Day 8

Today we started out at the City of David-mostly to walk through the elaborate water system that was created. There were underground tunnels that I think Hezekiah had dug in order for his people to get to the water supply in the event that they were under siege. More archeological digs and rocks. More walking up and down lots of steps and hills. Good workout.

Next we went to the Temple Mount. This is the Moslem Temple in with a large gold dome roof. We were only allowed to enter the gate area-only Muslims are allowed to enter the temple. More ruins.

We then walked into the Old City to make our way to the Garden Tomb that is the traditional site of Jesus's burial. The gardens are managed by an English (UK) branch of the Garden Tomb Association. We had an Englishman as our guide here. There were more excavations here-a water cistern proving a water source for garden's possible existence and a wine press showing that there was a vineyard. We were able to enter the tomb that many believe was the tomb of Jesus. It is a two room tomb only particial complete. Only about 8 of us are able to fit inside one half of the tomb. The other half is the part where Jesus would have been laid. We proceeded to a small chapel where we were able to worship and participate in a communion. Very, very moving. One of the best moments of the trip.

The next stop was the Catholic church built over the site of the dungeon where Jesus would have been tortured. More excavations. Can you tell that I am about full of excavations. They are beginning to look all alike. I'm worried about being able to get all of my picture identified. After deleting most of the bad ones, I have about 630 pictures. And a few minutes of video.

After lunch at the mall (McDonald's) we went to the Holocaust Museum. I have been to other Holocaust museums, but this one is by far the best. Excellent presentation and documentation. Very moving. Since we are in the land of the Jews, I'm sure that they have a much deeper take on all of that. I think that this is the stop that our guide, Danny was most excited about.

For our last stop, Danny took us to a statue of a Menorah. He closed our time together by reminding us of why we came and what we should look forward to-and a reminder to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. A couple of times during the week while we were traveling between sites, Danny had put in a mix tape of Psalms praises. One of them was "Hava Megila" (sp?) The typical song/dance that we see in Jewish movies. Someone asked him to teach us this dance and we talked him into teaching it to us at this site. It was a fun time. He really got into it. The site is across the street from the Parliament and Danny commented that they could probably see us on their security camera.

So that was our day. Back to the Hotel for a little rest before dinner. Tomorrow we start our long plane ride home. Looking forward to that! It's been a great week. Lots of information. Lots of worship. Lots to be thankful for. Lots of friendships created or deepened. Lots to still think about.

Day 7

What a fabulous day!! Today we went to the Dead Sea. It still amazes me how different the land is compared to what I was expected. There is almost a distinct line where the desert begins. And the desert is not at all what I had expected. Instead of low rolling hills of fine sand, it is mountains of mostly large rocks and little vegetation. It just occured to me that there weren't any cacti. There were a couple of groves of date palms. We were told that they are irrigated by wells that have been dug in the desert. Our first stop was at the side of the road. We walked up to the top of a small mountain (hill?) There we were able to see one of the most breathtaking views of the entire week. Descriptions seem so inadequate. Still mostly lots of rocks and peaks and valleys, but there are lots of ridges and you can see the different layers throughout. Now I wish I knew a little geology so I could include all the correct terms. So out in the middle of nowhere, there appeared 4 or 5 "nomads" with their assorted wares-beads,tapestry bags, head scarves and belts. So funny. It was like they climbed out of some hidden cave or something. Among them was one with a camel. One of the ladies rode it all the way back down the hill. The rest of us who wanted to ride got on long enough to stand the camel up, walk about 20 feet, pose for a picture or two, walk back and lay back down. Just enough of a ride to get the experience and we didn't have to compete with other tourists. Just us at the side of the road in the middle of nowhere.

Then on to Masada. It started sprinkling on us a little bit, but we just kept on trekking through. Masada was high up on a hill with a "Snake Path" to walk up or down, or cablecars to transport up. We all used the cablecars up and about 9 walked down. I chose to take the cablecar back down. Our guide was really trying to discourage us to walk down, so I followed his advice. Masada is another huge archeological dig with a lot of history that you can Google if you want to. Something about a winter palace and fortress that King Herod built and ended up being destroyed. Very Alamo-esk. More fabulous views. So it continued to rain a little and we could see waterfalls coming down the mountains of the desert. A little way down the road and we saw where those waterfalls had made it down to the road. In a couple of spots the water was flowing across the road carrying rock from the mountain. Our bus driver decided to plow through although he seemed pretty nervous about it. The guide told us that if we couldn't get through there, it was about a three hour detour to go the other way. It really wasn't very deep there, it was the rocks that made it a bit rough. Dan said that he had not seen water like that in the desert in 15 years. At one spot, another tour bus had pulled over and everyone had gotten out and was wading through the pool of water.

