Caravans 3 - March 2018 - Itinerary

DAY 1,  Monday , March 19:
                         "Ahlan wa Sahlan!"

    Arrive at Alia International Airport, Amman               

        It’s strange that one of the places that seems most like home to our 
            family is Amman, Jordan and when driving into the country after a     
            time away, we breathed easier, felt more comfortable and eased a  
            sigh of “home”.  Why we would feel such a fondness for this dry,       
            dusty city situated on  7 jebels (hills) in the northwest area of Jordan

            is most probably due to the fact that we lived there for 7 years

            during 3 different tours, raised our children there, taught school, 

            ambled about its paths and roadways and watched it grow from a 

            small, straggling city spread over open fields, with herds of sheep

            and donkeys munching in the open areas next to our houses, to a

            large, modern city experiencing dynamic growth and change to the

            point that we will probably have trouble recognizing it.  The 

            Jordanian and Palestinian people we knew were gracious and friendly

            and made us feel comfortable there and our lives as expats were

            interesting, easy and pleasant.  Amman is considered to be one of the 

            oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and has passed

            through the reins of a notable list of “Who’s Who” in Middle East

            history including the Assyrians, Persians, Nabateans, Romans 

            (at which time it was one of the cities of the Decapolis – a group of 

            10 important cities in the eastern reaches of the empire), Egyptians

             (who named it Philadelphia), the Ottomans, etc.  The current name is

             derived from the Ammonites who called it theirs during the Biblical 

             period when it was known as Rabbat Ammon.  In 1921, King 

             Abdullah I – the current king Abdullah’s great-grandfather selected

             it as the capital city of the newly delineated country of Trans-Jordan.  

             With the influx of refugees from Palestine, Iraq and Syria, the city 

             has grown and flourished and is now considered an important

             financial and tourist center in the region.                   

              Dinner:   Fahkredin's Restaurant

                           (http://fakhreldin.com/)

      Overnight:  Amman Marriott Hotel

             ( http://www.marriott.com/hotels/hotel-photos/
              ammjr-amman-marriott-hotel/)

            The biggest treat for our children was staying at the Marriott

                   Hotel in Amman when we first arrived in country!  The staff

                   made a fuss over them, the hamburgers tasted like a ham-

                   burger should and they had a delicious strawberry cake in

                   the bakery! Truth be known, we enjoyed the Marriott as

                   much as they did! 



DAY #2 - Tuesday, March 20:

 The King's Highway - The Road the Israelites                   took to the Promised Land

  AM:   Madaba, Heshbon, Mt. Nebo. Wadi Mujib

                    MADABA:    Madaba is an early Christian settlement on the 

                    eastern side of the Jordan River, known as the city of Mosaics,

                    the most important being a mosaic map of Jerusalem dating
                    from the 6th century, one of the oldest in existence.

                HESHBON:  You remember the scriptural reference, right?

               "For Heshbon was the city of Sihon, king of the Amorites, who

                had fought against the former king of Moab and had taken all

                his land out of his hand, as far as the Arnon." (Numbers 21:26)

                Talk about obscure, but Rich always stopped here to show
                friends the tombs, complete with large flat stones that roll in
                front of the tomb entrances - like that which sealed Christ's 
                tomb - a visual that even the Garden Tomb doesn't offer.
                Heshbon was an ancient city conquered by the Israelites as 
                they passed along the Kings Highway en route to their 
                promised land.

             

            MT. NEBO:    At the age of 21, I gasped enthralled when I

            first stood on this mountain where Moses stood and looked 

            out over the Great Rift Valley (the lowest point on earth)

            and the Jordan River to Jericho below.  I must have sensed 

            then that this was  indeed a land of promise for me.  This 

            spot inspired my first and one of my fondest memories of 

            Jordan and upon each of our returns, at our earliest 

            opportunity,  we took a picnic out to this barren mountain 

            top, where goat and sheep herds still graze and looked 

            again out over vistas of promise.  That promise was real-

            ized for us and our family as we held seminary lessons

            there, shared this view with Bro. Hunter & Bro. Faust, met 

            with apostles as they dedicated the land to missionary 

            work, sang Christmas songs on Christmas Eve for Catholic

            services.  It is fitting that your first view of the promised 

            land should be from this same mountain top! A small 

            church nearby is built over ancient mosaics floors of    

            former churches also impressed with patriarchal 

            promises.

