Ken's Space

Today was our final day in Israel.  We awoke with a mixture of joy and sadness.  Joy at the amazing things that we've seen and what's in store for us today, and sadness that we'd be leaving this place at the end of the day.

We started with a trip to the Holocaust museum, for a very personal and painful recounting of the massacre of the Jewish people at the hands of the Nazi's.

To begin our tour Tsvika had arranged for a Jewish Rabbi to perform a private ceremony for us. The setting was in a maze like forest of Jerusalem Stone. Etched into the rock walls were the names of the towns, villages and cities that were destroyed as a result of the persecution of the Jews during the Holocaust.

The Rabbi started the service by singing Psalm 89 and 93.  He was dressed in his Rabbinical robes complete with prayer shawl as he sang through the various Psalms and prayers.  His voice raised in praise and prayer had a sad tone which accentuated the sadness of the maze in which we were standing.

As he sang I could pick out various words in Hebrew that I recognized, "Adonai", "Elohim" and "Shalom".  Words that spoke of God and his peace being sung by an elderly Rabbi among the names of places that no longer exist was a stark and sad reminder of the extent the Jewish people have suffered.

The next stop on our tour of the Holocaust museum was a visit to the Children's Memorial.  Made with only 5 burning candles and hundreds of mirrors all around, you walk into a virtual starry night with millions of tiny points of light all around.  Each speck of light represents the life of one child taken by the Holocaust.  Tsvika explained that there were over six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust.  Of those, 1.5 million were children.  To give you an idea of the extent of this number, there are currently 1.3 million children attending school in all of Israel right now.  As you walked through the memorial, you heard the names of each of the children and the age when they died read in Hebrew, English, and Yiddish. There are so many children that it takes two months before a name is repeated.

Unfortunately the children's memorial was just the beginning of a one and a half hour excruciating journey through the main exhibit of the Holocaust.  Here we walked through a chronology of the events leading up to and during the Holocaust.  To say that the exhibit is emotionally draining would be a huge understatement.  The news clippings, personal journals, pieces of clothing, photographs, and video interviews are woven together in such a way that you get a full picture of the horror of what took place during those days, weeks, months and years of the Holocaust.

The exhibition opens with a quote from MARTIN NIEMOELLER:
When they came for the communists, I was silent, because I was not a communist
When they came for the socialists, I was silent, because I was not a socialist
When they came for the trade unionists, I did not protest, because I was not a trade unionist
When they came for the Jews, I did not protest, because I was not a Jew
When they came for me, there was no one left to protest on my behalf

There were no cameras allowed inside the exhibition hall and words are inadequate to describe all that we saw, heard and experienced.  It was moving to the point of tears. 

We must never forget what happened during those dreadful years and we must never allow anything like that to happen again.  We must meet evil of this type head on and not fear or shrink back. 

To be passive while atrocities of this type are happening, is to be an accomplice in its commission.  Proverbs 3:27 tells us, "Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, When it is in your power to do it."

Our next stop was a visit to another museum where we saw a model of what the city of Jerusalem would have looked like in the days of what is known as the second temple.  Solomon built a wonderfully beautiful temple that was destroyed during the Babylonian conquest during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar.  Ezra and Nehemiah reconstructed the city of Jerusalem and King Herod the Great rebuilt the temple and the temple mount area.

The model is built to scale and shrunk down immensely.  None the less, you get a great feel for what the city must have looked like during the time Jesus walked the earth.  It was a fantastic way to visualize how things might have been. One inch was equivalent to two yards.

The level of detail on this model was amazing.  The location of the hill that is known as Golgotha where Jesus was crucified is not known with any degree of certainty, but according to some Bible scholars might have been north of the city walls, since crucifixion took place outside the city.  We would finish our day in that area, but I'm getting ahead of myself again.

In the picture to the left, there is a rocky area just outside the city walls.  This is one of the possible places called Golgotha.

From the scale model of the city we went to see the original Dead Sea Scrolls.  This dovetailed quite nicely with our earlier visit to Qumran, the area where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. There were no cameras allowed here either, so I can't show you any pictures of original Dead Sea Scrolls.

We grabbed lunch in the little cafeteria at the museum and guess what?  They didn't serve falafel! Whoo hoo! Something different for lunch.  Kelly had the mozzarella sandwich and I had a blue cheese sandwich.  Yummm.

Before we went to our last stop on our tour we went shopping in the markets in the Old City.  It was quite an experience haggling with the shop keepers.  I must confess that I'm not as adept at haggling as others are, but I think everyone walked away feeling good about their purchases. 

At one place we found what was advertised as "David's sling".  It was a small leather pouch with a leather sling and five rocks inside.  They wanted $57! Ouch.  I tried to negotiate but at $50 they wouldn't budge any further.  Eric said that if it had five rocks it couldn't have been authentic, because David used one on Goliath.  Smart man that Eric, he saved me $50.

Walking through the market place north to the Damascus gate was the first time I encountered any anti American sentiment.  One shop keeper looked at me and said, "American?".  I proudly answered, "Yes!".  His face turned sour and dark as he shouted, "America, NO!"  No problem dude, I just won't purchase from your shop.

Finally we arrived at our last and perhaps most important stop of the tour, the Garden Tomb.  Here we saw the side of the hill known as Golgotha and saw how the shape of the hill, looked like a skull.  Golgotha is described as having an appearance like that of a skull and it was located near a park like setting.

Look at the picture to the left and tell me.  Do you see the skull?

The tomb is located nearby the hill, just as the Bible describes. It belonged to a wealthy man and has the right dimensions and characteristics of the tomb that might have been used to house the body of Jesus.

As we all filed into the tomb one at a time to take a look. There was a plaque on the door that has been made to replace the stone that once was rolled over the entrance.  The plaque says it all.

We took communion together just a short distance away from the tomb where Jesus rose from the grave and conquered sin and death.

It was a deeply moving, touching personal time to share in the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ in the very place where His victory for us was won.

We were so grateful to end our trip in Israel in this way.  It was the pinnacle experience.  The Garden Tomb was carefully preserved. It is green and lush and stands as a testimony to the Grace and Love that is ever present and offered to all mankind.

Revelation 3:20 says,  'Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.'

The stories are true, the people and places are real.  The only thing left for mankind is to realize that Almighty God desires to have relationship with each person and He sent His own Son to make that possible.

As with John the Apostle I say, "but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name." (John 20:31)

We hope to return one day to Israel with many more of our friends, for the journey has just begun.

Shalom!

I had to shorten the title because it was too long. The whole title should read: The Mount of Olives, Camel rides, the Church of The Lord's Prayer, Palm Sunday Trail, The East Gate, The Garden of Gethsemane, The Western Wall, the Temple Mount and Golden Dome, Caiaphas' house, Restoration of the Walls of Jerusalem and the Western Wall Tunnels

Our first stop after our morning breaking of the fast, was at the mount of olives.  The sun was shining out of the east onto the city in front of us through cloudy but clearing skies. Our view of the city with the Golden Dome on the temple mount was spectacular.

Rich read to us about the triumphant entry (Matthew 21), Jesus weeping over Jerusalem (Luke 19), and portions out of Matthew 24 and Mark 13 & 14.  He ended our time of study with Zechariah 14:8 regarding the river of living water that flows out of Jerusalem both to the eastern sea (Dead Sea) and to the western sea (Mediterranean Ocean).  It was a powerful time of study and reflection.

