Some long awaited pictures- Starting in Israel

Aquaduct at Caesarea brought fresh water from the hills for thousands at this port

Three Faiths lookout The Beatitudes were here Galilee Ship about 100 AD

Ship on Sea of Galilee Qumran site (Dead Sea Scrolls) Jordan River renewal

Church of the Primacy (Peter's mother in law's house )

Caesarea , our group in the Theatre in Caesar's summer home. (Also largest seaport at the time)

This seated 4,000. There was also an ampitheater (oval)

Megiddo the stronghold above the Jezreel Valley

Church of the Annunciation (Mary), Nazareth, a well still flows from 6 AD which Jesus probably used.

Some Luxor pictures of temples.

THE LIONS GUARD THE ENTRANCE (LEFT)

FROM A SHORT DISTANCE AT KARNAK (RIGHT)

TEMPLE PILLARS UP CLOSE TWO OBELISKS AT 1500 TONS EACH

LUXOR TEMPLE ON THE NILE RIVER

KARNAK TEMPLE AT LUXOR

I can download much better from home. Tomorrow I will go back and place some additional works on board. There are some areas that were under reperesented. jvs

Last day at Luxor was busy (2 Temples)

Yes, the last day might have been just as busy as the previous ones, but we stuck it out 'til the end and saw them both.
We did manage to get breakfast at the huge buffet on the Ramadis II and met Hassan, our guide at the Reception Desk. I noticed rather than sandals he had a pair of walking shoes on. (More on that later and a note on Hassan, too). This time we had a boat ride across the Nile to the East bank, on a motorized "Felucca", which was merely a 5 minute trip with the pilot , Abda. There Hassan had a small bus waiting for the 10 of us (some from other groups including George and his family from Greece.) I was a 10 minute ride through the bazaar area to the east end of Luxor , where we were able to view the Valley of the Queens and the temple of Hatshetsput the "King/ Queen", who was able to masquerade as a King during her reign. Seehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatshepsut (There were some 7 Queens of Egypt , but no "King/Queens" except her.) This temple was from the front the most impressive of them all. The tall columns that went from north to south covered some 3,000 feet from one side to the other. The entrance was reached by some 300-400 very wide steps to three large 'landings' on the way to the top. This temple had many carvings and hieroglyphics that were intact and readable. This includes the sun, snakes, river, monkeys, papyrus, and the square knot that ties Egypt together. The Egyptians are a very proud people in that they have been one united country /kingdom for these many years (5000 plus).
We were allowed to enter two of the tombs that were numbering now in the thousands. (Recent reasearch show the numbers are growing.) Tombs that ranged from those of the Kings and Queens to the commoner , depending on what resources they had. Remember only the east side of the river has tombs as the sun sets in the west and rises in the east (hence 'resurrection' in the east)
Then around the large mountain that separated the "Valley of the Queens" from the "Valley of the Kings", where Ramesis II and his many sons were buried. (Hassan referred to the site as the "Valley of the busses".) This Temple was not as large as Hatshepsut's, but, he provided burial tombs for all of his children. There were some 200 of them. These tombs were massive. An American team of archeologists were digging in a newly found tomb and had just scratched the surface of some 150 burial rooms and they believed they were not 1/2 way yet. . The tombs and passages we entered were very long at 500-600 feet long and contained the best drawings, carvings and art work of any we had seen. The paint was still intact and when they sealed the tombs, it was believed that the paints contained a poison to keep the bugs at bay. Hence when the tombs were opened many of the searchers became sick or died and that was believed to be the reason. (Not the "curse" as we was often told) The hallways generally 6-8 feet wide and 10 feet high , with the small burial rooms every few feet along both sides. It gradually goes downhill into the end chamber where some artifacts remain for display. (Remember the teamples go "uphioll" to heaven). Other items are in Museums in Cairo and other sites nearby. A mummified infant (newborn) was in one of them , No definite story was connected with that. Then it was to the bus through the gauntlet of vendors who did not know the word," NO" and as long as you kept walking and didn't hold anything they offered, you would make it through to the gate. (They are limited to the vending/shop areas.). I found that the postcard prices were best there and few coins at one shop were quite cheap. We were told that the Luxor area was the best value for buying.
We returned to the ship, packed our bags at noon ,exited our rooms, had lunch, and waited for Hassan , to take us to the second group of tombs , this time on the west bank (the side the ship was docked ) where we would see The Temples of Luxor and Karnak. The Luxor Temple is close to the river and actually at one time was connected by a wide raod (walkway) between the two even though they awer a mile apart. This is beingrediscovered and uncovered.
Luxor has a grand entance of gentle steps and then a magnificent "double" temple (Two gods) with the walk down the middle. It has a few roofs , but only in certain areas. This temple has more than 85 pillars some 100 feet tall that make a forest of pillars on the inside of the Temple. The pillars are 6 feet in diameter and perfectly cut. The pillars are of solid granite for the most part and then cut to shape on site. LArge ramps were built with mud and wood to reach the heights. There were two obelisks in place there with many carvings and "kartoush" carvings as well.
The story of the raising of an abelisk is an interesting one. FROM THE TIME OF CARVING THE 1500 TON STONE UNTIL ITS PLACEMENT IN THE SITE , TOOK THE TOTAL TIME OF 7 MONTHS. In the past century the French moved one to France that was already carved and on a site AND TOOK 7 YEARS to get the job done) The USA also imprioved on the movement of one obelisk from Egypt (to NYC) and took only 5 years to complete the job. Egyptian engineering was very superior in many ways to ours today.
To raise an obelisk they would build a obelisk high, tall box filled with sand. Then they would move the obelisk on mud ramps and actually tip it into the box and remove the sand as it fell into place. Ingenious. See this site for some information on obelisks: http://members.aol.com/Sokamoto31/ramses.htm
Karnak was just around the corner and we visited that one as a final stop on this trip. It , too has many pillars and was less intact than Luxor, although it also had a lake that was there where the Temple was built as that is a source of life for much around it. Hassan wore the shoes that day as the Temple sites had a lot of sand and loose gravel and they really got into the toes with sandals. (I was not that smart to see this change ahead of time)
Hassan is a former teacher and Egyptologist at Aswan University and semiretired. He is in the process of writing three books on the subjct one of which he wants to instruct the children about the ways of ancient Egypt , particularly the balance of life that they had and how to continue that through today's cultures. He is a learned man.
Our trip to the airport went smoothly with another guide Nubie, who picked up our luggage and got us to the aiport at Luxor in plenty of time. The flight to Cairo from there was about one hour and we had a good view of the vast amount of irrigation along the Nile from the air. There are a few lakes a distance from the river.
Our friend Harry was there to greet us at Cairo and get us to the "Le Passage" Hotel see this site for pictures http://www.expedia.com/pub/agent.dll? or Le Passage Hotel, Cairo.

After a supper we had a leisurely AM and were able to sleep a bit longer . The pickup at the hotel was at 9:25 in order to clear customs for the 12:40 flight, which we did. Harry was very attentive and helped us clear the hotel desk, and get through the correct lines at customs. He is an excellent EO (Educational Opportunities) agent and guide. He did pick up some gifts the men had made specially on order.

The flight home was clear from Cairo until we reached the coast of England, so with a window seat I was able to see clearly the Island of Crete, Sardinia and most of France from Nice to the English Channel. It is interesting to to see the very square and oblong agriculture sites along the Nile Delta, and then see the very irregular ones in France surrounded often by trees (hedgerows) that have no pattern except the natural lay of the land. Of course without irrigation there is no need to have a regular pattern. The mountains of Northern Italy (Dolomites) were very visible carrying the debris down the mountains into the valleys below in Northern Italy.
Not until Cape Cod did the clouds clear, where we did see Massachusetts, and Connecticut and then the VERY long island of Long Island. It was clear to see and as we came down lower, each harbor and marina and house became very clear, We circled a few times waiting for a storm to pass from JFK so we had some good views of the Island and distant NYC with Manhattan Island barely visible.
From there it was getting throught customs and the check points and finally a pickup by the Hotel (Holiday Inn) after some walking to get to the "rail' that takes us to various parts of the airpiort and the shuttle parking lot for the Hotel . This was a long walk with luggage. It was a fitfull night rest for most of the five of us and early wakeup at 5:00AM to be ready at 6:25AM for the first shuttle to the airport. Went through the customs check again, and the security were finally passed and we were aboard AA to Chicago passing northern NY state and the Finger Lakes, Lake Ontario and Erie PA. Finally Lake Huron, the state of Michigan at Saginaw Bay (as we went a bit north to avoid weather in Chicago) , Houghton Lake, and the coast of Lake Michigan at Ludington coming into Chicago from the north. The rest is history as we had a 3 hour layover in Chicago and were met in GR by our families and happy to be home.
I will add a post script later today or tomorrow which will include some notes (and hopefully pictures) which were not included before. It was a "lifetime" trip that allowed is to see the ancient Holy Land, before, during and after Jesus time, as well as the journey of some of the land of the "Hebrew Children" with Moses, and then the Land of the Pharoahs and Kings, Queens and people of the Nile of Egypt some of which predated all of the above. Thanks for listening and remember ...one more entry. I would be interersted in your comments and I will again attempt to place pictures in the blog now that the speed of the computer is back.-jvs

Sunday Blog June 23, 2008

Sunday June 22, 2008 at Edfu on the Nile River.

As promised, we made it to Edfu in about 2 ½ hours and most of us were asleep by then. IT is very quiet on the ship and the crew and service is superior. They look after your every needs even to carrying your plates to the dinner table should you nod your head!

In the morning we were scheduled to get an early start to beat the heat of the day (another 115F +) and head for the first temple of the day, hence no breakfast but only hot drinks (and the trusty water bottles) to start the day at the Temple of Kom Ombu. ‘Kom’ mans mountain and ‘Umbu’ mean gold. IT is an example of a temple built by the Ptolemy’s and used irregularly by others so lost much of its original form. It was built in the 200 BC era. It is what is known as a “double temple”, that is two temples built side by side. One to the crocodile God Sobek, The god of fertility and the other side to the falcon god Haroeris or Horus the elder. The Nile and earthquakes and other users have destroyed part of the Temple, and the Copts (Coptic) used it as a church. Over three hundred crocodile mummies have been found in the area and two are displayed there.

