The Jordanian hotel people seem much nicer than The ones in Israel. The street hawkers are much less aggressive than the ones in India. In general we like this place. I hiked back I to Petra early this morning. It was cold. Really cold. I hiked about an hour in until I got the trail that led to the place of high sacrifice which people said was 300 steps. From the business office at school to the fourth floor workroom it is 140 stairs. So i'm thinking 300 will be no problem. Part way up I realized they lied! On the way back down I counted the steps. 734. And that is not counting all the walking in-between the sets of stairs! It was a beautiful view though.
Now I was sweaty so I stopped for some water and thought about these people that live up here in these cold caves. I saw a book advertised about an Austrailian that married a Bedouin man. I asked this guy if he had the book available. He pointed across the way and said the woman was there. She has her own stand and sold me the book. It is really interesting - she gave up everything to marry this Bedouin and live in a cave. she converted to Islam and had three kids with him.
I trekked back to the hotel and took a nap. I woke up pretty sore from all my hiking.
Went and had pizza and hot chocolate at Mystic Pizza :)
We are leaving early in the morning to take a three hour drive to Madaba then onto Sweimah to lay around at the dead sea :)
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Day 10 Petra
Day 10 Jordan tuesday
We got up and had breakfast with Tom and then parted ways with all our tour buddies and headed off on our own. We got a cab to the border crossing ten minutes away from Eilat. We paid our exit tax of 101 shekels which was less than we expected. The border crossing lady was surprised to see that Gretchen had an Israeli entrance stamp in her passport so she put an exit stamp. Gretchen was surprised too. She didn't know they had stamped it. I was concerned and checked mine. Whew. No stamp. I just have to make sure I don't get one when we go back into Israel. The only trouble I had was I had forgotten to take my Indian residence card out of my passport. It isn't bad-just confuses people. We went through several checkpoints until we finally got to the Jordanian side. A soldier taught me how to say "I love you" in Arabic and the taxi guy offered me a thousand camels (a marriage proposal) I'll add that to the two proposals I've gotten from Indians. Ha!
The taxi drove us about 2 kilometers then pulled over next to another car and said that the car would follow us then we'd get in the new car. Gretchen was afraid this would be the last anyone ever heard from us and we'd be the fourth wife of a Bedouin. Ha! I had heard they give the borders a wide berth and that there a cars that only drive in no man's land and then you pick up a Jordanian driver. The new car we got into was much nicer and the driver was nice but talked a little too much. We drove about an hour and 15 minutes then he pulled over to a store to buy souvenirs. It was sooooooo cold!! Even inside we could see our breath!? 20 minutes later we were in the Hotel Edom which is a cute hotel with character and is very close to the entrance gate to Petra. The town of Wadi Musa has a lot of shops and restaurants and there are a lot more Christmas trees up here than in Israel which is surprising because only 7 percent of Jordan is Christian.
That two hour ride cost 75 dollars.
We settled into the hotel then ventured toward Petra. I had Shekels, dollars and rupees with me but no dinars so I had to change some money. A two day ticket to Petra is about 82 US dollars. Which is only 7 dollars more than a one day ticket :) We hired Muhammed to give us a tour For three hours - 75 dollars. Expensive but worth it. He shared so much information! There really aren't word for Petra. I don't even know how to start explaining it so I won't. We were about an hour into our tour when we heard our names being called. Bill, whom we had last seen on Saturday night' midnight Mass was standing right there! it was good to see that he was doing ok.
Our guide left us at the Byzatine church after the three hours was up. We walked the 40 minutes back out and had dinner. We found dr. Pepper again! We had it on Christmas day and thought it was a gift from God!
We got up and had breakfast with Tom and then parted ways with all our tour buddies and headed off on our own. We got a cab to the border crossing ten minutes away from Eilat. We paid our exit tax of 101 shekels which was less than we expected. The border crossing lady was surprised to see that Gretchen had an Israeli entrance stamp in her passport so she put an exit stamp. Gretchen was surprised too. She didn't know they had stamped it. I was concerned and checked mine. Whew. No stamp. I just have to make sure I don't get one when we go back into Israel. The only trouble I had was I had forgotten to take my Indian residence card out of my passport. It isn't bad-just confuses people. We went through several checkpoints until we finally got to the Jordanian side. A soldier taught me how to say "I love you" in Arabic and the taxi guy offered me a thousand camels (a marriage proposal) I'll add that to the two proposals I've gotten from Indians. Ha!
The taxi drove us about 2 kilometers then pulled over next to another car and said that the car would follow us then we'd get in the new car. Gretchen was afraid this would be the last anyone ever heard from us and we'd be the fourth wife of a Bedouin. Ha! I had heard they give the borders a wide berth and that there a cars that only drive in no man's land and then you pick up a Jordanian driver. The new car we got into was much nicer and the driver was nice but talked a little too much. We drove about an hour and 15 minutes then he pulled over to a store to buy souvenirs. It was sooooooo cold!! Even inside we could see our breath!? 20 minutes later we were in the Hotel Edom which is a cute hotel with character and is very close to the entrance gate to Petra. The town of Wadi Musa has a lot of shops and restaurants and there are a lot more Christmas trees up here than in Israel which is surprising because only 7 percent of Jordan is Christian.
