Israel - 4

In this final post of our trip, I wanted to focus on Jerusalem and Jesus' journey as our savior. In this picture you can see the wall around the old city. In the center is Dome of the Rock, one of the holiest sites in Judaism, Islam and Christianity. It sits at the top of Mount Moriah where Abraham went up to sacrifice his son. 

As Jesus entered Jerusalem for the last time on what we celebrate as Palm Sunday, he first saw the city from this place where he wept. (Luke 19:41). It's called the Dominus Flevit.

Our guide showed us the Upper Room just outside the city wall where Jesus sent his disciples ahead of him to prepare the Passover dinner. (Mark 14:15, Luke 22:12)

Although the original Upper Room was destroyed in a seige, it was rebuilt in 1187. 

The Garden of Gethsemane, which means "garden of the olive press," looked different that I expected. Several of the olive trees in this garden are 2,000 years old and still producing olives today. 

The church here in the garden, called the "Church of All Nations," has a frame of thorns surrounding the rock where Jesus prayed the night he was betrayed.

We then walked the Via Dolorosa, or Way of the Cross. 

Stations 1 & 2 - Jesus is condemed and receives his cross. Here we saw the areas where he was flogged, tried, and sentenced to be crucified. There are Catholic churches everywhere commemorating these special sites, and while they have beautifully preserved the exact location through the centuries, they obstruct the view of what it must have looked like back in Jesus' time. You had to use your imagination for a lot of it. This particular statue in one of the churches moved me because of the blood-stained robe depicted.

Stations 3 & 4 - Jesus falls for the first time then meets his mother, Mary. These stations are right next to each other, so she must have tried to come to his aid to help him up.

Here's what the streets look like. They are very narrow. This was on the Sabbath when the vendors were closed, but it's usually crowded with lots of people buying fruit, clothing, toys, shoes, and other essentials like a flea market. I stayed close to the tour group on our way back because it was easy to lose them. 

As Jesus walked down these streets, the crowds must have gawked and stood along the walls as the guards made way for Jesus and his cross.

Station 5 - Simon helps Jesus carry his cross.

Some of the stations, like #7 whre Jesus falls for the second time, have small prayer chapels.

As we neared the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the stations were all contained within the complex gates. Our guide led us up to calvary through a series of buildings, arches, and steep stairwells.

At the top of the stairs, there was a huge crowd of tourists like us gathered along the side. Here we saw paintings and mosaics over the places where Jesus was stripped and nailed to the cross. The altar marks the spot where Jesus died on the cross. We couldn't see it just yet beause Greek Orthodox priests were saying Mass. 

When it was okay to proceed, each person took a brief moment to go under the altar and place our hand on the rock that supported Jesus's cross as he died.

The tomb, or Holy Sepulchre, is inside the building complex with a memorial building made of marble covering it. They also had a guard waiting at the entrance who would only allow 4-5 people in at a time for a total of 5 seconds, and no pictures. The lines were long, so I actually appreciated this.

To better explain what we were looking at, below is a typical tomb near the Holy Sepulchre that dates back 2,000 years. It's in the Armenian chapel within the complex. The first room you enter is the "preparation" room where the deceased body is prepared for burial with oils and wrapped with a cloth. Then, the body is laid in the tunnel that only goes back about 7'. In this picture, there are places for two tombs. In the Holy Sepulchre, there is only one. As the family would exit, a large stone was placed over the entrance to the first room for one year while the body decomposed. 

You might notice the candles. Vendors were selling these everywhere in the streets. Many cultures light candles in these holy places for a few minutes, then blow them out and bring back the burned candles to family and friends back home to keep in special places.

Something interesting about the Holy Sepulchre complex is that several Christian denominations have a physical presence there, including the Armenians, Greek Orthodox, Ethiopian, Catholic, Syriac, and Coptic Christians. To keep these groups from quarreling about who gets to keep the keys to the complex, it was agreed in 1291 to give the keys to the Muslims.This has worked well ever since. At 4:30am, they open the doors and at 8pm the doors are closed, every day. It's a great example that through God, there really can be peace.