The next stop was to swim in the Dead Sea. I wasn't sure that I wanted to get in because it was kinda cool, but I decided to go ahead and do it. We changed our clothes and made our way down. We were instructed to turn around and walk backward into the water so as to not get the salt water into our eyes and cause them to burn. So when you get deep enough, you just lean back to start floated. Sooo cool. Once I could manage to float upright, I would just kind of bob along like a cork. Out of the water, the mud pack was next. We all smeared black mud all over. So strange, but it really felt pretty nice. Had bits of salt that felt like an exfoliant. Silly group pictures and then we showered it all off and headed for the hot springs spa . That felt wonderful!! I think I could get used to that. Well, maybe minus the sulphur.

The last stop was to Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. More archeological digs and artifacts are also at this site. There were scribes that lived in this area that were experts at copying the Old Testaments onto scrolls. They had to be perfect. If there was any kind of error, the entire scroll had to be destroyed. Shards of pottery was found with practice writings.

Today was a lot of walking and a lot of information. We have done a lot of walking all week, but today was a bit more strenuous. I am so glad that I have been able to keep up. Two of our ladies sat today out due to injuries earlier this week. I am disappointed for them in missing out such a good day, but at least they got to be together today.

Tomorrow we go to the City of David, the Temple Mount, and the Holocaust Museum. It's our last day in Israel. It's been a great week with a lot of information and sightseeing and worship, but I'm about ready to head home. Goodnight.

Day 6

Today starts out in the Old City going through Herod's Gate. We walk the streets and note several of the Catholic Church's Stations of the Cross. They are markers affixed to the outside of various building about 10 feet high. You pretty much have to know where they are to notice them. We visited the Franciscan Church of the Condemnation. It is here that some believe that Pilate condemned Jesus and Jesus took up His cross. The Convent of the Sister of Zion marks the area that others believe the trial took place.

Next was a visit to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This is a beautiful church and home to several different denominations. As we were there on a Sunday, we were witness to two different services being held at the same time-even as tourists were traipsing through. I felt quite intrusive, but apparently this is what they have learned to work with. I was surprised that the services were not timed around each other. You could hear the two services at the same time. On site is a stone slab that Jesus was laid on to be annointed before His burial. A mosiac murial is mounted on the wall telling the story from the point of removing His body from the cross to His burial. There is also a stone marking the site some say is where Jesus was crucified.

We took a daytime look at the Wailing Wall. Before we went down to the ground level, we viewed it from a position overlooking the area. While we were there, a small Jewish wedding party appeared and we stayed around to watch. Quite interesting. Everyone was huddled together right with the bride, groom and rabbi-taking photos and video. You could barely catch a glimpse through the crowd of about 25. There are more tourists here today than there were last night. Such a different atmosphere.

Our walk then took us to the Southern Wall area-the Huldah Gates-and the excavated stone steps that lead to the Temple Mount area where Jesus would have walked to enter in. Lots of excavations in recontructions in this area.

Next was a visit to the Room of the Last supper. This is a rather large room with a couple of huge columns. We had another reading led by Stephen.

Tomorrow takes us for a Dip in the Dead Sea and Masada. 'Til then!

Day 5

Fantastic day! Older cities and different cultures fascinate me. Danny walked us along the Palm Sunday path where Jesus made His way into Jerusalem. We stopped in the Garden of Gethsemane and viewed the oldest living olive tree-dates back 2000 years. Lovely garden. The Basilica of the Agony was built over the site of the older Byzantine church and a Crusader church. Inside is a rock that is believed to be the actual spot where Jesus knelt in the garden to pray.

We made our way to Bethlehem without Danny. Israeli citizens are not allowed to enter there. It has to do with politics and the people who are still fighting for control of the country. I don't understand it much. I guess I should read up on that a little more. Anyway, the first stop was the Church of the Nativity built over the traditional sight of Jesus's birth. This is one of the few places that we had to wait in line to go see. Danny is good about timing our tours or getting us through crowds. He jumps out into traffic to get us across streets and holds back crowds to keep us together. And everyone does what he says. It's quite amusing. Three different churches are housed here: The Greek Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox and the Catholics. Underneath the main floor is another floor that was discovered after an earthquake had damaged the building. A large section of elaborate mosaics was found. They have it fixed up with wooden doors that can close the openings so that chairs can be set up for services. The memorial marking the site of the manger is down a few steps through a narrow opening. The room is small, but is used for services. Once our group was in there, we were able to spent a few moments reading the scripture and worshipping. This is one of my favorites activities that we do, and I guess I have failed to mention it much. At many of the bibical sites, Stephen reads the appropriate passage from the Bible and we usually sing a hymn or two that fits the occasion. Very moving.

