Category Archives: Israel

Architecture, Countries/Continents, Food, Geology, History, Israel, Jordan, Religious beliefs/practices, Travel Generally

Last Stand at Masada

March 11, 2022 Vaya con Gringos Leave a comment

March 11, 2022:

We left Jerusalem the morning of March 11, 2022, for our last day in Israel. We drove to the east. About a half an hour outside of Jerusalem, we had our first views of the Dead Sea, which is the lowest spot on earth at 420 meters below sea level . The area was created about 4 million years ago, and was once part of Mediterranean, until two tectonic plates dipped, and left the Dead Sea cut off. To give you an idea of how salty it is, the ocean is about 3% salt, while the Dead Sea is 33% salt. It is one of the four saltiest bodies of water in world.

As you drive east out of Jerusalem, and turn to the south, you pass the area where where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in caves in the hills above the town of Qumran in 1947 by a Bedouin shepherd. He found the scrolls stored in clay jars, and found 7 originally. After The Arab-Israeli War of 1948 which established the State of Israel, this area was part of Jordanian Jerusalem.

Our main exploration for the day was an exploration of the UNESCO Heritage site of Masada; the remains of a fortress on a remote mountaintop, which is as much a symbol of Jewish perseverance against oppression as it is a historical site. The story of the Masada revolt was chronicled by Josephus Flavius contemporaneously in the first century A.D. Much of what he wrote has later been confirmed through excavations of the site. The story is somewhat simple, but the lessons one takes away are more complex.

The Snake Path winding up to the fortress. We preferred to take the funicular.

According to Josephus Flavius, the original fortress at Masada was built by “Jonathan the High Priest” (apparently, Hasmonean king, Alexander Janaeus, between 103-76 B.C. The fortress was located near the border of the Judean territory. After King Herod came to power in 37 B.C., he was aware of the strategic location of the fortress, and chose it as the site for his winter palace and a built a greater fortress at the site between 37-31 B.C. His building exploits added two palaces to the site, including some public baths and an extensive cistern system to collect water from all areas of the surrounding mountains, as well as a casemate wall. He also added well-stocked storerooms. After his death in 4 A.D., the Romans located a garrison in the fortress in 6 A.D., but during Herod’s time and the time of the Roman garrison, there was a maximum of about 300-400 people at the site.

Quarry which provided all the rocks to build the fortress

Looking from the palace towards the storerooms.

Model of Herod’s Northern palace on multiple levels.

The palace walls would have all been decorated with these plaster frescoed walls. This is original.

Inside the caladium (the hot room in the baths)

Looking down on the western side of the fortress.. The large square plot on the adjacent hilltop was one of the eight Roman encampments surrounding Masada.

You can see the aqueducts leading to the multiple cisterns down below the fortress.

Josephus Flavius recorded that a great revolt broke out among the Jews in Jerusalem against the Romans in 66 A.D. After the fall of some of the leaders, a militant group of rebels, including one named Eleazar Ben Yair, left Jerusalem and tricked the Roman garrison into opening up. Following the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D, more militant Jews and their families fled to take refuge at Masada. They established a settlement of about 900-1000 people, and made use of all the stores left behind by Herod in the storerooms. The Romans laid siege to Masada from 73 -74 B.C. and the rebels fought to the death. Finally, the Romans erected a siege ramp and were on the verge of breaking through the battlements when the defenders of Masada decided they would rather die than surrender. Accordingly, the men killed all their women and children, set the fortress ablaze, and then drew lots as to which among them would kill the others, with the last of them committing suicide. The true story would not have been known but for the fact that two women, and five children had hidden in the cisterns, and they told the story to Josephus Flavius.

The fall of Masada was the final act in the Romans’ conquest of Judea. The site was occupied until the second century A.D., and then abandoned. It was not used again until the fifth century A.D. (during the Byzantine period) when it was occupied by a Christian monastic order. It was abandoned again after the rise of Islam in the 7^th century. The site remained forgotten until the 19^th century, when it was rediscovered by scholars. During the early 20^th century, it became a lodestone for pioneering Zionist groups, who came to the site to camp. Excavations were performed in the 1950s and 1960s, and uncovered countless artifacts from the end of the second Temple period.

As you walk around the site, many of the structures are marked with black lines, which delineate the top of the original structures uncovered by the archeologists. They have been able to reconstruct some structures above those lines using the stones found on site.

In addition to the remains of the fortress, the storerooms and palaces, the site is an important record of what Romans’ siege tactics were. From various viewpoints on the top, you are able to see the remains of the Roman camps and the Roman siege ramp.

The seine ramp leading up to the fortress.

The square areas below were two more of the Roman encampments

Right about then, it started raining, so we came back down the funicular and got on the bus. The rest of our day was largely consumed with crossing the border into Jordan, and then traveling to our resort on the Dead Sea. Once we crossed the border, we had a lunch at a restaurant in a mall near the resort. I couldn’t tell much difference between Israeli and Jordanian cuisine from this meal.

However, our lodgings at the Möevenpick Resort are lovely! The property is one of many resorts laid out at the edge of the Dead Sea. Apparently, many Jordanians who live up in the capital of Amman come here for a seaside escape, particularly at times like now, when it is still cold in Amman. We walked down to the edge of the Sea to check it out, which sounds easier than it is because the Dead Sea is falling about 12 feet per year on the Jordanian side.We finished this day with a group cooking class in one of the many restaurants on site. We made a great appetizer which is basically some ground meat and spices with mashed roasted eggplant put in some pita bread and grilled.

Pam floating in the Dead Sea. Pictures by Christina.

Architecture, Countries/Continents, Geography, History, Israel, Local Customs, Other cultures, Religious beliefs/practices, Travel Generally

A Babe Was Born in Bethlehem

March 10, 2022 Vaya con Gringos Leave a comment

March 10, 2022:

The morning of March 10, 2022, we left Jerusalem and entered the West Bank to visit Bethlehem, and the Church of the Nativity. It was somewhat interesting to enter the territory controlled by the Palestinian Authority. Since the Oslo Peace Accords agreed to between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank is divided into three classifications of territory: Area A -which is controlled by the Palestinian Authority; Area B- which is under Palestinian Authority’s administration, but Israeli security; and Area C-which is subject to both Israeli security and Israeli administration.

From the road, you could see not only the tall walls separating the Palestinian Authority territory, but also what are described as “informal” Jewish settlements in the parts of the West Bank not controlled by the Palestinian Authority. Jim and I have seen informal settlements in other parts of the world, but some of these look like miniature cities. In addition to seeing the walls everywhere, there was some interesting graffiti on the walls just inside the checkpoint, and the British artist, Banksy, owns a hotel right at the wall. Instead of being the Waldorf; it’s the Walled-Off Hotel, because none of the rooms have a view of anything but the wall.

The green building is labeled Trump Tower. The graffiti reads, “Look, Morty” I turned myself into a kosher Pickle. I’m a kosher pickle, Rick!!!”

We pulled into Bethlehem, parked and and walked to the church. From the parking structure, we had views out over the Judean desert. Many Jews consider Judea and Samaria (West Bank) to be Israeli territory, which is just one more point of controversy in this complicated land. Our local guide, Ramzi, who is an Arab of Greek Orthodox persuasion, was a fountain of information! As we entered the Church of the Nativity through the “Humiliation Gate”, he warned us that this visit to the inner sanctum of the church was not going to be a serene religion experience because different religions have to balance their time there. Our visit had to be timed to fit between two different Orthodox and one Catholic mass. This religious site is also covered by the “Status Quo” agreement, so the different religions who have dominion in the Church are jockeying to maintain their “rights” under the agreement.

Our Tauck Director,Mark, with local celebrity, Soni, in a moving reunion.

The Church was built originally by Constantine in 325 A.D. after his mother , Helena, identified it as another of the key biblical sites. The original floor was mosaic, which you can still see through slats in the floor covering it. The Church fell into disrepair, but was restored by Justinian in 6th century A.D. The frescoes on columns are also from the Justinian period. After the first Arab invasion, the Church was recaptured by the Crusaders, who replaced the roof with cedars of Lebanon. The mosaics on the upper walls of the main nave are also from the Crusader period. But the original script of the mosaics was written in Latin. In later centuries, the Greek Orthodox, who mostly control the Church replaced the text with Greek.

The iconostasis of the Greek Orthodox altar and Tsar Nicholas’ chandelier

A restoration of the Church was recently completed, all except the Greek Orthodox altar which is still being restored. We saw the Italian baroque restoration experts at work. The main alter of a Greek Orthodox church is called the iconostasis. Behind the main altar is an area never seen by the parishioners called the “holy of holies”. Sound familiar?! Most of the Christians in Bethlehem are Greek Orthodox, and this church conducts its regular Sunday mass in both Arabic and Greek. In fact, 20% of the population of Bethlehem is Christian Arab.

We had to wait about thirty minutes for one of the masses to end, before we could enter the chapel where Jesus was born, which is located in a grotto beneath the main floor of the church. While we were waiting, we also viewed the Armenian church, whose altar was less ornate than the Greek Orthodox one right next to it. There was also a Small Syrian Orthodox altar (who are from same branch as Coptic Christians) tucked in the area we viewed. Because they have limited rights in this church, there are only a few days a year when they can conduct services. For example, they celebrate Jesus’ birth on January 19 because it is a day of epiphany when Jesus was baptized 13 days after the Orthodox celebration of Jesus’ birth on Jan 6^th. From this area, you can look below into the Grotto, where we had some views of the mass being conducted there. We watched the priest and parishioners exit, but still had to wait. Before we could enter, there was this ritual cleansing practice (as if a religious service by another faith somehow soiled the chapel) between one faith’s services and the next.

ian altar on the far left, tiny Syrian altar in the middle, and Greek altar on the right.

