech to share water rights.
On to Tel Arad. It was windy and rainy here. Did get to see a city with no other city built after it. It was Canaanite and had a temple the could be a model for the temple in Jerusalem - complete with a Holy of Holies. In years past there were two stones erected showing God and Ashera. Today, Ashera's stone was put behind Yahweh's stone! Even Kaliel was surprised to see the change!
We then had an Israeli truck stop experience as we picked up food to eat on the bus so we could make our next stop of Beit Gustin - a national park that was full of sites to see -including the group of students traveling from St. Olaf College! We saw Maresha, an ancient Hellenistic city that included olive presses (3 in one cave alone) dovecotes called columbaria, and water cisterns. Then, we went to this beautiful Sidonian burial cave where there were Lots of niches for people to be buried and one niche was decorated like a Greek temple.
The bell caves were part of this park as well. They even were dug for chalk which was used for plastering walls. They were beautiful and we sang Amazing Grace which sounded beautiful!
At the Elah Valley we stopped very briefly in the rain and picked up our stones, just like David did when he battled Saul. It was raining and a muddy mess. I hope Fausi (our bus driver) didn't catch any slack from the company for all the mud!
We drove past Beit Shemesh, the area where the judge, Sampson, was doing his work.
We went to Beit Sahour and shopped in a cooperative of Christians from the earliest days of Christianity. I bought a new wedding band that is sapphires and diamonds...Beautiful!
It's been such an uncrowded trip to date. Jerusalem will NOT be like this! It's going to be interesting to see how the 24 of us do when people are jostling and bumping us all along the way!
The hotel is close to the Old City wall and was full of tourist groups like ours. Dinner was ok. I had salmon, corn fritter, mushroom stuffed artichoke, salads, ice cream and mini donuts. Didn't even go to the hot food line.
It is late. Good day, and now off for a good night's sleep, I hope!
Breakfast this morning was interesting! The food was different and my breakfast very
Companion didn't speak English! After he devoured his food and came back to the table with his coffee, we did exchange a smile! I ate eggs and had cheesecake and coffee.
On to Tel Beersheba via our bus, saw a horned altar (replica) and saw a 300+year old well that was dug by Abraham who made the treaty with Abimelech to share water rights.
On to Tel Arad. It was windy and rainy here. Did get to see a city with no other city built after it. It was Canaanite and had a temple the could be a model for the temple in Jerusalem - complete with a Holy of Holies. In years past there were two stones erected showing God and Ashera. Today, Ashera's stone was put behind Yahweh's stone! Even Kaliel was surprised to see the change!
We then had an Israeli truck stop experience as we picked up food to eat on the bus so we could make our next stop of Beit Gustin - a national park that was full of sites to see -including the group of students traveling from St. Olaf College! We saw Maresha, an ancient Hellenistic city that included olive presses (3 in one cave alone) dovecotes called columbaria, and water cisterns. Then, we went to this beautiful Sidonian burial cave where there were Lots of niches for people to be buried and one niche was decorated like a Greek temple.
The bell caves were part of this park as well. They even were dug for chalk which was used for plastering walls. They were beautiful and we sang Amazing Grace which sounded beautiful!
At the Elah Valley we stopped very briefly in the rain and picked up our stones, just like David did when he battled Saul. It was raining and a muddy mess. I hope Fausi (our bus driver) didn't catch any slack from the company for all the mud!
We drove past Beit Shemesh, the area where the judge, Sampson, was doing his work.
We went to Beit Sahour and shopped in a cooperative of Christians from the earliest days of Christianity. I bought a new wedding band that is sapphires and diamonds...Beautiful!
It's been such an uncrowded trip to date. Jerusalem will NOT be like this! It's going to be interesting to see how the 24 of us do when people are jostling and bumping us all along the way!
The hotel is close to the Old City wall and was full of tourist groups like ours. Dinner was ok. I had salmon, corn fritter, mushroom stuffed artichoke, salads, ice cream and mini donuts. Didn't even go to the hot food line.
It is late. Good day, and now off for a good night's sleep, I hope!