IT was not hot yet (Already 90 F) so we hustled back to the ship to move on to Edfu.
After eating a let breakfast at 10:00 AM with a pre travel meeting at 11:55 in the lounge. I had a chance to talk with George (Greece) before hand and discovered he is an Athenian and his wife’s family from the Islands off the coast. They have two girls with them. There is also a group of 30 students from Harding U. in Searcy AR who each semester takes a group on a cultural tour of two months. If I mentioned this before, OK. Hassam met us there, and gave us instructions before leaving. “Pay the driver of the horse cab only once and only the agreed upon amount” (25 Egyptian pound or SIP). That was $5.00 per ride to the Temple and back (the horse would be extra if you wish). There were seventeen in our guide group so we split up into various cabs. (See). Our driver was Nasser (about 23) and his horse was “Awadi”. The horses like in Aswan are healthy although not overfed by any means. They seemed to hold up well and managed the Bazaar traffic easily. Nasser tried to earn more money by stopping the horse and taking our pictures with OUR camera. Sorry…No!
The Edfu Temple is an intact Temple at the outskirts of Edfu the town (4-5,000). I was discovered by the French in the late 1800's under a pile of sand (dune). That meant it was more than 100 feet deep. It took 40 years to excavate and remove all the sand, but when it was finished there was an intact Temple with few pieces missing. (see) It was dedicated to Horus, the Falcon god by Ptolemy III in about 237 BC and finished by Cleopatra’s husband, Ptolemy XIII, 200 years later. The story of the temple tells of the murders and births to avenge the death’s .Horus (the avenger) loses an eye in the battle with Seth, but his eye becomes an important symbol in Egyptian religion. We got out of the heat in the temple as much as possible but by now (noon) the sun was overhead (literally) and in the 115 F range. The ride back with the same cab driver and horse was uneventful and Nasser let Jim drive the horse most of the way carrying Shirley Myers and Ruth. Hassam wanted to know if any of the drivers had been paid on the way over and I did, so told him so and also said I gave Nasser a $1.00 for his horse. When Hassam translated that for the other drivers, they got a good “horselaugh” out of that. Nasser didn’t ask for many other tips.

It was back on the ship and off right away for the one lock passage we have at Edna. This usually takes about 2-3 hours as each of the ships must take turns (two north and then two southbound). Then on the Luxor our last stop. I’ll be back with more later this tomorrow.

Saturday June 21 supplement

Saturday June 21, 2008 supplement at Aswan

Aswan means ‘he place of barter’. When the Granite, Gold and Ivory were in high demand this place was the center of all of that trading. Hence, the name was contracted into “As – Wan” . One of the places we saw today was the granite quarry of Aswan, but more on that later.

The early morning was spent walking a few blocks to a yard goods store (shop) that had stacks of bolts some 15’ high all around the 15 X 20 X 18 feet structure. There was hardly enough room to walk around inside. As a matter of fact , there was not. But there was a variety of yard goods. There was a wooden ladder to reach the upper bolts. Both Karl and Shirley needed material and were successful in getting what they needed once the shop owner understood what colors and fabrics they were after. Our guide, Ihim, was very helpful. All the while we were there a “cab driver” ( a horse cab, not a motorized one) was after us for a ride. That would mean that his horse affectionately named “Suzy’, would have to pull 7 of us which included the driver , our guide and his helper,10 year old Mohammed. As you may have suspected, Suzy did well. We headed for the Aswan Market and Bazaar some 2 miles away.
{NB: The traffic lights here in Aswan have timers on them so you can see how many seconds are left on the green or red. They count down to zero from 45. Is this a good idea???} The drivers here are much better than in Cairo, of course there are less of them.
We did get dropped off at the entrance to the mile long official Aswan Bazaar and started to head for a shop that sold T shirts. Of course the many shop owners (all men) tried to sell us things including spices (many types of them) and water pipes and the only woman we saw selling anything was walking, selling cigarettes. We arrived at a shop run by ‘Shokalata’, who was a Muslim with a good sense of humor that made our purchases seem more agreeable to us. We did find the T shirts we wanted all in embroidery, and enjoyed the banter and hassle over prices. He threw in some gifts (shawls) for the ladies, but for the men…!
After a good trip with Suzy and his driver back to the ship we ate lunch, and prepared for the afternoon guided tour. Hassan, our guide on the ship, took is to three places . First the Aswan High Dam, second the “Unfinished Obelisk Granite Quarry” and third the Island where the temple of Isis and Osiris is, called Philae temple.

The Aswan high dam is a monster (3000 meters long) situated a few miles above the old dam so the river flows between them now. It has saved the Nile Valley three times already, and brings the minerals to the farms through irrigation. There are more farms now in the upper Nile, but fertilizers are used in the lower Nile. Leaching becomes a problem yet to solve. Irrigation has increased the size of the farmland and crop land. The dam is as large as 17 pyramids of the size of Cheops. The Nasser Lake that it has made is 500 Km long (300 Miles) and from the air is huge!

The quarry was a walk through the stones and up and on top of them during which Hassan called a “Swiss 20 minutes” walk for us. (The Mogenpick Co is Swiss.). Now this was hot! Probably about 115 degrees in the sun and the heat of the rocks just added to that . We didn’t linger too long at any one place and there was no shade. I consumed one bottle of water on that walk alone. Hassan said it was NOT a hot day!!! It is often called the ‘place of the unfinished obelisk’ as there is one there almost ready to be taken out of the ground . It is 150 feet long and weighs 1200 tons. How they would have moved it to its destination is a beauty and a mystery of the early Egyptian engineering. There are still a few (8) obelisks left in Egypt of some size. There are more in Italy (20+) and two in the USA. (Do you know where they are located? Think NY state.) It was an awesome place.

Finally, it was the bus and boat ride to the temple of Isis (Philae Temple) which was one of those moved across the river to keep it from being under water when the Dam was built. There are many stories connected with the culture of the Kings and Queens’s time and more of that will come at another writing. Suffice to say that the entry to the Temple passes through five portals (square openings) each of which gets smaller as one reaches heaven at the other end. At that point the room is closed (except for the entry) and there is a platform (3 feet high) from which the deities can enter the heaven. Interestingly in the 500 AD era the Christians used this temple as a church (evidence is there) and did not destroy anything that was there. (Read back in Jerusalem for a comparison). The boat ride helped stifle the heat.

Two hours later (after cooling down) we had a reception for all guests in the lounge. This ship has six decks, with three for living space for guests, one for the 69 employees and hands, and two for engine and other needs (water , waste, etc).I will check out the engine and specs later.
Dinner was served on the Promenade (top deck) and as we sat down to eat, the ship embarked on the first leg of the journey down the Nile. One of the students from Arkansas (37 of them on a 2 month” class” to the Middle East and Europe) had a birthday so the staff had a line of drums and singing with some Central African rhythms ending with their version of “Happy Birthday”. It lasted 10 minutes. No restaurant ever did that in these!

Our destination in 21/2 hours is Edfu (10:30 PM) where we will visit at 7:00 AM in the morning. We will tie up there most of the night. Then proceed to Edfu for more historical places . Stay tuned. Maybe I can get the pictures to download. Please keep a fellow traveler in prayer. He is George and his family from Greece, and is searching for employment close to home (he has been sent to four countries the past 8 years.)

Whoops , this was Wed Journey of Moses inpart

Wednesday June 18 – Into Egypt

Again pictures would not download. I'll keep trying.


Viewing the Red Sea at the Egypt /Israel border

It was bittersweet farewells in the morning as many hugged and wished the others “so long for now” and “may the travels be safe”, as we parted for four different directions from the Olive Tree Hotel. One group of 27 headed for Jordan and Petra, another heading back to USA via NYC later that day, a few lingering in Jerusalem and headed for the beach at Tel Aviv, and a group of five headed for Egypt, Cairo and a Nile River trip. The latter group will be missing Alverna Truax as she had limited movement in one leg and elected to go back with the USA group. Her “bud” Shirlee Cheers will travel with here.

As for the Egypt group we headed out to the same route for the fifth time that we took before all the way to Masada and beyond. Who do you think our driver was? It was Said again as he often makes this run for E.O. IT was good to have him. There is a great development of minerals from the Dead Sea and that creates a problem. Potassium, Magnesium to name a few. They are dug out and hauled to the plant which has stacks of minerals drying getting ready to be shipped all over the world. The problem is that the very source of the mineral is becoming less available and that is the water. So, a new plan is being developed by the surrounding countries which will place a tunnel from the Red Sea to allow water to flow to the Dead Sea. (Remember it is 1600 feet below sea level.)

The entry to Egypt is at Eliot at the north end of the Red Sea. Aqaba is across the water and these are the seaports that bring goods in and send them out to all of the Middle East and Africa. So that was our first destination and involved crossing the border into Egypt. IT was strangely quiet as there were few travelers this day, but things went fast and smoothly. The two check points for passports went smoothly and we met our guide for the EgypLarry, a Muislim who is bright and energetic.



Saladin’s Fortress (restored) from the time of the Crusades

From the bus we could see the border where Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel and Egypt come together at the north end of the Red Sea. The mountains of Saudi Arabia stand tall across the azure and blue of the Red Sea (It was not red!). A stop’ at a stone shop that turned rocks into beautiful Malachite was a short stop and although we did buy anything , Said got each one of us some samples of polished Amethyst. J

This part pf Egypt is becoming a very popular tourist and beachcomber center. For many miles along the Sea, the are small individual “bathhouses” that are rented by people for a day. IOT shields the sun (100-110 F) and provides some shelter from the wind. This went on for many miles . There were permanent residences closer to the road being built by the thousands. Then we moved away from the shoreline and headed into the middle of the Sinai Peninsula. Here we began to appreciate that the “Chosen People” had a very difficult time in this land orf rock and sand. NO wonder they disobeyed and lost their faith! IT is truly barren land with little water.
One of the stops for a stretch was at a Bedouin camp in what is called the Valley of the Gazelle. There had been many here but they are fewer now . The Valley is a flat one, sand swept that runs for many miles NE to SW. There is a Bedouin camp in the middle of it. One man was selling beautiful



Father Justinian at the St, Katherine (Greek Orthodox ) Monastery at the site of Moses ascent to Mt Sinai, He is the curator for the World’s oldest collection of Biblical references .Manuscripts date back to 500 AD. (See PBS program on this collection)

The Monastery and the Library.Then we arrived at St Catherine (Also spelled Katherine here) and as Larry had called ahead, we had bot reservations for a room at the motel there and more importantly were able to get in to se e the 1500 year old library which holds most of the world’s copies of ancient Bibles and “Holy Books”. This monastery was started in the 500’s (AD) and remains the most continuous used church in the world. We were able to see the original “burning bush” (Creosote bush) and the Mary’s well that has been there since Moses time. The Fr.Justin took us up to the Library. Larry said he had onlyt visited it a few times as it takes a lot of red tape to get permission. Usually about three months to obtain it. He was very excited to get to do this.In the library which we climbed the six flights of marble stairs to get to, were the worlds oldest copies (handwritten and printed) of Bibles and Holy Books. There are 3,000 volumes of the handwritten ones and two stories of other bookstand manuscripts running back 1500 years. IT is a world class exhibit and has been featured on PBS and in other movies. This was the treat of a lifetime. We lingered taking pictures of the trail that leads to Mt Sinai where Moses received the 10 commandments. More on this later.




