This will be a pretty dull entry ....
We had a farewell dinner at a restaurant between Abu Ghosh and the airport. Nice, in that we had a room to ourselves, and the food was plentiful and good. But it wasn't really separate - the kitchen was in that part, and it was hard to have a group gathering. So, we did our farewell blessing and sharing at the airport, in their prayer room, but one which gets interrupted by the boarding announcements for all the flights.
When you leave Tel Aviv with group air, they want you to all be together in line. Then they ask the group leader about where you stayed, where you visited, etc. Then they pull someone else out of the line to make sure the same answers are given. This all went off without a hitch. No one had their bags searched, which was perhaps the first time in my trips there. We all got our boarding passes, through passport control, and to the gate.
As noted above, almost all of us got together for a farewell prayer. I would mention a site and some connection it had to Jesus or some other aspect of our faith, and the people recited a refrain. we did a glory be after each day and went through the whole trip that way - at least the parts that were in the official tour, not our many morning walks. We also had the chance to mention something or someplace on the trip that touched us in a special way. Some more common answers were sailing on the Sea of Galilee, being in the dungeon at the House of Caiaphus where Jesus was probably held part of the early hours of Good Friday while Psalm 88 was read, and Mount Tabor, the site of the Transfiguration, and the Garden of Gethsemane.
The flight from Tel Aviv to Newark was scheduled for 12 hours and 3 minutes. We crossed 7 time zones during that time. Either on the plane or on a screen in the airport when you arrive you fill out a form on what you are bringing into the country. We all got through passport control again, claimed our bags and rechecked them with United Airlines. We are now all in Newark. Two of our travelers will be returning to Arkansas from here, so we have already said our goodbyes to Tracy and Lois.
Right now the 17 others are waiting for the flight back to Minneapolis.
I will try to add more to previous posts, so please revisit them. As the days go on I hope to insert picture and perhaps a little video.
Friday, February 14, 2020
Thursday, February 13, 2020
Thursday, February 13 - Our final day of touring
Precis: Morning walk with 12 people took us onto the Temple Mount, to the Roman Cardo, and then to St. Mark's Church, the Syrian Coptic church which claims to be among other things: the first church; to be built over the home of St. Mark's mother (Acts 12); the Upper Room, the place of the Last Supper, The place where the Holy Spirit descended; it also had a painting of Mary and Jesus reputed to be done by St. Luke (it is ancient, but not before 350 A.D.). We returned to the Hotel going through the Christian Quarter and eventually through the Damascus Gate.
Sites today: Bethany, the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus; lunch at the only kibbutz in the Jerusalem city area; now to Abu Ghosh (see Satruday's post for some early info on it). We will have Mass there. Then to a farewell dinner and to the airport and home. We are scheduled to arrive at 10:47 Friday morning.
Detail: We are getting pretty good at finding our way to the Old City and to places within it. Today the bus was not leaving until 11:00. We decided to have breakfast at 6:30 and leave right after 7:00 a.m. We walked to the city, entered the Damascus gates and headed across the city. We went through security to get into the Western Wall area, not to go to the wall this morning - we had done that on Tuesday - but to save steps by cutting through to the exit on the south side of the city. The only way onto the Temple Mount is from the south. After entering through the wrong line, we found ourselves again in the Western Wall area, and exiting again, got into the leftmost line and through security and up the ramp to the Temple Mount - the big flat area everyone sees in pictures of Jerusalem. Access is controlled by Israeli army and police. In general Jews are not allowed (and told not to go by the chief Rabbi of Jerusalem.) You cannot wear any Christian items -- crosses, medals, etc. Dress is even more strict than most places. One of our women was wearing a t-shirt and was told to cover her arms.
Sites today: Bethany, the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus; lunch at the only kibbutz in the Jerusalem city area; now to Abu Ghosh (see Satruday's post for some early info on it). We will have Mass there. Then to a farewell dinner and to the airport and home. We are scheduled to arrive at 10:47 Friday morning.