There are vendors nearly everywhere you go in and around Jerusalem, selling postcards, posters, hats and scarves. This spot on top of the mount of olives was no exception. However there was one unusual vendor here that we didn't see anywhere else.  He was offering rides on his camel named "Kojac". 

Several of us got a chance to ride Kojac.  It was a bumpy but very enjoyable ride and the owner made sure to stop us in front of the dome of the rock, so we could have our Kodak moment.

We hopped on the bus and rode a short distance to "The Church of the Lord's Prayer".  Here we learned that the Lord's prayer has been translated into over 150 different languages and put onto plaques that are mounted on the walls of the church and in the courtyard outside.

Rich taught about the Lord's prayer and the fact that it was meant to be a model for us to follow based on relationship with our "Abba" Father in Heaven, not as something to simply repeat over and over again.

We were able to assemble in a small rock anteroom just outside the church and sing "The Lord's Prayer" before going inside.  The acoustics in the rock room were amazing as the notes of our voices echoed off the walls.

Inside the church we discovered how amazingly beautiful the simplicity of decorating the walls in so many different languages with the Lord's prayer can be.

Here on the left, Kelly even found the Lord's prayer written in Italian braille.

From the Church of the Lord's Prayer we walked the "Palm Sunday Trail".  This is a trail leading down from the mount of olives past three churches that are on the side of the mount all the way down to the Garden of Gethsemane. 

We walked beside a Jewish cemetery to our left beyond the wall.  To the right were the churches. Tsvika explained that the Jews are expecting the Messhia (Messiah) to enter the city of Jerusalem through the East Gate of the city.  When he does, the Jews that are buried on the mount of olives will have front row seats. 

Here's a picture of the temple mount with the Golden dome of the rock and the famed East Gate that has been cemented shut.  The light colored area just outside the city walls is a Moslem cemetery.

What Tsvika and the other Jews don't realize is that Jesus has already come to Jerusalem once before when he was crucified.  When Jesus comes back a second time, He will put his foot on the mount of olives and it will split in two from east to west. (Zechariah 14:4) At that time, living waters will flow from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea causing it to team with life. (Zechariah 14:8, Ezekiel 47)

Darius found this very nice Muslim man and his donkey by the side of the road as we passed by.  Darius talked Pastor Rich into posing for this very important photo opportunity.  Look carefully on the donkey's head.  You'll see Darius hanging out with his buddies.

At the bottom of the mount of olives is the garden of Gethsemane.  You may recall that this is the garden where Jesus went to pray right before Judas betrayed Him with a kiss and the trail started that led to his crucifixion.

Gethsemane means "olive press", so it makes sense that the garden of Gethsemane would be an olive grove on the side of the mount of olives.  Although these olive trees which are centuries old are beautiful, they are not the same olive trees that stood here when Jesus was here.  The reason is that the Ottoman Empire cut down all the olive trees on the mount of olives when they conquered Jerusalem.

None the less the olive groves outside the "Basilica of the Agony" are beautiful.  If you look carefully, you can see the East Gate peeking through the olive trees in the picture to the left.

The church that is built on this site is dark and foreboding. Church services were being held there as we entered, the droning of the Roman Catholic Priests added to the feeling of overwhelming dread that seemed to permeate the atmosphere inside the church.

We took some pictures then went across the street to a serene private garden setting where Rich taught about Jesus agonizing in the garden of Gethsemane and how Peter declared that he would stand by Jesus, even if everyone else abandoned him. (Matthew 26)  It was a bold claim, which Peter would come to regret as he denied Jesus three times.  Rich pointed out that on this trip God has taught us about faith and about God's Grace and Love "in spite of".

Rich said that even when Peter's eyes met the Lord's gaze after denying Jesus three times, the look on Jesus' face must have said, "I still Love you Peter".  That's Grace and Love, "In spite of" Peter's failure and why Peter broke down and wept bitter tears.

From this wonderful garden setting, we ran the gauntlet of street vendors to get to our bus.  One man was so persistent selling his scarves that he threw a bunch of them onto the rear steps of the bus and was asking the women to come pick out what they wanted.  I think that guy could sell ice to Eskimos.

Our next stop was the famous Western Wall where the Jews pray and place their prayers into the wall.  We had to go through a security screening similar to what you'd find at an airport.  We had to walk through metal detectors and the guards would look through your purse or bag before allowing you entrance into the area. 

With the thousands of people who visit the Western Wall area, you can imagine the lines of people that would be created all anxiously waiting to get into the area of the Western Wall.

The tolerance of the Israeli people is phenomenal. From the countenance of the people in line, it appears as though this screening to get into the Western Wall square to worship,  has become a natural part of the life of the Jerusalem people.

Men are allowed in to the left side and women to the right side of the Western Wall.  Many devout Jews could be seen standing or sitting and praying facing the wall. Many soldiers armed with M16 automatic rifles could be seen casually wandering about the visitors and worshippers.

After a quick potty break, we went back outside the square and proceeded to another line where we went through another security screening to get to the temple mount and the Golden dome of the rock.

This beautiful structure is built over the rock that Abraham supposedly was going to offer his son Ishmael as a sacrifice.  It's interesting how the Muslim's believe that it's Ishmael that was going to be the sacrifice, and it's Jews and Christians that believe it was Isaac. It's also interesting that Jerusalem is never mentioned in the Q' ran, but it is considered to be the third holiest site in Islam after Mecca and Medina.  The Muslim people trace their lineage back to Ishmael and the Jews trace their lineage back to Isaac.  Both call Abraham their "Father", but it's only the Jews who practice the covenant sign of circumcision.

The Apostle Paul calls the Jews "the children of the promise" and the Ishmaelites the "children of the flesh" (Romans 9). 

Here is a quick correction to an earlier blog entry.  Earlier I said that the Palestinians were descended from the Philistines.  That was incorrect.  That title was ascribed to the Palestinians, but they claim they are descendents of Ishmael, just like all other Muslims.

We couldn't spend much time on the temple mount because they were going to close the grounds for visitors and Jews.

We left through one of the 10 gates that open into the temple mount and grabbed yet another falafel (YAF) for lunch.  We got to watch a young man whip up the balls made from garbanzo beans, that he deep fried. These "meat balls" went into the pita bread for the falafel.  Tsvika knows all these little places to eat along the way, but it seems he only knows where the falafel restaurants are.  In spite of all the great food I've been eating, I've got a huge craving for some Mexican food. I'm planning on parking myself inside "Muchas Gracias" restaurante de Mexicano when I get home and not leaving until they roll me out.

Darius was only interested in the Turkish coffee that they served there.  According to Arabic customs, the coffee was black like the night, strong like a man, and bitter like a mother in law.  Darius was in heaven.

We walked through the Western Wall square area again on our way to the bus.  It was the quickest route and we still had a lot of ground to cover before we called it a day.  Once more through the security screening across the courtyard and to the bus.

David got us through one of the gnarliest traffic intersections I've ever seen.  It was like he was threading a fine silk thread through the tiniest of needles.  David can put a huge tour bus into places that I would not believe could be done had I not seen it with my own eyes.

Our destination was the house of Caiaphas, who was high priest the year Jesus was arrested.  The story is told in John chapter 18, and we got an opportunity to hear the story, as read by Pastor Rich.  The grounds of the house of Caiaphas are adorned with images and statues of Roosters, for it was probably here that Peter denied Jesus three times and then a Rooster crowed.

Here Tsvika is pointing out the holes in the walls in the basement of Caiaphas' house that could have been use to chain someone that was arrested.