A view of some of the 3,000 handwritten books the collection in the Library.(There are also thousands of printed ones. (Circa 500- 1800 AD)

We enjoyed the food at supper although we have been told not to eat anything that has not been cooked nor any uncooked veggies or food. (The change in stomach bacteria is the reason. Egyptians have “tough” stomach’s Harry said. J There was plenty for all.

Of course in the desert the shadows especially here among the towering Sinai mountains, help to cool the air quickly. That is very comfortable after the 1000 degree heat through the desert in the day. It was a most moving day and we thought of the 10 thousands of the Tribe of Israel who waited for 40 days for Moses to come down from the Mtn. and became frustrated , doubtful and gave up hope. How long do we wait for things to happen that are out of our control?

Briefly after leaving the Valley where the Monastery has been fro 1500 continuous years (Mass has been said there continuously continuous


The St. Katherine Greek Orthodox Monastery at the foot of Mt Sinai. You can take a camel ride to the top and walk 600 stps to the same spot Moses was. (None of us did that)


All of that time) we headed toward the eastern arm of the red Sea (Gulf of Aqaba) and then across to the Western Arm (Gulf of Suez) crossing the Suez Canal (we went under it in a tunnel) and ended up at Cairo (pop. 20 million) to lodge for the evening. Stops along the way were;
Wadi Feiran where the Children if Israel subdued the Amalakites while Moses kept his hands in the air. (Do you remember if he had help?)
2. We approached the Gulf of Suez and got our feet wet!
3. Saw the oil shipping port of Abul Redeiss a growing community.
4. Stopped at Elim where the Children of Israel camped by the oasis of 70 Palms. (There are still two wells there and many palms. It was hot at 110 F)
5. It was time for lunch at Ras Sudr (you are looking these all up, right?)
6. Marah by the Red Sea (Gulf of Suez) where the waters were bitter , and Moses threw a tree into the water and it was sweetened. There are two working wells there and others are scattered around the area. (We were introduced to the 1,000 year old Parfa trees which offered shade there . IT was amazing to be in these very places where the story is told in Exodus. It’s a good time to do some reading and follow along.
It was after that we crossed under the Suez Canal, and headed for Cairo arriving at our hotel at 7:00 PM but not before we took a 1 ½ hour tour of the famous Cairo Museum. The feature of course was seeing all of the artifacts of King “Tut” that were discovered intact. The tomb had 4 boxes stacked over the two Sarcophagus, which weight 280m pounds and 115 pounds each of solid gold . Quite a sight. The share of that exhibit is 40% of the total Museum’s collections. A new Museum is being planned nearer the Great Pyramids. (See tomorrow’s blog) It was a long and varied day with the sea offering some welcome change to the desert.
If there is opportunity to add some on the Movenpick boat we will do so, other wise it will be completed on Tuesday back in Cairo before departure to the USA. jvs

THursday and Friday at Cairo and Aswan

Blog for Friday June 20, 2008

Today is Summer Solstice and we are merely 50 mile north of the Tropic of Capricorn at Aswan, Egypt. The sun is essentially overhead. It is hot at probably 116 F so we are staying inside the Mogenpick II (Rameses) where the AC can keep us fresh until the morning. First comes a story and then some of the day’s adventures including how we arrived here at Aswan on the Nile River.
In Greek History a man by the name of Aristophanes thought that there must be a place where the sun “stopped” in its journey around the earth and decided to come to the Nile River to test that theory. He placed sticks perpendicular to the earth at various points along the Nile River south of where we are today. He did this in places that he felt the sun would be directly overhead and then starts its journey back again. It worked, and as a mathematician, he discovered the Tropic line (Capricorn) and proved that the sun in its journey only went 23 ½ degrees south when it was overhead before returning to the other direction each year. Little pieces of historical information make the big picture today.

So, this morning we started out from Cairo by air to Aswan, after the journey from St Katherine’s the night before. Our arrival in the evening was only after a lengthy trip through the city on their “last day of the week”. Friday is a day or worship and ALL men must attend a Mosque while the women MAY attend the Mosque. After all they have the children responsibility and the home to take care of!!! (Quote from our guide!) Cairo, a city of 20,000,000 people as stated is the second largest in the world. (Mex. City) The world’s worst drivers drive here. I asked if there is such a thing as Driver Education. The answer was.” Sure. The person buys a car, takes it on the road and if they survive driving in Cairo the first day, they have passed Driver Education”. It is a matter of survival. The taxi drivers are called, “The Devils of the Road” so that gives you an idea of the ferocity of traffic. The cars go in and out, passing on left or right, honking all the time, screeching brakes, parking at a corner where the curb makes the turn! You get the idea and I won’t linger on it.


TRAFFIC IN CAIRO ON THURSDAY PM

Housing in Cairo is unique. . There were many buildings we noticed that seemed to be ½ empty and unfinished. I mean 10,000 of them 4-8 stories tall. There were many miles of them. The reason is that the buildings are “family owned” and they are waiting for the rest of the family to get married so they can move in and finish the building. Also, if no one lives there then there is no “use tax” applied. When the early suburbs started many apartment buildings were built, but it was before the automobile was accessible to many so there were no provisions for parking. Hence, now, cars are parked everywhere. They are found two by two, on the sidewalks, in courtyards, etc, etc, etc. Enough on Cairo as you get the picture. Fortunately our driver “Ibrahim” was excellent and took no chances but was efficient in his driving. We made one stop after breakfast in a sumptuous dining room with full buffet style breakfast as had been supper. The only night incident was that Ruth and Jim’s electricity went out at 1:15 Am, and after a call the breaker switch was found by Amman the maintenance man, and it cooled down again (96 in Cairo that day) after a bit.

We did stop in the Abu Simbel Papyrus Institute, where we watched papyrus made (demo) and surveyed the sample and did make some purchases. Last night we stopped at a “jewelry “store where we looked over the goods and negotiated. No fun to pass by all of these historic possibilities. Some papyrus sold in Egypt is made from banana skins and is not true papyrus. We had been told about that.

On the way to the airport, for the Aswan leg, we also stopped at the pyramids including Cheops, that Great Pyramid. The men rode the camels there and many pictures were taken (see). Also the Sphinx is just around the corner. All dating from about 2700 BCE and even though the outside cover of limestone is just about gone, they weather well there in the desert sun. 100,000 people built Cheops after 20 years. The stones vary in size from 2 ½ tons to 25 tons.



THE CHEOP PYRAMID AND THE SPHINX

We made it to the airport and met Harry, again, who made sure that we got to and on the right flight. (We sure are taken care of.) The security man was there but unobtrusive in his suit.
The flight To Aswan was smooth and the Nile River was on the port side of the lane so ask Karl about that view. I had the Nubian Desert on my side. As we approached Aswan it was obvious that they had created many “oasis” of sorts along both sides of the Nile. All of it irrigated. There are tens of thousands of acres (hectares) of crops growing. Our new guide (number 4) Ihim met us and got our baggage into the van to escort us to the boat... It went smoothly and we arrived at the Ship (Mogenpick Radamis II) and received our instructions for the days we were here. That left much of the day to relax, and we did just that.

At about 4:00 our new guide Kassam (#5) told us we were to go with him on a sailboat ride around the area. This boat has a Nubian Driver. More in the A.M- Morning…
We did take a ride on the old ancient sailing ships that were used to haul stone from the quarries to make the pyramids and statues. The captain was a Nubian and his helper was , too. Hasam (our guide ) lives here in Aswan. The sails were filled enough at times to provide full motion, but one stretch around a newrby Elephant Island (rocks like elephants) we needed to pull the boat with a motor launch. (see) These wooden boats are called Feluccas and hold many tonsof whatever. On this tour we saw many birds especially the herons, Egrets and Terns. (see).


BlACK CROWNED NIGHT HERON

This skipper was really a master at maneuvering the ship with sail.



THE NUBIAN MATE ON THE FELUCCA

The day ended with a wonderful evening meal at “our” table in the dining room and we all retired early and had a good restful nights sleep! More tomorrow as we embark for our first stop further down stream. Sorry about the lack of pictures. I willtry again tonight!

Friday June 20, 2008 Cairo, Aswan and Nile River

Blog for Friday June 20, 2008

Today is Summer Solstice and we are merely 50 mile north of the Tropic of Capricorn at Aswan, Egypt. The sun is essentially overhead. It is hot at probably 116 F so we are staying inside the Mogenpick II (Rameses) where the AC can keep us fresh until the morning. First comes a story and then some of the day’s adventures including how we arrived here at Aswan on the Nile River.
In Greek History a man by the name of Aristophanes thought that there must be a place where the sun “stopped” in its journey around the earth and decided to come to the Nile River to test that theory. He placed sticks perpendicular to the earth at various points along the Nile River south of where we are today. He did this in places that he felt the sun would be directly overhead and then starts its journey back again. It worked, and as a mathematician, he discovered the Tropic line (Capricorn) and proved that the sun in its journey only went 23 ½ degrees south when it was overhead before returning to the other direction each year. Little pieces of historical information make the big picture today.

