The Sea of Galilee - Redux: First Stop, Nazareth

Did you wonder where I've been? 

I've been beading. There's a holiday boutique at the end of next week for which I've signed up. That means having a supply of product ready to sell. I'm not quite there yet, but my hands feel the need to take a short break from the needle and thread.

My last post featured a very special birthday, which Betty, Doobie and I thoroughly enjoyed. The next morning the Road Scholar tour resumed full-force with visits to a number of well-known Christian sites.

The first stop, after a drive of about an hour, was the Arab town of Nazareth, where we visited the Church of the Annunciation.  

I found Nazareth to be charming, built on hillsides with the streets lined with merchants selling everything from trinkets to vegetables and fruits. I loved hearing  Arabic spoken, as I'd taken two years of the language in college, many, many years previously. All the remains of those two years are a few random phrases and the one sentence that I've never found useful:  "The teacher came, took roll and gave the lesson." Why I've remembered that so many years later I'll never figure out.

The church was beautiful, almost modern in appearance with its unusual "spire," although it dates back to Crusader and Bysantine times.

As we walked up to the entrance, I thought of another of my friends dating back to my college days:  Jenny, whose sons are named Matthew and Mark. As I was thinking of her, she was at home, at my house, caring for my precious animals.

Posted around the courtyard of the church is artwork donated by many countries. Most of them were truly lovely, a representation of the individual cultures.

Mexico

Poland

Czech

Most of these exhibits were truly beautiful. The only one lacking (in my opinion only) was the extremely contemporary exhibit provided by the United States, constructed from pieces of a space shuttle. I did not take a photo of this.

Inside the church, in a grotto on a lower level of the church is a site believed to be the original childhood home of Mary, mother of Jesus.

Mary's Grotto in the Church of the Annunciation,
Nazareth, said to be the location of the childhood home of Mary.

We took the opportunity to use the beautiful surroundings to take some personal photos.

New friends Linda and her daughter, Shelby, from Oregon.

I was there, too.

As we left the Church of the Annunciation, we got yet another lesson in the art of bus driving in Israel/Palestine. The narrow streets of Nazareth barely accommodated two-way traffic, let alone the huge tourist buses that seemed to be everywhere. As we waited half in the street for our bus, our expert driver, Mazen, skillfully threaded our bus around pedestrians, cars, brick walls and made a U-turn to pick us up. As he pulled up in a spot where buses weren't allowed, we scrambled aboard and headed out.

The Sea of Galilee - Redux: First Stop, Nazareth

Did you wonder where I've been? 

I've been beading. There's a holiday boutique at the end of next week for which I've signed up. That means having a supply of product ready to sell. I'm not quite there yet, but my hands feel the need to take a short break from the needle and thread.

My last post featured a very special birthday, which Betty, Doobie and I thoroughly enjoyed. The next morning the Road Scholar tour resumed full-force with visits to a number of well-known Christian sites.

The first stop, after a drive of about an hour, was the Arab town of Nazareth, where we visited the Church of the Annunciation.  

I found Nazareth to be charming, built on hillsides with the streets lined with merchants selling everything from trinkets to vegetables and fruits. I loved hearing  Arabic spoken, as I'd taken two years of the language in college, many, many years previously. All the remains of those two years are a few random phrases and the one sentence that I've never found useful:  "The teacher came, took roll and gave the lesson." Why I've remember that so many years later I'll never figure out.

The church was beautiful, almost modern in appearance with its unusual "spire," although it dates back to Crusader and Bysantine times.

As we walked up to the entrance, I thought of another of my friends dating back to my college days:  Jenny, whose sons are named Matthew and Mark. As I was thinking of her, she was at home, at my house, caring for my precious animals.

Posted around the courtyard of the church is artwork donated by many countries. Most of them were truly lovely, a representation of the individual cultures.

Mexico

Poland

Czech

Most of these exhibits were truly beautiful. The only one lacking (in my opinion only) was the extremely contemporary exhibit provided by the United States, constructed from pieces of a space shuttle. I did not take a photo of this.

Inside the church, in a grotto on a lower level of the church is a site believed to be the original childhood home of Mary, mother of Jesus.

Mary's Grotto in the Church of the Annunciation,
Nazareth, said to be the location of the childhood home of Mary.

We took the opportunity to use the beautiful surroundings to take some personal photos.

New friends Linda and her daughter, Shelby, from Oregon.

I was there, too.

