A bagel, a nose and a disturbing thought for Christians

On our way to the Upper Room which is in a large, unassuming building for Jerusalem, we pass a statue of King David and notice its broken nose. Some Orthodox Jews took offense to someone making an image that could be worshiped. The men responsible are satisfied with the damage, for until it is complete again, it’s no longer a graven image. 

Can you see David's broken nose?

Jews consider David, whose name means The Lover or Beloved, to be perfect, but even he admitted he was a sinner. Yet, he knew how to ask for forgiveness when he sinned.

We learn that there are three levels to this building, the lowest one being the Tomb of David, although our guide says David is buried with his father in the Kidron Valley. Nonetheless, it’s sacred to the Jews and when we walk in, we’re segregated according to our sex and because it's the Sabbath, the electrically lit menorah is covered in black fabric. A young Jewish woman at our side tells us no photographs, for it’s forbidden to work on the Sabbath. She is here praying, as I look around. Above me is a plastered ceiling and in front of me was a small Wailing Wall set behind a menorah, separated from the men by a wooden panel. I apologize to the woman for disturbing her prayers. She smiles warmly and touches my arm, saying it’s all right.

The second floor is the Upper Room, repaired during the crusades. It has a medieval flavour, but only one column remaining from Jesus’ time. 

The only column from Jesus' time.

Our guide read from the Bible on Holy Communion, and then tells us that first Communion happened 6th April 30 AD. So exact. 

We leave, but don’t go up to the third floor. It’s a minaret as the Muslims once held this building. Instead, we walk to the Church of the Domition, where Mary is said to be buried. Of course, Ephesus makes that claim as well. This church says ‘where Mary fell asleep’. Being a bit slow, I had to ask what that meant. 

 

A view from behind the Upper Room

It’s interesting to note she was supposed to have been 127 years old, and those numbers signify 1- age, 2- beauty 7- purity. It was also Sarah’s age when she died. Numbers apparently have significance in the Bible.

Inside, someone is playing Bach’s Trio Sonata allegro on the organ and it sounds to me like the Christmas music played at the Mount Allison Chapel in Sackville, New Brunswick. 

This is the building that has both David Tomb and the Upper Room

After we leave, our guide leads us to a shady spot. Some of group have found the walking hard as it’s up and down on irregular steps and it was warm in the Upper Room. I notice our guide has applied sunscreen, but the sun feels nice to me and I don’t burn. There in the shade, Yossi tells us that some people are deeply concerned that the Trinity will become the Holy Quartet. That is, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit will soon include the Virgin Mary because so many worship Mary some calling her a goddess, some going so far as to say she rose from the dead like Jesus. It's a disturbing thought.

We pass the bagel stands we'd seen earlier, and I buy a Jerusalem bagel, asking for the za’atar, the small pouch of herbs that goes with it. The cost – 10 NIS. 

Long bagels with herb pouches are Jerusalem Bagels

This stand also sold sweet treats and dried fruit.

We head back to the Grand Hotel, where in the courtyard, my husband and I  share the bagel with our friends. It’s big enough and the courtyard pleasant enough until we head to a distinctly American establishment. 

From the Manger to the Mafia

From there, we walk back to the bus station, the smell of diesel fumes thick, bringing back a memory of Toronto’s bus terminal in the 70s. On the way, our young guide, a Greek Orthodox man of Palestinian origin, tells us of where Jesus is mentioned in the Koran, and what Muslims believe of him. They believe he came only to predict Mohamed's arrival and that He is mentioned more times than Mohamed.

In front of our bus, a young entrepreneur seeks extra cash for photos.

No visit to Bethlehem is complete without a trip to the shepherds’ field. There is a small chapel nearby. Inside, my friend plays Silent Night on her harmonica. The acoustics are lovely here. We also sang, ‘O Come, All Ye Faithful.’. We walk down to a small cave where first century remains showed it had been used by shepherds. They would have kept the sheep inside and watched the cave entrance by night, guarding against animals. 

The shepherds' field. See the Jewish settlement in the distance?

Curiously, our Palestinian guide starts talking about Jewish settlements across the small valley field ahead of us. He shows us a picture from a few years ago, when none of the apartments had yet been built. He talks about Syrian passports, and how valuable they are. The Mafia steals them and sells them. With a Syrian passport, you have access to any country that takes refugees. 
But now, those countries are quizzing people on where they live, intimate questions about neighbourhoods. Previous refugees are so many, that most countries now have extensive knowledge of cities before the war. 

