Masada at Sunrise and the Sea of Galilee

This morning we woke up at 4:30 AM (which is actually not as hard as it sounds b/c we have maintained the weirdest schedule... letting ourselves be jetlagged enough to go to bed at 8 every night and wake up by about 6 if we are lucky (to sleep that late) or earlier if not! One night we actually fell asleep at 7:30 p.m. and woke up around 11 p.m. feeling like it was morning already, and were able to fall back asleep thankfully until about 5:30 the next morning.

So anyways, we woke up at 4:30 this morning after going to be at 8:30 last night and took the "Snake Path" up the side of the Masada mount where Herod built his great fort and palace (recently featured on the cover of National Georgraphic. First off - it was DARK when we started and we didn't have a flash light, and I was pretty miserable! Tripping over stones and stumbling around and we weren't event on the path yet! Enough light finally came up for us to see where we were stepping and we hiked up the winding path until we finally reached the top in time for sunrise. It took us about 45 laboring minutes. Mom asked about Mount of Olives and "sweating it to the top"... well, it was still cool in Jerusalem, but that walk was pretty inclined and long, but that was NOTHING compared to this. I can't imagine doing it in the day time when the sun is up!! Its so much warmer down by the Dead Sea, where Masada is at already, and then its a STEEP walk up a thousand stairs and some pathway without stairs, and I felt winded most of the time. So needless to say sunrise from the top overlooking the Dead Sea was VERY rewarding.

We walked all around the top for about an hour and a half before we HAPPILY paid $8 to take the cable car down the mountain (The cable car wasn't running when we headed up, but we might have hiked it anyways for the "fun" of it).

We had breakfast and left the Dead Sea and headed due north. We made it to Tiberius for lunch and had "St. Peter's Fish" at a table overlooking the Sea of Galilee.

The Sea of Galilee (of course really a lake) was very beautiful, with a frame of mountains on the opposite bank.

Now we're in Haifa, a port city, and tomorrow we'll explore things here and head to the town of Akko nearby.

Then to Jaffa for our last night!! Our flight doesn't leave until 11 p.m. on Saturday though, so we still actually have two full days. But it has flown by.

Mom- you also mentioned driving around, and yes we feel Sooooo safe. They have security measures here down to a TEE but in a way that doesn't make you feel scared, just very very safe. Driving has totally been the way to go! So much more freedom and less hassle with group tours.

Love to everyone!!
Meagan

THE GARDEN TOMB

This morning we totally lucked into The Garden Tomb. I had wanted to go, but Fodor's said the hours were 2-5:30 (weird!?) and we were leaving Jerusalem this morning for the Dead Sea region to stay the night at Masada (which we'll hike to the top of at sunrise tomorrow!). So we decided to just walk there anyways this morning before we went to go pick up our rental car, and the hours were actually 9-12 and then 2:00-5:30 - a typo in Fodor's had left out the morning hours... and how HAPPY I WAS we decided to go by anyways.

