OUR LAST DAY IN ISRAEL – PENTECOST!

What a whirlwind of a week and a half! I’ve never walked so much in my life! Every night we went to bed Mike and I both were whining about our aching feet! But we wouldn’t have changed a thing. Early on the 18th we drove to an Arab part of the city to go to the City of David museum. Just a side note, but it is noteworthy the difference you see in the parts of Jerusalem. For the most part - the Jewish areas are very clean and well kept…however when you get into an Arab area…it was the opposite. There were piles of trash everywhere and graffiti. It seems the Jewish people feel Israel is their homeland…they have a pride in ownership. It doesn’t not seem that the Arabs do. I believe the Arabs (what Jacob called them) were Muslims for the most part. They also seemed to be in a lower income class.

Anyway, back to the City of David. We watched a short 3-D movie that really helped put things in historical context. It started from when David conquered the city from the Jebusites. It showed an aerial view of the city back then…it was very interesting! The manual slave labor to build these ancient cities and walls was remarkable! Some of the stones were almost as big as a car. There is only the Gihon Spring that supplied water to Jerusalem in biblical times. King David build a huge cistern to hold water inside the city walls and dug tunnels to connect the spring to the cistern. Amazingly he had one group start from the spring side and a group start from the cistern side and they met in the middle! They have only recently discovered these tunnels that ran underground (in the 1970’s.) We got to go down to the tunnels…one direction is about a 45 minute hike in the tunnel with water flowing through it and NO LIGHTS. Most of us hiked the “dry” route! Mike, Jake, Tyler, Phil, Diane, & Richard did the water route. Pretty amazing trip for them. We walked around and met them were it came out on the other end.

We had a moving afternoon as we finished up our trip going to the Garden Tomb. This is the traditional Christian site that is believed to be the crucifixion and burial site of Christ. The guide gave us a very strong logical, biblical argument that this is probably the correct site. It is located inside a gorgeous garden property that lends itself to prayer and reflection. We took turns going into the tomb and potentially was looking at the exact spot Jesus lay. But the tomb is empty! Our group had communion together in the garden. Pastor Phil spoke a few words and gave us the opportunity to share with each other also. It was a perfect way to end our trip together.

BEST DAY IN JERUSALEM YET!

We started the morning of the 17th going to the Wailing Wall which is the only part of the western wall remaining of the 2nd temple. It’s really part of a retaining wall that supported the temple. However Jews see this as the closest they can get to where God’s presence lived (the Holy of Holies.) Many orthodox Jews go to the wall and pray all day and read the Psalms. There were a couple of bar mitzvahs happening and it was interesting that the young boys went over to the men’s side and the women of the family had to stand on chairs on the female side and look over the fence to be a part of the ceremony. We felt kind of bad for them.

Then we had an appointment to go through the tunnels that run beside the western wall. Its only been in the last 20 years or so that they found this layer of wall underneath the current “street level.” We saw that quite a bit in Jerusalem that the city is in layers. Original gates in the wall are beneath the current gates into the city. Anyway back to the tunnels…very cool! Talking about stepping back into time! There’s a place below that is believed to be the closest to the original location of the Holy of Holies. There’s a couple of women that Jacob said come there everyday to pray. Like he said “Some people come to worship places and objects…others worship the man.”

Next was a short drive to the Garden of Gethsemane. There are olive trees there that are very very old – but not much of the garden is left. There is a Catholic church on site that we went into. Almost every holy site we visited was owned by the Vatican and for hundreds of years they have had catholic churches on them.

We drove to the top of the Mount of Olives and there awaited Tyler’s camel! Nancy (Mike’s mother) and Tyler took a brief camel ride. We had a great view from the Mount down across the cemetery, past the Kidron Valley and up to the temple site. We walked down the mount toward Jerusalem in remembrance of Jesus’ walk into Jerusalem. A great time to reflect on it’s significance.

After lunch we went back to the Old City, through the sheep gate, and walked the Via Dolorosa and stopped at each station of the cross. It was definitely different that I expected. Most of the Old City is narrow streets with markets in each of the quarters. We walked down these narrow streets with mostly shops on each side. There is so much going on, it’s more of a historical walk than a spiritual walk…at least for me. We walked through to the other side of the Old City and ended up at the Jaffa Gate. From there Mike and I knew how to find the hotel, so we hung back and stayed and did some walking and shopping as the others went back to the hotel.

That night we had our farewell dinner with Rani Levy (trip coordinator) Jacob (our guide) and Geovani (driver.) We had to do it a night earlier than expected because our last night in Jerusalem was Pentecost (a Jewish holiday that celebrates the harvest.) Obviously we as Christians celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit. A really long day, but a wonderful day!

JEWISH HISTORY LESSON

Most of the day on the 16th, was learning about Jewish history and how it played out in world history. We went to a memorial cemetery for some of their military and leaders. Jacob said something very poetic about the young Israelis that had died in wars. He said many died “while their lips were still wet with their mother’s milk.” It’s always an honor to pay tribute to those that die for their country.

