Knotty Ewe On the Land

To balance out the many eons of history we absorbed we also spent a day exploring the newer part of Jerusalem.  We learned a lot about how modern Israel is governed and functions.

We drove through Mea Sharim, a very small densely populated neighbourhood of the ultra-orthodox.  We weren’t allowed to get out of the van as non-ultra Orthodox are not welcome in the area.  Unfortunately, none of my pictures of the traditional garb of the men and women turned out.  A couple of things I found fascinating – 60% of the men do not work and spend their time studying.  This is supported by the Israeli social welfare state.  Women when they get married shave their heads so their hair is no longer a temptation to men but when they leave the house they wear a wig.  And the photo below of all the information posted on the walls.

Mea Sharim – Ultra-orthodox neighbourhood where they have no tv or radio and all news is communicated by posting on the wall

First stop was the Knesset which is Israel’s parliament. They only have one 120-member chamber which is elected every 4 years based on proportional representation.  There is also a President by the position is mostly ceremonial.

Menorah sculpture donated by Great Britain and France in thanks for Israel’s assistance in the 1956 Suez Crisis in Egypt

Israel’s parliament – The Knesset – building built in 1966

Dad in one of the committee rooms

The member chamber

Much of the decoration was done by Chagall including this colourful mural

After our civics lesson we went to visit the Museum of Israel which is actually a number of museums together.  We only visited the Shrine of the Book which actually displays and explains the Dead Sea scrolls.  It was fascinating.  I have to admit that on this day I was the one that held up the group as I was loath to run through the displays instead of truly learning and appreciating the scrolls for the incredible historical material they are.

Shrine of the Book – Museum displaying and explaining the Dead Sea Scrolls

Shrine of the Book – the fountains help regulate the temperature inside

The museum had an interesting scale model of the Old City as it built in the period of the Second Temple (the big building on the right of the picture below).  Apparently it was originally on display in a hotel that has since been destroyed so they labeled each piece and moved it here, rather like a very large complex lego construction.

A scale model of the Old City including the Second Temple on the right

The most moving visit for me of the entire trip was the time we spent at Yad Vashem, the memorial and museum for victims of the Holocaust.  There were three elements that particularly moved me – the memorial for the Children, the garden of the Righteous Among the Nations, and the Yad Vashem museum itself.  The memorial of the Children is a darkened room in which 5 lit candles are multiplied with mirrors to produce 1.5 million points of light representing all the children who were lost.  They read all the names and ages of the children they know of which takes a full 24 hours.  In the garden of the Righteous Among the Nations contains 23,000 trees, one for each of the people who helped save Jews during the Holocaust.  And then there is the stark, powerful, and moving museum which chronicles the rise of the Nazi party and the unrolling of the Holocaust horrors.

Unfortunately we were only allotted 1.5 hours and I only made it half way through the museum which I found very disappointing.  There is so much information and so many videos of survivors stories that I wanted to really understand and learn.  I spent most of my time there in tears.  This reenforced the emotional impact of what I saw and experienced when I visited Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Garden of the Righteous Among the Nations where each of the 23,000 trees is planted in memory of those who helped Jews during the Holocaust (Shoah)

After the emotional turmoil of Yad Vashem we returned to the Old City for a bit of light hearted fun.  We attended a sound and lights show at the Citadel where they project images onto the walls of the courtyard with music telling the story of Jerusalem’s history.  However, at the same time there was a Medieval festival happening in the Old City that night.  It was just a fun buskerfest type of event put on for 5 Thursday evenings in November primarily for the entertainment of Jerusalem residents.  It was very crowded with families with children and the fun performances we go to see as we walked through the old section.

Street performers during the Medieval festival held on Thursday night.

The Citadel from the courtyard where we watched a sound and light show of the history of Jerusalem.

