Route of the Ancient Traders
Day 6
M/S Nautica
Ashdod, Israel
Partly Cloudy – 75 Degrees
The Port of Ashdod is an industrial port on the coast of the Mediterranean. It is the number one port in Israel and it serves Tel Aviv, just North, and Jerusalem to the East.
We left Ashdod during the morning rush hour for the drive into the Judean Hills and Jerusalem. The coastal plain was dotted with agriculture, and garbage. As we got closer to the city, the highway snarled with commuter traffic just like ours. Single occupant vehicles, driven mostly by men.
Jerusalem was fully contained within the old city walls until well into the 1800s. Now it is the capital of modern Israel, succeeding Tel Aviv when it was reclaimed in the 1967 Six Day War, and its largest city. With history of civilization in this place dating back more than six thousand years, it is one of the oldest cities in the world. It is a spiritual home to three of the world's major religions, considered the holiest place in Judaism, the third holiest in Islam, and one of the holiest in Christianity.
As we came into this historic city, we were greeted by the newest landmark of modernism. We passed under the new pedestrian and light rail bridge designed by famous Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava.Meant to evoke the strings of a harp, a symbol of Israel and Jerusalem, it is called the Chords Bridge. It is transcendent. A statement far exceeding anything we have built for Link light rail. This is the government quarter. We passed the State Supreme High Court, which is new and beautiful, and the Knesset, Israel's parliament, which is neither. On the other side of the hill, we saw the Israel Museum and the Shrine of the Book, home to the Dead Sea Scrolls.
After the highlights of new Jerusalem, we pulled up to the Jaffa gate in the old city wall for our walking tour of the history of religion.
The Old City is a warren of covered streets and sloping alleyways that form a sprawling marketplace. Narrow passageways were clogged with people going both directions and shopkeepers calling out to passersby. Occasionally, everything would come to a halt as kids pushing and pulling carts through the throngs would try to make room calling, "Baby, baby, baby!!!" At one point, we paused for an "ambulance" to go by. Four paramedics carried on old woman on a stretcher. No lights, no sirens.
The center of the Christian Quarter, and of Christendom in Jerusalem, is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Perched on the hill Golgotha, the Church marks the site of Jesus' crucifixion, burial and resurrection.
Just inside is the Stone of Unction, where the body of Jesus was cleansed and prepared for burial.
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is home to the last five of the fourteen "Stations of the Cross." These are the sacred points along Jesus' route to Calvary, from the place of his trial and condemnation by Pontius Pilate to the site of his Crucifixion and burial. We walked in the footsteps of Jesus as we retraced the Stations of the Cross through the Old Town of Jerusalem. Many are along the Via Dolorosa, Way of Suffering or Way of the Cross.
Each station is marked with a Roman Numeral in bronze. There are shrines at some, but others are just amid the noise and clutter of the marketplace. Pilgrims mark this sacred route in a reenactment of the Crucifixion. They rent simple wooden crosses and carry them on their backs to each station.
These are the Stations of the Cross:
1. Jesus is Condemned to Death
We walked through the gardens and came to the lovely Church of All Nations, built in 1924.
The alter is the Rock of the Agony. After the Last Supper, Jesus and His Disciples came here to pray, where he was betrayed and arrested. This rock is where Jesus is said to have endured His Passion.
For one last look at the Old City, we ascended the Mount of Olives. This is now in disputed East Jerusalem, a mostly Muslim neighborhood under Israeli control. There is peace, though boredom and division sometimes overcome. As we waited at a light, school kids sitting on a ledge started throwing rocks at our bus. The line between playful and hateful is a fine one. We will withhold judgment and believe the best. The panorama from the Mount of Olives is truly spectacular. The brisk wind and the chill of the afternoon were a welcome refreshment after a morning in close quarters.
The area that we know as Israel is not exactly that. The Palestinian Territories carve wide swaths out of the land. They include the Gaza Strip along the Mediterranean in the SouthWest, and the West Bank in the East. This refers to the West Bank of the Jordan River. The map of Israel we uploaded to the last post paints a clear picture of the boundary. It is in fact more of a mosaic than a picture. The map of the disputed territories looks like a marble. There are areas of Israeli control and areas of Palestinian control. There are areas where each government is responsible for its own citizens, but not the citizens of the other. These areas all intertwine. We believe that both the Israelis and the Palestinians, both the Jews and the Muslims, have a right to a homeland. They deserve peace. Unfortunately, there is only one homeland and peace is elusive. Someday, both sides may have to choose one or the other.
In Jerusalem, we find ourselves on one side of the line. Bethlehem is on the other. Our Israeli guide announced that she could not accompany us into the Palestinian Territory and Bethlehem. We stopped at the side of the road and dropped her off as we approached the checkpoint. Once free of Israelis, fully vetted, and safely on the other side, we picked up a Palestinian guide for the ride to Bethlehem.
The line, of course, is not just jurisdictional, but religious, cultural, and socio-economic as well. The Palestinian population is Muslim and poor compared to their Israeli neighbors. Unemployment is high and tourism has fallen under Palestinian control. There is still a significant Christian population in this town, the birthplace of the Savior.