Detail: We are getting pretty good at finding our way to the Old City and to places within it. Today the bus was not leaving until 11:00. We decided to have breakfast at 6:30 and leave right after 7:00 a.m. We walked to the city, entered the Damascus gates and headed across the city. We went through security to get into the Western Wall area, not to go to the wall this morning - we had done that on Tuesday - but to save steps by cutting through to the exit on the south side of the city. The only way onto the Temple Mount is from the south. After entering through the wrong line, we found ourselves again in the Western Wall area, and exiting again, got into the leftmost line and through security and up the ramp to the Temple Mount - the big flat area everyone sees in pictures of Jerusalem. Access is controlled by Israeli army and police. In general Jews are not allowed (and told not to go by the chief Rabbi of Jerusalem.) You cannot wear any Christian items -- crosses, medals, etc. Dress is even more strict than most places. One of our women was wearing a t-shirt and was told to cover her arms.
Wednesday Feb. 12 - A day in the Desert
Synopsis:
About 10 of us took an early morning walk which included another visit to the Church of the Holy Sepulchure, The Armenian Quarter, especially the Cathedral of St. James, many streets through the Christian Quarter.
At 8:00 we left for our day in the desert. The weather has turned good - warmer and clearer. This was more true as we got into the Judean desert.
Places visited today: to the baptismal site commemorating the area in which John the Baptist baptized Jesus; Qumron, the place of the finding of the Dead Sea Scrolls; The Dead Sea itself for a float in the water; to Jericho to see a sycamore tree in that town where Zacchaeus climbed the tree to see Jesus. Jesus also cured one, or two blind men, depending on which gospel you are reading), had Mass at the parish of Good Shepherd, and visited Tel Jericho, which shows the 10,000 year old wall which places Jericho as the oldest or one of the very oldest cities in the world, and finally, we drove into the desert some miles to see St. George Monastery, which clings to the side of cliff in what is sometimes called "the valley of death." We returned to our hotel around 5:30.
About 10 of us took an early morning walk which included another visit to the Church of the Holy Sepulchure, The Armenian Quarter, especially the Cathedral of St. James, many streets through the Christian Quarter.
At 8:00 we left for our day in the desert. The weather has turned good - warmer and clearer. This was more true as we got into the Judean desert.
Places visited today: to the baptismal site commemorating the area in which John the Baptist baptized Jesus; Qumron, the place of the finding of the Dead Sea Scrolls; The Dead Sea itself for a float in the water; to Jericho to see a sycamore tree in that town where Zacchaeus climbed the tree to see Jesus. Jesus also cured one, or two blind men, depending on which gospel you are reading), had Mass at the parish of Good Shepherd, and visited Tel Jericho, which shows the 10,000 year old wall which places Jericho as the oldest or one of the very oldest cities in the world, and finally, we drove into the desert some miles to see St. George Monastery, which clings to the side of cliff in what is sometimes called "the valley of death." We returned to our hotel around 5:30.
Tuesday, February 11, 2020
Monday - Cana, Nazareth and Mount Tabor
I awoke early enough to see the dawn breaking over the Sea of Galilee. When I figure out how to add pictures into the blog, you will see some breath-taking shots. We packed up, got our bags out by 7:00, had breakfast and then identified our bags so they could be loaded on the bus (they do not load bags that are not personally identified onto buses in this country. Tags don't matter; someone pointing it out as theirs and vouching for it does.)
We left the Sea of Galilee behind. Our first stop was Mount Tabor, the most frequently cited location of the Transfiguration. Mt. Tabor rises from the plains of the Jezreel Valley, a wonderfully rich agricultural area. In addition to its connection with the Transfiguration, it was cited in the book of Judges, chapters 4 and 5, where Deborah and Barack defeated the Caananite chariots. It has been some time since I have been on top of it, since there are often long lines to get there. A bus cannot get up the mountain, so people are taken up in 13-passenger buses on a switchback road. The lines were not long this day. At the top of the mountain is a beautiful church and a wonderful view. The church has a large mosaic over the altar depicting the transfiguration. In the back of the church are two small chapels, one featuring Moses, the other Elijah.
