Saturday, January 27, 2018

It's January 27 2018 and it's our last day!  We're off to the Mount of Olives (click) for our first stop.  This is the place to get the best photos of the Kidron Valley and the Temple Mount.



Jacob Enns on the camel!
















After many pictures and the tourist stuff (like a picture with a camel) we headed down the Garden Path to the Church of All Nations (click). The church is next to the Garden of Gethsemane and enshrines the rock that is believed to have been used by Jesus to pray on the night before his crucifixion.




Olive trees can grow to be more than 2000 years old! This one is in that range!

We then traveled across the street into the Garden of Gethsemane.  Payment and appointments are required in order to see it (our guide Doron set it up).  We had a devotional time, sang and then had personal prayer time in the garden.




The Garden of Gethsemane

We then were met by the bus and went out side the city of Jerusalem to Herodium.  This is another palace built by Herod the Great.  It's approximately 7 miles from Jerusalem and when it was being built, Herod wanted to be able to look out his palace window and see Jerusalem.  His engineers informed him that the mountain was not high enough in order to see Jerusalem.  Herod then instructed them to use the mount next to it and make it high enough!


The mountain on the left was cut off in order to make the one on the right high enough for Herod to see Jerusalem!


Herodium ruins

Our last stop was the Garden Tomb which is an alternate site for the Holy Sepulcher (stone room to bury the dead). Holy in that the sepulcher was were the body of Jesus was placed. The Bible tells us that Joseph of Arimathea gave up his sepulcher to be used by the body of Jesus.  There is also a rock face which depicts a skull as it was described in the gospels as Golgotha which means the place of the skull.


Garden Tomb

We finished the tour with a communion service!  Our Israel journey is now over and we return to Canada tomorrow.  Shalom!

Friday, January 26, 2018

City of David, Church of the Holy Sepulcher &House of Caiaphas

It's Friday January 26th and we're staying at the Grand Court Hotel (click) because Jerusalem is our focus till we leave on Sunday.   Our first stop today was at the Yad Vashem which is the national museum and memorial to the holocaust.  The name itself means "memorial" and "everlasting name" or the memorial of everlasting names. We spent an hour which was not enough time but it gave us a very visual impression of what it was all about.

It was going to be a busy day and our next stop was the old City of David which comprised ancient Jerusalem just south of the existing city wall of Jerusalem built by the Ottomans (click).

Area marked (from model) showing the City of David, Kidron Valley, Gihon Spring and the Pool of Siloam
Before being captured by David, it was a Jebusite city called Zion.  Not to be confused today with Mount Zion, a hill located south of the Armenian Quarter. The change happened around 1st century AD.

The Jebusite City of Zion with the stone stepped wall. The wall at the upper right is from Davids time and at the far side is
the rectangle tower from the time the Jews returned from Babylon under Nehemiah and Ezra.


Descending to the Gihon Spring.




We then had a tour of Hezekiah's Tunnel (click) which was built to bring water from the Gihon Spring (click) into the city pool of Siloam because Hezekiah feared an impending siege by the Assyrians.







We then walked to the location of the Pool of Siloam which does not have much to show but at least we saw what is left of it.  We then entered old Jerusalem via the Jaffa Gate into the Muslim Quarter and on to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (click).



Looking back toward the Jaffa Gate


Me standing in the entrance courtyard to the Church of the Holy Sepucher

We then walked up to Mount Zion and viewed King David's Tomb (click), the Last Supper Room (click) and ended up at the Church of St. Peter (click).  Behind the church is what is believed to be the remains of House of Caiaphas the High Priest who arrested Jesus prior to his crucifixion. Jesus was detained over night at this location Read Matthew chapter 26 (click).  It is also where the apostle Peter denied Jesus three times.



Ruins of the House of  Caiaphas with the church of St. Peter in the background.


It was a long day as we arrived back at our hotel around 4:30 pm.








Thursday, January 25, 2018

Model of Ancient Jerusalem, Shrine of the Book, Western Wall & Bethlehem

It's Thursday January 25th and we're off to the Israel Museum (click) to see the Shrine of the Book (click) and the Holy Land Model of Jerusalem (click).  We started with the model of Jerusalem which covers an area of 2,000 square meters.  It's quite impressive and gives you a very good idea of Jerusalem and the Temple looked like in the days of Jesus.

Here is a panoramic view of the Temple that Herod the Great had built.
The Temple is just to the left of center, the four towers in the foreground is the Antonia Fortress.
Herod the Great rebuilt and vastly expanded the Second Temple (click). The reconstructed Temple became known as Herod's Temple (click).  Herod also built the Antonia Fortress (click) on the northeaster corner of the Temple Mount at the second wall of the city.

Overview of Jerusalem in the late Second Temple period.


Map of Ancient Jerusalem as depicted in photo above


The Shrine of the Book is the musem which houses and displays the Dead Sea Scrolls (click).
















