Nazareth, Dead Sea and Jerusalem

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Greetings from Jerusalem. I joined the group that paid for this trip Monday morning. The group named MASA serves as a main point of contact for more than a hundred “gap year” programs. Gap year is a term known more in Europe and addresses the year after a student graduates high school but before they start college. The idea is that students need a break from their studies to have an adventure or other type of experience which will leave them more mature and more rounded as adults. The idea this week is to show us some of these programs while we see parts of Israel. Interestingly we have a tour guide and a security guard with a rifle. The guard looks to be about 18 and is female.

I am uploading pictures from the last couple of days. Sorry for the delay but I have been crashing at the end of the day and no longer have free access to the internet as I did in Tel Aviv.

Saturday I went on my second day tour to Nazareth, the Jordan River, The Sea of Galilee and Tiberias. Interestingly most of this area is Arab with the exception of Tiberias. Saturday was truly like walking through the bible. On the way to Nazareth we passed by Mount Tabor, site of the transfiguration. In Nazareth we visited the Church of the Annunciation, the largest church in the Middle East. This church has the cave where it is believed Mary lived and was told by the angel Gabrielle that she would bear the son of God.We passed by Cana site of Jesus’ first miracle. This was when he turned water into wine for the wedding. Capernaum is an excavated ancient Jewish village which houses the House of St. Peter. It is here where Jesus established his base and recruited some of his disciples.

On Sunday I took my third day tour to the desert visiting the Dead Sea, Masada and enjoyed the Ein Gedi spa. The Masada was a fortress which King Herod lived in. He built several palaces here and storerooms which kept many months of supplies. This was the site of the last stand between 1000 Jewish rebels and the Romans.

The Dead Sea is truly unique as it is the lowest place on earth and 400 meters below sea level. The atmospheric conditions cause the sea to have 30% minerals which are believed to be good for people’s health to soak in. The experience of the Ein Gedi spa was like nothing I have ever experienced. You start by soaking in a pool which looks and smells like sewage. Then you head to the mud baths and rub mud all over your body head to toe. Next you shower that off and take the tram to the Dead Sea to float. You finish up by showering everything off. I met an Aussie named Garreth from our tour whose sense of humor was a lot like mine. We had a blast diving into this unique experience and making fun of ourselves and others. I think we may keep in touch as he is a professor at the University of Sidney and specializes in research on school improvement.

On Monday I joined the MASA group as we toured Jerusalem. The highlights were the Western Wall, the various quarters of old Jerusalem and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, site of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.

Tuesday we will be visiting various Gap Year programs including Hebrew University.

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Photos

Mary's Cave
Site of the Immaculate Conception