In 1867, a rock-cut tomb in Jerusalem was unearthed and is considered by some Protestants to be the site of the burial and resurrection of Jesus. It's clled the Garden Tomb, and has been dated by Israeli archaeologists to around 700 BC. Although it's within walking distance of the crucifixion, it doesn't match the description in the bible as a "new" tomb. (John 19:41) Regardless of which tomb is perceived as true, the important thing is that they are both empty which gives us our shared faith.

As we concluded our tour of Egypt, Jordan, and Israel, we all got certificates of our Pilgrimage. Here is a picture of all 14 of us with Jerusalem in the background. It was a fantastic trip with a wonderful tour company. I wouldn't recommend this travel without them! www.Vacations4Less.com (or www.IsraelTourismConsultants.com). 

Israel - 3

The Dead Sea. At 1400' below sea level, the temperature here can reach a scorching 120ºF. We couldn't wait to jump in! 

You really do float here! Despite our best efforts, we couldn't stay under water. We literally tried to sink ourselves and couldn't. It was the wierdest, but coolest thing!

All of us had a great time floating in the warm salty water. We found out very quickly that you don't want to walk into the water (salt crystals on the sea bed hurt like sharp pebbles), and you don't want to get the water in your eyes or mouth. 

The minerals in the sand and water made our skin so soft!

The Dead Sea is undrinkable water in the middle of the Judean Desert. However, some historical settlements still flourished because of underground springs and seasonal runoff from the mountains. 

One of those places is Ein Gedi, a hidden oasis tucked between the mountains that contains a waterfall and spring.

These caves are where King David wrote the Psalms as he hid from Saul. 

Another place is called Masada, the winter palace of King Herod. Since the Jews did not like him, Herod lived where there weren't many people. This location was certainly isolated!  His palace included 3 terraces, a public pool, private pool, library, guest rooms, mosaic floors, frescoes, and beautiful balconies that overlooked the desert. When he died, the place was abandoned. Then in 66AD, a sect of Jews called Zealots lived here and it became a refuge for other Jews who survived the destruction of the 2nd Temple. The Romans then lead an army of 7,000 to Masada to kill the last of the Jews. Rather than suffer defeat at the hands of their enemies, the Jews sacrificed themselves before the Romans could reach them.

A third place we visited is Qumran where a cache of ancient biblical texts called the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in caves.

After that, we headed back toward fertile land in Bethlehem. The picture below is known as the "Shepherd's Field". King David was born in Bethlehem and a shepherd in the area. The lambs raised here were offered as a sacrifice at the temple market in Jerusalem, but sold through Bethlehem. 

1500 years ago when the Byzantines came, they found a cave at this site dating to time of Jesus. They determined the shepherds lived here in the caves when the weather was bad. You can see the charcoal marks on the ceiling from campfire smoke. This church commemorates the place that could likely be where the Angel Gabriel appeared to the shepherds on the night of the nativity.

Not far away in the town of Bethlehem, we visited the Basilica of the Nativity. The cave was small and there were so many people that it was difficult to get a good photo. In this picture, Eric is touching the floor of the cave where Jesus was born.

Our guide then led us under the basilica to the connecting caves. Here is a picture of how families would enter from the surface using stairs. It wasn't unusual for people to enjoy the cool temperatures in underground caves during the summer and warmer temperatures in the winter. 

St. Jerome lived in this cave next to Mary & Joseph starting from 4BC for about 40 years. He was the first to translate the Bible from Greek to Latin. His home is next to the nativity and below Church of St. Catharine (next door to the basilica). This is the same St. Catharine mentioned in my earlier post from Egypt. She was born 2BC and converted many Romans. Because of this, she was killed and her body was found on Mount Sinai.