The Garden Tomb is an alternate theory to the Church of the Holy Seplechure (sp?) as the place where Jesus was crucified, died, and rose again... and I LOVED IT. In the late 1800s (and I don't have time to look up the exact specifics, so this is the gist of it - I only have 20 minutes on this computer before my time is up) someone was staying in a place in Jerusalem (a british historian or scholar maybe?) and he always noticed this rocky face of a skull staring back at him from his window view... and he was convinced it was the Biblical "place of the Skull" ... and so finally convinced enough people to do excavation of the site.
Several things from the Bible and history correlate with this location...
The crucification happened outside of the city gate ... this Garden is outside of the Domascus (sp) Gate
The Bible references the Place of the Skull - and there is a clearly a skull impression in the rocks there
Romans crucified people near busy roads, so all could see... and this location is just near the historical road between Jericho and Jerusalem and Bethlahem
Joseph of Arimathea gave his just finished, very new tomb for Jesus' body, and the tomb excavated and found in this Garden has all the signs of a very new (so new, there are signs it wasn't completely finished yet when someone was laid there) tomb.
There are a few other things about the tomb itself, written about in the Bible, that correlate very closely with this tomb - description of the rock that would have rolled to cover the entry way, and the tomb's layout itself... things that are very from other ancient tombs excavated from the same time period.
AND the tomb Jesus was laid in was in a garden, and excavation has showed that this place (though a newly planted garden now) was a vineyard in the time of the Jesus.
There is some debate about the tomb's age and whether it could possibly date back too far, to before Jesus's time, but regardless, I LOVED this place and the guide there who gave us the tour really did a wonderful job describing the area during the time of Jesus. He brought me to tears in describing Roman crucifixions and just how the person would die on the cross... a Finish lady gave me some tissue (we were in a group with Fins and so we were hearing it in English and Finish).
Anyways - that was the Garden Tomb, and I'm writing so quickly that I don't think I did it justice - the landscaping around it was so beautiful and reminded me of The Secret Garden.
ALSO TODAY we floated in the Dead Sea (AMAZING, COOL!) and covered ourselves in the black Dead Sea Mud (I feel sooo soft, but it really took some scrubbing to get it all off!). It was a really cool experience to float on top of the water that that. I felt like a human bouy.
Better run before my time runs out!!!! I'd hate to lose this post!
Love to everyone! Meagan

PICTURES

Ancient olive trees in the Garden of Gethsemane (I think we have better pix on a different memory stick)


Slightly blurry (enrique has better shot on his camera) scene inside the Grotto of the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus often went with his disciples and where he was betrayed and arrested.


On the Mount of Olives with the Jewish cemetery (which goes on and on and on along the side of the mountain) and the view of the Old City



View of the Old City of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives.



Through the archway you can see the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (aka the Church of the Resurrection) where Jesus was crucified, died, buried, and rose from the dead.

Mount of Olives and all sorts of wonderful sites there

On Monday we walked/hiked/climbed/sweated it up to the top of the Mount of Olives, which is just across the street from the Old City of Jerusalem. The view of the walled old city from the top, overlooking the thousands of Jewish tombs on the side of the hill is breathtaking. Iit costs $50,000 to be buried on the Mount of Olives... its a very big deal because the Jewish people believe when the Messiah comes he will raise those buried on the Mount of Olives first.

My favorite sights were the Garden of Gethsemane (sp?) and the Grotto of Gethsemane, where Jesus often met with the disciples and where he was eventually arrested and betrayed by Judas. The grotto is a underground cave that is now also a chapel. We went in and had two lucky moments - first to be completely alone (i.e. - no hoarding tour groups) with just a couple of chapel nuns around, and then we came back later on our way back down the Mount because I loved being there so much, and a mass had just started! The priest gave a wonderful sermon about living like Jesus, and he stressed praying constantly in our everyday lives. He had worked with Mother Theresa for a while (!) and he quoted her as saying "if you don't know how to pray, just pray" and talked about one thing we knew difinitively about Jesus, even if there is so much we don't know, is that he prayed constantly. It was really amazing to be hearing this sermon, in the Grotto in the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus himself worshiped and prayed with his disciples!

We also visited THE Upper Room... where Jesus and his dicsciples are said to have had the Last Upper... it was under some renovation and so between the hammering and drilling, and smell of new plaster it didn't really "feel" quite so authenic as the cave, which hasn't really changed for thousands of years... or the olive trees in the Garden of Gethsemane, some of which date back 3000 years!! The building that houses the Upper Room used to be a home, and now just around the corner from it is also a pretty chapel dedicated to Mary, and its said to be where Mary (Mother of Jesus, not Magdalene) lived and died after the resurrection of Jesus.

Today is our last day in Jerusalem. We're going to visit an archeological site - the City of David, and visit an Orthodox Jewish neighborhood, and visit some of our favorite places again. Tomorrow we pick up our rental car and head to the Dead Sea!

I'm going to TRY to post some pictures now, but if you don't see any, at least know that I tried!

