My New Favorite Day in Israel

Shalom!

This morning I awoke in Jerusalem.

The Holy City I've read and sung about all my life

is visible from my window.

Matthew 24:3 says, "As He (Jesus) sat on the Mount of Olives..."

This is the Mount of Olives, distant center.
If you click on the picture to enlarge, you can see the
tall tower that we saw HERE
when we were at Mt. Scopus. (Last picture)

 

When we arrived in Israel, I was concerned that I was unable to recognize an olive tree 
By the time we were here, I could recognize one from the bus.
These are olive trees!
They would not date back to the time of Jesus, but I
thought the dirt probably would.
So, I took off my shoes and walked in dirt which the 
beautiful feet of Jesus might have touched.

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Matthew 26:36 says, "Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and He said to His disciples,

'Sit here, while I go yonder and pray.'"

We had the tremendous privilege of praying in the 

Garden of Gethsemane.

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We descended the Palm Sunday Path.
This is the traditional road most believe Jesus traveled as He
made His Triumphal entry into Jerusalem.
Luke 19:2

And here's Jason giving Virginia a piggy back ride
down this steep hill!

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Other places of importance we saw in this area:

The Jewish Cemetery---the largest and oldest Jewish Cemetery
in the world.  It actually dates back to Biblical times.

 
The Church of All Nations

Here is the representation of our nation inside!

Also inside this church is the traditional Rock of Agony
where Jesus was said to have prayed.
People were kissing this rock.

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Here is the Russion Orthodox Church of Mary Magdalene.

(You sure gotta click on this one!)

 (It's also visible behind the Church of All Nations
in the picture above.)
This church's seven gold spires make it a standout in Jerusalem. 
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It is almost 8:00 P.M., and I have been working on
this blog since I got home from church!
(Remember...I have thousands of pictures through
which to search and sort!)
My computer and I are tired--almost as tired as
I was after actually visiting all these incredible sights!

I hope I have been able to convey some of the wonder to you, 
my beloved readers!

Me and My Camel...

Strolling down the avenue Petra Siq...

(A siq is kinda like a street!)

Guess what?

I found some more pictures of me on my camel!

(Don't forget to click on the pic!)

I'm with Melanie Patterson in the second one.

 

When I planned my trip to Israel, I did not count on a ride

on a camel.  No Sirree.

A friend had told me about her horrible, terrible, hideous

experience in Egypt, with the "camel master" practically

kidnapping her and throwing her on the camel

while she kicked and screamed.

And then people had warned me that camels were

mean and they spit!

 

But then...I saw my camel.

 It was love at first sight.

 

 Does he look mean or like he's about to spit?

 Indeed not.

Let's face it.  Jordanian camels just must be better than

Egyptian camels.

After the guys got us aboard the camels 

(no easy task, I assure you,)

would you believe they just turned the camels loose.

They know exactly where to go.

 

This was such great, unexpected fun.

It wasn't really on my bucket list,

but it sure should have been!

Camel ride in fabulous Petra, Jordan.  Check!

We're Marching to Zion

Well, actually we are busing to Zion. 

Here we are back at the border between Jordan and Israel.
  We were so happy to see

our big purple bus and Yuval and Elie!

Here's Judi hugging Yuval, which we all felt like doing!

As we returned to Israel, these soldiers boarded our bus to 
check us out.  Can you tell how scared we were?

                           Today our final destination will be 

The Holy City--Jerusalem--Zion

We're marching upward to Zion, the beautiful city of God.

On our way we will stop at Masada and Qumran.

We will be able to look down on the Dead Sea, the

lowest spot on earth.

 The white along the shoreline is not breaking waves.

It is accumulated salt.

One of the most fascinating sights of my long life.

MASADA

Masada was built by Herod the Great between 
37 and 4 B.C.
It is on top of an isolated rock plateau, overlooking
The Dead Sea.
It was a huge complex of palaces, storerooms, cisterns, etc.
A scale model of Masada:

This is how the amazing remains of Masada
are accessed in the 21st century.

(But not necessarily de-accessed!  Four of our group descended
on foot!  Pastors Gary and Jason, Cliff, and heroine Kelly!)

The square area below was the location of

 one of several Roman camps.

 
The residents of Masada--over 900--committed mass suicide
rather than fall into the hands of Roman troops, after
the walls of the fortress were battered from a ramp 
the soldiers had constructed.

QUMRAN

How amazing is this?  I got to see the cave where the first
Dead Sea Scroll was found.

These scrolls, discovered in the spring of 1947,
were the most important archaeological find of the 20th Century.
This find gave us copies of the scripture that date 
from 300 B.C. to 70 A.D.

It is so pleasant to sit in my air-conditioned home and
reminisce by looking at these wonderful pictures.
At the time they were taken, however, it was
 very, very, VERY HOT!
Here I am on the verge of wimping out--the only time
in the trip I did so!
I returned to the air conditioning and a tall cold Sprite!

Just thankful for all the time I did make it. 


Then...
The high point, the ultimate destination of this journey.
I had heard that there was a tunnel through which the bus
 would emerge with Jerusalem in view.
When
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, lift up your gates and sing
began playing on the bus's speakers, I knew we
were close.
Then...there it was!

I actually recorded our arrival in Jerusalem on my phone,
but I don't feel the recording does justice to the
awe inspiring moment.
(Especially since I was singing along with dubious result)
There was applause, and there were tears from a
 busload of Christians getting to see The Holy City
with their own eyes.

With perfect planning, as always, Yuval took us directly to
 a magnificent overview of Jerusalem.
This is from atop Mt. Scopus, which means "to look over."

Then we went to our home for three nights.

Ahhh...a coffee maker.

