Saturday, July 31, 2010

Day 7 - Bethlehem, Jerusalem


I have been rather reluctant to post this time - seeing as how this is/was my last day in Israel, posting makes me feel a certain sense of finality to the whole experience, and I don't want it to end!! Then again, part of me also realizes that the actual processing of this once in a lifetime experience will continue for months, if not years.


So... after breakfast on this our last day in Israel, we made a few stops to get some panoramic views of Jerusalem, particularly what was the original "City of David". What we realized is the absolute illogic of the City of Jerusalem - it just shouldn't exist - it has no water supply, no worthwhile farmland and no strategic value - no reason at all for anyone to set it up as a place to settle down. And yet....


From there, we travelled to the town of Bethlehem, controlled today by the Palestinian Authority. This was the most uncomfortable I felt the entire trip. Security checkpoint in and out. To avoid the hassle, even Yoram and our bus driver did not accompany us. We had a different bus drive and transport and met our Bethlehem guide once we entered the town. First stop was a store - lots of great stuff, made a lot of purchases and lots of haggling. Yes, even though there are prices on the items, you still bargain the price. I got a chalice listed at $75 for $40 and a whole bunch of other things for 35% off. Most of it was made of Bethlehem olivewood, created right on the premises; you could see the pile of olive wood out back of the store. And for those of you environmentally conscious, it's only the pruned parts of the olive tree; they do not cut down olive trees just to get the wood. We bought so much that we had to leave our purchases there instead of 'schlepping' (good Yiddish word) them around.


From there, we travelled to the Church of the Nativity. The entrance is extremely unassuming, very small and very low, you have to bend down to enter - on purpose, it's a sign of humility. This church was the site of a 2002 takeover/hostage situation by Palestinian terrorists; even today you can still see the bullet holes in the church walls. There are parts of the floor opened up where you can see the original mosaic tile floor. Like all the churches we visited, this one was built over the ruins of a previous one, and so on and so on. This particular building dates back to 529 CE, built over the ruins of the church built by Emperor Constantine's mother in 327 CE. Essentially it is built over the site of the cave where Jesus was born. Like the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, this site is supervised by 3 different Christian branches - Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian - although it does not seem as contentious as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.


There was a very long line to get down the stairs to the actual spot marking the cave. Our Arab guide, however, thought he could perhaps circumvent the long line by us going in thru the exit - he made it sound like he had never tried it before and we would end up being very impressed and appreciative of his efforts (translate that to - he would like a big tip!!!). Anyway we did get in through the exit and made our way down to the original floor. There, marked by a silver star, was the site of the manger; most pilgrims kneel and kiss the site so Jeff and I both took turns snapping each other's picture.


From there, we moved to the attached Church of St. Catherine. In the vestibule, there is a gorgeous bronze bas-relief of the Tree of Jesse, donated by Pope Benedict in 2009. The church itself is a modern Gothic style, very beautiful stained glass windows (check the pics on facebook). In the courtyard, there is a statue of St. Jerome who is buried below the church.


Afterwards we headed back to the store to retrieve our purchases and headed out of Bethlehem. However this trip was not as easy. The PA decided we all needed to exit the bus and we all had to individually go through a maze of security checks, scans and interviews, before we could leave. It was uncomfortable, a bit scary and definitely unpredictable, wondering if we had done something, would we be allowed out, etc. I am glad we saved Bethlehem to the last day - I would not have wanted to do this early in the trip and then continue thinking about it.


Once we returned to Jerusalem, we had our last lunch at Aroma's, a little sandwich shop. And then we took one last stroll through a neighborhood near the hotel. We learned this was where the first community settled outside the city walls back in the 1850's. It was simply beautiful, lots of gardens and flowers. This was also the area where Sr. Frances, Esther and I had our Shabbat dinner with Bernie and Fran. And now we know that each of these homes are worth more than $1 million.


From there, we headed back to the hotel to pack; we left at 6pm for one last dinner at the Colony Restaurant before we travelled to Tel Aviv and the flight back to Chicago. Dinner was, of course, wonderful, and we had our first chance to de-compress and share some of our experiences with the entire group, as well as thanking Lisa, Linda, and Yoram for an amazing experience.


It was then off to the airport for a relatively uneventful trip back home. Of course, lots more Israeli security, especially for Jeff who constantly had to explain what he was doing with the big Shofar, not to mention his hookah. Jack, laying down on the floor in the middle of the baggage claim certainly drew some stares. Unfortunately photos were not allowed; otherwise that would have been my last pic of the trip.


And, no, I don't think I am done yet. I think am going to keep posting some random thoughts and remembrances as they come to me. Hope you have enjoyed this journey; of course, I have only conveyed the bare bones of the experience but I will continue to try to add to it. Any questions or comments, please don't hesitate to ask!!


thank you for joining me on this adventure:)

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