Two towns are at the base of the mountain. One is a Bedouin village where each person is a member of the same clan, and thus has the same last name. The other is called Dabburiya (Deborah) after the female judge in the book of Judges.
After this we went We headed to Cana. This is of course the home of Jesus' first miracle, according to John. And we did have our five couples reaffirm their vows. It was an emotional event, and lovely to behold. We also prayed for couples who are preparing for marriage, and especially those couples at St. Joseph who are preparing to have their marriage blessed on February 22.
Cana is also the site of Jesus' second miracle in John, the healing of the official's servant. It is also the home of the apostle Nathaniel (aka Bartholomew.) There is a church with his name. The big tourist church, however, is the one that focusses on marriage. In it they display a "stone jar used for ceremonial purposes." Many pictures/paintings show small pottery jars; that is not what is described in the gospel. Stone jars don't absorb, while pottery ones do. That is why stone is used for this. Stone jars have very thick walls. No one claims the jar on display was from the time of Jesus. It is about 4 feet tall and at lest three across. But the common painting shows that we so often picture what Jesus does as smaller than it is.
We had a toast to marriage in a souvenir shop, where Cana wine is sold - much of it an inexpensive sweet wine.
From there we moved on to Nazareth, the boyhood home of Jesus, and where the Word became flesh. The Basilica of the Annunciation is a modern building rising over several smaller ancestors. The primary altar is near the home of Mary. Much of the city of Nazareth from the time of Jesus, with a population of less than 200, has been excavated. Today Nazareth is around 100,000 people. You can look through a grille at the home of Mary. All around the church, inside and out, are images of Mary donated by countries from around the world. You get a perspective of how Mary is seen, and that people relate to her from many cultural backgrounds. Also in the area is St. Joseph's Church and displays of 1st century Nazareth. We had Mass, celebrating the Annunciation in a small chapel.
After this we headed to Jerusalem, traveling south on hwy six to the area of the airport, and then turning west to Jerusalem. We checked into Grand Court Hotel and met at 7:00 for supper and cards following.
Tuesday - within the Walls of Jerusalem
Short story: Longer blog to come:
We are now staying at Grand Hotel in Jerusalem. It is about a brisk 10 minute walk from the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem. So far the food has been great! But ten of decided to eschew breakfast in order to have a long early morning walk, and meet the rest of the people at our first stop. The whole day was spent in Jerusalem itself.
The early walkers experienced this:
- 5:00 a.m. departure; walk to the walls
- we saw people just beginning to set up shop, seeing the bread arrive, buying the first cups of coffee sold that day
- we entered the city through the Damascus Gate, and just inside the wall read psalm 122 : I rejoiced when I heard them say, "Let us go up to God's House", and now our feet feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem ...
- we visited the Church of the HolySepulcher and toured all around it, including going up the Mount of Calvary at a quiet time, kneeling, and being able to touch the top of Calvary.
- we did not visit the tomb at the time, as Mass was going on in there. We did go to almost every other spot in this massive church.
- from there we walked through part of the Muslim Quarter, past closed stores, past where the Cardo (main street of Roman times) into the Jewish Quarter. There is quite a difference between these two quarters.
- we visited the Western Wall (aka wailing wall) ... almost no one else was there ... We were told the cold they are having here (about 40 degrees Fahrenheit) was keeping people away (!).
- we then exited there, and went to St. Ann's Church which is where we eventually met the rest of the group.
St. Ann's Church is a Crusader building (completed in 1140) still in excellent shape. It is said to be over the home of Ann and Joachim, and the birthplace of Mary. It is a beautiful building with extraordinary acoustics. There is an old tradition of Mary's connection, going back to a second century document called the Protoevangelium of James. No one wanted to destroy it; it was used as a Koran seminary by the Muslims after 1187. It eventually was given to France, and remains a possession of France. It is administered by the Holy Ghost fathers (aka White Fathers.) This is also the site of the Pool of Bethsaida where Jesus cured the man who had been crippled for 38 years. (John 5). This pool had been lost to history for many centuries, but was rediscovered.
