Spiritual Pilgrimage to the Holy Land

Holland’s UMC

January 13 – 22, 2011

 Attendees:   Betty Ann Buckley, Alpha Christian Tours Trip Coordinator; Luay (Louie) Dajani, Tour Guide; Mohammed (Mike) Issa, Bus Driver; Gary and Lou Ann Allred, Host; Wanda Blalock; Stella and Sherrill Denning; Nancy, Jim and Amanda Gregory; Betty and Roy Harris; Julia and Rudy Hillmann; Bobbie and Roger Joseph; Cathy Katen; Deb and Ray Martin; Cathy Poole; Lynn and Bill Singletary; Melba and David Spivey; Vicki Walton; Lucy Whipple; Karen and Dave Woodall

Day 1 – Thursday, January 13, 2011

We were at the airport at 1:30.  There were 24 from Holland’s going and two from another church who are active in Emmaus.  Everyone arrived on time and none of us had any trouble with check in.  We boarded the US AIRWAYS flight to Philadelphia.  We departed at 3:50 p.m., a little late because they were holding us up from landing in Philadelphia.  That flight went well—no problems checking in or the flight itself.  We had a four-hour layover.  We ate at different places.  We boarded the US AIRWAYS flight to Tel Aviv on time and left Philadelphia at 9:15 p.m.  There were two seats on each side and 4 seats in the middle row.  We had dinner at 10:30 p.m.  I had chicken with rice, veggies and carrot cake.  Day 1 would come to a close as we entered a new time zone.  Israel is 7 hours ahead of us. 

Day 2 – Friday, January 14, 2011

We had pancakes with fresh fruit for breakfast before landing.  We arrived in Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv almost an hour early, 2:30 p.m. their time.  We had a tail wind so we arrived a little early.  The airport in Tel Aviv was very nice—it was really clean and big.  We didn’t have any trouble there.  We went through customs on our way out and were met by Betty Ann Buckley from Alpha Christian Tours.  Our bus driver is Mike.  He was very nice with a great sense of humor.  The bus ride to the hotel was about 30 minutes. He kept bottles of water on the bus the entire week, which we could purchase for $1.  We were bumped from our destination hotel in Jericho by the Russian consulate.  We stayed at the King Solomon Hotel in Jerusalem, a five-star hotel that overlooks Old Jerusalem.  The hotel is very nice and clean.  Cathy and I noticed immediately that the bathrooms have LONG skinny gold bathtubs and huge gold toilets.  We named the toilet “King Solomon’s Golden Throne.”  The Sabbath began today at sunset and will go until sunset Saturday so the streets are quiet, shops are closed, etc.  Men wear black trench coats today and depending on their heritage, they wear different hats.  Some look like fuzzy “hat box” hats—very tall and round.  In Israel, Friday is the holy day for Muslims.  Saturday is the holy day for Jews and Sunday is the holy day for Christians.  The hotels had a Sabbath elevator.  Orthodox Jews believe so strongly in not working on the Sabbath, that they do not even push buttons on the Sabbath.  So this elevator is programmed to stop on every floor for the Jews to get off.

Dinner was very good.  It was served at 6:30 in the hotel restaurant.  They had a turkey dish, beef dish, fish dish, lots of specialty dishes with vegetables, a fruit bar, a salad bar with lots of different salads, and a desert bar that had fancy desserts.  It was all very good.  All breakfasts and dinners are covered in the cost of our trip.  Diet cokes, tea, etc. are extra.  Internet here is $20 for a few minutes.  Our wakeup call is at 6:00 a.m.  Breakfast will be at 6:30 and on the bus at 7:45.  Tomorrow we go to Jericho, other places and end up at the Sea of Galilee.  We went to bed about 9:00.

Day 3 – Saturday, January 15, 2011

We got up on time at 6:00.  Breakfast was good.  Lots of fresh fruit, breads, cereals, boiled eggs, dates, olives, all kinds of vegetables, fresh baked breads and many spreads. 

We boarded the bus on time - 7:45.  Gary passed out two stones—one to leave in the Jordan River to remember our baptism, the other to leave at a place where God speaks to each of us in a special way.  We decided to count off on the bus and each was assigned a number so in the future we could make sure everyone was on board before we departed each sight.  We left the hotel at 7:55 headed for Mt. Carmel.  We traveled back through Tel Aviv.

Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and has three major religions—Judaism, Islam and Christianity.  800,000 people live here.  Israel is about the size of New Jersey.  It is 30 miles wide by 80 miles long.  The Holy land is composed of Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, Israel and Syria.  The buildings are mostly made of white sandstone.  They call the land the 5^th gospel.  80% of the people are Jews, 20% are Arabs.  The Arabs have a different religion.  Of the Jewish population, 10% are orthodox.  Their whole purpose is to live and keep the Jewish law holy.  The government pays them to keep the 130 Jewish laws—no TV, no birth control, their children go to Jewish schools.  10% are conservative Jewish—keep the law but live the modern life.  80% live the secular Jewish life.  Three languages are spoken in Israel:  Hebrew (first), Arabic and English.  The palm tree is the national tree of Israel.  It appears on the shekel.  3.5 shekels equal one US dollar.

The rainy season is November to March.  That is the only time in the year they get rain.  They have to store the rain for the entire year.  All of the houses have tanks on the roof and most of them also have solar panels.

We went through the Judean Mountains to the coastal range.  60% of Israel is desert.  40% is green.  The green is where they get the “honey” part of the “land of milk and honey.”  The milk is from the desert, the goats, cows, etc.  There are lots of pine and cypress trees.  The Jewish National Fund has a major thrust to plant trees.  200 M trees have been planted.  The Turks used to tax the people by the number of trees they had on their property, so they would cut them down to use the wood to pay the taxes.  The government plants trees so the land won’t be bare.  Gas is $6 a gallon here.  Cars are small.  They look for good gas mileage first when they buy a car.  Taxes on cars are 100%.  A car worth $15,000 in the US sells here for $30,000--$15,000 for the car and $15,000 for taxes to the government.  Flowers, fruits and grains are plentiful.  They ship ~ 5M flowers a day to Europe.  The country is self supported by their own crops. 

The freeway was almost empty today because of the Sabbath.  Public transportation is buses, trains and taxis, because cars and gas is so expensive.

There are four major cities in Israel—Haifa (port city), Tel Aviv (the biggest city and comparable to a mini New York), Jerusalem (the capital) and Beersheba. 

One of the biggest industries in Israel is diamonds--$7B a year.  They export $2B in fruits and vegetables.  On the shore of the Dead Sea they process magnesium, a $3B industry.  They export about $50B in weapons, pharmaceutical, IT, computer, etc.  They get about $2B/year from the US for being peaceful in the Middle East.  Tourists provide a lot of income.  If there is political unrest, tourism goes way down.  This has been a good couple of years with the tourism industry.

There are two buttons (different sizes) on commodes.  One is for solid waste and one for liquid waste.  The average income for a family of 4 is $32-34K a year.  There is free medical care for each Israeli citizen.  The government takes care of the disabled, widows, etc. but taxes are high.  A 1,200 square foot apartment is about $2K a month.  Income tax is 26-28%.  If you have a TV you pay $100 tax per TV per year.

Herzliyya is a town outside of Tel Aviv named after a Theodore Herzl, the father of Zionism, who believed the Jewish families should be able to return to their homeland.  He predicted there would be a home for the Jews.  In 1948, that came true when Israel’s independence was announced.

Kosher is the law about what kinds of food Jews can eat.  Beef and poultry cannot be eaten at the same time.  Dairy products and meat cannot be eaten at the same meal.  Pork is never kosher.  McDonald’s does not serve breakfast here.  They don’t sell sausage or bacon here.

You cannot own property in Israel unless you have Israeli citizenship.  If your mother is Jewish, you are considered Jewish.  If your father only is Jewish, you have to convert to Judaism.

Palestinians buy their electric power from the Israelis who produce it from coal they get from South Africa.

Caesarea was our first stop.  It has a power plant and the most expensive house in all of Israel.  Many finer subdivisions are there.  It is a seaport town on the Mediterranean Sea.  Paul used Caesarea as a port city and Peter also did ministry there.  It is a beautiful green town.  It has the first golf course built in Israel.  The only other golf course is in Tel Aviv.

Only 10% of Caesarea has been excavated.  The rest is under the sea.  The city of Caesarea was one of the most important cities in Israel during the time of Christ and the first few centuries of the early church.  It was the home of Cornelius, the first Gentile convert (Acts 10:1) and of Philip the evangelist (Acts 8:40).   It was a place of houses, streets and large temples.  The city was given to Herod the Great by the Roman Emperor, Caesar.  Herod the Great built a palace there and named the city of Caesarea in honor of Caesar Augustus. 

The Roman Theater could seat 4500 spectators.  In 1962 the “Pontius Pilate Stone” was discovered, which provides tangible evidence of Pilate’s presence in Judea in Jesus’ time and gives clarification of his title – Prefect.  Just inside the theater’s main gate is proof that one of the Roman rulers who resided here was Pontius Pilate, governor of Judea, when Jesus was crucified.  It is the only archaeological evidence of the governor’s presence in Palestine.

There is a subdivision in Caesarea that has a house >$1M.  When the Romans came, they built cities that did not have to be built on the water because they invented the aqueduct.  Most cities were built on the water because there is so little rain and access to water was so scarce. 

We stopped by the 2000-year old Aqueduct by the Mediterranean Sea.  It was built originally by Herod the great, renovated and restored later by the Romans.  It was originally constructed about 20-18 BC and is 3 miles long.

Our next stop was Mount Carmel.  It is about 20 miles long.  Carmel means God’s vineyard.  Muslim communities have a lot of unfinished houses because the families keep building onto the houses.  They get married and move in with their families.  They have a really good winery on Mt. Carmel.  They normally don’t consider shrimp as a kosher food but they raise them here and they consider these shrimp kosher.

We crossed over the Jezreel Valley to get to Mt. Carmel.  It is the only route they used to go from the seaport to Mt. Carmel. 

The Druze is another religion that broke out of the Muslim religion.  They built on the top of the mountains.  There are about 60K in Israel.  Their religion is somewhat secretive.  They believe in reincarnation.  Within the religion you can choose to be religious or secular.  The religious are considered to be the wise.  They have a dress code, etc.  They believe in the coming of the Messiah, who will be born out of a man.  They don’t care who governs the land.  They are loyal to Israel, regardless of who governs.  They have a big contingency in Lebanon and Syria.  They combine Islam, Christianity and Judaism.  They live as Arabs and are an offshoot of Islam.  Arabs are the minority (17%) in the Muslim Region.

On our way to Mt. Carmel we drove through olive groves.  The trees are not really big and they look somewhat sparse.  The pine trees have short needles and small pine cones compared to ours.  The land is hilly and rocky with not much undergrowth.

They don’t use wood much for building because of the abundance of rock, so most things are built with rock.  The oak trees don’t look anything like ours.

We went to an active Monastery that is still being used.  It is on one of the highest points of Mt. Carmel.  You can see Galilee, lower Galilee, lower mountains of Samaria.  The valley below is the Jezreel Valley.  Napoleon said this was the most perfect battlefield in the world--because you can see all around for miles.  It is also known as the breadbasket of Israel.  There is a military strip there but no planes ever land there—they go into the mountains to land.  Bill Singletary held devotion.

