Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem
Trip Start
Sep 19, 2008
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3
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Trip End
Sep 23, 2008
Jerusalem,
Israel
Monday, September 15, 2008
Actually, it's warm here but for those of us who reside in FL, it's not sweltering hot & humid like our lovely weather this time of year. In the shade it's actually nice and at night it's cool.
The plane trip went pretty well. As best I could tell, there was only 1 empty seat on the plane and as providence would have it, it was the middle seat located right next to me
The Cactus
! I must be doing something right. Of course there was a downside... what am I a magnet for??? That's right, unruly children. Behind me was seated a family speaking loudly in Hebrew (sounded like coughing up phlem) but it was nothing that earplugs couldn't overcome. Three movies later I was asleep for most of the remainder of the flight.I arrived in Jerusalem and when I was walking off the airplane, what is the first thing I see? A poster with a cactus that read 'The First Israeli'- I kid you not and I have a picture to prove it! From there it was on to passport control where I was to be introduced to my first 'cactus'.
When I got to the passport person (woman) I asked, very nicely, that she not stamp my passport so that I could possibly travel in the future to countries that have poor relations with Israel. I also handed a slip of paper to the woman to stamp instead (I had read this procedure as suggested in ALL the guidebooks). She looked at me with disdain and informed me that she wouldn't stamp my passport but that she wasn't going to stamp my slip of paper either. Then she grabbed another slip of paper and stamped it. Whatever. As I proceeded towards Customs they confisgated the paper and then pulled me aside for questioning. As far as my earlier pondering regarding my last name helping vs. hurting... well it definitely created some questioning, along with the fact that I had been to some other Arab countries recently on my passport. It would seem that while in the US, we screen things, the Israelis screen people. I got asked about my heritage, where my last name was from, my religious background, my knowledge of Hebrew, where I practiced my religion, why I had gone to Egypt & Jordan, blah, blah, blah
The Dome of the Rock
. I thought of numerous sarcastic responses, but I prudently kept myself in check. I guess they finally were convinced that I wasn't a terrorist as they let me go, without even checking any of my bags I might add. So, literally I am here, but according to my passport- I never came. Elie Wiesel said that 'Jerusalem is a city that miraculously transforms man into pilgrim; no one can enter it and remain unchanged.' I guess it must be true for men of all three faiths, because it is here that you can listen to the murmur of prayer amongst the bobbing heads of the Western Wall, the muezzin's call 5 times daily to the Muslim faithful, as well as the daily chiming of church bells. Jerusalem is considered to be the most sacred city to the world's 3 great monotheistic religions: Jewish, Muslim & Christian. It's where Abraham is said to have spoken to God, Mohammed is believed to have made his ascent into paradise, and Christ was crucified & resurrected.
The fact remains that while many may have come to Jerusalem (ironically named 'The City of Peace') as pilgrims, countless others have come as conquerors that sought to claim the land as their own. King David, Nebuchanezzer, Titus, Constantine, Napoleon, Herod, Hadrian, Saladin, Suleyman the Magnificent, Richard the Lion-Hearted, Louis IX, are numbered amongst them. Jerusalem is arguably the most highly contested city in the world, having been conquered nearly 40 times and destroyed on 18 separate occasions! What I find so interesting about Jerusalem having been so highly contested over the years is that Jerusalem has no natural resources, no strategic military bearing, is not a prime location for trade routes, has no port, and so the motive behind all the conquests was solely that of religion
Rock of Ages
. This gives some credence to my belief that there's no one more dangerous to face as an enemy, than a religious zealot. You might be apt to say a protective parent would be more dangerous, but later in my trip I'll challenge that theory. (Remember: I do have that annoying tendency to be right.)One thing that stands out pretty early on in my touring (and from my reading) is that the sites where many of the Biblical events transpired are 'supposed'. The facts are a little hazy as to exact locations of the events and often arguments ensue as to the authenticity of the actual locations. The passing of the centuries, and the changing of land ownership with them, has only served to make things less clear as buildings & roads are erected over former ones and later torn down. Sort of like when homes change hands over the years and there ends up being layers of paint on the walls. Remember there was no GPS back then! George Bernard Shaw said that they should place signs at the holy sites stating, 'Do not bother to stop here, it isn't genuine.'
