Friday, August 14th - Bethlehem

The Hashimi Hostel, where I am currently staying, became “overbooked” last night… Nonetheless, they graciously set up a place for me to sleep on the roof . Despite that small setback, I decided to attend a trip to Bethlehem (the birthplace of Jesus!), which is on the West Bank. Though most of you probably associate this with suicide bombers and Hamas, it was not this way at all. After passing through a security checkpoint, we made it over to the center of the city where the Church of the Nativity, Milk Grotto, main market are.





Church of the Nativity – Oldest Christian Building (also founded by Constantine’s Mother), which contains a chapel with both the place Jesus was born and the manger in which he stayed. Notice how you can see the church was altered multiple times by the different entry sizes?
Milk Grotto – This is a relatively new monastery that is said to be built on the place in which Mary used breastfeed Jesus.
Market – Unfortunately on this day most of the shops were closed because of it being a Friday (the Muslim Holy Day).

Though I have been fortunate to come to Israel at a time of calm (minus their issues with Irans nuclear power…), it seems hard for me to believe that the only news here in the Middle East is the bad, which we seem to hear about on a weekly basis… Many people around the world have probably written off this place as a destination because of its seemingly inherent political problems, but I can’t imagine never having seen what I have simply because of a distant fear of a people that I had never met. There are no bombs dropping next door to me or sirens going off in warning… At this time I’m proud to say I can only sense a tense coexistence among race and religion that contains little threat because those that live here in Jerusalem have far to much to lose. It seems to me that the outliers are those that cause danger, and therefore the reason security is stiff.

I also took a walk along the “Ramparts Walk” which is a walking route along the top of the old city walls. It doesn’t make a complete loop because of the Dome of the Rock area being off limits to walk into (without security checks that is). It gave a great opportunity to look in upon the city from above and also out to see how the defense system worked. On part of the wall there is a citadel area that is also known as David’s tower, named after King David. Following my walk around the walls, I stopped at the Church of the Dormition (supposed place where Mary fell into her eternal rest), Room of the Last Supper (happens to be above King David’s tomb and was converted into a mosque during Ottoman rule), and a Holocaust memorial. The museum had a collection of over 2000 stones that communities from around the world donated to represent the persecution of Jews in their cities which are positioned throughout the museum. This was a very heavy moment in my trip. Obviously we learn about what happened during WWII and specifically the genocide that was taking place around Europe, but to see photographic evidence of these terrible acts and to be in a building that was designed like gas chambers and ovens was terribly difficult walk through.

Thursday, August 13th - Exploring the Holy Land

Shalom!

I’m beginning to realize this city would take weeks if not months to comprehend… The Old City alone could consume my life, and just by walking around over the last few days, I can see multiple topics that would make for an interesting study.

First stop today was Dome of the Rock which is on the Temple Mount, as well as the foundations of the two previous temples that were destroyed at different points in the last 3000 years. Here, the Dome of the Rock (what my Lonely Planet Guide Book calls one of the most photographed buildings of all time) and the Al-Aqsa Mosque along with many other buildings from various stages of history lie on a site that is incredibly important in Judaism and Islam. Under the Dome of the Rock (which is inaccessible to visitors who aren’t Muslim) is the supposed place where Mohammed transcended to pray with Allah, where Abraham was about to sacrifice his son before being stopped during the 11th hour, and where caliph Abd al-Malik wanted to trump the Church of the Holy Sepulcher as it was convincing many in the area to convert to Christianity (hence the brilliant color).

Below the Temple Mount to the west is the famous “Western Wall” which you can see in the photo is the Jewish place of pilgrimage. Some of the massive stones that make up the wall have remained since the first and second temple periods. The wall is divided between men and women prayer areas, and it’s said that placing a note in the cracks between walls gives the wish/prayer a better chance of becoming true.

Afterwards, I went in search of the Museum of the Seam which is located on the former UN-controlled buffer zone that divided Israel from East Jerusalem (until 1967) in a formerly beautiful building turned military post (with long narrow windows and bullet holes in the masonry). The museum has a great exhibit of contemporary art, photography, and films that I felt related very closely to my research in Cyprus as well as my interest in sustainability. It seemed as though its main message was to force its viewers to think about the war that humankind is having with itself (civil war and political unrest) as well as humankind’s war with the natural world.

From there I continued on to the Mount of Olives, stopping at the sites of Gethsemane, Mary’s tomb, International Hotel, as well as Chapel of the Ascension, Dominus Flevit, Pater Noster and Agony (at Gethsemane). The Mount of Olives is a hillside just to the east of the old city where many parts of the Bible and Torah take place. The following is brief explanation of each:
Gethsemane - is said to have been the site at which Jesus is said to have been arrested. What I found most interesting about this place was not the 20th century church, which is also known as All Nations church, but rather the supposedly 2000+ year old olive trees that still sit in the courtyard outside the church that are known as silent witnesses to all these biblical events.
International Hotel – Built During the Jordanian Occupation of East Jerusalem directly above the mass cemetery where Jews pay large sums of money to be buried on because they are believed to have a front row seat to be saved upon the return of the Messiah.
Dominus Flevit – Fransiscan Chapel from the mid 20th century on the supposed spot where Jesus looked down upon Jerusalem and wept
Pater Noster – The site where Jesus is said to have taught his disciples the Lord’s Prayer, hence the reason they have the Prayer posted around the courtyard of the monastery in over 100 different languages, including multiple languages in brail.

Wednesday, August 12th - Holy Land

Jerusalem (a.k.a. the Holy Land) is the most overwhelming places I’ve ever been… But don’t let this scare you! I knew this before I came. I decided to come to a city that is one of the most fought over in history and even in the present day. Why? Because it is the religious center of both Christianity and Judaism, and the arguably the third most sacred spot of Islam (Mecca, Medina). Everyone wants a piece of this place, and now that I’m here… I completely understand why! I have a lot of stuff to say so bear with my over the next few days as I try to explain all the things running through my head!

First from a religious and historical point of vew:
When I wake up in the morning, walk out the front door of the hostel, and take 10 paces to my left, I am taking steps that almost 2000 years ago were the same ones that Jesus was taking. The Via Dolorosa is the main street on which the Stations of the Cross occur, which culminates at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (which could use a blog of its own to explain all of its building history). I spent the majority of the day trudging through continuous market that is the labyrinthic streets of this ancient city, rising above the smells of spice and perfume shops, the wood carvings of crosses, and the calls from each and every day to come into a trinket shop focusing on the task at hand: Follow Jesus from his being striped of clothes, flagellation, and receiving the cross to his not so final resting place. Walking past churches and chapels that represent every last bit of his journey, I can see him fall once, twice… look towards his mother Mary, have his face wiped by Veronica; each spot identifiable by a roman numeral.

At last I arrive at the most holy place in Christianity… The Church of the Holy Sepulcher. The original building was founded around 330 AD (only 300 years after Christ’s death) by the mother of Emperor Constantine (who began what is known as the Byzantine period). The church has been continuously added onto or altered throughout its history and today is divided between the main denominations (so much so that a ladder has existed on the ledge below an upper story window since the church was divided centuries ago). Inside there are a series of spaces that have been added to the building over time, commemorating pieces of the biblical story. Inside the church are the final stations of the cross; where Jesus was nailed to the cross, raised on the cross (at a place known as Golgotha because of the skull below it that you can see in many frescoes and icons) where he dies, and where he was placed after death on the cross (sepulcher). What could be more powerful than this?

I have prayed while touching the place where Jesus, our Savior, was laid to rest…

Nothing has been as moving as these times in all of my travels. I have seen absolutely magnificent things, but nothing can compare to this experience.