From there we continued up the Via Dolorosa, entering "Ecco Homo" (Behold the man) (John 18) where Jesus was put on trial before Pilate. There we began the Stations of the Cross and visited the chapel there. Its pavement goes back to the time of Christ, and shows a game etched into the stone by the soldiers.
We continued on through station nine, and then did the final 5 stations inside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher as we waited in line to visit the tomb.
We had Mass at 11:00 in the Franciscan chapel in the church proper.
While others visited Calvary, the early walkers saw the Greek Orthodox area which had been closed earlier, and then walked through the local markets used by the people who live within the walls - shoes, clothing, the butchers, fruit and vegetable sellers.
After lunch we visited Mount Zion, - Dormition Abbey, the Cenacle (Last Supper room/ Upper Room), David;s Tomb (although it isn't credible site for it) and St. Peter Gallicantu.
Now back at the hotel.
We are now staying at Grand Hotel in Jerusalem. It is about a brisk 10 minute walk from the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem. So far the food has been great! But ten of decided to eschew breakfast in order to have a long early morning walk, and meet the rest of the people at our first stop. The whole day was spent in Jerusalem itself.
The early walkers experienced this:
- 5:00 a.m. departure; walk to the walls
- we saw people just beginning to set up shop, seeing the bread arrive, buying the first cups of coffee sold that day
- we entered the city through the Damascus Gate, and just inside the wall read psalm 122 : I rejoiced when I heard them say, "Let us go up to God's House", and now our feet feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem ...
- we visited the Church of the HolySepulcher and toured all around it, including going up the Mount of Calvary at a quiet time, kneeling, and being able to touch the top of Calvary.
- we did not visit the tomb at the time, as Mass was going on in there. We did go to almost every other spot in this massive church.
- from there we walked through part of the Muslim Quarter, past closed stores, past where the Cardo (main street of Roman times) into the Jewish Quarter. There is quite a difference between these two quarters.
- we visited the Western Wall (aka wailing wall) ... almost no one else was there ... We were told the cold they are having here (about 40 degrees Fahrenheit) was keeping people away (!).
- we then exited there, and went to St. Ann's Church which is where we eventually met the rest of the group.
St. Ann's Church is a Crusader building (completed in 1140) still in excellent shape. It is said to be over the home of Ann and Joachim, and the birthplace of Mary. It is a beautiful building with extraordinary acoustics. There is an old tradition of Mary's connection, going back to a second century document called the Protoevangelium of James. No one wanted to destroy it; it was used as a Koran seminary by the Muslims after 1187. It eventually was given to France, and remains a possession of France. It is administered by the Holy Ghost fathers (aka White Fathers.) This is also the site of the Pool of Bethsaida where Jesus cured the man who had been crippled for 38 years. (John 5). This pool had been lost to history for many centuries, but was rediscovered.
From there we continued up the Via Dolorosa, entering "Ecco Homo" (Behold the man) (John 18) where Jesus was put on trial before Pilate. There we began the Stations of the Cross and visited the chapel there. Its pavement goes back to the time of Christ, and shows a game etched into the stone by the soldiers.
We continued on through station nine, and then did the final 5 stations inside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher as we waited in line to visit the tomb.
We had Mass at 11:00 in the Franciscan chapel in the church proper.
While others visited Calvary, the early walkers saw the Greek Orthodox area which had been closed earlier, and then walked through the local markets used by the people who live within the walls - shoes, clothing, the butchers, fruit and vegetable sellers.
After lunch we visited Mount Zion, - Dormition Abbey, the Cenacle (Last Supper room/ Upper Room), David;s Tomb (although it isn't credible site for it) and St. Peter Gallicantu.
Now back at the hotel.
Monday, February 10, 2020
Saturday - Up the Mediterranean Coast
It was a rainy morning so almost no one tried to get into Bethlehem Manger Square area this morning. We had to pack up and have our baggage out by 7:00 a.m. and leave Bethlehem behind.
