Tuesday, March 6, 2012: Day 10 (Oops)

Tuesday, March 6- First, I have to apologize about missing two days of blogging.  I wish I had a reason but it really comes down to laziness and a "Back to the Future" marathon (every night at the same time is a different "Back to the Future" movie on).  Yesterday was our free day.  Everyone did something different but one thing that we all did was add money to the Israeli economy.  Today we started a long journey into the desert.  Our first stop was Qumran.  Qumran (Hebrew: קומראן‎)  is an archaeological site in the West Bank. It is located on a dry plateau about a mile inland from the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea. It is best known as the settlement nearest to the caves in which the Dead Sea Scrolls were hidden, caves in the sheer desert cliffs and beneath, in the marl terrace.    Next we drove down a little from Qumran to Masada.  Once there, we had to take a cable car up to the top.  Masada is the name for a site of ancient palaces and fortifications in the Southern District of Israel, on top of an isolated rock plateau, or horst, on the eastern edge of the Judaean Desert, overlooking the Dead Sea. Masada is best known for the violence that occurred there in the first century CE. In the final accords of the First Jewish–Roman War, the Siege of Masada by troops of the Roman Empire led to the mass suicide of the Sicarii rebels. Our final stop of the day was at the Dead Sea.  There most of the group (excluding me) took a dip in the Dead Sea (when a say a dip I really mean a float).  The Dead Sea, also called the Salt Sea, is a salt lake bordering Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank to the west. Its surface and shores are 1,388 ft below sea level, making it the Earth's lowest elevation on land. Another great day of touring!  Tomorrow we get to visit Vad Vashem the Israeli Holocaust Museum; looking forward d to that!  Till tomorrow.  Shalom, Ian

Saturday, March 3 2012: Day 7

Saturday, Mar. 3 - After breakfast, we loaded the bus and traveled to the Church of the Holy . The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is a church within the walled Old City of Jerusalem.  The site is venerated as Golgotha or Calvary, where Jesus was crucified, and is said also to contain the place where Jesus was buried. Today it also serves as the headquarters of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, while control of the building is shared between several Christian churches and secular entities in complicated arrangements essentially unchanged for centuries.   We then started our journey on the Via Dolorosa (the way of the cross) backwards.  Stations 10-14 are located within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.  The Via Dolorosa is a street, in two parts, within the Old City of Jerusalem, held to be the path that Jesus walked, carrying his cross, on the way to his crucifixion.  We ended the Via Dolorosa with a visit to the Pools of Bethesda.  The Pool of Bethesda is a pool of water in the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem, on the path of the Beth Zeta Valley. The Gospel of John describes such a pool in Jerusalem, near the Sheep Gate, which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. It is associated with healing.  With in the complex is St. Anne's Church, the traditional site of Mary's birth.  Here we stopped to hear ourselves sing; St. Anne’s Church has great acoustics.  Our final stop of the day was to the Israel Museum.  Here we saw the Dead Sea Scrolls, q huge model of Jerusalem in the days of Jesus, and the newly revamped Archeology Wing.   Another fulfilled, educational day even though it was cold and rainy again.  Tomorrow it is to clear up and by Monday is supposed to be nice...finally.  Hope all is well back in the states!  Shalom, Ian 

Friday, March 2, 2012: Day 6

Friday, Mar. 2 -  Although the days aren't any shorter here in Israel, today will be a short blog because of our shortened day (schedule).  Again this was due to the snowy weather.  Please see pictures below and yes that is snow.  After breakfast and a brief discussion, we left the King Solomon and headed to Bethlehem.  Once in Bethlehem, we visited  Manger Square and the Church of the Nativity.  The Church of the Nativity is the traditional site of Jesus' birth.  What a day to be in Bethlehem and for it to be snowing.  We ate at a very nice local restaurant called St. George's.  From lunch we did what most love to do on the trip and that is to shop.  Hopefully your accounts back home are not empty.  We left Bethlehem and after a quick trip around the walls of the "Old City", we arrived back home to the King Solomon.  Tonight we welcome in Sabbath...Shabbat Shalom from Israel, Ian 

Thursday, March 1, 2012: Day 5

Thursday, Mar. 1 -  Another day in Israel.  Today is the last day that we will be spending in the Golan Heights/Galilee area.  I had mentioned that yesterday we visited the Syrian Border (of course we did not go into Syria; just looked from our bus), today that same area is under 10 inches of snow.  Again, I cannot believe that I have to come to Israel to have snowy conditions; even Jerusalem got some snow last night and may get more today.   Our first stop of the day was Tabgha.  Tabgha is an area situated on the north-western shore of the Sea of Galilee in Israel. It is the traditional site of the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes and the fourth resurrection appearance of Jesus in Christianity.  From Tabgha we headed to Kibbutz Ginosar to see the ancient Galilee Boat ("Jesus Boat") found in the mud on the shores of the Sea of Galilee in 1986.  This boat can be traced back to a period period of 25 AD to 75 AD.   Loading the tour bus and after a short trip around the Sea of Galilee, we journeyed to the Jordan River.  The Jordan River is a  156 mile long river flowing through the Sea of Galilee and to the Dead Sea. In Christian tradition, the Jordan River is the river that Jesus was baptized in by John the Baptist.   Following this tradition, most in the group reaffirmed the committee they had may through their first baptism and a couple got baptized for the first time!  From the Jordan River, we traveled past the Kinneret Cemetery for an insight into the Zionist pioneering movement. We learned about Rachel Bluwstein Sela who was a Hebrew poet.  She immigrated to Israel in 1909 from Russia. She is known by her first name Rachel (Hebrew: רחל‎) or as Rachel the Poetess. Rachel is known for her lyrical style, briefness of her poems, and the revolutionary simplicity of her conversational tone.  Two themes flow through her poems: her love of the Land and her despair of not being able to have children.  Climbing up the mountain range, we made our way to Nazareth to see the Church of the Annunciation.   The church is at the traditional location of where God announced to Mary that she would carry the child of God.  Nazareth is the childhood home of Jesus.  It is now a large and growing city.  Nazareth is actually two different cities: Lower Nazareth which is mostly Arab Muslims with a minority of Arab Christians and Upper Nazareth which is a Jewish community.   Growing tried, cold and anxious to get to Jerusalem, we made our last stop of the day at the Tel known as Megiddo.  In Revelations this area is where the last battle will take place: Armageddon. The site itself is called "Solomon's Stables" even though it is now known that it couldn't be Solomon's Stables but Ahab's Stables. A new route for us, we travelled down the new Trans-Israel Highway (Rte 6) towards Jerusalem.  Once in Jerusalem, we arrived to our home away from home (I say this because we will be here for 7 nights) the King Solomon Hotel.  The King Solomon is situated in downtown Jerusalem in walking distance of the "Old City" of Jerusalem. Another great day of touring, although filled with rain and cold weather.  We are all well and having a great time, staying healthy, but somewhat sleep deprived.  Off to bed. Shalom, Ian