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Day 7
Today was our last breakfast at the Kibbutz and Beth and I enjoyed another beautiful but chilly walk down to Lake Genessaret, otherwise known as the Sea of Galilee. I picked up some stones that I believe are fishing weights from the days before lead weights. Had ano egg poached in tomato sauce and found out what that tasty almond-flavored thing I have been eating was...cheesecake! No wonder ithat was so yummy! Had grapefruit that was as sweet as most oranges, too.
We then walked down to the gift shop associated with the Jesus Boat and I picked up a couple of souvenira and gifts.
The first leg ofor our bus journey took us to Kursi, the reported place where Jesus healed the man named Legion in our texts, and the demons were sent into the hard of pigs that ran off the clifield and onto the Sea. Here, high up on the hill, people would bring their children who were mentally unstable or disabled and place them in a special chair and pray for them,
the bus ride was long and we crossed from Israel into Palestine.
From there we went to Beit Shean, the largest Roman city of the Decapolis and the only one in Israel. At its peak, Beit She'an had 40,000 residents and one HUGE bath house! It took up a city block almost and showed how the hot rooms were heated with fires and billows! Beautiful Corinthian columns all came crashing down in 748 when a major earthquake leveled the city, never to to built again. The archaeologist whof dug this site was pretty aggressive and found it worthrhile.
Beit Alpha was not too far away the building of the kibbuts we saw sa a movis that rein acted how the floor as nest laid.
From here we went to Jericho where we had lunch, good food and better conversation!
Back in the bus to the site of the baptism of Jesus, which has been open to the public a short time. It was muddy and higher than I expected due to the rain earlier this week. It was a moving place-especially since the Jordanian side of the river is no more than 12 feet access! What really freaked me put was the 4 soldiers there 2 Jordanian and 2 Israeli. It madequate me cry and I pretty much zoned after that.
We droveto the traditional site of Zacchaeus and the sycamore tree. Problem is the tree's only 500 years old!
Tel Jericho was a neat archaeological site where they found a city watchtower and at least 24 layers of city ruins
We are staying at the Oasis Hotel. 3 pools, Turkish bath and good food. We had lots of choices and I started with lentil , some yummy salads, Chinese with lamb, chicken, and desserts .
Tonight Kaliel talked about being Palestinian in Jerusalem. More tears as he shared his own personal experience with the Israeli government and his life under the occupation. It was so sad...
I am exhausted and the trip has just begun...
Today was our last breakfast at the Kibbutz and Beth and I enjoyed another beautiful but chilly walk down to Lake Genessaret, otherwise known as the Sea of Galilee. I picked up some stones that I believe are fishing weights from the days before lead weights. Had ano egg poached in tomato sauce and found out what that tasty almond-flavored thing I have been eating was...cheesecake! No wonder ithat was so yummy! Had grapefruit that was as sweet as most oranges, too.
We then walked down to the gift shop associated with the Jesus Boat and I picked up a couple of souvenira and gifts.
The first leg ofor our bus journey took us to Kursi, the reported place where Jesus healed the man named Legion in our texts, and the demons were sent into the hard of pigs that ran off the clifield and onto the Sea. Here, high up on the hill, people would bring their children who were mentally unstable or disabled and place them in a special chair and pray for them,
the bus ride was long and we crossed from Israel into Palestine.
From there we went to Beit Shean, the largest Roman city of the Decapolis and the only one in Israel. At its peak, Beit She'an had 40,000 residents and one HUGE bath house! It took up a city block almost and showed how the hot rooms were heated with fires and billows! Beautiful Corinthian columns all came crashing down in 748 when a major earthquake leveled the city, never to to built again. The archaeologist whof dug this site was pretty aggressive and found it worthrhile.
Beit Alpha was not too far away the building of the kibbuts we saw sa a movis that rein acted how the floor as nest laid.
From here we went to Jericho where we had lunch, good food and better conversation!
Back in the bus to the site of the baptism of Jesus, which has been open to the public a short time. It was muddy and higher than I expected due to the rain earlier this week. It was a moving place-especially since the Jordanian side of the river is no more than 12 feet access! What really freaked me put was the 4 soldiers there 2 Jordanian and 2 Israeli. It madequate me cry and I pretty much zoned after that.
We droveto the traditional site of Zacchaeus and the sycamore tree. Problem is the tree's only 500 years old!