1^st King 18 tells what happened on Mt. Carmel.  King Ahab was king of ten tribes—married to Jezebel.  Elijah called for a challenge between our God and the gods of Baal.  This challenge was done on Mt. Carmel.  Elijah is considered the most important prophet in Israel.  During Passover they leave a cup for Elijah at their table.  This is the only Catholic Order in Israel.

We went to a Druze restaurant for lunch.  The choices were falafel or schnitzel.  Schnitzel is breaded fried chicken in a pita.  Falafel is ground chickpea with spices.  Both dishes included a salad bar and drink.  I ate the chicken pita which tasted like a chicken fish stick.  The salad bar was mostly shredded cabbage, beets, lemon, hummus, and other things like that.  It was $9 plus a $1 tip.  Leaving the restaurant we drove through a “shopping” area which is comparable to our flea market.  There seem to be a lot of men smoking.  Cigarettes are $6 a pack.

Our next stop was Megiddo.  We arrived there at 1:15.  Megiddo has been the focus of many conflicts and called the battlefield of nations.  Prophets predicted that it would be the place where nations would have the final conflict taking place at the coming of the Messiah (Rev 16:14-21).  Capturing Megiddo is as good as capturing a thousand cities because of Megiddo’s strategic location at one of the key entrances to the Jezreel Valley.  Like Jericho, a city has been built upon a city at Megiddo.  Megiddo was fortified by King Solomon in the 10^th Century BC.  There are many ruins, Solomon’s stables, a water cistern and a 215 foot underground water tunnel.  Again, most houses have solar panels on the roof and tanks to collect rainwater.  They do have electric water heaters but mostly rely on the solar panels.

According to some interpretations of the Bible, this will be the place for Armageddon or the final battle between the forces of light led by Jesus and the forces of darkness led by Satan or the Anti-Christ after the End of Days (Rev. 16:16). 

Megiddo is a tel (hill) made of 16 layers of the ruins of ancient cities in a strategic location at the head of a pass through the Carmel Ridge.  It is about 15 acres.  In 4000 BC Canaanites lived here.  The hill was inhabited, and then there would be war of unrest.  That level of houses would be covered and a new level was built.  There are 15 levels here.  The first level was occupied by the Canaanites.  Megiddo was taken over by Pharaoh.  King Solomon’s son became the king and the elders of the tribes of Israel met with him to ask him to lower taxes.  He wouldn’t, so they pulled out and that’s how Israel was split into Israel and Judah.  King Ahab changed it into a fortress rather than a city.  About 857 BC Ahab solved the problem of water for Megiddo.  A tunnel was built to the outside so they could access the water from the top of the mountain, making it less easy for outsiders to attack them at the point of water intake.  The Greeks took it over, then the Romans.

In the 4^th Century it was abandoned and never resettled.  In WWI British General Allenby fought Iraq for it.  In 1948 the Kibbutz of Megiddo was formed.  There are 20 different periods of archaeology.    Megiddo has been destroyed 25 times and rebuilt 25 times.  King David conquered at the 16^th level. 

The excavations were started in 1903.  1925-1939 Americans came and worked as archaeologists.  They left us with 3 periods—Canaanites, King Solomon and King Ahab.  It has been excavated far down enough to find the altar of sacrifice of the Canaanites about 2700 BC. 

Archaeologists dig in squares.  When they find something, they take what they find to the tent, put it together and this tells them the time period.  From the top, you can look across and see the Mount of Transfiguration – Mt. Tabor.

Every king wanted Megiddo.  The pharaohs dominated the south—Canaan.  The Babylonians and Assyrians controlled the other land (current Iraq).  If you controlled Megiddo, you controlled the passageway between the Mediterranean Sea and the land of Iraq.  It was known as the passage, as the Via Maris, the way by the Sea.  It was of great importance then and was regarded as the western branch of a narrow pass and ancient trade route which connected Egypt and Assyria.  In 2000 BC Egypt and Assyria/Babylon were powerful.  They traveled by foot.  The Via Maris goes from Egypt to Sinai to Gaza to Canaan through Mt. Carmel, through the Jezreel Valley toward the Sea of Galilee to Damascus to Babylon.  This was the only passage through Mt. Carmel that would take you from the coastal area to the Valley of Jezreel.  Whoever controlled Megiddo controlled the passage.  Many battles have been fought over Megiddo because of its strategic location and importance. 

This was the first site known where children were sacrificed by the Canaanites.  The grain silo here is the largest one found to date.

Mangers were made of stone.  They were long enough for a newborn and the stone was chiseled out in a curved manner. 

The tunnel and shaft we saw were built with hammers and chisels.  It was all through the mountain—solid rock.  There were 220 steps to get to the bottom where there was a pool of water.  There were 90 steps up to get back to the top, which was around the mountain a bit.  Jezreel in Hebrew means God’s valley—it is also called the Armageddon Valley.  We drove through the valley on our way to Nazareth.

To date I haven’t seen a pickup truck.  They are expensive to own here.

The top of the mountain is called the Mount of Precipice.  When Jesus preached in Nazareth, the people wanted to push him off, so Jesus left and took his ministry elsewhere for two years.  To get to Nazareth, we drove up the mountain.  70,000 people live in Nazareth.  50% of the population here is Christian/Arab.  Most Christians live in Jerusalem and Nazareth.

We walked down the street of Nazareth.  In 168 BC after the Assyrians, then Greeks, it was taken over by a Jewish family and they kicked the Greeks out.  They wanted to restore the Jewish families in Nazareth.  They encouraged people to come.  Nazareth is still small.  250 people lived in Nazareth when Mary and Joseph lived here.  Caesar gave orders to collect the census.  Joseph and Mary traveled from Bethlehem, about 100 miles from Nazareth.  They went 20 miles a day to make it a 5-day trip.  After the death of Herod, they moved back to Nazareth.  Jesus came up here.  He went to Midrash—a synagogue for young Jewish males. When they traveled, men were up front, then women and children, then men in the back to protect them. 

We visited the Greek Orthodox Church of St. Gabriel or Church of the Annunciation, which was built on the site where Gabriel announced to Mary that the Holy Spirit would impregnate her and she would have a son.  The church grounds covered all of ancient Nazareth and in the basement are part of the first church and of Mary and Joseph’s house.  The Church was built in 350 AD.  In the 5^th century they enlarged the church.  In 614 the Persians came onto the land and destroyed that church.  The Franciscans tried to rebuild the church and in 1960 the current church was built—the Church of the Annunciation.  The art and architecture is modern, mysterious, multi-national and Mary is depicted here in all forms—Asian, Egyptian, etc.  The church grounds cover the area of the original town of Nazareth.  The first level of the church celebrates Jesus’ human life and the second level celebrates his Godly life.  All of the stained glass windows are made by a Jewish woman to remember the Jewish tradition.   He spent about 25 years of His life in Nazareth.  After his temptation, he came back to Nazareth where he tried to set up his ministry.  When he was rejected, he left here and went to the northern shore of Galilee for 2 ½ years. 

Upper Nazareth is the Jewish side.  The other side is Arab Nazarenes.  59% are Israeli Arabs; 41% are Israeli Jews.  There about 200,000 Jews who live here.  There are many Russian Jews.  The Chief Rabbi of Israel asked those Russian Jews whose mothers were not Jews to convert.  30,000 are Russian Jews who came here after the fall of the Soviet Union.

Gas in Nazareth was $7.69 a gallon.  There are little towns all around Nazareth.  We went through the Arab and Israeli side on the way to the Sea of Galilee.  The streets of Nazareth seemed dirty and poor.  People park where ever they want.  The shops were small.

Since 1968, 250 million trees have been planted.  The olive trees are long lasting—many are hundreds of years old. 

Tiberius is the main city along the Sea of Galilee, our last stop of the day.  About 35,000 live in the Tiberius area.

The area around the Sea of Galilee is clean and looks well kept.  We arrived at our hotel on the Sea of Galilee at 5 p.m.  It is the Leonardo Hotel.  There is a gift shop there that is run by an American.  She is from Massachusetts but has been in Israel for 30 years.  Many of us bought gifts from her.

Dinner was at the hotel at 6:30.  It was, again, a large buffet with several options for meat, pasta, salads, and desserts.  Desserts are always delicious—not standard but usually fancy and not typical to our cuisine. 

At 8:00 we went down to the waterfront on the Sea of Galilee for a music and light show.  It lasted about 15 minutes and told the history of Israel and current-day Israel.  It was a beautiful show of water and lights.  Pictures were reflected off of water sculpting.  We did not understand a lot of the meaning behind it because the writing that explained it was in Hebrew. 

Some of us shopped on the way back to the hotel.  We bought a 16 ounce diet coke for $2 for which was the cheapest we had found.

When we got back to the hotel Lucy had phone service and received an email that John Cutts had died the night before.  It was a great day.

Day 4 – Sunday, January 16, 2011

We received a wakeup call at 6 a.m.  Breakfast was at 6:30 with three buffet lines including one of cheeses and salad ingredients, one with hot foods including eggs, omelets, breads, yogurts, toast and quiche.

We boarded the bus at 8:00 and had a special moment to remember John Cutts, who died Friday night, and his family.

We headed to the Sea of Galilee, called Lake Genesaret/Tiberius or Kinneret.  It is shaped like a harp.  It is 13 miles north to south x 7 miles east to west and 100 feet deep at its deepest point.  It is the largest body of fresh water in Israel.  It is the country’s main reservoir.  Approximately 20 kinds of edible fish live in the Sea.  The St. Peter fish is the most popular fish and tastes like tilapia.  The northern shore was Capernaum, Korazim and Bath Saida, where Jesus set up His ministry.  Nazareth is about 18 miles from Tiberius. Tiberius is on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee and Golan Heights is on the eastern shore. 

It is overcast this morning.  The weather forecast calls for rain.  In the area of the Sea of Galilee is the town of Megdala, which was the home of Mary Magdalene. Israel allows Jordan to use the Sea of Galilee as a reservoir.

When Jesus referred to the good soil, he may have been referring to the Dove Valley, which we drove through on our way to the Mount of Beatitudes.  The olive trees on this mountain are said to be some of the best anywhere.

The Mount of Beatitudes is on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee.  Jesus had his ministry in this area for 2 ½ years.  He gave his Sermon on the Mount speech from here.  Herod’s palace was on the mountain with a flat roof, not far from here.  The Genesaret Valley of 7 springs was close to here where there was the best fishing area and agriculture.  Olive oil from this area is very good and they harvest from here most of the year.  Further up is the Jordan River.  Beyond the Jordan was known as Decapolis—ten cities mainly where the Romans lived.  Galilee of the Gentiles, Hills of Capernaum, Mount of Olives and the Temple Courtyard is where Jesus did most of his teaching.  This area is on an incline and geologists say Jesus could talk to 15,000 people because acoustics were so good—naturally—like an Amphitheatre.  The original churches were octagonal shaped.  Antonio Balloutsi, an Italian architect, built this church about 1930 in the early Byzantine style.  The Beatitudes are written on the inside of the dome.  Jesus sat down to teach.  When Rabbis sat down, it meant it was important, and you better remember it.  Bobbie Joseph read the Beatitudes.  We were given a few minutes to pray, reflect, and look around.  We left the Mt. of Beatitudes at 9:05. 