We then followed Danny through the streets of the Old City-eventually making our way to Saint Anne's Church. The Catholic church believes that this is the site of the home of Joachim and Anna- the parents of the Virgin Mary. The chapel is rather small, but with it's high dome how wonderful acustics. We sang several hymns and worshipped.

After dinner back at the hotel, most of us took an extra excursion to see the city at night. Danny and our driver, Shlomo (sp? Solomon in English) took us through a couple of Jewish neighborhoods explaining some of the different cultures and traditions of the people. We went through some modern areas with boutique shops and stopped for coffee. We also went into the Old City to visit the Wailing Wall. Since tonight is the end of Sabbath, many Jewish are here. Very interesting. Different sects of Jews are identifiable by their mode of dress. I feel intrusive and don't feel comfortable taking pictures here. There are separate areas for men and women to pray. Men are required to wear a head covering. We all entered the praying area, but I stayed back. The people here are so devote and I feel very lax in my devotion around them. We have witnessed people standing and praying in the corner of the airplane, in the airport and now here-very publically and unabashed. Makes me a little sad that for all of this devotion, they won't be joining us on the other side.

Tomorrow we spend the day in the Old City. Can't wait!!

Day 4

Our first stop today was at the Bet She'an National Park. This is the largest archeological dig in Israel. So far this week, we have seen many such sites, but this has by far been to most fascinating to me. Twenty-eight civilizations have been identified here dating back to the Stone Age five thousand years ago. King Saul and his sons were killed here (I Samuel 31). The surrounding area included bathhouses, a theater, public latrines, varous public buildings and temples. The latrines were rather interesting. There are solid stones protruding from the walls about 18 inches four inches apart. A ditch runs the length of the wall. To make use of the facilities, one would sit between two of the stones and water would be used to rinse everything away. We took a group photo of many of us sitting on the latrines. Mt Gilboa is the site where King Saul was defeated. There is a pathway snaking up to the top made of stone steps. Several of us made this climb. It was a tough hike, but everyone who started up made it to the top. We were rewarded with beautiful views of the valley of Hagai and the entire city of Bet She'an. This was a wonderful stop. Well worth the trek up the hill.

Our next stop was Megiddo-or Armeggedon. This was situated in a strategic area that was the intersection between military and trade routes, so many battles were fought here in order to have control of this important area. There have been twenty civilizations uncovered here dating from 3500 BC through the final distruction in 450 BC. This is another large excavation area. They have discovered many important historical sites here including Solomon's Chariot City, ruins of palaces and temples, and many ancient artifacts. We walked down into the water system that was discovered here. For some reason, these underground sojourns tend to fascinate me the most. I am amazed that such a long time ago, these people could build enormous structures and dig several feet down into stone without the aid of all the heavy machinery that we have today. And we whine about mowing the grass.

On the way into Jerusalem, we took an unscheduled stop in Joppa. Went down a side street and view the door that was once Simon the Tanner's home. Funny-that's all we looked at-the door. A family lives there now, but it is marked as Simon's house. We also stopped to look at a fountain of a whale-commemorates Jonah.

We drove on into Jerusalem and checked into the Olive Tree Hotel Where we will stay for the remainder of our trip. It was a great day. Soooo tired, but it's a good tired.

Tomorrow is The Mount of Olives, Bethlehem and Gethsemane.

Goodnight.

Day 3

Another beautiful morning! We have been blessed with such great weather so far. So nice to be able to enjoy the day without having uncomfortable weather to distract us.

Today we started out on top of Mt. Precipice. This gave us wonderful views of Nazareth on one side and the Jazreel Valley on the other. This is the area where Jesus first announced his ministry and identified himself as the Son of God through the reading of the scrolls at the synagogue. The congregation were then determined to throw Him over the cliffs, but obviously were not successful. This view was spectacular! I have been pleasantly surprised at the landscape of this area. Where I was expecting desert and sand, there has been rolling hills and mountains. Fields and hillsides of wildflowers. Lushness of farmland and accommodating temperatures. What a way to fully appreciate God's handiwork!