The upper church is located directly over the star below where Jesus was born. The chandeliers were donated by Czar Nicolas II. The Grotto is the altar below with the star on ground is where Jesus was born. Similar to the Altar at Calvary in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the altar table sits above the star on the ground marking where Jesus was born. People jockey for position to get into this tiny area, snap their pictures, and get out before the next church service commences. Ramzi was right; not serene at all.

There is another site is Bethlehem which is of some interest to Christians. ACT (“according to Christian tradition”), when Mary and Joseph were fleeing Israel after Jesus’ birth, they stopped back in Bethlehem on their way to Egypt so Mary could nurse Jesus’ Some of her mother’s milk was spilled in a cave, and caused the cave walls to turn white. Infertile women still travel here to scrape some of this white chalky substance from the walls, mix it with liquid, and drink it, to overcome their infertility. Sure enough, this cave has also been converted into an altar and is called the Milk Grotto. Don’t ask me; I just report this stuff!

This is the rare church where the iconography is almost all devoted to images of Mary nursing Jesus

Observe the whitish coloring over the native stone.

Right across the street from the Church of the Nativity is this mosque

The skyline in Bethlehem dotted with Church steeples and minarets

After a little free time in Bethlehem, we returned to Jerusalem in order to visit the Israeli Museum. If you visit Jerusalem, this museum is well worth a visit. For one, the grounds are gorgeous, with sculptures and lovely plantings.

The Israeli Knesset (Parliament) is right across the street

But the two real treasures here are an incredible scale model of the city of Jerusalem as it existed during the Second Temple period, which coincided with both Jesus’ existence and Herod’s rule, right before its destruction by the Romans. Completely beyond that, most historians would say you could justify a visit just because this is the home of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

The model was created in the 1960s before the Six Days’ War , while Jerusalem was still in the hands of Jordan. That meant that it was created before Israel’s mass excavations of Jerusalem took place, so some of the details are a little off. The designer of the model, Michael Avi-Yonah, an Israeli archeologist and historian, based upon his model on the writings of Josephus Flavius from 1st century AD, and also the book of the Mischna ,which was a codified compilation of the oral history of the rabbis.

Scale map of the city of Jerusalem in the first century AD looking toward the city from the Mount of Olives. The Second Temple is the huge structure in the foreground sitting upon the Temple Mount.

The entire Temple Mount with the Second Temple in the center, looking into the entrance of the “holy of holies”. The stoa are the colonnaded halls surrounding it on all three sides.

Antonia Fortress is where Pontius Pilate judged Jesus. It is now facing southern wall, which was the main entrance during Second Temple period.

View from the west looking between the two tower, the red mark on the wall is where the western wall is today; all that is left of the Second Temple.

The buildings with the red roofs in the foreground are Herod’s Palace, next to Antonia Fortress.

This rocky area outside the walls of Herod’s citadel was Golgotha, where Jesus’ was crucified.

The outer wall was built by Herod’s nephew, Agrippa, in about 40 AD.

After viewing the model, we went to see the Dead Sea Scrolls. The scrolls were found in caves near Qumran in 1947. The Shrine of the Book is a whole research and display annex within the Israel Museum, which houses the Dead Sea Scrolls; but not all of them are on display. Their discovery is considered the greatest archeological discovery in Jewish history. The earliest of the scrolls date from 250 B.C.; the latest from 67 AD. The oldest scrolls are a set of phylacteries. All of the scrolls were written in Hebrew or Aramaic. Before this discovery, the earliest Hebrew Bible was only 1000 years old, but the stories from the Dead Sea Scrolls and that oldest Hebrew Bible matched almost exactly. In fact, as part of this discovery, every single book of the Hebrew Bible was found except two. Other scrolls are books that didn’t make it into the Hebrew Bible. The third set of books is about the people who kept the books; They were known as the Essene or Dead Sea sect, which was a very Messianic Jewish sect who lived an ascetic lifestyle. The scrolls were discovered in urns in caves, but it is unclear whether the Essene lived in those caves or in the community nearby. Among the scrolls were some literature, for example, the story of the Sons of Light vs. the Sons of Dark. All of the scrolls were written on parchment made from animal skins.

The Shrine of the Book was an amazing scholastic enterprise, and it is visited by scholars from all over the world. However, this was our last afternoon in Jerusalem, and we had earned some free time. Tomorrow we will leave Israel for Jordan, so stay tuned for more explorations.

Architecture, Art, Countries/Continents, Israel, Local Customs, Other cultures, Religious beliefs/practices, Travel Generally

Pilgrimages to Muslim and Christian Jerusalem

March 9, 2022 Vaya con Gringos 1 Comment

March 9, 2022:

Our explorations on March 9, 2022, began with a visit to the most holy place in Jerusalem to Muslims; the Temple Mount. Arabic speakers call it Al Haram Al Sharif, meaning the noble sanctuary. The two Islamic holy places which sit upon the Temple Mount are the Dome of the Rock, and the Al Aqsa Mosque. They were both constructed after the Romans destroyed the Second Temple of the Jews in 70 B.C. We drove to the north of the old city past the Damascus Gate with its remains of triumphal Hadrian arch from the 2nd century A.D. Then we went over around the east side, and past the Mount of Olives area and the “Dung Gate” on the SE end of the old city. Over on the eastern side, you could see the Church of all Nations, next to the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus wept.

The entrance to the Temple Mount area is right next to the entrance to the Western Wall. From the entrance, we could see some of the ongoing excavation activities around the base. Actually, the entrance takes you right over the Western Wall, so we had great views of people at their morning prayers.

Excavation activities at the southern end of the Temple Mount

Helpfully, right before you enter the Temple Mount, there are a couple of aerial photos which help orient you.

Al Aqsa Mosque in front; Western Wall in the left middle; and Dome of the Rock at the top above the Mosque

The sense of history is palpable. We are standing on what the Jews called Mount Moriah; the place the Old Testament says Abraham took his son to sacrifice him to show his allegiance to God. The son was spared when God said a ram could be sacrificed instead. Some say God created Adam and Eve here. This is the place David bought for Solomon to create the First Temple. The Babylonians conquered Jerusalem and destroyed the First Temple in 566 B.C. Then the Persians freed Jerusalem, and rebuilding work begins on another temple. Despite the earlier work, Herod’s audacious plan to enlarge build a huge temple complex beginning about 20 B.C. means that his creation is referred to as the Second Temple. It lasted about 80 years, but was here when Jesus walked the streets of Jerusalem. Sadly, in 70 A.D., it was all destroyed by the Romans. The Temple Mount remained covered in rubble for over 500 years. Then, in 570 A.D., the prophet, Mohammed, is born; in 610 (according to Islamic tradition), he hears the voice of God who tells him there is no God but Allah, and Mohammed is his true and final messenger. In 622, Mohammed travels to Medina to begin preaching the message, and Islam is born. This is the year 0 in the Islamic calendar.

The first structure you come to on the Temple Mount is the Al Aqsa Mosque, built on the Mount in 705 A.D. Since non-Muslims are no longer allowed to enter the Mosque, our local guide used this opportunity to give us a little background on the faith of Islam. The Koran/Quran is the book of the revelations given to Mohammed. The Koran does not mention Jerusalem but says Al Aqsa (entire Temple Mount) is the place where Mohammed goes to heaven. Specifically, from the Dome of the Rock. According to their beliefs, to be a faithful and observant Muslim, you must do five things which are considered the “pillars of Islam:

You must pray facing Mecca five times daily;
You must acknowledge your acceptance of the beliefs of Islam by reciting the first verse of the Koran which says that Allah is the one true God, and Mohammed was his prophet;
Keep the fast daily for all thirty days of the month of Ramadan;
Give to others in need according to your ability, sometimes called a “zacat” (giving a percentage of income to charity).
Go on a religious pilgrimage (the “haj”) to Mecca at least once in your life.

As we sat and listened to our guide, we saw a procession of ultra-orthodox Jews come onto the Mount (with their armed guards), and begin to walk around the entire top of the Mount. Our guide told us that this type of action is considered provocative, and many conflicts break out between ultra-religious Jews and Arabs. In fact, part of the reason that the Al Aqsa Mosque is closed to non-Muslims is that it has been bombed more than once. During the Crusades, after Jerusalem had been taken by the Crusaders, the Knights Templar took over the Mosque, and converted it into a Christian church.

Then we had free time to walk around the Dome of the Rock, which is an Islamic shrine. The Dome of the Rock was completed about 691 A.D., and is the oldest standing Muslim structure in the world. I have to say, it is one of the most beautiful religious buildings I have ever seen. It is covered in intricately detailed tiles. Although this area is prone to earthquakes, because the Dome of the Rock is built right on the rock, it has largely remained in intact since it was built (although various emperors and leaders have contributed their own architectural touches). There is also a smaller building standing beside it known as the Dome of the Chain. Sadly, the Dome of the Rock is not open to the public. We contented ourselves with just admiring its exterior. There is an entry arch with a curved vestibule with some stunning tile work. There are several arches surrounding the Dome which are called the Gates of Judgment.

