Israel/Jordan

Well here it finally is--my very procrastinated, stuck-on post.  Our time in Israel consisted of so much packed into such a short time that it's overwhelming.  And many of you have already been there and dug much deeper than us so I feel unworthy to write about it :).  But here's my attempt:

We debated back and forth on whether to attempt this on our own or hire a tour guide.  In the end, we felt it was worth it to invest in a tour guide who could bring us to the significant spots, teach us much more than we could learn on our own, and keep us in safe areas.  Huge thanks to Bart and Pat from our church in MI who lead tours to Israel and were able to put us in touch with a great guide and even a place to stay with friends of theirs.

Their friends are Abdullah and Nuha Awwad, who live in the West Bank.  This added so much to our trip.  They are Palestinian Christians from families who have lived there for generations, so it was interesting to get their perspective on being forced out of their homeland by Israel.  And also, staying in the West Bank really opened our eyes to the hardships of the Palestinians.  They are only allowed to leave the West Bank with special permission (which is difficult to get) so they are limited to just this small area which has very limited resources.  The area is surrounded by walls and fences and lots of soldiers and felt very isolated.  Moving from there into Israel a few days later, I was shocked by how different it felt.  The fences and soldiers were gone and things seemed progressive and prosperous.  The Israel/Palestine issue is a huge one with no easy answers, but the time there definitely helped me see a little broader picture.

As we headed out our first day, we could see plumes of smoke in different parts of Bethlehem.  There was some unrest in certain areas and our tour guide was constantly checking in to make sure we didn't enter risky areas.  Most of it is relatively harmless--tire burning and rock throwing in response to Israeli soldiers patrolling their town.

The West Bank is divided into A, B, and C areas.  "A" is under full Palestinian control (mostly urban areas), "B" is Palestinian civil control but shared security control (most rural areas), and "C" is under full Israeli control.

Zafer was our tour guide through Israel/Palestine.  He lives in the West Bank but is from Jerusalem so he has the ability to drive in both areas.  Joining us were Bill and Susan, a pastor and his wife from New Hampshire.

We visited so many churches and ruins and towns and significant places that I can't begin to show them all, but here's a sampling:

We visited the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.  This silver star marks the supposed place where Jesus was born.  Obviously this is a significant site for all Christians so Armenians, Orthodox, and Catholics all have a place to worship here.

We also hiked through Ein Gedi.  This is the area where David hid from King Saul in I Samuel 24.

We ended our hike at David's Falls.  So interesting to be able to envision David's journey a little more--this was a rugged, rocky, mountainous area with some good hiding places!

As we drove on, the terrain became really dry and desert-y.

Zafer encouraged the girls to take a camel ride along the way.

Our next stop was Masada.  This was one of Herod's fortresses and was absolutely huge.  A cable car took us to the top.

This was just a small part of the palaces, built on multiple levels on the top of the mountain.  You can see the Dead Sea in the distance.

Our next stop was the obligatory swim and mud bath in the Dead Sea.  I was surprised that not only is it easy to float, but you can't help but float.

And what a people watching extravaganza.  The bottom was slimy mud so people were falling all over; women were taking the mud bath very seriously and covering every inch of themselves; and then of course there were the few who insisted on swimming with their heads in the water and ignoring the lifeguard's warnings (serious pain if that salty water gets in your eyes!)

Abdullah helps support a daycare center for special needs "kids" (many of them are now adults but still come).  We planned on a quick visit but before we knew it they were singing and we were singing and we were all having a big dance party!

The center teaches different skills which can be used to sell things to the community.  Here are the weaving looms.

We also spent a day in Jerusalem:

The Western (Wailing) Wall.  We only have a picture of the men's side because no photography was allowed, but guess who broke the rules :)

A quick stop at this little sandwich shop for lunch.  I had to step outside because it was getting claustrophobic with all 8 of us in there.

And this little guy was busy whipping up the slushies outside.

On the Mount of Olives, looking out over the cemetery and Dome of the Rock in the distance.

We walked along the Via Dolorosa where each station of the cross was marked with these signs.

Via Dolorosa

So, am I the only one old enough to break into singing Sandi Patty's song whenever I heard "Via Dolorosa"?  Beautiful words:

"The blood that would cleanse the souls of all men
Made its way to the heart of Jerusalem.

Down the Via Dolorosa called the way of suffering
Like a lamb came the Messiah, Christ the King
But He chose to walk that road out of His love for you and me
Down the Via Dolorosa, all the way to Calvary."

Saying goodbye to Nuha and Abdullah.  Great food, lodging, and conversations--just great people!

Now on an entirely different note:  As we drove through Tel Aviv, Zafer (often a man of surprise stops) took us to this diamond exchange.  We went through huge security checks and were issued passes to be escorted through the building.  Diamond brokers come here with millions of dollars worth of diamonds to sell.  The complex of four buildings is self-contained so that once they arrive, they eat/sleep/shop/stay within the buildings and their diamonds are insured.  So fascinating to get a glimpse!

The man in the striped shirt is an Israeli jewelry designer who showed us around and eventually brought us to his boutique.  Each year he designs a special line for the world cruise, wines and dines for a few days on the cruise ship, and sells to the rich and famous.  Felt just a little out of our league.  And no, Mike didn't buy me any diamonds, but their free snack mix sure was good :)

Then it was on to northern Israel.  We traveled along the coast, stopping in Caesarea and Haifa before driving inland to Nazareth and the Sea of Galilee.

