Mount of Beatitudes, Bet She’an, Jericho and Jerusalem Day 6: Friday, November 8th, 2013

Long day yesterday so I will post the story this evening....but the photos are already on line.

We had breakfast on the patio at 6:30 am and the sky was so clear you could easily see the hills on the other side of the Sea of Galilee; God gave us a light rain last night that washed the air!

By 8 am we were on the bus with our suitcases, we’re moving to Jerusalem today, but first we headed for the nearby Mount of Beatitudes. 

We celebrated Mass in an open air chapel with a view of the Sea of Galilee far down the hill; the same place that Jesus once sat and talked with a multitude of people that stretch all the way down to the seashore.  The miracle was that everyone could hear everything that he was saying as though they were seated next to him as his voice carried down the mountain so that everyone could him.  A beautiful church graces the spot where he sat and the gardens are designed to give you a place to spend time in contemplative reflection and prayer.  There were pilgrim groups all over the gardens.  Jim assisted with the singing for the first time and I think he enjoyed adding his voice to Roberta who has been guiding us in song since the beginning of our pilgrimage. 

Deacon Joe assisted Father Paw during the Mass.

By 9:30 am we were on the bus and headed south towards Jerusalem.  We followed the shoreline all the way to the southern end of the Sea of Galilee where we first saw the Jordon River that is the source of water for this lake.  At this point it was just a narrow stream but somewhat clear.  We will be visiting the river again in a few days to renew our baptismal vows and I understand at that point it will be rather muddy.   The River Jordon enters on the south side and exits on the north end of the Sea of Galilee.  At the northern end the lake can sometimes be as much as six miles across and as I said before up to thirteen miles in length.   

Soon we could see the Kingdom of Jordan across the valley and then eventually we were driving on the road near the double fences with security strips between that divides the two countries.  I’ve heard several people mention that there are few stop signs; almost all of the four way intersections are roundabouts just like in Europe.  This makes driving much easier as we don’t have so many stops, just easing in and out of the roundabout! 

By 10:30 am we’d arrived at Bet She’an, a Roman Town that dates back to the fourth century B.C. that has been slowly excavated over the past eighty some years. 

There was a wonderful iron map that helped us to see the whole picture before we actually walked done into the site to climb the theater and walk around the columns.   A few of the younger ones headed over to climb the hill that is known as the Tell, including Father Paw.  This was where the first towns were built.  Over the centuries the hill got higher and higher as one town was built on top of the previous one.   Time was short for our visit and one had to decide to climb the Tell or explore the ancient ruins.   It really wasn’t possible to do both well.   We had lots more to do today!

By 11:30 we were headed for Jericho, nearly an hour’s drive away from Bet She’an.  We crossed over the border into Palestine to reach Jericho.  We drove for miles along the double high wire fences that held mine fields along the border. 

During our drive we were given a brief education about the history of the Jewish people.  Over the centuries they were ruled by Romans and then other countries but they did not have a country they could call their own.  In 135 A.D. after a three year revolt they lost; the Jews were disbursed around the world, but not in Jerusalem, by the Romans. 

In 1917 the first Jews arrived from Europe into a divided Arab World.  The League of Nations created the Nation of Israel in 1948; taking land from the Palestine people to make the state.  They have been at odds ever since.  Today the population inside the old city of Jerusalem is mostly Arab Muslims, a few hundred Arab Catholics and less Jews than reside in New York City per our tour guide.   Worldwide, eighty percent of the Jews live in either Israel or the USA; split about fifty-fifty.  And I do hope that I got the information right!.

The town of Jericho is ten thousand years old and has about seventy thousand people today.  There are about five hundred Christians and approximately two hundred fifty Catholics.  We enjoyed seeing the city from the bus and then spent an hour in a very nice restaurant for lunch.  At the end of our lunch were offered an opportunity to smoke their waterpipe or Hookah.  The fellows had no problem but some of us girls, yes…including yours truly…ended up with headaches and a really bad after taste from the experience.  But lots of fun for everyone as the brave ones were cheered on to get the water churning enough to generate some smoke to blow!

After lunch we headed back into Israel for our new home for the balance of our trip, Hotel Grand Court in Jerusalem.  We arrived about 3 pm and found that one elevator is preprogramed for the Sabbath, sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, to run automatically without pushing buttons so that the Orthodox Jews can use it.   Nothing quite so frustrating as getting an elevator that has a mind of its own.  No matter what buttons you pushed it kept going up and if it was headed down there was no way to go up! 

There were some funny stories when we climbed back on the bus at 4:30 pm and then Raouf explained that they were not broken and by Sunday it would be working normally.  We all had a good laugh and enjoyed our evening excursion to the Garden of Gethsemane.  This is a church built in the garden where Jesus and his disciples prayed the night before his crucifixion.  The church is over the rocky surface where history says that Jesus prayed while his disciples kept watch in the nearby Olive Garden.  We had a private hour in the church for Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and time for reflection and prayer.  We were allowed to put our hands on the rock during our prayers.  Unfortunately our plan to walk around the ancient olive trees that date back to the time of Jesus was not to be; they locked the gates early and we were only allowed to walk around the outside of the garden.  We hope to go back later this week to visit the garden during the day. 

Back to the hotel and dinner at 6:30 pm.   About an hour later we all boarded the bus for a short trip back across the border into Palestine territory to Bethlehem.  There Raouf had arranged for a store to be opened for us to shop in for an hour.  Many dollars later we headed back to the hotel with our treasures and to bed.  By the way; we’ve yet to find a need for the Shekel or Israel coin.  They accept American Dollars everywhere and even show the prices in dollars, euros and Shekels. 