After Bethlehem, we drove a short distance back to Jerusalem. Here, we visited several sites including King David's tomb. 

This is a holy site for Jews, although still an important biblical place for Christians. 

But the holiest place of all for those who practice the Jewish faith is the Western Wall. This is the only piece of the entire Temple compound that survived it's destruction in 70AD. The barrier separates their women's section from the men's section. The girls and I stayed to the right as we paid our respects.

To round out the diversity of religions you'll find in Israel, here is a video of our family in Jerusalem with the sounds of the Muslim call to prayer in the background.

Israel - 2

The Sea of Galilee. We stayed in the town of Tiberias for two nights with this gorgeous view from our balcony!

One morning we drove to the northern border of Israel where Lebanon and Syria meet. All along the Syrian border we saw warning signs about old land mines. This area is also the start of one of the feeder streams to the Jordan River. This stream was so clear and cold!

The stream is fed from snow melt, rain water runoff, and a natural spring from a mountain called Mt. Hermon. At 7,000', it's the tallest peak in the country. This place is also where you'll find an ancient village called Cesarea Phillipi - named after King Herod's son, Philip. A significant event that happen here is that Jesus gave Peter his primacy (Matt 16:13) "On this rock I will build my church". 

These excavations expose the original village of Cesarea Phillipi from 2,000 years ago. The story in the Bible about a woman who was bleeding from a hemorage and touched Jesus' cloak lived in this town. Once she was healed, she returned to her home praising and glorifying Jesus to all her neighbors.

After Mount Hermon, we headed back south toward the Sea of Galilee and stopped at the site of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. This church was built in 1939 and it's gardens are amazing! There is a special plaque and garden for each of the Beatitudes.

This was my favorite view from the Church of the Beatitutes. You can see the Sea of Galilee in the distance. 

Inside the church, a large group came in and started singing. It made the moment so intimate and peaceful. I captured what I could on video:

Not far from this church is the site where Jesus fed 5,000 men, not counting women and children, with only two fish and five loaves of bread. This is the only miracle mentioned in all four gospels. It's also where he gave Peter his primacy for the 2nd time when he appeared to his disciples after the resurection and told Peter "Feed my sheep" (John 21).

Inside this church is the rock where Jesus prepared breakfast for his disciples.

Just half a mile later we arrived at the town of Capernaum. This is where Jesus started his ministry after being rejected from his home town of Nazareth

Capernaum was established in 2BC as a fishing village near Jordan River. Peter's house, where Jesus stayed, is under the structure where you see the people lined up. It didn't look much different from these other walls below, but the picture turned out really dark and you can't see much.

This was one of the rare days that a lunch was included in our itinerary, and it was tilapia, or Saint Peter's fish.

Our afternoon was one of my favorites! We sailed on a wooden boat across the Sea of Galilee.

With all the nonstop sight seeing so far, this was the perfect way to reflect on everything. Enjoy the video!

The next morning, we said good-bye to the Sea of Galilee and followed the river south along the Jordanian border. Much of this area is considered Palestenian territory, so there were several security check points. As we neared the Judean Desert, we stopped at a high mountain just two miles away from the spot where Jesus was baptized. This Mount of Temptation is the supposed location where the Devil took Jesus and offered him rule over all the kingdoms of the world (Luke 4:5). From that mountain peak, you have a commanding view of the River Jordan and the Dead Sea.

We then drove into Jericho. It's known as the oldest city in the world and is an oasis in the middle of the desert because of a fresh spring. In this city, Jesus healed a blind man who washed in the pool of Siloam.

Also in Jericho, the Bible tells us there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a tax collector, and of short stature. When Jesus came into the town, Zacchaeus climbed up a sycamore (aka fig) tree to see him. (Luke 19). This is one of the oldest fig trees in the city that is 2,000 years old. No one knows for sure whether this was the exact tree Jesus walked under, but it was neat to imagine it could be!