Anyway-on to the Nazareth Village. They have set up a village in the middle of Nazareth that depicts how people had lived in Jesus's time. There were donkeys, a shepherd tending his flock, a carpenter, a weaver, and various buildings set up to show us how the homes may have been. Our guide took us through the village and gave us a little talk on the various activities, as well as how it was to live in this type of climate. Not at all like I had imagined. The movies get it all wrong. I have always imagined flat, dusty roads; homes built of wood. The terrain is very rocky and homes are built out of stones into the sides of the hills. There is a 410-year-old olive tree that was transplanted there about 10 years ago. Apparently olive trees are very hardy and live forever. We are supposed to see first century trees later this week in the Garden of Gethsemane. We found out that our guide there was a Meninite on the last day of her 2 1/2 year ministry trip. She lives in Canada and will be returning there after getting to do a little touring for herself. She was a very sweet girl.

On to the Catholic Church of the Annunciation-the spot where Catholic's believe the angel told Mary that she was to bear a son. We also visited St. Gabriel's-a Greek Orthodox church built over a well named "Mary's Well". It would have been the village well that everyone would have gone to to draw water. The Greek believe that Mary was visited here and given the news. If memory serves, the bible does not specify as to where Mary was when the angel visited her. Many of the sites that we have visited have been "traditional" sites. There is not absolute proof that the events happened at exactly these spots, but we can be sure that they did in fact happen somewhere in the vicinity.

Our guide, Dan, took us through the village streets of Nazareth. So interesting. Walking down the narrow stone streets past all of the vendor shops. This is not something that we would have been able to do if we had planned our trip and done this on our own. He took us for lunch to a little "pizza" shop that he had found. We had a little pizza made on a flat bread-maybe a pita??-topped with goat cheese and a herb that I have never experienced. Starts with a "Z" Very unusual, but good. We ate standing up or sitting on the curb in that little alleyway. Quite the experience.

Next was Zippori/Sepphoris-the childhood home of Mary. And of course, another Catholic church build over the site.

For the perfect ending, we headed down to the Jordan River to allow those of us in our group the opportunity to be baptized in the same River as Jesus. Stephen double-dipped (Mikel's term. She didn't like re-baptized) his three daughters and about 5 others. Mike and I chose not to participate. It was a beautify setting and there were many groups there participating. Stone seating was available for viewing the participants. This is our last night in Tiberias. Tomorrow we head to Jerusalem for five nights at the Olive Tree Hotel. We will visit Bet She'An and Megiddo. Should be another very fascinating day.

Day 2

It was a gorgeous day today! We couldn't have ordered better weather. Winds were light and the sun was sunny. Today started out with a drive north to Capernaum. The city where Jesus spent most of his ministry. We started out on the Mount of the Beatitudes where Jesus is believed to have delivered the Sermon on the Mount. There is a chapel there built by Mussolini in 1937. It was made of Italian Marble. Just beautiful. It is maintained by nuns of an Italian Franciscan order. The grounds have several areas separated out where people can spend time in worship or just to be still. We sat grouped together on large rocks and looked down the hillside-just as Jesus must have done all those years ago. It is so beautiful. The rolling hills are lush and green. There is a lot of different crops grown out here-mostly we saw different kinds of fruit trees:bananas, mangos, cherries, apples, pears, olives. Oh, and grapes. Lots of grapes.

Next was Mount Hermon. The melting snows provide water to the Jordan river. It is also the traditional site of the Transfiguration. Pan's Cave/Gates of Hades (same cave) is also there. There is a Druze Temple built up on the hillside. The Druze are a Muslim sect that are pretty much exclusive. They don't recruit, but they are never allowed to leave. We drove through a couple of their villages.

Lunch was St. Peter's fish. Tilapia with head and fins still attached. It was actually pretty good. Gotta try and experience as much as the culture as I can. I think only a couple of us passed on the fish and had pasta instead. I kept thinking of "The Amazing Race" and all the strange things that they have to eat on there. Don't think I could do it.

Next was south down to the traditional site of Peter's house. There had been a church built over it and lots of excavations of villagers' homes.

Further south is the White Chapel that honors the area that the Catholics recognize as the place that Peter was named as the first Pope. Lots more excavated stones from various sources.

We then visited a museum that houses the "Jesus Boat" This first century boat was discovered in 1986 in the Sea of Galilee by a couple of fishermen. The lake level was low due to severe drought. The boat was carefully extracted and is now on display here.

Finally, we boarded a tour boat to ride on the Sea of Galilee. This was a perfect ending to a long day. The weather has been fabulous and the ride very calming. One of our boat guides cast out a net. Caught nothing on the first time. So of course was encouraged to cast it on the other side. He did. And caught a tiny tilapia. Threw it back.

Dinner buffet at the hotel again and another evening with most of our group catching up on Facebook and emails. What did we do before all this technology?

Anyway--tomorrow includes a visit to Little Nazareth and Baptizing in the Jordan. Can't wait!