Dome of the Rock and the Gates of Judgment

The smaller structure on Jim’sleft (photo right) is the Dome of the Chains

Entryway with original mosaic work above

galleries and open air prayer areas around the Mount

Our next exploration took us out the Lion’s Gate on the Temple Mount onto the Via Dolorosa, the supposed path that Jesus took on his last day of life.

There are fourteen stops along this path, which are also known as the stations of the Cross. The path we’re on goes back to 14th century, when Franciscan friars set the stages of the cross. Ironically, the first ten stations are all in the Muslim Quarter. The last 4 stations are actually in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Since this pilgrim trail wasn’t even established until the 14^thcentury A.D., you can tell some liberties have been taken over the years, and some of the stations have actually changed location.

Even though we’re “on” the Via Dolorosa, some of the stages can’t be seen. For example, the first stage (where Jesus was judged and condemned to die) is located in a boy’s school, which is not open to the public. The third and fourth stages are in locations which are closed for Covid.

We started at the second stage of the Cross (where Jesus given the cross to carry, and his crown of thorns), which are actually commemorated by two separate Franciscan chapels: the Chapel of Flagellation and the Chapel of Condemnation.

The Chapel of Flagellation; notice the thorn motif over the door.

We passed under the Ecce Homo Arch put up by Hadrian, and then came out in the area of Hagevura Square, which leads to all four cardinal gates in the old city. This street was the ancient Roman lower Cardo. The whole path of the fourteen stages of the Cross cover a distance of about 2,000 feet. We finished the remaining stations in the Muslim quarteer. To complete the journey, we came in through anEthiopian village. To get to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher from this direction, you actually have to enter through two separate Ethiopian Christian churches.

The fifth stage of the cross where Jesus fell against the wall.

Allegedly, the “spot”. Centuries of pilgrims have indented the wall.

Man carrying a cross. Apparently, these are available to rent if you want the “real” experience.

Emperor Constantine built the huge church of the Holy Sepulcher after he declared that the Roman Empire would convert to Christianity. His church was actually three times larger than it is today. It was completed in 335 A.D., but destroyed in 1009. It was rebuilt again in 1048, and in 1099. When it was originally built, Golgotha was outside. Today’s version of the Church has both Aedicule (which holds Jesus’ empty tomb) and Calvary in the same building.

The courtyard for the Church of the Holy Sepulcher

Painting of Jesus being prepared for burial

Immediately upon entering the Church, you see the “Stone of Unction” where Jesus was laid and anointed after he was dead. To many, this is a holy place in its own right, and many pilgrims prostrate themselves on the marble platform. The Aedicule is the last remaining piece of architecture from the Justinian era. Within the Aedicule is a piece of the rock rolled in front of cave to seal Jesus’ original burial place. Since the lines to get into the Aedicule were now ridiculously long, and since we had visited two nights ago, we passed on entering the Aedicule.

Then we went up to Calgary, the hill upon which Christ is crucified, otherwise known as Golgotha (which means skull). Likewise, the line to touch the stone upon which the cross was laid was very long, and as we had already done it, we passed today. You can also look down a shaft covered in plexiglass to see the base of Golgotha.

Golgotha is the 12th station of the cross.

A huge fire in the 1800s burned much of the original chapel from the Crusader period. The oval on the ceiling is about the only painting from that period.

The only remaining Crusader-era decoration

We again went into the Greek Orthodox Chapel. According to an agreement among many different religious denominations in 1757, rules were established about which denominations got to control which parts of the Church. This agreement is known as the Status Quo, and covers several biblical sites in Israel. In short, the church is divided up into multiple separate chapels, where each denomination worships according to their own dogma. It leads to some really bizarre outcomes, like the fact that the Greek Orthodox basically walled off their chapel so you can no longer have an unobstructed view through the entire church.

The Omphalo (bellybutton), signifying the center of the Greek church, which is a weird carryover from Hellenistic Greek temple traditions.

The wall built to separate the Greek chapel from the rest of the church.

We also visited the Armenian Chapel, and the Greek Orthodox chapel of Helena of the True Cross, which was constructed on a quarry in that chapel which operated 2800 years ago. There is also a Chapel directly under Golgotha known as the Chapel of Adam.

After a brief lunch, we were free for the rest of the afternoon. Which we really needed! We stopped in the shop of one of the Armenian ceramic artists, who have been in Jerusalem for hundreds of years. In fact, it is their family which has made all the ceramic street signs in the old city.

We finished the day by walking to our dinner restaurant, Eucalyptus, which was very good. Along the way, we saw some great modern street art.

Street art showing the Jerusalem-centric view of the world

Countries/Continents, History, Israel, Local Customs, Other cultures, Religious beliefs/practices, Travel Generally

This Year In Jerusalem

March 8, 2022 Vaya con Gringos Leave a comment

March 8, 2022:

We met our local guide, Shelly, this morning and proceeded to do a walking tour in the old city. We again entered through the Jaffa Gate. The current height of the walls are from about 500 years ago, and were built by Suleiman the Magnificent in the Ottoman Period. The older walls date back 1000 years ago from the Crusader period. Those walls significantly increased the areas within the old city, which were first walled by Herod 2,000 years ago. The old city of Jerusalem is divided into four quarters: the Jewish Quarter; the Armenian Quarter (mostly Armenian Orthodox); the Christian Quarter (mostly Catholic); the Muslim Quarter; and the Jewish Quarter (all Orthodox). Additionally, there are two areas of religious significance-Mount Zion, and the Mount of Olives.

We first ventured into the Jewish Quarter and explored the Tower of David, which was became part of another of King Herod’s massive building projects, built entirely of Jerusalem limestone. King David established Jerusalem as the capital of united Israel about 3000 years ago, but his original city started in a location to the south of here (and outside the current city walls). King David brought back the Ark of the Covenant containing the 10 Commandments, and enlisted Solomon to build the First Temple to house the Ark of the Covenant. It stood until it was razed by the Babylonians in 537 B.C.

The Tower of David compound dates back 2800 years, but the first portion of a fort dates from King Herod’s period. Within the Tower compound were some great topographical maps showing the city of Jerusalem at different points in time.

Depiction of the Second Temple built by Herod

Of course, no building project under Herod was complete without another palace, and he built one here in Jerusalem right next to the Tower of David, within easy walking distance of his Second Temple complex on the Temple Mount. The Temple Mount is Mount Moriah from Old Testament lore, where Abraham took his son to sacrifice him. The Second Temple was built by Herod on the Temple Mount in about 20 B.C. This photo shows a depiction of what it would have looked like. In building it, Herod massively expanded the footprint of the First Temple. To do so, he had to build a huge retaining wall on the western side which in effect, encircled the Temple Mount. The Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D., leaving just the Western Wall of the Second Temple, which is now the most sacred spot for Jews remaining in the old city.

Inside the Tower compound looking towards the walls of Herod’s palace

This drawing depicts the three stages of the Temple Mount: at the top is the tiny (relatively) First Temple, then Herod’s Second Temple, and directly on top of what would have been the Holy of Holies is the Dome of the Rock.

We climbed up to the top of the Tower. From there, we had amazing 360° views of old and new Jerusalem. Looking to the east, beyond the city walls, we could see the Mount of Olives where Jesus spent much of his last week of life. Tradition holds that it is also where he ascended to Heaven. Christian tradition holds that the “End of Days” will begin on the Mount of Olives.

The Church with three gold domes is the Orthodox Church of Mary Magdalene. The huge Gold is the Dome of the Rock built by the Muslims after the fall of Jerusalem in the 7^th century A.D. (in front of Church of Mary Magdalene).

Dome of the Rock (al Haram al Sharif) with Mary Magdalene’s Church behind

Domes of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher

The green area is the Garden of Gethsemane, and the Jewish cemetery is next to it on the Mount of Olives

Looking south is the Armenian Quarter. Armenia was the first country in the world to adopt Christianity in 4th century. From our standpoint, we can see St. James Cathedral and the Dormition Abbey. It is believed that the Last Supper took place in a building next to it (this whole area is Mount Zion).

St. James cathedral is on the left and Formation Abbey is on the right

Looking over new city to the west, we can see the King David Hotel. The British military set up a headquarters here during the British Mandate period. The Jewish paramilitary group, Irgun, bombed the hotel in 1946 in protest of the British plan to partition Palestine and their efforts to limit Jewish immigration to Israel.

Looking to the west over the David compound into the new city

To the left in the new city is a windmill. It was in this area that Moses Montefiore began buying up land for Jews to move to Israel in the 1860s.

A gift from Dale Chihuly after he had a glass exhibit on the grounds of the Tower compound

After leaving the Tower of David, we entered the remains of the ancient Roman Cardo (a row of shops with colonnades). From there, we entered the Jewish Quarter. We saw the rebuilt Hurva Square and Hurva Synagogue, which had been destroyed in the 1948 war. All of the synagogues in the Jewish quarter are Orthodox. We also saw the Golden Menorah to commemorate the menorahs which were built and lit in the First and Second temples. The menorah in the Second Temple was carried away by Roman General Titus when Rome destroyed Jerusalem.