   PM:  Shobak Castle, Wadi Musa, (Petra by Night)

             SHOBAK CASTLE:

             Although Karak grabs the headlines, Shobak Castle, a short way

             further south, was in fact the Crusaders’ headquarters in Jordan, 

             and the first castle they built in the region. Known then as Montreal

             – or the Royal Mountain – Shobak dominates the folded, semi-arid

             hills on the approaches to Petra.The legacy of widescale rebuilding

             work in the 1290s, under Mamluke control, is everywhere, most

             notably in the carved stone panels adorning the external walls and

             towers, which feature strikingly beautiful Arabic callligraphy. 
             Roam the ruins to discover the original Crusader chapel, a palace 
             complex and even a set of secret passages, one of which heads
             down a flight of steep and crumbling steps into blackness,
             eventually emerging through a small gateway at the base of the 
             castle hill.

                      WADI MUSA:

                     The valley in which PETRA nestles, one of the wonders of the world

                     (according to Reynolds' figuring).  Among the weather

                     sculpted hills, the valley and village of Wadi Musa (Valley of

                     Moses) derive their name from the tradition that Moses passed

                     through the valley with the Hebrew Tribes as they traveled

                     along the ancient route of the King's Highway that would

                     eventually take them to Mt. Nebo.  There Moses would have his

                     view of the promised land, before being taken from his people,

                     leaving them to pass across the Jordan River to make conquest 

                     of Jericho.  At the water source, Ain Musa (Spring of Moses)

                     one can imagine that even a prophet would have to strike a rock

                     a time or two to call forth water in this impressively desolate

                     land!      

              Overnight:  Petra Marriott Hotel

                    Sleep well tonight.  You will need all your strength for the rigors of
                    exploring Petra!  Dream of the adventure of a lifetime, for so it is!


DAY 3:  Wednesday, March 21:
                   A Wonder of the World....

      Full Day:  Petra & Little Petra   

            There are 2 ancient sites I have seen that made me stop and go,

            "Ahhh!"  Petra is one of them, the other the temple at Karnak, Egypt.

            The siq generally resonates with exclamations of wonder as tourists

            first catch sight of the rose colored treasury as they walk down the

            last few yards of the gorge that leads into the mysterious ruins

            of the Nabatean city.  A stone carving people, the Nabateans were

            an indigenous group that subsisted by working the trading routes that

            crossed between Syria and Arabia  in the 1st century AD. In fact,

            the Swiss Arabist, John Burkhardt had to muffle his astonishment

            beneath his bedouin head wrappings as he was guided through the

            secret ruins to offer sacrifice at the tomb of Aaron, the brother of

            Moses, nearby. Disguised as a Muslim from Arabia he devised this

            ploy to be allowed into the secret site in 1812.  But he wasn't quiet

            when once away and he blabbed his remarkable discovery to the

            world.  Carved in the soft sandstone marbled with rose, purple,

            orange, colors similar to those in Zion's Park and other areas of

            southern Utah - in fact I thought how odd that southern Utah and

            southern Petra, both places I called home, had such similar

            formations and colorings. The greatest difference is even less

            vegetation grows in the Jordan version. The siq, the 1/3 mile long

            slot canyon which serves as the entrance to the city is similar to the

            narrows of Zions but you walk on dry ground with 500 ft. high walls

            of sandstone on either side. On our first visits, most tourists rode

            horses down through the siq which could turn into a wild headlong

            jaunt, at the whim of the young Bedouin horse herders.  We always

            chose the fat, tired looking horses for the kids and offered a tip

            to the guides if they went slowly - "Schway...schway". The girls

            were more interested in the horses than the siq and were eager to

            know their names.  Odd, but every horse was named "Leila" - night

            in Arabic. Rich always laughed at that, certain that the locals didn't

            bother to name their horses but just had a name at the ready, should

            they be asked. In more recent visits, only the old and infirm use the

            horse-drawn carts to travel through the siq.  The rest of us walk!

            You can experience it better that way and since they've paved the

            pathway, navigating it has become much less tortuous on the feet.

           HIGHLIGHTS OF PETRA:

            "Al Khazneh" the Treasury:  The first building, which peeps its 

            beauty to the tourist as they enter from the siq, is carved into the face

            of a sandstone mountain of solid rock about 40 metres high.  The

            purpose of the building, built in the 1st century is something of a

            mystery, but was most probably a tomb.  Actually, upon entering the

            building, there is only a small interior room, but imaginations run wild

            while marveling at its facade, as in the movie, "The Last Crusade". 

            The name "treasury" originated from the legend that pirates had

            hidden treasure in the giant stone urn on the second story. Pock 

            marks from bullets fired by bedouins can still be seen along with

            the tracks of the original Nabatean carving implements.