That two hour ride cost 75 dollars.
We settled into the hotel then ventured toward Petra. I had Shekels, dollars and rupees with me but no dinars so I had to change some money. A two day ticket to Petra is about 82 US dollars. Which is only 7 dollars more than a one day ticket :) We hired Muhammed to give us a tour For three hours - 75 dollars. Expensive but worth it. He shared so much information! There really aren't word for Petra. I don't even know how to start explaining it so I won't. We were about an hour into our tour when we heard our names being called. Bill, whom we had last seen on Saturday night' midnight Mass was standing right there! it was good to see that he was doing ok.
Our guide left us at the Byzatine church after the three hours was up. We walked the 40 minutes back out and had dinner. We found dr. Pepper again! We had it on Christmas day and thought it was a gift from God!
Monday, December 26, 2011
Day 8 And 9 Negev Desert and Eilat
many of the people we've been traveling with parted way with us today. We aren't sad to se them go. :) except for the Indiana family that adopted us! All that was left was Gretchen and I, Tom, Anne, the Kims and the very strange Toronto couple. The man, Sam was driving me nuts today thankfully it was our last day with him! We joined up with another group who had been doing the Jewish heritage tour. Oh my. We stopped at the hotel and this obviously Jewish woman started yelling and complaining from the get go. Whining she was standing the the rain too long, it was cold and that we'd taken their seats in the front of the bus. Jackie the tour guide had been with them all week and in the first 10 minutes she hollered through the bus that we'd taken their seats. Tom said loudly " and we thought it couldn't get worse"has this woman made Andrea, this loud annoying Jewish woman we'd been with all week seem sweet and quiet! One thing positive about this group was that they were on time to things- no stragglers, no Betty Ann holding us up.
We visited the Israeli Air Force museum at Hatzerim. Mrs. Kim, Anne and I took this opportunity to take a nap on the bus. We were working on 4 hours of sleep due to the Midnight Mass excursion.
We got to have lunch at an authentic Bedouin tent and ride a camel. We didn't get to ride them far but it was my first time. It was two camels tied together and two people on a camel. The annoying Toronto couple were on the front camel and Mrs. Kim and I were on the second. Mr. Kim was videotaping of course. Thank goodness they were tied together. Our camel did NOT want to cooperate- she would have taken off if she could have and Mrs. Kim and I would have had to ride off together in the sunset! The camel was so bad the guy stopped using her and I got a great pictue of her climbing a fence and escaping. She was DONE!! Ha! There is a south African family in our group with two boys that are very... Whiny and cowardly so were some of the adults I. Their group. Wouldn't get on the camel and whined about walking short distances.
We visited Ben Gurion's hut and grave which had an amazing view of the Zin valley. We stopped briefly at Mitzpeh Ramon to see the Ramon crater. I personally though the site by Ben Gurion's grave was more impressive.
Next was a two hour drive through the Negev Desert. Beautiful and we saw groups of kids camping out there and tons of military camps and excercise fields where they were doing night training maneuvers. The Israel Army is pretty impressive.
We stopped at an ice-cream store for a bathroom break. There was a boy quoting the Torah and others with him. Not sure but think a Bar Mitvah was happening at the reststop!
Got to Eilat and were exhausting. Long fairly boring day. We drove around Eilat while Jackie pointed out some things. We dropped off the others and of course, Tom, Gretchen and I were the last dropped off in a hotel far away from everything. We are C class travelers.
Day 9
Most everyone went on a dat trip to Petra. Gretchen and I had a free day to read, nap and walk. We went to McDonalds. Mrs. Kim says it's the US embassy!!! Ha! We just wanted beef! Mr. And Mrs Kim did not tell us their first names because they said it is hard for westerners to
pronounce. Yesterday I heard mr. Kim looking for her calling out "Mrs. Kim" cracked me up.
Our hotel is ok but there are a lot of loud Jewish families with loud children. And the Internet that you have to pay for does not work in your room just in the lobby. Sigh.
The red sea is beautiful though :)
We visited the Israeli Air Force museum at Hatzerim. Mrs. Kim, Anne and I took this opportunity to take a nap on the bus. We were working on 4 hours of sleep due to the Midnight Mass excursion.
We got to have lunch at an authentic Bedouin tent and ride a camel. We didn't get to ride them far but it was my first time. It was two camels tied together and two people on a camel. The annoying Toronto couple were on the front camel and Mrs. Kim and I were on the second. Mr. Kim was videotaping of course. Thank goodness they were tied together. Our camel did NOT want to cooperate- she would have taken off if she could have and Mrs. Kim and I would have had to ride off together in the sunset! The camel was so bad the guy stopped using her and I got a great pictue of her climbing a fence and escaping. She was DONE!! Ha! There is a south African family in our group with two boys that are very... Whiny and cowardly so were some of the adults I. Their group. Wouldn't get on the camel and whined about walking short distances.
