May 28 - 30, Friday – Sunday in Austria

Seefeld in Tirol, Austria

We are enjoying no early morning wake-up calls and leisurely breakfasts of coffee and breads. We have a very nice apartment here. There have been both rain showers and sunshine every day. When the clouds clear away we have a great mountain view as we sat on our patio. We spend time reviewing the life of Jesus and the life of the Israelites every day, trying to “lock into our memories” more of what we saw and heard on our Holy Land Tour. The Bible stories have a new dimension after having been at the actual places. And for Lois, history also has become more important and understandable. I guess you are never too old to learn!

Connecting with family and friends is challenging because we cannot get WiFi connection in our apartment. We were happy to find a nearby hotel which lets us sit in the lobby and use their service. We will not be able to add to the blog or respond to emails every day as we did earlier, but we will try to do so every few days.

Our walking shoes have become our most valuable belonging with our rain jackets taking second place! We walk everywhere – lots of up and down hills. (Seems like more uphill!) We never leave our apartment without our rain jackets, because we usually get caught in a misting or light rain shower somewhere along the way. We walk to the town square every day. It is has a cozy village atmosphere, relaxing and beautiful. There are lots of flowers, trees and water fountains with a panoramic view of mountains. Everyone just strolls around, and greets one another warmly. A perfect spot for our R&R!

Ordering food has become interesting. On the first day we ordered Sicilian pizza for lunch. When it came it was topped with pepperoni, salami and small fish (I think they were sardines). Not good! After a visit to a super mart we now pack sandwiches for lunch every day, and find scenic places on our walking excursions to eat. There are so many restaurants here that we decided to try a different one every night. So far we’ve had great dinners - wiener schnitzel, spatzel, spaghetti bolognaise, brochette pizza, apple strudel with hot vanilla sauce. We especially like the restaurants that include pictures on their menus or English interpretation so we have an idea what we are ordering. Jim has certainly cut back on his coffee consumption and after drinking Turkish coffee in Israel Lois has discovered she likes sweetened coffee!

Yesterday we walked around Wildsee Lake and then climbed to the top of a hill where we had a grand view of the city. On this hill we also found stone monuments of the stations of the cross and of the 12 disciples. Jim had his picture taken by the Disciple James’ monument. Today we walked uphill about 1.5 miles to get a ski lift ride over the mountains. Although the clouds and rain had cleared at our apartment, by the time we had made the climb it was raining up there. So we decided to wait until another day when we would have a clearer view of the mountain range. At least most of the way home was downhill.

We are definitely in R&R mode – sleeping well, eating well, enjoying new scenery, reading lots, reflecting and pondering everything we experienced on our Holy Land tour -- and getting lots of physical exercise. God is taking good care of us!

May 27, Thursday - Austria

We slept about one hour in our hotel in Jerusalem, got up at midnight, for our 1:00 am bus departure to the Tel Aviv airport. At 3:00 am we could check in. It took one hour and 40 minutes to go through 3 different security points and customs. When we finally got to our gate we both slept for a bit, got on the plane, and were both able to rest during the flight. During the flight we saw islands in the Mediterranean Sea. As we flew into Vienna, Austria we saw a stark contrast to the barrenness of the Holy Lands. There are lots of trees and everything is green and lush. We also saw lots of wind turbines like the ones we have in South Dakota.

Our multiple transfers continued at the Vienna airport. When we got off the plane we got on a bus to take us to the terminal. From the terminal we got on another bus to take us to the train station. We had a 2 hour wait to get on the train to take us to Innsbrook. At Innsbrook we had to find the train that would take us to Seefeld in Tirol. In Seefeld we found a taxi to take us to our apartment. We are thankful for picture signs and bilingual employees to guide us from one station to the next.

We had only been in bed for 1 hour in the past 38 hours (although we had both rested on the plane and the train) so we were both exhausted when we arrived at our apartment. But not too tired to appreciate the majestic, snow-capped mountains around us. It was raining lightly when we got here. Before we went to bed we saw the most brilliant double rainbow we have ever seen, right over the mountain outside our patio. It was so close we felt like we could walk right up to it and touch it! What a reminder of God’s promises as we begin our time of rest and relaxation in Austria.

May 26, Wednesday – last day in Israel

Temple Mount, Holocaust Museum, Garden Tomb

One of the first things we spotted this morning as we drove was a Dutch windmill. Our guide told us there are actually 2 of them in Jerusalem. They have never been functioning windmills.