Tel Jericho was a neat archaeological site where they found a city watchtower and at least 24 layers of city ruins
We are staying at the Oasis Hotel. 3 pools, Turkish bath and good food. We had lots of choices and I started with lentil , some yummy salads, Chinese with lamb, chicken, and desserts .
Tonight Kaliel talked about being Palestinian in Jerusalem. More tears as he shared his own personal experience with the Israeli government and his life under the occupation. It was so sad...
I am exhausted and the trip has just begun...
Monday, January 12, 2015
Day 6
Today we started off with a simple breakfast of a boiled egg, pastry with sesame seeds and two kinds of cheese, a small pancake and fruit. Double Espresso yum!!
In the bus and off to Tabgah, the church built on the site of traditionally Jesus multiplied the loaves and fishes to feed 5,000 men 12,000 total. The alabaster windows were a sight to behold - especially since the alabaster was tinged with a yellow and brown mineral causing a beautiful glow in the simple Franciscan church.
A short walk and we were at the church of the Primacy of Peter where after the resurrection, Jesus asked Peter the 3 - part question, "Peter, do you love me"? The church is built over the sight where they had the meal Jesus cooked the breakfast of fish. 153 fish were caught after an unsuccessful night of fishing. 153 is a perfect number in Hebrew numerology.
Today we started off with a simple breakfast of a boiled egg, pastry with sesame seeds and two kinds of cheese, a small pancake and fruit. Double Espresso yum!!
In the bus and off to Tabgah, the church built on the site of traditionally Jesus multiplied the loaves and fishes to feed 5,000 men 12,000 total. The alabaster windows were a sight to behold - especially since the alabaster was tinged with a yellow and brown mineral causing a beautiful glow in the simple Franciscan church.
A short walk and we were at the church of the Primacy of Peter where after the resurrection, Jesus asked Peter the 3 - part question, "Peter, do you love me"? The church is built over the sight where they had the meal Jesus cooked the breakfast of fish. 153 fish were caught after an unsuccessful night of fishing. 153 is a perfect number in Hebrew numerology.
Day 5
Today started with a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee after yet another yummy breakfast. Today I had a poached egg in tomato sauce, that almond thing again and a cheese blitz with Espresso!!
We traveled on The King David and Abraham (aka Peter) demonstrated how to fish using a circular net. It was fun! At Nof Ginosar, two brothers found a 1st century fishing boat named the "Jesus Boat" and we watched a video of how it was removed from the water and moved into the museum. Bob, a member of our group showed us how to walk on water Ala Michael.
Onto the bus to see "blue bananas" (the way growers keep the critters out of the fruit as well as enable it to ripen.
The Church of the Beatitudes was next. Absolutely stunning architecture and surroundings where Jesus began his public ministry. Octagonal in shape, one wall for each beatitude. The Church was constructed of basalt rock (local stone to signify Jesus' beginning of his ministry) and limestone from Jerusalem (to signify the end of his earthly ministry). I could have stayed there for days just praying and walking through the grounds.
From there we went to Korazim, and admired the ruins of the black basalt synagogue built in the 4th century - facing Jerusalem. It has an in tact Moses Seat, the place for the High Priest to sit and teach/preach.
On to Bethsaida (house of fisherman) where a team of archaeologists was working. It's still pretty rough but had a neat statue of a pagan god and a pile of clay by the city gate that I think it was the mud brick (clay) tablets used to show you paid your taxes upon entering the city. Bethsaida is the place where Jesus called Peter, Andrew, James, John, and maybe Philip.
Lunch was at St. Peter's restaurant where we had St. Peter's fish (or Talapia). And we encountered the local rodent, the Haika sunning themselves on the rocks.
After lunch we went to Capernaum, the traditional site of Peter's home. This church completes the Holy trinity of cities where Jesus did most of his teaching and miracles. The Church here is built on ruins of what tradition says is Peter's home. Again a 4th century ruin wad there built on top of the 1st century synagogue. Sadly, this site also shows that God's people don't play well together as just down the street is the Orthodox church at Capernaum! I took pictures of the Star of David carved onto a stone here.
Last of all today was Mount Tabor, and it was cold up there! At least the sun was shining. The Church of the Transfiguration is on top of this horst (geological term for a pimple in the crust). As Jesus took Peter, James and John with him, Moses and Elijah joined him as his clothes turned dazzling white. Today's church has 3 chapels, just like Peter asked to happen all those years ago.