We headed through the checkpoint and went a few miles north toward Jerusalem, and then headed west on Hwy 1 to the western coast. This gave us our first daylight view of real countryside. There is a good deal of agriculture in modern Israel. They need to it feed the 9.5 million residents. When I was first in Israel studying here as a seminarian in the fall of 1990, there were only about 4.1 million, and 400,000 of them had arrived as immigrants that year - primarily from Russia as the USSR was breaking up.
Along the way we passed Abu Ghosh, which is a favored site for Emmaus to where the Risen Christ walked with two pilgrims explaining why it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer and die. (Luke 24:13-25). Abu Ghosh was a 19th century tribal leader strong enough to defy Turkish rule, but not seen as a real threat to the Ottoman Empire. His name replaced that of the traditional and Biblical name, Qiryat Yearim, which is found in the OT quite often. It was the resting place of the Ark of the Covenant for the 20 years between its return by the Philistines (1 Samuel 6:21 -7:2) and its removal to Jerusalem by David.
We continued to Tel Aviv, the largest metro area in Israel, an turned north on Hwy 2 to Ceasaria Maritime. This city of Caesarea was built by Herod the Great a few decades before the birth of Christ. It was an amazing accomplishment because it required the building of a harbor - it was to be the commercial center of his kingdom - and it had no water supply. An aqueduct was built to bring water in from about 20 miles away. He built a theater, a palace with both freshwater and salt water swimming pools, a hippodrome for horse races, a lighthouse and much more. It became the seat of government for the Romans - Pontius Pilate ruled from there. Biblically it was where Paul was imprisoned for two years before appealing to Rome for a decision. Peter was summoned there by
Cornelius (acts 10) and it was that Peter baptized his first non-Jews after the "Gentile Pentecost"
when Cornelius and his household experienced the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
when Cornelius and his household experienced the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
While we visiting it was extremely windy, but it wasn't really raining. The waves in the Mediterranean Sea were wild crashing ashore. The tour began with a movie of the history of the place to present time. (It became a center for learning, especially for Christians, but others, too. People lived in harmony, for the most part. It declined in importance, however. It was taken by the Moselms in the 600s, and evenually became a Crusader holding. Its moat and other fortifications were not effective though, and it was lost again. It went into obscurity and about a century ago the land was purchased and it is now a very elite community. It is the home of the only golf course in Israel, and I'm told the least expensive living place there costs two million dollars.
From there we continued north to Haifa, and stopped at Stella Maris on Mount Carmel. Mount Carmel is a large mountain, about 25 kM long. It was here the Carmelite order began and it is the site of the great battle between Elijah and the prophets of Baal during the time of Queen Jezebel and King Ahab. We also visited a cave Elijah is said to have lived in. We missed our slot for Mass, so we
made plans to do it at the hotel in Tiberius after we checked in.
We had lunch at a restaurant with a striking view of the Mediterranean Sea. This day our choices were fish chicken steak or lamb/beef kabobs. It came with the usual many side dishes as is the norm for our meals.
Haifa is also the world headquarters of the Ba`hai religion, which broke off from the Shiite Muslims in the 1800s. They have some beautiful gardens there. Haifa is also the technological center for Israel, the Israeli Silicon Valley.
We continued north to Acre (aka Acco). This is an ancient site with the earliest mention in history during the 19th century BC when it was an Egyptian commercial outpost. It remained in Phoenician hands during the Israelite conquest, and became a Canaanite city. Eventually it became an important Greek town, and then Roman. Today it is most remembered for its years as a Crusader stronghold.
It was the last place to fall to the Muslims, and its fall ended the Latin Kingdom (Crusader kingdoms) in this part of the world. Knights Templars, Knights Hospitallers, and the various European powers
who occupied the place did not really plan or work together, and it fell from internal strife as much as threat from the outside.
The people who visited Acre over the years is incredible. It included Julius Caesar, Marco Polo, Francis of Assisi, Richard the Lionhearted. Napoleon attacked it in1799, but it held; he went to Egypt after than instead.
