2006 Israel Part I Jerusalem, Masada & Dead Sea

GATE ONE TRAVEL

January 14-24, 2006

Fred took digital camera shots. Some historical information gleaned from Google; other info from our Jewish guide. Fred was accompanied by Annette's sister and her husband Mike. We were all motivated by Holy Land sites PLUS the unbelievable low price of $ 899 which included air fare, land tour, lodging, guide and some meals. The price of air alone usually costs that much.

All Bible passages in the journal are underlined. 


Day 1, Tues Mike, Irma and Fred checked in at MSP Lindbergh Terminal for International flights and departed JFK at 5:55 p.m. for flight via Madrid and Barcelona to Tel Aviv

Day 2, Wed We arrived at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv 3:40 p.m. To our surprise we were greeted by the Gate 1 representative even before customs. The agent summoned a driver for the three of us and we were soon on our way to Jerusalem. A recently built modern highway allowed us to reach Jerusalem in approximately half an hour. The city is located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Dead Sea, about 93 km (about 58 mi) east of Tel Aviv-Yafo. The city straddles the Judean Hills, which run
north-south in Israel, and is built on a cluster of hilltops and valleys.

Our lodging for the next four days was to be the conveniently located Ariel Hotel (right). Around 7 p.m. we met our Jewish guide Areh in the lobby. He took us by bus to the sister hotel for an orientation session and a welcome drink.

Day 3, Thurs The breakfast buffet provided by the Ariel Hotel was quite varied and included unusual items like vegetable salads and olives. Very satisfying. Fortified with an ample breakfast, we began our day at 8 a.m. Uri, our bus driver for the duration of the trip, drove us along the Green Line along the walled city. Before the 1967 War, this was the buffer zone between the Jews and the Old City. Before the war, those who wanted to visit the Arab controlled Old City had to go around the West Bank and enter through Jordan. Our bus headed upward to Mount Scopus for a panoramic view of the city of Jerusalem. It was a beautiful day for a wonderful view here from the Mount of Olives.

A sturdy wall was constructed around the Old City in AD 1538 during the reign of the Ottoman ruler Suleyman I. The shining Dome of the Rock clearly stood out and one could pinpoint the other major historic sites from that reference point. Outside of the walled Old City was modern Jerusalem. Gethsemane, our target for Saturday afternoon, was situated at the foot of the Mount of Olives.

From Mount Scopus, Uri took us down to the walled Old City. Before entering, our guide had us assemble outside for a lecture. Then we entered through the Dung Gate (right).

Security was tight and our group had to go through a search and have our belongings scanned.

Then before us was the famous West or Wailing Wall.

The holiest site in Judaism, this is all that remains of the great temple built to hold the Ark of the Covenant (built at this location by Herod the Great in 20 BC). The Herodian stones are identifiable by their carved frames. Byzantine, Arab and Turks added the smaller stones above. Jews traditionally visit the wall to lament the destruction of the First and Second Temples and to offer prayers. Kvitlich are prayers written on pieces of paper and placed in chinks in the wall. Jews had been forbidden access to the Temple Mount during the Ottoman period.

Many authorities believe The Ark of the Covenant is located under the Temple Mount. Some Jews will not ascend the Mount because of the chance that they will walk on the Holy of Holies, which is off limits until the Messiah arrives. Many hold that Abraham nearly sacrificed his son Isaac on this site

Genesis 22:2 Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."

According to Muslims, Ishmael not Isaac was the intended object of sacrifice. Also, Muhammad was reported to have come to the Temple Mount and ascended to heaven from the point of the near sacrifice. El Aksa Mosque is on the southernmost side of the Temple Mount, built in AD 720. The Dome of the Rock is the third most important Muslim place of prayer after Mecca and Medina. Calif Abd al Malik commissioned his architects to erect a scaled down version of the Dome. That structure, which is known as the Dome of the Chain, stands today in the shadow of its full-sized neighbor.

Our guide informed us of the restrictions that forbade women to approach the main section of the Wailing Wall reserved for men. For them a separated section to the right was available. The men’s section was filled with activity as bearded men stood before the wall with their prayers, and large groups enthusiastically celebrated bar mizpah with proud young men. Women and young girls watched the festivities of bar mizpah from the other side of a barricade. Uniformed Israeli soldiers milled around with automatic weapons to maintain security.

The area inside the walled city was divided into 4 sections, named for their dominant ethnic communities: the Muslim, (upper right) Jewish (bottom right), Christian (upper left) and Armenian quarters (lower left). The Temple Mount is the rectangular-like section (middle right). Our walking itinerary started in the Muslim quarters.

An Arab market, which ran through the Old City, gave it a crowded and bustling feel. Basically it was like a pedestrian mall because of narrow streets and restricted traffic. Irma and Mike McLean are in the foreground.