As you may know; I went straight to bed and this blog is a day late in arriving.  Hope you enjoy the slideshow which I did manage to post early this morning. 

 

Capernaum, Tiberias on Sea of Galilee Day 5: Thursday, November 7, 2013

Another early morning for me; but I enjoyed reading my book while I waited for the wakeup call from the desk; then it was off to breakfast at 6:30 am.  We sat with Marlene and Richard on the patio for breakfast and enjoyed getting to know them. 

By 8 am we were on the bus and headed down the road for Capernaum that is on the northern tip of the Sea of Galilee. 

Along the way we had views of the lake and also the banana plantations that cover acres of ground in this area; Raouf explained that they bag the bananas while on the tree to prevent bugs from entering the fruit and also for those that are being shipped internationally they spread mosquito netting over the entire field to prevent the mosquito from reaching the fruit.  

By 8:30 am we’d arrived at Capernaum, the town where Peter lived and within which Jesus made his base of operations for his Galilean ministry.  This site has been partially restored by the Franciscan Monks who also have a Monastery on the land.  Nazareth did not want a prophet in their town and asked Jesus to leave.  Peter offered to let him stay in an upstairs room in his mother-in-law’s house in Capernaum; thus Jesus focused his ministry here, where ancient Judaism flourished. 

He performed many of his miracles while he lived in this town.  The partially restored Synagogue has been dated back to the time of Jesus and therefore he would have worshiped and taught in this building. 

The home of Peter’s mother-in-law has been protected by several different types of structures over the years.  Today is has a very modern church over the site.  This site, along with many others are still being discovered as new building are constructed.  First, they are required to excavate and search for possible ruins before starting to build here in Israel. 

Jesus was the tenth man considered to be the Messiah; the previous nine had died prior to

Jesus without proving they were actually the Messiah.  Even today; there is almost always a man who the Jewish people believe is the Messiah; so far none of them have proven their claim without a doubt.  So, the search continues for the person they feel will save the world from eternal damnation.    

There were several reasons that Jesus chose this area other than the fact that he was offered shelter by Peter; and the fact that his friends Peter, James, John, Andrew and Matthew all lived in this town.  The area was a land of the shadow of death, they were persecuted and held little hope for salvation as they waited for their Messiah.  It was also on the trade route which allowed Jesus to make contact with the gentiles coming along on the road such as the Centurion.  

There is a larger than life statue of St. Matthew with the Sea of Galilee behind him; we all enjoyed taking photos with Matthew before leaving this site by bus.

We climbed back aboard the bus for a visit to Tabgha; the Benedictine Monastery located on the land where Jesus fed the multitudes of people. This is the only miracle that is mentioned in all four of the Books of the New Testament.  We walked directly to the edge overlooking the Sea of Galilee and celebrated our Mass today.  Deacon Joe assisted Father Paw and we all participated by readings and singing.  It’s always a beautiful experience and brings us each closer to God as we attend daily Mass during our Pilgrimage to the Holy Land. 

After Mass we took a group photo and then walked back to visit the church that the Monks have built over the rock that is said to be the place where Jesus fed the multitude with five loaves and two fish.   The rock jutes out of the floor below the Altar in the sanctuary.

When they began restoring the site they actually found the original mosaic floors from a previous church that they have partially restored and left them as the flooring in the new church.

Back on the bus again we drove the short distance to visit St. Peter’s Primacy where a church is built over the rocks where Jesus stood when he talked to the apostles in their boat and told them where to catch the fish.  This was after he was resurrected.   A huge portion of the rock fills the sanctuary and even more of the rock is outside of the building. 

This site has been visited both by Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II; and a beautiful open air chapel has been built and dedicated to each.  It is rumored that a new chapel will be built soon as they expect Pope Francis I to visit the site within a few years.

We took time here to wade in the waters of the Sea of Galilee; tepid water with sharp lava rocks to walk on but worth the pain to be able to say we have walked in the waters of the Sea of Galilee.  We dried off our feet and walked back up to the bus.   Our next stop was at a very large restaurant that caters to groups.  Expensive but good food.  Choice of fish with bones, fish without bones or chicken. 

By two o’clock we’d arrived at a Museum that featured a beautiful walk way that was decorated with art created by Arab and Jewish children.   We didn’t visit the inside of the museum but instead walked the length of the art display that lead us to the boat dock and a large wooden boat. 

We motored for nearly an hour while enjoying the breeze out on the water.  Raouf read stories to us from the bible about miracles and life on the Sea of Galilee for part of the time and then they taught us a Jewish dance after they’d played some dance music and only Jim and I danced.  They ended with a slow dance and there were two couples on the floor for that one.  A fun afternoon and some of the ladies enjoyed shopping for some trinkets that they had for sale.  A fun side note was that at the beginning of the trip they raised the American Flag and we all stood and sang God Bless America during the ceremony.

We practiced our hymns for tomorrow morning’s Mass on the way home, arriving a bit earlier than usual.  WiFi has been very slow here at this hotel and while we were gone today they reset the whole system and it suddenly works very well this evening.  But, until you asked the desk about the problems of getting on the system; you didn’t know!   Dinner at 7 pm and then a walk along the Boardwalk in front of the hotel.  We tried the lemon gelato that was very good.

Piece of information; Tiberias was the place that most of the French and Russian Jews settled in after WW II.  Therefore, this is a very Jewish city and our hotel only serves Kosher Foods.  So you will find no meat at breakfast and no milk products at dinner.  Desserts are made with soy milk.  But the food was excellent and I loved all of the vegetables.  Definitely no pork anytime!

Tomorrow we have another early morning and arrive at our new hotel in Jerusalem after a day of touring.  Hope you enjoy the slideshow: