On Friday, March 20th I returned
home from a nearly two-week long trip to Israel with my mom. After our time in Israel we planned to spend a few days in London where we'd explore the city and finally get to see a
competitive Tottenham Hotspur match, but thanks to COVID-19 it wasn't meant to
be.
I wanted to put down
some thoughts about the trip before they left my short term memory. I also want
to point out things that are noticeably different about places outside the
United States.
Mom and I were part
of a tour group of 55 people from all over the United States. The tour was led
by Brian and Peri Zahnd. I found Brian a few years ago on social media and have
been listening to most of his sermons for the past year. Most Christian tour
groups to Israel are pretty cringy. I told several tour-mates that I think of
them as "future disaster tourism." During the trip I realized that
Israel relies A LOT on American tourism, which is mostly made up of religious
tourism. The citizens, tour guides, hotel staff, etc. were all very
accommodating to our group, and I imagine they treat other groups the same way.
I was surprised by their attitude because most American tour groups in Israel
are made up of people who see Israel/Jews as a cog in a machine leading to the
end times; a means to an end; a pawn in a story - which is odd, because the
story of Jesus that we follow is rooted
in Judaism, and yet the American Christians are the ones who think they have it
figured out and the Jews, while being the "chosen people," need to
get on board.
Mom and I flew
through London and did get to tour Tottenham Hotspur stadium during a 12-hour
layover at Heathrow. The tour was amazing and I was able to get a lot of good
pictures and a feel for the place even if I won't be seeing a match there (for
now). We had a less-than-stellar lunch in the deli connected the stadium and
got a few things in the Spurs Shop before the tour. I can't wait for the world
to get back to normal (for a LOT of reasons including …) so we can get back to
football. I'd love to find a chance for Griffin and I to catch a reasonable
flight to London and see a game in the next year.
I had some stress
leading up to the trip because our flight left Nashville at 8pm and landed in
London at 9am, at which point we'd get through immigration, store luggage,
catch trains, and go do the tour. It was my first big international flight so I
was worried about if I'd be able to sleep on the plane. I didn't sleep much,
even after taking some Dramamine *note - don't ever try to take it without
water if you're not sure if you'll be able to swallow it. Chewing it made my
tongue numb and left a terrible taste in my mouth for over an hour. #Regrets
*Observation - on
the British Airways flight the meal options were vegetarian or chicken curry.
Curry?!? The English really like their curry, even though it's a pretty strong
aroma to have on a confined airplane. That said, the curry was the best plane meal
of the whole trip.
*Observation - The
toilets outside the U.S. are just different. The seats are more round than
oblong and they have two flush buttons - big and small, which is
self-explanatory. Also, public bathrooms are very private, which I loved.
They're little rooms with doors that go all the way to the bottom. No gaps. No
big area you can crawl under. Actual privacy. (As I write it I'm saying it in
an English accent - prih-vuh-see)
*Observation - I had
real concerns about how long it would take to get through immigration in
airports. Now I know that if you're not declaring anything it's super-fast.
Just scan your passport, maybe answer a few questions, and you're in. Easy.
After the stadium
tour we arrived at the airport around 6pm for a 9pm flight. As we were getting
dinner we saw news and started getting messages that Israel was tightening
restrictions and forcing foreign travelers to quarantine for 2 weeks. After
some frantic messaging with our tour leaders we discovered the new policy
wouldn't go into effect until a few days after we'd arrive, but it still left
us with a decision of "do we board this plane in 2 hours and possibly risk
getting stuck in Israel?" We decided that we'd come this far and the
restrictions wouldn't affect us and to go ahead with it. Our flight landed in
Tel Aviv around 5am. We retrieved our bags and easily made it through
immigration. Our tour leaders recommended getting 200 shekels to have some
local money. I didn't do my research and didn't know that 200 shekels is worth
about $60. I ended up only getting 100 shekels and went to the ATM about 5 more
times over the duration of the trip. We caught a taxi to our hotel and the ride
was about 130 shekels, or $43.
When we were
checking-in the front desk manager advised us to not go to sleep quite yet
since breakfast would be served at 6:30am. We waited for breakfast, then went
to bed. Israeli breakfast usually consists of a few types of eggs, yogurts,
Mediterranean salads, cheeses, and teas. It's all kosher, so they don't mix
meat and dairy. You won't find cheeses offered at dinner with meats. After
breakfast we slept, then woke in the afternoon and I explored a bit around the
hotel. The hotel was located on top of a small mall, and next to a hospital,
and apparently also close to a military installation of some sort. There were a
LOT of young Israeli soldiers going to and from work. In Israel every citizen
must serve two years in the military. It seemed more like a conscripted force
than a voluntary one to me. In most places where I saw soldiers they seemed
very laid back, despite the tumult in the area between Israeli and Arab
cultures. Also, most of them carried
machine guns. I snapped a few sneaky pics. Just not used to seeing that kind of
weaponry out in public. We saw tons of heavily armed military and police
roaming around Jerusalem, although the town itself was laid back.