TRAFFIC IN CAIRO ON THURSDAY PM
So, this morning we started out from Cairo by air to Aswan, after the journey from St Katherine’s the night before. Our arrival in the evening was only after a lengthy trip through the city on their “last day of the week”. Friday is a day or worship and ALL men must attend a Mosque while the women MAY attend the Mosque. After all they have the children responsibility and the home to take care of!!! (Quote from our guide!) Cairo, a city of 20,000,000 people as stated is the second largest in the world. (Mex. City) The world’s worst drivers drive here. I asked if there is such a thing as Driver Education. The answer was.” Sure. The person buys a car, takes it on the road and if they survive driving in Cairo the first day, they have passed Driver Education”. It is a matter of survival. The taxi drivers are called, “The Devils of the Road” so that gives you an idea of the ferocity of traffic. The cars go in and out, passing on left or right, honking all the time, screeching brakes, parking at a corner where the curb makes the turn! You get the idea and I won’t linger on it.

HOUSING AND PARKING IN CAIRO

Housing in Cairo is unique. . There were many buildings we noticed that seemed to be ½ empty and unfinished. I mean 10,000 of them 4-8 stories tall. There were many miles of them. The reason is that the buildings are “family owned” and they are waiting for the rest of the family to get married so they can move in and finish the building. Also, if no one lives there then there is no “use tax” applied. When the early suburbs started many apartment buildings were built, but it was before the automobile was accessible to many so there were no provisions for parking. Hence, now, cars are parked everywhere. They are found two by two, on the sidewalks, in courtyards, etc, etc, etc. Enough on Cairo as you get the picture. Fortunately our driver “Ibrahim” was excellent and took no chances but was efficient in his driving. We made one stop after breakfast in a sumptuous dining room with full buffet style breakfast as had been supper. The only night incident was that Ruth and Jim’s electricity went out at 1:15 Am, and after a call the breaker switch was found by Amman the maintenance man, and it cooled down again (96 in Cairo that day) after a bit.

We did stop in the Abu Simbel Papyrus Institute, where we watched papyrus made (demo) and surveyed the sample and did make some purchases. Last night we stopped at a “jewelry “store where we looked over the goods and negotiated. No fun to pass by all of these historic possibilities. Some papyrus sold in Egypt is made from banana skins and is not true papyrus. We had been told about that.

THE CHEOP PYRAMID AND THE SPHINX

On the way to the airport, for the Aswan leg, we also stopped at the pyramids including Cheops, that Great Pyramid. The men rode the camels there and many pictures were taken (see). Also the Sphinx is just around the corner. All dating from about 2700 BCE and even though the outside cover of limestone is just about gone, they weather well there in the desert sun. 100,000 people built Cheops after 20 years. The stones vary in size from 2 ½ tons to 25 tons.



We made it to the airport and met Harry, again, who made sure that we got to and on the right flight. (We sure are taken care of.) The security man was there but unobtrusive in his suit.
The flight To Aswan was smooth and the Nile River was on the port side of the lane so ask Karl about that view. I had the Nubian Desert on my side. As we approached Aswan it was obvious that they had created many “oasis” of sorts along both sides of the Nile. All of it irrigated. There are tens of thousands of acres (hectares) of crops growing. Our new guide (number 4) Ihim met us and got our baggage into the van to escort us to the boat... It went smoothly and we arrived at the Ship (Mogenpick Radamis II) and received our instructions for the days we were here. That left much of the day to relax, and we did just that.

At about 4:00 our new guide Kassam (#5) told us we were to go with him on a sailboat ride around the area. This boat has a Nubian Driver. More in the A.M-
Morning…
We did take a ride on the old ancient sailing ships that were used to haul stone from the quarries to make the pyramids and statues. The captain was a Nubian and his helper was , too. Hasam (our guide ) lives here in Aswan. The sails were filled enough at times to provide full motion, but one stretch around a newrby Elephant Island (rocks like elephants) we needed to pull the boat with a motor launch. (see) These wooden boats are called Feluccas and hold many tonsof whatever. On this tour we saw many birds especially the herons, Egrets and Terns. (see).


BLACK CROWNED NIGHT HERON

This skipper was really a master at maneuvering the ship with sail.



THE NUBIAN MATE ON THE FELUCCA

The day ended with a wonderful evening meal at “our” table in the dining room and we all retired early and had a good restful nights sleep! More tomorrow as we embark for our first stop further down stream. Somewhere this

The Holocaust Trees

This a view of some of the five million trees that were planted as a living memorial to those killed in the Holocaust. It includes the victims and those who helped many escape at that time. Each of the trees has a marker that names the person and the country they were from. Tyat is correct , you read five million trees.

The Golden Dome (Mosque)

Note the mosaics on the outside that the 5 Armenian families completed .They were commissioned by the British when they were rulers of the Old City. They are truly a work of art.

The Golden Dome (Mosque)

Note the mosaics on the outside that the 5 Armenian families completed .They were commissioned by the British when they were rulers of the Old City. They are truly a work of art.

Last Day in Jerusalem and Israel.

Tuesday June 17, 2008 Ein Karem, Holocaust Museum, Golgotha and Jesus' Tomb

Our seventh, all sunny, day, in a row.

“Tsippy “ is very smart in getting us going early as it saves bucking the crowds and of course it is very pleasant in the morning in Jerusalem. Our fist stop was in the birthplace of John the Baptist (RC Church) and we merely visited the church (Spanish tiled all over inside) and the site of birth and left. (See)

Then a long ride to the north end of Jerusalem where we saw the 5 million trees planted in honor of the people killed in the Holocaust and those who helped them escape . (Carrie TenBoom’s tree died the day she did!!!!! (It was replanted of course. Each O f the trees have a plaque with the names of each and where they were from. This is an amazing tribute. Also there was a large room with the names in the interior floor of the concentration camps (more than 20) in is dark with a flame at one side burning perpetually. There were also huge sculptures, one of the refugees leaving their places with the soldiers in the background, some looking back , the rabbi holding the scrolls hopefully and others with their heads down.
Finally the children’s memorial. It takes 39 days for all the names t o be read in the memorial (1 ½ million) and they are read continuously as you pass through. It is a dark exhibit with no visuals, only the names being read, seeing only mirrors, a path to follow and you come” into the light” at the end. It is very emotional.

The last stop was at Golgotha (Calvary) and the Tomb of Joseph of Arimathea which was never used. The "Skull" is barely discernable after years of wear and erosion.

The Tomb is that small opening at the upper center of th picture. We viewed that as well and had a final service and communion at that site. Quite an emotional ending. It certainly tied everything together at the place of the resurrection of Jesus. Jennie, Laurie and Gary led the sewrvice a three others read at that site.

We gave both Tsippy and our driver Said, love gifts at the end and our special thanks for keeping care of us. They were very caring of us as a group and as individuals. We had few incidents ((one lost wallet returned, and a thief who stole $50.00 out of the hands of one traveler) and few incidents of health including the digestive problems that seemed to hit a few for a day or so.
The last afternoon was spent on our own walking through the city, up and down near the hotel or taking a taxi anywhere. There were many different choices people made. Some did shops, others bought ice cream and all had a lunch somewhere.

The trip was a beautiful experience with any emotional moments and realizing a number of things that we sometimes forget.
- We live in a free land in spite of some trifling conveniences that we have.
-We need to continue to work for world peace in an active way.
-That peoples of the world can live together (read “The Lemon Tree”) as the one thing we always have in common is “the enemy”.
-That many people in the world need our prayers daily as that is a way we can always connect with them.

Tomorrow we go our separate ways, most heading back to the states, 37 heading for Jordan, and seven to Egypt which includes Ruth and. I think that I will have access in Cairo, at the beginning and the end, but not on the boat on the Nile. (Total six days) We shall see, so check in each day if you can. Love to all. See you soon.

Eye of the needle-Jerusalem

It actually has a people door (see green door at left)

There are many archways in the Old City.

Monday pictures

"Not a Stone Upon a stone"

Robinson's Arch collapsed during earthquake.

The Old City- Jerusalem

Monday June 16 Jerusalem

This day was spent entirely in the Old City of Jerusalem with some exception. An amazing revelation begins to form in our heads as we see and are told of the many “layers” that make up the Old City. From the time of Abraham and Isaac who saw only the mountain called Mt. Moriah, (now the Holy of Holies in the Temple Center) to the hundreds of present day shops which are both on the top level and hidden on the many streets that take-up the millennia of building in the previous years. The Old City is very complex. One outstanding example is the Western Wall or Wailing Wall which is 36 feet above ground (see picture), BUT is also 36 feet below ground going down to the original building in Solomon’s time.
The time line would include changes that were affected by occupation by most of the following groups;
3300 BC the first settlements (Abraham and other tribes.)
1006 BC David’s time
585 BC The Babylonian Exodus –(Temple destroyed)
538 BC the Persians
332 BC the Hellenistic Era
63 BC The Romans (Temple destroyed)
6-7 BC Jesus birth
324 AD the Byzantine Era (Building over)
638 AD the Muslim Era (Building over)
1099 AD Crusaders (Building over)
1260 AD Monaluk
1517 AD the Ottoman (Building over)
1917 AD the British
1948 AD Israel
So with all the destruction and rebuilding, the battle to have “turf” went on for thousands of years. Hence one site ex:(Holy Sepulchre), might have three or four churches/mosques. In Bethlehem it is the same where up to 7 groups claim the site of Jesus birth.
We did cover a lot of the City, however, and here are some of the highlights.