Back to Nof Ginosar for dinner of soup (minestrone and split pea) and salads with desserts. There was plenty of other options, believe me!
Today started with a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee after yet another yummy breakfast. Today I had a poached egg in tomato sauce, that almond thing again and a cheese blitz with Espresso!!
We traveled on The King David and Abraham (aka Peter) demonstrated how to fish using a circular net. It was fun! At Nof Ginosar, two brothers found a 1st century fishing boat named the "Jesus Boat" and we watched a video of how it was removed from the water and moved into the museum. Bob, a member of our group showed us how to walk on water Ala Michael.
Onto the bus to see "blue bananas" (the way growers keep the critters out of the fruit as well as enable it to ripen.
The Church of the Beatitudes was next. Absolutely stunning architecture and surroundings where Jesus began his public ministry. Octagonal in shape, one wall for each beatitude. The Church was constructed of basalt rock (local stone to signify Jesus' beginning of his ministry) and limestone from Jerusalem (to signify the end of his earthly ministry). I could have stayed there for days just praying and walking through the grounds.
From there we went to Korazim, and admired the ruins of the black basalt synagogue built in the 4th century - facing Jerusalem. It has an in tact Moses Seat, the place for the High Priest to sit and teach/preach.
On to Bethsaida (house of fisherman) where a team of archaeologists was working. It's still pretty rough but had a neat statue of a pagan god and a pile of clay by the city gate that I think it was the mud brick (clay) tablets used to show you paid your taxes upon entering the city. Bethsaida is the place where Jesus called Peter, Andrew, James, John, and maybe Philip.
Lunch was at St. Peter's restaurant where we had St. Peter's fish (or Talapia). And we encountered the local rodent, the Haika sunning themselves on the rocks.
After lunch we went to Capernaum, the traditional site of Peter's home. This church completes the Holy trinity of cities where Jesus did most of his teaching and miracles. The Church here is built on ruins of what tradition says is Peter's home. Again a 4th century ruin wad there built on top of the 1st century synagogue. Sadly, this site also shows that God's people don't play well together as just down the street is the Orthodox church at Capernaum! I took pictures of the Star of David carved onto a stone here.
Last of all today was Mount Tabor, and it was cold up there! At least the sun was shining. The Church of the Transfiguration is on top of this horst (geological term for a pimple in the crust). As Jesus took Peter, James and John with him, Moses and Elijah joined him as his clothes turned dazzling white. Today's church has 3 chapels, just like Peter asked to happen all those years ago.
Back to Nof Ginosar for dinner of soup (minestrone and split pea) and salads with desserts. There was plenty of other options, believe me!
Day 4
Today did laundry before breakfast of amazing foods once again. I had an egg, almond - flavored quiche, fruit and coffee. Yummy!
After breakfast we headed to Nazareth . As we were driving I couldn't help but wonder if we were anywhere near the family home of Said Ailabouni. I tried to picture him growing up and playing in the streets and in the alleys of this busy town. We went to the Church of the Annunciation and I was surprised by the beautiful scenes of Mary from all over the world. The ability to go below ground level and see the excavations down to the 1st century was amazing. Tradition says Mary talked to the angel Gabriel there. It was cold and icy as we left this church and went next door to St. Joseph's church and again it was built over the traditional site of Joseph's home and workshop.
From there we went to Sepphoris where it was likely that both Joseph and Jesus worked. It is an archaeological site that is being uncovered and I took a lot of photos of the mosaics in this city of Roman origin. There are paving stones with game boards etched in the stone and the ruts from the chariots. There was also a citadel where we climbed to the top and you could see for miles in all 4 directions. The citadel was the school until the Arabs were forced to leave.
Back to Nazareth and we toured Nazareth Village, a reenactment of 1st century life. Maria was our guide, Joseph was the carpenter and Hannah the weaver in this town. We were all given an oil lamp to remember out experience by.
Lunch was quite an experience as we crashed Adan's "sweet" birthday party at her father's pizza place. We were allowed to take Adan's picture and as a thank you we sang happy birthday to her!
Beit Shearim was our next stop. It is a necropolis where Rabbi Yahuda al-Nasi (the prince ) was buried in the chalk caves. Rabbi was known for editing the Mishna, the foundational text for rabbinic Judaism.