We had dinner
at McDonald's in the mall (they had gluten free options for mom) and went back
to the room. I had plans of meeting up with Israel Spurs to watch the 2nd leg
of the Champions League tie with RB Leipzig, but it would have been an $80 cab
ride. I opted to watch in the room, which was fine since it was a shit game
anyway.
*Observation - I had
concerns going in about what the Israeli vs. Arab situation would be like. I
didn’t detect any tensions. Everywhere we went the cultures lived among each
other with seemingly no issues and everyone just wants to be at peace. It fits that
the greetings in Arabic and Hebrew, Salaam and Shalom, both mean peace.
*Observation - I
asked one of our tour guides about languages since Jews and Arabs cohabit so
many cities. She said many Arabs speak Hebrew since it's the national language,
but not as many Jews speak Arabic. Many of both speak English.
Our tour officially
started on Wednesday, March 11th. We had breakfast and met up with our group in
the hotel lobby. I met and talked with a few people but wasn't very open yet.
The first people I remember meeting were Brian, Peri, Wade, Kristina, and Aaron.
We boarded buses and drove through Tel Aviv to Caesarea Maritime, Herod's
palace by the sea. The focal point for me here was that this was an actual
place where actual historical figures in the Bible lived (sometimes…he had this
opulent palace but didn't visit that much). We also saw Roman aqueducts, then
made our way north to Mt Carmel, where Elijah faced the prophets of Baal.
Afterward we had our first lunch experience. Many restaurants in the tourist
areas seem designed to handle busloads at a time. This restaurant specialized
in falafel (narrator - falafel is EVERYWHERE in Israel) and had a buffet line
for salads (what we'd call "fixins") to go along with it. This is
where I first met Nick and Angela Fox who would become my closest friends on
this trip. We had awkward "get to know you" talk at lunch with mom,
then I talked with him a bit more at some of the next sites and we clicked.
Glad I got to know them! After lunch we headed to Megiddo / Valley of
Armageddon. This is where most tour groups hear violent stories about the
return of Christ with a sword in his mouth that will kill hundreds of thousands
and fill the valley with blood. Not us. We had a lesson on the evils of empire
and how it never seems to end well for the empires…even possibly our infant of
a country at just over 200 years old. After this full day of touring we made
our way further north to Tiberias, a small city on the Sea of Galilee, which in
reality is a large lake.
We'd have to make a
lot of adjustments on this tour due to Coronavirus, and frankly the changes
made this tour pretty special. We had plans to go on a boat across the Sea of
Galilee on Thursday, but the weather was going to be colder, rainy, and windy.
We changed plans and took a dusk ride across the sea. Brian, Peri, and our
guides mentioned that they normally don't go at this time but it was a lot more
peaceful than usual. The lake was very still, and we had the experience of
being on it while the sun was setting. We heard the story of Jesus calming the
storm and some tourmates led the group in songs.
After a very full
day we finally made our way to our hotel, which was on the water and really
nice. Every night we'd have a buffet dinner. This is where I started to get to
know Nick and Angela better along with some of our tourmates. I think it was
the following night that I had a conversation with Brian about Universalism
where he recommended some books and told me about his relationships with Brad
Jersak and David Bentley Hart, the author of That All Shall Be Saved, a
positive affirmation of Universalism. After dinner I wandered the streets near
the hotel to find an ATM to get more Shekels. Later in the tour I found that my
friend David was also wandering nearby and ended up on a street that I checked
out with several restaurants and met some locals who were willing to share some
Israeli "herbs."
*Observation - Coke
Zero is available everywhere in Israel, seemingly more so than here in the U.S.
Thursday's touring
would all be around the Sea of Galilee. We started in Migdal/Magdala, which is
the town of Mary Magdalene that was excavated in recent decades. We visited the
ruins of the synagogue there (where Jesus surely taught) and saw some mikvahs
(ritual baths) along with a chapel dedicated to Mary, other biblical females,
and ultimately to all women of faith. This Mary was the first to announce
(preach) about a risen Christ - the world would not know of it except for her
telling of it. She was the apostle to the apostles and stuck with Jesus to the
end and was the first to see him risen. Next we saw an ancient fishing boat
from the time of Jesus that was found in the Sea and that had been expertly
preserved. Then we made our way further west to Capernaum, the town where Jesus
lived. Things really came to life for me here. The synagogue where Jesus would
have regularly taught was still in great shape. The leaders made a big deal of
a "Jesus step" that was part of the layer that was there in his time.