First off I want to apologize for the long periods between posts and then the flood that comes out.  I’ve found the frenetic pace of this tour very exhausting mentally.  I think that after 3.5 months of travel my brain has reached its maximum capacity to process new sights and experiences.  In seeing and doing so many things each day, I’m totally exhausted at the end of the day.  I’m very much looking forward to just resting up in December!  I can’t believe that in just a week I will be back in Canada.

The last few days of our tour focussed on seeing old and new Jerusalem and going south to the Dead Sea.  In our free time following the completion of the tour on Friday, Dad and I returned to the Old City to explore more extensively and thoroughly.  I’ll break it up into three posts so it isn’t insanely long!  So on with the show!

We started our exploration of the Old City with a panoramic view across one of the valleys from the Mount of Olives.  The old city is only about 1 km in total.  It is dominated by two major religious sites – Temple Mount with the Dome of the Rock mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.   The area is divided into 4 quarters – Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and Armenian.

Old City topped by the golden dome of the Dome of the Rock mosque

Before going into the city itself we visited two place outside – the tomb of King David, the found of Jerusalem and the room where the last supper was held.  Actually it was very easy, as the room of the last supper is on top of King David’s tomb.

Entrance to King David’s tomb

Women’s side of King David’s tomb

Room of the Last Supper built by the Crusaders in the 12th Century

Religious group praying loudly

We then took to the streets of the old town walking through all the quarters and visiting some of the most significant sites.

Walls of the Old City

David’s Tower at Jaffa Gate

Armenian quarter of the Old City

Souk area

Fifth station of the cross on the Via Dolorosa – the route believed by Christians to have been walked by Jesus while carrying the cross

We spent some time visiting the Church of the Holy Sepulchre which is a mishmash of additions that were added and renovated overtime to expand the space and allow for almost all major Christian denominations to have space to worship.  The church site covers the places where Christ was crucified, where his body was washed, and the tomb where he was buried and ascended.  As a result of covering all these major holy sites it is very very crowded with many tour groups and many worshipers.

Entrance to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

A cross carried by a pilgrim along the Via Delaorsa

Mass being sung at the site of Christ’s crucifixion

Mosaic

Mosaic in the ceiling

People praying where Christ’s body was washed in preparation for burial

Christ’s tomb – not the line snaking to the right – the wait was many hours to go in so we didn’t

We also visited the Wailing or Western Wall. This 80 meter stretch of wall is the only exposed remains of the Second Temple which was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.  It was a very surreal experience to be so close to the wall.  It was definitely a place of peace and the faith of those praying was palpable.

Western (Wailing) Wall – The only remaining portion of the original Jewish temple

Men at the Western Wall – note that they get 2/3 of the space!

Woman at the Western Wall

Following our visit to the Old City we went to Bethlehem to visit the Church of the Nativity were Christ was born.  Though in theory it would be a straight forward visit as the town is a very short drive from Jerusalem it wasn’t.  Bethlehem is controlled by the Palestinian Authority and so our Jewish guide was not permitted to enter.  She dropped us on one side and we walked through first Israeli security, then through the wall that surrounds the town, and then through Palestinian security.  It felt like we were crossing international borders.  On the Palestinian side we were met by a Palestinian guide who conducted us around while we were there.

Security checkpoint 1

Wall surrounding Bethlehem

Walking through security fences

The Church of the Nativity was almost dwarfed by the experience of so much security.  However, it was very interesting to visit the church and to see where they believe Christ was born.  The church is divided again into the major Christian denominations so the interior decoration reflects different styles and religious practices.  The exterior reflects the thousands of years of evolution of the Church here.

Church of the Nativity – under restoration

Entrance gate to the church – made successively smaller by each governors of the site – Byzantine, Crusader, Orthodox etc

Original Byzantine mosaic floors

Religious icon that was kissed for blessing. Many people held shawls and paper to the icon to absorb the blessing.

The site of Christ’s birth was a small chamber under the main orthodox altar.  With so many groups it was very cramped to get in and fit.  The priests managing the flow had trouble making the worshipers move along.

