Bach, Bananas and Bible Theory

It’s cloudy today, and last night’s sleep was punctuated by dreams of droplets of olive oil and honey. As much as it sounds like a Bible revelation, it’s more of a mix of the sights and sounds I experienced witnessed yesterday.

As we make our way south, we can see Lebanon to our right. We drop to 600 feet below sea level to the ‘Evangelical Triangle’. Our team leader continues the study of the Lord’s Prayer. ‘Forgive us our trespasses’. We must also forgive others which is much harder, and sometimes, it must be done daily. Yup. That's me.

We learn that Galilee is mentioned in the Old Testament. Isaiah said ‘the Gentiles of the Galilee saw a great light.’ As I contemplate the significance of the prophesy, we pass Lake Hula, a mere marsh now, with only 2% of its former self remaining for pelican and other migratory birds. This busy highway we’re on was once the route that Jesus took from that awful place of Pan down to the Galilee. We approach Capernaum, where Jesus raised the little girl to life. “Talitha cumi” he said to here. “Little girl, arise.” Tallit, a Jewish prayer shawl, comes from that word, talitha, meaning pure. 

Our guide with a prayer shawl explaining Talitha Cumi

But there is more to this miraculous story. The little girl’s father asks Jesus to come, and yet, the story diverts from that to a woman who secretly touches Jesus’ hem. The woman was bleeding and considered unclean. Jesus heals her and then the narrative returns to the little girl. We go from the pure to the impure, and back to the pure. 
On one of Jesus’ trips, He went from a place where God was worshiped, to the temple of Pan, where there was so much impurity, back to a place where God was worshiped, Capernaum. From the pure to the impure, to the pure. So much food for thought. Jesus wasn't afraid to get His hands dirty.

The remains of a synagogue in Capernaum. Note the dark basalt rock.

We are told about the friends who lowered a crippled man through the roof of a house so he may see Jesus, and understand how it could be done. Basalt walls, of which houses were made, being dark in colour, would cook people in the summer, so the roofs were straw to allow the heat to dissipate. Removing that roof as the friends did would cause dust and debris to fall on those sitting up front in the house, listening to Jesus preach. They would have been annoyed that their time listening to Jesus was interrupted so. 
Are we like those people, who want the blessings and resent the interlopers who seem to get it, instead? Or are we the interlopers, we Gentiles? Shouldn’t we make room for those who really need to hear the Gospel? Is our guide asking that we allow him to come and learn what we know of Christ? And yet, our guide has so much knowledge of Christ. Does it also exist in his heart? I ponder Yossi’s spoken and unspoken questions, not realizing now the situation he's describing would soon arise literally when we visit the museum in Jerusalem later on, so stay with me.

A straw roof. Can you imagine the dust raining down as the roof is being removed?

We pass the place of the Sermon on the Mount, where we see the remains of some seats, fenced in beside the road. What I learn now is that the water level here at the Sea of Galilee was once much higher and Jesus might have sat in a boat and used the natural amplification qualities of the water to help project his voice. 
We learn when He fed the multitude, the people sat on the grass. Yossi tells us that this is the only place in Israel where grass grows naturally, thanks to seven springs. 
Nowadays, it’s a German church and we slip inside, past the pools that hold brightly coloured koi. 
Inside, Yossi takes out his flute and plays Bach, (the same tune as he played at Solomon’s Pillars) allowable in a German church where silence and meditation is the rule. Once more, with amazing acoustics, the classical music fills us. Music, Yossi says, is the international language. Around us, many other tour groups stop to listen to the music, and we all applaud after. He tells me after that the word ‘music’ comes from the same root as ‘mosaic’, that is, Muses, the goddess who inspired musicians, poets and artists. 

 

Yossi playing Bach

It’s warmer here by the edge of the water, because we're below sea level. They grow bananas under special canopies, and great swathes of white fill the hillside. 

Bananas growing under canopies. Israel is not hot enough.

We visit The Jesus Boat, a first century boat now on display, and learn that it was probably built by someone wealthy. 

Jesus Boat, photo copyright Jesus Boat Foundation.

While it could have been one that Jesus sailed in, it could also have been used to transport soldiers. Regardless, it had been scuttled in the mud and left until a drought revealed it, 2000 years later.
Our time here is over. We now get to experience our own trip upon The Sea of Galilee!

The Red Sea, the Dead Sea and the desert in between

It's Friday and the Jewish Shabbat starts at sundown. We will be staying tonight at a hotel on the shores of the Dead Sea. It feels warmer this morning, and I take my phone to the dining room so I can capture the vista that is the sun lighting up the wall of homes at the other side of Wadi Musa. 

View from the Dining Room

Our resort is of good quality and the meals are excellent. Last night we had spicy salads and today for breakfast, I eat more vegetables, pickled fish, falafels, with meats and cheeses. There is good coffee and juice, and even a chef to whip up an omelet if one so chooses.
  