For the significance of the white dome and the black wall beside it click here.













Excavated street level area at the South West corner of the Temple Mount.
In the back you can see how much higher the existing street lever is today.


We then traveled up to the Temple area and walked in at the Dung Gate at which there was a security check point just like you would experience at an airport.  We first explored the Davidson Centre (click) and the southern Temple wall excavations.





Looking down toward the Wailing Wall


We then continued up to the Western Wall.  The men and women went to separate areas at the wall for a time of prayer!  We then continued into the Western Wall Tunnels (click).

Illustration showing where and the portion of the Wailing Wall
 being used by the Jews today.



























We then traveled to Bethlehem. Our guide Doron stayed behind in Jerusalem and an Arab Christian by the name of George took over at the restaurant in Bethlehem. After a nice meal we walked next door to a souvenir shop specializing in olive wood carvings.

The carvings are created by local artisans.  This nativity set costs $25,000 USD and includes shipping to Canada!
I was very careful in touching it!

The Church of the Nativity (click) was followed by a trip to the Shepherd's Fields.

In front of the Church of the Nativity

Church of the Nativity under renovations.


Entering the Shepherd's Fields

After Bethlehem we traveled back to our hotel.  I'm sure I've made many mistakes in this post ....it's 10:30 pm and I feel like it's 3 in the morning!  Shalom.

Dead Sea, Masada, Ein Gedi, Qumran & Mt Scopus



Me floating in the Dead Sea
It's Wednesday January 24th and we have most of the morning as free time. Many of us had swam the night before in the hotel indoor/outdoor pool which has heated Dead Sea water. However, no trip to Israel could be complete with out a swim in the Dead Sea (click). It was only a 5 minute walk to the beach and it was already around 24 degrees Celsius at 9 am.  The water was cool but it wasn't long before we were floating with our hands and feet in the air like fishing bobbers!  The Dead Sea is ten times saltier than the ocean so you have to be very careful not to get any of the water in your eyes.



By 11 am we were on our way to Masada (click)a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In the time of Jesus, King Herod the Great had build palaces for himself and fortified as a place of refuge in a time of trouble.  The rock faces of this elevated island rise some 300 to 1,300 feet depending depending on which side is being approached.  In any case it's a very difficult piece of property for any army to attack which made it a safe haven for anyone on top of it.





From the top of Masada with the Dead Sea in the background



Our next stop was the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve (click). This is the location where David hid from Saul and his army who were pursuing him. David and his men were far back in the cave when Saul came into the same cave and David stealthily cut off a piece of Saul's robe.  David was able to use this occurrence to show Saul that he could have killed him; but didn't and in so proving his innocence of any wrongdoing or rebellion (1 Samuel 24:1-15).






One of the caves from which scrolls were retrieved
As we continued on to Jerusalem we had a quick lunch break and tour of Qumran National Park (click).  This is the place where in 1947 a Bedouin shepherd boy while looking for one of his lost animals discovered several earthenware jars containing scrolls. Archaeologists then came and working on the site until 1956 discovered up to 900 scrolls in eleven caves in the area.







We continued on our bus on a steady uphill climb to Jerusalem.  After crossing a military check point because we were leaving the West Bank (click) and entering Israeli territory, we came through the Mount Scopus tunnel with the song The Holy City playing on the speakers!

View of the Temple Mount Jerusalem from Mount Scopus

After a stop on Mount Scopus to take pictures we then arrived at the Grand Court Hotel.  We'll be staying here now until we leave Sunday.

Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Kibbutz Lavi, Nazareth & Bet She'an

It's Tuesday January 23rd and we left a little earlier today in order make all our stops now that we are leaving Tiberius and going to the Dead Sea.  Leaving the hotel at 7:30 am our first stop is at Kibbutz Lavi (click). Now a Kibbutz is a communal settlement in which all members are equal and share everything together. Kibbutz Lavi was established in 1949 and is comprised of a farm, hotel, furniture factory (click) and a auto repair shop. Although our main purpose was to see the farm, especially the dairy aspect, we learned much about Kibbutz life.


The dairy farm consisted of some 320 Holsteins.  However they also have 300 beef cattle and a chicken barn.

Kibbutz Lavi Synogogue


The furniture factory (click) specializes and is renown for its synagogue furniture. After building the furniture for their own synagogue they realized that there was a interest and demand for such furniture from other synagogues. They then started a factory to produce this kind of furniture.







Kibbutz Lavi Furniture factory specializing in Synagogue furniture


Our next stop was Nazareth with a present population of 80,000.  In the days of Jesus it was around 400-500 people. This is where Mary received the angelic announcement that she would become pregnant by the Holy Spirit and that the child was to be called Jesus. This is known as the Annunciation (click).  It is also where the Nazarenes attempted to throw Jesus off a cliff Luke 4:29 (click) and where Jesus reads from the scroll of Isiah in which he announces that he is the fulfillment of that prophecy (Luke 4:17-21 (click)).