What we visited was the Crusader history. Almost all of what we saw had been underground after years of disuse - filling with sand, trash, etc. This has now been excavated and is interesting for those who are interested in the Crusader period (1099-1291). Again, its fall in 1291 ended the presence of the Latin Kingdom in this part of the world. During that last siege they held out two months during which 30,000 to 40,000 people managed to escape to Cyprus.
After that visit we stopped in at a store where they create bronze items. We saw the owner's son, the fifth generation in this business, quickly create a simple wrist band which he gave to one of our pilgrims. The artist/owner is David Miro, who came to Israel from Iraq in1950.
We came to Tiberius where we checked into the Caesar Hotel - a nice place directly on the Sea of Galilee. I received a surprise when I learned I was upgraded to a room on the top floor. I was amazed when I actually saw it. A master bath with a jacuzzi; a living room/dining room of great size, and a balcony overlooking the Sea of Galilee which must have been well over 400 square feet. I decided we needed to have a mid-trip party there the next night. More on that on Sunday's blog (eventually).
We did have Mass in a room provided by the hotel, and then to dinner and after dinner people had discussions, played cards or got some rest.
made plans to do it at the hotel in Tiberius after we checked in.
We had lunch at a restaurant with a striking view of the Mediterranean Sea. This day our choices were fish chicken steak or lamb/beef kabobs. It came with the usual many side dishes as is the norm for our meals.
Haifa is also the world headquarters of the Ba`hai religion, which broke off from the Shiite Muslims in the 1800s. They have some beautiful gardens there. Haifa is also the technological center for Israel, the Israeli Silicon Valley.
We continued north to Acre (aka Acco). This is an ancient site with the earliest mention in history during the 19th century BC when it was an Egyptian commercial outpost. It remained in Phoenician hands during the Israelite conquest, and became a Canaanite city. Eventually it became an important Greek town, and then Roman. Today it is most remembered for its years as a Crusader stronghold.
It was the last place to fall to the Muslims, and its fall ended the Latin Kingdom (Crusader kingdoms) in this part of the world. Knights Templars, Knights Hospitallers, and the various European powers
who occupied the place did not really plan or work together, and it fell from internal strife as much as threat from the outside.
The people who visited Acre over the years is incredible. It included Julius Caesar, Marco Polo, Francis of Assisi, Richard the Lionhearted. Napoleon attacked it in1799, but it held; he went to Egypt after than instead.
What we visited was the Crusader history. Almost all of what we saw had been underground after years of disuse - filling with sand, trash, etc. This has now been excavated and is interesting for those who are interested in the Crusader period (1099-1291). Again, its fall in 1291 ended the presence of the Latin Kingdom in this part of the world. During that last siege they held out two months during which 30,000 to 40,000 people managed to escape to Cyprus.
After that visit we stopped in at a store where they create bronze items. We saw the owner's son, the fifth generation in this business, quickly create a simple wrist band which he gave to one of our pilgrims. The artist/owner is David Miro, who came to Israel from Iraq in1950.
We came to Tiberius where we checked into the Caesar Hotel - a nice place directly on the Sea of Galilee. I received a surprise when I learned I was upgraded to a room on the top floor. I was amazed when I actually saw it. A master bath with a jacuzzi; a living room/dining room of great size, and a balcony overlooking the Sea of Galilee which must have been well over 400 square feet. I decided we needed to have a mid-trip party there the next night. More on that on Sunday's blog (eventually).
We did have Mass in a room provided by the hotel, and then to dinner and after dinner people had discussions, played cards or got some rest.
Cornelius
Sunday, February 9, 2020
Sunday Feb 9 - A day around the Sea of Galilee
I am a day behind in my blogging! It is now 8:00 a.m. on Monday here in Galilee. Today we checked out of our wonderful hotel and are heading to Mount Tabor (site of the Transfiguration) and then on to Nazareth and Cana, and ending the day by heading south to Jerusalem where we will be staying for the rest of the trip. We will see whether all our plans on this beautiful morning come to fruition. But now about what we actually did on Sunday.