Later in the tour we'd have many more opportunities to be in places where Jesus
stepped. What was impactful to me was the proximity of everything. The
synagogue was 100 yards from Peter's mother in law's house (also where Jesus
hung out and taught), which was 100 yards from the shore where Jesus called
Peter and Andrew to follow him, and was 100 yards from the town gates where
Matthew/Levi would collect taxes. It was all so close. I noticed for the first
time in this synagogue that prayers on papers were stuffed in the cracks in the
walls. I thought that was just a Western Wall thing.
We had lunch at a
place that I think was called St. Peter's on the shore of the Sea, and their
specialty was St. Peter's fish, which is a whole fried tilapia - head, fins,
and everything. It was a mess to deal with but was really good. Like other
restaurants they had a "fixins" bar.
After lunch we went
to the Mount of the Beatitudes. I thought I took more pictures here but I only
have one…very strange. The Beatitudes are one of my favorite things -
subverting the order of the world. I feel like I took more pictures and don't
know what happened to them.
From here we went to
the baptism site at the Jordan River, not far from where it fed out of the
southeast corner of the Sea of Galilee. I was torn on the baptism up until the
day of the event. Brian presented it as a "pilgrim's baptism", which I
found appropriate, even more so as I later realized I'd never had a full-body
baptism like this. It was a special moment to be able to do this in the same
river as Jesus, John the Baptist, etc. I had to help mom get around here
because of the slippery footing, but she was very happy to be baptized again
too. Afterward we returned to the hotel for dinner.
On Friday, March
13th our first stop was St. Peter's Primacy. Primacy refers to Peter being the
first Pope in the Catholic Church, and this is the site where it's believed
Jesus forgave his denial after the resurrection and asked Peter 3 times to feed
his sheep, an echo of the 3 denials just a few nights earlier. Afterward we
climbed to the top of Mt. Arbel, a site where it's believed Jesus could have
given the great commission and ascended away from earth.
*Observation -
Israel is FULL of caves. It's a very hilly country. I don't know if the caves
are natural, or natural but enhanced by man, but there's a ton of them. Around
Galilee we were told the Zealots lived there to avoid paying city taxes. I feel
you zealots, but it still sucks to take your own trash to the dump, right?
From here we had a
longish bus ride to Nazareth, the childhood hometown of Jesus. Our first stop
in Nazareth was a shawarma/falafel place for lunch. It was our first shawarma
of the trip and set the stage for a few more quick, easy lunches. Shawarma is like
a gyro, but in Israel all I saw was chicken instead of lamb. It's put into a
pita with several kinds of cabbage and salads and served with a white sauce and
a hot sauce. Delicious!
After lunch we
walked to the Church of the Annunciation, where Catholics believe Mary received
news of her pregnancy from the angel. The outside courtyard is filled with
artistic images of Mary from many countries, and more similar images are found
lining the walls around the inside of the church. The church had modern
sections, Byzantine sections (1200 years old??) and then the original section
over 2000 years old where Mary heard the news. On the trip Brian said that the
world was saved the minute Mary said "yes" to the angel. Amen.
From there we went
to a Greek Orthodox church where the Greeks believe Mary received the
announcement and that housed Mary's well. Brian told us Greek churches were
filled with images and icons and he wasn't kidding. The entire inside of the
church was covered in art and carvings. I took a TON of pictures here and still
didn’t capture most of the room. After this we drove up a mountain to the
cliffs where it's believed the townspeople tried to throw Jesus off after he
first preached in his hometown - a prophet is not welcome in his own hometown.
After a long day of touring we returned to our hotel for our last night in
Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee.
On Saturday, March
14th we loaded our buses and started our journey toward Jerusalem. Our first
stop was Beit She'an, an ancient Roman city and the only city of the Decapolis
west of the Jordan River ie: in Israel. This was a "wow" moment. Up to
now we'd seen ruins of small towns and churches built around them. This was a
whole city - an arena for performances, bathhouse, shopping area/markets,
schools, living areas, and the temple/ruler's house at the top of the hill. We
also saw a very old Byzantine church which showed evidence of the first
Christian churches (2nd century AD) existing in a Roman ruled Jewish country.
We had lunch at a shawarma joint (and coffee at McDonald's) then made our way
further south (and UP!!) to Jerusalem.
It was very foggy
when we arrived at the top of the Mt. of Olives, so much that the dome on the
temple mount eventually was completely obscured. We didn't know it at the time,
but we'd be spending the rest of our trip in Jerusalem and have plenty of time
to explore these areas. We had to skip Bethlehem on this trip. Brian and Peri's
tours always shop at the business of a Christian family in Bethlehem and that
company also has a location in Jerusalem, so we shopped in their store for a
bit. The owners told us about Jerusalem crosses and I bought a few wooden ones
to bring home.