Besides walking most of the “traditional” “Way of the Cross” (new evidence changes the “traditional” path), we also visited … (All of these in the Temple square) The Temple Mount where God told Abraham to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. This is bare dirt and it is called “the Holy of Holies” We also saw the men and women at the Wailing Wall and it was Monday traditional Bar Mitzvah Day. We did visit and pray there individually in the afternoon. There was also St Anne’s Monastery and the Pools of Bet Hesda. (Bet means “house” in Hebrew) The northern Cistern all of which were hand carved, (held 250,000 gallons of water), and is also know as the Antonio Fortress. This was all in the Muslim Quarter. Then we followed the traditional Via Dolorosa (it has been changed through new evidence lately) which ends near the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. This church actually is 7 churches in one spot. More importantly it is not the burial site (Tomb) of Jesus, which we attended the next day near Golgotha. We were able to look in on a prison ruins. Terrible torture took place here under many rulers. We followed the Cardo (the wide street which was the main street to enter the Old City, (25 feet wide) of the 2nd Temple Period and saw below the buildings from the First Temple Period.
After lunch near the Cardo, we visited the Robinson Arch (see picture) which left “no stone upon a stone” when it fell after the destruction in 70 AD. (See picture)We ended the tour that day by visiting the archeological Garden on the NE corner of the Wall.
Some facts:
Peter led 3,000 Jews to Baptism 7 weeks after Pentecost.
Jerusalem comes from the words meaning Yahweh, (God) Ju
(?), Salem (Shalom) God is peace.
We tasted Hyssop (on the sponge when Jesus was on the cross)
We tasted capers (ointment at death) and both grow on shrubs.
The British brought Armenians (5 families) to place tiles ALL THE AWAY AROUND the Dome of the Rock in mosaic style. It is a masterful work (see picture)
The Crusaders built the first Church of the Holy Sepulchre but it was destroyed by earthquake.
, There are 4 quarters in the Old City- Muslim, Christian, Armenian, and Jewish. There is also some German (Kaiser “Bill”), Italian, Greek, and many other influences in the Old City.
The church bells in the Catholic churches ring the ‘Angelus’ at noon.
During the Hellenistic Period the Kings converted to Hebrew faith.
Many ruins are being excavated today as it is ongoing. There are more archeologists in Jerusalem than anywhere else in the world. Tomorrow we finish with a visit to, the Holocaust (children’s memorial and grounds and the tomb of Jesus and Golgotha (Calvary). We will end with a communion service there at the tomb.

Jerusalem and Mesada.

Blog for June 14 08 Saturday and Sunday June 15, 2008

Today was “Do Jerusalem” Day. Not so much all of it as it was starting to learn where and why things were where they are. It is

AN IBEX AT EIN GEDI BY DEAD SEA (WATER IN THAT AREA)

rather complicated especially when there is a time frame of 4 millennium and multiple destructions of the city along with new leaders building over other buildings.

Perhaps the most moving time was the visit to the Garden of Gethsemane. It was in the morning and as it was quite quiet, we could picture Christ coming to the Garden and appealing to his disciples to “stay awake” as that was the reading. Old Olive trees, a sloping hill, a garden gate (lots of flowers!) and a gentle wind brought the Spirit with it.

Then it was trying to discern the various buildings and spots looking across from the east vantage points, especially Haas Promenade. (The weather has been flawless so far and this helped in viewing especially when seeing from hill to hill. "Tsippy” was excellent in her descriptions of not only where things were but their significance in the changes that took place in the city. The changes in the walls that each Emperor and governor affected was brought out. Then we visited Dominus Flevis dedicated to the “Agony in the Garden”. Also on that day we visited the Upper Room, where the Last Supper was held, the Mount of Olives, The Chapel of the Ascension, the Church of the Nations, and viewed the hill called Mount Zion, where the Temple of the Mount is located. This is the center of the Old City where the Holy of Holies resides. It was a busy day.

Our driver, whose name is ‘Said’, is a Palestinian and is really not only a great driver, but has terrific knowledge of the roads in Jerusalem He and Tsippy make a good team. He was always waiting for us just outside the doors or at the end of the walk, wherever we were.

Our guide “Tsippy” stated today when asked about training, that she receives two years of training as a sacred sites/tourist guide and the class work was “harder than college”. Her Dad said that if she became a guide, that she would get no more support from home. She gets no support from home! It is a heavily sought after position in Israel.

Lunch was at a combination, lunchroom and antiquities shop. They had ancient artifacts that you could purchase like an oil lamp…for $1,200, gold and silver ancient coins, cloth goods, wall plates of metal, vases, and other assorted items ranging from the thousands of dollars to a few shekels. A US $ right now is worth 3.29 shekels. Lunch (our only personal cost) is usually $3.00 for soup and $5.00 for a salad (that is a large assortment of veggies, buffet style. A coke is $3.00 and other beverages are similar in rice.

The afternoon was spent mostly at the Israel Museum which holds the Qumran scrolls and we were privileged to see that wonderful exhibit. It is all contained in a cone like, white building, and it was completely humidity and temperature controlled (nobody wanted to leave this air conditioned building) to preserve the artifacts. Outside the building was a model (1:50 scale) of the complete walled city of Old Jerusalem that covers about two acres in size. It was a superior structure and made identifying the city much easier (see picture). We focused on Christ’s last four days and where all of that that took place .There is a controversy about the Via Dolorosa and whether it really is in the traditional place. Additional evidence suggests it was not far from the Palace of Pilate.

.

Sunday June 15, 2008

A trip to the Dead Sea and Masada. (Mezada, Mesada, Mazada)
Again, this journey from Jerusalem, where we stayed, goes downhill from the 2500 feet elevation to the Dead Sea , now at about 1600 feet elevation. We were able to see today the millions of trails of sheep paths on the seemingly barren slopes of the Judean Hills. These have been grooved over a period of many millenniums. The Bedouins were present some of the time when we went by. Then about 1 ½ hours later, we arrived at Mesada, and by then the temps were well into the 90 F range. All week Tsippy had warned many that walking up would mean you would miss much of the presentation of the history of Mesada. More than 10 did walk up, however, the “snake trail” on the south side. The rest of us rode the 3 minute cable car ride. (Gary, Laurie and Garth, Haller, G. and D Rich, J and L Brandsma, D Hand, D and M Timmerman were some that walked up. Only Laurie walked down)

CATAPULT STONES NEVER USED AT MESADA

Masada is a fantastic experience of Roman and especially Jewish History. Briefly, the Romans established the fortress and were there from 44-67 AD. It stands about 2,000 feet above the surrounding land and another 1,000 feet above the Dead Sea. It was a self sufficient place with water, access, lookouts, and had the ability to keep invaders out, being essentially non-accessible. When the second Jewish rebellion took place and the Romans burned the temple in Jerusalem, many Jews, especially the Zealots fled to Masada, (about 55 miles from Jerusalem). They defended it from the Romans and for one full year the Romans laid a siege on it and built a ramp to attack eventually. The Zealots allowed many to escape and eventually had 100 men left and decided to kill all the remaining members, except one (10 men drew lots for the last one as suicide was not allowed in Jewish law. ) The lots for the last man were actually found as the members kept very accurate records. When the Romans finally rammed the entry on the west side all of the defenders were dead. (See picture of unused rocks used in catapult). The entire site can be viewed and Tsippy covered it all, including the Emperor’s Palace (Caesar, Titus). We had arrived at 9:30 so we beat the afternoon heat and the crowds both.

A tour of the Oasis at Ein Gedi, a place where King David wrote many of his psalms, was a stop on the way to lunch at Qumran where we at lunch and rode camels.

The final stop of the day helped us cool off at Siesta Beach where we indulged in the waters of the Dead Sea. Remember that these waters are mineral filled and have a 37% salt content. The technique is to cover ones self with the local mud, let it dry some, and bathe. The buoyancy is so great that you cannot force your self to sty under water. It was fun and we relaxed and enjoy the change of pace on the beach.

It was back to the Hotel. Supper, (buffet) and a short lecture on the geography of the area. Tomorrow we do “Old Jerusalem".

Saturday the 14th and Sunday the `5th in Jerusalem

Blog for June 14 08 Saturday and Sunday June 15, 2008

Today was “Do Jerusalem” Day. Not so much all of it as it was starting to learn where and why things were where they are. It is rather complicated especially when there is a time frame of 4 millennium and multiple destructions of the city along with new leaders building over other buildings.

Perhaps the most moving time was the visit to the Garden of Gethsemane. It was in the morning and as it was quite quiet, we could picture Christ coming to the Garden and appealing to his disciples to “stay awake” as that was the reading. Old Olive trees, a sloping hill, a garden gate (lots of flowers!) and a gentle wind brought the Spirit with it.

Then it was trying to discern the various buildings and spots looking across from the east vantage points, especially Haas Promenade. (The weather has been flawless so far and this helped in viewing especially when seeing from hill to hill. "Tsippy” was excellent in her descriptions of not only where things were but their significance in the changes that took place in the city. The changes in the walls that each Emperor and governor affected was brought out. Then we visited Dominus Flevis dedicated to the “Agony in the Garden”. Also on that day we visited the Upper Room, where the Last Supper was held, the Mount of Olives, The Chapel of the Ascension, the Church of the Nations, and viewed the hill called Mount Zion, where the Temple of the Mount is located. This is the center of the Old City where the Holy of Holies resides. It was a busy day.

Our driver, whose name is ‘Said’, is a Palestinian and is really not only a great driver, but has terrific knowledge of the roads in Jerusalem He and Tsippy make a good team. He was always waiting for us just outside the doors or at the end of the walk, wherever we were.

Our guide “Tsippy” stated today when asked about training, that she receives two years of training as a sacred sites/tourist guide and the class work was “harder than college”. Her Dad said that if she became a guide, that she would get no more support from home. She gets no support from home! It is a heavily sought after position in Israel.

Lunch was at a combination, lunchroom and antiquities shop. They had ancient artifacts that you could purchase like an oil lamp…for $1,200, gold and silver ancient coins, cloth goods, wall plates of metal, vases, and other assorted items ranging from the thousands of dollars to a few shekels. A US $ right now is worth 3.29 shekels. Lunch (our only personal cost) is usually $3.00 for soup and $5.00 for a salad (that is a large assortment of veggies, buffet style. A coke is $3.00 and other beverages are similar in rice.

The afternoon was spent mostly at the Israel Museum which holds the Qumran scrolls and we were privileged to see that wonderful exhibit. It is all contained in a cone like, white building, and it was completely humidity and temperature controlled (nobody wanted to leave this air conditioned building) to preserve the artifacts. Outside the building was a model (1:50 scale) of the complete walled city of Old Jerusalem that covers about two acres in size. It was a superior structure and made identifying the city much easier (see picture). We focused on Christ’s last four days and where all of that that took place .There is a controversy about the Via Dolorosa and whether it really is in the traditional place. Additional evidence suggests it was not far from the Palace of Pilate.

.