Meri Ault and I took an early morning walk around Tiberius. We were scouting out where to find a grocery store and other places where we could later purchase provisions for the party we would have in the incredible suite I had been given to stay in. We eventually discovered one, but actually there were plenty of small shops that sold snacks, beer and wine much closer. However we were curious about one building, and discovered it was the burial site of the most important rabbis that had made Tiberius a significant spiritual site for the Jewish religion. Some of these rabbis were from the first four centuries of the "common era" (or roughly 3700-4100 in the Jewish counting of years). Miamodes (aka Rambam) was also buried there. He was a 12th century physician and scholar who was perhaps the most influential non-biblical figure in the Jewish religion.
After breakfast we all boarded the bus for the day around the Sea of Galilee. It would be a day with many stops and very little mileage as everything we will see will be in a small area. The sites were The Primacy of Peter, Capernahum, Tagbahg, lunch, a boat ride across the Sea of Galilee, and Magdala, the town of Mary Magdalene.
<arrivd at Tabor>
Meri Ault and I took an early morning walk around Tiberius. We were scouting out where to find a grocery store and other places where we could later purchase provisions for the party we would have in the incredible suite I had been given to stay in. We eventually discovered one, but actually there were plenty of small shops that sold snacks, beer and wine much closer. However we were curious about one building, and discovered it was the burial site of the most important rabbis that had made Tiberius a significant spiritual site for the Jewish religion. Some of these rabbis were from the first four centuries of the "common era" (or roughly 3700-4100 in the Jewish counting of years). Miamodes (aka Rambam) was also buried there. He was a 12th century physician and scholar who was perhaps the most influential non-biblical figure in the Jewish religion.
After breakfast we all boarded the bus for the day around the Sea of Galilee. It would be a day with many stops and very little mileage as everything we will see will be in a small area. The sites were The Primacy of Peter, Capernahum, Tagbahg, lunch, a boat ride across the Sea of Galilee, and Magdala, the town of Mary Magdalene.
<arrivd at Tabor>
Friday, February 7, 2020
Friday, Feb. 7 - A day around Bethlehem
Friday February 7 we spent in Bethlehem, the shepherds fields nearby and at Ein Karem in the Judean Hill Country noted for its connection to St. John the Baptist and the Visitation.
Some of you may have heard of some disturbances around Israel and Palestine which has resulted in the death of either 4 or 5 Palestinians and the ramming of an Israeli army vehicle. Since some of the action, I'm told, involved someone from Bethlehem and happened in Jerusalem, I can imagine there were concerns about our safety. We are all safe and feel safe. Our trip has not been affected beyond running into closed roads and having more discussions among us and with locals about the political situation and how it affects people in Palestine.
We are staying at St. Gabriel Hotel in Bethlehem. It is a very nice hotel, and I think we are all enjoying it. Tonight we spend the last of three nights here before moving our trip to the north, Galilee, which is in the nation of Israel. Bethlehem is on the West Bank, which is in the nation of Palestine, as much as it can really be called a nation. Other notable cities in Palestine we will visit include Jericho and Bethany. Our bus and many other people with the proper documents often pass easily through the border checkpoints. But not everyone can get the documents. Many people in Bethlehem work in Jerusalem which is in Israel. (The cities are just five miles apart.) At times many people passing through are checked more thoroughly which delays everyone and makes getting to work on time difficult.
But enough about that. On both Thursday and Friday about half of us got up early and walked from our hotel to the church of the Nativity. On Thursday we were able to spend about seven minutes in the cave where Jesus was born. Today we could not get in there, but did have a leisurely visit in all the other caves under the church of the Nativity. One was where Jerome translated the bible from Greek and Hebrew into the then-common Latin around the year 400. This became known as the Vulgate (i.e. vulgar, or common tongue) translation. On Thursday we also wandered through the area more and saw a few more streets.
We returned in time for a hearty breakfast and boarded the bus to go to Shepherds' Fields, where the angels announced the birth of the Savior to the shepherds. We had Mass in one of the caves there and also visited a beautiful small chapel. We celebrated the Christmas liturgy and sang Christmas carols.
