(Part 1 of 3)
The agonizing fear that kept me tossing on my bed for countless nights prior to my Israel trip (due to the never-ending destabilization attacks and constant war episodes within the Arab countries) was finally pacified upon having personally experienced a more than week sojourn in the heart of the Holy Land.
After being seated for a little more than ten hours aboard Turkish Airlines Flight 0004Y from John F. Kennedy Airport we arrived at Ataturk International Airport in Istanbul, Turkey where we took a connecting flight to Tel-Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport in Israel.
The 12-hour flight (not to mention the stressful waiting time and strenuous gate search with a loaded backpack and a hand carry in tow) was all worth it upon sight of the biblical land.
But the immediate tour schedule unpredictably expunged our thoughts of having a restful break when we were met by our tour guide Rame Salfiti, an amiable and gregarious Arab-Christian, who instantaneously led us to our first destination: The Church of St. John the Baptist and The Visitation Church, both in Ein Karem with an altitude of 700 meters above sea level.
The Church of St. John the Baptist commemorates his father Zechariah’s unprecedented faith in Jesus when he uttered the “Benedictus,” a short canticle of thanksgiving on the occasion of John’s circumcision which was translated in different languages (including Tagalog) while the Visitation Church commemorates the Blessed Virgin’s visit to her cousin Elizabeth, mother of St. John the Baptist, where the “Magnificat,” a hymn recited by the Virgin Mary as a song of praise which was translated in 69 languages. The former is being recited by priests as a morning prayer and the latter as an evening entreaty.
Not a single minute was wasted in between sites for Rame relentlessly oriented our group of sixteen about basic knowledgeability on Israel: its ancient history, the diversity of its people and religion, and the amazing biblical occurrences connected to the notably prominent mid-east land.
Bordered by Egypt and the Gaza Strip to the southwest, by Jordan to the east, Syria and Lebanon to the north, Israel is a small yet diversely populated mid-eastern country with a long coastline on the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Considered part of the Holy Land (together with Jordan, Egypt, and the Palestine territories), Israel was established as a state for the Jewish people after the 2nd World War.
Israel is the only country in the world where life revolves around the Hebrew calendar where work and school holidays are determined by the Jewish holidays and the official day of rest is Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath… making Sunday another working day.
It is divided into 3 large cities: Tel-Aviv, Jerusalem, and Haifa, in that order. More than 2/3 of the Holy Land is dessert and the rest, vegetation and habitation. Road signs are written in 3 languages: Hebrew and Arabic which are both spoken semantic languages and English with a currency exchange rate of 1 USD is to 3.7 NIS (New Israel Shekel).
We had our initial taste of authentic Israeli cuisine when we had lunch at the Ramat Rachel Hotel operated by the Kibbutz, communal members of a settlement who are typically farmers. Since time was running short for the day’s itinerary we left in haste (after a brief comfort room visit) and drove off to the Church of the Ascension which was built by Queen Helena. It was the site believed to have been visited by Jesus 40 days after His resurrection and ascended to heaven.
Later, beneath the skin-piercing heat, we were brought to the Eleona Church, a religious edifice, built (again) by Queen Helena and renovated by French Carmelite Sisters, where Jesus taught His disciples “Our Father.” The prayer was translated into almost 200 versions on framed tiles displayed all over the walls, corridors and quadrangles… with Tagalog, Pampango, and Ilongo versions visibly posted.
We trekked down a steep road to the Church of Dominus Flevis where an Iranian priest celebrated a mass for us before we proceeded down once more to the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus spent His “agony in the garden.” A few of the more than two-thousand-year-old olive trees that bore witness to His anguish and betrayal still stood the test of time after having weathered horrendous climate changes.
Nearby was the Church of All Nations (formerly the Church of Agony) built by the Franciscans from munificent donations of 16 different countries.
From there we finally got the chance to be relieved from severe hours of exhaustion upon sight of the Christmas Hotel along Ali lbn Taleb Street (Jerusalem, Israel), our residence for the next 4 days. Imagine our excitement when we got into our air-conditioned rooms with well-made beds and luxurious bathrooms.
