Stain glass window in the Church
Church of the Nativity - courtyard area
One of several statues in the courtyard of the
church.
Church of the Nativity
Israel - Jordan - Egypt
CONTINUED...
Stain glass window in the Church
Church of the Nativity - courtyard area
One of several statues in the courtyard of the
church.
Church of the Nativity
Bethlehem, Israel - West Bank
This is the nativity scene that is being shipped back to the states. It
was hand carved in Bethlehem.
IDF Checkpoint - Bethlehem - West Bank - Israel
IDF Security in the West Bank - I turned this photo into a watercolor
The State Department warning for the
West Bank (and other areas) says that Israel is investigating more than 40-60 terrorist plots at
any given time. Crazy stuff.
United Nations driving into the West Bank - as we were leaving
It is interesting that the State Department has such strong warnings for Jerusalem.
We were reading some of the latest warnings. One would think that the
greater threat would be in the Eastern part of the city - it is actually just
the opposite. So far we have not seen anything that makes us
concerned. I believe that the current cease fire is helping the
situation. Granted things can change. I don't feel unsafe
though.
DAY 2 SUNSET :)
Sunset over Israel
WAILING WALL in Old
Jerusalem
Orthodox Jewish people and Jewish people
in general consider this to be their most holy site. Many Christians also
go to this wall. Again prayer is a big part of this location. You
can see dozens and sometimes hundreds of people standing in front of the wall
and praying.
Wailing wall and the Temple Mount - This is a holy site for Christians
and Jews and of course Muslims. The story behind this small area is
just incredible. It is mind boggling to think how much this one area
has been fought over.
You are now able to go into the Temple
Mount. It has only been open
for three months to the public. I believe we are going to do this before
we leave the country.
There was a ton of security scattered about the
wailing wall.
Wailing Wall...Orthodox Jewish Man
Praying
Wailing Wall - Today is the Sabbath for Jewish People.
It started at sunset and
lasts through sundown tomorrow.
Via Delarosa - part of the path that Jesus walked to the hill
that he was crucified on.
David walking down the Via Delarosa
Flowers - Via Delarosa
Avi our tour guide and David. This is on the Mount of Olives.
You can see most of Jerusalem from this spot. The Temple
Mount is almost directly in front of us - see below photo :)
A bit squinty because of the sunshine! Mount of Olives is
where I am standing - in the background is Old Jerusalem.
You can see the Temple Mount over my shoulder. This is
where the ten commandments was supposed to have been held
at one point. Now the Muslims control the Temple and believe
it is where Muhammad ascended into Heaven. This is also
where Jesus was supposed to have been tempted by Satan!
It is also where Abraham was going to kill his son Isaac.
A bit of HISTORY - YOU THINK?
GEESH!!!!!
Wowsers is all I can say on that!
Avi and Beau. Avi was out tour guide. He was amazing and
knew just about anything and everything about this country.
Garden of Gethsemane - This is where Jesus was supposed
to have prayed before he was arrested.
Muslims just below the Mount of Olives
OK THAT IS A TON OF PHOTOGRAPHS. I GUESS THAT REPRESENTS ABOUT 40% OF WHAT
I HAVE SITTING HERE. I WISH I COULD POST THEM ALL.
I guess there was some violence today in the Gaza Strip. This is not really near where we are located. I spoke a little too soon about the cease fire. For the MOST part though the cease fire is holding. I am not concerned. I am cautious and I am being careful...no worries.
OK I AM EXHAUSTED! I AM NOT CHECKING FOR SPELLING ERRORS AND SO ON :) I WISH I COULD EXPLAIN IN WORDS EVERYTHING THAT WE WERE ABLE TO SEE TODAY. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE. I AM HAVING A GREAT TIME LEARNING MORE ABOUT THE PROBLEMS THAT THIS COUNTRY AND SURROUNDING COUNTRIES FACE. IT HAS ALREADY BEEN A REAL EYE OPENER.
WE ARE GOING TO TEL AVIV TOMORROW AND JAFFA. WE ARE ALSO GOING TO RAMALLAH. WE ARE GOING TO TRY AND SEE ARAFAT'S COMPOUND. THIS IS A BIT SKETCHY...BUT WE SHALL SEE. DAVID SAYS I HAVE TO SAY "AYE" A LOT.
THE TRIP TO JORDAN AND EGYPT WILL BEING ON SUNDAY. I AM EXCITED ABOUT BEING ABLE TO SCUBA DIVE AGAIN. I AM A BIT ANXIOUS SINCE IT HAS BEEN OVER A YEAR SINCE MY CANCUN DIVING EXPERIENCE. I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO IT THOUGH. THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE SOME OF THE BEST DIVING IN THE WORLD. I HEAR THERE ARE A LOT OF SHARKS (I AM GOING TO HAVE TO LOOK INTO THIS A BIT FURTHER?) THE RED SEA IS CONNECTED TO THE INDIAN OCEAN. HOPEFULLY I WILL BE ABLE TO SEE A FEW.
A JOURNEY IS AHEAD OF US!
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