Today was our last chance to see the Dome of the Rock and it was open. Elisa covered up in her new scarf, even though it was roasting out. It turned out not to be necessary either. We were able to get into the courtyard but no one is allowed inside the Dome of the Rock anymore, from what we understood. We tried to be as reverent as possible. I am still trying to understand why the site is still so holy to the Jews, given that the temple itself has been gone so long.
On the walk back to our hotel we stopped at the Garden Tomb again. This time we were actually able to walk inside the tomb. Inside the tomb was one of the few sites where we didn’t feel like it would be appropriate for us to take pictures. I was really glad we were able to come Friday and today. Friday was a day of meditation so there weren’t any tours allowed and it was so peaceful. But today we were able to access everything, which was great too.
Traveling back was relaxing. Stupid Swiss Airline cut short the entertainment before we were finished watching Enchanted though. Back in Zürich we were greeted by new snow! From our stay in Jerusalem, we were under the impression that the whole world was sunny and warm. We sure lucked out with the heat that Israel has been getting.
Elisa and I were a little naughty today. We weren’t going to go visit the West Bank because we wanted to be extra safe this trip. But since we’ve been through the West Bank twice already without even meaning to, we thought it would be OK. (Turns out you have to travel through the West Bank to go between Jerusalem and most of the rest of the country). A half-day guided tour to Bethlehem was just too tempting. It was an awesome tour too. There were only 5 of us and the guide was funny.
There is a cave that is famous as the site where Mary nursed Jesus. How they decided on this particular cave, I couldn’t tell you. It was thought that it was where Mary and Joseph hid during their flight from Herod’s decree to kill all the children. As the tradition goes, Mary’s breast milk turned the rocks white, and now is the source of fertility for women that touch it. It’s a very interesting and obviously Catholic tradition.
Outside of Bethlehem were the prettiest views in the area where the shepherds would have received the angel’s good tidings about Jesus’ birth. Not only was the site significant for that reason, but it also overlooked a valley where Ruth and Naomi lived and gathered from the fields. Elisa and I have appreciated the outdoor peaceful sites on all our tours.
Around another cave is a church that marks Jesus’ birth. The Church of Nativity has markings showing exactly where they believe Christ was born and where the manger was that he was laid in. One of the best parts about the church were the low doors. They were meant to keep out riding soldiers. But the interesting thing is their reminder for patrons to be humble.
Back from Bethlehem, we walked through the old city Jerusalem again. It wasn’t crowded today. Today is Easter Sunday so we were expecting chaos. We took a cab up Mount Scopus to try to see the BYU Jerusalem Center, but that was closed. Instead, we took some pictures overlooking Jerusalem and walked back to our hotel through the old city.
This is the last full day of our trip. We are trying to keep our schedule pretty open so that we can arrive back home rested and relaxed. Chad decided to top his Israeli experience off by trying a local delicacy. Ewww. As in, ewe. Our appetizer was stuffed lamb’s spleen. Elisa tried some too. 🙂 Elisa’s meal was tastier though. Oddly enough I had just been talking to him about how wrong it is to eat organs.
We had to wake up at 5:30 this morning to prepare for our trip to Galilee. We started with a long bus drive but it was a beautiful trip. We had a great guide today that really had a wealth of local knowledge to share that really enhanced our experience, especially since we were faced wih a lot more concrete and big churches built over the top of places we wish we could see intact. Some highlights on the drive up to Nazareth made even the long ride very interesting. We were shown the place where the last battle of Armageddon will take place as well as Mount Tabor or the Mount of Transfiguration. We have noticed that even though some of the sites may not be so historically/scientifically accurate it is nice to get an idea of the general geography. We have also noticed that the Catholic church loves to assign specific locations for the biblical events.
Our first stop was in the town of Nazareth where we visited the Basilica of the Annunciation. The church was built over the traditional site of Mary’s home, located in a grotto, where she was visited by the angel Gabriel. The church was beautiful. One of my favorite times of the day was looking at the different gifts of art donated by dozens of countries and cultures to commemorate Mary and Jesus or the Immaculate Conception. Nearby was another church for Saint Joseph built over what is believed to be the home of the young Jesus and his family.
We passed by some important places but didn’t have the opportunity to explore them ourselves. The mount of beatitudes was near a church that was built over the place Christ multiplied the loaves and the fishes. There are mounds of volcanic stones just like in some of the pictures. We also passed through Cana, where Christ performed his first miracle of changing water to wine at the wedding. Tiberius was another byway on our trip. Everything is so big and modern; we really had to use our imaginations.
We stopped at a site also owned by the Vatican enclosing the excavations of the city of Capernaum, where many of the apostles came from and Christ spent much of his ministry. Again we saw Simon Peter’s home and I bet you can guess what was built on top of it. There is also much of a synagogue intact that was built over the synagogue they believe Jesus frequented there. We listened to a lively spiritual given by a Nigerian group. Capernaum is right on the Sea of Galilee. It was exciting to see the place where so many wonderful stories from the New Testament happened.
Our final destination on the trip was the River Jordan. The area is kept pretty for visitors. That’s where John might have baptized Jesus. Lines of people were going down to the water to get baptized. It was like a baptizing machine. Two people from our group even went in. I was envious of the people being baptized where Jesus was and where it was that beautiful. Elisa and I waded in for the sake of being in the River Jordan.