Day one was admittedly arduous and demanding but gratifyingly worthwhile.
That restful night gave us a great measure of recharged energy to be utilized for another whole day Israel adventure. By 8:00 AM we were already on the road along the Judean wilderness, a hilly dessert inhabited by Nomads, mostly Muslims. We passed by the West Bank, an Israeli settlement, and crossed the sea level down to 429 meters (1,407 feet) below…believed to be the lowest elevation on land.
Our first destination was the Masada excavation site, an ancient fortification in the Southern District of Israel and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where archeologists unearthed King Herod’s palace on top of the mountain ridges overlooking the Dead Sea. By the aid of a cable car that could hold up to 40 passengers we reached the summit and got amazed by the massive excavation and archeological finds.
The more than 100-degree temp of intense heat and torturing macadamized walkways touring the open space ruins was extremely punishing but still worthwhile. Thanks to our defense gadgets: bottles of water, sunglasses, caps and umbrellas, long sleeved tops, and tons of determination to actually witness and experience the gigantic historical site.
From the grandiose apex we went down the Masada National Park Center where souvenir beauty products from the Dead Sea were extensively marketed.
Lunch was at the Kalia Beach Restaurant, a cozy retreat eatery vanguard to a Dead Sea dip. We were advised to stay from 5 to 10 minutes only with full awareness of eye protection since the Dead Sea is 33 percent saltier than ordinary sea salt water. Incredibly, one floats on its water due to high density and the high salt content gives the human body more buoyancy.
Later, we drove off to Jericho, a poor Palestinian city located near the Jordan River in the West Bank. According to the Book of Joshua, the Battle of Jericho was the first conflict of the Israelites in their conquest of Canaan. Considered the world’s oldest continuously inhabited city, Jericho was established 14,000 years ago where the initial emergence of agriculture originated.
From the topmost ruined elevation we could see the Mount of Temptation (where Christ fasted for 40 days and tempted twice by the devil) which base was already teeming with commercialized establishments built by scrupulous businessmen: a classy tourist restaurant and the caves used to be dwelling caverns of monks were turned into gift shops.
Day 3 gave us the most anticipated opportunity to visit Bethlehem, the homeland of David. It is currently governed by the Palestinian Authority with a population of 18 percent Christians and 72 percent Muslims with tourism (the Church of the Nativity) as its main source of income.
Bethlehem, West Bank is home to two of the best surviving olive wood carvers: the Zacharia and Twemeh families. While a separation wall was built between Bethlehem and Palestine by the Israelis, Israeli Jewish people are not allowed to enter Bethlehem and vice-versa.
The Manger Street led us to the Church of the Nativity which was built by Queen Helena and features a majestic iconostasis, a large gilded dividing wall between the main altar and the congregation. The basilica is shared by Greek Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic, and Roman Catholics. The Romanesque architecture, another most visited UNESCO World Heritage Site, was built in 325 and completed in 565.
A special mass for our group was celebrated by a Korean priest before we towed the queue of thousands of pilgrims and devotees to pay homage to the Nativity site.
Later, after passing through a steep and jaggedly zigzag road we arrived at the Shepherds’ Field in Beit Sahour, a Palestinian town east of Bethlehem with a population of 80 percent Christians (mostly Christian Orthodox) and 20 percent Muslims. The Church was dedicated to commemorate the heralding of the birth of the Messiah to the shepherds.
We had lunch at the Grotto Restaurant close by with a generous view of the vast dessert and wilderness before visiting Bethany, the birth and death place of Lazarus. The venerated site was an ancient cave in a gulch with winding uneven steps and narrow passage.
Noticeably, almost all churches were built through the auspices of Queen Helena, designed by Antonio Barluzzi, with the Franciscans as caretakers, while consistently ruined by Persians and reconstructed either by the Byzantine Empire, the Crusaders, or the order of the Franciscans.
Another hectic and exhausting day ended sans complaints from anybody but the draining heat.
To be continued….
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