Day 11

Upon This Rock

We began the day at Caesarea Philippi where Jesus asked His disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" and Peter answered, "You are the Christ."  This event marks the first time that a human recognizes Jesus as the Christ.  This place, which was once a city, is now a national park with beautiful waters running through it.  Here Jesus told His disciples, "Upon this rock I will build my church." which is all the more interesting when you realize that this site was the centre for the cultic worship of the pagan god Pan.  Mythology has this playful god stealing the clothing of the ladies as they would bath in the waters.

Above This Rock We Will Build a Church

We then traveled to Capernaum which was basically the headquarters of Jesus ministry.  (This may have something to do with the fact that His own people of Nazareth tried to throw Him off a cliff.)  Here is where Peter lived and where Jesus healed Peter's mother when she was sick.  They believe they have found the house where this happened and have built a church that hovers over top of the archeological ruins.  Here the group is looking under the church at the ruins.

Here the group is inside the church looking down through the glass dome at the ruins.

A Blessed Place

We then traveled to the Mount of the Beatitudes where Jeses preached the famous "Sermon on the Mount"  You can see the church in the background as Pastor Gary Heinz reads the Beatitudes from the beginning of Jesus sermon (Matt. 5-7)

Here's Looking at You

When you dine right next to the Sea of Galilee you can't help but order the local specialty; St. Peter Fish.  They serve the whole fish, head and all, and as you eat him he looks up at you and seems to smile.

No Storm to Calm

In chapters 8 and 14 St. Luke records Jesus and the disciples being on the Sea of Galilee.  One time Jesus calms the raging sea, and the other time He walks on water.  We had a beautiful and calm day as we made our way out onto the famous sea on a boat christened The Magdala.

Once we reached the centre of the sea the captain cut the engines and we gathered for a service as we drifted peacefully.  We read the accounts that took place on these waters and then sang a few hymns including that great naval hymn, "Eternal Father, Strong to Save."

Tomorrow we travel to Sepphoris, Cana, and Mt. Tabor.

Day 10 Jericho, Beth Shean, The Belvior Castle

Little Man, Big Tree

Our day began in Jericho where Jesus met the wee little man by the name of Zacchaeus.  In Luke 19 we hear that Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus so he climbed up into a sycamore tree to get above the crowd.  We read that passage from below the one sycamore tree in all of Jericho (they are not native to this area).  This is not the same tree that Jesus would have passed by since sycamore trees only live to be about 700-800 years.  Yes, a paltry 800 years.

Old Walls

We then moved on to see the ruins of Old Jericho.  After seeing the ruins of Jerash this site pales in comparison, but what makes it interesting is that Jericho is the oldest living city in the world, dating back to 9000 B.C. there has always been an active community living on this site.

Temptation Without the Cable Car

Very near Jericho is the place where Jesus went into the wilderness for 40 days and was tempted by the Devil.  The mountains in this area are very rugged and barren and would provide a perfect setting for one to be tempted.  These days Jesus wouldn't have had to walk up the mountain, He could have just taken the cable car.

Here's Something New

We have seen so many ruins that it doesn't make sense to post a picture of another theatre, no matter how impressive it is.  So here is something we haven't talked about yet: toilets.  These are Roman toilets.  How they worked was that you placed one cheek on a white marble slab and the other cheek on the slab next to it.  Between the slabs was a space to, well, ...you know.  Water would constantly flow under the marble slabs to take away the unpleasantries.Thus far our instruction on how to use a Roman toilet.

Sink or Swim?

We then moved on to the Belvoir Castle, a crusader fortress that has a breathtaking view of the Jordan Valley.  Equally impressive is the moat that was built around three of the four walls of this castle.  You get an idea of how big it is when you notice the person in the middle of the photo.

Double Dunk?