We visited Ben Gurion's hut and grave which had an amazing view of the Zin valley. We stopped briefly at Mitzpeh Ramon to see the Ramon crater. I personally though the site by Ben Gurion's grave was more impressive.
Next was a two hour drive through the Negev Desert. Beautiful and we saw groups of kids camping out there and tons of military camps and excercise fields where they were doing night training maneuvers. The Israel Army is pretty impressive.
We stopped at an ice-cream store for a bathroom break. There was a boy quoting the Torah and others with him. Not sure but think a Bar Mitvah was happening at the reststop!
Got to Eilat and were exhausting. Long fairly boring day. We drove around Eilat while Jackie pointed out some things. We dropped off the others and of course, Tom, Gretchen and I were the last dropped off in a hotel far away from everything. We are C class travelers.
Day 9
Most everyone went on a dat trip to Petra. Gretchen and I had a free day to read, nap and walk. We went to McDonalds. Mrs. Kim says it's the US embassy!!! Ha! We just wanted beef! Mr. And Mrs Kim did not tell us their first names because they said it is hard for westerners to
pronounce. Yesterday I heard mr. Kim looking for her calling out "Mrs. Kim" cracked me up.
Our hotel is ok but there are a lot of loud Jewish families with loud children. And the Internet that you have to pay for does not work in your room just in the lobby. Sigh.
The red sea is beautiful though :)
Day seven-Masada, Qumran, and bethlehem
Day 7 Masada, Qumran, dead sea, bethlehem
It was freezing cold in the morning! We drove along the Dead Sea to Masada-the last Jewish stronghold after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD. It took the Romans two years to breach it-there were 1000 Jews there. There Romans got through then went back to there camps at night and were going to take it in the morning. The leader of the Jews proposed they kill themselves. They picked 10 men to slay all the others then the 10 men drew the name of the man that would kill the other nine then fall on his own sword. Horrible. Two women and some children survived to tell the story. When we got to the top Joyce said this is where she's going when the zombies attack! Ha!
We went to Qumran where the dead sea scrolls were found. In 1947 a Bedouin shepherd boy looking for a lost goat and came upon a cave with jars that held the scrolls.
We had to be back early for people to go to the midnight Mass since it is Christmas Eve :)
Our last stop was the dead sea. We got to put mud our ourselves and float in the dead sea. So cool! Gretchen didn't come with the group today to I hung out the Bill, Joyce, and Aaron. Some people were having a lot of trouble trusting the water to hold them so they couldn't enjoy it. I Loved it! You just sit down and you float effortlessly. When you get out the water leaves this oily film on your skin. When it dries your skin feels amazingly soft.you stink though and I had salt in clumps in weird places like when I run marathons. Luckily the water wasn't nearly as cold as I thought it would be.
We headed back to Jerusalem and I took a quick shower. Our guide was Mollie who was great! Gretchen, me, Vivica, Anne, Bill, Donna, Bill, Joyce, and Arron all went in this group. We ran into Betty Ann on another tour. It was cold and rainy. we went to see the parliment building just from the outside. We went up to the Mount of Olives to see Jerusalem by night. We went throughh the Jaffa gate and went back down the Via Dolorosa to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It was much less crowded at night. We went into the church and got to go onto the place marked as His tomb. We didn't get to do that the other day. We had to drop Mollie off because she isn't allowed into Bethlehem. It was different tonight - soldiers everywhere! Our driver and guide tonight were obviously Muslim Palestinians. They kept emphasizing that we were entering another country, Palestine. We went back to the Olive wood store and had tea and I went back to the store for chocolate. I had also brought ginger bread men from Mumbai to celebrate Christmas :) I shared them with Gretchen and the Terra Haute family that adopted us! Aaron said we were taking his gig :)
We parked the bus and started walking toward Manger Square. Soldiers stopped us and said we couldn't go because the Prime Minister was on the move. We stood in the freezing rain for awhile until finally the soldiers found an overhang for us to huddle under. I heard soldiers yelling at someone near me-the dumbass had taken a picture of the Palestanian soldiers. I'd bet money they were American! Dumb dumb. Some of the soldiers covered the lower half of their face. Some people thought they were trying to scare us on purpose. I think they were actually just really cold. We were finally allowed to go to the Christmas Bells restaurant. It was warm and we got to sit In There and we could see the mass on the screen. We had hours to kill but we had a great time hanging out with our Adoptive family. I was the only one to venture outside to see if I could hear anything in Manger Square. I've seen guards in crowds before. They are usually standing a few yards apart from each other. In this case they were shoulder to shoulder with their faces covered and in full gear. It really was a little freaky. Once Mass ended and the Prime Minister left, the soldiers relaxed a little. As we were walking down the street many of them wished us Merry Christmas. Our guide got off at the border and we had no problem getting back into Israel. It was 1:45 am before we got back. I was exhausted and much of the night was boring, but I got to see the Tomb and I get to say I was in Bethlehem for Christmas Eve!