Our next stop was the Church of the Primacy of Peter.  This is where Jesus appeared after the resurrection and told Peter to “Feed my sheep.”  The disciples fished on the northern shore because of the seven springs that fed into the Sea of Galilee.  Someone would stand on the shore and see the dark spots in the water and tell the fishermen where to cast their nets.  They fished with nets that had weights around the circumference of it. 

After the Resurrection, the disciples had been fishing all night when a stranger on the shore told them to cast their nets on the right side of the boat.  They had not caught any fish all night.  They cast their nets on the right side of the boat.  153 fish were caught when Jesus told them to cast their nets.  153 is considered to be the number of different fish in the world (at that time).  It is believed that this represented that they caught every kind of fish, representing that Jesus wanted them to “feed” his sheep—all people from every nation.  Peter recognized the stranger as Jesus and jumped out of the boat to go to him.  Jesus took Peter aside and asked him three times, “Do you love me?  Then feed my sheep.”  The rock on the outside of the church is believed to be the place Jesus was standing when he called to the disciples to cast their net and the rock extends into the church.  It is called the table of Christ because this is where they think Jesus and His disciples had breakfast together.  Gary read John 21.  It was a powerful experience.

The level of the sea is very low because of the lack of rain.

This church was Pope John Paul II’s favorite church when he visited the Holy Land.  He held mass at the Church of the Beatitudes, but this church, Church of St. Peter, was his favorite church.  It was very powerful to know this was where Jesus walked and talked.

Our next stop was Capernaum on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. It was the home to some of the Disciples--Peter, Andrew, James, John and Matthew.  Capernaum is 15-20 acres.  Approximately 3-4K people lived here, mostly Jews.   The remains of a synagogue are here dating to the 4^th century A.D.   The industry in Capernaum was fishing and milling.  Jesus spoke of millstones.  They lived in insulas (an insula was equivalent to a house).  It had 20-30 rooms.  They had extended families, that’s why where were so many rooms.  The top would be grass topped with clay.  There are ruins here.

The Franciscans built the church over what they believe was the insula of Peter’s mother-in-law.  Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law here.  The disciples met here many times. 

The black basalt stone on the synagogue marks the original stone built in the time of Jesus.  The white stones of the synagogue were built in the 3^rd century.  Every town around the time of Jesus had a synagogue.  It was a place for the community to gather and discuss current issues.  They would send Jewish boys 6-12 years old to learn how to read Hebrew.  If they were good, they continued on with their studies from the Rabbi.  They also gathered to worship.  They took sacrifices to Jerusalem.  After the temple was destroyed in 70 A.D. the elders decided that prayers and other acts of charity would take the place of sacrifices.  Jesus prayed three times a day facing Jerusalem and always prayed for Jerusalem.  When a synagogue is built, anywhere in the world, it is built facing Jerusalem.  You always entered the synagogue from the south, turned around and read the scrolls facing Jerusalem.  The original synagogue is under where we were standing, where they are 100% sure Jesus taught and healed.  Jews would pray three times a day and needed ten men to have a prayer.  The 1^st level was for the men and the 2^nd level was for the women.  Gary read John 6:22-27.

There is a wall around Capernaum.  The wall was built by the Franciscans who purchased the land to preserve it.  The British had come and taken over and were taking the artifacts to their land, so the Franciscans bought the land and put up a wall to save the artifacts.  In 614 the Persians destroyed Capernaum and never rebuilt.  Capitols sit on top of pillars.  One capitol he showed us was a symbol for the Jewish temple—an image of a golden menorah (with 7 oil lamp holders) that sat outside the temple, and is a symbol of the country of Israel.

We saw an olive press.  The Hebrew name for olive press is Gethsemane.  Olives were harvested the end of October or first of November.  They shake the trees, put the olives on the ground, roll the stones over the olives, and collect the olives.  The oil from the first press was used for religious purposes.  The oil from the second press was used for cooking, the 3^rd for oil lamps and the 4^th for soap.  Every village had presses because oil was very important.

The Star of David symbol is the Shield of David and in the 13^th century it became the symbol of Jews.

In Capernaum is a statute of Peter with a fish (St. Peter’s fish similar to tilapia) at his feet.  It is a mouthbreeder—the female fish keeps the eggs and fish in her mouth until they were strong enough to be safe on their own.  It is called the “mother” fish and is considered a kosher fish.  When the babies leave the mother fish sometimes she will pick up a stone or coin in the water to keep in her mouth to replace them.  Perhaps the story of Peter finding the coin in the fish’s mouth comes from that.

The black rocks are probably from Jesus’ time, as a result of a volcano.  The white is sandstone which is what most of Israel builds from.  We went to an olive tree farm.  It was a poor shack looking place.

Our next stop was lunch at a Lebanese restaurant—Tanureen.  We had a choice of Peter’s fish or grilled chicken.  The fish was fried with bones in.  The chicken was grilled.  It was served with French fries, marinated cabbage, tabouleh, marinated carrots, pita bread and dates for dessert.

As we traveled, we saw orange groves with oranges hanging and roadside bushes in full bloom on our way to a boat that two men found in 1986 preserved in the mud, which is like the boats they used in Jesus’ time.  Our next stop was the “Man in the Galilee” Museum, an Ancient Galilee Boat, in Ginosar.  The boat is 2,000 years old.  The two men excavated the boat, restored it and it is in the museum with controlled temperature, moisture and supports to hold it together.  We saw a film on how they excavated and restored it.  The wood was so old, air would dry it out and it would disintegrate so they had to cover it in polyurethane to keep it together until they could restore it.

We boarded a wooden boat.  It was covered--the sides and bottom were made of wood.  We set out on the Sea of Galilee.  The Sea of Galilee is like a crater surrounded by mountains.  Strong storms come across the mountains very quickly without warning.  The Sea of Galilee is like a wind tunnel and is 700 feet below sea level.  It was a very foggy, drizzly afternoon and it was hard to see the land from the boat.  We saw the sites from the water that we had visited earlier in the day.  They played the Star Spangled Banner and raised the American Flag.  This is the same sea that Jesus picked his disciples from on the shores, and the same sea he walked on the water.  As the day was foggy and gray, it was easy to imagine a night in which the disciples may have thought Jesus was a ghost walking on the water near them.  Dave Woodall did devotion. 

Gary Read Mark 6.  We were sailing on the Sea of Galilee on Sunday morning about the same time Holland’s was getting ready for Sunday morning services.  We left the Sea and headed to the Jordan River.  We crossed the Jordan, which was only a few feet wide at that point. 

Golan Heights started at the South and is 50 miles long by 10 miles deep.  In the War of 1967, Israel took over the Golan Heights from Syria to secure the Sea of Galilee, the heart of Israel.  Syria had planned to dry up the Jordan River because it is the source of 70% of the Sea of Galilee.  This would have been devastating for Israel.  4 Syrian towns and 50 Israeli settlements are in Golan Heights.  The fight was basically over the water.

We passed several orange groves and palm tree groves.  The other side of the sea was considered the Gentile side.  On a mountain to the left they found a church and believe it was constructed in the 4^th or 5^th century to commemorate Jesus feeding the 4,000 on the north side of the sea.  We drove past (on the Gentile side) where Jesus healed the demonic man and the pigs went into the sea.  The Gentile side of the sea is mostly agricultural with orange groves, olive trees, cattle, palm trees and banana groves.  There is a lot of undercurrent in the sea.  Every year 2 or 3 people drown in it.

Gasoline here is $7.48 a gallon.

Hamat Gader is located near the Sea of Galilee in Golan Heights.  It has hot springs.  The Romans built a palace there and a spa for healing.  Lots of people from the Roman Empire came to get healed.  When that didn’t work, they crossed the Sea of Galilee to see Jesus, “the Rabbi who could heal.”   That explains why we read of so many people coming to Jesus in this area for healing.  We crossed where the Jordan leaves the Sea of Galilee and goes into the Dead Sea.

Our next stop was the Yardenit Baptismal Site on the Jordan River.  Amanda Gregory read Matthew 3.  We remembered our baptism and all received water on our foreheads from Gary from the Jordan River.  Unbeknownst to us, it was being videotaped—we have the tape to put in the church archives. 

Gary played, “I Walked Today Where Jesus Walked” on our ride back to the hotel Leonarda Club.  For supper we had rotisserie chicken, beef goulash, potatoes, rice, green beans, salad, and again elaborate desserts and pastas.  After dinner some of us visited in the lobby, and then we were off to bed by 10 p.m.  It lightly rained until we went to bed.

Day 5 – Monday, January 17, 2011

We received a wakeup call at 6:00 a.m.  We had to have our suitcases out in the hallway by 6:30.  The hotel takes our luggage to the bus for us.   When we arrived at the hotel, we were given a sticker with our room number on it and the suitcase was delivered to our room.

We went to breakfast at 6:30 a.m.  It was, again, a wonderful buffet of a variety of foods.  The fresh grapefruit juice was the best I’ve ever had.  Before we went down, I watched the sunrise across the Sea of Galilee from our room.  On the other side is a mountain.  So…to look out our 10^th floor balcony window, I watched the sun rise across the Sea of Galilee and over a mountain.  The sky was blue with some clouds and hints of yellow and orange.

Decapolis – Beit Shean – a group of ten cities on the eastern frontier of the Roman Empire.  Bet Shean is an excavation of a Decapolis city.

We boarded the bus and departed at 8 a.m. with a prayer and Gary played, “There is a river, there is a fountain that saves the soul from sin.”

The first stop would be the Church of Multiplication.  Tabgha is the area.  It is where the 5,000 were fed and the place of the fourth resurrection appearance of Jesus.  This was thought to be where the best fishing was in the Sea of Galilee.  Tabhga is on the north-western shore of the Sea of Galilee in Israel.  Tabgha in Greek means Heptapegon, which means ‘Seven Springs’.  In the past, seven springs met at this point and went into the Sea of Galilee.

Mt. Arbel is where the Jewish Zealots hid in the mountains and fought against the Romans.  The cave keeps a temperature of 69 degrees year round.  The northern part of Israel is considered the “honey” of the land of milk and honey.  It is the green part of Israel.  The lower half is the “milk” part.  It is the desert and that is where the goats and nomads live.

The Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes is built over the spot where Christ fed the 5,000 followers.  This represents Jesus’ compassion to the Jews.  When he fed the 4,000 on the other side of the Sea, it showed his compassion for the Gentiles.  In 614 AD the Persians came into the land and destroyed many things and people.  After the Muslim conquest (636 AD), Christian activity ceased around the lake for centuries.  Rudy Hillmann did devotion.

A chapel was built about 350 AD by Joseph of Tiberius.  It was in the Byzantine era and was cross-shaped.  In 614 AD that church was destroyed.  In 1932 the church ruins that were unearthed, excavated the mosaics and they were in good shape.  The first churches were built in octagonal shapes.  In the 5^th/6^th century, they changed the shape of the churches to cross-shaped.  The mosaic is on the front of the altar.  The church is built over a rock that is raised, with a candle on it.  The rock in the church is the rock where Jesus put the basket of loaves and fishes and used it as an altar.  It is in the center of the church.  The church we were in was built in 1980-1982 and was reconstructed on its original foundation as much like the original church as they could.  Rudy Hillman read the story from scripture. 

