GBC Israel Trip

May 14

Today is our last touring day, and started very well.  The Leonardo Hotel is a ten minute walk from the Garden Tomb, so we left about 8:40 for our appointment.  Our guide was Dutch, speaking fluent English and German to the group assembled for the tour of the Garden. His explanation was clearly Evangelical.  Whatever we think of the burial site, it is certain that Jesus is not in the Tomb.  We had a short time of sharing some things we have learned, or been challenged spiritually by during the trip.  Ryan Vegh led us in two songs, and I served Communion for the group.  We had time for people to take a few minutes in the Garden by themselves for prayer.

We met Feras at 10:30 at the hotel, and he told me there had been incident in Silwan, near the City of David.  A 17 year old boy was killed during demonstrations in the village of Silwan, although the news the next afternoon was unclear on how this happened.  (I will update this when I have more information).  We were likely in the City of David when the  incident occurred, although I have not confirmed that.  We had noticed an unusual police presence, mostly wearing riot gear, but things had been peaceful the whole day.  Feras was concerned for us, but there was no indication that the Mount of Olives would be a problem.  He talked to several drivers but there was  nothing out of the ordinary.  But the fact that they were going to bury the boy at 11 am was a cause for concern.

We drove up to the Mount of Olives, and there were a few tourist buses and everything looked normal.  It was, however, very cold and rainy with a significant breeze.  Most of our group gone back to their rooms for a coat, I did not since I did not bring even a light jacket.  We did the usual talk at the top of the Mount and took a few pictures, and then started down to Dominus Flevit, the Church of the Teardrop.  When we got to the overlook, it was starting to rain,  but that was not the big problem.  It was about eleven, and we began to see people marching out of Silwan toward the Old City, shouting and singing as they went.  This was a demonstration in honor of the boy who was killed, and their path was pretty much the way I had intended to walk to Gethsemane.  We watched from a safe distance and the group got larger, people kept joining until there were maybe two or three hundred gathered in the Arab graves along the Kidron Valley.  They settled into a spot and began to toss rocks into the road.  We talked about it, and no one wanted to walk down the hill at all.  I called Feras and he was able to meet us back at the top of the Mount of Olives in a half an hour.  Unfortunately this was the worst of the cold rain, so most of the group took refuge inside the church where they sang and prayed.

When the bus arrived, Feras got a round of applause.  We were quite glad to be out of East Jerusalem, but we had a half day left.  I suggested we go back to the Jaffa gate, find something to eat, then go down to the Holy Sepulcher. This was agreeable to everyone, so Feras dropped us there and we split up for food.  I bought a coffee (10 shekels) and then some Jerusalem bread.  This was  7 shekels at Damascus Gate two days ago, today the guy wanted 25!  I gave him a couple of dollars and told him he was charging too much, and he took the money, said it was a “special deal” for me.  I found a spot to eat my bread and drink my coffee, watching people pass by the Jaffa Gate. The sun finally came out, so it made for a nice time for me.

We walked through the Christian Quarter, which is the same sort of market as the Arab Quarter, but with much more Christian tourist shops.  We found our way to the Sepulcher, and it was (as usual) very busy and crowded.  Still, there are many things to see inside, quite a bit of art.  The place has such a historical significance it is hard to skip, but the Garden Tomb is a much more pleasant place.  I am glad I visited, but the crowds were really overwhelming.  I also need to read more on the site since I was unaware what the various chambers were.  The line to enter the actual tomb was extremely long and tightly packed, I had no desire to wade through that to see the cave.

Tomorrow we pack up and return to the Allenby Bridge for our last day in Jordan and a long flight home.

May 13

I wrote the first part of today’s blog in the Old City, near the plaza which overlooks the Western Wall.  I browsed a Jewish book store, remarkably only purchasing one book.  I could have seriously damaged my credit in the store, but I did not want to buy anything that was easily available at home.  It is still quite chilly in Jerusalem, where I am sitting there is a cold breeze, making wish I had not worn shorts this morning.  Last trip it was so hot here, I am quite surprised at the low temperatures.

Most of the group has gone into the Old City to finish their shopping, so I have stationed myself in a shaded walkway with a very nice latte.  From here I can people-watch a bit, and of course get ahead on this blog.  I am always thinking of my readers!

My goal was to spend some time in the Old City and then the city of David.  We were able to do this for the most part, although today and tomorrow is Naqba, the Palestinian day of remembrance for the loss of Jerusalem, sort of an anti-independence day.  The word means “catastrophe,” and while I have never heard of any trouble on this day, there is always a potential for problems. (Obviously this year was different!)

The police presence in the old city is remarkable, we saw several units of police equipped with riot gear at the gates of the Old City.  I chose therefore not to try and enter the Temple Mount, which is a disappointment.  Our driver Feras suggested we avoid it, and I thought it best to take his advice.

We therefore visited the Southern Wall excavations for two hours.  The museum is nice, although the film lacks production value.  I think it does a good job describing religious practice in the Second Temple period, and I was able to highlight a few things after the film which looking at the model of the archaeological park.  For me, this is one of the most remarkable sites in the Old City since the Antiquities Authority has done such a nice job excavating and restoring the Second Temple streets and buildings.  Robinson;s Arch is easy to find and there are several artist’s reconstructions around the area to help visualize the architecture of the first century.  I particularly appreciate the fact they have left man of the stones pushed off the Temple Mount as they were discovered so that we can see the extent of the destruction of the city.