The grounds were immaculate, the church as modern and lovely and we stayed for only a few minutes before we loaded back onto the bus and down the street a little bit for the last part of the tour.

We visited the Jerusalem Archeological Park where we watched a video of an ancient Jewish worshipper who might have visited King Herod's temple during the time prior to 70AD when the temple was destroyed. 

We followed his actions from arriving at Jerusalem and exchanging his Roman money for Temple money and purchasing a sacrificial goat.

He then cleansed himself in the ritual bath area  (in the picture to the left) before entering the section reserved for Jews who are bringing a sacrifice to the temple.

Tsvika then took us on the Western Wall Tunnels tour.  He explained that because of the political situation between the Israeli government and the Palestinians, the Jews have not been able to excavate the area around the Temple mount for archeological purposes.  They have excavated outside the Temple mount walled area and unearthed evidence that suggests that King Herod had excavated quite a large amount of space to build his temple and temple mount.  The tour was a fascinating trip through history regarding the temple mount and surrounding wall.

In the picture to the right, Tsvika is explaining the original look of the western wall, the current day height of the wall and what the height of the wall might have looked like back in the days of King Herod the great.

At the end of the day we were exhausted.  We still have one more day ahead of us before we fly home.  We visit the Garden Tomb, the Holocaust museum and we get some time to do some shopping before we have to fly home.

We're sad that the trip is winding down, but we are anxious to see all of our friends back home and let them know how exciting a trip like this can be.

Shalom!

In many ways Jerusalem is a city like any other.  It is a bustling modern metropolis with crowded streets, crazy drivers, lots of motorcycles and scooters and honking horns.  As I closed my eyes last night, I wasn't able to tell that I was in Jerusalem at all.  With sirens in the distance and honking horns, I could have been in New York City, or even downtown Los Angeles.

Jerusalem, or Yerushalayim as it is known in the Hebrew means "City of Peace".  You can hear the word "Shalom" in the last part of the name.  Unfortunately, Peace is something that this city has seen far too little of.  It is a city divided with a good part of it's suburbs controlled by Palestinians.

This morning the weatherman said it was going to be rainy.  Just like the weathermen in the Northwest they get it wrong 50% of the time.  We awoke to overcast skies but a bright morning sun breaking through and the promise of adventure as we explored Jerusalem for the first time.

We started out our day with a short trip (only 8 miles) to visit the birthplace of our Lord Jesus in Bethlehem or Bet Lehem as we see on the maps.  As I spoke yesterday, Bethlehem means "House of Bread" in Hebrew.  Our Palestinian guide would tell us that Bethlehem means "House of Meat" in Arabic.

Look carefully at the dove on the right.  It is painted on the side of a building just on the inside of the Palestinian section.  Typically a dove is symbol of peace.  This one is holding an olive branch and is wearing a flak jacket with cross hairs painted on its chest.  It's evident the Palestinian people don't want peace.

Because of this, we needed to change busses and pick up our Palestinian guide at the Israeli checkpoint.  Tsvika explained that he and David our bus driver (since they are Israeli Jews), have not been able to enter into this area since the year 2000 when the Palestinian Intifada started and the Palestinians took control over this area.

Driving up to the checkpoint we could see the wall that has been erected around the Palestinian sections of the suburbs.  It is tall, gray and quite honestly looks like a prison wall with barbed wire across the top.  Seeing this city separated in this way was probably the saddest point of our trip.

Our guide was a very nice Christian Palestinian man who took us into the heart of Bethlehem.  Our first stop was a shop that caters to tourists.  Sidewalk vendors hawked their wares as we poured off the bus into the shop. 

Inside we were greeted with scads of olive wood articles, gold and silver jewelry and other religious articles for every imaginable diverse group of Christian denomination and sect. After spending way too much money on gifts and memorabilia we poured out of the store and back into the bus.

It was only a short drive and we arrived at the "Church of the Nativity".  This is a church built during the reign of the Roman Emperor Constantine. Other churches built by Constantine are the "Church of the Transfiguration" and the "Church of the Beatitudes".  This church, like the others, is built over the spot where it is believed a significant event occurred.  In this location, tradition holds that Jesus was born here.

The Church of the Nativity is quite unusual because it is shared between the Roman Catholic Church and the Greek Orthodox Church. By the way, we had to run another gauntlet of street vendors hawking their wares in order to get to the church entrance. 

Along the way we walked by a police station, where a Palestinian policeman was standing outside dressed in a flak jacket and carrying an AK47 machine gun.  In spite of this rather unusual setting, I didn't feel that we were unsafe or in danger at any time.

The church is still standing even after the Ottoman invasion.  Most of the churches in the area were destroyed when the Ottoman Empire conquered the Romans.  The Persian warriors saw the three wise men dressed in Persian garb on the walls of the church, and out of respect for their ancestors spared this church.

You have to enter the church through a very small door.  The reason is because there were some men who used to take their horses and camels into the church.  The small size of the door prevented this from happening.  The second reason the door is small is because you have to duck your head and bow down in order to enter, showing respect for the church and the location.

Inside, the church is very ornately decorated with lanterns hanging from the ceiling in every room. The place where tradition says Jesus was actually born, has been decorated with a marble floor and a silver star like symbol.  We'd see this same symbol later on in our tour today at Golgotha where tradition says Jesus was crucified.

Here on the left, Allison reaches in to touch the spot where tradition says Jesus was born.

It was quite a moving experience for many of us.  Several people were overcome with emotion as we sang "Silent Night" in a small room adjacent to the location where Jesus was born.

Leaving this area, we went into the Roman Catholic portion of the Church.  There in an underground alcove Rich read from Luke regarding the birth of Jesus, and spoke about the announcement to the shepherds by the heavenly host and how Almighty God used the Roman Government to fulfill prophecy by bringing Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem.

We had a few moments to spend in the Roman Catholic portion of the church where we admired the stained glass artwork and reflected upon being in the place where Jesus was born. Then we drove through Bethlehem to the checkpoint, where we exchanged busses and guides once more and bid a sad farewell to Bethlehem.

Once again with Tsvika and David, we drove to the Old City of Jerusalem.  Here we drove past the walls of the Old City and entered through the "Lion's Gate" on the east side of the city.  Because of wet weather conditions and more threatening rain, we had to change our itinerary a little bit.

This gate on the left is called the lion's gate for several reasons. First note the lion's on the wall near the top of the gate.  Second, during the war of independence, the Israeli army came through this gate to liberate Jerusalem which had been under siege and captured by enemy Arab forces.  The Israeli army fought like "lions" and it was fitting they enter through the Lion's Gate.

Our first stop was at the Church of St. Anne and the pools of Bethesda where Jesus performed a miracle on the Sabbath day.  The story is told to us in John chapter 5, which Rich read to us while we were there.  Tsvika commented that the Jews hold the Sabbath in very high regard, since it's one of the ten commandments given by God to Moses. However, Jesus taught that it was more important to save a life on the Sabbath than to keep the ritual Sabbath law.  It was rather interesting hearing about an important piece of our theology from an admittedly non-practicing Jew but very true none the less.

After the pools at Bethesda, we walked along the via dolorosa, or "The way of suffering".  This is mostly a Roman Catholic, and Greek Orthodox tradition that outlines fourteen "stations" of the cross.  These locations depict some famous event that happened in the crucifixion of Jesus.  Station one is no longer accessible, since it has been turned into a Moslem pre-school.  It is the location of where Jesus was convicted and sentenced to death by Pontius Pilate.  Supposedly there is a mural of Pontius Pilate, showing him washing his hands as if to say, "I'm innocent of this man's blood."