Shelly showing us what the HUrva Synagogue used to look like

The Golden Menorah in front of the rebuilt Hurva Synagogue

We visited the Synagogue of the Four Sephardi. Synagogue comes from Greek word synagoga meaning “house of gathering”. In the time of before the destruction of the Second Temple, Jews came to worship/gather by making sacrifices, usually goats or sheep. Synagogues were not then used for prayer. Jewish tradition recognizes two cataclysms in Jewish history: the destruction of the Temple, and the Holocaust.

Inside the Synagogue of the Four Sephardi

In the post-Temple period, prayer is substituted for sacrifice, and prayer needs a place to worship. The Torah is the Hebrew Bible, consisting of the 5 Books of Moses (essentially Old Testament)-Genesis, Exodus, Deuteronomy, Numbers, and Leviticus. Scribes write the Torah by hand, and it is the holiest item in the Jewish faith. When readings are made from the Torah, it is never touched by hand; the reader turns the scrolls. Where Torahs are stored is called an Ark. A Torah consists of 62 pieces of kosher animal parchment, sewn with animal sinew, consisting of 248 pages in total. A Torah takes 1 1/2 years to write, and costs about $30,000; you can tell how wealthy a synagogue is by how many Torahs it owns.

Our local guide, Shelly, had arranged for us to meet a Jewish scribe, Josue, and we were able to watch Josue scribe a Torah. He told us that pages on which mistakes are made must be totally buried-go to a sacred burial area called a Gniza. We learned that it takes three hours just to make a mezuza (the small scroll with a Torah verse inscribed on it which is placed on the doorways of all Jewish buildings for good fortune. Every hotel we have stayed in thus far has had a mezuza on each door to every guest room. Tefillin or phylacteries (prayer boxes) are also made of animal skin, and also contain Torah verses.

An example of the Priestly Prayer Josue had scribed.

The gorgeous mezuza on the doorway of the 4 Sephardi Synagogue

Shelly continued our education about Jewish tradition by explaining the difference between Askenazic Jews (from Eastern Europe-Poland, Germany, Russia, and Hungary) and Sephardic (Jews from Spain and Portugal, who were kicked out of Spain in 1492). The traditions are somewhat different but it doesn’t matter as much from a religious standpoint. I found it somewhat interesting that all Jews were what we would consider ultra orthodox until the late 1800s. At that time, the Hassidim sect started in Ukraine, and continued in Poland; they emphasized personal connections with God over formal study.

We had lunch at in the quarter at a café called appropriately The Quarter Café. The food wasn’t great, but the views of the Temple Mount, Mount Olive and the Western Wall were outstanding.

View of the Al Aqsa Mosque and the city walls with the Mount of Olives cemetery behind it.

Speaking of the Western Wall, we went to visit that most holy site for Jews in Jerusalem after lunch. As I mentioned above, it is all that remains of the Second Temple (the last section of the retaining wall of the second Temple built by Herod), and observant Jews pray here frequently. In fact, it is like an open-air orthodox synagogue. It is considered so holy because it is the area which was closest to the “Holy of Holies”-the inner temple on the Temple Mount. The prayer areas at the Western Wall are strictly separated by gender, and you must be modestly dressed to visit. Jim told me there is an exhibit in the men’s area where you can see much more of the excavation of the retaining wall, which goes down about another five stories below what you see at ground level today.

The Western Wall with the Dome of the Rock above it

The Western Wall is part of the retaining wall supporting the second temple. Surprise! The day we were there, the site was being visited by former Vice President Pence.

Photo credit to Pam D. for this pic of Mike Pence

These young gentlemen were on the way to celebrate the wedding of their friend (in the hat)

For our final exploration of the day, we went to visit Yad Vashem, the Israeli Holocaust Museum. Shortly after becoming a nation, Israeli authorities created the Memorial Authority in 1953, with the purpose of giving Holocaust victims a memorial, and to specifically call as many as possible their names so they could never be forgotten.

The grove of The Righteous Among Nations -each tree commemorates one of these heroic people.

The first Museum was built in 1973, but was completely rebuilt in 2003. Unlike other Holocaust Memorials in the world, many of which focus on the pure history of the Holocaust, the Yad Vashem Memorial focuses on three ideas. 1. Documenting the systematic destruction of European Jewry; 2. Giving as many individual victims of the Holocast a name and a memory of who they were as individuals; and 3. Celebrating the “Righteous among Nations”; those non-Jews who risked everything to help Jews escape the Holocaust. No photos are allowed inside for obvious reasons, but we could have spent much longer than the two hours we spent there absorbing this horror.

Memorial to the 1,500,000 killed in the Holocaust

Polish guardian, Janusz Korchak, who died with the orphans he cared for rather than sending them to their deaths alone.

Architecture, Art, Countries/Continents, Food, History, Israel, Local Customs, Other cultures, Religious beliefs/practices, Travel Generally

Crusader Citadels, Muslim Mosques, and Christian Churches

March 7, 2022 Vaya con Gringos Leave a comment

March 7, 2022:

Our local guide, Zivot, joined us again today, and we left Haifa the morning of March 7, 2022, and journeyed north up to Akko/Acre, a city which dates back at least 5000 years. We know this because Akko has been a port city since that time, and ancient writings describe a “curse” leveled on the town (the “Curse Letters”) by Egypt because Akko wouldn’t pay the taxes demanded by the pharaohs.

In order to set the table for today’s explorations, a little history refresher: Jerusalem fell to Muslim Seljuk Turks in 1071. In 1099, during the first Crusades, Jerusalem was retaken by Christians under Geoffrey of Bouillon. However, Jerusalem again fell when Muslim soldiers led by Saladin after the Battle of Hittin in 1187 retook it. We drove past the Horns of Hittin (two massifs in the mountains of Galilee) on our trip to Galilee yesterday.

Our first exploration on March 7^th was to the Crusader citadel of Akko, built in the third Crusade by Richard the Lionhearted in 1191. It was established and maintained by the Hospitallers (the Knights of St. John). They held this area until about 1291, but the Knights of St. John stayed on in the area, and used their land holdings to provide safe lodging for pilgrims and others. The buildings in the Crusader fort were massive. Today, everything at ground level in the fort is from Ottoman period or later. We entered through the “Garden of Delight” and went below ground into the ruins of the citadel.

What life inside the Crusader fort would have looked like

As we returned to ground level, we walked through the area which served as the prison since Ottoman times. In fact, the Bahualai of Baha’i faith was imprisoned here. The prison was also used by the British during the British Mandate period. In fact, the British some Israelis here, including Zivot’s father. During the British Mandate, politicians at home in Britain proposes partitioning what was then called Palestine. Further, in 1939, the British had decided no more Jews should be allowed to immigrate to Israel. Haganah was a Zionist group formed before the State of Israel, and they helped Jews secretly immigrate even after the British forbade it. Some of them, like Zivot’s dad, were imprisoned for those activities here, but they are celebrated as heroes in Israel today for saving many European Jews from death in the concentration camps.

The prison was the tallest of these buildings

Then we visited the Mosque of El Jazzar, which was built in 1775. However, for the construction, the sultan at the time took marble from Caesarea, so parts of the mosque are actually 2,000 years old. Interestingly, according to Jewish law, since rabbis and other Jewish clergy are paid by the state, other religions are entitle to equal treatment, so the muezzin and imam are also paid by the Israeli government. We passed some young women siting outside the mosque with white head scarfs. Zivot explained to us that they are members of the Druze sect, and they don’t pray in mosques. They perform their prayers privately, usually in their homes. Once inside the mosque, Zivot pointed out the alcove which is present in all mosques, and serves to show the direction of Mecca. Jews can pray in mosques became mosques are kosher. In olden times before clocks were widely available, or reliable, muezzins called the prayer five times a day. Today, most calls to prayer are recorded, and broadcast, and in this mosque, there was a digital clock which showed the five times of prayer for that day (four during day one after sunset). The times change daily. There are also apps for your cell phone which alert you when to pray.

Inside the Mosque with the alcove pointing to Mecca

Zivot told us a little more about the Muslims in Israel. Worldwide, the most predominant Muslim sect are the Sunni Moslems. In Iran, Shiite Moslems are the majority. In Israel, there are only Sunni Muslims, and a few Druze. The Shiites believe Mohammed named son in law, Ali, as his successor; while the Sunnis believe that when Mohammed died without an heir, and the participants of the Saqifah event appointed Abu Bakr as the next-in-line. In the Battle of Karbala, the Sunnis killed the Shiite leader, and this has permanently set the two sects against each other. The Druze and Baha’i are sects evolved from the Shia sect.

Comparative religion lesson completed, we walked through the market area of Akko. Then we entered the tunnels built by the Knights Templar within the walls of the Crusader citadel, to secretly and safely move their wealth from the port to the market area. Today, these tunnels are referred to as the Templars’ Tunnel.

What the port of Akko looked like in Crusader times

We emerged on the waterfront of Akko to enjoy a meal at the famous restaurant Uri Buri. Our good friends, Neil and Barbara had turned us on to this place, which is widely considered the best restaurant in the Middle East. Sadly, in May, 2021, during the annual Jerusalem Day celebrations, some attacks on Muslims were started by ultra ,right-wing Jews, and many Muslims rebelled. Hezbollah launched rockets which landed in the area, and many Israeli Arabs joined in in Akko. The Uri Buri restaurant and hotel burned down, but the restaurant has now been rebuilt. Our interfaith group last night discussed the success they had in nearby Haifa in shutting down the destruction there, but many Israeli cities were involved in these clashes last year. Although the meal was entirely seafood, it was excellently and creatively prepared and presented, and was a real treat.