This is the view from my window!
The gold dome of the Dome of the Rock is at about 10 o'clock.
Directly above it is the Mount of Olives.

"Those who trust in the Lord are steady as Mount Zion,
unmoved by any circumstance.  
Just as the mountains surround and protect Jerusalem,
so the Lord surrounds and protects His people."
Psalm 125:1-2 

 
  

Petra: More Than Just A Pretty {Rock} Face

I didn't really anticipate waking up in a luxury hotel in Jordan on this fifth day of our trip--but that we did.
We had breakfast extraordinaire and loaded up to go to Petra!
I had googled Petra, so I knew this was going to be a big day!

(Thank you, Lord, that as I related HERE I didn't know just how big.)

Petra is entered through a siq--a passageway which is as narrow as 10 feet at some points with rock faces on each side as high as a 4 story building, and about a mile in length. 
You can read in that previous post about the l-o-n-g mile
in the donkey cart!

 Getting close!

And here it is!  Called "The Treasury"

Smithsonian Magazine chose this as one of 28 places in the
world to see before you die!
The book l,000 Places to see Before You Die,
 calls this 
"a magical sight!"

Although it dates back to 56 B.C., Petra was actually lost for centuries until it was "rediscovered"
in 1812!  (That's not so long ago!)
There is more than just "The Treasury"

This amphitheatre is hewn in the rock and seats 3000.

I could tell you much more about Petra and its place
in history, but I don't want your eyes to glaze over and your
head to nod.  It is mentioned in the Bible (sometimes by
the name Sela), and Indiana Jones was here!




All of a sudden I spotted this camel, and I just felt determined
to ride it.  (That's my giddy look!)

So I asked how much it would be just to ride back up to the Treasury.  We were at the amphitheatre at the time.
The young man said $15.  Now I am not a bargainer.
If he had said $50, I probably would have said "okay."
But Gary overheard our conversation, and he is a bargainer.
 He offered the guy $10. I panicked and said, "But, Gary, 
I really want to ride!  
Poor Gary just rolled his eyes and figuratively threw up his
hands!  But he did get me and about 8 others a ride--
for $10 each!
I thought I'd tell you this before he gets a chance to
make a sermon out of me!
 
Riding that camel was another highlight of my trip!

Good night, Jordan.  Good night, Dead Sea.
It's been a marvelous, 
exhausting, blessed, totally unforgettable day.
Thank you, God, for watching over me.
Every step of the way. 

Oh, my.  When I typed that, I remembered
THIS.
It wouldn't do a bit of good for anyone to try to tell
me that God doesn't answer prayers.
I didn't even have any idea how He was going to
need to take care of me....

We Journey to Jordan

I knew very little about visiting the Holy Land before I went.

I had heard stories from previous trips about leaving Israel and having to change

driver, guide and bus.  That sounded scary.

I did not think we were doing that this year.

We were, but I'm glad I did not know.  
It was interesting,
 rather complicated, curious, certainly different from 
anything I have ever done, but not really scary.

The country we were crossing into from Israel 

was Jordan.

As we approached the crossing point, the fence separating the two countries was pointed out to us.  It ran right beside the road

on which we were traveling.  The land looked the same

on both sides, but one would not think of trying to cross! 
I don't know if you can see the masses of barbed wire. 

(I hope you are clicking on my pictures and making them larger!
Some have hidden details!) 

Our crossing point was the King Hussein/Allenby Bridge.
Here we are approaching:

And a bus leaving on the other side.

We were spending two nights in Jordan, so after having our passports checked, all our luggage was placed on another bus.
We sadly bid adieu to Yuval and Elie for a couple of days. 
Since they are Jewish, they could not go with us into Jordan.

Our first stop in Jordan was Mount Nebo.
Moses stood here and viewed the Promised Land.
He had disobeyed God and was not allowed to enter, but
God made it supernaturally possible for him to view 
the land from one end to the other from right here!

 

A replica of the bronze serpent pole 

constructed by Moses as related in Numbers 21:5-9

Then we headed for our hotel for the next two nights. Wow!  Were we in for a big surprise!
It's called the Dead Sea Marriott, and
It was swanky!  Here's the lobby!

And the pool area which leads to the shore of the Dead Sea!

Here I am floating in the Dead Sea with Virginia and Jason!

I couldn't have done this without Virginia, who helped me in, and Melanie and Cliff, who helped me out!

I'm afraid of water--even water you can't sink in!

Especially this water, actually, cause it does terrible things to your 

mouth and eyes if you get it splashed there!

Just ask Jason!
I know I look like I'm sitting on the bottom, but I'm not!
I'm floating!
This was an experience of a lifetime.
I was unable to force my legs down through the water!




One more thing we did today.  We shopped.  We love to shop.
We stopped here:

They are expert craftsmen in the art of mosaics.
We had seen several beautifully preserved mosaics as we traveled through Israel and Jordan.

This young lady was demonstrating the intricate technique
of cutting and placing the stones.

I bought my best souvenir at Nebo.
It is an ostrich egg, covered with crushed pieces of mosaic.
Instead of discarding the pieces of mosaic which are 
too small to use, they are crushed and the fragments 
applied to the egg with a needle!
There are actually six scenes on my egg.  
As I remember, it took about 3 months to complete.

Now, guess what my problem is?
Where do I display my beautiful, very breakable egg?

By the way, Nebo's Pearl shipped my egg home for me.
It was expertly packed and arrived in perfect shape.
Let's hope I can keep it that way!

And Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. 
And the Lord showed Him all the land, Gilead as far as Dan.
Deuteronomy 34:1

And on May 31, 2013, Linda Jane Lynn Stovall was there.  Unbelievable.