There is a church that has been built at station two, which is called the Church of Flagellation depicting the location where Jesus was scourged, mocked and beaten by Roman soldiers.

We stopped at each of the stations and to our astonishment found that station four had been moved!  Tsvika was very surprised and wondered out loud who moved it and under who's authority.  This has been tradition for many years and it seems unthinkable that someone would just uproot one of the stations and move it.  Strange indeed.

Note the circular plate with the Roman number IV on it in the picture to the right.  Notice also the archway with the torn out section on top.  That's where the sculpture depicting station IV, where Jesus supposedly spoke with his mother took place.  By the way, Jesus speaking to his mother is not recorded in any of the Gospels.  How the Catholic Church came up with this "station" is a bit of a mystery.

Walking through Jerusalem along the via dolorosa is a study in contrasts.  The entire city of Jerusalem is built with white stone as a result of the British Mandate during the time the British were governing the nation of Israel. Not just in the Old City, but all of Jerusalem.  This is a law that has been honored even to this day.  This gives Jerusalem an ancient look and feel especially here in the Old City.  However, vendors and shops lined the streets and an active market place with pizza restaurants (Kosher of course) and gift shops were everywhere.  We were told that the via dolorosa is not only the way of suffering, it is also the way of temptation with all the shops and vendors hawking their wares.

The Old City consists of narrow passageways that are crowded with people.  In fact we were shoulder to shoulder bumping and brushing up against people from all over the world.  We were cautioned about pick pockets, since all this hustle and bustle and bumping and brushing is a pick pockets dream, but fortunately no incidents were reported among our group.

After walking through the Old City for a time, we came to the place called Golgotha, which means the place of the skull.  This is the place where Jesus was crucified.  A church has been built on the location of the crucifixion and is shared by the Roman Catholic, the Greek Orthodox, the Armenian and the Coptic Churches.  The gatekeeper is a Moslem man, whose family has had the honor of opening and closing the church for many generations.

The marble slab to the left is supposed to be the spot on which the body of Jesus was washed and wrapped after He had been taken down off the cross.

Inside the church, the various groups take turns with their ritual ceremonies.  Thousands of pilgrims visit this site each day and today was no exception.  We were fortunate that we didn't have to wait long before climbing the stone steps to the place where tradition has it that the cross was placed that Jesus was nailed to, and crucified.

It was very dark and sober inside the church.  People walked about talking in hushed tones, not daring to break the quietness or seriousness of this holy location.  Murals decorated the wall as you entered the church, displaying the crucifixion, the washing of the body and the laying of the body of Jesus in the tomb.  The picture above is a glass faced enclosure of the rock where the cross of Jesus stood.  There was a silver star with a hole in it on the floor that marks the spot where cross stood.

There are two spots right next to each other where the tomb of Jesus is supposed to be.  It obviously can't be in both spots and it could be in neither one, but traditionally there are two locations. 

One is more popular and had a huge line that stretched for a long distance.  The other one is relatively plain and simple and can go unnoticed, unless you have an excellent guide like Tsvika.  This small room is supposed to be the location of the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea.

If you remember, in Mark 15 the story is told about how Joseph of Arimathea came to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.  He washed the body wrapped it in linen, placed it in his own tomb and rolled a stone in front of the opening.

We peeked into the tomb.  Guess what?  It's still empty!  Our redeemer lives!  He has risen!  He has risen indeed!  Hallelujah!

We grabbed a quick lunch before we continue on our walking tour of the Old City.  We ran into a group of young Israeli girls doing a traditional folk dance as a part of their Batmizva ceremony.

It was absolutely charming to watch them.

We entered the Herodian quarter and watched a video presentation of the rebellion by Jewish zealots and the subsequent destruction of the temple in 70AD. 

In addition we walked along an underground series of excavations and appreciated much more greatly the artifacts that had been unearthed, having been a part of an archeological dig ourselves yesterday.  Finally we came out and got a close up view of the western wall and the Mosque of the golden dome that is built right over the spot where the ancient temple of King Herod stood.

Exiting out of the Old City by way of the Zion gate, we then visited the building that houses the "upper room" where Jesus held his last supper.  It is controlled by the Jewish Israeli authorities for a very good reason.  Directly underneath the upper room, is the tomb of King David.

The room itself is actually a room that was built in the crusader period, based upon the architecture of the room. We can surmise that the room that is considered the room where Jesus held his last Sabbath dinner, is not the original room, but one, like many other holy places, has been constructed on the site that is believed to be the location where something important happened.  In this case the last supper.

Notice that the room is adorned by stained glass windows that has Persian writing.  That's because it was used by Muslims during the Ottoman period.  There is a niche that faces south towards Mecca that would have been used by devout Muslims to pray to the south towards Mecca.

After visiting the upper room, we went downstairs and into the tomb of King David.  Men and women were separated and had to enter the tomb by different ways.  Women to the left, and men to the right. Men had to keep their head covered out of respect for the Jewish laws and customs, so those men who didn't have head coverings were offered hats by the women who didn't need them.

It was back to the hotel for some well deserved rest and another sumptuous feast for dinner.

Tomorrow the mount of Olives and more of the Old City of Jerusalem.

Shalom!

We departed from Mitzpe Ramon under cloudy skies.  It had rained overnight and the weather has cooled significantly.  Rain is predicted today in most of Israel and we are concerned about our archeological dig that we are supposed to do today. Never the less we are in high spirits, for today we will arrive in Jerusalem. 

We traveled north to Beer Sheva, the site of a city built by Abraham and a visit to Abraham's well. The story is told in Genesis 21 regarding this well.  Abraham and Abimelech made a covenant together at this location. 

Abraham gave Abimelech seven ewe lambs as a part of the covenant. Gen 21:30  He said, "You shall take these seven ewe lambs from my hand so that it may be a witness to me, that I dug this well." In Hebrew, Be'er means well or pit and Sheva means seven.  It is the "well of seven" after the seven ewe lambs that Abraham gave Abimelech.  It is also known as the "well of the oath" after the covenant.  As Rich was teaching on this topic a flock of sheep and goats were being taken through the river bed behind us.

The national park built on the site of Abraham's well is called "Tel Beer Sheva".  Tel as you know by now means "hill that contains an ancient ruin".  So it is the hill that contains the ruins of the city that Abraham built next to the well.  We spent some time exploring the Tel and even explored some sophisticated underground aqueduct construction. 

If you are wondering why we are wearing plastic hard hats, it's because of the limited ceiling clearances in the underground aqueducts.  Pretty stylish eh?

Beer Sheva or Beersheba as we know it, is mentioned several times in the Bible. In Genesis 21:14 when Hagar and Ishmael left Abraham's camp and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.  In Genesis 21:25-34 regarding the well and the oath as we've just mentioned. In Genesis 26:26-33 Isaac, Abraham's son, also quarreled with Abimelech and took an oath.  That same day Isaac's servants found water, and Isaac named the place Beersheba meaning the "well of the oath".  In Genesis 28:10, 46:1-7, Joshua 15:28, 19:2, 1 Samuel 8:1-2, 1 Kings 19:1-4, 2 Kings 23:8, Nehemiah 11:27.

