Day - 23 - The Real Via Dolorosa

View from Mount of Olives on the Old City and Temple Mount

Today we walked a much more historically accurate route of the road of suffering.

This started at the Garden of Gethsemane, where we had a really cool time of communion and prayer.

We also stopped by Saint Anne Cathedral.


Saint Anne was the Grandma of Jesus.


We also stopped at the church of the Holy Sepulcher. 

Day - 22 - Traditional Via Dolorosa

Today we went to the oldest part of Jerusalem, the city of David.


We also got to go to the one place in all of Israel, that we know for a fact, Jesus stood at one point of His life.

This place is the old 2nd Temple period entrance to the Temple Mount. 

Then we walked what is known as the traditional Via Dolorosa, or The Road of Suffering.


This is the way the catholics claim Jesus walked to His death.

Day - 21 - No Place for a Baby

We started the day by going to Herodium, which is a man made mountain that is hollowed out with a city on the inside. King Herod had it built, thus why it is named after him.

After Herodium we went to the scariest city of the trip, other than New York of course...

Bethlehem is controlled buy the Muslims, and there is no government. We had to leave our Jewish guides back in Jerusalem because they are not allowed in.

Masters did find this sweet necklace though.

Day - 20 - David and Goliath

We went to many Tels today, including Tel Beersheba.

Our last stop was the valley where David fought Goliath. 


I picked a smooth stone like the one David used to bring home as a gift for my Dad.

Day - 19 - The Shrine

Today we had an amazing opportunity to have the curator of the Shrine of the Book guide us on a tour of both Qumran, and the Shrine.


Qumran was home to the Jewish sect know as the Essenes. 

This is the place where we find some of the oldest and best persevered writings of scripture.

We got to see a couple of the original documents found at Qumran at the Shrine of the Book.

Day - 18 - 50,000

Today was a free day so we just walked around the old city and finished up any shopping we had left.


Little did we know that it was National Jerusalem Day.


The Jews had many celebrations and parades that all met at the Western Wall. 50,000 Jews in all.


There were many fights between Jew and Muslim, and about 47 were arrested, and numerous injured. 


We managed to sneak to a place where we could see everything going on. We snapped a couple pictures before we were thrown out, rather we ran out before they could throw us out. 


I guess your not supposed to have girls in a Jewish study area. Signs would have been nice...

Day - 17 - Holocaust

Today started off exciting and ended very somber.


First we got to do a sift of part of the temple mount that was excavated. We found lots of small artifacts such as Roman glass, pieces of the original Dome of the Rock, very old pottery, and many other miscellaneous pieces. 

After we spent the rest of the day in the Israel Holocaust Memorial. Having been the the Holocaust Memorial in Washington I was shocked at the differences. In D.C. the memorial is very shocking and sad, in Israel there was much less emotion. It was difference in feelings from reading a novel to reading a text book.

Our guide told us that most Jews have an idea in their mind that their persecution during the Holocaust was a necessary evil in order for their nation to be re-established.

Day - 16 - Old City Exploration

Today we went to the old city to be shown the ropes.


This place is crazy. Completely crowded with people, and most of them don't really like each other.


Everything is built upon itself, so it's very hard to navigate around. 


The markets are packed with a ton of crap that no body wants, but for some reason people buy.


















We went up onto the temple mount, where the girls got hounded for showing too much skin. Apparently your a hoochie if you show your shoulders...


The Dome of the Rock is a beautiful building with its gold roof.

Both the Muslims and the Jews believe that in the Dome of the Rock sits the corner stone of the world. The very first stone God created when he created the earth.


I couldn't get inside to verify, so I'll just take their word.


We ended our day at the wailing wall.

Day - 15 - Travel to Jerusalem

We started the day at another tel, Tel Jezreel, and surprise, surprise we then went to Tel Maggido.

From there we traveled west to the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, to Caesurae.

There is a theater that dates back to the time of the Romans in Caesurae, that is still currently in use. Today they were having concert. 

During the hay day of Caesurae, King Herod had a 13 mile long aqueduct built from the area's main water source to his palace on the coast. The aqueduct had a consisted 1 degree slope the entire 13 miles of it. 

Of course climbed it....

Our last stop of the day was our arrival at our final hotel of the trip, in Jerusalem Israel.

Day - 14 - The Places Jesus Was

Today we went to Chorazin, which according to Matthew and Luke, were villages in which Jesus performed "mighty works." 

Something interesting I learned today was that according the the teaching of Jesus he was probably most likely aligned with the jewish sect of the Pharisees. This might explain Jesus' harsh words to the Pharisees. Who are you going to get more upset at for screwing up, your good friend or someone you have no relationship with?




In the Synagogue in Chorazin there is this interesting stone which seems to have the face of Medusa carved on it.












After Chorazin we went to the Mount of the Beatitudes. 

Then we went to Capernum, the place there Jesus called Peter, James, and John.






















On the shores of Capernum you can still find ancient fishing weights like this one that we found.

There are both a Catholic church which was built over what they believe to be the house of Peter,

And a Greek Orthodox church with crazy wierd pictures painted all over the inside of it like this one of the devil.

To finish off the day we went in a boat ride on the Galilee as the sun was setting. 

                               

Day - 13 - The Tiny Jordan

By far the most under whelming part of my entire time in Israel was the Jordan river, or more accurately, the Jordan Creek. This thing is tiny.

Today we went on a jeep trek through different parts of the river, and even had the opportunity for a few people to be baptized in the Jordan. 

After that we went to some natural springs and spent the rest of the day swimming, and letting little fish eat the dead skin off our feet.

Day - 12 - Crazy Catholics

Sorry it has taken so long to finish this Journal of my time in the Holy Land. My last posts will be published in the next few days. Promise!






Today we visited the Chapel of the Enunciation. According to Catholicism this is the place where the Angels revealed themselves to Marry and told her should would be giving birth to Jesus.

After that we went to a Jewish village where they taught us to make unleavened bread, and they let us ride their donkeys.

It’s very interesting traveling across Israel, and seeing all the amazingly magnificent churches built by the Catholics. During the crusades whenever they heard that an area was significant in the life of Jesus they plopped down a church. Even if that meant ruining what already laid there. Such as at the Chapel of the Enunciation. Caves, which were the dwellings of the time of Jesus, have been found underneath the church. Which may be the place the angels spoke to Mary.