As we left the Church of the Annunciation, we got yet another lesson in the art of bus driving in Israel/Palestine. The narrow streets of Nazareth barely accommodated two-way traffic, let alone the huge tourist buses that seemed to be everywhere. As we waited half in the street for our bus, our expert driver, Mazen, skillfully threaded our bus around pedestrians, cars, brick walls and made a U-turn to pick us up. As he pulled up in a spot where buses weren't allowed, we scrambled aboard and headed out.

A Very Special Birthday

When I first explored the possibility of traveling to Israel, I looked for hiking programs. I found one that took place in September, and that struck me as providential.

Betty and I have spent many holidays together (and apart). Christmases, Thanksgivings, birthdays, everything you can think of. But we hadn't shared any of those for over twenty years. The fact that I would be in Israel on September 21, Betty's birthday, meant that even if we couldn't be together on that exact day, we could celebrate during my visit.

When the hiking program canceled, I was disappointed both because I wanted to hike and because I wanted to have the opportunity to wish my friend happy birthday in person close to her natal day.

The new program, Israel and Jordan:  The Journey of a Lifetime, would take place close to the same days as the original program. Even better, on September 21, I would be spending the night at Ein Gev, just a few miles from Betty and Doobie's home. Learning this, I knew this was when I was meant to travel. All the signs pointed to it.

I told Betty and Doobie that dinner would be my treat and the site her choice, but they'd need to provide the transportation. At first Betty thought she wanted to go to a restaurant at Yardenit, but Gila told me that Ein Gev had three restaurants either on-site or close by and suggested I mention that to Betty. If we went to a restaurant at Ein Gev, Betty and Doobie would only have to drive up and back instead of making two round-trips.

Thinking it all over, Betty selected a local steak place called Marinado, known for its beef. They picked me up, and I insisted they gape at my back-door view before we left for the restaurant.

Dinner was not a disappointment. After placing our order with the lovely server from Russia, we toasted Betty's birthday with a bottle of champagne, enjoyed huge salads and each of us got prime rib. I love prime rib, and this was the best I have ever eaten. The "small" slab of meat was so huge that I could eat barely half. The other half went home with Betty and Doobie.

Dessert had become no stranger to my palate since I'd arrived in Israel, and this night was no exception. We got an ice cream dish to share, and it, too, was delicious. We relished every bite.

Betty had told me from the beginning of my planning that September was far from ideal for a visit. The weather promised to be hot and humid, and it was. 

But the timing couldn't have been better to be able to share my friend's birthday once more.

Believe it or not, not one photograph was taken on this momentous occasion.

Masada, Qumran and Paradise

Several times I've noted that Israel had never been on my bucket list.  But IF I'd wanted to visit that country, one of the places that would be a "must-see" was Masada, the fortress at the edge of the Dead Sea where the Jews resolved to defend themselves to the death against the Romans. 

In fact, one of the only disappointments I had with the first Road Scholar tour I booked, the hiking program, was that it didn't include Masada. Score 1 for me when the hiking program cancelled. The replacement included Masada and a whole bunch of other places I didn't know I wanted to see but am glad I did (Bet She'an, Jerash, Petra and more).

The Dead Sea from Masada

The cliffs of Masada, giving a perspective of the elevation of
the fortress

A portion of the ruins of Masada. The view is forever from up there.

The plateau of Masada can be reached in basically three ways. 

1.  Climb the Snake Path from the visitor center. This involves a number of stone steps and an elevation gain of just under 1,000 feet. 

2.  Climb the Roman path on the west end of the site. It's a little less steep than the Snake Path.

3. Ride the cable car from the visitor center up to the plateau.

Although a number of us had hoped to climb the Snake Path, ultimately we were unable to do so. The temperature was over 100 degrees, and the Snake Path was therefore closed to all climbers.

Herod the Great constructed two palaces at Masada, and also found were caldariums ("hot tubs"), storehouses for edibles, cisterns and the remains of a Bysantine church. This construction was a huge undertaking.

Fresco in one of Masada's chambers

A portion of the Bysantine Church constructed at Masada

Arched window in Masada's Bysantine Church

After descending Masada's plateau via cable car, we lunched in the dining room of the visitor center. We then boarded the bus to travel a half hour or so to the fabled site of Qumran.

Qumran gained fame when shepherds unearthed part of the Dead Sea Scrolls in caves near the ascetic community of the Essenes, who are believed to be the authors. 

Part of the remains of the Essene community at Qumran

On the hillsides you can see caves where some of the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered.