Crusaders – In 1009 there was a crazy Muslim leader from Egypt-one of the founders of the Druze religion.  He wouldn’t let short men out on Fridays.  He sent men to take down the church of the Holy Sepulcher—stone by stone.  It is also called the Church of the Resurrection.  In 1099 the Crusaders came to rebuild the church and rescue the tomb of Jesus as requested by the Pope.  On July 4, 1187 a battle was held between Muslims/Arabs of 200,000 and the crusaders.  Saladin, a Kurd from the area of northern Iraq, controlled the Muslims and all the waters around the Sea of Galilee.  In the battle, the crusaders lost the cross Jesus was crucified on.  They were pushed to the coastal area.  The crusader era ended in 1299.

Muslims pray five times a day and fast during the month of Ramadan from sun up to sunset.  For Muslims, visiting the place where sins are forgiven is done once in a lifetime.  They give 2 ½ % of what they own to charity.  For Muslims their faith is based on the Five Pillars of Islam.  That is recognizing that Allah is their god and Mohammed is his prophet, praying five times a day facing the holy city of Mecca, fasting, making a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lifetime, and giving alms to the poor.

They have true democracy in Israel.  Iraq/Iran is mostly populated with Shiite Muslims.  There are many quarries in Israel—mostly sandstone.  The buildings and houses are built with stone—not wood.  The olive tree is the oldest and heartiest tree.  It can be cut down at the root and it will come back.  There are many olive groves throughout the land.

Our next stop was at Cana of Galilee, the Church of the Miracle.  This is where Jesus performed his first miracle, at a wedding feast.  Most Jewish weddings are held on the 3^rd day because in the creation story on the 3^rd day, the Bible says twice, “it was good.”   At weddings the groom would go to the house of the bride and receive the bride from her father.  The father would receive guests for a full week.  Poor people ate meat twice a year—weddings and Passover.  Hospitality in the Middle East is big.  If they run out of something, it is embarrassing.  At the wedding, they ran out of wine and it was embarrassing for the family.  Stone jars held 30 gallons.  Jesus took ordinary water and turned it into something extraordinary.

Lucy Whipple read scripture.  Gary conducted a reaffirmation of the covenant of marriage in the church chapel.  Those married who had their spouses with them renewed their vows.

We saw a stone vat which looked more like a boulder, with a hole in the middle—probably 4’ tall by 4’ across at the top, thought to be over 2,000 years old.  Stone jars were in Jewish homes for washing their hands.

The Church of the Miracle was built over two previous churches.  The first churches were destroyed in 614.  The crusaders rebuilt churches in 1099.  Some of those were destroyed and the current-day churches rebuilt over them.   This Cana Church is not from the time of Jesus.  When Titus and his father came here with a legion, they destroyed the town.  The original town is probably 2-3 miles from here.

The reason for the stone jars is that ceramic or pottery becomes unclean after several uses but stone does not, according to Jewish law.  A Big Mac meal from McDonalds in Israel is $11.

This is a Roman Catholic Church under the Franciscan order.  The Franciscans stayed here to restore and maintain these main cities.

There are a lot of eucalyptus trees.  The Turks who owned land would only sell the Jewish immigrants swamp land and undesirable land.  So the Jews brought eucalyptus trees and turned the dry land into green fields because the eucalyptus tree absorbs a lot of water.

Mt. Herman is the highest mountain in the land and some think the transfiguration could have been there.  Mt. Tabor is the traditional site of the Transfiguration.  Jesus and three of his disciples went to the mountain of Transfiguration.  There is a huge church there.  Mt. Tabor is on the southern end of the Sea of Galilee and in the Valley of Jezreel.  Mt. Tabor is also famous for Deborah.  Deborah was a judge in the tribal times who asked a general to gather his army.  It is where Deborah and Barak attacked the Canaanites (in Judges 4).  Jezreel was the wetland where the chariots got stuck because it was swamp land then Sisera’s army was defeated. 

We passed the town of Nain.  Jesus was walking by and there was a funeral.  A widow was burying her son.  Jesus stopped and brought her son back to life.  (Luke 7)  It is on the northern side of the Hill of Moreh facing the Valley of Jezreel.

We rode by many chicken farms, agricultural processing plants, and grapefruit farms.  You can buy live chickens, the shop owner kills them, cleans them, and cut them up within ten minutes.

Drivers’ licenses are hard to get.  You have to take ten lessons at $70/lesson, then take the test.  If you fail, you have to take ten more lessons.  It costs ~$1K to get your license. 

We passed the Mt. Gilboa.  There is where King Saul and the Philistines had a battle and Saul lost his life.  It is said David cursed the mountain and that is why it does not have many trees on it.

Our next stop was Beit Shean National Park which is an excavation site of a Decapolis city.  Beit Shean was known as the House of the Canaanite god.  The first people to settle here were 3^rd millennium BC and were Canaanites.  When Joshua captured the Canaanites, they took Beit Shean.  The Philistines then took Beit Shean.  Saul’s sons lost their lives at Mt. Gilboa and the Philistines hung their bodies on the walls of Beit Shean for display.

In the 5^th Century, a tribe from Russia settled here.  In 333 BC Alexander the Great took it over to start a Greek culture and religion.  He built cities with theatres and libraries to spread the culture and language.  They called it Skitpolis. 

In 168 the Romans took over.  37 BC Mark Anthony appointed Herod.  We don’t have a record that Jesus made it to Beit Shean.  In 640 Muslims and Christians lived together.  In 79 AD this town was destroyed by an earthquake.  Excavations started in the 1960s.  The amphitheater could hold 9-10,000 people. 

The cardo was the main street of the town and ran north to south with columns of marble.  The street was lined with the remains of some of the shops.  Floors were marble over mosaic.  The marble was shipped in from Italy.  There is no marble in Israel.  15% of the people during Jesus’ time were slaves.  They did much of the stone work.

They established 1700 to be the latest date something can be considered an antique.  Anything dated after 1700 is not an antique.  The division in antiquity certifies all antique sellers.  

The Roman temple used to be here.  A man’s skeleton was found here holding a jar full of his coins. 

We walked around the ruins.  There were 17 rows of stones for seating in the theatre and a stage with columns behind it.

For lunch we ate schnitzel, which is fried chicken breast in pita bread.

We rode along the Israeli border neighboring Jordan.  Along our route we saw a coliseum where fights were held, the mounts of Jordan, Gilead, Ammon, Edon and the Jordan Valley.  Clothes are hung outside windows on clothesline to dry.

Travelers traveled from Galilee down along the Jordan River to Jerusalem.  They had to pay taxes to the Roman government several times on this trip.

We crossed into the West Bank in Palestinian territory and drove by the fence that separates Jordan and West Bank.  There are land mines on the other side—the Jordan side.  West Bank refers to the West Bank of Jordan.  There is a wall 33’ high to prevent the Palestinians from sending suicide bombers.  Palestinians cannot go into Israel unless they have a visa.  Therefore, there is a 50% unemployment rate at West Bank.  Hebron, Bethlehem, Ramaha, Nabilus and Jericho are under the control of the Palestinian authority—PNA.  There are 200,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank.  The Turks controlled Israel from 1516 to 1917.  In 1947 the called, “Partition Land” plan was proposed for the British to leave the country as soon as possible. May 14, 1948 the last British soldiers left.  Ben Gurion announced Israel’s freedom.  Since 1967 the West Bank has been under Israeli control. 

The Gaza strip is 150 miles square.  There are 1.5 M Palestinians here.  They have two governments in Gaza.  2.5M Palestinians are in West Bank.   Israel is between Gaza and West Bank.

In 66 AD Titus destroyed the temple.  The land was changed in name to Palestine.  The Turks ruled over the entire Middle East at one time.  In 1914 the Turks got involved in the First World War.  France and Britain won and drew the borders of the current Middle East.  They used bodies of water to establish the borders.  November 1917 the British government said they would help the Jews in establishing a country here.  But the Jews who lived here resented it.  In 1947 the British sent a committee to study the situation.  David Engorian announced the independence of Israel.  May 15, five Arab armies invaded the country here.  The Palestinians left their homes to neighboring countries.  June 5, 1967, Israel started the six-day war to take over East Jerusalem and West Bank, and took the Sinai Desert and Golan Heights from Egypt to have in Israel.

In the 1960s and 70s Yasser Arafat established the Palestinian Liberation Operation (PLO).  The Palestinian uprising was in 1987 which led to the PLO and the Israeli government peace talks which stopped the attacks against Israel and West Bank.  George Bush, Sr. was successful in getting the peace agreement.  In 2000 they went to Camp David with President Clinton to sign the agreement.  There were two issues:  1) giving up Jerusalem and 2) refugee camps from the 1948 exodus where they had been waiting to return to their homes.  The talks collapsed because neither side would give in.  In September, 2000 Arafat started war again.  That is when Israel built the fence around the Palestinian areas. 

We passed turkey farms, palm trees, date trees, and lemon orchards.  We rode an hour through desert.  Some of it was beautiful and some with little black houses that had trash everywhere.  Sand mountains were as far as one could see.

We stopped at the Mount of Temptation.  It is west of Jericho on the top of a mountain.  It overlooks the Jordan Valley.  After Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, he went to the Mt. of Temptation and spent forty days and forty nights fasting, praying, being tempted by Satan and meditating.  He left there and went to Nazareth.  While we were there, we saw a camel and a young boy leading a herd of goats down a hill.  There was an orange and souvenir stand there.

We saw lots of Bedouins who live here—they are nomads who wander around the desert with their goats.  The make their “houses” out of various materials they pick up such as tin, tarps, etc….materials that can be picked up and moved to another location.  A male goat is sold for $400 and female goats are $700.  Goats are sacrificed once a year.

Our next stop was Jericho which is 1200’ below sea level, the lowest place on earth, and is part of the Judean desert.  40,000 people live in Jericho.  It was the first town turned over to the Palestinians.  Jericho is near the Jordan River in the West Bank of the Palestinian Territories, north of the Dead Sea.  Jericho is considered to be the City of Palm Trees and the place of the Israelite’s return from bondage in Egypt when they were led by Joshua. 

The road to Jericho is 22 miles long.  Joshua walked around the walls of Jericho seven times and the wall tumbled down.  The wall was 8,000 BC.  When they found the wall, it verified the oldest settlement of people on earth.  It always feels warm here in the winter.  Jericho is famous for its oranges.  In Jericho we saw a sycamore tree.  Zacchaeus wanted to meet Jesus.  He was short so he climbed a sycamore tree.  Jericho became the place know for Jesus’ healing and showing compassion.  We got off the bus and stood under the sycamore tree where we had devotion by Nancy Gregory.  Before deboarding, we were warned of street vendors and pick pockets.

Coca Cola is prominent throughout Israel.  A 16-ounce bottle costs between $2-5 depending on where you go.  Diesel fuel is $4.00/liter or $15.00/gallon.

