Israel #7 - Stones and Stones and Stones

Shalom! Yesterday was Shabbat and the car rental place wasn’t open. (We weren’t able to exchange our defective car for another until today.) A little hesitant to take the current car on the road, even with the new battery, Dad, Krista and I headed for the Old City on foot.

Dad leads the way through the Muslim Quarter

Without stopping to take photographs, it would take us about 30 minutes to walk from our apartment to the Jaffa Gate. Taking it more slowly, we reached the gate in about 45 minutes. From there we wandered down the main souvenir thoroughfare -- a narrow cobblestone foot lane crowded with tourists and hawkers with their goods hanging on every conceivable surface -- to the Western Wall Plaza. We did actually get lost a bit, but kept facing downward and eventually made it to the Kotel.

Because it was Shabbat, we were not permitted to take photos in the Plaza itself (or write notes, use a cell phone or smoke, if we were so inclined!). But we were content to stand and marvel at the stonework of the Temple Mount. We’re looking forward to the Western Wall Tunnel Tour we’ll take in a couple of days and seeing more of this.

We also enjoyed watching the Orthodox and others pray and fellowship on this sunny Shabbat. We noticed many Orthodox families strolling together today. So many babies! It seems that the average Israeli we see -- whether Orthodox or not -- is not more than 40 years of age and most seem to be pushing baby strollers. I’ve lost count of the newborns we’ve admired. Also, our sense is that the Orthodox here are much more open to converse with strangers than they are at home.

After a while we turned our steps upward and began to climb back toward the Jaffa Gate, this time walking through the Jewish Quarter. I used my map book to take us through some back alleys and we saw many interesting doors and glimpsed quiet courtyards. We laughed when we found a group of very short doors. Krista and I are both tall (due to all those Dutch and Swedish genes rushing around our DNA) and we’ve noticed that, although there are a good number of taller Israeli men, we always tower over the Israeli women. I keep quoting to Krista: “And there were giants in the land …” (Genesis 6:4).

As we moved out of the Jewish Quarter toward the Armenian Quarter, we stopped to admire a particularly narrow walkway. Next door, a man happened to be closing up his shop. He greeted us with a smile and, of course, that was all Dad and Krista needed to start a new friendship. Sammy is a Syrian Christian who was born and raised in the Old City. He expressed a real faith and hope in the Messiah and we had a wonderful time fellowshipping with him. He welcomed us into his shop, showed us photos of his family and friends and, when we left, we truly felt we’d made a new friend.

After leaving the Old City, we considered taking a cab home, but decided to walk down the valley through the artists’ colony of Yemin Moshe. The day was beautiful (though warm), the birds were singing and the flowers were blooming. It was strenuous, but we had a great time exploring.

Today was our day for the Mystery Tour. Some months ago, I came across a website that suggested simple but less common day trips in and around Jerusalem. I chose one and was able to keep our destination a secret from the others. I just told them it was a small site with a big story. We started out (in our replacement rental car) by driving through the hills of Judea, heading southwest out of Jerusalem.

We constantly marvel at the forested hills in the region. When we were here in the 1970’s, there was scarcely a mature tree to be seen. I remember going home and telling everyone that all I saw were rocks. Today, much of this part of Israel is covered with mature trees -- a great blessing!

After winding along the hillsides and through narrow valleys, we reached a wider valley with many different crops. Soon we came to a crossroads. We turned to the right and I asked Dad to park the car at the side of the road. We got out and began to walk along a field of bell peppers toward a dry stream bed. Mom, Dad and Krista had no idea where we were standing, but I began to read from 1 Samuel 17: “Then David took his shepherd's staff, selected five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the pocket of his shepherd's pack, and with his sling in his hand approached Goliath.”

The dry stream bed

We were standing next to the stream that runs through the Valley of Elah. On one side of the valley the Israelites stood and faced the Philistines who were on the hillside of the opposite side. We can’t know exactly where David found his five smooth stones, but we were standing next to the probable stream where he looked. Of course, Krista and I looked for some stones of our own, but we had to walk a ways down the stream to find them. I think there have been some other tourists here before us!

So, we have had two fairly restful days and are now ready for more adventures!








Here are some other photos Krista and I took in the last couple of days (click for bigger):

Walking to the Old City of Jerusalem

 The Old City of Jerusalem on Shabbat

Busy souvenir area

Kippahs for sale

All dressed up for Shabbat

The Jewish Quarter

The Armenian Quarter

Returning to Our Apartment
 

Our Mystery Tour to the Valley of Elah
 

Reading the story of David & Goliath

These looked like Queen Anne's Lace, but were as big as dinner plates!

Israel #6 - Sleeping on the Beach

Shalom! Yesterday morning, we visited the Israel Museum here in Jerusalem. I was disappointed that the current renovations there won’t be completed until later this summer. This meant we could only view the outdoor model of ancient Jerusalem and the Shrine of the Book. But these two things ARE worth seeing.

I first saw the model of Jerusalem in 1998 when it was still located on a small hotel property on a hill outside Jerusalem. I was amazed at the detail and accuracy of the construction. It was originally built on the grounds of the Holyland Hotel - at that time about as close as Jewish people could get to the Old City of Jerusalem. It depicts the city of Jerusalem just prior to the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. When I was last here in 2008, I was shocked and delighted to find that the entire model had been moved and rebuilt on the grounds of the Israel Museum.