Jerusalem's old city and Bethlehem

Tomorrow I hope to upload some pictures of the Lutheran Guest House and the Old City... but I haven't quiet figured that out yet.

a funny thing just happened... this keyboard is difficult to type on and its really hard to capitalize letters, and i just somehow changed the language to either arabic or hebrew, i'm not sure... and it took me about 5 minutes to switch it back. so i'm not going to capitalize too much from here on out, so i don't accidentally do whatever i did before again!

back to my point, about wanting to upload pictures, it's hard to describe the Old City and the sites we saw today so I'll do my best. The old city is completely stone, limestone i think. Its a maze or narrow alleyways lined with arched stone store facades one after the other, twists and turns, and stairways leading into more alley ways and archways. Its beautiful and the stone is so smooth from people walking over it that you have to watch your step because its so slick and worn.

The walking tour we took this morning led us to all four quarters of the Old City... the Armenian, the Christian, the Jewish, and the Muslim quarters. When we entered the Old City (enrique and i are staying here but our tour actually began outside of the old city and made its way back in) there was a huge congregation of Israeli army - young men and women with big time guns slung over their backs. Its mandatory that the youth spend 2 years (for women) or 3 years (for the men) in the military when they turn 18... the girls were interesting because they looked just like teenagers you'd see hanging out in any mall in the US... with their long hair and designer sunglasses, standing with their arms crossed, gossiping in the streets, except one difference... the uniforms and semi-automatic rifles slung over their backs! On Sundays they have the chance to tour the historic areas for their education, so they weren't officially on duty - and yet they still had these GI Joe style guns over their backs like I had my purse over mine!

The Old City tour took us along the Via Dolorosa (the way of suffering in Latin) to the church of the Holy Sepulchre, the place believed to be where Jesus died on the cross and was buried... and rose again. I have to admit that in the midst of a tour group and at the most crowded time of day, I felt so rushed and packed in and shuffled around that it almost felt more like I was waiting in a line at a park, than at such a Holy site. BUT our guest house is just around the corner, so Enrique and I went back tonight when it was so much more quiet, and suddenly, I felt overcome wtih the feeling that I had expected earlier... awe, reverence, thankfulness, I felt alive with the holy spirit inside of me. I touched the rock of Calvary, where the Jesus died on the cross, and I touched the tomb where they say he laid. Earlier in the day it had been too crowded and people were posing for pictures and smiling like they were standing in front of just any other tourist attraction, and it just didn't feel right. But this evening, people were praying and lighting candles and it was quiet and calm, and you could really soak it in. I told Enrique I'd love to end every day there while we stay in Jerusalem. Why not while we're here!!

We also took an afternoon guided tour to Bethlehem. Since Bethlehem is under Palestinian authority we had to go through several gated checkpoints but we never felt at all unsafe. We had to show our passports - because - Israeli citizens are NOT allowed! I guess I understand with all of the conflicts between the nations, but the people on both sides of that border have been so nice to us, that we've never at all felt anything but completely secure. In Bethlehem a church of the Navity stands where Jesus was born according to the Bible. The manger was less of a barn, and more of a cave... but if you think back 2000 years, in this hilly, rocky area of the world, it makes sense. After walking into the church we walked down some stairs into the area Jesus was born and just nearby, where the manger rested. I definitely will never hear Oh Little Town of Bethlehem in quiet the same way. Along the way we also passed "Shepherds Field" and were shown the direction the Wise men came from. Sometime this May (I think they said May?) the Pope will visit the "newer" (still 150 plus years old) Catholic Church which is just next to the Nativity Church, and they said of course this will be seen on news channels all over the world. And every year when you watch Midnight Mass in Bethlehem, that is also the same Church just next to the Church of the Nativity.

Honestly, I'm not sure its quiet all sinking in the things we've seen so far. It really sometimes never does until we are home looking at the pictures. Tomorrow we plan on going to the Garden of Gethsemene (sp??) and Mount of Olives, as well as the Mount of the Rock - a very holy place for Christianity, Judaism, and Islamic faiths. Enrique and I wont be able to go inside the dome (only Muslims are allowed) but we'll be able to walk around it and still experience a lot of the ambience.