The mezzo course at Uri Buri-salmon sashimi with wasabi ice cream, cured and grilled fish, and a ceviche with lemon, olive oil, and local herbs

We bade farewell to Zivot, and mounted our bus to Jerusalem.

Pam and Christina bidding farewell to Zivot

Although our tour director, Mark, gave us a short time to nap, we then commenced upon a history lesson about Jerusalem. I’m going to try to condense this for you, dear Readers, so the next four days don’t pass by in a total blur. Perhaps a little timeline is in order.

Period	Time Span	What happened:
Bronze Age	3200-1200 B.C.	The emergence of the Canaanite culture-builders fortified cities with megalithic walls to protect trade routes from Egypt to Syria
	2000 B.C.	Abraham (the figure shared by all three monotheistic religions) journeys to Canaan.
	2000-1500 B.C.	The Patriarchs (Abraham, Issac, & Jacob) wander
	1250 B.C.	Moses leads the exodus from Egypt
	1210 B.C.	The children of Israel enter the Promised Land under Joshua
The Iron Age	1200-1000 B.C.	The Philistines and the Hebrew tribes arrive in the Promised Land; and begin to struggle while Canaanite power wanes.
	1025-1010 B.C.	The Kingdom of Saul
The Kingdom of David	1010-970 B.C.
	1000 B.C.	David conquers Jerusalem; starts building a city to the south of what is now known as the old city. David recovers the Ark of the Covenant and wants to build a temple to store it, but can’t because he has killed. Enlists Solomon as his builder
The Reign of Solomon	970-930 B.C.	Building of the First Temple
The Division of the Kingdom	930-880 B.C.	Division into Israel and Judah
The Assyrians	722-612 B.C.	Assyria conquers the kingdom of Israel.
The Babylonians	612-539 B.C.	Babylonians conquer Jerusalem, destroy the First Temple, enslave the Jews and send them to Babylon, and the Ark of the Covenant disappears.
The Persians	538-333 B.C.	King Cyrus the Great conquers Babylon and frees the Jews (538 B.C.
	515 B.C.	The Second Temple is started.
The Hellenistic Period	332-63 B.C.
	332 B.C.	Alexander the Great conquers Palestine.
	164 B.C.	The Maccabean Revolt (Hasmonean Dynasty) results in Jewish independence (celebrated at Hanukkah).
	1^st century B.C.-1^st century A.D.	Height of the Nabatean Empire in Jordan
The Roman Period	63 B.C.-324 A.D.
	63 B.C.	Roman legions under Pompey conquer Jerusalem
	37-4 B.C.	King Herod the Great rules in Judea
	37-33 B.C.	Herod built two palaces for himself at Masada
	22-10/9 B.C.	Herod builds Caesarea
	20-11/10 B.C.	Herod built the Second Temple, and a fort and palace in Jerusalem.
	4 B.C.	Jesus is born in Bethlehem
	30 A.D.	Jesus crucified in Jerusalem
	66-70 A.D.	First Jewish War; Destruction of the Second Temple
	73 A.D.	Masada falls.
	132-135 A.D.	Second Jewish War
The Byzantine Era	303-638 A.D.
	303 A.D.	Constantine becomes Emperor
	313 A.D.	Constantine grants freedom of worship to all in the Empire, sends his mother, Helena out to identify biblical sites within the Empire
	335 A.D.	The Church of the Holy Sepulcher is consecrated-holiest site in Christianity
	570 A.D.	Mohammed is born
Early Arab Period	638-1099 A.D.
	638 AD	Battle of Yarmuk River-begins Arab dominion in the Holy Land
	661-750 A.D.	Omayyed Dynasty
	691 A.D.	Dome of the Rock is completed.
	750-974 A.D.	Abbasids Dynasty
	975-1099 A.D.	Fatamids Dynasty
The Crusader Era	1009-1291 A.D.
The Mamluk Era	1291-1517 A.D.	The Babyars (descended from Turks), and defeat last Latin strongholds in the Holy Land and become Sultan of Egypt
	1492	King Ferdinand of Spain signs edict expelling the Jews from Spain
The Ottoman Period in the Holy Land	1517-1917 A.D.
	1517 A.D.	Ottomans defeat the Mamluks and seize control of Palestine and Egypt
	1537 A.D.	Suleiman the Magnificent orders construction/expansion of the city walls of Jerusalem
	1812 A.D.	Petra is rediscovered by Jean Louis Burckhardt
	1831 A.D.	Egypt’s Muhammed Ali takes control of Palestine
	1839 A.D.	British Jew Moses Montefiore proposes creation of a Jewish state
	1896 A.D.	Theodor Hertzl publishes The Jewish State, a call for the Jewish homeland
	1909 A.D.	Tel Aviv founded and the first kibbutz in Palestine established
	1914 A.D.	World War I breaks out; the Ottomans side with Germany
	1916 A.D.	Faisal and the Arabs join T.E. Lawrence and the Brits in a desert war against the Turks.
	1917 A.D.	Brit General Allenby captures Jerusalem from the Turks
The British Mandate	1917-1948	League of Nations grants England control over the lands of Palestine
	1934-1945	Germany begins the Holocaust; European Jews try to flee to Israel because other countries, including the U.S. denied them entry.
The Modern Israeli State	1948-present
	May 14, 1948	PM David Ben Gurion declares the independence of the State of Israel
	1967	Israeli 6 Day War against Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan. Israel reunifies all of Jerusalem, and takes the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights to prevent bombing attacks from those areas.
	1973	The Yom Kippur War. Egyptian and Syrian forces attack Israel to try to retake the Sinai Peninsula and Golan Heights, and are defeated quickly.
	1979	Camp David Peace Treaty signed between Egypt and Israel
	1982	Sinai returned to the Egyptians.
	1987	1^st Palestinian intifada begins
	1993	Oslo Accords signed between Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Army
	1994	Palestinians granted limited autonomy (parts A, B, and C of the Occupied Territories), but have no rights as Israeli citizens.
	2005	Israel withdraws Jewish settlements from the Gaza Strip.

With thanks and deep gratitude to Mark Goldsmith-Holt for his background information on Israel.

We arrived in Jerusalem about 5:30 on the evening of March 7, 2022. On our drive in, we had our first view of the security walls cutting off the West Bank. Jerusalem was still in Jordanian hands until the 1967 War. Depending on your point of view, this was either the reunification of Jerusalem (Jewish view) or a “naqba” (Arabic for disaster).

Although we were all pretty tired by this point, our Tauck director, Mark, offered us a special opportunity to visit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher that night while the crowds were small. The Church was originally constructed in Constantine’s time, but later expanded during the Crusader period. At that time, the crucifixion site was enclosed within the Church. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher is the most holy place in Christendom because “according to Christian tradition”, it contains the sites of Christ’s crucifixion, his burial site, and the place of his resurrection. What remains today are mostly the footprint of the Crusader era church, with some modifications made by various Christian churches in the intervening years.

We’re fortunate in the location of our hotel (the Waldorf Astoria-Jerusalem) because it is just a short walk from the hotel to enter the old city through the Crusader walls at the Jaffa Gate. From there it is a relatively short walk through a market area which used to be the upper Cardo (shopping arcade from Roman times) to the Church. I’m not going to do an in-depth piece of this visit to the Church, because we will return for a full tour in a couple of days. What was amazing about this visit was how few visitors there were. This meant we were able to visit all three holy sites within the church complex without waiting in long lines, and with enough room to actually take pictures. The downside was that the church was very dark by this time so many photos didn’t turn out. But we got to see the Stone of Unction, where Jesus’ body was laid and prepared for burial after crucifixtion; the inside of the Aedicule (a church within the church) housing both a piece of the stone rolled across Jesus’ burial place, and the burial place itself (from which he allegedly was resurrected); and the stone Golgotha where Jesus’ was crucified.

The Courtyard of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher

The weird thing about this is that this is the main entrance to the area of Jesus’ tomb, which is controlled by the Greek Orthodox Church. But on the back of the Aedicule is a separate altar area controlled by the Coptic Christians which shows the back of the top of Jesus’ tomb.

Purportedly, tis is the area of Jesus’ tomb.

And the case in front of this altar holds part of the stone rolled in front of Jesus’ tomb.

This is the altar commemorating Jesus’ crucifixion up a steep set of stairs but within the same church. This is “Calgary” or Golgotha”

And if the preceding picture wasn’t close enough for you, you can crawl under another altar, and stick your hand down into this hole and touch Golgotha for yourself.

We also had the good fortune to meet two brothers whose family has been responsible for locking up the Church every night for hundreds of years. Their family, and another Muslim family who keep the keys to the Church, had some interesting observations. For one thing, during COVID, the Church was closed to the public for the first time since the Plague in the 1300s. They also gave us access to some “secret” places in the Church. For example, we got to visit the Greek Orthodox chapel which was closed to the public and we got to visit the catacombs of Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus in the oldest part of the church (about) 800 years old.

With that, we walked back to the hotel, and prepared for another big day tomorrow. I don’t know about you, but my head hurts after this big day.

Architecture, Art, Countries/Continents, Education, Food, Geography, History, Israel, Local Customs, Other cultures, Religious beliefs/practices, Travel Generally

Whose Child Is This?