The Jerusalem cross
is a large cross with four smaller crosses in each quadrant. The lengths of the
arms are all equal, so it can be turned any direction and still look the same.
There are a few meanings for the crosses. Some say they're the 5 wounds of Jesus
(hands, feet, side). Others say Jerusalem is the 5th Gospel. Or Christ and the
4 Gospels. Regardless, I really liked the symbolism and we'd see a lot of these
crosses throughout the city, included carved into the walls of Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
After we checked
into our hotel we had several hours to kill before dinner. I asked the guides
if it would be OK to walk around on my own. I had a full phone battery and
Google Maps and wanted to explore. They said it would be fine. Later I found
out that Brian and Peri were going to take a group into the old city, so I
waited and went with them. Our small group walked about 5 minutes through a
modern part of town to the Damascus Gate, one of the prettier and busier
entrances to the old city. As we headed over I had no idea what to expect in
the old city. Zero. It turned out to be (in this area) a shopping area - lots
of small, narrow shops running down narrow streets. I'm VERY glad I went with
them because it's a maze in there, although I eventually learned my way around
to some extent. This was the busiest we'd see the old city shops. The effects
of Coronavirus ramped quickly during our trip and eventually many stores didn't
bother to open. This trip
into the city was also the first time I'd hear the Muslim call to prayer,
something I hoped I'd get a chance to hear on this trip. (Narrator: it happens
5 times a day). We returned to the hotel for dinner (I didn't like the food
here very much) and afterward I met up with Nick and Angela at the hotel bar.
We sampled the local rum for rum and Coke. The rum was flavored with anise and
it just wasn't very good. The taps weren't working and the only beers they had
were the local Goldstar and Heineken. Goldstar was everywhere, and it was alright, although I preferred the other Israeli option, All Malt. I wish the bar would have had a better
selection or that we could have found a better spot to hang out nearby. We
looked but there were no bars within walking distance of our hotel, so we stuck
it out. Later some of the other younger members of our tour group met up around
the bar and we joined them in the lounge. It was here I discovered Aaron Zahnd
is also a Disney fan. We talked shop for a bit and I encouraged him to let his
Disney flag fly. I remember the group at the lounge being Nick and Angela,
Aaron and Sarah, Jake and Emma, Adam and Cassie, and David and Judith. This was
a good crew and we'd meet up more in smaller groups over the next few nights.
Sunday, March 15th
was a turning point. We woke up to news that Israel was not going to allow tour
groups to visit sites anymore, specifically large groups on buses like
ours. At breakfast we sat with Peri, Brian, Emma, Jake, and some others and Peri
encouraged everyone to try to book flights home as soon as possible since we
can't tour anymore. Mom and I headed back up to the room and I went online to
learn more about what had changed. The language was around large tour groups.
It didn't say anything about smaller groups. I thought to myself "we're
here, we have hotels, our flights haven't changed. Let's see what we can still
do." We went back downstairs and most of the same group was at the table.
We talked some more about trying to do what we can since we're here and Brian
and Peri were into the idea. What we did seemed a little secretive and I wasn't
totally comfortable with it, but I was part of the group that started it and I
figured others would also form their own touring groups. Brian and Peri were going to take groups out
separately and encourage others to group up and do the same.
We met back
downstairs when Brian said to meet. It got a little awkward as news had not
spread to the whole group yet about bus touring being cancelled, and the time
we were meeting-up was close to the original time to meet to get on buses. We
tried to quietly get out the door and make our way without drawing a lot of
attention, which was tough since we were heading out with Brian. This day's
group was mom, Nick and Angela, Jake and Emma, Wade and Kristina, and David and
Judith. I really wanted mom to come along, but was also very nervous about her
ability to keep up with this mostly younger group. She actually did well
keeping up although I trailed a bit behind most of the group to be a link
between them and her. This turned out to be an epic day. The whole tour heard
about how far we went and how many sites we saw. We started by walking around
the city down the hill to the Garden of Gethsemane and Church of All Nations.
This was one of my favorite sites of the whole tour because it's THE garden.
And it's where Jesus said he didn't want to do this, didn't want to go through
suffering, and pain, but in the way that God is incarnate, Jesus took on
suffering in the same way that we do. That place really resonated with me. The
gardeners there had recently pruned the huge old olive trees (these are about
900 years old), and most of us were able to get some actual olive branches from
these olive trees. I framed mine.
Thus far on the trip
the tour guides would give a historical lesson on what we were seeing, then
would pass the mic to Brian for something more spiritually focused. We did the
same thing on our day with Brian, except he played both parts. At all of our stops
we'd take a break and he'd give a sermonette.