It was freezing cold in the morning! We drove along the Dead Sea to Masada-the last Jewish stronghold after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD. It took the Romans two years to breach it-there were 1000 Jews there. There Romans got through then went back to there camps at night and were going to take it in the morning. The leader of the Jews proposed they kill themselves. They picked 10 men to slay all the others then the 10 men drew the name of the man that would kill the other nine then fall on his own sword. Horrible. Two women and some children survived to tell the story. When we got to the top Joyce said this is where she's going when the zombies attack! Ha!
We went to Qumran where the dead sea scrolls were found. In 1947 a Bedouin shepherd boy looking for a lost goat and came upon a cave with jars that held the scrolls.
We had to be back early for people to go to the midnight Mass since it is Christmas Eve :)
Our last stop was the dead sea. We got to put mud our ourselves and float in the dead sea. So cool! Gretchen didn't come with the group today to I hung out the Bill, Joyce, and Aaron. Some people were having a lot of trouble trusting the water to hold them so they couldn't enjoy it. I Loved it! You just sit down and you float effortlessly. When you get out the water leaves this oily film on your skin. When it dries your skin feels amazingly soft.you stink though and I had salt in clumps in weird places like when I run marathons. Luckily the water wasn't nearly as cold as I thought it would be.
We headed back to Jerusalem and I took a quick shower. Our guide was Mollie who was great! Gretchen, me, Vivica, Anne, Bill, Donna, Bill, Joyce, and Arron all went in this group. We ran into Betty Ann on another tour. It was cold and rainy. we went to see the parliment building just from the outside. We went up to the Mount of Olives to see Jerusalem by night. We went throughh the Jaffa gate and went back down the Via Dolorosa to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It was much less crowded at night. We went into the church and got to go onto the place marked as His tomb. We didn't get to do that the other day. We had to drop Mollie off because she isn't allowed into Bethlehem. It was different tonight - soldiers everywhere! Our driver and guide tonight were obviously Muslim Palestinians. They kept emphasizing that we were entering another country, Palestine. We went back to the Olive wood store and had tea and I went back to the store for chocolate. I had also brought ginger bread men from Mumbai to celebrate Christmas :) I shared them with Gretchen and the Terra Haute family that adopted us! Aaron said we were taking his gig :)
We parked the bus and started walking toward Manger Square. Soldiers stopped us and said we couldn't go because the Prime Minister was on the move. We stood in the freezing rain for awhile until finally the soldiers found an overhang for us to huddle under. I heard soldiers yelling at someone near me-the dumbass had taken a picture of the Palestanian soldiers. I'd bet money they were American! Dumb dumb. Some of the soldiers covered the lower half of their face. Some people thought they were trying to scare us on purpose. I think they were actually just really cold. We were finally allowed to go to the Christmas Bells restaurant. It was warm and we got to sit In There and we could see the mass on the screen. We had hours to kill but we had a great time hanging out with our Adoptive family. I was the only one to venture outside to see if I could hear anything in Manger Square. I've seen guards in crowds before. They are usually standing a few yards apart from each other. In this case they were shoulder to shoulder with their faces covered and in full gear. It really was a little freaky. Once Mass ended and the Prime Minister left, the soldiers relaxed a little. As we were walking down the street many of them wished us Merry Christmas. Our guide got off at the border and we had no problem getting back into Israel. It was 1:45 am before we got back. I was exhausted and much of the night was boring, but I got to see the Tomb and I get to say I was in Bethlehem for Christmas Eve!
Day 6 Chuch of all nations, Yad Vashem, bethlehem
Day six church of all nations, holocaust museum,Bethlehem
It is Friday and still sunny out. We drove to The top of mount Olives for the panoramic view of Jerusalem. It was the most amazing sight! I didn't cry at the wailing wall or the Via Dolorosa, but tears started falling down my face the sight of the Dome of the Rock in the middle of this gorgeous view. "When He draw near and saw the city He wept over it" Luke 1:26 We could see the Basillica of the Agony or Church of All Nations. It was a really beautiful church. Twelve countries contributed to the construction of the church. It is over the rock Jesus prayed over in the Garden of Gethsemane. There is a wrought iron fence around the rock that looks like a crown. We also went to St. john's church where John the Baptist was born.
We went to the Israel Museum Shrine of the Book where some of the Dead Sea Scrolls are kept. There is also a really cool model of Jerusalem how it was during the Second Temple period. It was huge model with great details.
We went to Yad Vashem -the memorial and museum to the Holocaust. The children's memorial was amazing. 1.5 million children died. The memorial is in a circle surrounded by mirrors. There are five candles in the center and the lights reflect t endlessly in the mirrors. Entrance to the main museum is along the Avenue of the Righteous Among Nations which is lined with plaques with the names of people who put their lives on the line to help Jews. About 23,000 people are honored and Oskar Schindler is one of them.
The museum was in a triangle shape and you go to different eras of the Holocaust. They have artifacts from victims-burned passports and pictures, a pile of shoes. I was torn between just wanting to get out of there and trying to read everything and learn as much as I could. We ate in the cafeteria there. Lots of restaurants here are kosher and I think things are worse because it is Hanukkah. At this particular cafeteria there was one section where you could buy food with dairy in it and one section to buy meat products. If you got food in the meat section and your friend got food in the dairy section, you couldn't eat together.