March 6, 2022 Vaya con Gringos 2 Comments

March 6, 2022:

On Mar. 6, 2022, we drove through the old German colony in Haifa at the base of Mount Carmel, which the means “the vineyard of God”. Israel means “God planted”.

I’m just going to preface this, and the rest of these posts from the “Holy Land” with these caveats. I was not raised in a religion, and do not belong to one today. As a student of history, I have studied the world’s major religions, but I have realized that I am not conversant with all the “stories” in the three monotheistic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam), so I am not equipped to comment upon what we are hearing from our local guides. One of those guides has caveated what she is saying by starting out with the proviso “According to tradition …”, and that strikes me as a good way to start. Accordingly, I will report here and in the following days what was said about the places we visit, but I am not endorsing any particular view, and if there is conflicting information, I will report that as well. In short, I’m just reporting; not opining or endorsing.

For today’s explorations, we are going to visit the Church of the Annunciation (a Catholic basilica) in the town of Nazareth, which was supposedly built on the site of the house where the Virgin Mary lived when the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and told her that she would become pregnant and give birth to the son of God, Jesus (“and the Word shall become flesh”; or so the Bible says). Then we will visit one of the oldest kibbutzim in Israel; drive along many Biblical sites on the shores of the Sea of Galilee; see a restored boat which sailed in the time of Jesus; and take a boat ride on the Galilee. Whew! I’m exhausted just thinking about it.

It took about an hour to drive from Haifa to Nazareth. Nazareth is on one of the peaks of the lower Galilee Mountains. The Church of the Annunciation was originally constructed in the 4^th century AD at the behest of the Roman Emperor, Constantine (really, his mother, Helena). It was she who was responsible for the Romans embracing Christianity in about 330 A.D. Today, the town of Nazareth is predominantly Muslim, and to preserve peace, everyone in the town is bound to “preserve the status quo”. For this reason, you have to enter the church grounds from a side alleyway, and there is a mosque right next door. However, once you are on the grounds, there are plaques surrounding the church donated by countries and cities all over the world depicting May and Jesus. Depending upon where the plaques originated, Mary can look very different and mostly resembles women in the part of the world from which each plaque came.

The remains of the old church were completely demolished in 1954. The new (current) basilica was designed by an Italian architect named Giovanni Muzzo, in a style called Italian Brutalism. Although construction was not completed until 1969, the Pope visited in 1964 and celebrated Mass here; in 1965, the Pope announced Jews not responsible for killing Jesus. Facing the front of the church, there is a “Jerusalem cross” on the front, which is a cross made of five crosses, signifiying Jesus’crucifix and the four nails nailing Jesus to the cross. All the Catholic Churches bearing Jerusalem crosses are Franciscan.

The Jerusalem Cross on the front of the church with the arms of St. Francis and Jesus below

You enter the church by a side door on the level of crypt. What encases the church today is plain and unadorned concrete, in order not to detract from what you are seeing. When you enter the church on the ground floor, there is a large open space which allows you to proceed to the center, where you go down below ground level to view the remains of Mary’s family home from the first century AD. We don’t know if it really is. Interestingly, most archeologists and historians now believe that Jesus was really born about 4 BC, which throws our whole calendaring system off. In any event, you can see into the first century building, and can also see the remnants of the Byzantine and Crusader churches encasing the house. The actual basilica is on second floor of the church.

Looking down into the crypt built around the remains of the first century building believed to be Mary’s home.

Byzantine remains (below) and Crusader remains (above)

One of the many mosques surrounding the Basilica. An “arms race” of construction started to see which faith could build the highest structure, until it was stopped by the “status quo”.

After being born in Bethlehem (according to tradition), Jesus lived in Nazareth until he was about 30. He then left Nazareth, and resided in the area around the Sea of Galilee, and this is the direction we drove. We passed the ancient Jewish town of Megiddo, which, according to Christian tradition, Jesus thought was the site of Armageddon, where good battled evil, and was the place from which the Word would come again.

We passed thru the village of Canna where the first miracle was reportedly performed by Jesus. “According to tradition”, he took water from the spring of Canna, and transformed it into wine for the guests at a wedding. Today, the town of Canna is an Arab village. Jesus spent three years around Galilee; 75% of what is told in the New Testament happened in places around Galilee. Further, Mary Magdalene came from the town of Magdala around Galilee.

After we crossed the Jordan River, where Jesus was reportedly baptized, we could see the Sea of Galilee (which is really a lake). On the shores of Galilee, we arrived at our second stop; the Kibbutz Deganya A, which was established in 1910. When the Zionists returned to Israel, the idea was that all would become farmers. However, many of the Ashkenazi Jews from eastern Europe had not been employed as farmers, so they lacked the skills to successfully farm. But they had many other skills, and in the first few years of Jews returning to Israel, the concept of collective kibbutzim was hatched, under a form of socialism (“from each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs”).

Deganya A was the first kibbutz ever started with 12 people; ten men, and two women. Today, the kibbutz has about 800 residents, and each has duties and responsibilities. It used to be that all money earned by each member was contributed to the kibbutz, and each member given an allowance according to its family needs. Today, each kibbutz member keeps the money they earn, but pay taxes and community fees to cover all of the community amenities and services. This kibbutz is run by committees of members, and each member of the kibbutz can vote. Our guide told us that while some people are allowed to live in a kibbutz without becoming a member, those people cannot participate in governing the community. Most kibbutzim are secular communities, although a small percentage of kibbutzim are religious. The main goal of education in a kibbutz is to teach children to be productive members of the community. The educational curriculum includes education about democracy, and the duty to participate in that democracy.

Commemorating the agricultural roots of Kibbutz Deganya A

A weird (scary) fact of life here is that just across and above the Sea of Galilee is the Golan Heights. Until the 1967 war, that territory was occupied by hostile Syrians and Lebanese. Our guide tells us that the most recent bombs to fall on the kibbutz came in the 1990s. The guide was quite open that a key part of the purpose of these northern kibbutzim is to help preserve the state of Israel from foreign incursions.

Those are the Golan Heights across the Sea of Galilee

In this day and age, Deganya A has moved beyond being funded merely by agricultural efforts. In part of the kibbutz which used to be the stalls for dairy cows, I saw a law office. The kibbutz also recently sold its grain silo. Several members drive to Haifa to work in offices. But we still saw acres of olive trees, bananas, grapefruit, and cattle stalls.

The grain silo operation which was recently sold

Then we left to go to lunch in the town of Tiberias. The city of Tiberias was built by a son of King Herod about 2,000 years ago. After destruction of the First Temple in Jerusalem in 70 A.D., the Jews were thrown out of Jerusalem, and many of them moved to Tiberias. The Books of Mishna (Jewish laws) and the Talmud (book about Jewish rabbis) were both written here.

We had lunch at the restaurant of the Scot Hotel, which used to be a Scottish Presbyterian hospital. The views were great; the food not so much. Truthfully, I’ve had about all I can handle of Jewish dietary restrictions, which for 2022, still seem to control an inordinate amount of the dining scene in Israel. Friday night (the Sabbath) we were unable to get a hot meal in the restaurants in our hotel in Tel Aviv. Saturday morning (yesterday), the same story for breakfast, which meant no lattes for breakfast and no cooked eggs (and forget pork bacon or sausage). Last night at the hotel in Haifa, the sun had set on the Sabbath, but the hotel restaurant was strictly kosher, so since meat was served, no dairy could be in the same room (i.e., no butter for your bread and no milk for your coffee, and all pastries were made with margarine). To borrow a Yiddish phrase, feh! Lunches seem to default to “dairy” menus, so since fish is allowed to pair with all foods, that pretty much means fish for all included meals. In short, I’m eating a lot of hummus and pita bread. OK, rant over; back to our explorations.

Views from the Scot Hotel over the sea of Galilee

After lunch, we went to a cool museum (the Yigal Allon Center) which houses an exhibit on the reconstruction of an ancient Galilee boat which sailed at the time of Jesus. Two brothers who were fisherman were walking in the mud flats of Galilee in 1986, when the area was experiencing an extreme drought, found the remains exposed in the mud. They then brought experts in to help them figure out how to excavate the booat without ruining it. What followed was a n epic excavation in which the boat had to be kept wet the whole time it was excavated, and then coated in foam and floated to a place where the restoration work could be safely performed.

Model of what the Galilee boat would have looked like

We had a final treat in store on the shores of the Galilee. We got to take a boat out on the lake, from which we could see several historic sites. For example, we could see the Church of Peter Primacy, where Simon (the son of Jonah) became Peter, the fisherman, the rock on which Jesus relied. We also watched while our captain showed us how fisherman have thrown their fishing nets for over two thousand years.

Out on the Sea of Galilee looking towards Syria

The Captain getting ready to cast the weighted net

Map showing significant sites near Galilee

We returned to Haifa, and had a group discussion with four people from different faiths, who described the unusual atmosphere of acceptance and community they have built in Haifa. One secret seemed to be that the people of Haifa elect multicultural leaders who focus on bringing their citizens closer. They were really open about the challenges Israel faces trying to balance the competing religious forces in its society, but they were also very positive about the successes they have enjoyed here in Haifa, and how they are trying to export that success to the rest of Israel. Then Jim and I had dinner at a non-kosher restaurant near our hotel, so we were able to enjoy really good cheeseburgers. This is the view from our room. Haifa has been a beautiful city, but tomorrow we leave for Jerusalem, so stay tuned!