We took the Dung Gate into the Temple Mount this morning seeing the remains of King Solomon’s temple. We later left by the Lion’s Gate. This piece of land belongs to Israel, but the Palestinian Muslims have built a Mosque over the place that is believed to be the site of the first temple. The Mosque is a beautiful structure with a gold dome and colored mosaic designs all around the outside. However, on the corners near the door are symbols of Satan. Muslims do not believe in Satan and they do believe this will keep Jews and Christians away. Every Friday 60,000 Muslims come to this area to pray and to denounce the Jews. This area is heavily guarded by military since it is a “hot spot” for fighting between Muslims and Jews. Muslims occasionally throw stones over the Western wall to hit the Jews who are praying.

Our next stop was the Holocaust Museum. We were reminded of the horrors of Jews from many countries faced as they came under the control of the Nazis. We listened to many testimonies of people (mostly women) who survived the horror of the Holocaust. We walked through the Children’s Memorial, built in memory of the 1.5 million children (up to 16 years old) who were killed. It was a beautiful presentation of pictures of children and burning candles with an ongoing auditory listing of the names of the children and the countries they were from. Outside this memorial, we gathered to pray for healing for the Jews who yet today suffer the impact of this horrible event. Our guide shared that he has no living relatives because of the Holocaust. The sting of what happens lingers.

The Dead Sea Scroll Museum was our next stop. Outside the museum is a large model of Jerusalem as it was in Jesus’ time. This was a great visual to help us get a better perspective of what it was like. Shim’on explained the location of Golgotha, Antonio fortress (Pilate’s palace), Herod’s palace, Caiaphas’ house, David’s City, the temple with the Holy of Holies, the Kidron Valley, and Mt. of Olives.

Our tour ended with a grand finale at Garden of the Tomb. A Christian guide told the story of the crucifixion as we looked at Golgotha, the place where Jesus hung on the cross. When he shouted out “it is finished” it would have echoed throughout the mountains. Interesting, the cliffs have weathered away, leaving a picture of a face in the rocks. Contrary to pictures we see and songs we sing, Jesus was not crucified on a hill. And His feet were not far from the ground. From there we walked to the garden where it is believed Jesus was buried. We were each able to enter the tomb. On the door of the tomb is a sign “He is not here.” What an opportunity to sit at the empty tomb.

We then gathered with people from two other tour buses (about 100 people in all) and Jim was privileged to lead believers in participating in the Lord’s Supper and Lois led them in singing. Although we initially planned on being freed of all responsibilities as we travelled, the last minute request from Pilgrim Tours for Jim to be the spiritual director on our bus turned into a blessing. He had the extreme honor of baptizing people in the Jordan River and offering the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper at both Mt. Sinai and the site of the crucifixion and resurrection! And Lois had the opportunity to lead people in worship through song. These are priceless experiences we will always cherish.

After dinner the people from our bus gathered together at the hotel to share 1-2 highlights of Walking in the Footsteps of the Israelites and then of Jesus. This proved to be a great review of what we had done in the past 12 days – because the collective memory brought up things that may have blurred for some. We prayed together and sang together. It is amazing how much you come to love and care for people in such a short time.

Old Jerusalem

May 25, Tuesday
We walked today where Jesus walked, where he taught and where he healed. We went down the Via Dolorsoa, the road of suffering. We spent the day in the Old City of Jerusalem. On the way we again drove by the Kidron Valley and Mount of Olives. We joined crowds of people that have come from around the world to see the holy places in Jerusalem. When we walked through the gate into the city we were awed by the high stone walls that surround the city. There is an odd mixture of the old ruins, many old churches and mosques, narrow streets with vendors and shops of all sorts, vehicles driving down 12 feet wide streets of stone along with many pedestrians, and somehow to understand that Jesus walked through this city 2000 years ago.

Seeing the Western Wailing Wall was an astounding sight. The orthodox Jews come by hundreds to this very special spot to pray and read scripture. Men and women are separated as they come to pray. The significance of the Western Wall is that this is the part of the wall that is closest to the Holy of Holies. We were given time to pray individually at the Wall.