Not a typical Canadian breakfast!

I discovered this morning that I have a blister on my foot. I wear these shoes day in and day out, but walking in a desert wadi gives me a blister. Where's the logic in that? But I know our friend’s knee hurts, and it's far worse, so I won't say a thing. After we leave Petra, our bus takes us up the eastern side of the wadi to a tourist trap which has a spectacular view from their rooftop. I purchase a few mud face masks, quickly discounted for me when I put them down after learning their price. I see some beautiful purses, but didn’t feel like bartering amidst the crush of tourists.

We head south and it’s not until we reach our destination that I realize we’re at the Red Sea! Although our driver doesn’t take us along the shore, we can see sparkling blue in the distance. I read once that the name 'Red Sea' was a take on 'Reed Sea', so I forgive them the spectacular colour. 

Above that white building is the Red Sea!

The border towns of Eliat and Aqabah aren't as big as I expected, and security much lighter than when we crossed into Jordan from Israel three years ago.

The air is warm, windy and the sun brilliant. It's a lovely day, with a sky so clear and blue, I almost resent the locals for it. Here in the Middle East, spring comes quickly, not like our blustery province which hangs on to its wet spring for weeks before relenting to a mild summer.

We meet our new guide, a wiry Israeli man named Yossi. His first words are, "Welcome home." Welcome back to your spiritual roots. It's a pleasant greeting. I like it.
He seems quite knowledgeable, which will impress us further as time goes on, and he asks if we can bypass lunch to head straight to the Wilderness Tabernacle. He has a lot to tell us, he claims, a lot to show us. Little do we know what precedence he's setting here!

On one side of us is the stark Negev desert, rocky and dusty, reds and tans contrasting against an azure sky. On our right are the rich date palms, all lined up like regal soldiers. We learn that the term ‘land of milk and honey’ is talking about date honey. Not bee honey? No. Date juice, so thick and sweet, it can only be called honey.
Soon, we are turning left into Timna Park. The reason we bypassed lunch was to see the majestic Solomon’s Pillars, a curious formation cut by water and wind into the side of a tall cliff. But we will more than to see them. We will experience them.

Solomon's Pillars

They're hauntingly beautiful, but more beauty is to come when Yossi leads us into one of the crevices between the pillars. He scrambles up a large boulder and pulls out a flute. With the help of wireless speakers and Bluetooth, he treats us to Bach, showing off the natural acoustics of the crevice. We sit in awe, relaxing in the cool shade as the classical music fills the fissure around us.

Too soon, the music ends. A full sized replica of the Wilderness Tabernacle awaits us.  
And a chance to enter a place so exclusive, it is reserved for one man once a year.

The Treasury!

Our walk down to the Treasury has many stops as our tour guide, Hanson, (who was our guide the last time we were here) stops along the way and tells us little facts and such, all the while ignoring the armed guard who seems to have fallen off an Indiana Jones movie poster. Seriously! Look at this guy!
Not to worry. The armed guard ignored us as well.

A guard a Petra

We stop and look up at the carvings, seeing imaginative creatures, created by both man and wind. Elephants, grand facades and raptor claws.

A taste of the grandness to come!

Wind has erased most of this camel.

Is it an elephant or a fish?

Can you see the raptor claw?

A silly pair getting married!

 

There are also camels and a pair of wayward souls participating in a traditional wedding ceremony. Can you guess who they are?

Then, finally, we're urged to peek on an angle into the final part of the wadi, and there we see the masterpiece. 

The Treasury.

It's incredible to be here!

Just to stand here, as the day warms up, within the busy courtyard, fending off hawkers and staring up at the high red walls, we are just in awe.  

There is still much to see. I can barely take it all in. 

A panoramic view beyond the treasury.

Didn't I see him in the Caribbean?

Lunch is at a cafeteria at the far end, past the treasury, past Johnny Depp above, where we had stopped for photos, camel rides, and to purchase things off the local hawkers. My husband bartered for bracelets and a fake coin, and came away without a hat, sunglasses and his watch. Me? I bought two fridge magnets.

For lunch, some choose the $10 US bag lunch and others eat the snacks they brought with them. We make sure we get a photo of our local Sackville group. We have some with sore joints who shouldn’t attempt the climb back up to the entrance; they take first a donkey ride, then a cart ride. 

A motley crew if there ever was one!

They race up and down the wadi, for $30US, mind you.

The day has been a great one, getting to know the others, huffing and puffing and laughing at those who chose a camel or donkey ride. We're starting to ache and I look forward to the steamy indoor pool back at the resort. 

 

Can you see the steam? It's getting cold again.

A welcomed end to the day!

Our first full day is ending, but tomorrow we start a new chapter. On to Israel!