Leaving Beer Sheva, we traveled to Bet Guvrin-Maresha national park where we participated in an active archeological dig.  Bet or Beth means "house" in Hebrew. Bet Guvrin-Maresha is actually two houses. Bet Guvrin, which is a Roman - Byzantine ruin, which we didn't visit, and the historic site of Maresha, which is a Hellenistic period ruin.  Maresha is mentioned among the cities of Judea and noted in Joshua 15:44.  It's also mentioned in 2 Chronicles 11:5-8 as one of the cities Rehoboam fortified for the defense of the kingdom of Judah.

 Following the destruction of the first temple in the Persian period, Maresha and all of southern Judea was settled by the Edomites.  These people are descended from Esau, Jacob's brother.  If you remember the story, Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of stew. (Genesis 25) Once the descendants of Jacob (the nations of Judah and Israel) were removed from the land during the Babylonian exodus and period of enslavement, the Edomites came in and took over the deserted towns and cities left behind. (2 Kings 24)

The archeologists know this because they have found remnants of an Edomite wedding contract listing the names of the people in the contract.  The names are not Jewish, although the wedding contract is very similar to the ones used by the Jews in that time.  The names are clearly Edomite in origin, so they know that the city was used by the Edomites.

Our guide Tanika wasn't quite sure what to do about Darius.  Screaming "Let's do this!", he grabbed a pick axe and started swinging it wildly over his head. It might have been that he was just excited to get started, or it might have had something to do with the third cup of coffee he had at the gas station. I tried to tell him that two was his limit, but Mike Mayfield went to get a cup, and he wouldn't let his buddy Mike drink alone.  Please don't tell Darius I ratted him out.  Tanika was patient with him and gave us some lessons  about the proper way to work through an archeological dig.

We were on our hands and knees digging through 2000 year old historical artifacts, finding many shards of pots, bones from meals that the people ate and other historical artifacts.  We were shown by our guide how to dig using a pick axe.

We worked in two different rooms.  Each room had to make sure they didn't mix up their artifacts with the other teams artifacts.  We worked in teams of three or four, loosening up the dirt with the pick axes then using trowels to sift through what we'd just loosened up.

After we'd dug through ancient dirt and uncovered many artifacts, Tanika took us topside to show us how to sift through the dirt and uncover even more artifacts.  By now we were pretty dusty and dirty, but finding these treasures infused us with energy and we attacked our new duties with a new found vigor.  We were rewarded with even more artifacts, each one being pulled from the screen with a cry of, "Oh look!  Another one!"

It's strange to think how a group of tourists, none of which really wanted to get dirty were happy and excited to poke through the dirt looking for buried treasure.

After we'd dug, and poked and pulled and sifted our way through many pieces of pottery and other artifacts, Tanika showed us a massive underground network of caves that have been unearthed in the last 20 years at this location. 

They discovered that the city that once stood above these caves were built using the stones unearthed from underneath the city.  The builders simply excavated stones to build the houses and used the empty spaces underneath for storage, cisterns, olive presses and many other uses.

After a quick lunch of something that was delicious (I think it was chicken, I'm pretty sure it was chicken, that is... I hope it was chicken), we walked over to an ancient Roman amphitheater. 

It's still being used for some productions in the summer time and it was a great way to walk off the, whatever it was that I ate for lunch. (Burp)

It's also amazing to think that there are so many ancient ruins and excavations, that you can just walk across the parking lot after lunch and viola! another ruin. I guess that's what happens when your country has over 2000 years of history.

Today was the first day that we deviated from our itinerary because of safety reasons.  The Gaza area has been rather hot lately (The Hamas have been shooting rockets into residential areas) and we learned that the town of Hebron (not in the Gaza), which we were hoping to visit has also recently become rather unfriendly. We passed a group of police that were gathered due to what Tsvika thought might have been a protest in the Gaza region on our way around Hebron, past the town of Gad to the Elah valley. Gad is also known as the site of the ancient Philistine city known as Gath.

Some of you may recognize the name the Elah Valley.  It comes from 1 Samuel 17:2, 19, 21. This is the location where David slew the Philistine Goliath.  There was a 40 day standoff between the Philistine army and the Israeli army before David came to check on his brothers.  As the story goes, he picked up five smooth stones from the creek bed and used one of them to strike down Goliath who stood about 9 and a half feet tall.  We got to walk down to the same creek bed and I chose five smooth stones to bring home as a souvenir.

Rich demonstrated how effective a sling could be in taking down an enemy by putting together a makeshift sling out of some plastic Greg Gadeholt found. Rich took a few stones from the same creek bed and rocketed them off in the distance.

After slaying Goliath once more, and under increasingly cloudy skies we continued north towards Jerusalem.  As we began our ascent into Jerusalem, the clouds opened up and started dumping their soggy payload all over the place.  Rain literally pelted down on us, as if to say "We're sorry your trip is winding down".

The weatherman says that it should be nice and sunny by Wednesday.  Tomorrow on Tuesday we visit the birthplace of our Lord Jesus.  Bet Lehem or "house of bread" is the appropriate place for the One who called Himself the bread of life, come down from heaven, don't you think?

Shalom!

This morning started out with another breakfast feast.  Honestly, I'm running out of adjectives to describe the delicious cuisine that we are being treated to.  Eating breakfast in Israel is so  different than the "fast food", "microwave a waffle", "bowl of cold cereal", "coffee and a bagel" breakfast fare that so many of us Americans are used to.

Here in Israel, it's all about fresh fruit and cheeses, breads and cereals, hot egg dishes like scrambled eggs and quiches and salad bars that are overflowing with variety.  There are so many different choices it's hard to make up your mind about what to eat. 

I'm finding that I love sliced tomatoes with Bulgarian cheese and black olives for breakfast.  It's to die for!  I just know I'm going to have a hard time going to back to "shake a can O' breakfast drink" and out the door in the morning. Do we really have to come home?  I'm liking it here a lot.

After breakfast, we drove 2 minutes to the overlook at Makhtesh Ramon.  You think I'm exaggerating, but I kid you not, we got on the bus, drove two blocks and got off the bus!  Makhtesh Ramon means Ramon crater. This crater is 40Km long and 9Km across at the widest point.  It is the largest Makhtesh in Israel and can be seen from outer space.  The crater rim is spectacular. You can see sheer cliff walls dropping thousands of feet to the crater floor below. It's an absolute wonder of creation.

We saw a video presentation that talked about how the crater was created millions and millions of years ago.  It was very interesting to hear the speaker talk about old earth theory here in Israel. 

The reason it's strange is because the Israeli religious calendar starts at the beginning of the Genesis account, so according to their calendar it's about the year 4500.  The Israeli religious calendar and the Chinese calendar, which also counts years from the beginning of creation, differ only by approximately 40 years.  Strange coincidence that two completely different cultures on opposite sides of the globe should have calendars that differ by only 40 years, don't you think?  So why are we talking about the universe being billions of years old?

It was hard to listen to someone professing to be wise prattle on about how the crater was created through millions of years of erosion.  The presenter even talked about how some type of tree from the Atlantic ocean is growing in the crater.  The speaker said they don't really know how it got here?  What!?  Hello!?  Anyone around here heard of a guy named Noah or something about a FLOOD?

To top it all off  at the end of the video the speaker invited us to "eat from the tree of knowledge" and explore the crater.  Of all the phrases they could have chosen, they choose the one phrase from Genesis that resulted in the fall of man.  (Sigh)

The whole thing just sounded so much like Romans 1:25  "For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen."  I apologize for my ranting, I was just so shocked by what I was hearing, here in God's country that I had to write about it.