Oh and one more thing - ITS COLD!!!!!! I threw in a light jacket (in addition to a sweater I already had packed) at the last minute, and I've worn BOTH every since we arrived. Apparently its a cold "snap", but its still beautiful because of the sunny weather during the day. In the early morning and evenings though its really chilly!! Its supposed to be the coldest day today and then warm up, and DEFINTELY when we go to the Dead Sea region it will be warm there. I just never imagined it could be so cold here, but of course we're pretty elevated - they said it even snows in winter.

Love to everyone!
Meagan

We are in Jerusalem

We took a shuttle bus from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, about a 45 minute ride, and arrived in Jerusalem around 8:30. We wandered around a little in the Old City, where our hotel is - The Lutheran Guest House, but things are pretty quiet, so we stopped in at an internet cafe for falafel and to let everyone know we were here safe, and now we're about to go get a good night sleep. Tomorrow we are doing a full day tour of the old city and new city!

We will have a lot more to write tomorrow I'm sure after seeing everything in daylight, but even so far at night, its beautiful and pretty amazing!

Love, Meagan

Israel Itinerary

We leave Friday night at 11:40 for Israel. Our flight is direct from Atlanta to Tel Aviv, and hopefully we'll sleep for most of it! Here is our itinerary, and I hope to have internet access throughout the trip so I can update the blog often. Love, Meagan

March 28 – April 1: Lutheran Guest House – Jerusalem
Address: St. Mark's Road, Jerusalem 91140
Phone: 00972-2-6266888

SOME OF THE SITES WE’LL VISIT IN JERUSALEM
Western Wall
Temple Mount and Dome of the Rock – Where King Solomon built the first Temple. Now under a gold dome, it’s a mosque, where we wont be able to enter, but will be able to walk around. The rock is where tradition says Abraham bound and almost sacrificed his son Isaac.
Church of the Holy Sepulchre – place believed to be where Jesus was crucified
Via Dolorosa – the Way of the Cross
Mount Zion- Tomb of David
Mount Zion - Room of the Last Supper
Mount of Olives
Garden of Gethsemane
Holocaust Museum
Hezekiah’s Tunnel – 2700 year old tunnel that once supplied water to the city – you can actually wade through it
Possibly visit Bethlehem

Our last morning in Jerusalem we’ll rent a car for the rest of the trip to head to Masada, Haifa, and Jaffa/Tel Aviv and places in between..

April 1 – Masada Guest House
Address: Masada, D.N. Yam Hamelah
Phone: 08-9953222

WHAT WE’LL BE UP TO on APRIL 1-2
Ein Gedi National Park – lush landscape and waterfalls, hiking, and ancient ruins
Dead Sea – Ein Gedi Spa – Dead sea mud baths, access to beach
We’ll cable car or hike up to Masada at sunrise – famous as one of the opulent desert escape palaces of King Herod. UNESCO World Heritage Site. Built in the first century BC.
On the way to Haifa - We’ll drive to the Sea of Galilee/Capernaum and see where Jesus told the fishermen “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men”.

April 2 – Port Inn Guest House – Haifa
Address: 34 Jaffa (Yafo) Road, 33261 Haifa, Israel
Phone: 972-4-852-4401

HAIFA – On the Mediterranean, Haifa is Israel’s largest port city and third-largest city. “Haifa is a city of fairly steep slopes, which reward the visitor not only with sites to see amid pine trees and blossoming foliage, but vistas of the Mediterranean at every turn” (description from Fodor’s)

April 3-5 – Ruth Daniel Guest House – Jaffa/Tel Aviv
Address: 47 Jerusalem Blvd. corner Ben-Zvi St. Jaffa
Phone: 03-6827700

April 3 – before we head to Jaffa – we may visit the very beautiful port city of Caesarea. If we go there we’ll visit the Herodian amphitheater – 2000 year old amphitheater where spectators watched horse and chariot races.
Jaffa is one of the oldest ports in the world, perhaps the oldest. The Bible mentions Jaffa in connection with a number of significant events: the cedars used in the construction of the Temple passed through Jaffa on their way to Jerusalem; the prophet Jonah set off from Jaffa before being swallowed by a whale; and St. Pete raised Tabitha from the dead here.
Tel Aviv is supposed to have beautiful beaches, where we’ll also spend some down time!