Next we visited a museum on Theodor Herzl and Zionism. It really was a crucial time for the Jewish nation as they tried to reunite and get the promised land back as a nation. The Jews were scattered all over the world and a guy named Herzl traveled all over the world on behalf of the Jews to get Israel back. He died before it happened. But after the holocaust, when Great Brittan held Israel, they worked out a deal to give the Jews their own country again and Israel was on the map again. Still today Jews will identify themselves as Zionist or not. We also went to a Holocaust Museum – very moving, to be reminded of the torture they suffered.

Then we went to The Shrine of the Book museum that holds some of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Great information on the Essens, very strict Jews (mostly men) that moved out of Jerusalem into the caves in the Dead Sea area. Very hard lifestyle, but they are the ones that wrote a lot of the scriptures and put them in many of the caves. They also have a miniature Jerusalem, that’s not so miniature! It’s a 1:25 scale and has about 350 miniature models of buildings and landmarks in the old city of Jerusalem.

It’s been unusually hot this week. A bit of a heat wave per Jacob. It was nice to get back to the hotel and take a swim at the 7th floor roof top pool!

Sorry I’m behind a few days on the blog. Our internet connection was giving me trouble the last few days in Jerusalem. We’re home now, but wanted to go ahead and blog about our last few days in Israel. Enjoy!

JERUSALEM’S OLD CITY

Even though we were worn out and tired from our day in Bethlehem, we still wanted to see some of Jerusalem’s Old City. As Jacob led us into the Old City, you’re walking on stove paved streets, seeing stone walls and stone buildings – very impressive architecture. As we walked toward the Upper Room Jerusalem’s bells started ringing! I hope someone got it on video and sound. It was awesome!!! Jacob took us to the Upper Room, then outside in a courtyard, Tyler was asked to read from scripture. No one knows where Kind David is buried, but many think it may be under the Upper Room area. We walked down to see where many Jews would go to pray. Men and women had separate sides to view the room. No one can get permission to dig up the area to find out for sure, so they pray toward a marker that might be over the grave site. We went back up to the street level and went through the Zion Gate into the Armenian Quarter. The Old City is divided up into 4 quarters: Armenian, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim. Since it was still the Shabbat, we didn’t go in very far, since the Jewish Quarter would have been closed.

Then we walked to a church that marked Caiaphas’ house (the High Priest during Jesus time.) We talked down into cave-like rooms that they believe is were prisoners would have been held and beaten, including Jesus. It was very emotional to stand in this pit, where Jesus may have suffered for my sins. Then we climbed very stairs to a courtyard that is the area that Peter denied Christ. They have a remarkable statue there with Peter, the little girl that questioned him, a camp fire, and a rooster overhead. From here you can see toward the Mount of Olives and the path Jesus took to the Garden of Gethsemane.

We headed back to the hotel and after dinner, several of us walked to an open mall that Jacob told us about. It was not open when we got there, so we kept walking and ended up at the Old City Jaffa Gate. The Shabbat ended and things started hopin’. People came from everyone adults and children. We walked into the Old City area and had a lot of fun shopping and interacting with the locals. These market areas are where you “negotiate” your price! I think everyone’s feet were worn out by the end of the night. These uneven stone walkways are a bit different to walk on all day. But no one is complaining!!

300 CAMELS IS NOT ENOUGH FOR TYLER!!

Yesterday morning the 15th, we added Bethlehem to our tour. It is only about 4-5 miles from Jerusalem. Originally it wasn't on the tour, mainly because Israel has a law in place since 2000 that Jews are not allowed to go into Bethlehem. This has been so fascinating to us. These type of limitations that the people here have. Jacob says it's because the government doesn't want to take the chance that a Jew might be kidnapped and held, but Jacob said it's very safe.  He just couldn't take us there nor our driver Geovoni.  So they set us up with a different tour guide for the day.  George was our Christian Israel tour guide for Bethlehem. We went to the church that sits at the place they believe to be the birth place of Christ. It was so crowded that it took away from the reference that you'd like to feel when there, but the priests do their best to keep the noise level down and crowds in control.  I've learned that when a nun or priest clap twice, you better get quiet! ;)  Our guide was a local young man and knew everyone and got us around with ease. He knew scriptures very well and did an excellant job with the historical and biblical context of the area. Next we went to the shepherds fields and went into a cave that would have been similar to the ones the shepherds lived in back in the day.

George took us to a shop that was run by Christians in order to support them and their families. We again found some great things to purchase to remind us of our trip.  On the way out to the bus a few men where peddeling necklaces and bracelets. The kind that give you a hard time if you don't stop.  One in particular locked in on myself and Tyler and we joked with him and was friendly but said no.  Then he said "This your daughter?  I'll give you 300 camels for her.  (We laughed.)  I'm serious!"  I told him that was not near enough. We've had a good laugh or two about that!