After our experience at the Makhtesh, we walked a short distance to the Bio Ramon center.  This is a nature preserve and exhibit that showed the various creatures that dwell in this region.  It was absolutely fascinating to hear about the various lizards, snakes, birds, rodents and other creatures that inhabit this arid wilderness.

Unfortunately Darius got a little too wrapped up in the initial demonstration and had to be rescued.

There are many wonderful creatures that live in the desert region and many Israelis are not aware of how fragile the Negev region is.  That is the reason the Bio Ramon nature reserve is here.  To expand the knowledge of the Israeli people and guests and visitors to this area.

One of the more interesting ones, is the porcupine.  They are monogamous creatures and have a life span of about 15 or 20 years.  If one of the mates of a mature adult couple dies, the other one will remain single the remaining days of its life. 

They do not shoot their quills, but will shake their tail at you clicking the quills together to make a loud rattling noise to warn you not to come closer.  If you are foolish enough to come closer, the defensive quills may penetrate you enough to cause you to bleed to death.  If you are unfortunate enough not to bleed to death, you may get a blood infection, because the defensive quills are covered with feces as a part of their defensive mechanism.  Oh by the way, do you know how porcupines mate?  Answer: "Very carefully".

Mitzpe Ramon, where we are staying, is close to the Israeli military academy.  We met several young Israeli soldiers who were visiting our next stop, Avdat as a part of their training.  Nuri found a group of very friendly Israeli women soldiers who were willing to have their picture taken with her.  These are officer candidates who will one day serve in the Israeli army.

At Avdat are the ruins of a city used by the ancient Nabatean people.  These folks were nomadic Arab people who would caravan from from southern Arabia and the far east to the shores of the Mediterranean carrying spices and incense.  The method of making the expensive perfumes and incense was a closely guarded secret. 

The route they used was also carefully hidden and called "The Spice Route".  Nabatean cisterns were created and hidden along the spice route in order to water the men and animals who would travel back and forth along this route.

In one part of the ruins, another Christian group were holding Sunday services.

From Avdat we traveled to visit David Ben Guiron's tomb.  He was the man we were told about when we visited the Hall of Independence on the first day.  Ben Gurion was the first prime minister of Israel and the one who proclaimed the sovereign state of Israel.  He is buried a short distance from the Kibbutz he joined after he left politics.  His wife Paula is buried by his side.

The park like setting where he is buried is fantastic.  They keep the grounds carefully manicured, watered and lush green.  Unlike the area surrounding his tomb which is very arid.

It was time for lunch, which meant it was time to travel to our Bedouin lunch.  It was to the Beerotaim Camp for Hafla, a traditional Bedouin lunch.  Huge tented areas out in the middle of the Negev added to the charm of the spot when we drove up.

We were invited into the largest tent, and we sat together on the ground around some very short tables made of re-bar.  OK, so maybe the original Bedouin didn't have a genuine re-bar table, but other than that it was authentic, at least from what I could tell.

You sit, or lay around a central table and use pita bread to grab a piece of food off the tray in the middle of the group.  Like our group to the right.

It as a sumptuous meal and there were only a few items that we could not identify.  We had roasted chicken, humus, veggies, meat balls and rice.  Yummy!

Once lunch was over, we were invited into another part of the tent where an English speaking Bedouin was playing an interesting looking 6 string instrument.

It is the Bedouin tradition that you can stay with a Bedouin group for up to three days.  During this time, the Bedouin you are staying with has the responsibility of protecting you. Bedouin's have been known to give their life for the stranger sharing their tent.

We drank coffee, tea and ate baklava for dessert.  Rich tried his hand at playing the seven stringed instrument the Bedouin was using to entertain us.  It's not quite the same as the guitar Rich.

Once we were through with lunch festivities, we went outside and discovered a group of camels that were fenced and grazing at their lunch feeding trough.  A few of them came over to see the strange tourists and see if any of them had any lunch left over for them.  One of them was very attracted to Jennifer.

On the way back to the Mitzpe Ramon area, we spotted some Ibex, just sitting by the side of the road, minding their own business.  We were able to stop the bus and jump out and snap a few pictures before we had to get moving again. These are magnificent specimens with very large mature antlers.

We passed Mitzpe Ramon and went into the bottom of the Makhtesh Ramon.  Here we witnessed some unusual geological formations including one called the Carpentry.  It's a section of the Makhtesh who's rocks look like prisms or rod like blocks.  It was a good hike after dinner and left us all a little sleepy.  But we were not quite done yet.

On the way back to the hotel, Tsvika announced that he'd be taking and optional walking tour for those who didn't get enough exercise for today.  Several people took advantage of this walking tour. Yours truly was not among the hearty souls who wanted to tromp about Mitzpe Ramon.

No sooner had we pulled into Mitzpe Ramon when a couple of Ibex decided they wanted to greet us.  We got some great shots of the Ibex being in the center of the town.  They look like they feel right a home with us.

Tomorrow we face an archeological dig and Beer Shiva, then we are off to Jerusalem.

Time to get my flint face on, we're getting close to Jerusalem and the end of our trip.

Shalom!

Today is Saturday, so it's Shabbat here in Israel.  Shabbat means Sabbath for those who don't speak Hebrew. That means devout Jews don't work today.  It truly is a day of rest for the Jewish people.

There is a special elevator for devout Jews staying at the hotel called a "Shabbat elevator".  It stops on each floor and the doors open and close automatically.  That way you don't have to push a button to call the elevator, or push the button for the floor you want.  Pushing a button would be considered "work" and "work" is forbidden on Shabbat. Just wait and the "Shabbat elevator" will eventually show up and get you to where you want to go. 

Of course there are other elevators for us "gringo's" or "goyim" (meaning Gentile) as we are called.  These elevators work normally and allow you to get to your floor a little more quickly than taking the "Shabbat elevator."

On this day Jews greet each other with, "Shabbat Shalom" or "Sabbath Peace" to you!

Breakfast was similar to breakfasts in the previous days except there would be nothing served that had to be prepared today.  No scrambled eggs or coffee, or anything else that would have had to have been prepared today.

None the less, breakfast was absolutely delicious.  I had plums, cottage cheese, instant coffee, some kind of cream cheese croissant, a sesame adorned roll and olives.  Not too unusual for breakfast at all.

We had a very leisurely morning.  We didn't have to meet up with Tsvika until 11:15am, so many folks went swimming in the Dead Sea.  Kelly and I went for a walk down to the Dead Sea and collected some salt from the shoreline.  It was absolutely fascinating to see the salt crystals along the shoreline, just lying in the water.  Kelly scooped some up and put it in a small baggie to bring home.  The folks who went swimming told us that it was a very strange experience.  Your buoyancy is abnormally high so you can't really "swim".  You can only float in the water. Oh, by the way don't get the water in your mouth.  The Dead Sea is ten times saltier than the oceans and getting saltier all the time.  We were told that the water tastes absolutely foul. Blech!

The Bible mentions the Dead Sea in several places.  It is called the Salt Sea (Numbers 34:3, 12), the Sea (Ezekiel 47:8) and the eastern sea (Joel 2:20).  In Genesis 14:3 the kings of the east defeated the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah "in the valley of Siddim" (The Salt Sea). In Genesis 18 and 19 God "rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah... and the entire plain."  Abraham's nephew Lot and his daughters escaped, but Lot's wife was turned into a pillar of salt when she looked back.  They had been instructed not to look back, but she disobeyed, longing for the life she had in Sodom and was destroyed as a result.  We visited a location called "Lot's wife" which is a huge pillar of salt on the side of mount Sodom.  Tsvika told us that there is another large pillar of salt called "Lot's wife" on the Jordanian side of the Dead Sea, so this pillar is probably not the actual pillar that used to be Lot's wife.  The picture above is of the pillar that is known as Lot's wife.