We drove through the Judean Desert Mountains on the road to Jerusalem.  It was known as the Desert of Preparation because as they were going to Jerusalem, they prepared their hearts for worship.  Travel through the valley of the desert was very dangerous because of robbers and murderers, thus it is referred to as the “valley of the shadow of death.”

We passed the place on the Jericho road where we remember the parable of the Good Samaritan.  Jesus had his encounter with the Samaritan woman in Samaria at Jacob’s well.  Only about 500 Samaritans are left because they have intermarried and have died from disease, etc.

When Jesus ascended, he faced Jerusalem.  In Jerusalem, if you face one way you fact east desert; another way you face greenery.  Jerusalem is where east meets west.  It is all built out of white sandstone.  Bethany is three miles outside of Jerusalem.  Mary, Martha and Lazarus lived in Bethany and Jesus visited them often.

Jerusalem is the holy city.  The Mount of Olives is here.  While we were traveling to Jerusalem, they played the song, Holy City.  It was powerful.  Jerusalem is 3,000 feet above sea level and is called the City of Peace.  Mt. Mariah is in the heart of Jerusalem.  It is also called the City of God and located on the edge of the Judean desert.

The walls of Jerusalem are around the city three miles.  It was built in 540 AD.  One opening is closed.  There are eight gates and is 200 acres divided into three quarters where 35,000 people live.  Christians visit here because of Jesus and the events of his life.  Muslims visit because it is considered to be their most holy city.  It is important to the Jews because it is the capital and center of Judaism. 

We went to Mount Zion to the Upper Room and Tomb of King David.  Mt. Zion is outside the city wall on the southwest side.  The original Mt. Zion was started in the valley.  In 360 AD the Christians built this church and the name of Mt. Zion stuck with it.  It started on the hill of Zion which was a Canaanite name to begin with.  We noticed there were lots of cats around on our trip but very few dogs.

We went to the Upper Room.  We celebrate two things here:

1)      The last supper.  Jesus and his disciples celebrated Passover here.  Passover is the only Jewish meal celebrated around the table.  Free men were allowed to sit and slave men had to stand.  15% of the population around Jerusalem were slaves.  Two disciples came to prepare for it.  Jesus washed the disciples’ feet, broke the bread and blessed the wine.  They left here and went to Gethsemane.

2)      50 days after Passover they celebrated the Feast of Harvest and gathered here.  Peter told the apostles that Jesus was greater than David because they still had the bones of David.  They were speaking in tongues after receiving the Holy Spirit.

It may or may not be “the” upper room but it was close to here, if not indeed here.  We sang “Let Us Break Bread Together” while we were there and the acoustics were beautiful.  The Crusader arches are still there.  The Upper Room is a large hall made of stone.  There are three pillars to support it and they divide the room into naves.  It was built by the Crusaders in the early 14^th century on top of a church-synagogue of early Jerusalem Christians.

To view the Tomb of King David, men have to cover their heads to remind us there is someone greater than us and higher than us—to stay focused on God.  Women had to go to one side and men to the other.  The tomb was covered with a purple cloth and some were praying in Hebrew.  The walls around David’s tomb are like the original ones built in 1540.  King David the magnificent built it.  King David was considered King of Kings.  Jews believe the Messiah will come from the lineage of David.  Muslims believe David was a prophet.  King David could gather three religions.  There are 14 generations from Abraham to David, 14 from David to captivity and 14 generations from captivity to Jesus.  They moved the tomb of David here when they built the temple.  It lies outside the Dormition Abbey behind the Franciscan house on Zion.  The surrounding area has been changed by Jews to Yeshivas—Schools of the Torah—because of the devotion for King David.  The tomb is believed to be under the Upper Room.

We arrived back at the hotel at 5 p.m.  Supper was at 6:30.  It was another delicious buffet.  Some of us went to Cup O Joes after dinner.  It has free Wi-Fi if you ordered something.  We went back to the hotel at 8:30 and got ready for bed.  Lights out at 10:30.

Day 6 - Tuesday, January 16, 2011

Today is a full day of walking and one that will have a lot of emotion.  We had a typical breakfast and boarded the bus on time.

Old Jerusalem has 100,000 people on 20 acres.  There are four quarters:  Armenian, Jewish, Christian and Muslim.  There are 8 gates.  The Eastern gate is blocked.  One gate is the Lion’s gate.  It is called the St. Stephen’s Gate because he was stoned to death outside of it.  The walls around the city were built in the 1500s.

Old Jerusalem (from the time of Jesus) was 12-15’ below where we were.  It has been destroyed and rebuilt many times.  The tribes of Israel got water for their sheep and goats from Herod’s gate.  The Romans built an altar for healing using the symbol of the snake.

The Pools of Bethesda are here.  Louie explained the Biblical story of the pool.  In Biblical times, everyone was on the edge of the pool waiting for the water to move.  The first one to jump in after the water moved would be healed.  That may explain why the cripple man was by the pool for so many years—he could never be the first one in the healing waters.  Gary read from John.

The Crusaders built the Church of St. Anne—the mother of Mary.  The story of Mary’s birth is similar to that of Elizabeth.  Ann was old.  Her husband received a vision in the desert.  When he came home, Anne became pregnant.  This was a Turk school.  The Muslims did not destroy it but gave it to the French.  The church is about 100 years old.

It was in the 40s this morning and a little overcast.  We looked at a model of Jerusalem as it was in 66AD. 

We walked the Via Dolorosa--the Way of the Cross.  There are 14 Stations of the Cross.  The extra stations were added by the Catholic Church.  The Muslims do not recognize all of them.

Our first stop was the Antonio Fortress which was built 30 BC in honor of Mark Anthony.  It was built to look over the temple so they could see what was going on in the temple.  Jesus was condemned by Pontius Pilate and was received his cross in the fortress.  The Jews considered the Antonio Fortress to be Gentile.  The floor of it remains.  The King of the Jews was the Messiah.  The King to the Romans was Caesar.  For Jesus to claim to be King over either the Jews or the Romans created a problem.  The population during Passover would run from 80,000 to 500,000.  King Agrippa enlarged the city.  The 3^rd wall was built in 44 AD by King Agrippa.

Titus erased the Temple except for a few stones we saw.  “Jesus was led like a lamb to be slaughtered like a king to be crowned.”  The Franciscan Chapel of Flagellation and Chapel of Condemnation was built in this area and this is where Jesus was condemned (the First Station).  They are partially over the Lithostrotos where Jesus was condemned. 

Station 2 is where Jesus was scourged and took up the cross.  Station 3, Jesus fell under the weight of the cross for the first time.  An Armenian Catholic Chapel marks the spot.  At the 4^th Station, we learned this is where Mary met Jesus carrying the cross on his way to be crucified.  Station 5 – Simon of Cyrene helped Jesus take the cross.  This was during Passover and Jews from all over came to Jerusalem.  Simon was from Libya.

Station 6 is where Jesus met Veronica.  She had a piece of cloth and wiped his face.  She represents compassion of the people of Jerusalem--not everyone wanted him crucified.  The 7^th Station is where Jesus fell the second time while carrying the cross.  This location used to be part of the North to South Cardo of Jerusalem.  A pick pocket came through and children were running through the street as we walked.

Station 8 – Jesus stopped and remembered the women of Jerusalem, the poor and the weak.  The women were weeping for him.  Here we were moving outside of where the walls were in Jesus’ day.  At the 9^th Station, Jesus fell under the cross for the 3^rd time.  It was outside the city wall of Jerusalem and is the highest point of Jerusalem.  There was a hill not far from here.  There were daily crucifixions—it was a routine practice.  Jesus carried his cross through the city so people could see and not do what he did.  No one could be executed or buried inside the city except for kings and prophets.  Romans were cremated and Jews were buried. 

We went into the Church of the Holy Sepulcher where there are six religions.  At the time of Jesus it was outside of the city walls.  It was first built by order of Emperor Constantine the Great.  It was destroyed twice and the Crusaders erected the present church.  It contains Jesus’ tomb and place of crucifixion.  The primary custodians are the Greek Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic and Roman Catholic Church, with lesser duties by Coptic, Ethiopian and Syria Orthodox churches.  We walked through two Ethiopian churches which were on top of the Armenian Church.  Some of them were not open to the public and could only be entered into by people of that religion.  The first church was built here by Queen Helena, mother of Constantine, in 325 AD.  She built the first three churches--this one, one on the Mount of Olives, and the Church of Nazareth.  One church she built was a big church; it had a garden and hill of Golgotha.  The Persians came and destroyed many churches in 1009 and took the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.  The Crusaders came and saved the tomb and rebuilt the church over the original Church of the Holy Sepulcher.  The church we were in goes back to the crusader era.  The Muslims took over in 640 AD and have the keys to the church because the occupants of the church cannot agree.  Nothing can be changed without all religions agreeing.  We saw a ladder that has been propped against a wall for over 100 years because they all can’t agree to remove it.  Three arches over the door represent the trinity.

The Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher holds the last five stations of the Way of the Cross.  Station 10 is where Jesus was stripped of His clothes.  Station 11 is where they nailed him to the cross.  This station is Catholic and has beautiful mosaics.  At Station 12 they stood the cross (on which Jesus had been nailed) in the ground and He died.  This Greek Orthodox chapel is the site of Jesus’ death.  To the right is a picture of Mary with a sword through her heart.  We were able to touch the rock from Golgotha, where the cross hung.  It was a very moving and solemn time.  There are lots of candles and ornate decorations in this small area.  The place of the rock had ornate gold mosaics.  There was a case enclosed that had a statute representing Mary.  There were many candle lights hanging from the ceiling representing Jesus is the light of the world.  Stations 10, 11 and 12 were in the area of Golgotha.

Station 13 is where they took him down and prepared His body for burial.  There was a very detailed mural illustrating the scene.  In the mural, the angels above were crying.  There was a Stone of Anointing on which Jesus was laid for anointing His body for burial.  The stone smells like roses and we were able to touch it. 

Station 14 is where they buried him—laid him in the tomb.  This was a very tight and small place.  It is The Holy Sepulcher, in the center of the Rotunda.  The tomb was originally in a cave and the Rotunda was built over it.  The rock is covered with Marble.  Paintings above it depict the Resurrection.  The tomb itself is covered by a marble slab which has been here since 1555.  42 lamps over it burn day and night.  First you enter the Chapel of Angel and then the Chapel of the Tomb.  The Chapel of the Angel is where Mary Magdalene found the body gone after the Crucifixion and saw an angel on the stone altar.  A piece of that stone is there.  We had to bend down to get to it and only 4 could be in there at the same time.  It is in the Greek Orthodox section.  There was a priest who kept “guard” over the number of people who could enter.  The tomb is built in the rotunda.  At the top of the rotunda is glass.  At a certain time of day the light shines through that glass. 

We saw a mosaic of Jerusalem from the 5^th century AD.  They found it and originally did not know what it was.  It is the only map to give us a picture of how it looked in the Christian era.