The heart of Bethlehem is Manger Square, dominated by the Church of the Nativity.
This place, disputed by some and revered by others, is the very center of it all. The Prince of Peace was born here, in what is still now, two-thousand years later, a city and a nation in conflict. Our fellow pilgrims knelt to pray and feel the blessings of this holy shrine. We paid our respects and made the climb back out of the grotto, through the church, and into the night in Manger Square. Even non-believers have to be touched by the history of this moment and the spirit of this place.
We exchanged guides again at the checkpoint for the drive back through Jerusalem and down the Judean Hills on our way back to the ship.
We will remain docked in Ashdod for the night, and another day in Israel tomorrow.
We climbed the steps to the right, up the hill of Golgotha, or Calvary, to the alter where the cross stood and Jesus died. Pilgrims wait in long lines to make the crawl under the alter to the hole made for the base of the cross.
The Holy Sepulchre itself is a chapel that was built over the place Jesus was buried, and resurrected. Again, pilgrims wait in line for hours to step inside.
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is home to the last five of the fourteen "Stations of the Cross." These are the sacred points along Jesus' route to Calvary, from the place of his trial and condemnation by Pontius Pilate to the site of his Crucifixion and burial. We walked in the footsteps of Jesus as we retraced the Stations of the Cross through the Old Town of Jerusalem. Many are along the Via Dolorosa, Way of Suffering or Way of the Cross.
Each station is marked with a Roman Numeral in bronze. There are shrines at some, but others are just amid the noise and clutter of the marketplace. Pilgrims mark this sacred route in a reenactment of the Crucifixion. They rent simple wooden crosses and carry them on their backs to each station.These are the Stations of the Cross:
1. Jesus is Condemned to Death
2. Jesus Takes Up the Cross
3. Jesus Falls Under the Cross for the First Time
4. Jesus Meets His Mother
5. Simon the Cyrenian is Forced to Carry the Cross
6. Veronica Wipes the Sweat from Jesus' Face
7. Jesus Falls for the Second Time
8. Jesus Consoles the Women of Jerusalem
9. Jesus Falls for the Third Time
10. Jesus is Stripped of His Garments
11. Jesus is Nailed to the Cross
12. Jesus Dies on the Cross
13. Jesus is Taken Down from the Cross
14. Jesus is Laid in the Tomb
Leaving the Christian Quarter, we passed through the Muslim Quarter and into the Jewish Quarter.
The Western Wall, known by Jews as the Wailing Wall, is the 2,000 year-old Western wall of the Temple Mount. King Herod had the wall built to fortify the Temple Mount and the restored Second Temple at its center. The temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D. The wall forms one side of a vast square that has become an open-air Synagogue. Jews "wail" in memory of the lost Temple and the exile from their homeland.
It is considered the holiest site in the Jewish faith. Jews believe that the rock at the summit of the Temple Mount is the very foundation stone of the world, and the place where Abraham was prepared to sacrifice his son Isaac. This rock is now under the Golden Dome, and the dominion of the Muslims. They believe that this is the place where Muhammad ascended to receive the word of Islam from God.
Security was tight as we approached from the East. There are metal detectors, x-ray machines, and a strong IDF (Israeli Defense Force) presence. We came through security at the top of the stairs overlooking the square and the wall beyond.
Worshipers by the thousands filled the square. Groups of people, families, faithful, gathered together and prayed. Four generations of a single family wore matching shirts, "Family HERSCHEL is back at home after 2600 years."
There was music and singing and dancing. There were mitzvahs. Standing at the wall, Jews, Muslims, and Christians said their prayers, men at one end, women at the other, all under an Israeli flag.
Tradition holds that if a person of faith commits their prayer to a scrap of paper and slips it between the rocks of the wall, their God will answer. These slips of paper by the millions form the mortar of the wall. Tres donned a kippa and joined the masses.
3. Jesus Falls Under the Cross for the First Time
4. Jesus Meets His Mother
5. Simon the Cyrenian is Forced to Carry the Cross
6. Veronica Wipes the Sweat from Jesus' Face
7. Jesus Falls for the Second Time
8. Jesus Consoles the Women of Jerusalem
9. Jesus Falls for the Third Time
10. Jesus is Stripped of His Garments
11. Jesus is Nailed to the Cross
12. Jesus Dies on the Cross
13. Jesus is Taken Down from the Cross
14. Jesus is Laid in the Tomb
Leaving the Christian Quarter, we passed through the Muslim Quarter and into the Jewish Quarter.
The Western Wall, known by Jews as the Wailing Wall, is the 2,000 year-old Western wall of the Temple Mount. King Herod had the wall built to fortify the Temple Mount and the restored Second Temple at its center. The temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D. The wall forms one side of a vast square that has become an open-air Synagogue. Jews "wail" in memory of the lost Temple and the exile from their homeland.
It is considered the holiest site in the Jewish faith. Jews believe that the rock at the summit of the Temple Mount is the very foundation stone of the world, and the place where Abraham was prepared to sacrifice his son Isaac. This rock is now under the Golden Dome, and the dominion of the Muslims. They believe that this is the place where Muhammad ascended to receive the word of Islam from God.