Crush to get down into Christ’s birth site

The spot where Christ was born

Worshiper’s singing hymns in the small chamber

The main Orthodox altar

Following our visit to Bethlehem we returned to Jerusalem. It was a reversed process.  We even had our passports to show that we were allowed into Israel.  We were so obviously tourists though, jabbering away in English and brandishing our cameras, that they just waved us through.  It gave me new appreciation for the freedom of movement we have in Canada and how easy it is to cross the border to the US.

This evening we finally made it to Jerusalem after spending the day making our way south from the Sea of Galilee.  It was a bit sad to say good bye to the kibbutz as it was a lovely spot that would have been nice to explore some more.  Last night we had a very interesting talk on what it means to live in a kibbutz from a British woman who had been there for about 27 years.  It is a fascinating concept and is the real communism where everything is held in common and owned by the collective and you are provided everything you need (not want, but need).   This particular community seems to be thriving and growing with a current population of 675.  Interestingly enough I couldn’t find that there are any such communities in Canada.

This morning we got a short tour of the kibbutz (it is spread over 4000 acres) before heading off.  It was another jam packed day.  After saying goodbye to the Sea of Galilee we went to visit one of the many diamond cutting and polishing centres in Tiberias.  As usual with these things it really was more of a shopping stop than actual learning about how diamonds are processed.  There were some lovely pieces, but unfortunately I don’t have an unlimited bank account for them.

Dad at the Sea of Galilee

Entrance to the diamond centre – considering they talked a lot about the permanence of diamonds, a name like Caprice is unfortunate!

The “showroom”

Our next stop was at the river Jordan.   Because so many of the tours that are here are faith based (mostly from the US and South America from what I can see) and they come in the thousands to be baptized or rededicated in the river each year the Israeli government has created a lovely spot for such groups and events.  The theory is that this is the spot where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist.

The river Jordan

A woman being baptised

A group taking a swim after their ceremony

Our religious journey continued as we moved from being saved to the end of the world at the site of the Apocalypse at Armageddon.  The current name is Megiddo. It was inhabited for almost 4000 years and more than 20 communities were built on top of each other over times as it changed hands following the many battles.  It is a lovely hilltop setting overlooking a lush valley today, but originally stood at the the strategic convergence of 4 roads communicating between Egypt and the East.

The walls built by King Solomon when he conquered the city.

The horses in the training grounds

After a very late lunch, we stopped by another kibbutz.  The draw here was a 5th century mosaic floor from a synagogue that was discovered as they were building the kibbutz in the late 1940s.  It was a bit humorous as the central theme is the zodiac which is not a very traditional theme for synagogues and the creators had a few issues with proportion and human anatomy.

Finally in the late afternoon we started our true journey south to Jerusalem.  As we were in the central part of the country and needed to go around the Samarian desert the fastest route was straight through the West Bank along the Jordanian border.  We had to pass through a checkpoint to enter the area, going past the fence Israel has erected around the entire West Bank to prevent Palestinians from illegally entering Israel.  The West Bank is divided into three areas – A governed entirely by the PLO, B which they govern civilly but Israel takes care of security, and C which is entirely controlled by Israel.  We were going through C.  As we were driving along we passed through many Arab villages and fields.  Not much different from the Jewish fields and villages!  It was a bit freaky though to be so close to the border with Jordan.  It is heavily guarded with frequent patrols along the electrified fence.  Our guide said that there is a mine field on the other side of the fence.  I would not have wanted to get out of the van!

Border with Jordan – note the fence protecting the border with minefield just on the other side

As of tomorrow things are going to change a bit as for the past three days there have been 7 of us and our guide/driver.  Tomorrow as we are being joined by 3 more people for the remainder of the trip and we are getting a new guide as ours has laryngitis. So it will be interesting to see how the group dynamic is impacted.

Saturday was our last free day in Tel Aviv before we joined the tour on Sunday.  Because Saturday is the sabbath, which is taken very seriously by observant jews, almost all businesses, activities, and public transportation were closed for the day.  We enjoyed the day by visiting the Tel Aviv Museum of Art and wandering through some lovely older neighbourhoods.  In all of this it was most enjoyable seeing the city residents out with their families and friends enjoying the lovely weather and an interesting lively city.