In the afternoon we drove to Bethlehem. It is easy to get in to the Palestinian territory but you need your passport in case they stop you going out. Meir, our guide had to get off the bus right before the border. Jewish Israelis are not allowed to go in. When we get across the border a Palestinian guide gets on the bus. The driver is a Muslim Israeli so he can drive in. Adele, our new guide told us about Bethlehem and took us to Johnnys -a Christian store that specializes in Olive Wood carvings. I was done shopping and needed chocolate so i headed to cross the street to go to a store. adel rushed over to help me cross which cracked me up. I live in Mumbai. I can cross the street better than anyone! There are about 30 percent Christians and 70 percent Muslims in Bethlehem. We got to go to the Church of the Nativity where Christ was born. We had to wait in line for an hour to get into the cave. We got to touch the star that marks the spot where He was born. The church is gorgeous. There is a section run by Armenians, Greek Orthodox, and Roman Catholics (that is where the midnight mass is celebrated. It is right next to Manger Square which is all lit up with Christmas lights.
We headed back out of Bethlehem and saw a santa claus riding a bicycle! Israel soldiers stopped us at the border and just walked through the bus - the only people they said anything to was the Ethiopean family.
We went back to Jerusalem to spend the night.
It is Friday and still sunny out. We drove to The top of mount Olives for the panoramic view of Jerusalem. It was the most amazing sight! I didn't cry at the wailing wall or the Via Dolorosa, but tears started falling down my face the sight of the Dome of the Rock in the middle of this gorgeous view. "When He draw near and saw the city He wept over it" Luke 1:26 We could see the Basillica of the Agony or Church of All Nations. It was a really beautiful church. Twelve countries contributed to the construction of the church. It is over the rock Jesus prayed over in the Garden of Gethsemane. There is a wrought iron fence around the rock that looks like a crown. We also went to St. john's church where John the Baptist was born.
We went to the Israel Museum Shrine of the Book where some of the Dead Sea Scrolls are kept. There is also a really cool model of Jerusalem how it was during the Second Temple period. It was huge model with great details.
We went to Yad Vashem -the memorial and museum to the Holocaust. The children's memorial was amazing. 1.5 million children died. The memorial is in a circle surrounded by mirrors. There are five candles in the center and the lights reflect t endlessly in the mirrors. Entrance to the main museum is along the Avenue of the Righteous Among Nations which is lined with plaques with the names of people who put their lives on the line to help Jews. About 23,000 people are honored and Oskar Schindler is one of them.
The museum was in a triangle shape and you go to different eras of the Holocaust. They have artifacts from victims-burned passports and pictures, a pile of shoes. I was torn between just wanting to get out of there and trying to read everything and learn as much as I could. We ate in the cafeteria there. Lots of restaurants here are kosher and I think things are worse because it is Hanukkah. At this particular cafeteria there was one section where you could buy food with dairy in it and one section to buy meat products. If you got food in the meat section and your friend got food in the dairy section, you couldn't eat together.
In the afternoon we drove to Bethlehem. It is easy to get in to the Palestinian territory but you need your passport in case they stop you going out. Meir, our guide had to get off the bus right before the border. Jewish Israelis are not allowed to go in. When we get across the border a Palestinian guide gets on the bus. The driver is a Muslim Israeli so he can drive in. Adele, our new guide told us about Bethlehem and took us to Johnnys -a Christian store that specializes in Olive Wood carvings. I was done shopping and needed chocolate so i headed to cross the street to go to a store. adel rushed over to help me cross which cracked me up. I live in Mumbai. I can cross the street better than anyone! There are about 30 percent Christians and 70 percent Muslims in Bethlehem. We got to go to the Church of the Nativity where Christ was born. We had to wait in line for an hour to get into the cave. We got to touch the star that marks the spot where He was born. The church is gorgeous. There is a section run by Armenians, Greek Orthodox, and Roman Catholics (that is where the midnight mass is celebrated. It is right next to Manger Square which is all lit up with Christmas lights.
We headed back out of Bethlehem and saw a santa claus riding a bicycle! Israel soldiers stopped us at the border and just walked through the bus - the only people they said anything to was the Ethiopean family.
We went back to Jerusalem to spend the night.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Day five Jerusalem -old city
Day five - jerusalem old city
I try to take notes everyday so I can remember everything I saw and learned, but it just wasn't possible today. Today was THE day!