           The  Theatre:

           Petra's theater carved into a stone valley is badly deteriorated by

           floods of the centuries but still allows one to sit and imagine as you

           sense the muted echoes of past civilizations.  Our children, never 

           allowing a stage an intermission of quiet, performed renditions of 

           "Tomorrow" and "Jacob and Sons" or whatever musical we were into 

           at the moment, creating new echoes that no doubt caused empty 

           tombs to reverberate. The theater, built in the 1st century AD, seats 8500

           and  faces away from the sun presumably designed to keep the glare

           out of equally sensitive Nabatean eyes.

            "Al Deir" Monastery:

            The largest carved structure in Petra, the monastery is perched

            "High on a Mountaintop" and requires a walk up hundreds of steps

            carved into the side of the mountain up to the top. I myself, 

            frequently stop to enjoy the incredible scenery below. Our babies

            made the trek on donkey back - a testament to the sure-footing

            of the noisy beast. Similar to the Treasury in design, it is believed to

            have been a temple to the God Obadas. Glutons for more climbing,

            the adventurous hike up the steep hill into which the building

            is carved, to then pose on its urn capitol.

                   

             The Royal Tombs:

             Most of the carved buildings extant in Petra today were tombs.  Along

             the mountain face across from the theater as one winds down the

             main road of Petra, you will see the Royal tombs, lined up in 

             formation. Known as the Urn, Silk, Corinthian and Palace tombs,

             none are as well preserved as the treasury but contain hollow empty 

             vaults, conducive to singing and kissing apparently.  Rich's sister was

             propositioned by a young Arab guide in one of the tombs and stills

             talks about it to this day!

  

             The High Place:

             Well named, I have only climbed the 800 carved steps  up to this 

             spot once, when I was 21.  The site itself was a place for

             worship and sacrifice and one can still see 2 stone altars as well as

             an open plaza - worthy sites in and off themselves.  But the view of

             the Royal Tombs of Petra, Aaron's tomb across a valley on another

             mountain and  Wadi Musa are the rewards for your sacrifice in

             effort to make it to the top.

           Little Petra (Al Beidha):

           Petra's little sister, is more of the same in a smaller, more intimate

           setting. Delightfully easy to explore, after Petra, a staircase of carved 

           steps lead you to a secluded box canyon.

       Overnight:  Beyond Wadi Rum - Bedouin Camp & Dinner
             https://www.beyondwadirum.com

            You have to experience Wadi Rum by starlight and by morning glow - 
            this expansive desert of sandstone mountains and red sand dunes is a
            fascinating landscape through which Lawrence of Arabia wandered.
            Here we will collapse for a much needed night of rest and rose-colored 
            dreams, once your legs have stopped trembling from the exertions of 
            the day.  Sleeping in a Bedouin tent, "luxurized" for the persnickety 
            tourist, - no "roughing  it" involved - provided with comfy beds and
            a delicious dinner of meats cooked in pots in the ground, salads and
            shrak bread baked before your eyes.  Lawrence would have been en-
            vious of our modern take on the Wadi Rum adventure!  

    DAY 4,   Thursday, March 22:

            Morning:  Breakfast at Camp
                          Explore Wadi Rum
         Back in our day, which was about 20 years ago now, we would occasionally drive to Wadi Rum and camp with our children.  It was at that time well known from the movie "Lawrence of Arabia" which you might enjoy watching, but camping consisted of bringing everything we needed with us, which we did, including toilet paper and extra water.  The late sun and early morning were exquisite on the vast red landscape, features weathered from the sandstone, and smoothed to make hiking to enthralling views, easy. But when it was dark, it was dark and I wondered what creatures buzzed and bumped about my head in the cool night breeze.  Now days, organized tourist camps are nestled among the various outcroppings of stone and camels abound for riders - we suggest you ride your camel in Petra as they are cheaper and usually shorter rides.  As our son-in-law states, "2 hours on a camel is 1 hour and 45 minutes too long."  
       Wadi Rum is where I first learned I didn't particularly like riding camels.  After their first lurching stand from their knobby knees, you are up high and a captive - too high to jump - too cheap to give a tip to the owner to lower the camel back down! A note of caution - do not choose a camel with a ring in its nose.  It is there for a reason - to pull on if the camel becomes too frisky.  I was on such a camel and he liked to do something like a little skip as he walked. That was my first and last camel ride.  
      We prefer "wadi bashing" which is what the Americans called, piling in a 4-wheel drive and bumping about the desert floor. (Wadi is the word for valley).  Our Rum experience will include loading into jeeps and doing a version of wadi bashing to some of the main sites in the wadi.