Finally back to Nof Ginosar Hotel/kibbutz for dinner. Absolutely yummy salads entrees and desserts. I ate a variety of salads, goose and the desserts were out of this world.
Today did laundry before breakfast of amazing foods once again. I had an egg, almond - flavored quiche, fruit and coffee. Yummy!
After breakfast we headed to Nazareth . As we were driving I couldn't help but wonder if we were anywhere near the family home of Said Ailabouni. I tried to picture him growing up and playing in the streets and in the alleys of this busy town. We went to the Church of the Annunciation and I was surprised by the beautiful scenes of Mary from all over the world. The ability to go below ground level and see the excavations down to the 1st century was amazing. Tradition says Mary talked to the angel Gabriel there. It was cold and icy as we left this church and went next door to St. Joseph's church and again it was built over the traditional site of Joseph's home and workshop.
From there we went to Sepphoris where it was likely that both Joseph and Jesus worked. It is an archaeological site that is being uncovered and I took a lot of photos of the mosaics in this city of Roman origin. There are paving stones with game boards etched in the stone and the ruts from the chariots. There was also a citadel where we climbed to the top and you could see for miles in all 4 directions. The citadel was the school until the Arabs were forced to leave.
Back to Nazareth and we toured Nazareth Village, a reenactment of 1st century life. Maria was our guide, Joseph was the carpenter and Hannah the weaver in this town. We were all given an oil lamp to remember out experience by.
Lunch was quite an experience as we crashed Adan's "sweet" birthday party at her father's pizza place. We were allowed to take Adan's picture and as a thank you we sang happy birthday to her!
Beit Shearim was our next stop. It is a necropolis where Rabbi Yahuda al-Nasi (the prince ) was buried in the chalk caves. Rabbi was known for editing the Mishna, the foundational text for rabbinic Judaism.
Finally back to Nof Ginosar Hotel/kibbutz for dinner. Absolutely yummy salads entrees and desserts. I ate a variety of salads, goose and the desserts were out of this world.
Sunday, January 11, 2015
Day 3
Today we started off with an amazing breakfast buffet of so many good things it's had to remember ! Eggs, yogurt, cottage cheese, breads, fruits and vegetables galore . And yay! Espresso!!
We then loaded up and onto the bus and out to Caesarea Maritima, the capital for Herod the Great. We saw Herod's palace, the theater, the hippodrome, the aqueduct, the port and a temple - all built by Herod in a 12 year period! The guess is that this city had about 40,000 residents.
The theater is still being used for concerts in the warm months!
As with so many of these sites, there are layers of history piled on top of layer. Byzantine and Crusaders all left their marks on this city too!
Back on the bus for a trip to Megiddo. 20 (at least) separate cities have come and gone on this site since the 4thmillennium BCE. It all makes sense when you get to the top and see the vast expanse of the Jezreel Valley stretching out below. If you control this high point you control traffic from Egypt to Asia! We saw a silo, a round altar, the city gate, and we walked through the spring shafts all 186 steps up and down! I can also understand why there is such a reference in Revelation to Har-Megeddon (Armegeddon) that last battle for salvation and destruction. I took several different photos of Stella Maris (Star of the Sea) Church and the traditional site of Elijah's encounter with the prophets of Baal.
Acrossthe street is the view of the city of Haifa. Wow it was windy and cold and rainy! Up the hill to have lunch on Mt. Carmel. We didn't venture to the top due to the strong winds. While we were eating there were some snow flurries and sun spots! Back to Haifa to see the Bahaii Gardens, which were closed and then in the bus to the Non Gino's are Kibbutz which will be home for the next 4 nights.
Rating here will be an experience that I will enjoy. Amazing variety of foods and delicious options!
Today we started off with an amazing breakfast buffet of so many good things it's had to remember ! Eggs, yogurt, cottage cheese, breads, fruits and vegetables galore . And yay! Espresso!!
We then loaded up and onto the bus and out to Caesarea Maritima, the capital for Herod the Great. We saw Herod's palace, the theater, the hippodrome, the aqueduct, the port and a temple - all built by Herod in a 12 year period! The guess is that this city had about 40,000 residents.
The theater is still being used for concerts in the warm months!