Our next move was
kind of a shock (maybe just because we had mom along). We walked on a road all
the way to the top of the Mt. of Olives. This was a STEEP road. I pulled mom
along a bit and we took some breaks along the way. Fortunately the group was
pretty patient and understanding. The top of the Mount is the same place where
we stopped the afternoon before and couldn't even see the dome. Today was a
nice, clear day and we could see it all clearly. Brian also pointed out the
Southern Stairs and told about the bridge that used to cross the valley. We
made our way back down and popped into the cemetery that housed Absalom's tomb.
We didn’t really see that tomb, but we got to see some others that were just
dug into the hill. We made our way back down the mountain and then up some more
hills into the old city. At this point mom was getting pretty worn out and we
set her up with a cab ride back to the hotel.
From here our group
had lunch at Jacob's Pizza (bruh!!!) and then toured HARD. Our first stop after lunch was Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It's hard to imagine, but the church was built AROUND what are believed to be the crucifixion and burial sites for Jesus. We had heard about the Greek Orthodox priests and how they could be a little screamy or controlling. I suppose they want to preserve and respect the holy site, but they are definitely on the aggressive side. I think the first in our group that tried to enter the tomb was Emma. The priest loudly told her to leave. She stood there and pointed to the tomb, indicating she wanted to go in. He told her to leave again. She stood her ground and pointed again, a little more emphatically. The priest relented and she went in. I went in with some others a few minutes later, although we did get in a tiny bit of trouble with the priest for trying to enter from the wrong side. After I came out I heard the priest absolutely screaming at someone else (not in our group). I don't know what this person did but the priest was really laying into them. Inside the church we also visited the "poor man's tomb" and a statue of Helen, Constantine's mother, who preserved some of the True Cross, I believe. Honestly, this church is full of grottoes and enclaves full of iconography, statues, altars - all having some significance that I don't know about yet. I'll have to read up on it so I know more on a future visit.
We walked all over the old
city, Via Dolorosa, Church of the Holy Sepulchre (along with some grottoes inside),
Gehenna - where I got my selfie in Hell (and which we'd pass through many times),
The Upper Room, David's Tomb, Dormition Abbey (tribute to Mary, mother of
Jesus), Western Wall, and Southern Stairs. We were out for over 9 hours and
walked 27,500 steps, 13 miles, and 59 flights. It was a DAY.
 |
| Selfie in Hell |
Dormition Abbey was
fantastic and memorable. The Western Wall made me feel like an outsider. Like I
didn't belong. Still, I went to the wall and prayed Deuteronomy 6:4 "Hear
O Israel, The Lord Our God is One." I'm still feeling like a universalist
and this felt appropriate to pray here. The Southern Steps were special. We had
to pay to get in (even though our tour group had paid to go in as a group
later). These were the steps Jesus would have most commonly used to get to the
Temple. He would have taught here. Some of these steps were untouched from the
1st century, so it was another chance to walk where Jesus walked. Shoutout to
creative Emma for grabbing our phones to snap individual pics of our shoes on
the original stairs.
This was probably my
favorite day of the trip. What looked gloomy early on turned into a real
adventure. We had a great group that was up for a big day of exploring, and a
dynamic where we'd all walk at different times with different people and never
have trouble making conversation. I had already gotten really comfortable with
Nick and Angela, but this day I got to know Jake and Emma, David and (a little
bit) Judith, and Wade and Kristina.
We returned to the
hotel for dinner, then I met up with Nick and Angela at the bar again. I had
run short on Shekels the night before, and had used what I had to pay for mom's
cab, so they paid for my lunch at Jacob's. It was my turn to pay the tab and I
still don't think I covered what they paid for earlier. Come to think of it, I
still need to do some paying back from the beers Nick bought later. Hopefully I
can make it up if we meet up again in the future, which I sincerely hope we can
do.
We stayed in nice
hotels all throughout the trip. In our Jerusalem hotels we were joined by other
American tour groups, and on this night in the bar we witnessed a cringy
moment. We were hoping to be able to use the lounge area again, but one of the
other groups had filled it and was singing hymns at a piano. OK, cool. Fine. No
problem. BUT, then they started singing American patriotic songs, and everyone
stood up and really got into it. I have my own feelings about nationalism and I
think most of our group would be on somewhat the same page. This was creepy as hell. The
bartenders started walking through the group with their hands raised and we
couldn't tell if they were being facetious or patronizing or if they were
actually into it. Frankly, I think most American religious tourism to Israel is
pretty cringy and these folks were bringing to life my thoughts about it. Man,
that was weird!!!