We were privileged to be able to go into the underground excavations along the Western Wall. Part of the walkway is the original Jerusalem street, so we walked today where Jesus walked, on the very street that He walked. We saw the biggest stone discovered in the foundation. It is 45 by 12 by 5 and weighs 600 tons. It is not known how King Herod had his engineers mine it and then move it into place. A part of the underground walk took us through an aqueduct constructed by people about 200 BC. Another reminder to us of the importance of water to this area.

Water, rocks, stones, fortresses, trees and plants will certainly take on new significance for us as we read the Bible after seeing the impact these elements have on the people who live in the Holy Land.

Above ground we again walked the narrow streets and came to what had been the Pool of Bethesda, there is no water in it anymore. Jim read the story from John 5 when Jesus healed a man. The man and Jesus got into trouble because Jesus told him to carry his mat on the Sabbath. Special Sabbath rules remain very strong for the Jews of Israel. Near the Pool was the St. Anna Church built by Crusaders about 1100 AD.

Lois had her once in a lifetime experience at the St. Anna Church. She was asked to lead our group in singing “Holy Holy Holy Lord God Almighty”, “Lord I Lift Your Name on High,” and “Be Still and Know That I Am God.” The acoustics are so incredible in this church that as we sang the songs slowly we heard each note echoing back. There are no words to describe the impact. A taste of singing with the angels in heaven!

We continued our walk down the Via Dolorosa through the crowded streets. It was a stone street, up and down hill, and not easy to walk and stay together as a group. As we walked between tall buildings, school children yelled at us from the 2nd and 3rd floor windows, even spitting on some of our group. Vendors on each side of the street aggressively market their wares. Jim enjoyed his first pizza since we left home at a small street restaurant.

After going through an Ethiopian section and church that had very little decoration we came to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher which was originally built by Helena the mother of King Constantine about 324 AD. This was very ostentatious and the scent of the incense was very strong. The Roman Catholics claim it is the sight of Jesus’ death and burial. Tomorrow we will see the site that Protestants usually consider to be the actual site. Our guide told us about many of the traditions connected with the 14 stations of the cross.

We were given a little time for shopping. Yes, all of it is mingled together.

Our next stop was the southern wall. Excavations continue to reveal new things about the ancients who lived around Jerusalem. We saw the wall that had foundations from the time of King Herod. The Romans destroyed the city in 70 AD because of a Jewish revolt. The area remained desolate until the Moslems came about 700 and began building their village and mosques in the area. The Crusaders came about 1000 and destroyed some of the Moslem buildings and built their own. This area remains a hot spot for Jews and Moslems.

We were hot and tired from walking up and down hill on the stony road and from climbing lots of steps (often 150 at a time) when our guide led us to yet another place with more steps. To be honest, the air conditioned bus sounded pretty good at this point for most of the people in our group. But we followed onward, and had another powerful experience. It was more steps, but an experience that will always be etched in our memory. We sat on the steps that lead up to the gate (now closed off) on which Peter most likely proclaimed his Pentecost message. As we overlooked Jerusalem, Jim read the Pentecost story from Acts 2 and Lois lead our group in singing “Spirit of the Living God.” We did experience the spirit of the living God today as we walked where Jesus walked.

Jerusalem - Bethlehem

May 24, Monday
Our first destination this morning was the Mount of Olives where we had a panoramic view of the Kidron Valley, the city of Jerusalem, the Temple, the Garden of Gethsemane, the Mercy Gate into the City through which it is believed Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. We saw Jewish, Christian and Muslim graveyards filled with people who felt it significant to be buried near Jerusalem. Since Jews are not allowed to cross cemeteries and they believe the gate is where they will enter Jerusalem in the end times, the Muslims built their cemetery right outside the city gate, believing they can thus stop the Jews from entering Jerusalem at the end times.

The Golden Dome is a mosque on top of the temple mount. Also called Mt Moriah. This is a picture from the Mount of Olives looking over the Kidron Brook.
On the Mount of Olives we read the story of the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem from Luke 19:28 – 48. We walked down the steep streets of Jerusalem (along with thousands of other visitors to Jerusalem) to visit what traditions says is the Upper Room and is now a part of a Moslem mosque. This building has a dome with a rooster at the top, as a reminder that this is where Jesus told Peter that before the rooster crowed he would deny Him three times. We entered the House of Caiaphas where Jesus was beaten and spit upon. We walked down into a deep crypt, where Jesus was most likely held on the last night of His life.

Olive trees in the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus prayed.