We went to the main square of the Jewish quarter built by the Western Wall after 1967. When they started digging they found archeology artifacts from the 1^st quarter.  They built a residential quarter over archeological museums.  There are lots of schools.  The “cordon” of Jerusalem was found.  This is the corridor from North to South that was built 135 AD and runs from Damascus to Mt. Zion.  In 135 AD the second Jewish revolt started.  The first revolt only destroyed the temple.  The second revolt tried to destroy everything Jewish and make it Roman and named it Philistina.  From 135 to 1948 it was called Palestine.  The golden Menorah (7 candles) is encased in glass here.  It is representative of one that was used in the Temple.  The Damascus gate is known as the column gate.  We ate lunch there.  There were two or three places to choose from.  There were lots of cats roaming around, but no dogs.

We went to the Western Wall, part of the retaining wall Herod the Great built around the temple.  Robinson arch supports the entrance to the Western Wall.  Three times a year Jews came to Jerusalem on Pilgrimage.  Jews are forbidden to go to the Temple Mount because they don’t know where Crusaders used the Dome of the Rock as a church.  The Temple Mount is where the first temple was built. The Al-Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock are built on the temple mount.  It is 35 acres and is the most sensitive area in the Middle East.  It was destroyed after 62 AD and was left untouched until 640 AD when Muslims built the Mosque on top.  Only the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies and could only enter it on Yom Kippur.  The High Priest would offer the sacrifice on behalf of the people.  When the temple was burned it exploded and was heard 22 miles away in Jericho.

The Western Wall (Wailing Wall) is the closest spot that Jews are allowed to the Holy of Holies in the Temple and the Golden Dome.  The bottom part of the wall is Herodian stone—every stone has a frame around it.  The Byzantine stone is above it.  Orthodox Jews wear black hats, black pants and black robes when they go to the wall because of their ancestors.  Male Jews are required to grow their beards, side burns and to touch mezuzah.  A mezuzah is a case on the door frames of homes and some businesses to remind you of the presence of God. Men and women are separated at the wall.  Women have a smaller area on the right—men go to the left.  Some wear tassels or prayer shawls when they visit the wall to remind them of the Ten Commandments.  When they read from the Torah at the wall they rock.  This is because when they pray and rock, they are involving their whole mind, body and soul.  They take a few steps back from the wall, and then they turn around before they leave the area.  Some Jewish women back all the way out of the area away from the wall.  At the age of 13 a male child is considered a child of God.

People write prayer requests on small pieces of paper and put them in cracks in the wall. These cracks were filled as high as one could reach.  We prayed with our hand on the Western Wall. 

We went down the steps to the Jerusalem Archeological Park.  The real excavations began in the 1960s.  They found many stones.  One weighs over 500 tons.  They moved the stones with carts and oxen as well as pulleys.  This excavation project started because they saw the upper part of the southern wall and arch.  They started excavating and found the entire wall and the arch as well as streets, columns, etc.

Mt. Mariah was where the 1^st and 2^nd temples were built and destroyed.  People spent weeks traveling three times a year to come here.  It was the largest structure in the country.  Even the smallest stone weighed 2 ½ tons.  The Ark of the Covenant was here in the first temple.  The dome was built in 711 AD.  The retaining wall and some additions were added by Herod the Great. 

The Hulda Gates were the main gates on the south side that led up into the Temple.  The staircase going into the temple was added so thousands could walk into the temple.   The people would come and bring an animal for sacrifice.  They would go into one of many sacrificial baths--down one set of steps into the pool and go up the steps on the other side pure and clean--ready to offer their sacrifice.  Then they would go to the Holy Temple.  Only Jews could were allowed to go in certain areas.  Women and children were also restricted as to where they could go.  Only prophets and kings can be buried in Jerusalem. 

One stone on the southwest corner had inscribed “House of the Prophet” which is one reason it was put on the Temple.    The Babylonians destroyed the first Temple—the one Solomon built.  Titus burned the second Temple.  Nehemiah came back in 515 and rebuilt the wall.  This was Herod’s temple wall.  The stones were from the second Temple.  We saw the arch that is part of the Crusader Church.  It was used as a church but now is used as a Mosque. 

We went to the steps that would take us up to the 2^nd Temple.  Down from here were the healing pools—spiritual cleansing, not a bath.  The steps were built with one deep/wide step, then one narrow step.  This kept people from rushing into the Temple.  They had to use Jewish coins.  If they had Roman coins they had to exchange them and would lose 50% of its value.

Jesus taught in three places:  Capernaum, the Temple Courtyard/steps, and the Mount of Olives.  We were on the steps where Jesus taught.  There is a step where we were that is part of the original foundation of the temple.  They are 100% sure Jesus taught here and walked on that specific stone that all of us stood on.  Gary read from Matthew.  We heard several roosters crow throughout the day, heard the calls to prayer, and heard them praying at the Wailing Wall.

It was a busy and emotional day--but an awesome day.  We got back to the hotel at 4:00 to rest before supper.  We had another good buffet at 6:30.  After supper some of us went to Cup O Joe’s. 

Day 7 - Wednesday, January 19, 2011

We were up at 6.  Breakfast was at 6:30.  We had the usual buffet.  The fresh grapefruit juice was the best I have ever had.  We left the hotel at 7:30 after prayer and Gary played the song, “Have You Had a Gethsemane?”

Temple Mount (Dome of the Rock) – The Temple Mount is where Abraham brought his son, Isaac, to be sacrificed.  There is a dome that covers a rock where it is said that he was brought for the sacrifice.  Solomon built the first Temple over that rock.  The Temple was destroyed 586 BC.  The second Temple was built where the first Temple was.  It lasted until 70 AD when Titus destroyed it.  The Temple Mount is sacred to Jews, Muslims and Christians. The original Temple was sacred to the Jews, their most holy place. Muslims believe it is the site of the Prophet Muhammad's journey to heaven. Christians believe Jesus was there often.  Jesus was dedicated at the Temple.  Satan tempted him at the Temple, he lost his temper at the Temple and he taught on the Temple steps.  The Temple holds the Al Aqsa Mosque, one of the oldest in the world; the Dome of the Rock, holds the rock previously described; the Western Wall, considered to be one of the Jews’ holiest places; Islamic Museum; and Solomon’s Stables, which are underground.

The area we were on is built on arches, an extension of Herod the Great.  This was the Court of the Gentiles.  The money changers were in this area.  This is all controlled by the Muslims.  Any house of prayer is called a mosque by the Muslims.  In the Muslim religion, they believe Mohammed came here at night and prayed with the prophets.  They don’t believe in the crucifixion and do not believe that Jesus was the Son of God.  They think Jesus ascended without being crucified and that Mohammed was ascended and he came back here with five prayers—the five they pray every day.  It is considered by Muslims to be the 3^rd most holy city.  After the death of Mohammed, the Dome of the Rock was built.  It commemorates the ascension of Mohammed to Muslims.  Jews believe it is the rock on which Abraham was about to sacrifice Isaac.  It is also believed that the Ark of the Covenant was here in the first Temple.  In 1099 the Crusaders came and converted them to churches.  Later the Crusaders lost a battle with Saladdin and he restored it back into a mosque.  In the 1960s after Jerusalem was reunited, a Jew tried to burn the mosque.  Many people were also killed.  Israeli police are in charge but there are also Muslim police.  This is the most sensitive area in the Middle East.  We saw security in several places here.  It is very ornate and is octagonal  shaped.  It has blue tile and a copper dome.  When there are archaeological digs, the Muslims get very upset.  Jordan is called in to do the work.  The Dome of the Rock is called the pearl of Jerusalem.  Jews are forbidden to go there because they don’t know exactly where the Holy of Holies was and it could have been at this location.  Muslims cover their heads, faces, and feet every time before they pray.

We saw the Eastern/Golden Gate.  Solomon rebuilt this wall on top of the ruins from where the Temple was destroyed.  It is on the eastern side of the Temple Mount.  Jewish tradition has it that this is the gate through which the Messiah will come back.  It has been permanently sealed to prevent the Messiah from returning through it.  Jesus passed through this gate, which is opposite the Mount of Olives, when he entered Jerusalem with his disciples on Palm Sunday.  Solomon wanted to enter Jerusalem through the eastern gate.  There was to be a parade for Solomon to come to Jerusalem.  He had a dream and ordered the gate to be sealed.  There was a tomb on the other side of the gate.  Below this gate is the Roman gate (from the time of Jesus).

We went through what is referred to in Israel as the “eye of the needle.”  It is a small exit at the Temple Mount.  You could possibly get a camel through it, but it would be very difficult. 

Next on our agenda was to walk the Palm Sunday Path from the Mount of Olives.  The Mt. of Olives is the hill that is east of the old city but in Jerusalem.  Prophecy says that the Mount of Olives will be where Jesus will walk when he returns—from the east--so Jews want to be buried in the Mt. of Olives cemetery so they will be the first ones to rise and walk with Him.  They wrap the deceased and take the body there.  They dig a hole with a small entrance.  A stone lid is then placed over the hole.  Instead of flowers, visitors place rocks on the stone grave lids.  Their thinking is flowers fade away but stones do not.  They lay bodies on top of other bodies already in the graves. 

On the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), the high priest sacrificed the goat at the Temple, for the sins of all the Jews for that year.  They would bring another goat to the Mt. of Olives, take it to a high cliff and push it to its death, taking away their sins away.  After that, the person who pushed the goat off would wave a flag.  The high priest at the Temple would then see “it is finished.”

Jesus and the disciples walked the path from Bethany (where Jesus would stay when he traveled) and continue through the Mt. of Olives on Palm Sunday.  He was captured at the foot of the Mt. of Olives.  He was ascended from the top of the Mt. of Olives.  There is a beautiful view of Old Jerusalem from the Mt. of Olives.

When the Franciscans were working on the fields, they ran into an ancient cemetery that goes back to the 1^st century.  We saw bone boxes.  The body was in the middle with boxes on boxes on the side.

The Mt. of Olives is separated from Jerusalem by the Kidron Valley.  The Garden of Gethsemane is at the foot of the mountain of the Mt. of Olives.  The 3^rd Jerusalem – the City of David – was established after Solomon built the Temple.

We were coming down the Mt. of Olives and stopped at a place where Jesus wept over Jerusalem at a church designed as a teardrop “from heaven”—Dominus Flevit.  They used to collect their tears in a bottle and bury that jar with the dead, burying their grief.  Matthew 23 was read by Karen Woodall.  We saw trees similar to the ones that the crown of thorns was made of.  The thorns are about two inches long, very sharp and strong.  Psalm 56:8 says that Jesus will put our tears in his bottle.  We prayed for those who were grieving.

Our next stop on this walk was the Garden of Gethsemane.  Olive trees are in the garden.  They are strong trees that live thousands of years with a strong immune system.  All of the trees in this garden go back to the time of Jesus.  Gethsemane was an olive press.  Gethsemane means “an olive press.”  The Disciples and Jesus came here after the last supper.  Jesus left eight disciples at the bottom of the hill.  80-400K people were here at that time because of Passover and were camping all over the hill.  They took Jesus from here to the house of Caiaphas.  There is a church at the foot of the mountain named the Basilica of Agony.  It is next to the Garden of Gethsemane.  It is said to have THE rock on which Jesus prayed in the garden the night he was betrayed until he had sweat beads of blood.  The windows are made of alabaster to remember Jesus in the garden praying.  Jim Gregory had devotion.