The museum of art has a dismal old masters section buried deep in the basement which only required a brief curtesy review.  The impressionist and post impressionists were a different matter.  The collection, to my appreciative but uninformed eye, seemed extensive (but not exhaustive) and interesting.  Neither of us has seen that many Chagall pictures in one place before and I was reminded how much fun his stuff is!

Lovely Monet – a mutual favourite

Chagall – I loved the idea of a pair of lovers being serenaded by an angel at full moon

Afterwards we enjoyed a lovely lunch in a square at a cafe squeezed in amongst the lively families.  I’m loving the food here – it is so fresh with hummus, pita, veggies, fruit, veggies, fruit… all the yummy things I’ve been missing in the past few months.

Yummy quinoa and lentil salad

Fountain in the square that had a suds problem – much to the little children’s pleasure

Statues singing to the admiring crowds walking by on the boulevard below

Bright and early Sunday morning the van for our tour picked us up at our hotel.  This tour is different from the others I have done in that everyone is staying at different hotels depending on the star rating you chose.  We seem to be the only 3* folks.  It is also different in that it is mostly what I like to think of as a “hop-on-hop-off” tour where you drive from site to site and jump out of the van for a fairly quick run through the site or just a photo opportunity.  In this style we have covered quite a bit of ground so far.

On Sunday, yesterday, we first headed north from Tel Aviv along the coast.  Our first stop were the ruins of the Roman settlement of Caesarea.  It seems to be a pretty well preserved site with an amphitheater that is still used for concerts (apparently an Israeli artist is “made” by performing here), good parts of the old hippodrome, and the old harbour.  It is in a lovely location right by the sea.

Caesarea amphitheater

Looking out to the Mediterranean

The old hippodrome

Our next stop was back to Haifa for another look at the Ba’hai Gardens.  I’m glad that we came here on our own as the photo stop at the top of the gardens really didn’t convey the true beauty and scale of it to the other members of our tour.

We also visited what was called a Druze village for lunch and an chat by a Druze in a local home.  I don’t seem to have taken any pictures as it wasn’t very remarkable in the end.  It was just a normal village, a normal lovely lunch with Israeli style food, and a normal middle eastern home followed by the expected sales pitch to visit the local family store.  The Druze are a religious and ethnic group originating in Egypt in the mid-900s.  They are a closed community in that only Druze can live in this village and you can only marry a Druze if you want to stay within the community, otherwise you are banished.

Our final stop of the first day was Nazareth to visit the Church of the Annunciation on the location where the Angel Gabriel informed Mary she would be impregnated by the holy spirit.  The site is owned and managed by the Franciscans but is open to all faiths (there is a separate site though for Orthodox christians who think it happened at a different spot).  The church is built over the site of Mary’s house and was built in the 1960s.

Church of the Annunciation

Inside the Church of the Annunciation

The grotto which was Mary’s house

Many nations and communities have donated decorations – this is from Japan and Mary’s blouse is entirely covered in pearls

Canada’s unintelligible contribution

Poinsettia tree outside the church

Dad enjoying his first taste of fresh pomegranate juice – a new convert!

Last night and tonight we are staying at a kibbutz.  The guesthouse is more like a conference centre than the rustic guesthouse I had imagined.  However, as this is Israel, each hotel room door frame has a mezouzah (holding a mini version on the Torah) on it.

Mezuzah on the door frame.

The second day of the tour has been equally as whirlwind as the first.  After an early start this morning, we headed to the north eastern part of the country around the Sea of Galilee and the Golan Heights.

First stop was the small hill top town of Safed (Tsafat) which is the centre of Judaic mysticism and study of Kabbalah and since the 60s has been a mecca for artists.  It was a lovely town to wander through for a nice stroll and some boutique browsing.  I met a really nice young woman from Toronto who is living there for a year to explore what it means to be a modern Jew.  She is working in a shop but as we were talking she walked with me down the main shopping street explaining the art and introduced me to the artists.  It was a lot of fun!