We had 9 new people join us so we had a big tour bus today and a driver, Muhammed. We started at the temple mount. It is traditionally where God formed Adam ( Gen2:7) and where Abraham was going to sacrifice Issac. This is also where King Solomon built the temple and the Ark of the Covenant was housed. The temple was destroyed and King Herod the Great built a more lavish temple and this was the one that Jesus taught at. We had to go through a lot of security to get to the temple mount. You have to be dressed appropriately and you cannot carry a Bible (the site is controlled by Muslims ) Men and women are not allowed to touch even shoulder to shoulder for a picture. The place is on Mt. moriah.The Dome of the Rock is a magnificent Mosque built by the Muslims over the rock where Abraham laid Issac (they believe it was Ishmael almost sacrificed though, not Issac) it is also said to be the place where Mohammed ascended into Heaven. Some of the stone from the original temple is still there. Jews are not allowed to go into the Temple Mount for fear they will step on the place where the Holy of Holies was. We got to stand where they think it was. According to our guide the Muslims offered the site to the Jews for their temple but it wasn't yet time because the third temple will not be made by man so that is why the Muslims have that spot. You can no longer go in the Dome of the Rock, but it is impressive from the outside.
We got to travel on the Via Dolorosa- the way of the cross. The 14 stations are marked- where he fell, where Simon was told to help Him, veronica who wiped His face, etc. There are chapels from a lot of faiths marking the points. There is a place where Jesus was said to ALMOST fall and He out is hand on the wall to steady Himself. The wall is worn where people touch it. The Via Dolorosa is lined with shops and people just living their normal lives.
At the end is the Church of the Holy Sepulcher marking the place of the crucifixion. It covers Calvary (or Golgatha),the crucifixion spot, the burial cave etc. The church is maintained by Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholics, and Armenians. I always pictured the cross being placed in the ground - dirt. But it is all rock here and holes where chiseled out of the stone to stand the crosses in. There is an alter like thing over the hole in the rock and you can crawl under it and put your hand in the place where the cross stood. There is a slab of Rock that is supposedly the rock His body was placed on to be prepared for burial.
We walked through the Muslim, Jewish, and Christian Quarters of Jeruselam. We didn't walk through the Armenian Quarter. We got to go to the Western Wall or Wailing Wall. People stuff prayers in the cracks of the wall. Men and women have to go to separate areas of the wall. People think the western wall is part of the first temple but it is a retaining wall built by Herod.
King Herod the Great was responsible for a lot of buildings - our guide calls him the Meshugena paranoid :)
We got to see the room of the Last Supper.
The Protestants believe Jesus was buried in the Garden Tomb just outside of the Damascus Gate. There is a hill with rock formation in shape of skull so it could be the place. It's a quiet place run by British Christians. It was the first guide talk we got that was strictly Christian. I like their thinking. So many people fight over "was this the spot Jesus..... Whatever or is it 50 meters from here?" That bothers me. I like these people's perspective on it. There are facts that point to the Church of the Holy Sepulture being the correct spot and evidence to support their place at the Garden tomb being the spot. But it doesn't really matter. They acknowledge that the amazing church is a great place for people to worship and revel in. But their ministry is proving a quieter garden spot that is more like where Jesus went off to pray. They seem content to give people different kind of place to reflect and not compete with the big site. I like that.
In the old city Jerusalem orthodox Jews were asking for donations for the poor and in return would bless you and tie a red string around your wrist. This Jewish man just grabbed me and started blessing me, my husband, kids, health, etc. Then asked me where my husband was in the crowd and looked utterly shocked to find out I was not married. He asked me somethign to the effect of "what's the problem?!"how do you not take offense to that ?!! They he started Lessing me and praying and says now I'll have a husband soon. Ok then.
We have noticed that people are not nearly as nice in Jerusalem as in Tel Aviv or other places we've been. They push and shove and yell at you.
I also saw my first begging today. Muslim women and the Temple Mount. Not nearly as bad as India though!
We ate the included dinner at the hotel -Leonardo Inn- tonight. It was better than last night :)
It was chilly today. I needed gloves and had to turn the heat on in my hotel room.
I try to take notes everyday so I can remember everything I saw and learned, but it just wasn't possible today. Today was THE day!
We had 9 new people join us so we had a big tour bus today and a driver, Muhammed. We started at the temple mount. It is traditionally where God formed Adam ( Gen2:7) and where Abraham was going to sacrifice Issac. This is also where King Solomon built the temple and the Ark of the Covenant was housed. The temple was destroyed and King Herod the Great built a more lavish temple and this was the one that Jesus taught at. We had to go through a lot of security to get to the temple mount. You have to be dressed appropriately and you cannot carry a Bible (the site is controlled by Muslims ) Men and women are not allowed to touch even shoulder to shoulder for a picture. The place is on Mt. moriah.The Dome of the Rock is a magnificent Mosque built by the Muslims over the rock where Abraham laid Issac (they believe it was Ishmael almost sacrificed though, not Issac) it is also said to be the place where Mohammed ascended into Heaven. Some of the stone from the original temple is still there. Jews are not allowed to go into the Temple Mount for fear they will step on the place where the Holy of Holies was. We got to stand where they think it was. According to our guide the Muslims offered the site to the Jews for their temple but it wasn't yet time because the third temple will not be made by man so that is why the Muslims have that spot. You can no longer go in the Dome of the Rock, but it is impressive from the outside.