Sunday June 15, 2008

A trip to the Dead Sea and Masada. (Mezada, Mesada, Mazada)
Again, this journey from Jerusalem, where we stayed, goes downhill from the 2500 feet elevation to the Dead Sea , now at about 1600 feet elevation. We were able to see today the millions of trails of sheep paths on the seemingly barren slopes of the Judean Hills. These have been grooved over a period of many millenniums. The Bedouins were present some of the time when we went by. Then about 1 ½ hours later, we arrived at Mesada, and by then the temps were well into the 90 F range. All week Tsippy had warned many that walking up would mean you would miss much of the presentation of the history of Mesada. More than 10 did walk up, however, the “snake trail” on the south side. The rest of us rode the 3 minute cable car ride. (Gary, Laurie and Garth, Haller, G. and D Rich, J and L Brandsma, D Hand, D and M Timmerman were some that walked up. Only Laurie walked down)

Masada is a fantastic experience of Roman and especially Jewish History. Briefly, the Romans established the fortress and were there from 44-67 AD. It stands about 2,000 feet above the surrounding land and another 1,000 feet above the Dead Sea. It was a self sufficient place with water, access, lookouts, and had the ability to keep invaders out, being essentially non-accessible. When the second Jewish rebellion took place and the Romans burned the temple in Jerusalem, many Jews, especially the Zealots fled to Masada, (about 55 miles from Jerusalem). They defended it from the Romans and for one full year the Romans laid a siege on it and built a ramp to attack eventually. The Zealots allowed many to escape and eventually had 100 men left and decided to kill all the remaining members, except one (10 men drew lots for the last one as suicide was not allowed in Jewish law. ) The lots for the last man were actually found as the members kept very accurate records. When the Romans finally rammed the entry on the west side all of the defenders were dead. (See picture of unused rocks used in catapult). The entire site can be viewed and Tsippy covered it all, including the Emperor’s Palace (Caesar, Titus). We had arrived at 9:30 so we beat the afternoon heat and the crowds both.

A tour of the Oasis at Ein Gedi, a place where King David wrote many of his psalms, was a stop on the way to lunch at Qumran where we at lunch and rode camels.

The final stop of the day helped us cool off at Siesta Beach where we indulged in the waters of the Dead Sea. Remember that these waters are mineral filled and have a 37% salt content. The technique is to cover ones self with the local mud, let it dry some, and bathe. The buoyancy is so great that you cannot force your self to sty under water. It was fun and we relaxed and enjoy the change of pace on the beach.

It was back to the Hotel. Supper, (buffet) and a short lecture on the geography of the area. Tomorrow we do “Old Jerusalem".

Holy Land Trip

AIRPORT ARRIVAL

Monday June 9 to Tuesday June 10, 2008
Travel troubles from GrMonday June 9 to Tuesday June 10, 2008
Travel troubles from Grand Rapids Michigan to Tel Aviv , Israel.
Monday June 9, 2008
Although the travel was long and filled with some vagaries in timing when leaving the USA, the arrival in Tel Aviv was smooth. There are some 62 of us on the first phase of the trip and it includes 10 days in Israel at both Tiberius and Jerusalem. But wait! Back to the departure in the USA. You wouldn’t want to miss this!
The group, in order to get the best arrangements for flying, had to split up according to our itineraries (there were 4 different extensions after the Holy Land.) Which meant four groups had to come through three different airports? Then we all were to meet in NYC/JFK where Israir Airlines was to fly us at 11:00 PM all on the same plane, to Israel. But read on, there is more. Our plane (containing Ruth and Jim and the five others who will do the Nile River extension) was delayed in getting out of Grand Rapid MI by 40 minutes and then delayed further in Chicago. One irony at O’Hare was that we were scheduled to take off from Gate K10, we waited an hour but then were told to go to Gate H-14 (a long walk) but before they got our plane there we were told again to return to the loading areas and wait at K-13. So, we dutifully went back. Fortunately our luggage is packed to NYC so that was OK, We finally were off from O’Hare and headed for NYC some 45 minutes late (additional)

That was not the “interesting” part. It is still to come., After skirting a thunderstorm , and seeing the tops of some others the pilot decided to head for the coast of Long Island coming in from the south, where he made a very good landing, Now we have to get the bags from American Airlines, and then head for the International Terminal which is on the (east) side of JFK. JFK has a relatively new rail delivery system so a lot of walking is saved. One of the ladies had asked for a wheelchair and one came right away while we awaited the luggage. That allowed us to accompany her up and down on the way using the elevators. It was off to the International Terminal, for our 11:00 flight where we had to proceed through customs. It was now 10:30. At this time the rest of our groups in the 4 planes had arrived and had gone past us and were already loading onto the 330-200 Airbus. Our group was at a standstill. The reason was there was no record of our names being in the computer for ticketing. So we seven had to wait as the screeners from Israel typed in the data necessary, One by one (Paul, Karl, S. Cheers, A. Truax and S. Cheers,) All except Jim and Ruth were finally released to go through the baggage check and the long line waiting for International flights. Ruth and I were getting a bit more than anxious. By now the doors of the plane were closing and the others, on the plane who knew by now we were VERY late, were beginning to whisper, “How will they get to Israel, if Jim and Ruth miss this plane?”, and “Gee, I wonder what happened in Chicago?” The Rev’s Gary and Laurie got permission to leave the plane and look for us, the screeners kept phoning the plane people when each had been processed and on our way so they knew. Now there was just Ruth and Jim left and finally they cleared. They still had to get through that long, deep security inspection line before boarding the plane (and the long walk to gateway #37 B) which was a “fur piece” from that security spot.. As we finally cleared security, here comes Gary! Bless his heart! We are now through the inspection, with pieces of overnight items sticking out of the unzipped ‘carry ones’. Gary takes our ‘carry ones’ as we hear the loud speakers saying “Strohmers and Halers please board your now as your plane is about to leave.”. Gary reassures us “Everything is fine” , but inside we still have much anxiety. We hustle for the plane and there is Laurie at the gate faithfully waiting for us with her boarding pass in her hand! We have made it, albeit 45 minutes late . The anxiety begins to leave, stress is reduced, Gary and Laurie offer vocal reassurance and support as we walk the long boarding tunnel, quite quickly to the plane. All the handlers and agents are standing by the door awaiting our arrival. They smile, weakly and we smile back. We are fully loaded and ready to go. And greetings and a few cheers from our group are heard. Now the plane can finalize and secure for the flight. We take off at 11:57, so about 57 minutes behind schedule, but all safely aboard. There were many prayers said (both by the Methodists in our group and the dominant Israeli citizenry that was onboard.) Who also were patiently waiting to take off.

The flight From JFK was a smooth one taking us over the “circle route” that is, northeast from NYC via Long Island, CT, MA, NH, ME, NB, just missing PEI, skirting the Northern tip of Newfoundland, south of Iceland and then crossing over Ireland, England, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, the Balkan countries, (had a view of the Adriatic coast briefly, Greece and the Aegean Sea, the western tip of Turkey, the Mediterranean and finally arriving at Tel Aviv on Tuesday June 10 at 5:15 PM local time. That would be 10:15 Am Grand Rapids time. Hope you followed that!
The David Ben Gurion Airport (named after Israel’s first Prime Minister) is beautiful and still under construction in some places. There is beautiful art work throughout. The security and passport checks went smoothly and the busses were waiting for us right outside the door.
We had a good tour of the roads between the airport (near the Mediterranean Sea )and Tiberias (on the Sea of Galilee and is not really a Sea as it is fresh water and inland). It has had 12 different names. We began to get a visual impression of the dry land, and rocks, as well as the fences, walls and separation between the countries (Palestine, Israel, Syria and Jordan, and the old borders that existed when Israel became a country in 1948. It is very complex. There are many areas of farmland and fruit orchards , plantations (bananas) as Israel does grow much of its own food. More on this later.

Our arrival the Royal Plaza Hotel was smooth, albeit we ate dinner at 9:30 PM, which was saved for us . It was a vast amount of salad choices (30), assortment of hot dishes (20) and many desserts (15) and drinks . People did not linger as most wanted to get bedded down and start to get some rest. Most of the travelers had a restless sleep the first night in Israel. And wakeup as usual was 6:00AM each day.

After morning breakfast (again many choices and eggs as you wanted them), we loaded the busses for the day’s stops and learning. Our guide , named “Tsippy” was excellent and really a scholar in Christo/Judeo history and archeology. We were particularly impressed with her tying the words and vocabulary to the places and events. Her knowledge of especially the Old Testament as well as the New was astounding. She is a master at word derivatives , especially Hebrew Here are the places we visited for the first day at least in brief.

First stop was Valley of the Winds, where it was very hot. It is a very narrow, rocky valley where Jesus walked through on the way from Nazareth to the Sea of Galilee . It was the same spot perhaps where he stopped for water along the way. (A small stream meanders along here). It is surrounded by the tall mountains (4--6,000 feet) that in the winter are almost bound to be filled with snow. (Remember Jesus birth and the “Shepherds in the snow”)? This spot has a feeling of “I wouldn’t want the Roman army to be camped here when I walked through.” The day continued with a boat ride on Lake Kinnereth to view the spots where Jesus commissioned his first disciples.
Caparnaum-where Jesus centered his ministry, spoke in the synagogue and angered the Pharisees.
The Ancient Roman boat (circa 300 BCE) found recently and partially preserved and displayed. This was very similar to the boats that the disciple/fishermen used.
The Mount of Beatitudes. The place where Jesus delivered “The Sermon on the Mount”. This is a church dedicated to that Sermon.
Tabgha- a traditional site for the calling of the disciples by Jesus.
The site where: Jesus “Fed the Ten Thousand” with the two fish and five loaves. (The fish were locally caught). We ate lunch near there at “The Fish Restaurant.”
Chapel of the Primacy. “ Lord you know I love you “ (Peter) (A Catholic nun’s order site built with Mussolini’s help by and for Italians in the Holy Land. Dedicated to the Pope and his descendancy from Peter.
The house that Peter’s mother lived in.
All of these sites could be seen from the boat ride on the Sea of Galilee and we recalled those times as portrayed in the Bible. We had a devotion on the boat.
Finally an extra visit to: the Jordan./Syrian border (just looking, folks) this side of the barbed wire and land mines. Jordan controls much of the Jordan River “corridor” and has developed much good farmland there.
Each day devotion was given by members of the groups and the pastors present. It usually tied in with the site we were at or a recently visited one. On the boat we sang hymns as well.
Finally we ended the day with a renewal of our Baptismal vows with a splashing of water on our bodies at the site where John the Baptist baptized Jesus. It is called Yardenit, on the Jordan River.
After supper some 30 of us walked to Lake Kinnereth (Sea of Galilee) for a refreshing swim among the fishes and rocks. None were able to walk on water nor did they try.