The 1:50 scale model measures about 2000 square meters. It is remarkably accurate and helps one put into perspective the placement of various Jerusalem locations as they are mentioned in scripture.

We also visited the Shrine of the Book where the Dead Sea Scrolls are on display. This was a wonderful follow-up to our visit to Qumran the day before. (Actually, it was good to be able to go inside; this morning we’ve had several heavy rain storms.)

In the afternoon, we headed to the Mount Zion area again, this time to visit the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu. Mom, Dad and I came to this church on our first visits to Israel in 1975 and 1974 respectively. The church is a traditional site of Caiaphas’ House and is said to be built over the dungeon-like cave where Yeshua (Jesus) may have been held the night He was betrayed. This spot would therefore also be the location of Peter’s denials of Yeshua.

We toured the basement levels of the church where the dungeons (or perhaps cisterns) are located. They are certainly gloomy and would have been cold and damp that Passover night. However, the outside the church is beautifully terraced and landscaped and has a great view of the Temple Mount area of the Old City and of the Mount of Olives. But the most meaningful area includes the Roman-built steps that rise from the valley below and lead toward the Temple Mount. These may have been the very steps Yeshua walked as they led Him to Caiaphas. Krista was very moved by this location. She said, “I was brought to tears by the thought that Jesus actually walked those steps ahead of me. And that it’s all real!”

Today we went to Caesarea Maritima. This remarkable ruined city is located on the coast about halfway between Tel Aviv and Haifa -- only a 1½ hour drive from our apartment. It was a hot, sunny day, but the cool breeze off the Mediterranean Sea was completely refreshing. It was even a bit cool in the shade when we had our lunch on a patio overlooking the harbour.

Caesarea is one of the best archaeological sites to visit in Israel. I had been there before with a tour group, but only to the Roman theatre. Today, we wandered about the ruins, trotted down the hippodrome and moseyed along the promenade to our hearts’ content.

The tremendous city of Caesarea was built by Herod the Great. He named it after Augustus Caesar. It took 12 years to build, but was considered one of the great cities of the day. It was a more Roman or Hellenistic city than Jewish and saw some terrible things in later years (massacres, etc.). But it also saw some tremendously exciting things. For example, it was in Caesarea that Gentiles first came to faith in Yeshua.

“Now there was a man at Caesarea named Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian cohort, a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, and gave many alms to the Jewish people and prayed to God continually” (Acts 10:1).

You remember the story … the Lord speaks to both Cornelius and Peter, bringing them together in Caesarea. Peter shares the Good News with them and Cornelius’ entire household comes to faith.

As we enjoyed our lunch by the ancient harbour, we also remembered that it was from this very location that Paul was sent to Rome to be tried before Caesar.

So much history! Mom was overwhelmed by the size of Caesarea and her buildings. She said, “You could never visualize the size of the ruins from a picture or by someone telling you about it. It is so vast!”

Afterward, we drove a short distance away (a couple of kilometers) and parked at the aqueduct. This incredible piece of engineering supplied Caesarea with water, delivering it all the way from Mount Carmel. By the time we reached this point we were tired and hot, but Krista wanted most of all to dip her feet in the Mediterranean. We purchased some ice cream on the beach and headed back to the car to eat it. After licking up the last delicious drops, Dad tried to start the car. Click. Click. Click.

He tried again. Click. Click. Click.

These cars all start by entering a four-digit code before turning on the key so, of course, we asked him if he was using the right numbers. He tried again. Click. Click. Click.

We all looked at each other in dismay. What would we do? Although the aqueduct is hardly in the wilderness, it isn’t in a heavily built-up area; there were no phones or people of authority about. Also, it was about 2:30 or 3:00 pm on a Friday -- everything had started to close up for Shabbat. What would we do?!?

Dad got out of the car and started speaking with some local people. One thought our starter motor was shot. Another thought it was the battery. Dad thought it was the alternator. Finally, a lovely Russian-Israeli couple pulled their car up to ours and hauled out their booster cables. We left the cables attached for nearly 30 minutes before our engine would even turn over. At last the car started and we didn’t stop it again until we pulled into our parking spot at the apartment in Jerusalem.

There was some fierce praying going on that afternoon! While we were boosting the car, Dad also called our friend at the Air Force, Dov. He was able to connect with the car rental company, arrange for a repairman to come to our apartment that night (he ended up changing the battery) and get the car company to agree to give us a different car on Sunday. We were so grateful for his help! And we were so very grateful for the help of the couple who gave us a boost at the aqueduct.

Krista said they were angels. At the very least, they kept us from sleeping on the beach!

Shalom, shalom.

Here are some more pictures Krista and I took during the last two days (click for bigger):

The Israel Museum

Mom & Krista buy bread in the bakery located on the ground floor below our apartment.  They sold the most wonderful sunflower seed bread.

Views from the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu

The Roman steps at Gallicantu

Caesarea Maritima

The Roman Aquaduct near Caesarea

At the Aquaduct, Krista offered to take a photo of these ladies who were on a bus tour.  It turned out they were all from a church located a few minutes from where we live in Toronto.