Judas left the other disciples somewhere close to where we were.  Peter, James and John went up the mountain a little further than the other disciples.  We had a moment of silence for meditation.  We sat in the area where Jesus prayed and put our hand on the rock Jesus prayed on.  When you come out of the church you face the closed Eastern Gate of the city.

Judas hanged himself in the Valley.  The Mountain of the Evil Council is where the Council came to get rid of Jesus.  Now the United Nations for Jerusalem meets there.

Our next stop was the Church of St Peter in Gallicantu, where the House of Caiaphas used to be.  Jesus was taken here after he was accused of being a King.   It would have been inside the walls of Jerusalem at Jesus’ time.   The High Priest was in charge of the Temple.  The gate tells the story of the Peter’s denial.  They brought Jesus here to stand in front of the Sanhedrin—69 Sanhedrin and one Priest.  If you disrespected them, you disrespected God.  He was accused of being disrespectful and was kept in a dungeon under the house (described later) overnight.

It was in that courtyard that Peter denied Jesus.  The church here reminds us that the thief on the cross repented as did Mary Magdalene.  They want us to remember the repentance of Jesus.  Vicki Walton gave devotion.

We went into the prison area in the house of Caiaphas.  This is where they took Jesus—into the pit/dungeon.  There is one hole in the cave to lower and pull the prisoner up by a rope.  It was dark with no light at all and cold.  Jesus spent the night in a pit like this before he went to Pontius Pilate.  Gary read Psalm 88.  We went to the courtyard where Peter denied Christ.  On the outside of the courtyards there were ancient steps.  These were here in Jesus time.  It connected Jerusalem to Gethsemane.

Our next stop was Bethlehem.  We at lunch at the Christmas Tree restaurant and had a choice of falafel or shawerma.

The mountain with a flat top is where Herod the Great is buried.  It is eight miles from Jerusalem to Bethlehem.

Israel is building a fence around it.  It will be 450 miles when completed.  Bethlehem is in West Bank and means House of Bread.  We went through a check point.  Bethlehem is the biggest community of Palestinian Christians.  It is eight miles from Jerusalem.  Ruth came here with Naomi and met Boaz.  Rachel is buried here.  Samuel came to the House of Jesse.  David left Bethlehem and went into the Shiite Valley and met Goliath there.

The shepherd’s field is right outside of Bethlehem.  There is 50% unemployment in Bethlehem and 70% live under the poverty line.  The average income in Bethlehem is $500-$600 per month.  One of the biggest industries is olive wood.  There is not much middle class there.  One is either rich or poor.  Bethlehem appeared to me to be a dirty, poor town. 

We went to the YMCA Shepherd’s Field.  We were in the Judean Mountains.  In Jesus’ time there was always a problem between shepherds and farmers.  The image of the shepherd in the Bible is important.  The shepherd looks over the sheep, goats and if one goes astray the shepherd would go and find it.  The shepherd is out in the field and wilderness.  The goat/sheep know the voice of the shepherd.  Goats are naughty.  Sheep are dumb.  Shepherds will break a leg or tie two together if the goat is naughty to get their attention.

It gets really cold in the desert.  The best shelter is a cave.  The caves maintain a temperature of 68-69 degrees year round.  The cold cave was not mentioned in the Bible.  The Manger was mentioned three times.  The natural cave is a hole in the rock.  The shepherds stayed with their goats/sheep in the caves at night.  By keeping them in the cave, they could protect them and keep them together in one place.  The angels appeared to the homeless shepherds.  They could have appeared to the dignitaries, or Herod, but God chose for them to appear to the shepherds, the lowly people of the region.

Our next stop was the Church of the Nativity.  We were in the Manger Square.  The Town of Bethlehem was a small town at the top of a mountain.  Part of this mountain had caves in it.  All of the rooms in the town were full so Mary and Joseph went into a cave.  Queen Helena built the Church of the Nativity.  It is octagonal shaped and was built in 515 AD.  Most churches in the Holy Land were destroyed by the Persians but not the Church of the Nativity because there was an icon on it of the three kings, who were from Persia.  This is one of the almost 535 churches in the Holy Land.  It is built over the manger where Jesus was born and is Greek Orthodox.  There is a 14-point star on the floor depicting where Jesus was born.  We touched that and the manger Jesus was laid in.  The night before we were there was Christmas for the Armenians.  The Greek Orthodox Jews remember Jesus’ Baptism on this day.  The Catholics have their part on the other side and we visited that.  To become a Christian it used to be a 2-year process.  The service used to be 3-4 hours long.  If you stayed loyal for one year you could become a member of the church.

St. Jerome was a monk.  About 385 AD he stayed in a cave and translated the Bible from Hebrew and Greek to Latin.  The monks came to be because they didn’t think being a Christian was good enough so they went into the wilderness to try to live like Jesus did.

We stopped at a gift shop and many of us bought nativity scenes, jewelry and other gifts.  It belonged to the family of Louie, our tour guide.  On the way back from Bethlehem we went through a check point to get back into Jerusalem.  Two military men with M16 guns walked through the bus to see what we had with us.  They were impressed with Gary’s notepad.  We went through the point with no problem.

Point of history:  From 1948 to 1967 Jerusalem was divided.  The east was Arab and the west was Jewish.  The seven-day war reunited it when the west took over the east.

We were back at the hotel by 5 p.m. and went for a walk down King David Street to a shopping mall.  Our dinner at the hotel was buffet.

Day 8 – Thursday, January 20, 2011

We had a wake-up call at 6 and breakfast at 6:30.  The fruit, baked goods, and other dishes were as good as always.  We boarded the bus at 7:45.  We prayed, heard scripture read, and listened to “I Will Lift You There—a Higher Place.”  We set out on our route to Masada.

From Jerusalem to the Dead Sea is a 4,200 foot drop.  We saw shepherds with their goats in the desert.  These shepherds live in make-shift housing—tin siding, tents, anything they can pick up to make shelter from.  Bedouin women keep the tent up, cook, etc.  Their tents are made from black goat skin.  It expands in the summer to allow the wind to blow through.  In the winter it contracts to keep the heat in.

Sea level is in the desert.  The masters of the desert were from the Arabian Desert.  They would bring wares and ship them west to Europe.  They were masters of the desert because they knew how to find the scarce water.  The trip took 60 days to travel.  It took so long and they went so often that they built towns along the way.  In the traveling they built the town of Petra.  Eventually it was taken over by the Romans.

The Dead Sea runs from North to South.  It is 55 miles north to south and 11 miles east to west.  It is 1,000 feet deep at its deepest point and is 3 times saltier than any other sea.  Its main supplier of water is the Jordan River.  It loses 5 feet every year because the Jordanians blocked the water from the Jordan.  They are talking with Jordan about bringing water from the Red Sea into the Dead Sea.  The Dead Sea is really just a large lake.  In antiquity they thought it was a cursed sea but now it is a rich source of minerals.  It generates $3 M revenue each year.  Nothing can live in it because of the dense salt level.  Anything you put in the Dead Sea will float.  People from all over the world come to the Dead Sea to treat their bodies because of the minerals that are good for the skin.  The sea has dropped down from the mountain level since the 1802 and will continue to drop if they don’t get an agreement worked out with Jordan to have water piped in from the Red Sea.  It is about 180 miles from the Dead Sea to the Red Sea.

We rode past date farms.  David and his followers came here.  Saul and David went into a cave.  David had a chance to kill Saul but didn’t. 

Our next stop was the Mountain of Masada.  Masada is the Hebrew word for fortress.  King Herod was appointed by David Anthony.  Herod built seven fortresses for himself, one of which was Masada.  However, we do not know if he ever went to Masada.  He had a fear of Nabataens and Cleopatra.  Herod sent his engineers to the desert to find a place he could protect himself--with 39 towers, cisterns, palaces, synagogue, bath houses, and store rooms.  They took the stones from the mountain to build the walls and fortress.  They did bring some pillars and things but used much of what was there.  The eight squares constructed from stones around Masada were Roman camps.  The Romans built a rock wall all around Masada to keep anyone from leaving and to keep them from bringing in boulders to build.

After Kind Herod’s death the Romans kept Masada until 66AD when Jewish zealots took it over.  The Jews changed Masada to fit their needs.  In 70 AD Titus destroyed the temple in Jerusalem.  In 72 AD Masada was besieged for seven months.  There were 960 Jewish rebels.  Romans built a ramp onto the wall.  They used Jewish slaves to build the ramp so if the rebels threw boulders or stones over they would be killing their own people.   When the zealots saw that the Romans were going to take over, they met and decided to kill themselves rather than be made slaves to them.  There were ten men left after they had killed each other.  They “drew” to see who would kill the last people.  When the Romans got there it was silent.  There were two women and a few children left because the men could not bring themselves to kill them.  The women told the story to Josephus.  Israel says Masada will never fall again—it is a point of pride for them.  When young people today go into the military, they take them up to the top of Masada with a Bible for them to take their oath. 

We watched a movie about the history of Masada then rode a cable car up to the top of the mountain.  It is on the west side of the Dead Sea.  To the south is Sodom and Gomorrah.  The entire fortress-hill was surrounded by a canal.  The closest spring was a 6-hour walk.  When there was a flash food, they brought the water through canals down for storage into cisterns.  Everything under the black line of the stone is original.  The rest is restored.  The area was excavated in the 1960s.  There is a Mosaic there from 37 BC.  We saw the Northern Palaces.  There were three palaces.  July is the hottest month but on top of Masada there is always a breeze.  Herod had the best engineers.  It was very luscious.  The headquarters of the Roman camp were on the north side.

The bath house was a Roman feature introduced to this part of the world here.  It was a half day event for men only.  They would socialize, bathe, drink wine and talk.  First was the cold room.  The 2^nd was the warm room and the third was the biggest—the hot room which was a combination of a sauna and a hot tub.  They kept the room warm with wood under the floor, which sat on pillars.  They had the heat funneled around the room through pipes (clay looking stones with holes in them to let the heat out).  They could do the heat room because of the arched ceiling.  These rooms and their functionality were really very luxurious for that time period.

We visited the synagogue of Masada which has a cemetery for scrolls.  As a scroll gets damaged, you didn’t burn it or throw it away, they buried it.  This is the place the men met that night and made the decision to die instead of being captured and made slaves.

We saw where the ramp to the hill was.  After the Romans took over Masada, it became Christian.  Some did not think that was good enough so some of them established monasteries.  We were in a church dating back to the 5^th century.  Monks came here to spend their time in worship and to be “better” Christians.  Sherrill Denning had devotion.

In the coffee shop and at lunch today we heard music in English by the Beach Boys, Elvis, Andy Williams, Dean Martin, Otis Redding, Frank Sinatra and Johnny Cash.  So far on our trip we have ridden in a car to the airport, a plane, a boat, a bus, and now a cable car.