Close-up of Cave No. 4, where the first scrolls were found

I can't begin to describe how it felt to be in the presence of a place of such historical significance. It still gives me goosebumps to think of it.

Our next destination:  Paradise.

The other name of Paradise was Kibbutz Ein Gev. Located on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, I felt as though I was coming home. Ein Gev is only about a 20-minute drive from Kibbutz Massada, where I spent my first days in Israel. 

The grounds of the holiday resort at Ein Gev are really lovely and welcoming. What awaited us was breathtaking.

This was the view from the back door of my hotel room:

On the shores of the Sea of Galilee at Ein Gev

Sunset on the Sea of Galilee

Tiberias by night from Ein Gev

As much as I would have loved to sit and contemplate the immense scene before me, I had a much more important engagement that night. A very special event indeed.

Mt. Zion, Church of the Dormition, Room of the Last Supper, Armenian Quarter . . . and Lunch!

Whew! Just reading the title makes me tired all over again. And that isn't all we did after leaving the Western Wall on the second day of our exploration of Jerusalem.

Jerusalem's Old City is comprised of four quarters:  Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Armenian. During our visit to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, we walked through the Christian Quarter. Exiting the Temple Mount, we entered the Jewish Quarter, where Gila treated us to a bite of pita bread sprinkled with Za'atar, a delicious spice/herb blend, something I'd sampled my very first day in Israel. Since returning home I've ordered my own supply of Za'atar. 

Gila kept us moving along, viewing remains of the Roman cardo, the main north/south street that traverses the Jewish Quarter from the Damascus Gate in the north to the Zion Gate in the south. The distance between the level of the present-day walkway and the remains of the cardo amply illustrate the layers that have accumulated over the years as the city has been rebuilt as well as the number of civilizations that have occupied the space.

Remnants of the Roman Cardo, the thoroughfare that went from the Damascus Gate
through the Jewish Quarter to the Zion Gate 

A restored fresco along the Cardo. I took this photo from the current level of the pedestrian walkway. Where the folks are
standing in front of the fresco indicates the level of the cardo in the time of the Romans.

To view a map of the Old City, go here.

After a short time, we exited through the Zion Gate 

Zion Gate

Old City wall and Ancient Olive

toward the Church of the Dormition, where Mary is said to be buried.

The artwork contained within the Church of the Dormition is simply phenomenal, as it is with most of the religious buildings in Israel. 

Mary's resting place
  Not sure what my buddies were looking at--Marilyn, Mary, Lorenzo, Gila, 
Bob (behind Gila), Jerry, Marcia and Shelby.

Icon in Church of the Dormition

Our Lady of  Guadalupe in Church of the Dormition

None of my photos do justice to the beauty of the places or the artwork we were privileged to visit, but as I spent most of two days preparing the latest posts, looking at the photos brought back many warm memories of both people and places.

We made our way to the room of the Last Supper, also called the Cenacle. By the time we reached this area it was shortly after noon, and the sites were extremely crowded. It was hard to even move, and for those of us vertically-challenged, hard to see. That would get even worse as we went toward David's Tomb. That space was divided between men and women, and the women's side was packed shoulder-to-shoulder. I took a quick look at the tomb alleged to be David's and left as quickly as possible.

The group left the area of Mt. Zion, walking single-file through the Armenian Quarter's narrow cobblestone streets shared with motor vehicles. Where we could, we had to duck into alleyways to avoid being run over.

Gila instructed us to wait in one of the alleys, and when we were all assembled, she shepherded us across the street and into an Armenian Quarter restaurant. I am embarrassed to admit I don't know its name because the food was absolutely delicious (as was virtually all the food we had during the entire journey).

Most of our meals were buffet-style, but a few, including the Armenian restaurant, were served family-style. The wait-staff first brought out the typical array of salads, hummus, baba ganoush and the ever-present pita bread. As if that weren't enough, the rice came next and then ground-lamb kebabs to die for. There was dessert, and it was delicious. For the life of me I can't remember what it was.

After this meal, we waddled back to the bus through the Jaffa Gate and headed to the hotel--for a nap before our scheduled speaker that evening.

The Western Wall

Jews consider the Western Wall of the Temple Mount to be the holiest place they can pray; the closest they can get to the Holy of Holies, the Temple.

It was a short walk from the Temple Mount security exit to the Western Wall plaza.

View of the Western Wall Plaza, with glimpses of one of the minarets and the gilded dome of the Dome of the Rock.
The covered walkway structure on the right is the path that leads to the Temple Mount.

