January 20th - Jerusalem and Bethlehem

We had a 12-hour tour today, starting at 7AM.  A very long day and unfortunately for us the weather was worse than yesterday.  Colder and more rain although at the very end of the day it did brighten up a little, too little too late.  We were soaked.

It’s a 2-hour drive from Haifa, where we were docked, to Jerusalem and for most of the trip, we took a very nice highway.  Before getting to Jerusalem we diverted off the highway in order to drive through the Occupied Territory.  Short history lesson here…the Six Day War took place in 1967.  In the aftermath Israel controlled the West Bank and the area now called the Occupied Territories.  They were and still are under pressure to give it back but they refuse and they have built settlements on the land to further claim it.  The United Nations has given authority over the land to the Palestinian Authority.  The Palestinians are also building on the land.  It’s not a good situation and no one is budging anytime soon.  There is a lot more to this if you want to google it.

As tourists it was interesting to see the checkpoints and the communities surrounded by electronic surveillance as they try to keep each other out.  It’s a crazy situation.  As for driving through, it was no problem.  It was a normal nice highway that happened to have a checkpoint, and we were waved right through.  Much later in the day, when we were driving out of the area, there was a significant backup at the checkpoint going in the opposite direction.

Before we got to Jerusalem our guide went into politics big time and of course it was one-sided but interesting to hear from an Israeli point of view.  Her message was pro-Israel of course and there was no gray area.  I wasn’t too crazy about how long it went on but I guess there wasn’t anything for her to point out along the road.

So finally, we get to Jerusalem…it’s kind of a mess…  The traffic and the crowds were horrific and this is the off season!  We had to drive around the ugly concrete wall built to keep the Muslims in their neighborhood.  Watchtowers are located along the wall and there is barbed wire on top.  The people behind the wall can travel into the rest of the city and Israel if they have permission from the Israeli Secret Police.  They have to show their papers going back and forth.  We didn’t see any of those checkpoints.  I couldn’t get any pictures from the bus as we rode by because the rain was really coming down at this point.

Okay, so enough of the politics…Jerusalem has long history and we got to see some of the highlights on our trip.  The first thing we learned is that the entire city was destroyed to the ground by invaders in 135 AD.  So none of the structures standing today were here at the time of Jesus.

Our first stop was atop the Mount of Olives. From here we got a great view (through the rain) of the old city of Jerusalem and beyond.  This picture also shows the Jewish Cemetery that is at the base of the city.

From there we went to the Garden of Gethsemane, the location where Jesus was arrested.  This was a beautiful garden and there is a modern church here commemorating the location Jesus is said to have prayed with his apostles before being arrested.  We also got a good view of the wall surrounding the Old City of Jerusalem (this is an ancient wall, not the security wall).

Now we headed toward Bethlehem…sounds peaceful doesn’t it?  Well you would be wrong.  Bethlehem is under the Palestinian Authority and there are big red signs saying Israeli citizens are not allowed to enter.  I couldn’t read or get a picture of the whole sign but I gather tourist industry personnel with prior approval are okay since our guide and driver drove right in.  Our driver by the way was an Arab Muslim but a citizen of Israel.

Once in Bethlehem a local guide took over, he did a great job and we enjoyed his talk.  Before he came on the bus, our Israeli guide told everyone to leave their money and passports on the bus and not take them into Bethlehem.  There was no way we were going to do that and after being in Bethlehem for a few hours, I didn’t see why it was even necessary to say that.  We felt perfectly safe and were surrounded by hundreds of other tourists the entire time.

In Bethlehem the major attraction is the Church of the Nativity.  This church is said to have been built upon the location of the manger, the birthplace of Jesus.  The Church itself is undergoing extensive renovation and in a few years’ time will really be impressive.  The Church is controlled by the Greek Orthodox but the manger is under the control of the Roman Catholics.  This is something we heard over and over again, different religions controlling separate areas of the same structures.  The line to see the birth location was very long, about 40-60 minutes.  I had heard that it could be a little claustrophobic in there and asked the guide about it, he said he would help me out when we got up there though it wasn’t clear how.

We couldn’t understand why the line was taking so long but once you see the site you understand.  By the time we got up to the entrance I could see I wasn’t going to be comfortable going through.  You had to go down into a cave like structure and people were standing too long on a cramped stairway with no way to go back or forwards…this was not for me so I handed the camera to Fred and went to wait at the exit.

This is where our Bethlehem guide really helped out.  He found me there and brought me in through the exit, I was right at the site within a few steps with no one around me.  It was still packed by the birth site but I was able to get one picture and saw why the line took so long.  People were on their hands and knees and then praying in a small area.  Only two could fit at a time and it was taking forever.  I felt bad for the devoted who wanted to spend time but with so many people behind them it was causing a problem.

The stone in the center of the star was said to have been touched by Jesus, I did touch it and it was very smooth probably from so many people rubbing it over the many years.

Part of the deal with going to Bethlehem is that you are required to go to souvenir shop run by Arab Christians.  You don’t have to buy anything but they don’t charge for the guide in Bethlehem and this is a way to ‘pay back’ the favor.  We bought some small olive-wood bowls.  Oh, and we found their own version of Starbucks…

Okay so now we go back to Jerusalem to spend time in the Old City.  This was great and I wish we had more time to explore here.  As it was, we could only hit the high spots and we were hurried through the rest. 

First stop was the Church of the Holy Sepulcher where Jesus was resurrected and ascended to heaven.  This church was packed with people but we did get to see all the important locations.  There is a byzantine structure in the middle of the church with a long line wrapped around it.  It is said to have been Jesus’ burial place but our guide pointed out that it was built many hundreds of years after Christ and for that and a lot of other reasons could not have been his burial location.  Still people stand in line…

Last stop was the famous Western Wall.  This is sometimes called the wailing wall but that’s not what it’s called here.  Calling it the wailing wall is considered derogatory.  One side is for the women and the other for the men.

After this we went at breakneck speed back to the parking lot to start our 2-hour trip back to the ship.  Maybe we went a little too fast because someone got left behind and the guide and the wife had to go back and find him.  This delayed us for about ½ hour but happily he was found!

It’s been an interesting two days.  We wanted to see the highlights of Israel and we did but it was a little overwhelming to do in just two days.  In a way I’m glad this port is behind us because there was a lot of anxiety about the visit although thankfully things seem to have calmed down.  Also, it’s hard to say how much the weather affected our feelings about the visit.  It’s been cold, rainy and windy for two days.  My sneakers are still out on the balcony trying to dry out!

As I write this we are surrounded by other ships preparing to line up for our transit through the Suez Canal tomorrow.  We’re done this before but in the opposite direction.  After that we’re in Aqaba Jordan.