We ended the day on a rather disheartening note.  We stopped at a baptismal sight where many people come to get baptized in the Jordan River.  What is disheartening is that for the majority of the people this is not their first baptism; they are being re-baptized.  It is a very emotional experience for people and that is the draw of this place.  This is not a sacred place.  It is not where Jesus was baptized and where John the Baptist baptized.  Those locations are near Jericho and this is many miles upstream in the north of Israel.  These people have turned it into a "holy sight" by their actions, and the place is raking in a ton of money by renting baptismal gowns and selling all kinds of religious paraphernalia.  What is truly sad is that these people view baptism as something they are doing for God, instead of something God has done for us.  In our baptism God made us His own and promises never to leave us or forsake us.  It is His doing, and His Word is good.  What happens here is unnecessary and more commerce than religion, an unfortunate mix that is common in the Holy Land.

Tomorrow we ride the waves on the Sea of Galilee.

Movie Time!

Tonight we are staying in a hotel in Jericho that seems to have faster internet connections, so this is a good time to post a few short videos.

Here Rhianne is singing for us in the Amphitheater in Gadara.

This video of us enjoying some Bedouin Hospitality in one of their tents.

Here is a video of just part of the city of Petra.

A view of the Old City of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives.

Our visit to the Jordan River.

Day 9 Qumran, Masada, and The Dead Sea

Qumran

Earlier in the trip we were able to see the Dead Sea Scrolls.  Qumran is the place they were found.  The scrolls were hidden in the many caves in the Judean Hills.  The Essenes were the community that wrote these scrolls that date back to the days of Jesus.

A big part of the Essene life was ritual bathing and throughout the community there were ritual bathing sites like this one.  Notice how the stairs are separated with the remains of a partition.  The unclean would enter the  waters below on one site of the steps and acend on the other side.  The partition ensured the unclean would not defile the clean.

Highest to the Lowest: Part 2

From Qumran we allowed ourselves to be crammed into a cable car to make the ascent to Masada.  It was one big sardine can, but fortunately the ride only lasted a few minutes before we reached the summit.

Masada was built by Herod the Great.  In fact, Masada was one of the reasons Herod earned the title "Great."  He created massive building projects throughout the Promised Land and Masada is as impressive as any of them.  It is a fortress, built on the top of a mountain, but it had all the luxuries one would expect from Herod.

Pastor Dressler and Pastor Heintz sit in the synagogue located on the top of Masada.

The Dead Sea

While the little fish in the Madaba Map might have swam away from the Dead Sea, we flocked to it.  It was about 30 degrees Celsius at the lowest point on earth, a good time to float in the waters that are 35% salt.  One drop in your mouth on your eye and you know you are at the Dead Sea.

They also say that the mud is full of healing properties, but the truth is its just plain fun to smear it all over yourself.  Where else are you encouraged to play in the mud?  Tomorrow we see ancient Jericho and then head north to the region of Galilee.

Day 8 Madaba, Mt. Nebo, The Jordan River

Which way to go?

While the events of the last few days were fascinating, what we really came here for was to trace the steps of the people of the Bible and experience firsthand the land in which they lived.  Today we truly did that.  We started the day by doing something that everyone that begins a journey should do: we consulted a map.  This map, however dates back to about 500 A.D. and it has been used by pilgrims to the Holy Land for centuries. The picture above is just a small section of the map that shows the Jordan River flowing into the Dead Sea.  The fish on the right is swimming back upstream to get away from the sea that is so salty that nothing can live in it.  Each tile in this map is no larger than the finger nail on your little finger.

The Madaba Map is a mosaic on the floor of St. Georges Church in Madaba, Jordan.  It is very beaten up and has endured earthquakes, but one is still able to make out all of the holy places in the middle east located on the remains of this map.  The church is filled with modern mosaics (which the town members now famously construct) like this one showing Christ raising Lazarus from the dead.

Mt. Nebo

Because Moses "struck the stone" in the wilderness when God had commanded him to speak to it, he was not allowed to enter into the Promised Land.  God did, however, take Moses to the top of the highest mountain in the area, Mt. Nebo, so that he could see with his own eyes the place which the people he had lead for 40 year would now inherit.  While it was a bit hazy when we were there one could just make out the Jordan river which the people of Israel will cross to enter into the Promised Land.