While we were in the region, Rich commented that Sodom was probably located in the valley of Jordan, which would have been north of the Dead Sea.  The area Lot chose for himself is described as being "lush and green", so it's unlikely that the area known today as the Sodom mountain region would have been the actual location of the city of Sodom. 

Genesis 13 says that "Lot chose for himself all the valley of the Jordan, and he journeyed eastward. Abraham settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled in the cities of the valley, and moved his tents as far as Sodom."  It is possible Lot gradually moved his tents further and further south until he found himself in this salty region.  Isn't that the way sin is?  Selfish decisions lead to small compromises which lead to larger ones until we are so far off the path, we wonder how we got there. The picture above is a huge salt crystal embedded in the side of the mountain known as mount Sodom.

Rich explained that a situation occurred between Lot and Abraham. (Genesis 13) They had to part company because their flocks were so large they were interfering with each other.  Rich noted that Lot chose the easy way and the way that would benefit himself over Abraham.  Choosing what we think is the easy way, and choosing our own interests over the interests of others will always lead to compromise and sin.  The story of Lot is an especially sad commentary on how self centeredness causes all kinds of problems.

Mount Sodom is actually a huge mountain of salt covered with dirt and rock.  It's interesting to think that if this really is the location of the ancient cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, that the Lord used burning sulfur and fire to cleanse and destroy the cities. (Genesis 18) What remained was salt.  Salt is used to preserve and purify because in massive concentrations it kills everything, even bacteria. Lot's wife desired the world, even when it was being destroyed, so in the end she simply became a part of that which she desired. This picture above shows a huge salt rock just sitting by the side of the road where we snapped a picture of "Lot's wife".

We actually visited a place called Masada before we visited Lot's wife.  Masada is a significant location in Jewish history.  It's such a huge story that Hollywood made a movie about the incident in a film called "Masada".  As the story goes, there was a revolt against the Roman rule of what was known as the area of "Palestine" in 70AD. As a result of the revolt  the Roman's destroyed the temple and slaughtered many Jews.  This was also the last year the Jews had a nation of their own because the Jews were then scattered throughout the world.  In 73AD they surrounded the last stronghold of the rebellious Jews at Masada.

Masada is a huge fortress located on the top of a gigantic mesa rising far above the floor of  the Dead Sea.  King Herod the Great built what was is known as the "Northern Palace" on the north face of the mesa.  The top of the mesa was a huge fortress with living quarters and even a swimming pool.

The only access to the top was a winding switchback trail called "The Snake Trail". We didn't walk the snake trail, although some people still do.  We crowed into what one of the women called a pill box hanging on some dental floss.  It was a cable car!

The ride to the top of the mountain was a short 8 minutes long.  The car was crammed full of our group and many others who came to see this popular tourist attraction.  We were there on top of the mountain about and hour or so.  We learned how the Roman army built a ramp up to the west side of the mountain in order to get a siege tower and battering ram up to the wall.  They did manage to hammer their way past the gates, destroying the gates with fire in the process. 

The Jewish zealots who fought off the Roman attack for two to three months decided to commit suicide rather than live as slaves under Roman rule. 936 men, women and children died that day.  Only one woman and two children survived the massacre, to tell the tale.

Lots were drawn among the warriors to decide who was going to be the last one alive.  He alone would slay the remaining warriors and then fall on his own blade.  There are broken potsherd remains that have been recovered in the archeological digs.  They contain the names of the men who were the last of the warriors are were probably the lots that were cast to decide to which one of them this grim task would fall.

In this picture to the right we can see Mike and Ron as they look over of the locations of the Roman encampments that besieged Masada. 

To this day the cry of "The walls of Masada will never again be breached!" rings out as a symbol of the nation of Israel will never again be put in a position where they can be trapped and exterminated.

Masada is indeed impressive.  The view from the top of the mesa is breathtaking.  The engineering that went into it's construction was ingenious and the man power required to develop the massive structure must have been overwhelming.

After a quick lunch at the visitor's center consisting of falafel and juice, we were back on the bus headed toward our destination of Mitzpe Ramon.

Along the way to Mitzpe Ramon we traveled through the area known as the wilderness of Zin.   The wilderness of Zin is the area the children of Israel wandered about in for 40 years making their way to the promised land. 

There's an old joke that says, "Do you know why it took 40 years to get from Egypt to the promised land?" Answer, "Because Moses, as a man refused to stop and ask for directions."

The area known as the wilderness of Zin is known today as the Negev (emphasis on the first syllable.  Ne-Gev if you please).

Negev means "dry".  So the fact that most of the Negev is a desert should come as no surprise.  What did come as a surprise to us, were signs along the road saying that we should look out for and be careful because of camels on the road.  We don't have those signs back in Oregon.

No sooner had we seen the sign then we saw the camels!  I guess the folks who put the signs out knew what they were talking about. Look carefully at the picture on the left, or visit the Picasa web page and you'll see that this herd of camels has several babies.

Tsvika told us that all camels have owners and the owners are responsible for them. If a camel should wander out onto the roadway and cause an accident, the owner is responsible.

A few more miles of desert driving and what to our wondering eyes should appear, but a sleigh full of toys and eight tiny reindeer.  No wait... wrong story.  Sorry.

It was a herd of Ibex with several males and females.  Tsvika said many of the females were probably pregnant.  He also corrected me in my earlier assumption that they Ibex is a type of Gazelle.  It's actually a kind of mountain goat.  So the name of springs of En Gedi that we visited earlier and saw the other Ibex now makes much more sense. Ein in Hebrew or (En in the shorter translation) means spring.  Gedi means wild goat, so the name En Gedi actually means springs of the wild goat.  En Gedi is the only fresh water spring in the area, so many Ibex hang out there to get their water.

Speaking of En Gedi, did you know that En Gedi is mentioned in the Bible?  It's actually mentioned in several places. In Joshua 15:62 Judah was given En Gedi as part of their allotment.  In 1 Samuel 23:29 David hid in a cave at En Gedi when running from Saul. In 1 Samuel 24 Saul entered a cave where David and his men were hiding.  In Psalms 57; 142 it is believed that David may have composed these Psalms while in En Gedi. In Song of Solomon 1:14 Solomon's beloved compared him to "a cluster of henna blossoms" growing in the vineyard of En Gedi.

Perhaps the most exciting place it's mentioned is in Ezekiel 47:10 where someday in the future (perhaps during the millennial reign) fishermen will line the shores of the Dead Sea from En Gedi to En Eglaim to fish.  This prophecy talks about a stream of fresh water that will flow from the seat of God east to the Dead Sea.  On the banks of this river will grow trees, who's leaves will be for healing. 

It's exciting to read Ezekiel 47:1-12 and compare it to Revelation 21, and 22:1-2.  The prophecy in Ezekiel says that the Dead Sea will team with life like the "Great Sea" meaning the Mediterranean.  Seeing what we saw today, it will indeed be a wonderful miracle to see the Dead Sea come to life and have fishermen line her shores.  It is a type of what is to come yet further in the future with the New Jerusalem and New Earth.