We worked our way to the Via Dolorosa in the Muslim and Christian sections where our guide pointed out the Stations of the Cross.

The Via Dolorosa, the route traditionally believed to be taken by Jesus Christ on the way to his crucifixion, leads to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The “Way of Sorrow” has more to do with tradition than historical fact, but it attracts considerable attention. We spent considerable time at the 3rd, 4th and 5th stations.





Matt 27:27-33 27 Then the governor's soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. 28 They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29 and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. "Hail, king of the Jews!" they said. 30 They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. 31 After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him. 32 As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. 33 They came to a place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull. 

Finally we reached the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre stands on what is traditionally held to be the hill of Golgatha, or Calvary, where the crucifixion and burial of Jesus Christ occurred. The church is the site of significant Christian pilgrimage. Built about AD 330, the complex is carefully divided among the Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Armenian Orthodox, Coptic, Syrian, and Ethiopian churches. Fierce disputes, lasting centuries over ownership were largely resolved by an Ottoman decree issued in 1852. Still in force and known as the Status Quo, it divides custody among the various church bodies. Every day the church is unlocked by a Muslim keyholder acting a neutral intermediary.

Once inside the church, we turned to our right and climbed up a narrow circular stairway to the site of the crucifixion. An elaborate shrine was situated on a platform over the rocky surface of Calvary hill.
Through the glass around the Greek Orthodox altar can be seen the outcrop of rock venerated as site of the crucifixion.

































Matthew 27: 33-42 33 They came to a place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull). 34 There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. 35 When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots.36 And, sitting down, they kept watch over him there. 37 Above his head they placed the written charge against him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS. 38 Two robbers were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. 39 Those who passed by hurled insults at him, sh 43 He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, 'I am the Son of God.' " 44 In the same way the robbers who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him. 45 From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. 46 About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi,[c] lama sabachthani?"—which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"aking their heads 40 and saying, "You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!" 41 In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. 42 "He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself! He's the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 

From here we went downstairs and past the Stone of Unction: This shrine is where the anointing and wrapping of Christ’s body allegedly took place after his death.

Close by was “Christ’s Tomb” inside a 1810 monument. Here a marble slab covers the rock on which Christ’s body was believed to have been laid. In the first century AD, this site consisted of a small rocky rise just outside the city walls and a disused stone quarry into whose rock face tombs had been cut. The hillside was dug away in the 4th century to allow a church to be built around the tomb. The interior is dimly lit, and queues often form at Christ’s tomb, so that the time each person can spend inside the shrine may be limited to just a few minutes. Exactly where Jesus was buried is disputed. Our guide thought it more fruitful to observe a nearby excavation of a grave site that dated to the time period.

On the third day, Jesus rose from the dead. And an angel rolled away the stone.













John 20:14-17 10 Then the disciples went back to their homes, 11 but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. 13 They asked her, "Woman, why are you crying?" "They have taken my Lord away," she said, "and I don't know where they have put him." 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. 15"Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?" Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him."16 Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.' " 

Leaving the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, we walked over to the Central Souk, part of the Roman Cardo, a typical Roman shopping street, in the restored Jewish Quarter. The Cardo is the reconstructed main street of Byzantine Jerusalem from the 6th century. This street, with columns along its entire length, used to be a long avenue that crossed the whole city from north to south. Today, situated 20 feet below modern street level, one part of the Cardo is a restored arcade of Jewish galleries and shops, while the other part is an open-air reconstructed street. At one point along the roofed arcade we could look down to a level surface underneath the street and see remnants from the time of the First and Second Temple (10th and 1st centuries BC). At the end of the Cardo, Areh allowed us a lunch break to sample Jewishfood. Mike and I tried out the Maccabee brand of beer.

Our late morning (early afternoon) was capped off with an interesting visit to the The Cenacle (alleged Room of the Last Supper) The room is on the upper floor of a Gothic building constructed by Crusaders to commemorate Mary’s Dormition (fell asleep peacefully at an advanced age). The room is unadorned apart from the Gothic arches dividing it















Mark 14: 22-24). 22 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take it; this is my body." 23 Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, and they all drank from it. 24 "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many," he said to them. 

Beneath the Hall of the Last Supper are some small tombs venerated as King David’s Tomb. There is doubt about its authenticity, but the Hebrew scholars here were quite fervent in their observances.

1 Kings 2:1-2,10 1 When the time drew near for David to die, he gave a charge to Solomon his son. 2 "I am about to go the way of all the earth," he said. "So be strong, show yourself a man, 3 and observe what the LORD your God requires: Walk in his ways, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and requirements, as written in the Law of Moses, so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go, 4 and that the LORD may keep his promise to me: 'If your descendants watch how they live, and if they walk faithfully before me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.' 10 Then David rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David. 