We went to Bethlehem this afternoon. Since Bethlehem is in Palestine, our Israeli bus, driver and guide could not go with us. We were driven to the security check point and then got on a different bus with a Palestinian driver and guide. After eating lunch in Bethlehem we toured the place where it is believed that Jesus was born. The Church of the Nativity is built over the spot where it is believed that Jesus was born. We went down into the crypt to see what tradition says is his manger. We sat in the cave where it is believed that the angel appeared to Joseph and told him to flee to Egypt with Mary and his newborn son. Our group sang “Away in a Manger” and “O Come All Ye Faithful” inside the “cave” and “Joy to the World” as we stood in the outside courtyard.
Other events to remember with Bethlehem include: Rachel the wife of Jacob being buried here; Ruth and Naomi came here and Ruth married Boaz and gave birth to Obed, the father of Jesse the father of David.

Modern Bethlehem

We sat in the cave that St. Jerome inhabited as he translated the Bible (Vulgate) from Hebrew and Greek to Latin. We saw a beautiful artistic portrayal of Samuel coming to Jesse’s home to anoint David as king which was made in 2009.

Although structures have been built over what is believed to be the actual sites that are so key to Christianity, and although the ancient city is now a modern city filled with tourists who come to see what we came to see, and although it is no longer exactly like it was when Jesus walked these streets it is amazing, incredible and remarkable to walk where Jesus walked, up and down the hills, across all kinds of terrain. As we were surrounded by crowds of people today, it struck us that Jesus too was surrounded by the crowds and as we strained to hear every word of our tour guide they too were following we focused on what the Teacher was saying. Just as some people in the crowd today were less patient and gracious than others, so too, Jesus had people in his midst who were not happy about the crowds He attracted.

Dead Sea, Masada, EnGeddi

May 23, Sunday

We began our morning floating in the Dead Sea (which Jim enjoyed more than Lois) and then experiencing the salt water and fresh water pools, Jacuzzis and spa at the hotel, which we both totally enjoyed. So relaxing! It was nice to have a later departure, giving us time to enjoy these nice amenities at our beautiful Dead Sea Hotel. As the bus drove headed out we sang “Praise the Name of Jesus” and “Blessed Be the Name of the Lord.”

A cable car took us to the top of Masada where a fortress had been built by King Herod from 37-31 BC. We were thankful to not walk to the top today, since it was very hot. In AD 66 Jewish zealots fled there and overcame a Roman garrison. In AD 70 the Romans killed a million plus Jews who were revolting in the Jerusalem area and destroyed the temple. Romans then sent 10,000 troops to overcome the 1000 Jews who had fled to Masada. When the Romans broke through the defenses the Jews decided to kill themselves rather than surrender.

EnGedi was our next stop. We walked along a trail and saw a few caves. David hid in these caves and it was one of these caves that David cut off a piece of King Saul’s robe. (1 Samuel 24) We saw a beautiful waterfall, the only place in Judah desert with water. Today the people in the kibbutzes take this water, bottle it and sell it as mineral water. We were again being reminded of how key water is to life in Israel. People followed water sources, and so most of Jesus’ ministry took place near some body of water. We saw an ibex (small deer) and hyrax (they call it their type of rabbit).

Late lunch was served at Abraham’s tent. “Eliezer of Damascus” (Genesis 15) told the story of Abraham, and then our group caravanned down the hill on camel or foot to Abraham’s tent where we sat on cushions at low tables to share a meal of breads, vegetables, rice, meat balls, chicken, dates and apricots. Turkish coffee was the final offering for the meal.

Leaving Abraham’s tent we headed toward Jerusalem. As we entered the city, we listened to the song “The Holy City” being played on the bus. What a moment to overlook the city of Jerusalem as we hear the words “Jerusalem! Jerusalem! Lift up your gates and sing, Hosanna in the highest! Hosanna to your King!”

Jordan River, Baeth Shean, Qumran and the Dead Sea

May 22, Saturday
We begin this day with memory-making experiences which we will treasure for a lifetime. Our first stop this morning was the Jordan River, near the spot where it is believed that John baptized Jesus. Jim had the privilege of talking about baptism and then baptize 15 people from our bus in the Jordan River. These are people we have come to know and care about in the past week. At the end of the baptism we sang “Amazing Grace” together.

Yes this is the Jordan River today.