His talk turns to Israel. Jews and Palestinians share the same blood. He feels there is no solution to the troubles of his country, except to strive for peace. He reiterates what Yossi has said often. They must learn to work together, build a common economy, in order for both to survive and thrive. He is a Palestinian and a Christian of the Greek Orthodox religion, who can trace his ancestry back to Bible times. As he talks, my gaze goes beyond him to the field behind him, but now it’s slowly being swallowed up by condos. 

We had stopped earlier at a souvenir shop, but not seeing anything I wanted, I slipped next door to the market for anise tea, herbs, and a small bottle of wine. 

Anise tea and poor man's saffron

I return a few minutes later with several others who wanted similar things. 

We return to the hotel, my husband and I sitting at the back of the bus. I find it’s hard to understand our guide's heavy accent, and being at the back of the bus doesn’t help, but I like the space. Our team leader’s brother-in-law has taken to sitting back there and I wonder if he's there to keep an eye on us.   
Oh dear, we're the bad ones!

A stampede, a fighting prophet and the Med!

The next morning, our devotional continues. ‘Lead us not into temptation.’ God doesn’t tempt us, but rather, we, thinking we are having our faith tested, we give ourselves reason to give in to temptation. But we forget that we have a new nature. Old flesh is old ways, patterns influenced by culture. God will not remove us from that culture, but rather help us overcome it, and by overcoming temptation, we learn to trust Him more. 

Yossi speaks again. The mountain ranges around Galilee are Golan, Gilboa, Gilead, and Galilee, all 'G's'. But since the Hebrew names have no vowels, we have given them some. We head for Nazareth which is mostly Muslim. It means ‘root’,  or ‘shoot’. And since Jesus is the root and shoot of Jesse, it would have made sense back then to have him come from Nazareth.
There we visit a first century village (a pioneer village, of sorts.)

As soon as we get there, we witness a dangerous stampede!
 

Get out of the way!

We follow them to the corral. I look at one of the lambs. They're so lovely, so perfect. It’s not hard to see why the animal was chosen by God. 

A perfect lamb!

And learn how olive oil was pressed years ago. There are three types of pressing. Each becomes harder. I think of the number of times Jesus prayed in the garden. Each time harder than the last. He was crushed for our sins. 

Finally, the mash of olive pulp is good only for fuel, while its water is mixed with limestone and plastered on walls for bug repellent. We are given a small clay lamp as a souvenir. 
As we step outside into the brilliant day, I look around us. It’s strange to see this ‘village’ nestled amidst the towering apartment buildings. 

After leaving Nazareth, we climb to Mount Carmel. Wildflowers such as red anemones, colourful cyclamen, and lavender dot the hillside. On the way up, we get another lesson in Hebrew etymology. Yahweh means ‘was, is, will’, or as we Christians later describe it, ‘I am’. In fact, to me, those two expressions are the same. The top of the mountain is beautiful, well-groomed and the only sign of discord might be the guard dog fenced in with the gardening equipment.  At night, I presume, he’s allowed to roam, a canine prophet enforcing the rules.

The plain of Armageddon, from Mount Carmel.

The church here commemorates how the Prophet Elijah mocks the followers of Ba’al and how God lit the soaking wet pyre when the false god could not light even a tinder dry one. But we learn another lesson. Elijah was also a fighter, slaughtering 400 followers of Ba’al as he tears down the mountain in a rage against the false gods. After viewing the plain of Meggido, we pass near the Kishon River, and Yossi points out that Elijah had ordered his bonfire be soaked. But wasn't there a drought at that time? Where did the water come from? From the river and carried up Mount Carmel. 

The back side of Mount Carmel

We pass Manasseh, and after lunch, we reach Caesarea Maritime, easily spotted beside the long aqueduct. Here, archeologists found the tablet that finally proved extra-Biblically that Pilate existed. And here, facing the Herodian siren of questionable years, (Bernice who is there with her husband/brother. We may as well add incest to the list of evil things she did), Paul appealed to Rome, a decision that brought Christianity to the world. 

Can you see the lizard?

the Aquaduct

Our guide preparing to play for us

And we weren't the highest up!

