Blogs from Israel, Middle East - page 196

At the time I visited Israel in 1996, I was not a very spiritual person. Perhaps I am still not. But I know that after this visit, I came home a changed person. Still a 'work in progress'. But one's got to try. I have said rosaries every now and then before, and I say them almost daily now. And this time, I 'feel' every passion in each rosary bead. Covering Israel is very much like saying the rosary every hour every day. The passion of Christ in each and every rosary bead is most felt in this Holy Land. Heretofore I would recite the rosary in an almost mechanical fashion. But now, I can picture the very image of each and every mystery and feel the presence of our Saviour in a most spiritual way. ... read more

h2Nov 14, 1993 *City official name :Jerusalem *Founded date : *Location :Jerusalem Province *Elavation :? ft (? m) *Area :Approximately ? square miles (? km²). *Facts :Jerusalem (Hebrew: יְרוּשָׁלַיִם (help·info), Yerushaláyim or Yerushalaim; Arabic: القُدس (help·info), al-Quds ("the Holy"); official Arabic in Israel: أورشليم القدس, Urshalim-al-Quds (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names) is the capital and largest city of the State of Israel with a population of 724,000 (as of May 24, 2006) contained in 123 km². An ancient Middle Eastern city on the watershed between the Mediterranean Sea and the Dead Sea at an elevation of 650-840 metres (about 2000-2500 feet), Jerusalem is located southeast of Tel Aviv, south o... read more

There's not much to see. A church, seemingly similar to any other church. A garden, not much unlike other gardens. However, this place has a slight edge over its colleagues. It's the alleged birth site of Jesus. Might as well be. If so, one of the most important historical locations on the planet. Should be treated with due respect. Nowadays it is not. It is a war-zone. Kind of kills the myth that wars are about religion, does it not? Religion might be the excuse for the people to fight. However, the conflict is about everything but religion; principles, money, greed, power, pride, differences in logical reasoning, culture, language, you name it. And my least favorite: pure stupidity. End it with a poker game, coin toss, camel race, dwarf hunt, whatever. Let the rest of us ... read more

We had one day we could ditch the tour group and do our own thing. We were in downtown Jerusalem! What an experience. I do recall walking, and walking and walking, til finally, we decided to take a bus to see the Dead Sea Scrolls. I asked my friend if the busses took American dollars, he didn't know, so I asked a woman reading a newspaper on a bench. She didn't miss a lick... without hardly putting down her paper, she asked me, 'do American busses take Shekels?" You should have seen the egg dripping from my face... Then we went to 'Old Town'. Went through the Arab markets, bought some good bread to eat. Don't remember the name of it. We found the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, paid the fare, and went in. Incredible. ... read more

22 December 1982 Wednesday. We took a tour with a couple dozen others to the Holy Land for Christmas. We flew EL Al from Frankfurt to Tel Aviv. The security was very tight. A bus took us from the terminal to the plane that was parked at a remote corner of the parking apron. We identified our luggage before we boarded the plane. Otherwise, it was an uneventful flight. Upon arrival in Tel Aviv and after checking through customs and immigration, our tour bus took us to the Hilton in Jerusalem, where we had dinner and an introduction to the Holy land. 23 December 1982 Thursday. We took a walking tour of Old Jerusalem through the Jaffa Gate, along the Via de la Rosa with its Stations of the Cross where Christ walked to his crucifixion, ... read more