At the bar Nick and I talked about wanting to try to see the Garden Tomb and Golgotha sites that are close to our hotel. In my mind these seem less likely to be authentic, but it's worth seeing since we're here. Mom came with us to check these out since they'd be a short walk. The Garden Tomb ended up being closed. We tried pretty persistently though. I saw someone inside and they definitely knew we were there, but I guess they just weren't opening for business. The Golgotha site is also used as a bus drop-off and parking area?? This contributes a bit to my thoughts about authenticity. We couldn't see half of "skull hill" with buses parked in front of it.
We wandered back into the old city through the Damascus Gate again. This was mom's first time in and I wanted to be sure she had a chance to see it. After shopping for a few minutes we took mom back to the hotel so she could rest. We were already about 5000 steps in so it would have been a real hurdle for her to keep going with us. We returned to the hotel and caught our last bus ride a few miles to our last hotel, the Inbal, on the other side of the old city.
Nick really wanted to see the Temple Mount and he found out it would only be open for a short time. Time would be tight, so he, Angela, and I hired a cab to take us there. I wish I had taken video. We drove THROUGH the narrow streets in the old city and it felt like something out of a Jason Bourne movie. The cab ride was worth it. We were toward the front of the line to be admitted to the Temple Mount. This was the site of the 1st and 2nd Temples and currently the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque. This was a HUGE area, far larger than I expected. Angela was wearing pants, but I guess the overseers thought they were too tight (??) so she had to wear a dress-type thing they were handing out, and make sure her sleeves were pulled down. The Temple Mount was busy with Muslim families picnicking, and seeing the shrine and mosque. I don't know where they entered or if they always have access. After wandering around on our own and helping Nick shoot a video for his church/college students he hired a local man to walk around with us and give a short guided tour of the area. He spoke quickly and it was a little tough to follow, but he clearly knew all about the area and at the end showed us pictures from his phone of the inside of the shrine and mosque. He mentioned that along with it being the site of the Temples it's also believed to be where Abraham brought Isaac for sacrifice, and that some believe the Ark of the Covenant us buried somewhere underneath the dome.
We exited the Temple Mount in a different area and wandered the old city streets for a bit looking for lunch. Tourism was quickly dwindling due to Coronavirus and not many places were open. We found another shawarma joint with a very friendly proprietor. He was very apologetic that we couldn't sit down, saying the police would come. From here on out all of our eating outside the hotel would be take-out only. We walked back to our hotel along Gehenna (something we'd do often) and sat and talked a bit at an outdoor arena, the purpose of which I still can't figure out, then sat again toward the top of the valley near the first park we visited with Brian.
Nick had formed a friendship with one of our tour-guides, Gila. She had a cab-driver friend named Heshe who was willing to take a group to the Dead Sea for $200. Several destinations on our tour were scuttled due to Coronavirus. I didn't mind not going to Bethlehem or Masada, but I REALLY wanted to experience the Dead Sea. The potential barriers were whether or not beach access would be open and if we'd get stuck at a checkpoint coming back into Jerusalem. Heshe found a resort that was definitely open and was confident in his ability to get us back. He said in Israel "everything is negotiable." If we got stopped he and the police would have a discussion about it but he didn't think it would be a problem. Originally Nick, Angela, and I were going to split the cab ride but Melissa (from Ohio? or Colorado?) joined us at the last minute. Mom didn't try to make this trip because she had some skin irritation from some wet socks and she needed to rest and let it heal. It was only about a 40-minute ride down to the Dead Sea, dropping from 3800 feet above sea level in Jerusalem to about 1300 feet below sea level at the beach. We went from 50 degrees at the hotel to about 75 degrees at the beach. There was about a $30 admission fee, but it was all worth it, even for just an hour. The footing under the surface was really slick and rocky, so I was glad I'd brought my Chacos along. The water was chilly and it seemed like you had to wander out pretty far to get any depth. I only went out to about my waist. You have to be careful in the Dead Sea to keep the water out of your eyes and mouth. To float you just squat down, lean back, and your body pops up out of the water. There's nothing like it that I've experienced. You just can't sink in this water. It was a little slimy feeling and there were intermittent patches of mud. We all rubbed some on our skin since it's supposed to be good for you. We're a beach family and I could have stayed out here for hours. We floated for about an hour, then got changed and headed back. I found some big chunks of salt around the shore and brought one back.
We talked about lunch on the drive back and Heshe mentioned that his daughter owns a taco restaurant near our hotel (what?!?). She was married to a man from Mexico and they opened a business that's probably pretty unique in Jerusalem. The tacos were really good, and they were kosher - no cheese or sour cream. We also FINALLY got into some good Israeli beer, an IPA called Lapiro. Nick also ran over to a liquor store and got a variety of local beers that he shared with me. When we got back we spread word that our driver was willing to take another group the next day. Jake and Emma went with a few others and I let Jake use my Chacos. (really getting into the gory details here...)