We could hear him clearly and vice versa. The water beyond is the Med.

Yossi gets us into the amphitheater moments before it closes. He wants to play for us there, but another group decides to sing. We wait patiently, (we are Canadian, after all) and after Yossi begins to play, those of us way up at the top can hear him perfectly. His music today is Greek and appropriate among the ruins that face the Mediterranean, whose name means water between land masses with one opening to the sea.  

Some unusual colours

I found some sea glass on the shore and someone spotted a knapsack, having been left by another tourist. Our guide warns us that it will be blown up soon. 
The reality of living in Israel.

We avoid Tel Aviv, and therefore Jaffa. It’s getting late and traffic will be busy. But our guide won’t let us rest. We learn that in Jaffa, Peter saw something like a sheet come down with unclean food on it. But there are no sheets in Biblical times, and the passage describes a prayer shawl. And since Jews who don’t eat kosher aren’t considered Jews anymore, we learn that a new religion is born. Those who follow Christ are no longer considered Jews. Yossi hints about the answer to his first homework question. The prayer shawl has something to do with the Israeli flag. 
But homework must wait. We're coming into Jerusalem and the song 'Jerusalem, the Holy City' is playing. We climb through the sprawling suburbs until we reach our hotel.

Once in our room, our friends stop by with disturbing news. 

Israel has bombed a compound in Syria.

The sea, its spoils and an evil queen

Walking distance from this boat, is our own boat ride. 

The crew raise both the Israeli flag and the Canadian flag, and we sing O Canada, although, it's not as melodic as when our captain sings. It's relaxing here on the water and I peek over the side to spy catfish, an unclean fish due to its lack of scales. 

When I look up, I can see the city of Safed, the highest city around the region. I can easily see why Jesus might say, ‘A city on a hill cannot be hid.’

Our singing captain

This is an appropriate segue into lunch at the Jordan River. Saint Peter’s Fish, tilapia, is deep-fried whole and the offered speciality. With a  salad bar, I can choose my own vegetables. Dessert is a bowl of juicy figs and demi-tasses of strong coffee.  

Saint Peter's Fish, talapia

My meal!

Poor soul. He doesn't look happy.

Most of us choose to rededicate our lives by getting re-baptized, and we even have two first timers. One of our group chats with a couple sitting on the stone seats near the water, and learn the man wishes to be baptized, but had no one to do it. Our team leader, a pastor, offers to do the honours. 

It’s a wonderful experience. The water is cool, but clear and afterward, one of our group plays the harmonica, and we sing ‘Amazing Grace’ and ‘We have Decided to Follow Jesus'.

Our group getting baptized

With the help of my husband, I get re-baptized

We dry off, hand in our towels and choir robes and once on the bus, begin a hair-raising ride up nearby Mount Bernice which overlooks Tiberias. 

View of Tiberias, with the ruins of Bernice's Palace at the centre.

Only a skilled bus driver like ours can handle this road. But it’s worth the gasps and occasional prayers. The view below us encompasses not only Tiberias, but the whole Sea of Galilee and even Bernice’s palace. This woman, who would have been dubbed a cougar today, was a member of the Herodian dynasty, a queen, and all I will say on her behalf is that I believe insanity ran in that family. Bernice was an evil woman. 

But the ruins of the palace below hide an even darker secret. It was where Salome danced the dance of seven veils and then asked for John the Baptist’s head on a platter. Today, it slowly crumbles, as Tiberias’s mayor is an Orthodox Jew and won’t spend the money on a place so linked to Christianity.

Our guide quizzes us on what we think the flag means, our first homework question. One person offers a valid answer. It’s wrong, so I'm lost because I thought her answer was sound.  

Yossi commiserates with us. Not even Jews know the answer. At Capernaum, he asked a fellow tour guide and Jew what the Star of David meant, and the man did not know. It’s back to the Google searches, I guess.

Tonight, we stay at a hotel in Tiberias. While our room smells like smoke, we have a small balcony and a nice view of the Sea of Galilee and the hotel is very wheelchair accessible. Before supper, a group of us go out for a walk and discover a few shops down by the water, where we purchase a few souvenirs. 

The view from our Tiberias hotel room

Shopping in Tiberias

Tomorrow, it's on to Nazareth and one tough Old Testament prophet!