The ruins of Beth Shean were amazing. This is where King Saul and his sons’ bodies were hung after they were killed in battle on Mt Gilboa (1 Samuel 31). King Solomon (or David) built a fortress here. The river below is where Gideon had gone to select 300 warriors (Judges 7). It is believed that it was in Beth Shean (one of the 10 cities in the Decapolis) where Jesus preached. We walked the Roman streets. We saw the public bathhouse, common in Roman cities as a place for men to bathe, make decisions and negotiate deals. Because this area is on the great rift there are earth tremors 24 hours a day in this area, causing movement of the mountains. Major earthquakes destroyed the city several times in the past.

Qumran is where the Dead Sea Scrolls were first discovered in 1947 by a young boy and two older cousins who were tending sheep. The Essenes or Qumran sect numbering up to 400 were in this area about 100 BC to 80 AD. The writers of the scrolls would spend 18 hours a day writing. It was grueling and the standards for writers were high. Some could not take the pressure. The Isaiah scroll is the longest scroll that has been discovered.

As we rode through this area, our guide told us that this area is the hottest place known in the world. There is only 1-3 inches of rain per year in the West Bank region, compared to Jerusalem which gets about 30” per year. It even snows in Jerusalem about 2 times a year.

Riding down the West Bank highway that divides Palestine and Israel shows the contrast between the two territories. The Palestinian side does little to care for its land and crops leaving everything barren and dirty. On the other side of the road, the Israelis have irrigated their crops resulting in orchards (pomegranate, orange, grapefruit, avocado) and crops (corn and wheat).

We drove by Jericho. We will not be allowed to see this city as it is in Palestinian territory and so is blocked to Israelis. We saw the Mt. of Temptation right behind Jericho.

We woke up to the coolness of the air at Tiberius and the Sea of Galilee this morning. This afternoon we were very happy to climb into the air conditioned motor coach as the temperature was above a 100 degrees at Qumran. Our hotel accommodations, other than at Mount Sinai, have been very nice. We are enjoying lots of wonderful food even though much of it is “manna” to us – that means “What is it?” The most popular sandwich is called a Falafel. It is pita bread filled with fried chick-pea balls and any variety of veggies we choose to add.

We end our day in a hotel overlooking the Dead Sea. Although time and kingdoms and nature have altered the terrain since Jesus and the disciples lived and worked and ministered in this area, the mountains and the seas are the same ones that they climbed and crossed. These experiences are making the Bible stories come alive in new ways as we see the places and hear the stories of how the Jewish people lived so long ago.

from the 8th floor of hotel looking at the Dead Sea

see more pictures on my facebook page

Galilee - Caesarea Philippi - Capernaum

May 21, Friday
We woke up to the sun rising over the Sea of Galilee. After breakfast we went to the mountainside next to the Sea of Galilee where Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5). A church has been built there to reflect the Beatitudes. As we sat outside the church we read the Beatitudes with our group. We walked through the church and then stood on the hillside, looked down on the Sea of Galilee and imagined Jesus teaching the crowds of people.

Israeli Warfare
As we traveled down the road we saw Golan Heights and the area missiles were launched from Lebanon. Israel planted eucalyptus trees alongside both sides of the road so Syria could not see them as they were driving. We saw many yellow warning signs posted on the fences: Beware of mines. From 1948 – 1967 schools were underground because Syrians were shooting every day. The Arabs main desire is for land. Our guide said something quite profound: “Only someone who participated in war can appreciate peace.” Reflection: we can substitute other words in the place of war and peace – sickness and health; death and life; unemployment and employment.

Jordan River, Caesarea Philippi, Capernaum
We crossed the Jordan River where it was about 12 foot wide. Jordan means “descend from Dan.” We walked along the spring from which the Jordan River begins. We saw remains of altars built by Jeroboam.

Jesus is the living water, and he usually spoke to people next to a water source. At Caesarea Philippi Jim read from Matthew 16:19 about the keys of the kingdom of heaven being given to Peter and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them. We walked up to a spot where Jesus stood to preach, and the gates of Hades was explained as the entrance of the stream that had come out of a temple to Pan. We enjoyed a great Israeli lunch in a restaurant in Caesarea Philippi

We went to Capernaum, the place where Jesus came to pray. This is where Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law. We saw remains of structures that were built over what tradition calls Peter’s home. We saw the remains of a synagogue, which would have been built after the temple was destroyed. The stairs into the synagogue were always narrow and wide, causing people to slow down and look down as they entered this holy place.