Security was tight as we approached from the East. There are metal detectors, x-ray machines, and a strong IDF (Israeli Defense Force) presence. We came through security at the top of the stairs overlooking the square and the wall beyond.
Worshipers by the thousands filled the square. Groups of people, families, faithful, gathered together and prayed. Four generations of a single family wore matching shirts, "Family HERSCHEL is back at home after 2600 years."
There was music and singing and dancing. There were mitzvahs. Standing at the wall, Jews, Muslims, and Christians said their prayers, men at one end, women at the other, all under an Israeli flag.
Tradition holds that if a person of faith commits their prayer to a scrap of paper and slips it between the rocks of the wall, their God will answer. These slips of paper by the millions form the mortar of the wall. Tres donned a kippa and joined the masses.
We walked out of the square to the South and stopped at Dung Gate for a view of the Temple Mount crowned by the golden Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa Mosque, through the Old City wall, and back into modern Jerusalem for another hotel buffet lunch.
At the base of the Mount of Olives, across a narrow valley from the Eastern Wall of the Old City, we found the Gardens of Gethsemane, site of an ancient olive oil press yard and a small grove of gnarled old olive trees that may have been planted in Jesus' time.
We walked through the gardens and came to the lovely Church of All Nations, built in 1924.
The alter is the Rock of the Agony. After the Last Supper, Jesus and His Disciples came here to pray, where he was betrayed and arrested. This rock is where Jesus is said to have endured His Passion.
For one last look at the Old City, we ascended the Mount of Olives. This is now in disputed East Jerusalem, a mostly Muslim neighborhood under Israeli control. There is peace, though boredom and division sometimes overcome. As we waited at a light, school kids sitting on a ledge started throwing rocks at our bus. The line between playful and hateful is a fine one. We will withhold judgment and believe the best. The panorama from the Mount of Olives is truly spectacular. The brisk wind and the chill of the afternoon were a welcome refreshment after a morning in close quarters.
The area that we know as Israel is not exactly that. The Palestinian Territories carve wide swaths out of the land. They include the Gaza Strip along the Mediterranean in the SouthWest, and the West Bank in the East. This refers to the West Bank of the Jordan River. The map of Israel we uploaded to the last post paints a clear picture of the boundary. It is in fact more of a mosaic than a picture. The map of the disputed territories looks like a marble. There are areas of Israeli control and areas of Palestinian control. There are areas where each government is responsible for its own citizens, but not the citizens of the other. These areas all intertwine. We believe that both the Israelis and the Palestinians, both the Jews and the Muslims, have a right to a homeland. They deserve peace. Unfortunately, there is only one homeland and peace is elusive. Someday, both sides may have to choose one or the other.
In Jerusalem, we find ourselves on one side of the line. Bethlehem is on the other. Our Israeli guide announced that she could not accompany us into the Palestinian Territory and Bethlehem. We stopped at the side of the road and dropped her off as we approached the checkpoint. Once free of Israelis, fully vetted, and safely on the other side, we picked up a Palestinian guide for the ride to Bethlehem.
The line, of course, is not just jurisdictional, but religious, cultural, and socio-economic as well. The Palestinian population is Muslim and poor compared to their Israeli neighbors. Unemployment is high and tourism has fallen under Palestinian control. There is still a significant Christian population in this town, the birthplace of the Savior.
The heart of Bethlehem is Manger Square, dominated by the Church of the Nativity.
We made our way through the square and the throngs of beggars and sellers to the church and squeezed through the tiny door. The back of the church is very plain. The murals that lined the upper walls have in large part been lost. They have just discovered mosaics below the floor. The alter is beautiful, very ornate in the style of the Orthodox.
The site of pilgrimage here is the grotto carved into the stone below. We joined the line that filled fully one-third of the church. Finally, after more than an hour in a slow-moving line, we descended the steep stairs into a sweltering, cramped cave, lined with linens, and ripe with the smell of burning candles and the sweat of the faithful.
To the right, beneath a small alter, is a 14-point silver star with the Latin inscription, "HIC DE VIRGINE MARIA JESUS CHRISTUS NATUS EST," (Here of the Virgin Mary, Jesus Christ was born).
On the left, down a few more steps, is the manger where the baby Jesus was laid.
This place, disputed by some and revered by others, is the very center of it all. The Prince of Peace was born here, in what is still now, two-thousand years later, a city and a nation in conflict. Our fellow pilgrims knelt to pray and feel the blessings of this holy shrine. We paid our respects and made the climb back out of the grotto, through the church, and into the night in Manger Square. Even non-believers have to be touched by the history of this moment and the spirit of this place.
We exchanged guides again at the checkpoint for the drive back through Jerusalem and down the Judean Hills on our way back to the ship.
We will remain docked in Ashdod for the night, and another day in Israel tomorrow.
Wow -- what an incredible day. Church of the Holy Sepulchre and Church of the Nativity. Jerusalem and Bethlehem. I'm overwhelmed. I dearly hope I will visit these places one day. Your description and pictures are wonderful. Thanks for much posting!
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