Holy Lands Tour

I went on a pilgrimage to Israel and Jordan from March 7-17 led by Karla Woggon who is now the rector of the Church of the Ascension in Hickory NC. There were 18 of us, mostly from her church. We flew in and out of Tel Aviv. We spent 3 nights in Galilee, 1 night in Jordan, and 4 nights in Jerusalem. Besides seeing the sights, Karla read passages from the bible appropriate to the location. There were prayers every night as well. I led the group in singing some hymns. It was nice I was good for something. My roommate, Erika, was very nice and we got along well.

Day 1: We celebrated the Eucharist on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. We saw where Simon, called Peter, used to live. We reaffirmed our baptismal vows in the Jordan River. One of our group members was baptized.  We saw where the Sermon on the Mount allegedly occurred. We took a boat ride on the sea from Capernaum to Tiberias.  The landscape was peppered with mustard flowers.

Day 2: We traveled to Mt. Tabor where Jesus met up with Elijah and Moses in a mist when Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem for the last time. We then went to Nazareth and saw the type of dwellings Joseph may have lived in. We also saw where the annunciation occurred to Mary.

Day 3: We passed the border into Jordan and drove up to Mt. Nebo where Moses allegedly saw the Promised Land but was forbid to enter.  We also walked around the actual spot where Jesus was baptized in the Jordan. The river no longer runs through it.  We stopped at St. George's Church in Madaba that had a marvelous 5th C mosaic map of Jerusalem on the floor. Then we drove all the way down to Petra but it was late when we arrived at our especially nice hotel.

Venerated spot of Jesus's baptism in the Jordan River in Jordan

5th C mosaic map of Jerusalem

Mosaic in the church at Madaba, Jordan

Day 4: We toured the 4th C BC Nabataean Kingdom city of Petra early. We walked down a mile-long canyon with steep rocks on either side which opened up to a broad avenue with temples, government buildings, and an amphitheater. All were carved from the canyon walls. I rode a horse back to the opening gate but alas no one got a shot of that. We then drove to Jerusalem, again crossing the border near Jericho. It was dark when we reached our hotel.

Petra canyon

The Treasury at Petra

Camels in Petra

Day 5: We began our tour of Jerusalem at the Mount of Olives with the iconic view of the old city and Temple Mount. The City of David was actually closer to the intersection of 2 rivers down the hill from the Temple Mount.  We walked down to the Garden of Gethsemane and saw the church erected there. We saw the Beautiful Gate which is the gate that Jesus entered the city on his donkey on Palm Sunday. We entered through security gates to get into the old city. We walked through the souks to see where King David was buried. And we saw a building where they believe the Last Supper occurred in a prior structure. We took an underground tour by the bottom of the Western Wall. The stones were humongous.  We then went to the Wailing Wall. I shoved my prayer into one of the crevices. The last thing we did was sit on the Eastern Wall steps where Jesus used to give talks to his flock.

Temple Mount from Mount of Olives

Garden of Gethsemane on Mount of Olives

Tunnel tour by the Western Wall - humongous stone

Day 6: We got an early start in the pouring rain to walk on the Temple Mount. This is the place where Abraham prepared to sacrifice Isaac. Where the first and second Hebrew Temples were built and where now stands a Muslim shrine - The Dome of the Rock, which we were not allowed to enter. This is the place where Mohamed went up to Heaven which is why Muslims venerate the spot. We were soaked as the wind blew the rain sideways. We then, in this pouring rain, walked the 13 Stations of the Cross. We stopped at each place and Karla read a bible passage of the passion narrative and then said some prayers. Here Jesus fell, here Simon picked up the cross, here they nailed him to the cross etc. We then visited a place further away from the city that looked like a skull -Golgotha. We saw an empty tomb hewed from rock and celebrated the Eucharist (under cover). After that we went to the Holocaust Museum but I was so wet and cold that I just sat in the cafeteria while the others relived those horrible events in Europe during the war.

Tour group at the Temple Mount

Day 7:  We took the bus to the Dead Sea and Masada.  The Dead Sea continues to evaporate so it's smaller and smaller.  We took the cable car up to Masada and toured around where Herod the Great's Safe Palace was built.  We saw some of the original frescoes and heard the story of the group suicide by Hebrews in the wars with the Romans after the Second Temple was destroyed.  Our guide referred very frequently to the writings of the first century historian, Flavius Josephus.  I will need to read some of his books.  We then toured where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in Qumran and finally we took a dip in the Dead Sea, but I just sat on the beach and watched others.

Masada floor

Qumran

Day 8: On our last day we drove to Bethlehem and saw where the shepherds were abiding in the fields 2000+ years ago. I bring you tidings of great joy..... We saw a place where the animals were stabled that was a cave -where most people lived. Perhaps the star was sitting right over it when the Magi came. Then we went back to the hotel and rested (as it was the Sabbath and nothing was open). We had a lovely dinner that night and had a few hours sleep before we drove to the airport in Tel Aviv.

Shepherd's Field

Ophir, Karla, and Eyia

We ate dinner every night in the hotels with the exception of the farewell dinner. The food was always the same, plentiful and tasty but always the same. I missed having butter on my bread at dinner -no dairy allowed. For lunch we always had a choice of falafel or chicken shawarma in pita. I prefer more variety in my eating.

My biggest impression is how rocky the terrain is.  It is void of what I consider pretty.  The Sea of Galilee was the most picturesque. And instead of going there yourself, watch my favorite Jesus movie - 1961 King of Kings. The setting seems authentic and you get all the bible verses without having to stand in the pouring rain.