Architecture, Art, Countries/Continents, History, Israel, Local Customs, Other cultures, Religious beliefs/practices, Travel Generally

Romans, Christians, and Baha’i, Oh, My!

March 5, 2022 Vaya con Gringos 3 Comments

March 5, 2022:

We had two prime objectives for our March 5^th explorations: to visit the ruins of the Roman town of Caesarea Maritima, and to see the Baha’I Gardens at the World Baha’i Center in Haifa.

The ruins of Caesarea are located about halfway between Tel Aviv and Haifa on Israel’s northern west coast. As we drove north, our local guide, Zivot, gave us some more of Israel’s history. 90% of the land of Israel is owned by the state, while only about 10% is privately owned. All of the seaside in Israel is owned by the state. Of the land which is privately owned, most of it was purchased before 1917 (the British Mandate period).

During the 1890s, Baron Rothschild came and bought land in the Caesarea area, as well as in Tel Aviv. In fact, for our whole drive north out of Tel Aviv, miles of land which were former swamps were bought by Baron Rothschild, dried out, and either leased or sold to Zionists immigrating to Israel. Some Arab villages predating the existence of the State of Israel are privately owned. Zivot told us that there are generally no sidewalks or parks in those Arab villages because no one wants to give their land for that purpose. We did drive through a couple of Arab villages, and did not see any sidewalks, grass or parks.

Today, all of the land directly around the Caesarea national park is still owned by Rothschild family, and is one of the most desirable residential communities in Israel.

The Roman King, Herod the Great, built the city of Caesarea on the site of a former Phoenician trading port from 22 to 10 B.C. to honor the new Roman Emperor, Caesar Augustus. He might have been motivated to undertake such a generous gesture because he had backed Marc Antony in the power struggle which led to Marc Antony’s death. The building project was an audacious one, because in addition to the construction of the entire city, which grew into a city of 100,000 people, Herod also undertook to build the first artificial deep water port in history. The city was populated from the first through sixth centuries A.D., and was a provincial administrative center for Rome until the end of the Roman Empire. The city even became an important center of Christianity during the Byzantine Empire. However, it was sacked by Muslims in the seventh century A.D. During the Crusades, the Crusaders captured the fortress around the former port area, and expanded the fortifications over the ruins of the temple to Augustus Caesar. During the second Muslim period, which began in 1265, the town, port and fortress were abandoned. The town of modern Caesarea a couple of kilometers north of the ruins was not started until the late 1800s. The ruins of Herod’s city of Caesarea were not excavated until the 1950s and 60s, and were such a rich find that the entire area was turned into a national park with the aid of the Rothschild family.

The first area we visited was a theatre area. The walls of the theatre projected sound back towards the audience, and were decorated with columns and sculptures. From my standpoint, the restoration of the theatre area (which is used for modern concerts) is not as powerful as the ruins of other antiquities sites we have visited because modern building materials were used to make the restorations, but I guess that is my bias. One cool feature of this theatre is that there was a shallow reflecting pool built in the area before the stage which would reflect the action on the stage back up to the audience members. While at the theatre, we could see the vaults used to construct the seating areas. Zivot noted that the Romans’ development of the technology to construct vaults allowed them to build very complex heavy buildings.

Zivot, Jennifer and Dave are standing in the reflecting pool area

We walked further into the site and could view a huge area which was formerly the Hippodrome. During Herod’s time, it was used for chariot races. However, the viewing area was down rather close to the track area near the turn at the end, and since crashes were common in such races, the Hippodrome was later converted into an amphitheater. One of the most interesting archeological finds in this area was a stone in the viewing section which bore the carved name of Pontius Pilate. Until this find, historians had no independent proof of the historical existence of Pontius Pilate, who was the governor of Jerusalem who judged Jesus. Although the trial took place in Jerusalem, Pontius Pilate lived in Herod’s Palace here after Herod’s death.

Where the chariots turned around. The stone bearing Pontius Pilates name was in these stands.

Herod’s Palace was built on the edge of the ocean with a swimming pool. Not much of it remains today (but the park authorities have placed artificial columns in the area where it once stood). The ruins of the pool are probably the most significant part of Herod’s Palace remaining today. Interestingly, the pool was not filled with seawater, but Herod constructed an aqueduct to bring fresh water from over 15 miles away.

Where Herod’s palace sat on the edge of the ocean.

It looked down the beach towards the artificial port Herod built.

At the other end of the Hippodrome track were several notable structures. There was an elevated shopping arcade built over more vaults, which were used to store goods below. There were also public baths. The storage areas were later used as additional shops in the Byzantine era, when mosaics were added out front.

The area of the public baths with the elevated shopping arcade above.

Vaulted storage area/shops with mosaic floor in front.

The Governor’s baths next to the Temple to Caesar.

We then moved to the area where the Herod’s Temple to Augustus Caesar was built. It was raised way up above the level of everything else in Caesarea, again by the use of vaulted construction. The temple overlooked the artificial harbor built by Herod, and in those days, the water came right up to the temple area. The vaults below later became a Byzantine church. The entire city was destroyed by the Muslims in the seventh century A.D.

The platform where the Temple to Caesar was located.

Remains of the base of Caesar’s temple. Today, it is the Visitor’s center, but these vaulted areas below were used from the Crusader period through the Byzantine Empire as a Christian church.

The Crusaders arrived in the late 10^th century A.D. and conquered the Muslims who still had a fortress here. The Crusaders built a city built on top of the ruined Roman city, but with a much smaller footprint than Roman Caesarea. They also built a big moat and a walled city on the coast. Then they constructed a Crusader church in the vaults previously used by the Byzantine church. There is a very cool restaurant called Helena’s which looks right over the old port area, and we enjoyed lunch there. Then we exited Caesarea through what is still called the Crusader gate. We made a brief stop on our way out of town to look at some sections of the old aqueduct which runs by the beach. Then we headed north to Haifa.

Three periods of construction: the bottom dates back to Herod’s period, then Muslim fortifications, with Crusader fortifications on top.

This relief map shows the outlines of the artificial harbor Herod built (on the left) as well as all of the city of Caesarea.

In Herod’s day, the inner harbor would have come up into the grass area. The buildings in front of it were fortifications built later into the ruined harbor area. Helena’s restaurant is in the front of this complex overlooking the water.

We traveled north for about an hour before entering Haifa for our second exploration of the day.

Our goal was a visit to the Baha’i Gardens at the Baha’I World Center. I confess that I knew nothing about the Baha’I religion before this visit, so I turned to Wikipedia. This is what they have to say about the Baha’i faith:

“The Baháʼí Faith is a relatively new religion[a] teaching the essential worth of all religions and the unity of all people.[b]Established by Baháʼu’lláh in the 19th century, it initially developed in Iran and parts of the Middle East, where it has faced ongoing persecution since its inception.[13] The religion is estimated to have over five million adherents, known as Baháʼís, spread throughout most of the world’s countries and territories.[14]

The religion has three central figures: the Báb (1819–1850), considered a herald who taught that God would soon send a prophet in the same way as Jesus or Muhammad, and who was executed by Iranian authorities in 1850; Baháʼu’lláh (1817–1892), who claimed to be that prophet in 1863 and faced exile and imprisonment for most of his life; and his son, ʻAbdu’l-Bahá (1844–1921), who was released from confinement in 1908 and made teaching trips to Europe and the United States. After ʻAbdu’l-Bahá’s death in 1921, leadership of the religion fell to his grandson Shoghi Effendi (1897–1957). Baháʼís annually elect local, regional, and national Spiritual Assemblies that govern the religion’s affairs. Every five years the members of all National Spiritual Assemblies elect the Universal House of Justice, the nine-member supreme governing institution of the worldwide Baháʼí community that is located in Haifa, Israel, near the Shrine of the Báb.

According to the Baháʼí teachings, religion is revealed in an orderly and progressive way by a single God through Manifestations of God, who are the founders of major world religions throughout history; Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad are noted as the most recent of these before the Báb and Baháʼu’lláh. Baháʼís regard the major religions as fundamentally unified in purpose, though varied in social practices and interpretations. The Baháʼí Faith stresses the unity of all people, explicitly rejecting racism and nationalism. At the heart of Baháʼí teachings is the goal of a unified world order that ensures the prosperity of all nations, races, creeds, and classes.” Thanks to Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baháʼ%C3%AD_Faith

On the way into town, we stopped at a Carmelite (Catholic) Church built to honor the Prophet Elijah. Haifa is built on Mount Carmel, which according to tradition, is the scene of Prophet Elijah’s fight against the Baal prophets, who worshipped multiple idols. Elijah prevailed in this battle, and was important in all 3 monotheistic religions for rejecting idols, and preaching about one true god. Unlike many other prophets, Elijah never died, but went straight to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God. Most of the Christians in Israel are Greek Orthodox, but Christian churches in the Holy Land differ from those in most of the rest of the world. Christian churches in the Holy Land don’t all have Jesus on the cross; most of them are dedicated to commemorating various stories out of the Old Testament. We saw this in Jaffa with the church of St. Peter. On to the Baha’i Gardens!

The Baha’i Gardens overlooking the port of Haifa. Directly across the harbor in Akko is where the Baháʼu’lláh is buried.