For years, our Sunday school kids have used these orange plastic "Peter Fish" to collect their coins.  So it was fun to have real Sea of Galilee Peter fish for lunch (I didn't know they're just tilapia).  The name comes from a miracle of Jesus.  Jesus tells Peter to pull in the first fish on his line, open its mouth, and there will be a coin inside to pay the temple tax.

The calm part of our boat ride on the Sea of Galilee.  Shortly after this, the party began with rounds of "Hava Nagila" and Jewish dancing.  Mike may or may not have participated...

A bonus was this sunset!

We walked through the market area of Nazareth.  It was olive season so these olives were waiting to be scored or opened up a little in preparation for the brining process.

Waiting for the others in the hotel lobby.  Life is never boring when you have a phone!

Church of the Primacy of St. Peter.  This was on the shore of the Sea of Galilee and supposedly marks the spot where Jesus reinstated Peter after denying Him.

Touring the Church of the Beatitudes on the Sea of Galilee. Michal is a Polish seminarian who read us a part of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount as we stood near the spot where Jesus would have been.

This was the library which had beautiful symbolism:  God's Word on a stand in the center, then God's creation (windows and the lights representing stars) and then books representing human understanding and learning.

A rainbow over Nazareth

This ended our time in Israel and we walked across the border from Israel to Jordan and met our new Jordanian guide, Wael.  Our first stop in Jordan was the old city of Jerash, which I had never heard of.  Truthfully, all I knew about Jordan at this point was that there's a famous place called Petra and that Queen Noor was American.  So there was a lot of room for additional learning!

Jerash was probably my favorite "ruin" site, incredibly well preserved.  It's often compared to Pompeii, but instead of being preserved under ash, it was preserved under sand.

I snuck this picture in because it's the best one I have of our tour guide, Wael.  He looked completely Western until he suddenly put on this head covering in the heat.  He explained that a red and white covering means Jordanian and a black and white signifies Palestinian.  He knew a lot about a lot and we really appreciated our time with him.

We traveled along The King's Way through Jordan.  This is an ancient route, even mentioned by Moses in the Bible.  We stopped here for striking views of the Arnon Gorge.

Our next stop was Madaba City which is famous for the discovery of this 6th Century mosaic on the floor of St. George Church.  It labels over 150 different places in the Holy Land, so it's been valuable in locating where towns once were.

And then it was on to Petra.  I really knew nothing about it but the name, so I wasn't sure what to expect.  It was pretty amazing!  Petra was established around 300 BC by the Nabataeans in the center of the trade routes.  The rocks made it a natural fortress and much of the reason it was successful is because they figured out how to control and collect water through aqueducts and cisterns.

Here we're just beginning our walk in.  Already the landscape is so impressive and beautiful, and there were elaborately carved tombs along the sides.

We came around a bend and suddenly glimpsed this first view of The Treasury, Petra's best known building.

You can see by the small bodies right in front just how huge this building is and all carved into the rock.

The colors and formation of the sandstone were so beautiful.

The colors were much prettier in person--reds and blues and yellows and greens.

Trina mostly just wanted the free horse ride that's included with the ticket!  So she and Faith rode horses out at the end.

 Some final thoughts on our time in the "Holy Land":

• This was a great introduction to this part of the world, I learned a ton of new things, and it gives me a generally better idea of where the events of the Bible happened.  However, I'd love to go back again, better prepared myself, and with a Bible teacher who could explain even deeper the significance of different places.
• I hadn't fully comprehended the "pilgrimage" thing.  Of course, this is the center of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, so there were so many tour groups on a pilgrimage of holy places--walking the stations of the cross on the Via Dolorosa, visiting holy places and touching holy relics, etc.
• And partially because of the above, the tourism factor was out of this world and truthfully, a huge distraction for me.  Big tour buses, guides with microphones all over, souvenir shops.  One big example was the baptism site on the Jordan River.  I was picturing a peaceful place like it must have been when Jesus was baptized there.  Instead it was a big assembly line.  There were hundreds of people there to be baptized, people handing out white robes and collecting them afterwards, a line leading down to a deck along the water's edge, and then of course lots of souvenir shops where you could purchase a memento of this significant moment.
• There is so much speculation over where events happened, rather than actually knowing.  Because of this, there were sometimes two or more "conflicting" locations where an event had occurred (case in point: Jesus' tomb).  And each spot had to be marked with a human touch--a church, steps or walkways leading to it, benches where tour groups can sit and talk.  All good intentions, but it was hard to see the forest for the trees.
• So the value really came from just being in that part of the world.  Spending time in the fields and on the mountains and in that climate and getting a sense of where towns are in relation to each other.  Now when the Bible talks about shepherds in the fields, I have a rough idea of what that would have felt like or looked like.

That wraps up my summary of Israel and Jordan.  Lastly, one final bonus picture that takes us back to Lebanon:

Title: "Succumbing"
I was so bummed that somehow this picture didn't paste onto the Lebanon blog.  It was my most proud photographic moment so, dang it, I'm going to post it even though it has nothing to do with Israel.  I am notorious for slow reflexes and always missing the moment with my picture-taking.  This little guy was dancing around and eyeing the cotton candy machine at the market in Sidon.  Suddenly he stuck his finger in and I CAUGHT THE MOMENT!