We saw the place where Jesus multiplied the 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread in John 6 so that there were 12 baskets of leftovers after everyone had eaten. A church has been built in this site with a mosaic floor, picturing the 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread by the altar. We had a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee, sang a few praise songs, and Jim read from John 6 – the story of Jesus feeding the crowd with 5 loaves and 2 fish.

Caesarea, Magiddo, Mt. Caramel, Nazareth.

We had another full day today (May 20, Thursday), with beautiful weather, blue skies, a nice breeze and pleasant temps. We are thankful to be healthy and rested. Today we visited the ruins of Caesarea, Magiddo, Mt. Caramel and the Village of Nazareth.

Caesarea
King Herod built Caesarea on the banks of the Mediterranean Sea. It is one of the fanciest places ever built in the world. It was a planned city, with a temple, theatre (where they still hold events), hippodrome for chariot races, markets and residential quarters. It took 12 years to build, became a great commercial center and the headquarters of the Roman government in Palestine. We saw the remains of Herod’s palace. Pagans, Samaritans, Jews and Christians lived here during later periods. The heads were removed from all the statues in the city. One theory is that when Jews and/or Christians lived there they removed them because of the second commandment, thou shalt not make any graven images. During the time of the crusades a wall was built around the city, making Caesarea the largest fortified city in the country. The aqueduct served as a source of water for the city, bringing water from Mt. Carmel, which was 13 miles away. We saw a portion of the aqueduct that is still standing today.

Caesarea is where Cornelius was converted. Paul and Peter probably preached from the theatre, a place with incredible acoustics. Paul spent 10 years in Caesarea during 3 different visits. Two of those years were spent in a prison there. A stone was found with an inscription that Pontius Pilate had also been in Caesarea.

Mt Carmel
We gathered on the top of Mount Carmel. Our guide asked Jim to share the story of the contest between Ahab and Elijah as to who was the true God, we sang and prayed together. We then looked down over the Jezreel Valley, where the Israelites killed the 450 prophets of Ahab. This is also the place where Deborah and Barak were victorious and Jael put the tent peg through the head of Sisera. We also viewed the Mount of Transfiguration and the city of Nazareth across the valley. Our guide pointed out where Saul and his sons were killed in battle, where Gideon put out the fleece to test God and the city of Nain where Jesus raised the widow’s son.

We saw olive trees, and learned how oil is pressed and how nothing is wasted from the olive. Green and black olives grow on the same tree – black olives just stay on the tree longer. We learned that every pomegranate has 613 seeds – the same number as the number of laws in the Old Testament. We saw wheat and mustard, looking at how tiny a mustard seed is.

Megiddo - Har Megiddo = Armageddon
We walked around the archaeological digs at Megiddo. Initially it was thought that Solomon was the builder, but it is now thought that it might be King Ahab. The Tel reveals layers of history. A shaft and tunnel were built 100 feet down for carrying water. We walked down 180 steps into the tunnel, saw the spring of water and then came out the other side.

We talked about the story of the disciples not catching any fish, Jesus telling them to throw the net on the other side and then catching 153 fish. The Hebrew significance of this is that the letters stand for “I am God.” Jesus wanted people to know He was God, but he never told them He was God – He showed them.
Nazareth
The city of Nazareth is busy and crowded. We visited “old Nazareth” where we could walk through a village setting as it must have been during Jesus day. We saw a carpenter at work, a weaver, a shepherd, the olive press and a church. We wanted to “feel” what it was like to have been there with Jesus, but it was difficult because it felt “staged” (and the guy weed-whacking around the different sites didn’t help!)

We drove by Mt. Precipice, where the people accused Jesus of blasphemy and wanted to push Him off the cliff but he disappeared from their midst and never came back to Nazareth again.
Lodging
Tonight and tomorrow night we are staying in a lovely waterfront hotel room in Tiberius, overlooking the Sea of Galilee. We have a balcony so are able to relax and enjoy the water.