Our next stop was Qumran. Qumran is a mountain area in the desert where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in 1947 by two young Bedouin shepherds who were looking for a lost goat.  The Bedouin took some of the scrolls to an antique dealer.  He knew what they were and got the shepherd to bring him some more.  The shepherd tore them apart so he could get more money for them.  The Israeli museum is known as the “Shrine of the Book.”  There were thousands of scrolls found and they are in Israeli museums.  The Essenes thought this was a good secluded place for prayer between 160 BC to 68 AD.  Franciscans excavated this area and found an Essenes monastery.  The scrolls were found in pottery jars in 14 different caves all around this area.  Everything has now been excavated so there are no more to be found.  The most important scroll they found was the Book of Isaiah.  The only book they did not find is the Book of Esther.  The scroll was made of animal skin and it had to be kosher—no pig skin.  If they make any mistakes when writing it, they would bury the scroll.  It would take a year’s salary to buy a scroll. 

The story goes back to the period of the Maccabees.  They fought the Greeks in 138 BC.  They combined being the king and being the high priest.  That was the reason to form the group of Essenes.  The Essenes lived everywhere, but the extremist decided to come here to the desert to settle.  They wanted to live in a walled, peaceful community.  They did not want to participate in any war.  If you wanted to become part of their community you had to donate everything you owned.  It was ruled by three high priests and 12 elders.  Essenes had to have a ritual cleansing bath for purification—women after monthly periods or giving birth, and men before meals.  Their most valuable treasure was their library.  At one point in 66 AD they thought it was the final war.  They took their jars and hid them in caves and abandoned this area.  Those jars stayed in the caves until 1947.  We saw Mt. Nebo where Moses looked over the promise land.

We ate lunch at the Qumran cafeteria then shopped at the gift shop where they sell AHAVA—skin products shipped all over the world made from minerals from the Dead Sea. 

Our next stop was Kalia Beach at the Dead Sea, the lowest place on earth.  Some of our group went swimming.  One’s head has to remain above water because of the salt and mineral content.  It was black sand/soil—a muddy consistency.  Several covered their skin with the soil, as it is said to contain healing minerals.  Everything floats in the Dead Sea. 

On our way to Bethany we rode past a field where camels were roaming freely.  We arrived there about 4 p.m.  There were slaughtered animals hanging in front of shops and trash everywhere.  Chickens were in cages on the sidewalk.  If one wanted a chicken, you picked it out, the store owner killed and dressed it while you waited. 

Bethany is three miles outside of Jerusalem.  It is the first town you come to from the town of Jericho.  When Jesus traveled, he stayed here at the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus.  Many events took place in Bethany.  Jesus was down in the Jordan area.  He received word to come to Lazarus while he was still living but did not come to Bethany until the 4^th day.  Jewish tradition says the soul stays with the body three days and then it is gone on the 4^th day.  That is why it is so important that Jesus came on the 4^th day—there was no question that Lazarus was dead and not just in a deep sleep.  Roger Joseph read John 11.  Jesus raised Lazarus three miles outside of Jerusalem.  That is when the Council decided to get rid of him.  The church is in the shape of the tomb.  The banquet at the house of the leper was in Bethany.  We went in the Church of Bethany that had four mosaics depicting the major events there.

We left the Church of Bethany and went up to Lazarus’ tomb.  You had to walk down steps and only 3 or 4 could go at a time.  There were small shops on the same street, as well as street vendors.  Some of us shopped while the others went in the tomb. 

We rode back to the hotel and arrived at 6:15.  Supper was at 6:30—again, buffet style.  We prepared our suitcases after dinner for the trip home.

Day 9 – Friday, January 21, 2011

We were to have our suitcases outside our rooms by 11:15.  Breakfast was at the hotel and we were on our own for lunch.

Some of us walked down King David Street and through the mall.  We went in the King David Hotel where diplomats stay.  Everyone had a choice for Friday morning activity—either free time to walk around or visit the Israeli Museum.  I went to the Israeli Museum.

(Some of this info is repeats of what Louie had already told us.)

The Israeli Museum houses 26’ of scrolls that were found.  The museum architects designed the museum in the shape of the top of the jars in which the scrolls were found.  The black wall and the white dome in the museum symbolize the sons of light (right) and the sons of darkness.  The “Shrine of the Book” is housed there.  The “Book” is the biblical scrolls found at Qumran.  The museum houses a 1:50 scale model of the City of Jerusalem at the time of the Second Temple—during Jesus’ time.

Jerusalem’s first temple period was from Solomon/David to 586 BC before the Babylonian exile.  On the same site the first temple was built, then the second temple.  The second temple period is the one more important to the Israelis. 90% of Jerusalem is currently occupied.  70 AD Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans.  Herod’s temple is the one that was enlarged for Herod.  Herod’s temple is the Temple Jesus saw.  Herod died about the time Jesus was born, 4 BC.  74 years after Herod’s death, the city was completely destroyed.  There were 15 Psalms of ascent.  Every Jew knew the entire book of Psalms. 

After 44 AD, the 3^rd wall was built—after Jesus crucifixion.  The Southern Gates were the gates that most of the people went to when they went to the Temple.  It was on the southern side that Jesus did his teachings.  The Muslims were never allowed archaeological digs on the Temple Mount.  During Passover, 1M people came to the Temple.  24K sacrifices a day were made during Passover.  Roman houses had red roofs.  210’ high is the pinnacle of the Temple where Jesus was tempted by
Satan to throw himself down.

The original city of David was 15 acres.  Helena built the palaces on the original 15 acres of Jerusalem.  Priests lived in upper Jerusalem.  There is no building left from original Jerusalem after the destruction 70 AD except the Western Wall—the most sacred site for the Jews.

We went back to the hotel and after lunch boarded the bus for a few more stops before going to the airport.  We were excited to be going home, but hated to leave this place.  On our way to Emmaus, we learned more bits and pieces. 

All the shops close today at 2 p.m. for Shabbat – the Sabbath.  The YMCA here is the most elaborate one in the world.  We passed the American Consulate.  Gas is $8 per gallon.  There are still arranged marriages by the Orthodox Jews but they do not force them to get married.  The Arabs still do also.  Since 1948 they have planted over 250M trees.  From the Bible we know Israel was covered in trees.  The Turks cut most of them down.  Jerusalem is the only holy city in the world that has a memorial for 911 except for the United States.  They have the name of every person who died at 911 on a memorial.  Arabs cannot have dogs because they believe they are unclean.

We passed a mountain where the Ark of the Covenant was kept for 20 years.  From here David took the Ark to Jerusalem and after Solomon built the Temple, it was put in there.  No matter which way you go into Jerusalem, you always go up.  It is 2400 feet above sea level.

There are three places that commemorate the Walk to Emmaus. The Scriptures tell us it was seven miles.  The exact location is not known.  Current Emmaus is ~15 miles outside of Jerusalem.  Luke recorded that Cleophas and Simon were walking to Emmaus and Jesus appeared to them, following His Resurrection.  This church was built by the Byzantines to remember Jesus’ appearance.  Lynn Singletary read Luke 14.

Churches were built in the 5^th/6^th Century and this one was one of the biggest churches built—it was between Jerusalem and Joppa—a sea port—so that is why there was so much travel here.  We went inside of the church, but the church is in ruins so there is not much left of it.  In 614 AD the Persians invaded and destroyed every church in Jerusalem except the Holy Sepulcher.  Then the Muslims destroyed what was left.  It was in 1099 that the Crusaders started to rebuild the Christian churches.  At 3:30 we boarded the bus. 

Macabees fought against the Greeks.  There was a new city built in honor of the fight.

What is the symbolism of the Jerusalem Cross? The Crusaders came back in 1099 to restore Jerusalem.  There were four countries that comprised the Crusaders who came.  The cross represents Jerusalem and the four points represent the four countries—Spain, France, England and Germany.

Our next stop was the Garden Tomb.  We arrived there at 4:30.  It was established in 1894 by a British Charity.  It is still run by the British.  2,000 years ago it was a Jewish stoning place.  They think Stephen was stoned here.  They think he may have been stoned to death at the same place Jesus was crucified.  Protestants believe Jesus was buried in this garden tomb.  Details in the Scriptures support this as the location.  Crucifixion was saved for slaves and criminals because they did not crucify Roman citizens.  Some people never made it to crucifixion because the flogging was so severe that it killed them.  All crucifixions were carried out outside of the city walls and on a busy thoroughfare.  Crosses were no taller than six feet.  They wanted the criminals to be eye level with the people walking by.  Sacrifices were carried in through the north side of the city.  The Bible says Jesus was brought to a place called Golgotha—the place of the skull.  We saw the outline of a skull in the stone.  It is located on the northern tip of Mt. Mariah.  Isaac carried the wood on his back to be sacrificed, as did Christ 2,000 years later.

Our second stop in the Garden was a vineyard.  They found a wine press more than 2,000 years old.  Because of the winepress, they believe it was owned by someone who was wealthy.  A larger water system was needed to water the vineyard.  There is a large water holding tank over the place we were.  Joseph of Aramethea owned this land.  He had a tomb that had never been opened.  It was a rich man’s tomb.  This is the tomb Jesus was placed in.  The tomb was discovered in 1867 when they excavated.  Because of a crack in the tomb, geologist confirmed that it was the tomb Jesus was buried in.  There was an earthquake the day Jesus died and the scriptures tell us the earth cracked.

Joseph of Aramethea, with Nicodemus, carried Jesus along with spices, to prepare his body for burial after he was removed from the cross.  There is a plaque over what they believe is Jesus’ tomb that reads, “He is not here, but He is risen.”  This tomb is over 2,000 years old and we were able to go in it.

Our third stop in the Garden was an open chapel area.  Gary used the new Chalice he bought on our trip to serve communion.  We sang “I Come to the Garden.”  There were other religious groups in the other open chapels singing at the same time in their native languages.  One was singing, “Because He Lives.”  The sun was beginning to set, and we heard the call to prayer for Muslims.  We were taking communion about the same time of day that Jesus would have been taken down off of the cross, because he had to be taken down from the cross before the Sabbath began at sundown.

It was a very meaningful time—taking communion in a place Jesus was, with people from all over the world, worshiping the same God.  We all received olive wood communion cups at the site to remember our experience here.  David Spivey led the devotion.  We had communion and sang, “Alleluia.”   We boarded the bus at 5:40.

We ate supper at a Mediterranean restaurant named Pasha’s, had pita bread, hummus, pickled turnip, lamb and chicken kabobs, rice, salad and pastry desserts with honey that were the size of donut holes.  We boarded the bus for our final trip to the airport at 7:15 p.m.  They played “The Holy City” again as we traveled.  The bus was silent as we reflected on the holiness of this place, what we had seen and experienced. 

We stopped at a look out to look over the wall of Jerusalem one last time and to see the city at night.  A full moon shone over the city.  It was beautiful.   

We arrived at the airport at 7:45 and went through security.  We waited in the Tel Aviv airport until time to board.  The flight left on time, 11:55 p.m., and was uneventful.  We arrived at the Philadelphia International Airport on schedule, 5:25 a.m.

Day 10 – Saturday, January 22, 2011

We had a layover at Philadelphia International Airport before we boarded to fly to RDU.  Our flight left at 9:30 a.m., and we arrived RDU at 10:53 a.m.  We were served breakfast on our way in.  The weather in Raleigh was very cold that day—something we had not been used to on our trip.  It had been a wonderful trip—a trip of a lifetime.

The Pilgrims on this journey would like to express our appreciation to Vicki Hardee for all her hard work and dedication in creating this Journal for the benefit of all.