Thursday June 12, 2008

Another sumptuous breakfast , with real ‘perked’ coffee, cheese, fruit, toast or “what ever” buffet style then we loaded the busses (2) for the day’s itinerary.
Today it was mostly archeological , but not exclusively. Any of these sites you can also look up on the internet for details.
South of Tiberias is an ancient site of Beit Shean, (5000 years old) where Jesus passed on his way to Jerusalem from Nazareth. The sheer size of the 200 acre site was unbelievable. More than 20,000 people lived her at one time. An earthquake (749 BCE), destroyed it six years after the Muslims had captured it. The “dig” has been going in for about 30 years. IT had bath houses, and exercise gymnasiums.

Then it was a trip to the Mediterranean Sea and the historic site of Ceasarea. There was actually time to get our feet wet in the Mediterranean Sea. (It is also a thriving town nearby) This site is larger than Beit Shean. It is in this amphitheater, the place where Paul was imprisoned and sent to Rome to be tried (“I am a

VALLEY OF THE WIND

Roman citizen”, he said) A number of Jewish leaders were also executed here in the revolt of 62 AD. The amphitheater we sat in and read the story of the centurion, Cornelius, and Peter’s dream and return here to tell him of Jesus story
The site of Megiddo where 25 cities have been built n one another for the last 2700 years. It sits high above the Izreal Valley where some believe the Battle of Armageddon will be held someday. Major battles have been fought here in the past. The Valleys between this site and Nazareth as an example are the “breadbasket” of Israel. This site also has a well which was outside the fortifications and a 300 foot long tunnel through solid rock(limestone) which they were able to conceal and draw water from it for all of its existence (never was discovered by the enemies. The Egyptians, Persians and the Syrians all held it at one time or another.
Finally, a visit to the Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation of Mary, where the only well left from Jesus day is still flowing in that church. It is believed that Jesus could have drawn water from that stream. IT still runs , in the church, today.
We took the scenic route back to Tiberias before supper. Some went to the local” spa” to try out the waters of healing.

It was a very historical and archeological day. Seeing sites that have been around for 5,000 years is pretty special.

Friday June 13, 2008 We move our bags to Jerusalem.
The bags were set out at the curb at 7:15, we had breakfast, greeted the morning and away we went. It was a wonderful stay by the Sea of Galilee. First stop was the Qumran site of the Dead SITE AT BEIT SHEAN

Sea Scrolls. We thought that the Sea of Galilee at 840 feet below sea level was tough, well “you ain’t seen nothing yet”, until you have done the Dead Sea with its 1600 feet below sea level!!! It is hot in the sun, and little wind is blowing. We walked around the site of the Essenes who were the radical Christians who in the first two centuries (ACE) formed a very legalistic society at that place, while waiting for the 2nd coming. They hid the scrolls (the accurately copied ones) which remained hidden until the 21st century. The ruins of the buildings they met and worshiped in were still there. I got some fresh squeezed orange juice for Ruth just before the us pullede away. (There are many vendors and “hawkers” at all the) sites in the south

We had talked about Jericho which was next on the list. This is reputed to be the oldest city in the world. This was pretty ironic as we had just come from the lowest point in the world at the Dead Sea at some 1600 feet below sea level. It was very evident of the dry and arid climate here . Thinking of Jesus walking to Jericho from Bethany in the heat of the summer, as well as the Hebrew children who assisted Joshua when "the walls come tumbling down”, it became easy to see what a tasks this would be especially in the summer heat. It is also the site of the spies sent by Joshua (Bin Nun) who found Rahab the prostitute and gave them the information. She and her family were saved when the “walls came tumbling’ down”. This is truly desert .

Near this place we visited one of the tall hills which were “fire beacons” for signaling across the miles in the Old Testament times. Caesar had built near here, a reservoir for water from the springs that was the water supply for Jericho. The spring still allows a few trees to grow along its watercourse. This is amid the driest of sand and rock. This was truly the desert of eastern Israel. From the high cliffs near here is the traditional spot where Satan tempted Jesus and Jesus said “Begone Satan” and continued his fasting in the desert.


The final visit of the day was perhaps the biggest surprise of the tour so far. We knew that Bethlehem (Bet Lekhem) was a divided, secure community, and had just learned of the three types of security “passes” that were allowed. “A”=Palestinian control (No Israelis), “B” Israelis control = No Palestinians, and “C” = Mutual control. Our guide did not have permission to enter Bethlehem as that gate is under Palestinian control. We all had to get out of the bus as someone was seen taking a pictures of the 20 foot high wall . NO one was interrogated, but we had to get our passports out and wait until we were cleared. Bethlehem is very poor, the result of the partitioning has made its mark. Many vendors here trying to make a buck, and most were men in their twenties. We visited the cave where Jesus was reputed to have been born, but later found that it was behind the wall of that site. The church is the Greek Orthodox church with it’s many vigil lights and icons. The other cave was the site where he was born and we visited that as well. It was very plain. (The many church denominations vie for control of their property and hence the confusion over identity. (I may refer to this at another time.) We also visited the Shepherd's field where they saw the angels and received the message of Christ’s birth. It looked very pastoral yet with its hills, and barren fields. N.B. This time of the year is the time of driest grass so there is no grass growing anywhere.
The stop at another Greek Church was at the Annunciation Church which has still the well that Jesus probably drew water from when he was a boy there. IT is the only well left in Bethlehem.

As we left Bethlehem we offered a prayer for their safety and peace. It was very depressing to see the state the city was in. Very few people have permission to leave town.

Each of the above evenings ended with a fine dinner and some social time. The group is cementing relationships more strongly each day. During each day there is tie or devotions as we read and meditate on the sites and their reference to the Bible in relationship to specific sites and people. “Tsippy “ is working diligently of teaching us the Biblical relationships between the people and events and the paces that we visit. She is very good and as I said before , a scholar on words and definitions. I hope this “blog” gets to you and that you can follow along. The internet is wireless (with a fee) so I have waited to get my money’s worth. Tomorrow . we try some shops and tour Jerusalem inside and out.and Rapids Michigan to Tel Aviv , Israel.

Monday June 9, 2008
Although the travel was long and filled with some vagaries in timing when leaving the USA, the arrival in Tel Aviv was smooth. There are some 62 of us on the first phase of the trip and it includes 10 days in Israel at both Tiberius and Jerusalem. But wait! Back to the departure in the USA. You wouldn’t want to miss this!
The group, in order to get the best arrangements for flying, had to split up according to our itineraries (there were 4 different extensions after the Holy Land.) Which meant four groups had to come through three different airports? Then we all were to meet in NYC/JFK where Israir Airlines was to fly us at 11:00 PM all on the same plane, to Israel. But read on, there is more. Our plane (containing Ruth and Jim and the five others who will do the Nile River extension) was delayed in getting out of Grand Rapid MI by 40 minutes and then delayed further in Chicago. One irony at O’Hare was that we were scheduled to take off from Gate K10, we waited an hour but then were told to go to Gate H-14 (a long walk) but before they got our plane there we were told again to return to the loading areas and wait at K-13. So, we dutifully went back. Fortunately our luggage is packed to NYC so that was OK, We finally were off from O’Hare and headed for NYC some 45 minutes late (additional)

That was not the “interesting” part. It is still to come., After skirting a thunderstorm , and seeing the tops of some others the pilot decided to head for the coast of Long Island coming in from the south, where he made a very good landing, Now we have to get the bags from American Airlines, and then head for the International Terminal which is on the (east) side of JFK. JFK has a relatively new rail delivery system so a lot of walking is saved. One of the ladies had asked for a wheelchair and one came right away while we awaited the luggage. That allowed us to accompany her up and down on the way using the elevators. It was off to the International Terminal, for our 11:00 flight where we had to proceed through customs. It was now 10:30. At this time the rest of our groups in the 4 planes had arrived and had gone past us and were already loading onto the 330-200 Airbus. Our group was at a standstill. The reason was there was no record of our names being in the computer for ticketing. So we seven had to wait as the screeners from Israel typed in the data necessary, One by one (Paul, Karl, S. Cheers, A. Truax and S. Cheers,) All except Jim and Ruth were finally released to go through the baggage check and the long line waiting for International flights. Ruth and I were getting a bit more than anxious. By now the doors of the plane were closing and the others, on the plane who knew by now we were VERY late, were beginning to whisper, “How will they get to Israel, if Jim and Ruth miss this plane?”, and “Gee, I wonder what happened in Chicago?” The Rev’s Gary and Laurie got permission to leave the plane and look for us, the screeners kept phoning the plane people when each had been processed and on our way so they knew. Now there was just Ruth and Jim left and finally they cleared. They still had to get through that long, deep security inspection line before boarding the plane (and the long walk to gateway #37 B) which was a “fur piece” from that security spot.. As we finally cleared security, here comes Gary! Bless his heart! We are now through the inspection, with pieces of overnight items sticking out of the unzipped ‘carry ones’. Gary takes our ‘carry ones’ as we hear the loud speakers saying “Strohmers and Halers please board your now as your plane is about to leave.”. Gary reassures us “Everything is fine” , but inside we still have much anxiety. We hustle for the plane and there is Laurie at the gate faithfully waiting for us with her boarding pass in her hand! We have made it, albeit 45 minutes late . The anxiety begins to leave, stress is reduced, Gary and Laurie offer vocal reassurance and support as we walk the long boarding tunnel, quite quickly to the plane. All the handlers and agents are standing by the door awaiting our arrival. They smile, weakly and we smile back. We are fully loaded and ready to go. And greetings and a few cheers from our group are heard. Now the plane can finalize and secure for the flight. We take off at 11:57, so about 57 minutes behind schedule, but all safely aboard. There were many prayers said (both by the Methodists in our group and the dominant Israeli citizenry that was onboard.) Who also were patiently waiting to take off.