From Madaba, Jordan to Natanya, Israel

The sky was blue and temperatures cool this morning as we walked down the streets of Madaba, Jordan to the Greek Orthodox Church of St. George to see the mosaic map of the Holy Land. We enjoyed the demonstration of how to make mosaics. The mosaics are made by physically disabled people who receive government support for their work.
Our next stop was Mount Nebo where we could see the Dead Sea, Jericho and Jerusalem. We read Deuteronomy 34, the story of Moses climbing Mt. Nebo to see the Promised Land. And then he died. It was an emotional experience to think of Moses looking at the promised land, knowing that he could not go in because he struck a rock when God told him to speak to it (Numbers 20). But then we thought about where he did go – to Heaven! His work was finished. He had taken the Israelites to the Promised Land. He had trained Joshua to take them into the land. We continue to be overwhelmed by the distance the Israelites traveled and the conditions in which they lived. The people from our bus sang “I Love You Lord” together as we stood on top of Mt. Nebo.

As we traveled back down the mountain we saw many Bedouin tents and communities. Although the tents are meager shelters, we occasionally saw a tractor outside their tent, a bicycle and even some satellite dishes!
Entering Israel
Going through customs to get into Israel went very smoothly. We no longer have an armed guard on our bus as we did in Jordan, but we did have an armed guard walk through our bus at the Jerusalem checkpoint. Our Israeli guide, Shem’on, is once again excellent. As we travelled down the highway, he pointed out different areas and talked about Israel.

Today was a Holy Day in Israel – Shavuot (Pentecost). Traffic was much lighter because many Jews spend the day worshiping or at home.

West Bank is divided into three sections: one where just Palestinians can be, the second is controlled by Israel but Palestinians can come in and the third is for Israelites and Palestinian civilians who enter will be searched. A wall with barbed wire looping has been built to separate Palestine and Israel because of the terrorist shooters. Palestinians may not drive into Israel, but many of them walk in each day to work there.

Israel is known for it’s irrigation systems, and in fact, sell them across the world. Everything green has been planted.

Our hotel is in Natanya tonight, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea (also known as the Great Sea). We stepped in the Mediterranean, enjoyed gazing at the water and palm trees for an hour and watched the sunset. In Israel we can eat fruits and vegetables and drink tap water.

Petra (Selah)

On Tuesday, May 18, we left Aquaba, known as King Solomon’s port, for a 2-hour bus ride on the Jordanian highway, also called the King’s Highway. We saw many Bedouins in the fields with their sheep and goats. Just before the entrance of Petra, we saw the site of Aaron’s burial on top of Mount Hor.

Petra is a mountain fortress, that was inhabited by the Edomites (descendants of Esau) and then the Nabateans (descendants of a son of Ishmael) until the Romans drove them out. Later the Bedouins lived there, but it is no longer inhabited. Hidden between the mountains, Petra is only accessible by walking. We walked down a hill with our guide, to a narrow gorge, the entrance between two huge rock cliffs (reminded us of Needles Highway in the Black Hills), only about 12 feet wide in some place and 150-250 feet high. After walking downhill for about a 1 ½ mile we were asked to form two lines, side by side, put our hands on the shoulders of the person in front of us and close our eyes. We then were told to walk forward, trusting our leader. (Our line had a great leader – Jim!) When the guide told us to open our eyes we were amazed to see the beautiful 60 foot sandstone carvings of the Treasury. Going down farther into Petra we saw many of the burial caves that the Nabateans had carved into the sides of the cliffs. We also saw the 6000 seat stadium they had built. The rock was basically red, striated with lots of different colors. After walking DOWNHILL into the city (about 2 miles) with our guide, we walked the same route back to our bus – totally UPHILL of course.

One more thing about Petra: for the Indiana Jones fans – Petra is where some of the scenes from “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” were shot.

Our next stop was in the Valley of Moses, where we saw the place where Moses struck the rock instead of speak to it as God commanded (Numbers 20). The Israelites got water, but because of his disobedience Moses was denied entrance to the promised land.

We continued our travels on the King’s Highway to Ammon. As we arrived in Ammon for the night, we entered a busy, commercialized city. Population is 2 million. Much of the signage is in English. Many women drive Jeeps, the Jordanian “family van.” We saw Pizza Hut, Burger King, Toyota as well as many other restaurants and commercial signs that reminded us of home. After commenting to each other about how the traffic in Jordan is much different than Cairo (an organized road system with signage and even police cars) our bus driver turned the corner to our hotel, and instead of being an inch from the vehicles on either side, there was probably only ¼ inch to spare on each side! But no scratches.

We saw a variety of terrain in Jordan today – barren desert, mountains, areas with sparse vegetation, and then some fields with planted crops. One more thing: We learned today that the camel is known as the hybrid (high-bred) limousine of the desert!