First off – Tuesday was spent on the island of Rhodes. Though this island is a vacation destination with a walled medieval city, excavations, beaches and an ancient acropolis, we went on a walking/shopping/discovery tour.
The archaeological museum contained artifacts of every kind, and after a tour, had an authentic lunch of Greek gyro! Fantastic!!
Wednesday was a day at sea, and we relaxed, and had a poolside day. The gym on board is very well equipped, so I’ve been enjoying yoga, spin and total conditioning classes. Len’s been enjoying the internet connection!!
The food is good – not great – but the presentation is beautiful! We’ve been dining in the specialty restaurants, avoiding the crowds in the main dining room.
Thurs, was our first day in Israel, docking in Haifa. The city is built on three levels on the slopes of Mount Carmel. Dan, our driver and guide, took us to Mount Carmel to see the church of Stella Maris. This is the site of Elijah’s cave. It is believed to be where the prophet hid from King Ahab and Queen Jezebel. Also located on this mount, is the Baha’I shrine and Gardens. This is considered to be the world center of the Baha’i faith. Then we were on our way to discover the holy land. Our first stop took us to Nazareth to the place of the Annunciation.
There is a church built over the site believed to be the home of Mary. I actually got a little choked up here, imagining Mary – in that grotto – as a young girl. We did a drive by of Cana and the first “miracle” at the wedding feast.
The rest of the day was exploring the areas where Jesus carried out His ministry – the sea of Galilee, Tabgha – where he multiplied the loaves and fishes – the mount of Beatitudes, where He gave the sermon to the throngs of believers following Him!! We were also taken to the Jordan river!! –
it was not the actual place of Christ’s baptism, but an area provided for the by the state for tourists and pilgrims. Barbara and I had a chance to wade in the water, and we took some for blessing (incidentally – Barb swears her bunion is better after being in the Jordan – I can’t say the same!). The area of the Jordan is called Yardenit. Then onto Capernum. This city is supposed to be Christ’s headquarters, if you will. It is here that Peter lived. A church is built on the site of what is believed to be the remains of Peter’s home. In the excavation, artifacts were found leading to this conclusion. Fish hooks were a dead give away! Proximity to the synagogue was another factor. Nearby, is the church of St Peter’s primacy where it is believed Christ told Peter that he was to be head of the church.
Today, Friday the 15th, we docked in the city of Ashdod. We met Dan again to continue our exploration. Though we were to walk where Jesus walked, in the city of Jerusalem, we decided to first visit the Holocaust Museum.
This museum is only about 8-10 years old. We could have spent days there – the museum has nine underground galleries. The exhibits incorporate a wide variety of original artifacts, testimonies, photos, documentation as well as multimedia displays. Most moving was the children’s memorial. It was a horribly outrageous time in the history of mankind and one can only shake their head and wonder how could this be? Like 9/11 – NEVER FORGET!
Our first stop brought us to the home of John the Baptist. Like the home of Mary, this was conserved at the cost of all else. A church is built on the site, and remnants of the”scavi” are evident. We went to the Mount of Olives.
From here, you have a view of the city and the remaining walls of the temple. While we were taking pictures of the Palm Sunday path , and Gethsemane from above – a camel happened by!! It was pretty cool – anyhow, then we went down the mount to visit the actual garden and church built on the site of Our Lord’s agony and betrayal. The olive trees in the garden are the oldest in Jerusalem – can they be thousand years old?
Then we went into the old city – Mount Zion contains some of the most important sites in the city, including the possible site of the last supper and a less probable Tomb of David. From there we went to the Western Wall (Wailing Wall).
The wall is regarded as the most holy of all Jewish sites and grew as a place of pilgrimage during the Ottoman period where Jews would come to mourn and lament their ancient loss and pray for the return of their city. After lunch of falafel, we began our walk of the via dolorosa – or the stations of the cross. We walked where He walked! This journey took us through the alleys of the old city, treading on the same paving stones that were there at the time of Christ through the market place. One could only imagine what it was like with the burden of a cross. The heat was unrelenting and the passage narrow. The final 3 stations were found in the church of the Holy Sepulchre. The place of the crucifixion, the removal of Christ from the cross and the rock He was placed on for anointing, and finally the tomb, are all housed within this church, preserving the actual sites.
We finished our pilgrimage with a drive-by of Bethlehem on a distant hill and a stop-by at Shepherd’s Field. An informative, exhausting day. Tomorrow – Cairo and the pyramids – STAY TUNED!
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