After we got back from the Dead Sea mom was still resting. I had bought gifts for Griffin at the Spurs shop, and Cason in the old city, but I didn't have anything for Patty yet. I took a solo walk through Gehenna to the old city. (Yes, I love passing through Gehenna) Just as I was getting into the city I realized I didn't have my passport. YIKES! Israel was clamping down on tourism and we were told to ALWAYS have our passports with us. I was going to go down one of the narrow streets but the entry was blocked by machine-gun wielding police, so I went to a store on the main street and negotiated a decent price on a necklace/earring set made with King Solomon's Stone (what turquoise is to New Mexicans). Then I quickly made my way back to the Inbal. I got caught in a rainstorm and (stupidly) quit using Google Maps and ended up walking far further down into the valley than I needed to. Lesson - in the winding streets of Jerusalem, even if you think you know where you're going, trust the Google Maps.
In all the Dead Sea excitement I didn't even realized the date - March 17th, St. Patrick's Day. I headed down have a beer with Nick before dinner and found him at a table with Emma, Jacob, Adam, Cassie, David, and Judith...and Emma and Jake had bought a BIG bottle of Jameson, pretty much the only whiskey I like. Huge shoutout to Emma and Jacob for this most welcome site. We drank it straight along with some wine someone else brought, and even got Brian double fisting drinks with us. Our group got split up at dinner but we reconvened later over more drinks and talked spiritual topics and weed, and probably other things. I got to know David from Atlanta (only 3 hours from me) a lot more on this night. He told me about how he met up with the locals who *shared* with him in Tiberias...and he asked around with the hotel staff to see if any of them had a source. Not sure he's checked out Run The Jewels yet, but I'll send him a link when RTJ4 drops. He said he wanted to connect with me in Atlanta and *share* some things with me. I eventually got pretty hammered and it took awhile the next morning to recover. Don't regret a thing though. This night is part of what made this trip special.
On Wednesday, March 18th a group of us headed out with Brian to see Caiphas's House, also called St. Peter in Gallicantu. It was the site where Jesus was brought after his arrest, where Peter denied him three times in the courtyard, and where Jesus likely spent the night in the cistern, which was used as a dungeon. Eerily, there are roosters nearby and you can hear them crowing as you're looking around the site. In fact, rooster imagery dominates here. This is normally a busy place. We had time to ourselves in the chapel to study the artwork that depicted the stations of the cross, and then at least 15 minutes as a group, unbothered, in the cistern. Brian said normally groups are lined up and you pop in and out. We had time for a sermonette, to read through Psalm 88, and just to ponder the location and what likely happened here...the despair and abandonment that God With Us felt. This is one of many moments of this trip that I'll never forget.
At this point some of the group went with Brian to some sites in the old city they hadn't seen yet. The rest of us returned to the hotel. I wanted to come back to get mom and see if she'd be up for a trip into the old city since she hadn't had much chance to see it.
Mom and I walked up the hill near the hotel and through the top of Gehenna and entered the old city through the Jaffa Gate. We made our way through empty streets (where I got some killer pics) to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. There was one (ONE!!!) person in the courtyard when we arrived. This is unheard of since this one possibly the most popular site in Jerusalem. I showed her the bedrock where Jesus' body was prepared for burial, and helped her get up the steps to the crucifixion site. There were two (TWO!!!) other people up there. I told her we'd never see it like this again and take her time if she wanted to. Then we made our way back down and over to the tomb, with no yelling Greek Orthodox priests this time. A priest was there, but he was mellow today.
Afterward we wandered the old city a bit more. Mom bought some jewelry in one of the shops, then got some pomegranate juice from a street stand. This would be the last night in Israel for most of our group, including all the friends I was hanging around the most. After dinner a bunch of of settled in the lounge and had our conversation quickly turned to Morse code and Elon Musk when Wade Gray came over. We hung around for as long as everyone wanted to and eventually said our goodbyes. Who knows if any of us will have a chance to meet-up again? I suppose the most likely spot would be at a Water to Wine event. I've also talked to Nick some about joining/helping with a future trip that he'd like to lead. I REALLY want to visit Israel again and, separately (or unrelated) would love the chance to see some of my tourmates again.