We got to travel on the Via Dolorosa- the way of the cross. The 14 stations are marked- where he fell, where Simon was told to help Him, veronica who wiped His face, etc. There are chapels from a lot of faiths marking the points. There is a place where Jesus was said to ALMOST fall and He out is hand on the wall to steady Himself. The wall is worn where people touch it. The Via Dolorosa is lined with shops and people just living their normal lives.
At the end is the Church of the Holy Sepulcher marking the place of the crucifixion. It covers Calvary (or Golgatha),the crucifixion spot, the burial cave etc. The church is maintained by Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholics, and Armenians. I always pictured the cross being placed in the ground - dirt. But it is all rock here and holes where chiseled out of the stone to stand the crosses in. There is an alter like thing over the hole in the rock and you can crawl under it and put your hand in the place where the cross stood. There is a slab of Rock that is supposedly the rock His body was placed on to be prepared for burial.
We walked through the Muslim, Jewish, and Christian Quarters of Jeruselam. We didn't walk through the Armenian Quarter. We got to go to the Western Wall or Wailing Wall. People stuff prayers in the cracks of the wall. Men and women have to go to separate areas of the wall. People think the western wall is part of the first temple but it is a retaining wall built by Herod.
King Herod the Great was responsible for a lot of buildings - our guide calls him the Meshugena paranoid :)
We got to see the room of the Last Supper.
The Protestants believe Jesus was buried in the Garden Tomb just outside of the Damascus Gate. There is a hill with rock formation in shape of skull so it could be the place. It's a quiet place run by British Christians. It was the first guide talk we got that was strictly Christian. I like their thinking. So many people fight over "was this the spot Jesus..... Whatever or is it 50 meters from here?" That bothers me. I like these people's perspective on it. There are facts that point to the Church of the Holy Sepulture being the correct spot and evidence to support their place at the Garden tomb being the spot. But it doesn't really matter. They acknowledge that the amazing church is a great place for people to worship and revel in. But their ministry is proving a quieter garden spot that is more like where Jesus went off to pray. They seem content to give people different kind of place to reflect and not compete with the big site. I like that.
In the old city Jerusalem orthodox Jews were asking for donations for the poor and in return would bless you and tie a red string around your wrist. This Jewish man just grabbed me and started blessing me, my husband, kids, health, etc. Then asked me where my husband was in the crowd and looked utterly shocked to find out I was not married. He asked me somethign to the effect of "what's the problem?!"how do you not take offense to that ?!! They he started Lessing me and praying and says now I'll have a husband soon. Ok then.
We have noticed that people are not nearly as nice in Jerusalem as in Tel Aviv or other places we've been. They push and shove and yell at you.
I also saw my first begging today. Muslim women and the Temple Mount. Not nearly as bad as India though!
We ate the included dinner at the hotel -Leonardo Inn- tonight. It was better than last night :)
It was chilly today. I needed gloves and had to turn the heat on in my hotel room.
Day four Cana, Nazereth, Tiberias
Day four Cana, Nazareth, tiberias
We loaded up one van with our luggage and the other van with 17 people. We dove through Cana where Jesus performed His first miracle-turning water into wine. The were several shops with names like "First Miracle Wine Shop " then we drove to Nazareth. Mary grew up there and the Holy family lived there after their stay in Egypt. We went to The Church of the Annunciation over the site where Mary was told she would bear God's son. Meir was telling us about how people think that Mary and Joseph went to Bethleham to pay taxes during the census. He said if it was just about taxes they would have sent someone else to pay them. Mary went so she could be counted among her people of Judah so that prophecy would be fulfilled. The church was amazing!!! Mass is still held there and one was going on while we were there. Many countries gave gifts to the church with their version of the story and it was interesting to see what they gave. The one from Japan had a Japanese woman and child. :)
The church had these amazing doors with pictures depicting stories in the Bible. One of them was Noah and the dove bringing the olive branch. He said it was a dove because they can land on anything and it was an olive branch because they are nearly Impossible to break off if they aren't completely dry.
We also went to the church that is on the spot where the family lived -st. joseph's church. The family lived in the house above ground and his workshop was below that then there was a cave under the whole area for the basement. Nazareth has about 55,000 people that are 50/50 Muslim and Christian. Their is a new part of the town called Nazereth Illit that is for Jews. I saw the most Christmas decorations in Nazerethh and some one wished me Merry Christmas!!
We drive pass a lot of Kibbutzes. Kibbutz are like communes where people work the agricultue land together and don't get paid but get all their needs met. To join you must live there a year and then people vote. If the don't get a majority the first year you get another year. If you don't pass the second year- you are out!
We see a lot of Israeli soldiers on the roads and at bus stops. He said that they used to hitchhike all the time until terrorists started dressing as devout Jews, picking up soldiers and killing them. Soldiers are no longer allowed to hitchhike.
We went to Yardenit - the place where it is said that John the Baptist baptized Jesus in the river Jordan. There is also a site across the border in Jordan :)
Apparently it is a big deal to buy diamonds here so we went to a shop. Some of us were not into diamonds so we went looking for an ATM. I finally have shekels! We had lunch at McDonalds-real beef burger. No cheese because it was kosher-but it was still great!