Our guide for the visit to the Gardens was a lovely young Druze volunteer guide. The gardens spill down the hillside of Mount Carmel. It was about 700 steps down to the halfway point (nine levels). It is at this point that the memorial to the Bab is constructed. The gardens continue down for several more levels. The whole place really is peaceful. Enjoy the photos!

Architecture, Countries/Continents, History, Israel, Other cultures, Politics, Religious beliefs/practices, Travel Generally

Telling the Tale of Tel Aviv

March 4, 2022 Vaya con Gringos Leave a comment

March 4, 2022:

We started this morning with a little Hebrew lesson from our local guide, Or Rein, whose name literally means “pure light”. Or told us that the entire Hebrew language actually died out about 2,000 years ago. Vestiges of it remained alive in the form of Yiddish which was a combination of some words from the old Hebrew language merged into Germanic languages. However, starting a little over a hundred years ago, as Jewish people starting fleeing the pogroms in eastern Europe and Russia, they mounted a campaign to revitalize Hebrew as the language of the Jewish people. Interestingly, Hebrew and Arabic as languages are very close to one another, and borrow words from each another.

Having met our group last night (a pleasantly small group of 15), we set off after our language lesson for the old port city of Jaffa. The port has been in operation here for over 4,000 years. In fact, the Hebrew word “Tel” means an artificial hill consisting of the accumulated layers of successive ancient civilizations. In our walk over the hill upon which Jaffa was built, excavations have shown the various layers going back to a fort built by the ancient Egyptians. However, it was also used as a port city by the Phoenicians, Babylonians, the Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, and the Ottomans. In fact, the land where Israel is located today was controlled by the Ottoman Empire for over 400 years, and only ceased at the end of World War I.

Excavation area for the Egyptian fort at the bottom of the “Tel”

Altarpiece showing the Archangel appearing to Peter

One of the first things you see when you come into the old city is the Catholic Church of St. Peter, which was built to commemorate a vision St. Peter had when he came to Jaffa. Peter, who began life as a Jew, dreamed that an archangel appeared and offered him food. But Peter looked at the food, and rejected it because it was not kosher. The archangel explained that since the Messiah had come in the form of Jesus, everything had been purified so there were no longer any forbidden foods.

Views from atop the “Tel” in Jaffa over towards the Neve Tzedek neighborhood (red roofs)

Jaffa sits atop the biggest aquifer in Israel, and the surrounding areas outside the city walls were once planted in oranges. Oranges (and other citrus) originally came from China, and sailors brought citrus trees back when they learned that eating citrus could protect them from scurvy. A special type of orange was grown here called the Jaffa orange. In the days before refrigeration, they were very sought after because they had a thick peel so they survive for months without refrigeration. Today, the areas outside the gates have become quite hip, and some of the priciest real estate in Tel Aviv is in this area.

One of the things Jim and I like best about travel is the opportunity to learn other cultures/religions. This trip, in particular, is going to give us many of those opportunities, from learning more about the world’s three great monotheistic religions, to the politics behind the formation of the Jewish state, and Israel’s struggles with its Arab neighbors. First up today was a primer in the history of the formation of the Jewish state of Israel. Historically, the Kingdoms of Israel and Judea existed about 1200 B.C. Those kingdoms were first conquered by the Assyrians, and then the Babylonians who expelled the Israelites to Babylon. Over the succeeding centuries, there was a diaspora of the Jews from their traditional lands in Israel, which caused them to yearn to return to their ancestral lands. Zionism is an ideology and a nationalist movement around the idea that called for the establishment and support for a Jewish nation in the lands of their traditional kingdom in Palestine around the ancient city of Jerusalem. In the latter nineteenth century, the modern Zionist movement resurfaced and grew in strength as waves of antisemitism again struck eastern Europe. The city of Tel Aviv is relatively new (founded in 1909), and was created in response to the desire of Jewish people for a place of their own where they were free from the pogroms in Eastern Europe. One of the leading Zionists was a Hungarian man named Hertzel. His famous quote was, “If you will it, it is no dream”. However, perhaps the person who did the most to make the Zionists’ dream a reality was Baron Rothschild of France. Starting in the 1890s, he started buying land in the areas which were in the former kingdoms of Israel and Judea, and helping Jews from Europe move to those lands to start a new life, and begin creating a Jewish homeland.

During World War I, the British committed that they would create a Jewish National Home in Palestine and conquered those lands then held by the Ottomans. After World War I, the League of Nations granted control over the Palestinian lands to the British to fulfill the “mandate” to create that Jewish home. During the 1930s, more European Jews began fleeing Hitler and coming to the areas within the British Mandate. However, the Arabs in Palestine revolted, and the British proposed a plan to partition Palestine, and proposed limiting further Jewish immigration to Palestine. Under the terms of the British Mandate, British control over Palestine was to cease as of 1948. Ben Gurion was selected as the first Prime Minister of the former British Mandate areas, and his first act after the end of the mandate was to declare the independence of the Jewish state. The Arabs of Palestine declared war, but the Jews were victorious in their war of independence. A general exodus of Arabs from Israel began, and non-European Jews began leaving their former Arab homelands.

After the Jewish State was formed, its Parliament, the Knesset, passed a set of thirteen constitutional principles called the Basic Laws, which established that the State of Israel is a Jewish Democratic state. Ever since, those two ideas have been in constant conflict with each other. Our guide told us in broad generalities that Tel Aviv, which is the secular and economic center of the country, prioritizes democracy; while Jerusalem, which is the religious and political center of the country, prioritizes Jewish scripture and traditions over democracy. Although the majority of the people in Israel identify as Jewish, the majority of them are not fully observant Jews.

After we left Jaffa, we walked through the nearby neighborhood of Neve Tzedek, which is also quite trendy. We walked down among many trendy shops and restaurants, and came to our lunch stop at Dallal, which is considered one of the best restaurants in Tel Aviv. The food was very creative (and plentiful, with many mezze dishes served first) and it was crammed with locals out for a Friday meal.

After lunch, we walked off some of our lunch by strolling along Rothschild Boulevard in the section known as the Independence Trail which has ten stations commemorating the founding of Tel Aviv. Further up Rothschild Boulevard is a section where numerous buildings were constructed in the Bauhaus architectural style. This style was developed by Walter Groepius and Mies van der Rohe in the 1910s and 20s. During this time, Zionists were actively recruiting Jews to come to the Holy Lands. In all, over 4500 Bauhaus buildings were constructed in Tel Aviv. The new Jewish settlers were drawn to this style because it was plain and unadorned, cheaper to build, and most of the building had balconies which fostered a sense of community among the new transplants.

Walking along the Independence Trail on Rothschild Blvd.

One of the stations on the Independence Trail; a statue honoring Meir Dizingoff, the first Mayor of Tel Aviv

Plaque commemorating the Founding Families of Tel Aviv

Founders’ Plaza on the Independence Trail

Our final stop of the day was a visit to the memorial for Yitzak Rabin, the former Israeli Prime Minister who was assassinated in 1995. The memorial is right next to the Tel Aviv City Hall where the assassination took place. Rabin, who had personally negotiated a peace treaty with Egypt and Jordan, and negotiated the Oslo Accords with the Palestinian people, was killed by a Jewish extremist who opposed the Oslo Accords. On that somber note, we returned to our hotel for the evening.

Tel Aviv City Hall and the balcony where Yitzak Rabin gave his final speech

Exact place where Rabin was assassinated and where his murderer stood

Graffiti commemorating some of Rabin’s greatest achievements

Countries/Continents, COVID protocols, Food, Israel, Travel Generally

Teeing Up Tel Aviv

March 3, 2022 Vaya con Gringos Leave a comment

March 3, 2022:

Dear Readers:

Welcome to the first trip of 2022; an exploration of Israel, Jordan and Egypt. As with so many of our recent trips, this is a trip rescheduled from 2020.

Jim and I left Los Angles on March 1^st, and landed in Tel Aviv about 4 in the afternoon yesterday. Although Israel has recently removed the requirement that all travelers be vaccinated to enter the country, they still require that travelers take both a pre-trip COVID PCR test, and a PCR test upon arrival. You are then required to quarantine in your hotel room for 24 hours or until your test results come in, whichever happens first. In our case, we went to our hotel, ordered room service for dinner, and went to bed. We had our results by the time we woke up this morning, so we were cleared to roam freely.

After a rainy and windy start to the day, we headed out about noon to walk along the beautiful oceanside promenade outside our hotel, the David Intercontinental. The waves were still really big, but that didn’t stop multiple kite-sailors from the surf.

Looking south towards the ancient port of Jaffa

Jim and I wandered through the Carmel Market, and on the recommendation of our tour director, we had lunch at one of the many small restaurants/cafes within the market, called Schmuel. They do a classic kebab meal (which generally means ground meat) grilled, with hummus and Israeli salad. As advertised, it was very good! After the meal, we actually ran into our tour director at Schmuel’s and caught up with him.

Schmulik behind the counter at Schmuel’s

Tonight, we will have our welcome dinner with the rest of our group. We can’t wait to explore more!

	Teryl McDermott on Sailing Into Shimizu (in the S…
	Vaya con Gringos on Sailing Into Shimizu (in the S…
	Vaya con Gringos on Sailing Into Shimizu (in the S…
	Vaya con Gringos on Sailing Into Shimizu (in the S…
	markcostanti on Sailing Into Shimizu (in the S…

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Join us in exploring our wonderful world