Day Thirteen: Headed Home

We visited a final archeological site today and made it to Tel Aviv in time to watch the sunset on the beach, a block from our hotel. As I pack my things and prepare to head home, here are some final thoughts and images I'd like to share...

This trip has been physically, mentally, emotionally and intellectually exhausting. But I have loved every minute of it.

We have scaled rocky hillsides in 90 degree heat, mindful of scorpions and vipers nearby...

We have hiked for miles around archeological sites dating back thousands of years 

We have visited some of the most sacred sites in the world:

And experienced the local culture:

We have petted the stray cats that are EVERYWHERE

Dublin has nothing on Israel when it comes to round-a-bouts. They, also, are everywhere:

We have bonded as a group, been moved to tears, and laughed ourselves silly:

In a word, it has been...amazing...

Shalom,

Lisa

 

Day Twelve: The Good Samaritan

Packed up and left our beautiful hotel in Jerusalem. On our way out of the city, we visited the Temple Mount. You literally walk on a wooden walkway over the top of the Waling Wall to get up to the Temple Mount:

Once up on the top, the Dome of the Rock is a very impressive sight:

We said our good-byes to Jerusalem and headed north to a Samaritan Village on top of Mount Garizim. 

We learned some facinating things about Samaritans. There are only 775 Samaritans left in the world. Half of them live in the village we visited, and the other half live near Tel Aviv. They are not Christian, Jewish or Muslim - they are their own religion. They are the ancestors of the biblical Samaritans, and have a lot in common with the Jewish faith. They are a very peace loving people.

After the Samaritan Village we drove through Nablus, the second largest city in the West Bank. 

Then on to Sebastia, the site of yet another structure built by Herod the Great. Apparently all Herod did was build things. Here are some of the ruins of his city:

As we hiked up to the ruins, we were reminded again to watch out for scorpions and poisonous vipers. Also, the weather was extremely hot - in the 90s - I think it is safe to say we were all happy to get back on the bus.

The next stop was very pleasant - the site of Jacob's Well, at the Church of Saint Luciana.

Under the church is the well, and you can take a drink of the water, which many of us did. This is recognized as the sight where Jesus encountered the Samaritan woman at the well.

Finally we arrived back in Bethlehem where we are spending the night. The streets are crawling with people and vendors and children enjoying a very warm evening.

Our hotel is right next to the Church of the Nativity which we have already visited. 

On to Tel Aviv tomorrow as we prepare to come home. I will blog one more time with some final thoughts. It has been an amazing trip.

Shalom,

Lisa

Days Ten and Eleven: Bethlehem

Started out early yesterday morning to travel to Bethlehem. Bethlehem is in the West Bank, just five miles from Jerusalem. Along the way we stopped at the ruins of one more palace complex built by Herod the Great. "Herodium" is on a hill just outside Bethlehem:

Then we drove into Bethlehem. The region around Bethlehem is inhabited by Palestinian Christians, the largest concentration of Christians in Israel. About 60,000 live in the area.

We went to the Church of the Navitiy, marking the spot where many Christians believe
Jesus was born:

It is impossible in a few words to describe Bethlehem. It is a city of contrasts - I'll leave it at that for now. We will be travelling back here on Monday but for now are back in Jerusalem.

Today we had a "free day" - our first day to do whatever we wanted to do. Several of us went to church at the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer where the service was in both English and Arabic and included famiiar liturgy and songs ("What a Friend We Have in Jesus"). Then we walked just a few yards to the Chruch of the Holy Sepulcher, where five different services were going on at the same time, in five different areas of the church and five different languages. The chanting and music could be heard all over the church. It was a really powerful experience.

This afternoon, a classmate and I walked the "Rampart Walk," a walk along the top of a portion of the wall of the Old City section of Jerusalem. The view was stunning.

Eventually we ended up directly across the street from out hotel. That's the hotel behind me, the Golden Walls Hotel.

I also did some shopping today in the market in the Old City.

And later tonight took a stroll around the neighborhood outside our hotel. A bustle of activity:

Jerusalem is truly an amazing place. It has been a wonderful few days here. We go to the Temple Mount in the morning, then back to Bethlehem.

Shalom,

Lisa

 

 

 

Days Eight and Nine: Via Dolorosa and City of David

Yesterday was a very emotional day for many reasons. We started at 7:00 AM with a tour of the Western Wall Tunnels.

Ask me sometime about the incident where we were very briefly "trapped" in one of the tunnels. I learned definitively that I am indeed claustrophobic! But alls well that ends well.

After emerging from the tunnels we walked the Via Dolorosa, the path recognized by many Christians as the path Jesus took from his condemnation by Pilate, to being crucified and laid in the tomb. There are fourteen "Stations of the Cross" that you visit along the way. Here are some photos from that path:

The path culminates at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, considered to house the spot where Jesus died on the cross,

as well as the "Holy Sepulchre," or tomb of Jesus:

Christians from all over the world come to visit every year. The church was packed and a service was going on so organ music filled the space, which was an added bonus to the experience of being there.

We also visited the Wailing Wall (or Western Wall) a sacred spot for Jewish people. The wall is a portion of a retaining wall from the Second Temple and Jewish people come here to pray:

We ended the day by visiting both the Israeli Museum, which houses portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and also the Holocaust Museum. A very emotional way to end the day.

We started out bright and early this morning to visit the City of David, the oldest part of Jerusalem and believed to be the sight where King David captured the city from the Canaanites:

We got to meet and talk with several archeologists today about their work. And we have also heard many perspectives on life in Jerusalem. It is a lot to process and I'll have much to share.

For now I leave you with these photos of the Damascus Gate, one of the gates leading into the Old City. The gate is right across the street from our hotel here in Jerusalem. The first photo is of the gate during the day. The others are of a light show where children's artwork is projected onto the gate at night. 

Shalom,

Lisa