Israel, Third Times A Charm!

Thursday, April 21, 2011

                        

We had trips to Israel planned from cruise ships in 2001 and 2006 and both were cancelled due to political unrest.  We have had our fingers crossed every day of this cruise…today we went to Israel!

We rose at 5:30, got organized and went to to the Showroom to pass through Israeli immigration only to learn that the officials were not on board yet. Time for a quick breakfast at the buffet in the La Fontaine dining room.  We met Liz and Bob, and Jan and passed through immigration and a thorough security check and left the gangway.  We met our personal tour guide, Jacob, at his van.  He was a short man with a fairly abrupt manner but his English was easy to understand and we could hear him throughout the van.  We talked very briefly about what we wanted to see and he helped us plan so we could get the maximum from our time.  Jacob pointed out that because of Holy Week and Passover everything would be crowded and many sites might be closed.  Christians, Jews, Muslims, school children, tourists, old, young…everyone was out and about this entire week. 

       

We left Ashdod and drove east though the countryside skirting Jerusalem and on through the Judean Desert to the Dead Sea with the Moab mountains of Jordan in the distance.  We passed many Bedouin villages in the desert. They lived in huts made of canvas and plywood, clustered in valleys along the highway.  Jacob pointed out that the huts were all open to the east.  They had herds of goats and sheep and a few camels grazing in areas with no discernable vegetation. 

  

  

As we descended from the desert toward the sea we passed a marker for sea level.  We dropped another 1200 feet before we reached to the Dead Sea.  Just prior to the sea we drove through an abandoned Jordanian military base.  Next was an oasis-like Kibbutz called Ein Feshka.  This kibbutz like many others was capitalistic in nature now and if they didn’t make a profit, they didn't survive.  This kibbutz also operated the resort at the edge of the Dead Sea.  We parked at their resort and watched as Jacob “negotiated” our entry.  We walked down steps and ramps to the edge of the water.  We were early enough that the beach was not crowded.  We all dipped our hands in the water, but did not participate in the floating and covering ourselves in mud.  Both the water and the mud felt oily due to the high salinity.  Security was at a high level and all Palestinians were being refused entrance to the resort. 

  

  

When we left the sea, we could see Jericho a few miles to the north.  We didn’t go there because it is in a Palestinian Zone and Jacob is Jewish and prohibited from entering.  The traffic toward the Dead Sea was getting very heavy and Jacob heard on his phone that there was a two hour delay.  Great timing because we sailed right back into Jerusalem without a worry. 

Our first stop was at an overlook on the Mount of Olives.  Because we were in a van, we had a front row parking space – no buses were allowed!  Our lookout point was surrounded by an Jewish cemetery.  Jacob described the panorama below us, pointing all the features in the walled city of Jerusalem.  We saw Mount Zion and the City of David.  We could also see the Garden of Gethsemane and the Church of All Nations below us on the slope of the hill.  We drove to that spot and walked through the small garden with its two thousand year old olive trees to the Church of All Nations.  This church is built over the location where Jesus prayed before his arrest.  The altar is believed to be the “rock of agony” where he prayed.  To be able to pray at this altar was a very moving experience. 

  

  

We then drove across the valley and around the walled city, parked in a parking garage and walked through a modern shopping plaza outside the wall as far as the Jaffa Gate.  We had lunch in the shopping plaza – egg salad or mushrooms on unleavened bread.  Not our best meal, but at least it was Kosher. 

Once inside the walled city, we wandered through the Christian Quarter with its narrow winding passages lined by vendors of all kinds.  Goods of all types spilled out of the shops onto the narrow marble walkways.  Jacob led us to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher on the site of Christ’s resurrection.  We had been forewarned that it might be closed and it was due to the heavy crowds.  Even Jacob couldn’t get us in. 

       

Disappointed but not defeated, we wandered through more narrow passages in the Jewish Quarter.  The shops here were cleaner, neater and didn’t spill out onto the walkway.   Our next stop was the Western (Wailing) Wall.  This wall is the outside western wall of the original Solomon’s Temple and a very sacred location in Judaism.  Men and women are separated but all can pray and place wishes on the wall.  It was very crowded but we managed to reach the wall and leave our personal requests. 

         

  

We then backtracked through the even more crowded passageways to exit at the Jaffa Gate.  We returned through the shopping plaza, found our van in the garage and left Jerusalem for the short drive south to Bethlehem.   Our walk had taken us over two and one half miles and we were exhausted. 

Once in Bethlehem, we had to cross a border checkpoint into that portion under Palestinian control.  Jacob could not enter (Jewish) so he arranged by phone for a colleague on the Palestinian side to meet us after we crossed through the long series of gates and wire corridors.  Security was very heavy and very strict, our identification was verified and our bags were x-rayed.  Jacob’s friend, Esau, met us at The Church of the Nativity which is built over the cave which is the birthplace of Jesus.  The church has three sections, Armenian, Orthodox, and Roman Catholic.  We visited each church.  The Catholic section is St. Catherine’s and they were beginning Holy Thursday services.  Below this church is a grotto where St. Jerome is believed to have translated the Bible.

   

From this grotto we went into the Orthodox section and waited one hour to descend into the Grotto of the Nativity, which is the stable (came) were Jesus was born.  An Orthodox Holy Thursday service was underway and part of that service including a procession down and through the grotto.  We wanted to see the grotto so we waited, and waited, and waited…  we had about two minutes in the grotto an it was extremely crowded.  Here we saw a 14 pointed star with a Latin inscription that read “Here, of the Virgin Mary, Jesus Christ was born.”  There was also a small area said to be the manger where the infant Jesus was laid.

  

Esau took us back to a souvenir shop where we played tourist.  Then it was back to the border where we went through the same checkpoint to return to the Israeli section.  We were happy to see Jacob and to begin the long drive back to Ashdod and our ship. 

It was a very long day with much walking, a lot of heavy concentration, much confusion about all the locations and their importance…but very rewarding.  The experience was a bit overwhelming because it took us to so many locations which have been central to our beliefs forever.  A bit much to really comprehend.  We were completely exhausted but Jacob reminded us that Jesus had a bad day also. 

A quick dinner on the Lido deck, a soak in a hot tub and to bed for a good sleep.  The five of us were meeting Jacob the next morning for a tour of Nazareth and the Sea of Galilee.