Israel

Our pilgrimage to Israel was wonderful. Here are a few photos that I thought you might enjoy.

One day, we traveled to along the western border. Israel's western border is the beautiful Mediterranean!. The ancient route we traveled was called Via Maris. Via Maris used to link Egypt with the northern parts of Syria and was one of the most important trade roads in the ancient times.
We followed the Roman Via Maris alongside the western shore of Israel, skirting the beautiful Mediterranean Sea.

Here Helaine and Yvonne pose in front

of a Roman wall (aqueduct?) at Caesarea

on the Mediterranean.

Caesarea was built by Herod.

 

Our trip took us north to the lovely city of Haifa.

Here is a view of Haifa from Mount Carmel.

Haifa is a beautiful city on the Mediterranean

There is a saying: "Jerusalem prays. Tel Aviv plays. Haifa works."

Our travels took us to Acre: the city of Crusaders. In the northern part of Israel, this is an Arab village. Notice the mosque in the background of the ancient well. While there, we had to walk (quickly) through an alleyway where a crowd of men were gathered.

One man had about 20-30 cages filled with CATS! Our guide asked what they were doing. They were releasing the "imported" (and hungry) cats in an attempt to control the rat population.








This is the River Jordan of song and story. The River Jordan is the only river in Israel that has water all year round! These pictures were taken of the river in the town of Tiberias at a spot called "Yardenit." This Jordan River Baptismal complex attracts Christian pilgrims from all
over the world.

The site is touted as the place where John the Baptist baptized Jesus.

Historians, however, place the event further south near Jericho.

But Jericho is in "contested" territory and not as safe as Tiberias. The tourists don't question it. Thousands come here to be baptized in the River Jordan.

We passed a Bedouin village where camels are available for photo opportunities. I, once again, refused to climb aboard the beasts. They are interesting creatures. The Bedouin no longer use them except for charging tourists to sit on them for photos.

Here is the Western Wall, Judaism's most holy site. The wall stands as the only reminder of the Holy Temple. Here Helaine turns from having prayed at the wall.

Here is a beautiful view of the old city of Jerusalem

as seen from Mount Scopus.

The gold dome is the Temple Mount.

You can see the remnants of the

wall that once enclosed the original

city of Jerusalem. The old city to this day has citizens living in apartments that overlook the Wall. We met a lady who lives in the Old City. She kindly invited us to her home. But, alas, we had no time left to take her up on her invitation. Maybe next time.

The Old City is divided into 4 parts: The Jewish Quarter,

The Armenian Quarter,

The Arab Quarter and

The Christian Quarter.

The walled city is a warren of paths, alleys and "roads." It is a continuous

route of vendors' booths hawking mostly religious wares and "locally and personally" crafted goods. Some of them actually are. Many of them have the familiar label "Made in China." Buyer beware!

The famous "Via Dolorosa" is located in the Old City. The Via Dolorosa is the path that tradition says Jesus carried his cross to his crucifixion. In the Armenian Quarter is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a sacred place for Christians.
I will post more photos later. Israel is a special place to all 3 major religions. It is amazing to see the Old City. But even more amazing is the rest of Jerusalem and the rest of the country which has been built in just 62 years. The amazing infrastructure of roads and bridges, trains, power lines, sewer systems, and potable water for everyone is awe inspiring. I remember as a child sending money to "plant a tree in Israel." Well, now the trees are grown and there are forests surrounding Jerusalem!

For a Jew, Israel naturally holds a special place. The only Jewish country in the world, some 6 million of the 7.5 million are Jewish. Of the remaining 1.5 million most (16%)are Muslim. A small number (2%) are Christian. The remaining 2% are Buddhist, Baha'i, etc. There are a lot of Baha'i.

While in Israel, never once did I enter a place and have the familiar and uniquely diaspora Jewish feeling, "I'll bet I'm the only Jew here," a sensation that every Jew in American has very often. Visiting Israel was a special pilgrimage. Israel made me feel proud, special, holy and welcome.

I will post more pictures later. The Masada the Dead Sea were amazing.

More later....

I
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