Holy Land Day 5

Greetings - this is about yesterday, Wednesday, written on Thursday.

We went straight from the hotel to the old city of Jerusalem. Our purpose today was to see the Western Wall (the Wailing Wall), the Dome of the Rock, the Mt. of Olives, the Kiddron Valley and the Garden of Gethsemane.

The first place we went was into the old city, through security, to visit the Wailing Wall. The Wailing Wall is the Western Wall of the Temple Mount. The Temple Mount is where the Rock is located where Abraham came to sacrifice Isaac, according to Jewish tradition. The first Temple was built, and then destroyed. The second Temple destroyed and the location was used as a city dump for Jerusalem. In the late 600s, the Muslims erected the Dome of the Rock - covering the same rock that the instead believe is where Abraham went to sacrifice Ishmael (sp?). Of course, from the news, this is the most volatile piece of land in the entire world. The Messiah cannot return until the Temple is rebuilt according to prophecy. Interestingly, the Israeli police protect the location; protecting it from both Jewish and Muslim fundamentalists. I have attached pictures of both the Wall and the Dome of the Rock.

At the Wall, Jewish men were praying, as is their tradition. You will see them in the photos.

After the Wall, we boarded our bus again and went to the Mt. of Olives. From the top of the Mt. of Olives we had an incredible view of the old city (photo). After lunch we visited a Convent that remembers the site where Jesus taught the disciples the Lord's Prayer. Although, some of us questioned this as we believed it had been taught in Caperneum. Following that we walked to a site that remembers the Ascension to heaven by Christ. Here, there is a Muslim mosque located and covering the spot that remembers this event. From what I have learned, the Muslims recognize Christ as a prophet and therefore are OK with some of the Christian traditions.

We also visited the Pool of Bethesda - where the angel would trouble the waters. We visited a church remembering the Tomb of Mary. I write it this way because there are 4 such churches! Two of the churches have a tomb for Mary and two churches remember her Assumption into heaven. We visited the Church of St. Peter remembering that Peter would deny the Lord three times before the cock crowed twice. Of interest here is that this church was built over the site where the high priest Caiphus lived. Upon exiting the church there are stone steps leading down into the Kiddron valley. Around these steps were found items dating back to 100BC. Thus, with confidence it is highly probable that Christ would have traveled these steps.

After the Chapel of the Ascension, we prepared to descend the Mt. of Olives through the Kiddron valley and into the Garden of Gethsemane. This would have been a reasonable path to remember Chris'ts walk through the valley. The Garden of Gethsemane is marked by a beautiful Greek Orthodox church. No one can be certain that this is the spot where Jesus went to pray, but the olive trees are nearly 3000 years old that are located there. I found the location peaceful and accepting of the thought that 'these trees are 3000 years old and are living witnesses to Christ traveling through this valley.'

JOHN

Holy Land Day 4


We left Tiberias, drove Cana (water into wine), went to Nazareth (Mary annunciation and Joseph workshop, Synagogue Luke 4:16) lost and found and broken hips, Migida, tomb on the highway, and then Ceaserea (aquaduct, crusaders fort, roman coleseum). Naptime and back.

Good Evening

This morning we were still in Galilee. We left Tiberias and crossed the mountains to the west. Our first site was traveling through the town of Cana where Jesus changed water into wine (John 2:1-11). We did not stop, but drove through the town. Next, we went to Nazareth. Here, we visited the Church of Annunciation. This is to remember where the angels appeared to Mary to tell her she would be pregnant. From there we walked to a church built over the grotto where Joseph lived. Then, we went to the Synagogue. Luke 4:16-27 references this. In the synagogue I read the passage to our group, it was a moving experience.

After Nazareth, we went to Migida - armegeddon - where the battles for the end of the earth are predicted to occur. What is of importance today is there are 25 cities buried here. They are one atop the other and the archaelogical ruins are spectacular. A tunnel system was dug for the inhabitants to retrieve water from a well if they were under siege.