Mom and I were on our own on Thursday the 19th. I still wanted to do more exploring - mainly getting down to Zechariah's tomb. The prospect of seeing something 4000 years old up close was irresistible. I made my way back down through Gehenna (holla!) toward the tombs. As I neared St. Peter in Gallicantu I remembered that I had saved the location of Oskar Schlindler's grave in Google Maps and thought it was nearby. It turned out to be right next to Gallicantu. We walked right by it. It took a little hunting but I eventually found the grave, covered with more stones than most other graves nearby. I laid a stone myself and said a short prayer of thanks, then headed down to the tombs. It was a LONG walk, and when I reached the spot where I broke away from the road it was a LONG way down to the bottom of the Mt. of Olives. There was NO ONE around. There was a hospitality tent (??) with music playing when I arrived, but I'm pretty sure it was a recording. I didn't bother looking in. I took an up-close look at Absalom's Pillar (monument to himself...I guess it worked? It's still there, and it's a sight to behold), then headed to Zechariah's tomb. It turned out to be an entire family tomb. There were stairways and ladders leading the way up, and again, NO ONE was around I went up into the tomb and could see some more chambers further in. It's about here that I got spooked the hell out, snapped a quick pic and left about as quickly as I could. Just too creepy. Those inner rooms were big and totally dark and I just couldn't go in by myself. I think it would have been OK with friends around, but alone was a big NOPE!
I made my way further south in Kidron Valley toward Gethsemane and the Church of All Nations. I spent some more time in the garden and the church TOTALLY ALONE. This is still one of my favorite spots from the trip. I can't believe was able to be alone there. I made another visit to a very sparse Western Wall, said another prayer there, then made my way back to the hotel. I ran into Gary and Cecilia Schermehorn, and Brian and Debbie Peterson (who we'd share a cab back to Tel Aviv with) on my way back. Mom and I got lunch from P2 (take-out only now), then worked on packing for our trip home.
The next morning we shared a cab to Ben Gurion airport with the Petersons and had an uneventful, but crowded experience at the airport. We had a 12.5 hour flight to Newark, NJ and on the flight I watched 2001, A Space Odyssey (now I can say I've seen it, but zzzzz), Jojo Rabbit, A Beautiful Day In the Neighborhood, Harriet, and Lady Bird. It was an unusually hot day in Newark - close to 80 degrees, and the entire airport was very stuffy, as if the air conditioner wasn't working. The process to enter the U.S. was really busy. We first scanned passports and listed what we declared, then moved to the next line. Most lines were moving but the person running our booth kept taking travellers with him to another location for a few minutes, then returning. Because we had been to London, he took us over to a CDC room where we filled out a form and they checked our temperatures on our foreheads. Mine was 99.1...but under the 100 degree threshold. I was nervous because the airport was SO hot and I didn't wear a hat when I sent out exploring the day before and had a bit of a sunburn. We were cleared, then sent to another room where a customs agent entered more info. Then we had to retrieve our bags from the luggage return, then go and check them again and go through a CRAZY LONG TSA line. A lot of travelers were trying to cut through line because they were about to miss flights. We had plenty of time and thankfully weren't in a rush. My last memories of this trip are having as clear of a view of the New York skyline as I'd hope to see from an airport (having never been to NYC before) and how basic the plane to Nashville was compared to the modern miracles we'd been flying on.
So, what's different
after this trip? I'd say the first thing is my interest in prayer, which came
out of an innocuous conversation with a small group. I mentioned something
about prayer being tough these last few years, even through my dad's sickness
and death, and Wade Gray mentioned where the Lord says to bring everything
before him in prayer (paraphrased). I have long questioned God's agency in the
world, and I'm still working it out - ie: I still don't think God is
"acting" much to influence the world but rather started all the
processes. After that conversation I'm feeling more interested in at least
laying before God the things that concern me, and being thankful for things I'm
thankful for. If I take seriously that my faith is incarnational, then I should
take seriously that God wants to participate/share in my joys and burdens.
It's occurring to me now that my faith is becoming
more Christ-centric. It's not that it wasn't before, but I feel like the Jesus
(angle??) has gained some focus. If I had to call myself anything I'd still say
panentheist and universalist, because I ultimately believe that separation from
God is something humans perceived that was never real, and that everyone is OK
in the end and all things are made new. But regardless of what I or someone
else thinks, as a person roams around Israel and is surrounded by all the sites
you can't help but acknowledge that something happened here, and it shaped the
world going forward. God's kingdom turns the way of the world
on its head. It's a subversive story. I wish more people took the life and work of Jesus more seriously, instead of putting all the focus on death and resurrection.
I hope for myself that I can do the same. I hope this trip can continue to open up my thinking and attitudes. As an Enneagram 5 I live pretty inwardly, and can take it to an extreme and become insular. On this trip I met a lot of people with similar interests and feelings about how the world works, and it was great to make new friends amid all that commonality. Now that I'm back home where I don't have that same community I hope I'm willing to branch out and try to find or make that community. I'm eager for the world to get back to normal for a number of reasons, but one is that I'd like to try to regularly attend St. Paul's Episcopal. I feel like it's a community where I can find some commonality with the congregation, and perhaps somewhere that our family can settle and have a church community.
I wrote all of this so I don't forget what happened on this trip, but it'll be shared in limited circles too. To whoever reads this - Shalom, Salaam - Peace.