Then we drove back to the check point and told George good bye and hooked back up with Jacob.  It was good to see Jacob and Geovoni (below.)

I have more for yesterday because we went into Jerusalem's Old City, but running out of time to be on the internet, so will sign off for now.  Cost $20/day for internet!!!

ON TO THE DEAD SEA!

We love our Jewish tour guide Jacob!!! He has been fantastic since we've been here!!.  The morning of the 14th we left Tiberias and had to say good bye to The Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River. Jacob said, "For most of you this will be the last time you ever see it...except in your dreams." How true!

We drove south along the west bank of the Jordan River to the Dead Sea area. We made a stop at a body cream factory and purchased some goodies, then on to Masada.  We past the kabutz of Ein Gedi, which is an interesting way of life to many Jewish people. You should research the community living they have done for hundreds of years.

Masada is a historical place for the Jews and is really too long to cover here...BUT it is well worth researching and reading about the last of the rebel Jews that fled to Masada (King Herod's fortress) from the Romans after they had conquered Jerusalem. Fascinating story that Josphus recorded.  It's about a 1300 ft. hill that stands alone & we rode a cable car up to the top and there are about 25 acres of ruins from ancient times!  It was hot...but worth it!

Next we drove back north to a swimming area of the Dead Sea. We were like kids!  Most of us hopped in our bathing suits and trotted down to the water and jumped in.  You float!  You can not sink!  The water is 10 times as salty as other ocean water...so you don't want it in your eyes! They are famous for the skin products and have a mud pit you can do your own scrub. Great times getting mud all over you and laughing at everyone else.

Continuing on north we stopped briefly and Jacob pointed out the cave where the Dead Sea scrolls were found. Then we continued the drive towards Jerusalem.  Jacob was full of information during the entire drive. There's no way I could write everything that we saw and heard...but hopefully this will give you a taste of what we're doing.  That evening the Shabbat began (Jewish Sabaoth) which goes from Fri at sunset to Sat at sunset.  Most of us decided to walk to the local Synagogue and attend at least part of their service. Very orthodox! Unlike the Tulsa synagogue. It was very educational and a good evening out and about in Jerusalem!

We hope you are staying safe from the tornadoes. We are all well and have had no mishaps!

GOLAN HEIGHTS – The other side of the Sea of Galilee

This was a very different day for me personally. We drove around the southern point of the Sea of Galilee (by the way the Israelis don’t refer to it as the Sea of Galilee any more) and drove along the border of Jordan & Syria for a good part of the day. As you know, Israel doesn’t have the best of relations with most of her bordering countries and even though any where around the Sea of Galilee is pretty close to the border…it was different being able to take pictures of these other countries! Israel has a peace agreement signed with Jordan, so it’s pretty quite with them. Syria and Lebanon are the two that give them the most trouble. Jacob said that Syria has been just letting Lebanon do the dirty work and they just support them. Sounds like the last “major” conflict was 3 yrs. ago when Lebanon started firing into Israel, nothing of late going on…so don’t worry! As we drove up this mountain by the fence that borders Jordan, we passed a military truck that was sweeping the shoulder. Jacob said they do that so they can watch for foot prints of anyone coming over the border. Most of this day was spent learning some history of Israel and the surrounding countries and why Israel needs the support of the US. I won’t get political on here, but it’s been fascinating to hear.

We stopped in at an Olive Oil factory. They let us sample different olive oils and explained how they were made. They also make lots of different skin products, so we all tried those until we were so greasy we had to stop. I think they had about 10 different things for us to sample!

The Golan Heights used to belong to Syria, but after the Six Day War, Israel pushed Syria back about 20 miles from the Sea of Galilee, which has made it easier for them to protect themselves. The Syria border did go within just a few yards of the sea’s edge. We drove all the way north of Israel to the mountains between them and Syria & Lebanon. Then back south toward Caesarea Phillipi. On the way, Jacob showed us some settlements were Druze’s lived. Most of us had never heard of this group of people. They originally came from Egypt, but didn’t agree with Islam, so they separated from them and moved to the high hills of several different countries. They can only have one wife. They must marry another Druze or leave. Their scriptures are not written so it’s very secretive as to what they believe and worship. A person can not be converted into the Druze, but must be born into it.

Then we arrived at Caesarea Phillipi, which was the furthest north of Jesus ministry. It’s where Jesus asked the disciples “Who do people say I am?” It’s also the best guess where the transfiguration happened. It’s a beautiful area, with a creek running through, coming from the melted snow. It’s been very hot this week, so any chance to sit and put your feet in the water is a nice relief! So I did! Next we drove south to Hebron waterfall and took a nice hike down to the falls. Also a nice cool break! Then back to Tiberius for our last night here.