Today the entrance hall is used as a synagogue. According to tradition it was here that Christ washed the feet of his Disciples after the Last Supper

(John 13: 1-17). 4 So he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. 

Our waiting bus was ready to take us to our next destination, the Yad Vashem.Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority, which was established in 1953 by an act of the Israeli Knesset.

Since its inception, Yad Vashem has been entrusted with documenting the history of the Jewish people during the Holocaust period, preserving the memory and story of each of the six million victims, and imparting the legacy of the Holocaust for generations to come Some of the Gate 1 group visited the Children's Memorial, hollowed out from an underground cavern, where memorial candles, a customary Jewish tradition to remember the dead, are reflected infinitely in a dark and somber space. This memorial is a tribute to the approximately one and a half million Jewish children who perished during the Holocaust.

Day 4, Fri Today we took an optional full day tour through the Judean Desert and along the shores of the Dead Sea to Masada.

We stopped en route at a cosmetic shop for rest rooms and a sales presentation on beauty products from the Dead Sea.

At Masada (also spelled Messada) we ascended via cable car to the top of the mesa-like mountain.

The word Masada means "fortress" in Hebrew. The cliff's remoteness from human habitation and difficult approach made it an ideal location for a fortress. Two fortified palaces were built here in the 1st century BC by the Judean king Herod the Great.
After Herod's death, Masada was occupied by a Roman garrison. Jewish zealots captured it in AD 66. From AD 66-70, Masada became a refuge for Jewish zealots revolting against Roman rule. After the Romans conquered Jerusalem in AD 70 and destroyed the Second Temple, about 1000 men, women, and children escaped to Masada. At the end of AD 72, the Romans set out to conquer Masada, the last point of Jewish insurrection. The Roman camp (left side of photo) consisted of some 10,000-15,000 Roman soldiers and Jewish prisoners.

Eight Roman army units, moved upward by a stone and gravel ramp on the side of the cliff. They used Jewish slaves as laborers in order to prevent the Zealots from shooting them down as they built the ramp.

The Jewish zealots fought the approaching army off with stones. When the Romans finally succeeded to breach the wall at the top of the mountain, the Jewish zealots knew they had lost the fight. All but seven Jews killed themselves rather than surrender to slavery.

Areh walked us around the ruins which Israeli archaeologist Yigael Yadin excavated in 1963-65. He drew attention to the ambitions of Herod in his undertaking here, the evidence of Jewish presence, the Roman siege camps below, the massive earthen ramp, and the complex water system. At the conclusion of our visit we descended via cable car to a restaurant area for dinner.







The Dead Sea before us is a salt lake bounded on the west by Israel and on the east by Jordan. The surface of the Dead Sea is at 400 m (1312 ft) below sea level, making it the lowest water surface on earth. The lake is 76 km (47 mi) long and has a maximum width of about 16 km (about 10 mi). The Dead Sea is fed mainly from the north by the Jordan River. The lake has no outlet. Fresh water evaporates quickly from the sea due to the hot desert climate leaving behind a sea which is seven times as salty as the ocean. It is called the Dead Sea because the high concentration of salt makes it impossible for life of any sort, except for a few kinds of microbes, to live. At a depth of 305 m (1000 ft), the Dead Sea contains approximately 27 percent solid substances: sodium chloride (common salt), magnesium chloride, calcium chloride, potassium chloride, magnesium bromide, and many other substances.

People can easily float on the surface of the Dead Sea due to the density of solids in the water. Chemical products such as potash, bromine, gypsum, and salt are extracted inexpensively from the Dead Sea making the lake economically valuable. In addition, the shores of the Dead Sea are of growing importance as a winter health resort.

As with so many other sites in Israel, the Dead Sea has ties to biblical history. The sites of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are believed to lie beneath the lake.

Genesis 19:26 26 But Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

Genesis 19:24 24 Then the LORD rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah —from the LORD out of the heavens. 

On the way back we traveled along the banks of the Dead Sea to the spa resort of Ein Gedi. Our group was encouraged to float in the Dead Sea, to apply healthy mud to our skin, and to bathe in the hot mineral baths.

The area is famous as a lush oasis in an otherwise barren landscape. En Gedi is mentioned in the Bible for its beauty.

(Song of Solomon 1-14) My lover is to me a cluster of henna blossoms from the vineyards of En Gedi 

Ein Gedi is also mentioned as a refuge of David who was fleeing Saul

1 Samuel 24 1 After Saul returned from pur-suing the Philistines, he was told, "David is in the Desert of
En Gedi." 2 So Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel and set out to look for David and his men near the Crags of the Wild Goats. 