The city of David was our next stop, walking back out the Dung Gate to the national park site. Five brave souls opted for Hezekiah’s Tunnel, the rest of us (the wise) went through the dry Canaanite tunnels.  The walk is narrow in places (although that might just be my problem), but the lighting is good most of the way.  At the end of the cave there is a nice park to view the Jebusite walls.  The area was so nice and peaceful we rested there for ten or fifteen minutes before walking the rather steep stairs to the visitor center.  The peace of the Garden is all the more remarkable because it is the Silwan Valley, one of the more disputed areas in Jerusalem.  It really was hard to believe that just up the hill there was a serious conflict.

Feras picked us up at the Dung Gate and brought us back to the hotel. I spent some time in the lobby of the hotel catching up on my journal, and watching a large Jewish family arrive for a Bar-mitzvah celebration. Some of the kids were running around and sliding on the marble floors, like kids do. It is refreshing to know that kids are the same in every culture.

May 12

We began this morning in Jerusalem at the Jaffa Gate for a walk around the ramparts of the Old City.  I have done this walk before, but there were two big differences from the 2009 trip.  First, it was quite cool, cloudy and very windy.  It was not unpleasant, but it was sometimes difficult to keep your hat on, and our ladies were all wearing skirts for the churches.  Second, the last tour did the rampart walk on the first day, so everyone was still wild-eyed about being in Jerusalem.  This is now our tenth day together, and we have already done a great deal of walking.  The result is that we were able to get t the Damascus Gate in about an hour.  A few people bought some bread, I would have liked a few more people to try Jerusalem bread and hyssop.

We went down to the Roman Damascus gate, but a great deal of the wall was covered in scaffolding.  Still, we went up the narrow stairs and finished the rampart walk.  As a side note, the ticket taker at the Damascus gate is serious about his post.  There is a little museum there, and if you do not have a ticked, he does not want you to take photos or even look at the place.  He followed us to the stairs to make sure no one broke the rules.

On the second leg of the Rampart walk you get a good view of the Garden Tomb and Gorden’s Calvary.  I was able to answer many of the common questions people have about the two burial sites for Jesus, the Garden Tomb and the Holy Sepulcher.  The Garden Tomb is as likely a spot as the Sepulcher, but does not have the ancient witnesses.  Still, there is something deep within my evangelical, Protestant heart that prefers the Garden Tomb.  I look forward to our time of worship and communion there on Friday.

Since we made good time on the Rampart, we got to the Lion Gate just before eleven am.  We visited St. Anne’s church, a lovely Romanesque church built in honor of the virgin Mary’s mother.  When we came in to the garden, I saw the priest who greeted us in 2005.  He is just about the friendliest man in the world, taking the time to greet us and ask where we were from, etc.  He even looked and pictures of the Tweist’s children.  He told me he has been there for eleven years, always greeting the guests to St. Anne’s.  He also told me that in the first four months they had over 150,000 visitors!   It was  a bit crowded, several very large groups were in the church when we went in.  We listened to several groups sing and then we had our chance, Ryan led us in the doxology and Amazing Grace.  It was very beautiful to hear the echoing of our voices through the church.

We still had some time to look at the pool at Bethesda.  I read from John 5 and commented on the archaeology we were seeing at that moment.  There is a Roman pool, dedicated to their god of healing and a mikveh to provide ritual cleanliness for Jews.  Jesus presents himself as an alternative to both, healing the man directly.

After the pool of Bethesda we had lunch at the Pizzaria Basti, near the third station of the cross.  The meal was good and fairly priced, thirty shekels for pizza (or shwarma, falafel, or kabob).  I particularly enjoyed the Turkish coffee.

After lunch we visited the Western Wall plaza.  There was quite a crowd since there were a few bar-mitzvah parties going on, but it was great for everyone to see the traditional readings and here the young men reading the Torah.  We even had a proud father share sweets with us.

We then had an adventure in the Arab markets, several purchases were made, the cultural experience is always good. Despite what you may hear, I was never lost in the maze of shops, I merely took the scenic route.

May 11

Here is a update on where we have been for the last few days. Our hotel in Jerusalem was very nice, but there was a problem with the wireless Internet. They had some desktop Internet stations, but I wrote the posts in my iPad. While I look intensely cool using the iPad, I cannot get the posts off the iPad to the desktop PC.

Right now we are back in Jordan, hanging out in a coffee / hookah shop. We tried to get Kayleigh to try the hookah, but she stood firm. (That was in fact a joke, Linda!).

I will also mention that we were safe in Jerusalem, although we aware of what was happening we were at no time in any danger. It was interesting to compare what we saw to what we saw on TV later. It is also possible that the US news is distracted from Jerusalem at the moment and are unaware of the tensions of the last few days.

Maybe more on that later, but back to the May 11 post:

Today was a first for me.  After breakfast we met Dr Tali Erickson-Gili, an archaeologist from the Israel Antiquities Authority.  She is an expert in the Roman and Nabatean periods and specializes in pottery identification. After some orientation to archaeology in Israel, she marched us out to a section of the tel to do some actual digging.  Our project was to take down one of the balks between the squares from the original excavation. A balk is a small wall of dirt left after a section has been excavated. We used picks and trowels to loosen soil, then we filled buckets for the sifters to sift.  Clods of dirt must be broken,  rocks discarded, etc.  We worked hard until about noon, and then broke for lunch, then worked unto abut 2:30.  I worked filling buckets for most of the morning, but then sifted for an hour in the afternoon.  Digging was hot and sweaty, but the sifters caught a nice breeze.

I think most of the group enjoyed the work, although I heard a few complaints after lunch.  Still attitudes were good and even Amy said she was having fun. It was dirty work, every needed a shower (or two) before we boarded the bus for Jerusalem.