Day 5: Ajloun Castle, and Jerash

Gadara

Today we spent the day among some truly spectacular ruins.  We started by touring the ancient Greco-Roman city of Gadara.  This city is unique from the other ones we have seen because much of it was carved out of black basalt.  It gave these pillars a very distinctive look.

Later we gathered in the amphitheater and Rhianne stood at centre stage and sang for us.  The acoustics were incredible.  Then we all gathered at the base and sang Luther's famous hymn, "A Mighty Fortress."  We were reminded that while these stones that have lasted thousands of years, we have a greater stone, a cornerstone, Jesus, on whom we are all built into the Church of Christ.

This is also the place where Jesus drove some demons out of a couple men and allowed the evil spirits to enter into a heard of pigs.  This event took place on the hill which is in the right centre of this picture.  The pigs then ran into the sea of Galilee and drown.  We could see a bit of the sea from here, but in the photo it is a bit hazy.  You will find it just to the left of the hill.  You can read about this story in Matthew 8:28-34.

Ajloun Castle

 We then traveled south to Ajloun Castle, an impressive 12^th century fortress.  It was never engaged in battle, but it was well prepared for it.  The rooms and the levels of this castle seemed endless, and we had a great time exploring it and learning more about how a medieval castle functioned.

Jerash

 We ended the day at Jerash.  You would think that by this point in the day one would tire of viewing ruins, but the ruins of Jerash are simply stunning.  Jerash is the best preserved Roman city of Jesus’ era.  It gives us the best understanding of what the cities looked like that the Roman super power was building.  The picture above is one of the gates to the city and it is breathtaking for visitors to walk through.

Everytime we turned a corner we found more fascinating stonework.  Many of the columns survived the massive earthquake that destroyed much of the Middle East in 749 A.D.  There is a lot to see here, but what is truly incredible is that only a small portion of the ancient city has been excavated.  The majority of it is still covered by layers of sand and rubble.  Tomorrow we head into the desert for and travel through Wadi Rum in a jeep convoy.

Day 4 Amman, Jordan

Ruins and Camel Rides

Today we traveled across the border from Israel to Amman, Jordan.  Here we spent some time viewing the ancient ruins.  Most of these buildings were destroyed during a massive earthquake in 749 A.D. but some of the massive pillars are still standing today.  In this photo you can see the higher pillars in the background and in front of Michelle you can see the massive hand from a statue of Hercules that used to adorn the temple.

Modern Jordanians erected a shorter set so that people could get a close up look at the detailed work.  Pastor Dressler thought he would try his Samson impersonation.  Somehow the building still stands.

We also spent time at the ancient stadium where concerts and drama where held thousands of years ago and are still held today.  This structure seats 4000 people.  To get an idea of the size, look at the tiny people on the very top seats that Zaid, our tour guide is pointing to.

On our way to Amman we passed the marker for “sea level.”  There was a camel there to greet us and some of the members, like Rhianne, were brave enough to sit on him.  One very brave soul, Donna G, even when for a ride (after we bribed the owner to take her for a ride).  -Video of this will be posted later.

Tomorrow we travel to some of the ancient cities of Jordan.

Day 3 Bethlehem

The Manger

We then traveled by bus to Bethlehem, about 10km from the Old City, to see the birthplace of Christ.  At the Church of the Nativity all must enter through a small entrance called the Entrance of Humility.  Even the shortest among us had to bend down to enter.  It causes one to bow to God as you enter in.  (Our guide informed us that it also prevented people from riding into the church on their horses.)

The site of the birth of Christ is positioned below the altar area of the church, and as you descend the stairs you really do feel a sense of wonder about this place.  A silver star marks the place.  A few feet away is the manger hewn out of stone.  This special place draws many crowds and their is always a long line to view this holy site.

After we left the Church of the Nativity we gathered in the courtyard and spent some devotional time reading the account of Christ’s birth in the Gospel of Luke and singing, “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” scripture and song that is so familiar to all of us, but now heard through eyes that have seen this place firsthand.  

The Shepherds’ Hangout

We then went to The Shepherd’s Field where it is believed the angels appeared to the shepherds as they watched their flocks.  There is a church built upon the hill and you may be interested in knowing that the Canadian Government funded the building of it.  We are not sure why they did, but to prove it there is a carved stone on the front of the altar with a huge maple leaf and a dedication inscription.  This is the governmental equivalent of those engraved brass plates you see in our churches in Canada.