We toured Nazareth Village (click) which depicts village life in the time of Jesus.


Wheel to crush olives in the first step of producing olive oil

As we continued on to the Dead Sea (click) we stopped at what I think is one of best sites to see which is Bet She'an (click)!  It is only in the last 30 or so years that archaeologists have uncovered most of what we see in Bet She'an today!  It was one of 10 Roman cities of the Decapolis (click)

Bev standing on the main street called the Palaydius

It was destroyed by a massive earthquake in the 8th century but gives us a great insight as to what Roman life and times were like.  Bet She'an would have existed in the days of Jesus and is very likely that he would have traveled through it.











Overlooking Bet She'an with the Tell (click)
We ended our day at the Dead Sea Daniel Hotel.

Monday, January 22, 2018

Tel Dan, Banias and the Golan Heights



It's Monday January 22, 2018 and following breakfast we were on the road at 7:45 am.  Our first stop was the Tel Dan Nature Reserve (click). Within the park are the headwaters of the Dan River which in turn is one of three tributaries of the Jordan River.  It contributes the most water to the flow of the Jordan River.  Within the park are found the gushing springs of the Dan River at it's beginning. 





Our Group of 31 just in front of the Dan River headwaters.

The ancient city of Tel Dan (click) is also located within the park.  The city of Dan has a 5000 year history.  Prior to being occupied by the tribe of Dan, the city was known as Laish.  The tribe of Dan brutally defeated the city, razing it and then rebuilding their own on top of the ruins.




Archaeologists have excavated and reconstructed the entrance gate to Laish also known as the Abraham gate because of its dating to the Canaanite period.  A cover has been constructed over the site in order to better protect and preserve the site.








We now traveled to Banias (click), also known as Caesarea Philippi in the time of Jesus. Today it is a large rock face with a large cave and running spring water at the base which is the third source flowing into the Jordan River.  The spring initially gushed from the cave and the Temple of Pan stood in front of it. At the rear of the temple in the cave there was an abyss that was used for human sacrifices.  The victim would be thrown into the hole.  However an earthquake moved the stream further down and away and at the same time greatly reducing its flow. 

The large cave is behind the building on the left

Interesting to note that in the time of the Temple Dan it was believed that the cave at the rear was where the spirits entered and exited hades, the dwelling place of the dead.  The cave was seen as the gateway to hades.  Seeing the rock here and the cave gives a whole new dimension in understanding Jesus’ words.





In Matthew 16:18, Jesus goes on to say: “that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” In the New Testament, Hades is the realm of the dead, and here in verse 18 Hades is represented as a mighty city with its gates representing its power.
Jesus came here to call his disciples to challenge the gates of Hades. Jesus stood here and said he would build his church on "this rock" and the Gates of Hades would not overcome it.

It is clear that Jesus was declaring that death has no power to hold God's people captive. Its gates are not strong enough to overpower and keep imprisoned the church of God! Watch the video I recorded at this location by clicking here.

From Banais we travelled to the Golan Heights stopping to eat lunch in the Druze (click) town of Mas'ade (click).


Facing north to Mount Hermon in the background.

Further on we were able to stop at Bental (click) a former military outpost overlooking Syria with a vantage point of 1165 meters above sea level.  From this location the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) would watch the border. The site had built bunkers into the mount for ammunition storage and protection from attack.  It offers a breathtaking view of the surrounding areas especially Syria.





Facing east towards Syria.


A Picture with some IDF on site. Can you spot them with their guns strapped over their shoulder?

As we continued through the Golan Heights returning to our hotel in Tieberius we saw several IDF field exercises taking place and took a moment to take pictures with tanks at a memorial site.

This is a Israeli Merkava MK I which is no longer in use.
They now use 3rd and 4th generation Merkavas.





Sunday, January 21, 2018

Mount of Beatitudes, Ginossar & Sea of Galilee Boat Ride

After Capernaum it was time for lunch at none other than St. Peters Fish Restaurant! No trip to Israel would be complete without a fish dinner! We then traveled a short bus ride up the hill to the Mount of Beatitudes (click).  Here is where Jesus in Matthew chapters 5 through 7 delivered his Sermon on the Mount.  It's a beautiful park with a stunning Roman Catholic Franciscan Chapel as the main attraction.  However the view down the slope to the Sea of Galilee is breath taking as well!



View down the slope toward the Sea of Galilee
In Ginossar we visited the Jesus Boat Museum.  The museum is operated by a Kibbutz (click) in which the residents of the commune share everything and work as a member of a collective. The Jesus Boat (click) is called such because it dates to the first century.


Sign at the boat ramp - can you find the error?


After a tour of the museum and time in the gift shop; we walked out to the Sea of Galilee and a boat was waiting to take us back to Tiberius.

Watch the boat ride as we approach Tiberius  click here.