Blogs from Jerusalem District, Israel, Middle East - page 4

Three of us left at 6:30AM this chilly grey morning to walk in the Western Wall tunnels; the other thirteen members in our group had chosen not to go, not to wake up and be out and about so early in the morning. Zvi drove our very small group in his car to a parking lot nearby, and then we walked in a downpour to the entrance of the tunnels. No people other than maintenance workers were in the tunnels so early, so we were able to walk through at our own pace, stopping whenever Zvi chose to offer us more history. I had thought Osama, our guide in Jordan, was exceptional, but Zvi, an Israeli, is an historian, not only knowing all about Israel's and Palestine's past, but also extremely knowledgeable about all the religions ... read more

After days of bright sunshine and clear blue skies, I awoke this morning to grey outside my window and dark heavy clouds. It rained, on and off, while we were in the bus heading off with only about half of our group on another optional tour, but the sun appeared before we reached Ein Karem, where John the Baptist was born. The statue in front of the Church of the Visitation of pregnant Mary meeting pregnant Elizabeth (St. John's mother) is graceful and strikingly apt. Zvi told us the story of Jesus and John rejoicing at meeting each other while they were still in their mothers' wombs, a very sweet thing to imagine. While standing in the courtyard listening to these histories we could also hear lovely singing behind us, in a little outdoor chapel where ... read more

Visiting Israel evokes a reaction from friends and family. Isn't it dangerous? What about the Palestinians, the wall, Gaza? Why go, you're not religious? Well, Jerusalem isn't the little town I'd read about in the bible as a child. It is a modern city with traffic jams and super-trams. But there are so many names we half-remember. The Mount of Olives offers us a great view of the old city. The Garden of Gethsemane still contains olive trees. There are also sites and names that we remember from more recent news programs. Getting to the Al Aksa mosque and the Dome of the Rock requires queuing and being security screened. The same is true to visit the western, or wailing, wall. But it is all very civilised and polite. Three religions have a claim, a need, ... read more

Today we visited the birthplace of John The Baptist at Ein Karem. The family actually had two houses - one in the valley and one on the high hill where they spent the summers to escape the heat. It is believed that Mary (mother of Jesus) visited Elizabeth at the one in the hills. John The Baptist is believed to have been born in the house in the valley. John the Baptist was one of the babies that should have been killed when Herod ordered all the boys under the age of two to be put to death, however hie was hidden and saved. The church built on the site of the winter home is one of the most beautiful church I've seen. It is filled with beautiful ceramic tile from floor to ceiling. The pictures ... read more

This morning, The Israel Museum, home of the Dead Sea Scrolls and a large sculpture garden (I have a confession – I have a sculpture fetish). We needed to take a bus across town. The bus system in Jerusalem is complicated; there are separate Jewish and Arab buses. We set off up the hill to the nearest Jewish bus stop. We thought we’d located it; a sign and a bench and some bins (quite a lot of bins with hindsight), but the bus sped past and stopped 100m further up the road. We were sitting at a recycling centre. Second time lucky, we caught the bus to the museum. Upon arrival we discovered an added bonus; an exhibition by the Chinese artist Ai Weiwei. Each piece was accompanied by a detailed description of the thought process ... read more