Next - Cesarea - roman ruins and an aquaduct along the Mediteranean Sea. Lastly, the drive back to Jerusalem through Tel-Aviv. I slept . I am exhausted.

Tomorrow, Jerusalem - churches and the Western Wall of the Temple.

JRN

Holy Land Day 2

Today was very different than yesterday. We saw the Church of Nativity, where Christ was born, and traveled throughout Bethlehem visiting some sites.

First, we left Jerusalem and traveled through the West Wall into Palestine where Bethelehem is located. This is just 7km south of Jerusalem. Along the way I took some photos of the political side of the struggle between the Israelis and the Palestinians. We traveled through Bethelehem to Herodian - a palace of King Herod. In the Bible, it is possible when Jesus said "If you have faith, you can move mountains" that he was most likely looking from Jerusalem toward Herodian. Here, Herod's men literally chopped off the top of one mountaing and build a fortress on the mountain next to it. We were able to tour this archaelogical site.

Next, tourist time! We traveled back into Bethlehem and went to an Olive wood factory and bought a few souveniers.

The Church of the Nativity was next. This is the location marking where Jesus was born. At the site are three different churches. The "stable" that we think of from stories was actually a cave. Animals would have been brought into the cave to protect them from the elements. In 300 AD a church was built over the cave to protect it and commemorate the location. As Rev. Brown said, no one actually knows if it is the actual location, but for 1700 years it is the place where Christians have gone to remember Christ. As soon as I enterd the church, I felt a change. I could feel the importance of the church. In the cave below the church also lies the Tomb of the Innocents - where the boys that Herod massacred in search for the baby Messiah were buried.

Afterward we went to the Shepherds Field. This location is believed to be where the angels appeared to the Shepherds. Strangley, we are in the middle of the city, but yet like a park anywhere the area is protected so the trees, wheat, and other plants are growing naturally. There were even sheep off to one side.

Tonight, I am tired. Jet lagged, and worn out. Tomorrow, we leave earlier, 7a, and head to the Sea of Gallillee and willl spend the night in Tiberias.

JRN

Holy Land Day 3

Fewer pictures, faster download. Tonight I am writing you from Tiberias, on the western shore of the Sea of Gallillee. Our morning started earlier, 7am, and began with a bus ride to the east around Jericho. We turned north and traveled through the west bank and Jordan River Valley toward Gallillee. This is a two hour trip. Along the way, we went from an elevation of 2600 ft (Jerusalem) and a rocky, desert like climate down to 900 feet BELOW sea level just north of the Dead Sea. While headed north, I saw electrified barbed wire fences that serve as the border between Israel and Palestine. There are farms, beautiful farms, of date palm trees and banana trees. The mountains in Jordan (Moab in ancient times) were to the east. As we came out of the west bank we went through a checkpoint where an israeli soldier, fully armed, came aboard the bus, and walked through looking at each of us.

Our first stop was Beit Shan. This site was an archaelogical site with Roman ruins. The city has been uncovered and is quite impressive. More importantly, we all noted as we drove into the town that it was very clean, life looked normal, and it appeared to be a nice place to live. Unlike Bethlehem or the other areas I had seen so far, this area looked great.

After leaving Beit Shan, we headed north again along the river valley. When we reached the southern end of Gallillee, we turned west and went to a Baptismal Remembrance site. Here, at the Jordan River, I was immersed in remembrance of my Baptism. It was a great experience, something I will always remember.

Next, we traveled the eastern shore of the Sea of Gallillee to have lunch and then take a boat across the Sea. The seas turned stormy and it was about a 30 minute trip across the Sea. We arrived on the western shore just north of Tiberias. Upon arrival we viewed an ancient ship that had been recovered from the shores of Gallillee during a drought in 1986.