Regardless as to the authenticity of the sites, people really become sort of fanatical at them. They are touching them, kissing them, and taking little tchotchkies and putting them on the sites to be blessed & carried home (sites such as the rock slab where Jesus was cleaned up post-crucifixion and placed in the shroud to be buried)
Via Dolorosa
. For some reason watching it all reminded me of the story of Jesus turning over the tables of the moneychangers in the temple. I don't know that there's any similarity, but that's what immediately sprung to mind nonetheless. Perhaps I'm just not religious enough, but it's difficult to have any moment of meditation when you have people in long lines and are being hurried. I even saw one either priest bop some kid on the head for taking to long at the site of the cross to touch the stone (10 seconds). Nice!We toured the Temple Mount (a highly contested area by Jews & Muslims) and were allowed access to the Dome of the Rock, which is inaccessible to tourists. How then did I manage to get into it? Well, it seems that every now and then the UN is good for something Dad. My research had landed me a guide with UN connections who got me in. The Dome of the Rock is, supposedly, where Abraham offered up Isaac as a sacrifice, where Muhammed ascended into paradise, Solomon's Temple along with the 1st and 2nd temples were built, and where perhaps was located the Holy of Holies. I prefer to think of it as the 'Rock of Ages'.
After the Temple Mount area we went on to see the Via Dolorosa, which is the 'Way of the Cross'. It basically covers the route Christ took from his judgement by Pontious Pilot all the way to Calvary. It is straddled by stores all along the way.
Next was the Western (Wailing) Wall. It was pretty much exactly as I had anticipated, except a little less crowded. People were praying at it with their heads touching it and some of them were bobbing and chanting. They bob back & forth, which I later learned was a way to try and get closer to God via the Temple
Slab where they prepared Christ's body for burial
. Since they can't walk forward any further due to the Wall, they go as far as they can and then go back and forth in an attempt to feign moving closer. To be frank, they looked like those little glass birds my brother and I wanted as kids, that bob their heads up and down towards a water glass over & over. There's so much ritual taking place here that I can't help but wonder how much of it is 'going through the motions' and how much of it is really thoughtful. Honestly, I'm not judging, I'm simply wondering. From both the Temple Mount and The Western Wall you could view the Mt. of Olives in the distance. There is a large Jewish cemetery on it, as Christ is said to first return at this site and the belief is that those buried here will be taken up first. The cost of a plot on the Mt. of Olives is $50,000. You can't take it with you, but they sure do take some of it to let you leave from here.
We ended the day after visiting the Garden of Gethsemane and the Russian Orthodox Church of St. Mary Magdalene. The Garden of Gethsemane was a garden predominately filled with very old, and therefore very large, olive trees which had olives on them that appeared ripe. It was smaller than I would have guessed. About the size of the average backyard in FL. It was up on a hill and it was cool. I could imagine that it would have been very peaceful and quiet there years ago. The Church of St. Mary Magdalene has onion-shaped domes just like the churches you see in Russia. These domes are plated with gold mixed with platinum, which really makes them shine.
Security is omnipresent. Everywhere you go you see AK47-toting military
Western (Wailing) Wall
. They are mostly kids, which is a little disconcerting. They wield those things around and fiddle with them like they were umbrellas or something. I have to wonder if there are many accidental firings. They do have the ammo clips out and strapped to the outside of the guns, so I guess that avoids accidental firings in general. Evidently it is compulsary for Israelis, men & women to spend 3 years in the military and then 5 weeks annually in the Reserves until they are in their 40's. When you are driving from town to town their are checkpoints. There are also 'separation walls' between the Israeli and Arab territories. You are even charged for security in your restaurant bills. The security man sits on a chair just outside the restaurant door. Again, I don't see them doing much of anything. It's not like they are checking ID's, bags, etc.