We rode in this train thing pulled by tractor to Beit Shean or Beth Shean-very cool excavation site!! We are touring ruin and I feel something hit my head. Didn't know if it was a bug, debris etc. My friend checked it out it was bird poop! Twice in one week! She tried to get it out of my hair :)
We drove along the Jordan river to Jerusalem. So weird driving through the West Bank. Barbed wire everywhere. There is a fence along the Jordan border and another fence quite a bit away from it and the space between is a battlefield area. It is full of mines to stop terrorists from crossing the border that way.
The people in our group continue to entertain! The hong kong couple is on their honeymoon and are Super cute. When I ask why they chose Israel he aid because it is warmer than Europe :). Continuing to enjoy the terra haute family. Normally when I tell people I've eaten guinea pig and loved it I get looks of horror. Aaron said he has been to Ecuador too and enjoyed eating Guinea pig :) Alabama makes us laugh constantly. She sais Israeli men are so hot she wants to make a calendar. She said "i think it is impossible for Israel to make ugly men! She's not wrong!! mrs. Kim talked to me quite a bit they are Christians and live in France. Mr. Kim works at a nuclear facility- is from Korea so just says he is an engineer at boarder crossings :) Bill, the guy from New Zeland lost his wife unexpectedly 13 years ago. They had always talked about coming and now he is here. He is .... A little mentally impaired... It is sweet to see his reaction to everything here. He is so moved by all of it!
We loaded up one van with our luggage and the other van with 17 people. We dove through Cana where Jesus performed His first miracle-turning water into wine. The were several shops with names like "First Miracle Wine Shop " then we drove to Nazareth. Mary grew up there and the Holy family lived there after their stay in Egypt. We went to The Church of the Annunciation over the site where Mary was told she would bear God's son. Meir was telling us about how people think that Mary and Joseph went to Bethleham to pay taxes during the census. He said if it was just about taxes they would have sent someone else to pay them. Mary went so she could be counted among her people of Judah so that prophecy would be fulfilled. The church was amazing!!! Mass is still held there and one was going on while we were there. Many countries gave gifts to the church with their version of the story and it was interesting to see what they gave. The one from Japan had a Japanese woman and child. :)
The church had these amazing doors with pictures depicting stories in the Bible. One of them was Noah and the dove bringing the olive branch. He said it was a dove because they can land on anything and it was an olive branch because they are nearly Impossible to break off if they aren't completely dry.
We also went to the church that is on the spot where the family lived -st. joseph's church. The family lived in the house above ground and his workshop was below that then there was a cave under the whole area for the basement. Nazareth has about 55,000 people that are 50/50 Muslim and Christian. Their is a new part of the town called Nazereth Illit that is for Jews. I saw the most Christmas decorations in Nazerethh and some one wished me Merry Christmas!!
We drive pass a lot of Kibbutzes. Kibbutz are like communes where people work the agricultue land together and don't get paid but get all their needs met. To join you must live there a year and then people vote. If the don't get a majority the first year you get another year. If you don't pass the second year- you are out!
We see a lot of Israeli soldiers on the roads and at bus stops. He said that they used to hitchhike all the time until terrorists started dressing as devout Jews, picking up soldiers and killing them. Soldiers are no longer allowed to hitchhike.
We went to Yardenit - the place where it is said that John the Baptist baptized Jesus in the river Jordan. There is also a site across the border in Jordan :)
Apparently it is a big deal to buy diamonds here so we went to a shop. Some of us were not into diamonds so we went looking for an ATM. I finally have shekels! We had lunch at McDonalds-real beef burger. No cheese because it was kosher-but it was still great!
We rode in this train thing pulled by tractor to Beit Shean or Beth Shean-very cool excavation site!! We are touring ruin and I feel something hit my head. Didn't know if it was a bug, debris etc. My friend checked it out it was bird poop! Twice in one week! She tried to get it out of my hair :)
We drove along the Jordan river to Jerusalem. So weird driving through the West Bank. Barbed wire everywhere. There is a fence along the Jordan border and another fence quite a bit away from it and the space between is a battlefield area. It is full of mines to stop terrorists from crossing the border that way.
The people in our group continue to entertain! The hong kong couple is on their honeymoon and are Super cute. When I ask why they chose Israel he aid because it is warmer than Europe :). Continuing to enjoy the terra haute family. Normally when I tell people I've eaten guinea pig and loved it I get looks of horror. Aaron said he has been to Ecuador too and enjoyed eating Guinea pig :) Alabama makes us laugh constantly. She sais Israeli men are so hot she wants to make a calendar. She said "i think it is impossible for Israel to make ugly men! She's not wrong!! mrs. Kim talked to me quite a bit they are Christians and live in France. Mr. Kim works at a nuclear facility- is from Korea so just says he is an engineer at boarder crossings :) Bill, the guy from New Zeland lost his wife unexpectedly 13 years ago. They had always talked about coming and now he is here. He is .... A little mentally impaired... It is sweet to see his reaction to everything here. He is so moved by all of it!
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