Tomorrow we have lunch with the Bedouins.

Shabbat Shalom!

This morning we left Tiberias and the area known as Galil (pronounced Galee'il). This area is more popularly known as Galilee. 

Before setting out on our long journey to the Dead Sea, (which would be our final destination) we stopped at Mt. Tabor. This is one of the traditional locations where it is believed the transfiguration of Jesus occurred (Luke 9).  A church is built on the top of Mt. Tabor to commemorate the event.

Getting to the top of the mountain would prove to be no small task.  The road to the top of the mountain is so narrow and winding, that tour busses are not permitted.  We disembarked at a beautiful location overlooking the Jezreel valley, and climbed into waiting taxi buses like the one to the right. 

These taxi drivers are certifiably bonkers! They must train at the Mario Andretti international school of taxi driving for tourists.  Zooming up and down the mountain at breakneck speed we passed other taxis headed down the hill after depositing their pilgrims at the top. There were sometimes only millimeters to spare between the mirrors!  Yikes!   Note in the picture to the left, where I was trying to get a photo of the beautiful villages snugly nestled in the foothills of Mt. Tabor.  Note also the blurry rock wall indicating our breakneck speed and the cockeyed angle of the horizon. I was really trying hard to stabilize the camera, but as you can see hanging on for dear life with one hand and shooting pictures with the other, does not make for good composition.

I'm betting the monks pay these guys a little extra to drive this way. That way the monks can insure that the church is truly a house of prayer.  Everyone at the top of the hill inside the church must be praying that they make it back down the hill without dying!

There is much controversy over the exact location of the transfiguration event because the scriptures simply say, "He (Jesus) took Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray."

We know that the transfiguration took place eight days after the feeding of the five thousand which occurred around the area of Bethsaida.  We know that Bethsaida was in the area of Galilee north of the Sea of Galilee to the east of the Jordan River.  Mt. Hermon is the tallest visible mountain in the area and would be a few days walk north from Bethsaida, so it would make sense that Mt. Hermon would be the logical place for the transfiguration.  On the other hand Mt. Tabor is near Nazareth only a short distance to the south and west, so that is where the church is located.

The church itself is stunning.  With carefully manicured gardens and tall marble columns inside and out, it is a visual feast.  The church's anterooms are decorated with frescos of Moses and Elijah the two who appeared with Jesus during His transfiguration.   Rich taught in one of the rooms decorated with a fresco of Moses.  See above and to the left.

Here he taught us about Deborah and Barak (Judges 4:6, 12-16) defeating Sisera. He pointed out  Barak's unwillingness to lead and his resulting dishonor.  Rich also taught about the witch of Endor whom Saul used to contact Samuel just before his defeat and death at the hands of the Philistines. (1 Samuel 28) Endor is now a small hamlet located in the foothills south of Mt. Tabor. I found it very sad that Saul would resort to such methods to contact Samuel to seek the Lord's favor. We do such stupid things when we've strayed from the Lord, don't we?

Once we finished our visit at the top of Mt. Tabor, we took our dizzying ride down the hill.  Our driver had only one arm and was even more crazy than the guy who drove us up!  Someone told these girls it was like an amusement park roller coaster and they decided to make the best of it!  YeeHaw!

Next stop was the spring of Harod. (Judges 7) This was the location of the selection of the 300 warriors by the Lord to be used by Gideon to defeat the Midianites.

As Rich and Tsvika were teaching us about this historic event, two groups of pigeons flew out of the cave as if to punctuate what Rich was teaching. 

Darius wanted to protect Rich from the birds so he jumped up on the railing to fend them off.

While we were standing and listening to Rich, I noticed a wonderful fragrance wafting it's way across my nose.  A short treasure hunt turned up a beautiful purple flower growing among the rocks that had the sweetest fragrance.

Next stop was Bet Alfa.  This is a famous Jewish Synagogue that was built sometime during the Byzantine era. 

It was destroyed when the Ottoman empire took over the area and was discovered by Jewish settlers who were establishing a Kibbutz on the site. 

The synagogue is unusual because of the mosaic in the center of the synagogue.  To the left is a model of the synagogue with a cutaway roof to show the mosaic on the floor.

As we turned south along highway 90, we entered into the area of the west bank and passed a couple of Israeli military checkpoints.

Tsvika explained that the west bank belongs to Israel and is under the control of the Israeli military.  To understand the reason for this, you have to go back in history when the surrounding Arab nations of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq attacked Israel when they were just starting to become a nation. 

Before Israel was born, these Arab nations, contacted the Palestinians living in Israel and told them to leave.  The Arabs figured the war wouldn't take long and the Palestinians who left would be given back their land, along with the Jewish land seized in the war.

The problem is, the Arab nations lost the war, Israel won it's independence and sovereignty.

Now the same Arab nations who told the Palestinians to leave, won't take their Palestinian brother's into their countries.  They have essentially abandoned them in the area they fled to, namely the west bank.

By the way, it's called the west bank because the area is along the west bank of the Jordan river.

Rich explained that Israel once offered to allow the Palestinians living in the west bank to come back into the areas they left, but since Arabs and Palestinians don't recognize the legitimacy of the nation of Israel, they felt they could not negotiate or return.  Thus we have the tenuous situation that we have today.

It's interesting to note that the Palestinians are descended from the Philistines that were supposed to be routed from this entire area centuries ago.  It's sad to see how devastating it is and how long we feel the effects of our disobedience to God.

The next stop on our tour for today included Qumran.  You may recognize this name as the place where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found.  Darius was overjoyed to learn that he was going to visit the name of the place from which he was named.

We were treated to a video presentation of how the Dead Sea scrolls were hidden in this area and we saw an archeological site that unearthed the worship center of the "Sons of light", who hid the scrolls many centuries ago.

Here to the left is the cave where the Dead Sea Scrolls containing the complete book of Isaiah was found.  Aside from a few minor word spelling changes, the text of Isaiah found in the Dead Sea Scrolls is exactly the same as those texts that were centuries newer than the ones found here.  It is a great testament to the authenticity and divine preservation of the scriptures.  Therefore we can know that the scriptures are true and accurate because they have remained the same for thousands of years.

Our next stop was En Gedi. This is the location of one of the water bottling companies in Israel, but more importantly it's the location of a nature reserve. 

Here was got a glimpse of an Ibex (seen to your right), which is a kind of gazelle like creature. 

It was absolutely thrilling to see one up close and personal. 

Oh by the way, we passed a couple of camels right by the side of the road, but when we shouted to stop we were assured that we'd have many opportunities to take pictures of camels.  (I didn't see another one the rest of the day)

We arrived at our hotel at the Dead Sea.  Many of the group decided they wanted to get facials, mud packs, massages and generally receive as much pampering as they could. 

As we unpacked and got comfortable in our rooms, an ultralight paraglider came scooting through the overcast sky over the waters of the Dead Sea right next to our room.

By the way he kept coming by my balcony at regular intervals, I'm suspecting that he's for hire.  I'm going to make a point at seeing if an ultralight flight might be in the offing for tomorrow.

From sundown tonight to sundown tomorrow is Shabbat or Sabbath as we know it.  There will be no work done tomorrow by devout Jews and many of the amenities may not be available.  We leave tomorrow at 11:00am for a trip to Masada the site where ancient Jewish warriors committed suicide rather than be captured and enslaved by the Romans.  But we leave that (and maybe some ultralight flying, for tomorrow)

Shalom!