As with so many of these sites, there are layers of history piled on top of layer. Byzantine and Crusaders all left their marks on this city too!
Back on the bus for a trip to Megiddo. 20 (at least) separate cities have come and gone on this site since the 4thmillennium BCE. It all makes sense when you get to the top and see the vast expanse of the Jezreel Valley stretching out below. If you control this high point you control traffic from Egypt to Asia! We saw a silo, a round altar, the city gate, and we walked through the spring shafts all 186 steps up and down! I can also understand why there is such a reference in Revelation to Har-Megeddon (Armegeddon) that last battle for salvation and destruction. I took several different photos of Stella Maris (Star of the Sea) Church and the traditional site of Elijah's encounter with the prophets of Baal.
Acrossthe street is the view of the city of Haifa. Wow it was windy and cold and rainy! Up the hill to have lunch on Mt. Carmel. We didn't venture to the top due to the strong winds. While we were eating there were some snow flurries and sun spots! Back to Haifa to see the Bahaii Gardens, which were closed and then in the bus to the Non Gino's are Kibbutz which will be home for the next 4 nights.
Rating here will be an experience that I will enjoy. Amazing variety of foods and delicious options!
Thursday, January 8, 2015
Day 1 - or is it Day 2?
We safely arrived at 9:45 this morning at the Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv. As we went through our passport check, the man asked me where we were going to visit and I went blank! The only thing I could remember was Jerusalem! Funny how my mind works when I'm not in charge!!!
I was one of the first of our group through passport check and the LAST to get my suitcase - go figure! They were having trouble with the conveyor. Customs was cinch and we met up with Kaliel (sp) our tour guide.
We did some walking around Jaffa including an active archaeological site where they have excavated a gate that dates back to Ramses II, of Moses fame! Jaffa has been built on over the centuries, of course so the gate was butied under lots of "dirt." It is an impressive town now I can only imagine what it would have been ,Ike to enter through that gate!
Lunch was one of my favorite foods, falafel pita and a mint tea to drink. Yum!
After lunch we spent time in the local market that had everything imaginable to buy - especially fruits and vegetables including an eggplant grown especially for baba ganoush - that resembles a purple pumpkin in size!
I had my first taste of Turkish Delight today at the market and must say that I enjoyed it - though it was nothing like what I expected it to be.
We meet in a few minutes for dinner and a short meeting after and hopefully then off to bed! I'm so excited, grateful, and blown away that I am here!
We safely arrived at 9:45 this morning at the Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv. As we went through our passport check, the man asked me where we were going to visit and I went blank! The only thing I could remember was Jerusalem! Funny how my mind works when I'm not in charge!!!
I was one of the first of our group through passport check and the LAST to get my suitcase - go figure! They were having trouble with the conveyor. Customs was cinch and we met up with Kaliel (sp) our tour guide.
We did some walking around Jaffa including an active archaeological site where they have excavated a gate that dates back to Ramses II, of Moses fame! Jaffa has been built on over the centuries, of course so the gate was butied under lots of "dirt." It is an impressive town now I can only imagine what it would have been ,Ike to enter through that gate!
Lunch was one of my favorite foods, falafel pita and a mint tea to drink. Yum!
After lunch we spent time in the local market that had everything imaginable to buy - especially fruits and vegetables including an eggplant grown especially for baba ganoush - that resembles a purple pumpkin in size!
I had my first taste of Turkish Delight today at the market and must say that I enjoyed it - though it was nothing like what I expected it to be.
We meet in a few minutes for dinner and a short meeting after and hopefully then off to bed! I'm so excited, grateful, and blown away that I am here!
Monday, January 5, 2015
Sunday, January 4, 2015
Packed - almost
Everything is packed - almost! I still have those things I need for tonight and tomorrow. But all in all, the suitcase is full as well as the backpack! I'm excited to be traveling and to see my sister, Judi and her family.
Know I should hit the hay soon-3 am is going to come early!
Know I should hit the hay soon-3 am is going to come early!
Thursday, January 1, 2015
Happy New Year
Wishing all of you the happiest of New Years in 2015. I had a bit of an "eye thing" this past week - an icky infection under my right eyelid - but thank God it's cleared up and it's full speed ahead for Monday's VERY early flight to Ohio. I'm getting more And more excited - though it still feels totally unreal.
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