You can expect to see a variety of people at the Western Wall from Orthodox Jews in their distinctive garb to school children in uniform and everything in between. Despite the numbers of people in a small area, they were quiet and respectful.

This is a "straight-on" phot of the wall. The left side is reserved for men, the right for women. There is a barrier that separates
the two. The people at right are waiting for a chance to approach the wall.

Tradition holds that those leaving the wall should do so backwards, so as not to turn their back on it. We observed many people doing that. I didn't. I can barely keep my balance when I look straight ahead. 

This is a detail of the wall, showing notes that have been placed in the crevices.

A part of our little group leaving the Western Wall

Upon leaving the Western Wall Plaza, we ascended a flight of stairs and came face-to-face with a huge golden menorah encased in glass.

The Golden Menorah in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City

We continued our journey through the Jewish Quarter, stopping to enjoy the sights and scents of the shops along the way. 

We even met a friend.

He, too, was far friendlier than my original Israeli cat acquaintance.

We'd seen a lot already, and there was more yet to come--including a yummy lunch in the Armenian Quarter.  

Stay tuned.

Holiest of Holies: The Temple Mount

I've been asked a number of times to name my favorite spot on the Israel tour, and I honestly couldn't answer. There have been a multitude of highlights, and there wasn't anything that I didn't enjoy. But after editing photos most of today, it's pretty clear that the place that most resonated with my soul was the Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City. This is a place revered and held holy by the world's three major religions:  Judaism, Islam and Christianity.

The Temple Mount dates from well before the time of Christ and is believed to be the site of the First Temple of Solomon. That temple was destroyed (and no evidence of this temple has ever been discovered). It was rebuilt, and archeological excavations have proved the existence of the Second Temple. 

It is also revered as the site where Abraham was prepared to sacrifice his son, Isaac. 

In Islam, the Dome of the Rock is said to mark the spot where Mohammed ascended to heaven.

The area of the Temple Mount, although in Israeli jurisdiction, is controlled by the Islamic Waqf. In order to maintain peaceful relations and use of the area by all three religions, Israel has imposed certain entry restrictions and decreed that no one other than Muslims can pray there and that no symbols of other religions can be carried or worn while on the Mount. 

We didn't know until the morning of our visit whether we would be able to enter. Non-Muslims can only enter through one gate and only on certain days and certain hours. If the crowd was too great when we arrived, we would have to bypass it in the interest of time. Because Gila was so good at getting us where we needed to be in a timely manner, we arrived at about the time the Temple Mount opened. We had to show identification and be subject to a security search. Gila had prepped us ahead and told us what to have at the ready. She'd instructed us on how to dress since what might be considered inappropriate could get us barred.

For the most part, I will let the photos speak for themselves.

A view of the city wall as we approached the Temple Mount entry

 

Al-Aqsa Dome on the Temple Mount

Remnants of column capitals on Temple Mount

Close-up of "basket" capital

The Temple Mount plaza, showing remnants of column capitals and one of the four minarets

Ornate capital from Bysantine Period

A barely-visible almost-full moon over a dome on Temple Mount

Plaza, facing Al-Aqsa Mosque

 

Looking toward the Dome of the Rock

 

Approaching the Dome of the Rock through an Archway

A photo-opp at the arch

Members of our group looking over the Temple Mount

Approaching the Dome of the Rock

Close-up of Arch and Calligraphy that adorns the Dome of the Rock. No photo can do this justice.

Further artistic detail

The Dome of the Rock is the single most distinguishing feature of the Jerusalem skyline, and to see its magnificent architecture and artwork up close was truly awe-inspiring.

This dome most captured my imagination, and I have not
been able to learn its name. Hopefully someone will have
made a note of it.

As we walked the Temple Mount, Islamic individuals attempted to give us informational pamphlets. Gila warned us that we would be going through security again as we exited and that the Israeli police might take the booklets away.

Sure enough, Israeli security demanded that we hand over the literature, considered propaganda. Gila got into quite an argument, attempting to persuade them that letting us take these pamphlets would cause no harm. Ultimately she lost, and everyone who had them handed over the little booklets.

Never at any time in either Israel or Jordan was I in fear for my safety, but I heard a couple of my tour mates later state that they had been nervous at the exit from the Temple Mount.

Our next stop would be the Western (Wailing) Wall, the most sacred spot where modern Jews can pray. That will be the subject of the next post.