The remainder of the day was more meaningful to me than anything I had experienced so far. We went to Caperneum - Here we saw three sites: The Church of the Heptapegon, the home of Simon Peter, and the Church of the Beatitudes. The Church of the Heptapegon is where Jesus peformed the miracle of the loaves and fishes. The home of Peter is known to be such a place because pilgrims were visiting the location as early as 126AD and leaving evidence of such. A church is built over the home.

The Church of the Beatitudes is where the Sermon on the Mount was given. Personally, I had always pictured this like Charlton Heston as Moses walking up a steep mountain - instead Jesus holding outstretched arms from some rough terrain. Upon visiting, I understood everything very differently. First, Jesus lived here, the north end of the Sea of Gallillee. It is beautiful. The Sea of Gallillee is 900 feet below sea level. Right now it is spring and everything is lushly green, blooming, and there are flowers and fields everywhere. To the east side are the Golan Heights and the west side has the mountains where Tiberias is. Picture a beautiful afternoon, blankets spread out, families listening and children running about. The wind was probably blowing in the trees and Jesus was speaking to his friends, sharing the better ways to live, the things that as Christians we should do.

We spent the night in Tiberias.

JRN

Holy Land Day 1

Good Evening...

I decided to try to chronicle each day of my trip to Israel to share with you. If you have questions, email me and I will try to find answers. One thing I do not know, when you will receive this email! I had hoped to have wireless internet in my room. But, far from it. We can pay to use the services in the hotel. Hopefully, I can find a cafe or wifi hotspot within a block or two of here in the next day or so.

So.... It is Saturday, 4:30p. We are + 7 hours from EDT. It is just 9:30am Sat morning at home.

We left the church yesterday morning, at 2:30a on a bus to Orlando. We arrived Orlando airport around 4:30am and our flight left at 7:20a. The joy of Southwest Airlines - we stopped in Raleigh, Baltimore, and finally landed at Islip (Long Island). From there, we took a bus to Ny-JFK. We flew out on Israir Airlines, leaving almost two hours late after waiting for some other groups to come into JFK. Israeli security questioned (interrogated) each passenger before we got to the ticket counter. It made TSA look like nothing! But, it was a big topic of conversation amongst all of us.

The flight was interesting. All of our instructions were given in Hebrew first, then English. It was a long night, 10 hours on the plane and a 7 hour time change - putting us into Tel-Aviv at 11:30a this morning. After getting our luggage and gathering, we headed out on hour bus.

We left the airport headed for Jerusalem. The first place we stopped was Emmaus Nicopolis - one of the sites of a church of antiquity believed to be built by the Byzantines on the road to Emmaus. From there, we traveled the road to Jerusalem and tried to stop at another church, but it was not open. However, the journey through the local Palestinian village of Abu-Ghosh was picturesque and helped me get a feel for how the local people live. Next, we came into Jerusalem and traveled up to Hebrew University so we could look down on the ancient city and get oriented. In this photo, you will see the Dome of the Rock and the walls of the city.

Lastly, we made it to our hotel. Whew! A few things and thoughts:
- Tel-Aviv was a very modern appearing city. The airport is brand new and the city looked like anywhere in California. Since today is the Sammath, there was no one, and I mean no one, at the airport. The roads were desolate.
- In Abu-Ghosh I noted that all of the houses have their water on their roofs. This seems to be true everywhere. But, they also have a solar holding tank (black), solar panels, and their hot water tank.
- The hotel is equivalent to a days inn or comfort inn as far as size and amenities. But, it is very elegant in the lobby and very nice. The elevator 'speaks' and says "shalom" as we exit.
- Charlie (my room mate -- oh yeah, I am the youngest person in our group by 20 years or so) - and I walked around the block to a deli. We muddled our way through the process with locals and managed to order two subs and two cokes. I now have some sheckels in my pocket.
- My blackberry works and I called LeeAnn - our connection was better than it sounds at home when we are in the same town. But, at $2/min it is pricey to talk.

Tomorrow will be much more about the Holy Land and the purpose of this trip. We start with a visit to Bethlehem and to where Jesus was born.

JOHN