The flight From JFK was a smooth one taking us over the “circle route” that is, northeast from NYC via Long Island, CT, MA, NH, ME, NB, just missing PEI, skirting the Northern tip of Newfoundland, south of Iceland and then crossing over Ireland, England, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, the Balkan countries, (had a view of the Adriatic coast briefly, Greece and the Aegean Sea, the western tip of Turkey, the Mediterranean and finally arriving at Tel Aviv on Tuesday June 10 at 5:15 PM local time. That would be 10:15 Am Grand Rapids time. Hope you followed that!
The David Ben Gurion Airport (named after Israel’s first Prime Minister) is beautiful and still under construction in some places. There is beautiful art work throughout. The security and passport checks went smoothly and the busses were waiting for us right outside the door.
We had a good tour of the roads between the airport (near the Mediterranean Sea )and Tiberias (on the Sea of Galilee and is not really a Sea as it is fresh water and inland). It has had 12 different names. We began to get a visual impression of the dry land, and rocks, as well as the fences, walls and separation between the countries (Palestine, Israel, Syria and Jordan, and the old borders that existed when Israel became a country in 1948. It is very complex. There are many areas of farmland and fruit orchards , plantations (bananas) as Israel does grow much of its own food. More on this later.

Our arrival the Royal Plaza Hotel was smooth, albeit we ate dinner at 9:30 PM, which was saved for us . It was a vast amount of salad choices (30), assortment of hot dishes (20) and many desserts (15) and drinks . People did not linger as most wanted to get bedded down and start to get some rest. Most of the travelers had a restless sleep the first night in Israel. And wakeup as usual was 6:00AM each day.

After morning breakfast (again many choices and eggs as you wanted them), we loaded the busses for the day’s stops and learning. Our guide , named “Tsippy” was excellent and really a scholar in Christo/Judeo history and archeology. We were particularly impressed with her tying the words and vocabulary to the places and events. Her knowledge of especially the Old Testament as well as the New was astounding. She is a master at word derivatives , especially Hebrew Here are the places we visited for the first day at least in brief.

First stop was Valley of the Winds, where it was very hot. It is a very narrow, rocky valley where Jesus walked through on the way from Nazareth to the Sea of Galilee . It was the same spot perhaps where he stopped for water along the way. (A small stream meanders along here). It is surrounded by the tall mountains (4--6,000 feet) that in the winter are almost bound to be filled with snow. (Remember Jesus birth and the “Shepherds in the snow”)? This spot has a feeling of “I wouldn’t want the Roman army to be camped here when I walked through.” The day continued with a boat ride on Lake Kinnereth to view the spots where Jesus commissioned his first disciples.
Caparnaum-where Jesus centered his ministry, spoke in the synagogue and angered the Pharisees.
The Ancient Roman boat (circa 300 BCE) found recently and partially preserved and displayed. This was very similar to the boats that the disciple/fishermen used.
The Mount of Beatitudes. The place where Jesus delivered “The Sermon on the Mount”. This is a church dedicated to that Sermon.
Tabgha- a traditional site for the calling of the disciples by Jesus.
The site where: Jesus “Fed the Ten Thousand” with the two fish and five loaves. (The fish were locally caught). We ate lunch near there at “The Fish Restaurant.”
Chapel of the Primacy. “ Lord you know I love you “ (Peter) (A Catholic nun’s order site built with Mussolini’s help by and for Italians in the Holy Land. Dedicated to the Pope and his descendancy from Peter.
The house that Peter’s mother lived in.
All of these sites could be seen from the boat ride on the Sea of Galilee and we recalled those times as portrayed in the Bible. We had a devotion on the boat.
Finally an extra visit to: the Jordan./Syrian border (just looking, folks) this side of the barbed wire and land mines. Jordan controls much of the Jordan River “corridor” and has developed much good farmland there.
Each day devotion was given by members of the groups and the pastors present. It usually tied in with the site we were at or a recently visited one. On the boat we sang hymns as well.
Finally we ended the day with a renewal of our Baptismal vows with a splashing of water on our bodies at the site where John the Baptist baptized Jesus. It is called Yardenit, on the Jordan River.
After supper some 30 of us walked to Lake Kinnereth (Sea of Galilee) for a refreshing swim among the fishes and rocks. None were able to walk on water nor did they try.

Thursday June 12, 2008

Another sumptuous breakfast , with real ‘perked’ coffee, cheese, fruit, toast or “what ever” buffet style then we loaded the busses (2) for the day’s itinerary.
Today it was mostly archeological , but not exclusively. Any of these sites you can also look up on the internet for details.
South of Tiberias is an ancient site of Beit Shean, (5000 years old) where Jesus passed on his way to Jerusalem from Nazareth. The sheer size of the 200 acre site was unbelievable. More than 20,000 people lived her at one time. An earthquake (749 BCE), destroyed it six years after the Muslims had captured it. The “dig” has been going in for about 30 years. IT had bath houses, and exercise gymnasiums.
Then it was a trip to the Mediterranean Sea and the historic site of Ceasarea. There was actually time to get our feet wet in the Mediterranean Sea. (It is also a thriving town nearby) This site is larger than Beit Shean. It is in this amphitheater, the place where Paul was imprisoned and sent to Rome to be tried (“I am a Roman citizen”, he said) A number of Jewish leaders were also executed here in the revolt of 62 AD. The amphitheater we sat in and read the story of the centurion, Cornelius, and Peter’s dream and return here to tell him of Jesus story
The site of Megiddo where 25 cities have been built n one another for the last 2700 years. It sits high above the Izreal Valley where some believe the Battle of Armageddon will be held someday. Major battles have been fought here in the past. The Valleys between this site and Nazareth as an example are the “breadbasket” of Israel. This site also has a well which was outside the fortifications and a 300 foot long tunnel through solid rock(limestone) which they were able to conceal and draw water from it for all of its existence (never was discovered by the enemies. The Egyptians, Persians and the Syrians all held it at one time or another.
Finally, a visit to the Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation of Mary, where the only well left from Jesus day is still flowing in that church. It is believed that Jesus could have drawn water from that stream. IT still runs , in the church, today.
We took the scenic route back to Tiberias before supper. Some went to the local” spa” to try out the waters of healing.

It was a very historical and archeological day. Seeing sites that have been around for 5,000 years is pretty special.

Friday June 13, 2008 We move our bags to Jerusalem.
The bags were set out at the curb at 7:15, we had breakfast, greeted the morning and away we went. It was a wonderful stay by the Sea of Galilee. First stop was the Qumran site of the Dead Sea Scrolls. We thought that the Sea of Galilee at 840 feet below sea level was tough, well “you ain’t seen nothing yet”, until you have done the Dead Sea with its 1600 feet below sea level!!! It is hot in the sun, and little wind is blowing. We walked around the site of the Essenes who were the radical Christians who in the first two centuries (ACE) formed a very legalistic society at that place, while waiting for the 2nd coming. They hid the scrolls (the accurately copied ones) which remained hidden until the 21st century. The ruins of the buildings they met and worshiped in were still there. I got some fresh squeezed orange juice for Ruth just before the us pullede away. (There are many vendors and “hawkers” at all the) sites in the south

We had talked about Jericho which was next on the list. This is reputed to be the oldest city in the world. This was pretty ironic as we had just come from the lowest point in the world at the Dead Sea at some 1600 feet below sea level. It was very evident of the dry and arid climate here . Thinking of Jesus walking to Jericho from Bethany in the heat of the summer, as well as the Hebrew children who assisted Joshua when "the walls come tumbling down”, it became easy to see what a tasks this would be especially in the summer heat. It is also the site of the spies sent by Joshua (Bin Nun) who found Rahab the prostitute and gave them the information. She and her family were saved when the “walls came tumbling’ down”. This is truly desert .

Near this place we visited one of the tall hills which were “fire beacons” for signaling across the miles in the Old Testament times. Caesar had built near here, a reservoir for water from the springs that was the water supply for Jericho. The spring still allows a few trees to grow along its watercourse. This is amid the driest of sand and rock. This was truly the desert of eastern Israel. From the high cliffs near here is the traditional spot where Satan tempted Jesus and Jesus said “Begone Satan” and continued his fasting in the desert.


The final visit of the day was perhaps the biggest surprise of the tour so far. We knew that Bethlehem (Bet Lekhem) was a divided, secure community, and had just learned of the three types of security “passes” that were allowed. “A”=Palestinian control (No Israelis), “B” Israelis control = No Palestinians, and “C” = Mutual control. Our guide did not have permission to enter Bethlehem as that gate is under Palestinian control. We all had to get out of the bus as someone was seen taking a pictures of the 20 foot high wall . NO one was interrogated, but we had to get our passports out and wait until we were cleared. Bethlehem is very poor, the result of the partitioning has made its mark. Many vendors here trying to make a buck, and most were men in their twenties. We visited the cave where Jesus was reputed to have been born, but later found that it was behind the wall of that site. The church is the Greek Orthodox church with it’s many vigil lights and icons. The other cave was the site where he was born and we visited that as well. It was very plain. (The many church denominations vie for control of their property and hence the confusion over identity. (I may refer to this at another time.) We also visited the Shepherd's field where they saw the angels and received the message of Christ’s birth. It looked very pastoral yet with its hills, and barren fields. N.B. This time of the year is the time of driest grass so there is no grass growing anywhere.
The stop at another Greek Church was at the Annunciation Church which has still the well that Jesus probably drew water from when he was a boy there. IT is the only well left in Bethlehem.

As we left Bethlehem we offered a prayer for their safety and peace. It was very depressing to see the state the city was in. Very few people have permission to leave town.

Each of the above evenings ended with a fine dinner and some social time. The group is cementing relationships more strongly each day. During each day there is tie or devotions as we read and meditate on the sites and their reference to the Bible in relationship to specific sites and people. “Tsippy “ is working diligently of teaching us the Biblical relationships between the people and events and the paces that we visit. She is very good and as I said before , a scholar on words and definitions. I hope this “blog” gets to you and that you can follow along. The internet is wireless (with a fee) so I have waited to get my money’s worth. Tomorrow . we try some shops and tour Jerusalem inside and out.