Day 5, Sat Jewish Sabbath

After a complete and healthy breakfast, we headed out for our morning optional tour of David’s Citadel. The bus dropped us off at the Joppa Gate. Our guide led us along the Byzantine wall to a “waste dump" where material had been cast from the wall. Areh called this trash an archeologist’s treasure trove. After a lecture period, he led through the Joppa Gate (narrow and L-shaped to slow attackers) and into the Citadel.

The present day structure dates principally from the 14th century and includes additions made by Suleyman the Magnificent. However, excavations have revealed remains dating back to the 2nd century before Christ, and indicates that there was a fortress here from Herodian times. This supports the view that this the most likely site of Christ’s trial and condemnation.

John 19: 13-16 13 When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge's
seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). 14 It was the day of Preparation of Passover Week, about the sixth hour. "Here is your king," Pilate said to the Jews. 15 But they shouted, "Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!" "Shall I crucify your king?" Pilate asked. "We have no king but Caesar," the chief priests answered. 16 Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified. 


We climbed up to the ramparts to walk along the city walls. We had a terrific view of the Old City and major landmarks like Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Temple Mount, Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, etc.

Our guide took us through the museum to walk around the displays. By now, it was time to eat. Areh led us to a restaurant in the Old City where he had us fleeced ($18 each for a salad), but the food was Jewish and it was good. Our fare was hummus (mashed chick-peas, garlic, lemon and a sesame concoction) with pitas and finely chopped mix of tomatoes and cucumbers, garnished with oil and vinegar.

Now we were ready for optional tour number two. This tour was added by popular request to see sites associated with the Mount of Olives and the Garden of Gethsemane.

The first stop took us to St. Peter in Gallicantu east of Mount Zion, on the slopes overlooking the City of David and the Kidron valley. This church commemorates the site where Peter denied Christ which fulfilled the prophesy.


Mark 14:72 72 Immediately the rooster crowed the second time.[a] Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken to him: "Before the rooster crows twice[b] you will disown me three times." And he broke down and wept. 

The remains of some Herodian architecture have been discovered under the church and in the garden there still exists part of a Herodian stairway in use in Christ’s time, which once connected the city to the Kidron valley and Gethsemane.

Inside the church was a beautiful painting with the inscription: “Non Novi Illum” from Luke 22:57
But he denied it. "Woman, I don't know him," he said. 

Below the church was the pathway that it was said thatt Peter took to Gethsemane.

Back in the bus, we headed to the (first) church of the ascension. or Church of the Paternoster. Its name meaning “Our Father,” this church was built above a grotto where Christ is believed to have taught the Lord’s Prayer. Our Gate 1 group recited the Lord’s Prayer here in unison.

Today the 19th century church is famous for the tiled panels inscribed with the paternoster in more than 60 languages.

Luke 11: 1-4 1 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples." 2 He said to them, When you pray, say: " 'Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. 3 Give us each day our daily bread. 4 Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.' "





Constantine commissioned his mother to supervise construction on this site in AD 326 above a grotto where the ascension was commemorated. Our guide says this church site is more authentic than others associated with the ascension.

Acts 1:9-12 9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. 10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11"Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven." 12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day's walk from the city. 

Next we strolled over to the Dominus Flevit Chapel, the words which mean “The Lord wept”. The chapel was designed in the shape of a teardrop by an Italian architect in 1955 and built over a 7th century chapel.

The view of Jerusalem from the window is one that reminds one of the view Christ saw as he wept over the city.

Luke 19:41 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it. 

From here we walked over to the Garden of Gethsemane, which has centuries old olive trees that date to the time of Christ.

Matt 26: 36-40 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me." 39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will." 40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter. 

(Mark 14: 47-50. 47 While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people. 48 Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: "The one I kiss is the man; arrest him." 49 Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" and kissed him. 50 Jesus replied, "Friend, do what you came for." Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him. 

Next to the Garden of Gethsemane was the Church of All Nations, also known as the Church of Agony, because it is built over a rock in the Garden of Gethsemane on which it is believed Christ prayed the night before he was arrested. Twelve nations contributed with financial assistance to build the present church. Hence the church has twelve domes (each inscribed with the national coat of arms of a country).

The center piece of the church is the Rock of Agony, where Jesus was so impassioned that he sweat drops of blood.

Luke 22-44:"Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." 43 An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. 44 And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. 





Many believe that when Jesus appears at his Second Coming it will be here at the foot of the Mt. of Olives. Our guide says that is the reason for many desiring to be buried in the massive cemetery here -- to be the first to greet him.

Matthew 24:31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. 

Some Christians, many of them Protestants, believe The Garden Tomb at Gethsemane is the burial place of Christ and they come to this garden setting to meditate. It also dates from the time of Christ and, according to the Bible, Jesus was buried in a tomb like this.

However, most authorities believe that the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is more authentic. Areh took us here because of requests from a few in our group.









GO ON TO 2006 ISRAEL PART II