Tsafat

Next we headed below sea level to the Sea of Galilee which is a lovely massive lake that supplies 25% of Israel’s fresh water and is still an active fishing location.

On the shores of the lake we visited the Mount of Beatitudes which is the traditional site of Jesus’ delivery of the sermon on the mount.  It was a lovely setting.  The entire estate is owned and managed by the Italian government since the 1930s.

Chapel on the Mount of the Beatitudes

Just around the bay is Capernaum which is believed to be the site of of Peter’s house.  As this is a holy site, there is a church built over top of the archeological ruins of not only the Roman-era house, but also the earlier Byzantine churches.  In this case though, I couldn’t help but think it looked like a flying saucer suspended above the ruins.  At each of these sites, there are large groups who are on pilgrimage.  They are often lead by a priest and may include nuns.  Today, one of the groups was in the church so we got to enjoy some lovely but brief singing.

Capernaum entrance

Sign at the entrance asking us not to bring our guns in

The church

Church over the ruins

Ruins of a 4th century synagogue beside the church

After lunch we drove further up into the Golan Heights which were occupied by Israel during the 1967 6-day war with Syria.  Since then the area has been repopulated by Jews (all the Syrian Arabs fled) and various agricultural industries have developed.  We learned all this by watching a cheesy multi-media presentation put on as propaganda by the local tourism council.  However, we did get to go to a winery and sample local wines which was fun.  Dad and I have actually already been sampling different Israeli wines each night and have enjoyed them very much.  I will definitely be looking for them at the LCBO when I get home!

Our last stop was as far north east as we could go.  We ended up within a few miles of the Syrian border.  We could look out across the fertile valley to a stand of trees which marked the start of Syria.  In the middle of our view was the large, white compound of the UN observation force which has been stationed here since the 70s to enforce the ceasefire (there has never been a peace treaty).

The Syrian border across the valley with the white buildings of the UN observation force in the middle.

Bright and early Thursday morning I took a short flight to Tel Aviv.   At the airport I was very excited to meet my father.  I was so happy to see him as I have very much missed my family in the past few months.  I’m very excited about the tours we are going to do in Israel and Jordan in the next couple of weeks before heading home to Canada for December.

We start off with a couple of free days in Tel Aviv and the action for our tour starts on Sunday morning.  Thursday afternoon after getting settled in our hotel we went for a lovely long walk to get our bearings.  Tel Aviv is located right on the Mediterranean and has a lovely long white sand beach which is lovely to walk on for tired feet.

Tel Aviv beach

Enjoying the sun

Maybe the last sand and sun before winter snows

Yesterday we took the train Haifa.  The attraction there are the beautiful gardens of the Ba’hai World Center that surround the burial sight of the Ba’hai prophet known as Bab.  Because this is a holy places for the Ba’hai access to the gardens is very restricted.  You can only go to certain parts and at only specific times.  The gardens cascade down the side of Mount Carmel in 19 terraces – 1 for the Bab shrine and 18 for his disciples. The gardens were only finished in 2001.  We were lucky to get on the one daily English guided tour that allows you access to the upper terraces.  They are very formal and structured but also lovely.

Ba’hai Gardens

Bab Shrine

Enjoying the gardens

Terraces of the Ba’hai gardens looking down to the Bab shrine and Haifa port

After a tiring day of trekking up and down the steep terraces and slopes we returned to Tel Aviv in the early afternoon by one of the last trains.  All public transit stops by mid-afternoon on Friday and doesn’t resume until sundown on Saturday for the Sabbath.

Our reward for our efforts during the day was to enjoy a lovely glass of wine at a beach cafe, munching on yummy hummus, watching the sunset.

I’m having a lovely time with my father.  I’m so happy he is here and that I get to share this experience with him.