The hill, like many in this area has caves in it, and one of the caves that the shepherds would have used for shelter at night has been converted into a chapel.  Notice the black ceiling covered in soot from years of burning fires for warmth in the cave.  Tomorrow we head into the country of Jordan and see the sights there.

Day 3 The Mount of Olives

Holy Hiking

We began day three seeing the sights just outside of Jerusalem.  First we walked across the Mount of Olives where Jesus often walked from the village of Bethany (where He stayed with Martha, Mary, and Lazarus) as He traveled to the city of Jerusalem.  It is quite a steep hill and we have all decided that Jesus must have been pretty fit.  There is a great view of the Old City from this mountain.  Here is a picture of the group being instructed by our new guide (Grandpa Jimmy hurt his leg and is resting) by the name of Ihab, and he is incredibly knowledgeable about the area.

On the Mount we visited The Church of the Pater Noster, the place where Jesus taught his disciples the Lord’s Prayer.  We gathered at the rock where tradition says He did this, and we too prayed that same prayer, 2000 years later.  This church is also famous for displaying the Lord’s Prayer in 180 different languages.

The Garden

One of the most famous gardens in the world must be the Garden of Gethsemane.  It can be found near the base of the Mount of Olives and this is where Jesus often went to have solitude away from the crowds and to pray to the father.  After He instituted the Lord’s Supper He retreated here and this is the place where Judas betrayed Him with a kiss.   The Garden of Gethsemane still has some ancient olive trees that are huge and rather eerie looking.  This certainly would have been a quiet place in Jesus’ day, but today it was very crowded with pilgrims, and not so serene.

On the site of the Garden is now “The Church of All Nations.”  It is bright and lively on the outside, but very dark and somber on the inside, intentionally done with the use of deep purple stained glass.  Those inside are to feel somber as this is the place where Christ was in agony before going to the cross.

We also did many other this day like, visiting the tomb of Mary, Jesus’ mother.  Pastor Dressler bonked his head entering the tomb because he didn't bow low enough as he entered.  (Typical Lutheran.)  We visited to Dominus Flevit Church where Jesus wept over Jerusalem and we visited to tomb of St. Jerome who translated the Bible into Latin.

Shrine of the Book

After viewing the Jerusalem model we entered The Shrine of the Book.  This is a museum that has been dedicated to preserving and displaying the famous Dead Sea Scrolls that were found in 1948.  The museum was built in the shape of a massive clay jar (shaped like the ones the scrolls were found in) sunk into the ground.  Because of the delicate artifacts we were not allowed to take pictures inside but you can Google it to see interior views.  We entered the museum through a recreated “cave” and then come upon this huge display scroll which is housing a complete manuscript of the book of Isaiah which dates back to the time of Christ.  Before this scroll was found our oldest Isaiah scroll was 1000 years newer than this one.  When the scholars put the two scrolls side by side they found no significant differences between the two.  Evidently God has a vested interest in preserving His Holy Word.  That ended day two of our trip.  Time to get back to the hotel and rest up for tomorrow when we visit the Mount of Olives and Bethlehem.

Little Jerusalem

To give us an appreciation for what Jerusalem would have looked like in Jesus day, Grandpa Jimmy took us to an elaborate 1:50 scale model of the ancient city.  This model is based on the writings of 1^st century historian Flavius Josephus who described the walled city in his writings.  It took 7 years to create this very impressive model of which pictures simply don’t convey.

We Have Arrived!

For those of us departing from Saskatoon, the trip began by loading up with some Canadian coffee. A little “Tims” pumping through the veins does wonders for those long flights. The first flight was only an hour to Winnipeg, but then a few more hours to get us to Toronto. Then came the marathon flight from T.O. to T.A. (Tel Aviv). Over 11 hours of flying across the pond until we touched down in Israel. It was about 11am local time, but our inner clocks said 3am.

Once we made our way through the airport we learned how to stand in patiently for about an hour until the border agents deemed us worthy to enter the country.

From there we drove through the lush green countryside until we arrived in Jerusalem and met our local guide, Jimmy (henceforth to be called “Grandpa Jimmy” because a grandson of his was born today) who checked us in an told us to get a good rest for 45 minutes because we had lots to see today.

New Itinerary

Because of the unrest in Egypt, the Canadian Government has placed an advisory on travelling in that country.  We therefore had to cancel that portion of the trip from the itinerary, and add new destinations to Israel and Jordan.
New Itinerary