From there we headed to a place to shop for higher quality olive wood items. They are beautiful, but you pay for the craftsmanship. If you ever do this, move beyond the proclamations of 15% or 30% discounts. You can drive a much harder bargain on the more expensive items. However, we were treated very well, and they gave the parish a beautiful icon of Mary which will be shipped to us. We will find a prominent place for it. This store does sell thing that are really handmade and made by people in the Bethlehem area. Many items for sale in shops and on the streets are actually produced in China, and simply sold here. Others are made in Bethlehem and the surrounding area, but are of poor quality. If you want some trinkets, rosaries, or an inexpensive nativity set, you will find better prices elsewhere. If you want a keepsake, this store might be better. But bargain. The sort of buying we did today helped the local working Christian families, not just the store owner. This is important in a city where the Christian population has shrunk form 40% when I was here nearly 30 years ago down to about 10%.
One of the more interesting things we discovered in this store was one of salesman, Faud Moubassela. He is an excellent singer, and showed us a video he and others from Bethlehem made singing Little Drummer Boy in several languages. You can get it at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHLcf6BUrEY or going to youtube and searching for Little Drummer Boy Bethlehem.
Next we went to the Church of the Nativity and were given a tour of the building while we waited our turn to visit the cave in which Jesus was born. This church was the only one not destroyed by the Persians when they came through the Holy Land around 611-613. (These were not Muslims; that religion began later.) It was preserved because a fresco on it showed the magi, who were depicted wearing Persian dress. The building has recently been renovated to save the roof and be cleaned. In the process they discovered many more mosaics on the walls than had been seen for centuries. Below is a picture of the nave of the church when it was deserted early in the morning; center: the spot designating where Jesus was born in the cave below the church, also early in the morning. right: two of our group venerating that area during our group visit.
The wait to see the grotto was extended by the Roman Catholic Procession which goes through parts of the church and into the grotto. I had never seen the procession before, so I found the wait worth it. We also had more time in the Greek Orthodox area which has many ancient icons and paintings.
The actual visit was very brief and somewhat chaotic as people were trying to get in from the other stairway. It was very different than the early morning visits when we were practically alone.
Our next stop was lunch. The meal for the day was described as Aleppo Barbeque. It is a Syrian dish almost never seen elsewhere. It is a lamb/beef compbination, shaped in a ball and put on a cinamon stick in a tomato sauce. There were also french fries, roasted chicken and many side dishes of various salads.
After lunch we went to Ein Karem. This is an area in the Judean Hill country. There are two churches in the area. One has an ancient connection with John the Baptist. That was being renovated, so we could not go there. We did visit the other place which is connected with the Visitation, a church high on a hill which I had never seen before. The walk up is very steep, all stairs. But the stairs have a dual ramp built into it to allow a car to go up - two tires on one ramp, and two on the other. Several of our people went in a car which barely made it up.
We heard several days later that the retaining wall we walked by collapsed a few days later due to excessive rain. The collapse may put a convent and orphanage in jeopardy.
The hill country is heavily terraced so olive trees and other farming can be done. The soil is very rocky, but it still is productive.
We returned to Bethlehem the normal way today, for our final night in Bethlehem. Three of us did a quick walk into the shopping area to buy some inexpensive items, and returned by cab - making the others wait on the bus a few minutes before we headed to "The Tent" Restaurant. It is sort of a tent, but really a structure. Lawrence Tours bought wine for all of us. The meal was enjoyable. We saw a number of people smoking from hookas and got a short tutorial on it. As best I can describe it, tobacco is put into a cored apple, which is wrapped in foil and has charcoals put on it. One inhales from a hose, which lowers the pressure in a lower chamber, which causes water in that part to rise. Air flow into the apple/bowl. Because of the charcoals, smoke is created which flows into the lower chamber and then is inhaled through the hose. I have no pictures.
We returned to the hotel and retired for the night. Tomorrow will be a new adventure.
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