Israel

On Aug 27, we took a red-eye to Tel Aviv. I went through customs quickly and sat and waited for the rest of the group. I already loved Israel from the airport. So many emotional reunions, one friend meeting four others, a son hugging his mom. It was beautiful.

I switched buses (there were 7, I think, for the 260 of us) from Aqua to Blue. Blue Bus was guided by Moshe (the irony of being led around the Promised Land by a man named Moses). He met us at the airport and we boarded the bus to breakfast, immediately followed by sight seeing: Joppa, Ceasarea (pictured here is a reproduction of the Pontius Pilate stone, a major archaeological find evidencing the Gospels.)






The view from Mount Carmel of the Megiddo Valley.












Gave up trying to identify this plant. Want to try? A lady from my bus told me, but I forgot.







Felafel, my first of many!








This is the traditional site of the Transfiguration. This is what I meant from my previous post about Israel looking like Eastern Washington.






Breakfast! Challah!








The Sea of Galilee.

My roomie in Israel, Sue, with Mooch.











Friday morning, Jasmine and Mooch wait for Pastor Mark to speak at the Mount of Beatitudes.


Some rules about the Blessedness.










What they call the Jesus Boat, remains of a wooden boat carbon dated to the 1st Century. You can see the thick branches used to connect the longer boards. No machine-work here.






We took a little boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. Pastor Bill talked about the significance of Jesus' ministry: a 33-year-old man from a tiny town. I am 33 this year. I'm from a small town (not as small as Nazareth was, but).





The Jordan River Baptism site is a major center. There are plaques all around of the same verse from Mark 1, this particular translation makes me want to learn Hawaiian Pidgin. You'll have to click to expand. "You my boy!"








Ayanna gets dunked.












Katie gets dunked.















This is particularly for Nancy. Capernaum (phonetic of Kfar "village"+Nahum) is her favorite town and I found out that based on Matthew 4:13 it's generally agreed Jesus lived in Capernaum for the start of his public ministry. Mooch at the gate of the now-tourist spot.




Hard to understand this photo but it's a shot of the ruins of what is thought to be Peter's house, the surrounding wall of a church that was built around it, and a bottom beam of the modern day church that is built suspended over these two ruins.





Beit She'an. I never have to see another excavated Roman city.

This hill is where the Philistines hung King Saul and his sons' bodies after they were killed.






This goes along with my whole soap box about the fall of 'great' civilization.







"Jerusalem, our happy home."--David Crowder Band

This is our room in Jerusalem. Full makes a huge difference over Twin.

The view from our room.








One possible location whereat was uttered: "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."

The wares for sale outside the mosque nee Church of the Ascension.







A donkey on the Mount of Olives.

Walking down toward the Garden of Gethsemane (means "Olive Oil Press").










Ancient ossuaries: bones stored inside. Brings to mind phrases of "gathered to his people", "buried with his fathers", "carry my bones up from this place".

Jewish cemetery, all aligned toward the Temple.







Stained glass from the Church of the Agony, by the Garden of Gethsemane. My favorite church of the whole trip. Rather, the only one I did not dislike.









Me in unabashed tourist mode: fanny pack and strapped on camera case.











Group teaching #3, in the Garden Tomb, possible site where Jesus' body was laid after crucifixion.











My communion cup: Jasmine pointed out the South-America-shaped mark on it.


From inside what might be the garden tomb of Joseph of Arimathea.







Another olive tree.








We walked the Via Dolorosa, the Way of Suffering, which is the Roman Catholic "Stations of the Cross". I wasn't very interested since most of it isn't based in biblical account, but rather, folklore. However we did walk through the markets and I saw this model of the Ark of the Covenant.




Inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a different proposed site of the Crucifixion and burial tomb on the other side of Old Jerusalem. I was eerily impressed by people venerating this rock where some believe Jesus was lain.








Our Israeli guide, Moshe.













This is cool, a part of the wall of Old Jerusalem that you can see by peering down a Plexiglas covered well of sorts. It's the same wall rebuilt by Nehemiah! Just to think these rocks were placed one on top of another by men holding a sword in one hand.





The Western/Wailing Wall. Divided by gender. You can see how the devotion split is the same here. ;)

My close encounter. See the bride on the left side?








Notes tucked into the crevices.











We went to the Holocaust Memorial. This the view from the end of it. The light at the end of the tunnel, a vision of life.









Penultimate day in Israel, we went to Bet Lehem (House of Bread) where Jesus was born. This is a photo of the church there, no Inn in sight, and I was super creeped out by the dark, dank, underground. Seems way more like death than birth to me.




Wares for sale in the Bethlehem store. I managed to leave without any stuff and instead caught the interesting discussion between our Bethlehem guide and a fellow tourist on Palestine/Israel.




Some school boys.







Our last day, we drove down to the Dead Sea. This is the lowest point on earth. Here is an acacia tree.











The shade of a hut.

Wild flora.











En Gedi! I can see why springs are so prized. En = spring. Gedi = baby Ibex (mountain goat).










The Dead Sea. Shrinking rapidly. You can see the salt dried on the beach edge. In addition to floating in it, we treated our skin with the mud from the bottom which is a natural exfolient. Very cool. I was glad all my Facebook friends set me up with low expectations as I enjoyed it.





The ascent back to Jerusalem. Could be I-82 to Prosser, right?







The full moon over Jerusalem. Goodbye, lovely city. "'May they prosper who love you. Peace be within your walls, prosperity within your palaces.' For the sake of my brethren and companions, I will now say, 'Peace be within you.' Because of the house of the LORD our God I will seek your good."

Special thanks to my NYC roommate, Pamela, for letting me use her laptop to complete this entry.