Blogs from Jericho, West Bank, Israel, Middle East - page 2

MASADA, JERICHO, AND JORDAN I started out this morning checking out from the David Citadel Hotel and busing to Masada, a UNESCO World Heritage Site built by King Herod between 36 and 31 BC. It is in the West Bank Territory. The fortress became a mighty stronghold of Jewish Zealots who fled Jerusalem rather than submit to Roman rule during the First Jewish-Roman War in the 1st century AD. The logistics of King Herod’s palace and fortress on top of a mountain in the eastern fringe of the Judean Desert near the shore of the Dead Sea were overwhelming, but he did it. I got to the top and return by cable car, but all the construction materials had to by taken up by donkey or humans. Water supply was the biggest challenge which Herod figured ... read more

It seems that everywhere I go in the world, I find myself adopted by older gentlemen. Something about me (I wish I knew what) draws them to me like flies to fly paper. They want to drive me around and show me things; they want to sit and eat papaya. Most of all, they want to talk – and I’m more than happy to listen. I consider myself lucky to be so oft in the presence of wisdom that surpasses my years on this crazy planet. In Israel, I found two such men in the same day. While on my way to catch a bus to Jericho, I stopped to take a picture of a Russian Orthodox Church. At the same moment I pressed the release, an elderly man walked into the frame. Hearing the shutter ... read more

Saturday March 5 We left Tiberias at 8:00 am this morning. We are heading south to the Dead Sea. Mediddo, one of the oldest ruins in Israel. Megiddo was the site of many battles and at least twenty five different civilizations. Most of the ruins were not discovered until 1925 by the university of Chicago. The site was very valuable to who ever controlled the site. Christian tradition identifies Megiddo as Armageddon-Revelations 16:16. Harold Spring bubbles up from the Gideon cave at the foot of the Gil boa. This was the site, where GIdeon's soldiers tried and selected for the war against the Midianites. See Judges 7:1,7:16-17,6-7. Our last stop before lunch was at Bet She an national park. The city was home to 30,000 to 40,000 people. The city was destroyed by the Assyrian king ... read more

We started off Friday by driving down to the Sea of Galilee and along its banks to Tiberius. Tiberius was a Roman town named after the Emperor Tiberius, and it doesn’t actually have much to see. Mostly it was just driving through the town (not walking, because it was raining), though we did get to see an old Roman wall. We stopped for a latte (it seems we are going on a country wide latte tasting), and continued on. Our next stop was the old Jewish/Roman/Crusader town of Zipori. Zipori was originally a Jewish city, and it was occupied by the Romans during the Jewish revolt. The city was saved by the city leaders making a deal with Roman generals not to fight. The town is now just ruins, except for a Crusader lookout tower. Walking ... read more

Bienvenue en Territoire Occupé Une charmante douanière aux yeux bleu (presqu'aussi beaux que ceux de mes soeurs) me demande avec un ravissant sourire si je compte me rendre en territoires palestiniens, j'acquiesce naïvement... funeste aveux qui nous coutera 8 heures d'attente à la frontière! C'est l'occasion d'expérimenter les péripéties qu'endurent systématiquement les Palestiniens de Jordanie pour rentrer dans leur propre pays, on en rencontre certains qui attendent depuis plus de 10 heures sans explications ! On arrive à Jérusalem en soirée Phillippe, Véronique et leur fils Amadéo nous hébergent dans leur immense appart' grand confort, ambassadeur Belge pour la Palestine il nous parle du pays : toujours aussi passionnant, mais les choses n'ont pas l'air de se diriger vers la paix... Pour la fête de l'Assomption toutes vos intentions de prière ont pieusement été déposées au ... read more