From the lookout point on the mountain Pastor Dressler read the account of the the Israelites crossing the Jordan river from the book of Joshua chapters 3 and 4, and then read the last chapter of the book of Deuteronomy which describes how Moses looked out on this mountain before he died and was buried by God.

From the Highest to the Lowest

From the top of Mt. Nebo we decended down a harrowing set of switchbacks into the lowest place on earth.  The area where Israelites crossed the Jordan is not far at all from the Dead Sea, some 400m below sea level.  This is also the place where John the Baptist was baptized in the river when Jesus came by and asked to be baptized.  We read from this account in Matthew chapter three at the traditional site of the Baptism of Jesus, and then moved on to the present location of the Jordan River.  (It has relocated itsef a few hundred meters in the past 2000 years due, in part, to earthquakes.)  Here is a short video of us hanging out on the banks of the Jordan River:

Day 7 Petra

Where is it?

You could try to describe a visit to Petra, but it would be an exercise in futility.  Petra is one of those places you simply have to experience.  Around the time of Christ some Nabataeans moved here and they honoured their dead by carving tombs for them out of the rock cliffs.  One cannot see Petra as you pass by because it is hidden from the outside world.  Still today to see the centre of Petra you must walk a number of kilometers through a steep gorge.  In the photo above you can see how these desert dwellers solved their water problems by channeling water on either side of the gorge.  The channel on the left was open and was used for animals and irrigation.  The one on the right was closed in like a pipe and that water was used for drinking.  These channels carried water for an incredible 6km.

The Treasury

After traveling a few kms down the gorge you arrive at “The Treasury” which is considered the Crown Jewel of Peta.  It is simply stunning.  All of this was created without any machinery or modern technology.  The stone was not brought in, but carved right out of the cliff.  If you look closely on either side of the outer columns you can see footholds in the wall this is how the carvers ascended the wall to complete their work.  What appears to be ground level here is actually the second floor.  Excavations have now begun to remove the dirt that covers the first floor of this building.

Today’s Nabataeans

Today the descendants of the people of Petra sell souvenirs and food to the travelers.  They also offer donkey, horseback and camel rides.  You can see some of their shops here and there are less ornate tomb carved into these hills.

Love Those Camels

Some of our ladies were brave enough to go for a camel ride.

Owen of Arabia

Owen thought he would give us his best Lawrence of Arabia impersonation.  He would make a pretty good Arab.  Tomorrow we head back to Israel but on our way we see Mount Nebo where Moses died while the Israelites entered the Promised Land.

Day 6 Wadi Rum

Today we wandered in the wilderness.  The southern area of Jordan is desert and we spent the day exploring it.  The area known a Wadi Rum has sharply contrasting areas of sand dunes and rock plateaus.  We traveled by jeep through the thick red sand as we toured the area where the Major Motion Picture “Laurence of Arabia” was filmed.

We were able to see some camels close up, without getting spat upon.  A four month old camel even danced around for us when we came close to him.

We then had a look at some ancient petroglyphs.  The little feet seen here were the cutest, but much of the etchings were words; stories and people’s names.

Those that still had some energy climbed to the top of a huge sand dune and took in the sights from this birds eye vantage point.

We also enjoyed the extreme pleasure of some Bedouin hospitality.  We were invited into a tent and given some tea that was brewing on the fire.  The black tent is woven from goat’s hair which breathes when it is dry, but expands and becomes water tight when it is wet.  Spending this time together in this environment made for a very satisfying day.

Oh, and on another matter.  Pastor Dressler has decided to start a new cult, and the ladies of the tour group were the first to join.  Here they can be seen sporting the sanctioned uniforms of this brand new religious order.  Ok, ok, I made that up, but they are nicely outfitted to enter into the largest mosque in Amman, Jordan.  We went for a visit today and apparently western women are far too tempting to the men in the mosque, so they are required to wear these lovely robes over their own clothes.  They were good sports about it.  Apparently we men are not very tempting to the women, so we were fine to walk right in.

Tomorrow we visit the lost city of Petra.