Afternoon:   Aqaba and the Red Sea

    We will leave Rum and drive about an hour south to the Gulf of Aqaba where the waters of the Red Sea border Asia: Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan and Africa: Egypt and you can see all four
countries from the beaches of Aqaba. If the 70 degree water doesn't bother you, you can stick your toe into the sea or swim in the hotel's pools as the historically minded among us explore the fortress of Aqaba. During WWII, the Ottoman forces were forced to withdraw from Aqaba and this fort in 1917 after the Battle of Aqaba, led by T.E. Lawrence and the Arab forces of Auda abu Tayi and Sheirf Nasir. The capture of Aqaba allowed the British to supply the Arab forces.




     And today Aqaba is the only port in Jordan through which supplies flow to many countries of the Middle East.

A warm shower, a soft bed and quiet evening will prepare us for the wonders that await us in Masada and Jerusalem, all of which we will discover the next day.

Overnight at the Movenpick Hotel:

https://www.movenpick.com/en/middle-east/jordan/aqaba/resort-aqaba/overview/





Day 5, Friday, March 23rd:
 Depart to arrive at Border Crossing by 9 am:

       Morning:  Cross over the River Jordan into Israel

                          Drive north through the Negev Desert
                             or as we sometimes call it, the "Lone
                             and dreary world."

                          Masada

Masada

      The symbol to Israelis of an indomitable national will, Masada sits perched

on top of a flat-topped mountain where King Herod built one of his many palace

enclaves.  Here we will ramble about ruins of palaces cisterns and storage vaults

which allowed Herod and his cortege to lull about in the dry desert air without

worry of thirst or hunger.  But it was to a later habitation that Israelis look for

inspiration:  that of the 960 Sicarii Rebels that fled Jerusalem and harassed the

Roman Empire from their defensive position.

   This story is now considered more fiction than fact, but Masada creates a

dramatic backdrop for such a tale.  Roman Legion X did in fact lay siege to

the community in 73 AD filling in an earthen ramp on which they could position

their siege weapons.  The story goes that rather than submit to slavery, the

Jewish population committed mass suicide and destroyed their stores the night

before the Roman attach.  Today you can ride a gondola to the top!  By carefully

navigating you can also walk down the Roman ramp.  This is where my mother

almost disowned me.  Half way down what I assured her was the path down

we came to a ramp-block and had to turn around and walk back up.  Mom was

never fond of dusty walks on hot days!  Never navigate on 14 year-old memory.

From the top of Masada you can still see the remnants of the stone walls that

delineated the Roman encampments below.  Young Jewish soldiers today go

to the mount to swear their oath of allegiance and affirm that "Masada shall

not fall again."

  

         

 QUMRAN: 
As we drive on up through the Wadi Araba, the lowest point on
earth, 1400 ft. below sea level, we arrive at the ruins of the
Essene community from the 2nd century after Christ.
The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered here in the 1950's.
A bedouin shepherd boy, bored by his task of caring for his
docile flocks, throwing stones into a cave heard a hollow
plinking sound and went to investigate, where he discovered
large clay pots that held ancient scroll documents.

         UP TO JERUSALEM: 
 And then we begin the twisting, winding drive up to Jerusalem from 1400 ft below sea level to 2474 ft. above (same elevation as Amman).  Did you know that it is"Up' not because it is North, but "Up" because Jerusalem sits atop the hills of Judea, like a beautiful princess, her robes flowing about  her valleys and terraces as Muslims, Jews, Ottomans, Crusaders, the armies of the centuries, battle at her feet to possess her (had to get a little poetic about Jerusalem - she has a magic all her own).  As we ascend from below sea level we will pass the sign that says "Sea Level" where our children would take a big breath as though they had just popped their heads ups out of the sea, gasping for air.      

     
                                                 WESTERN WALL:

    One side of the retaining wall that surrounded Mount Moriah, and provided the support for the magnificent structures of Solomon'sand Herod's temples, holy to Jews as the last extant remnant of their days of glory.  On Fridays at sundown, the beginning of the Jewish    Sabbath (when we will be there)  the faithful come to the wall to pray and leave tiny notes written to God in the cracks of the stones once quarried and carved by thecompatriots of the Solomnic era some 3000 years ago.      The former name of the spot was "The Wailing Wall" as it was at these cold and merciless stones that Jews wailed for their lost city for centuries.  During the '67 War, when Jews reclaimed the site, there was no longer cause for wailing; hence, the name change.  (And the plants growing through the cracks of the wall, Western Wall Capers - a bit of trivia!)

Friday Prayers at Sundown (Shabbat)

As the observant and orthodox Jews rush - and we

mean rush - to the wall to offer their prayers at

sundown, marking the beginning of Shabbat

(sabbath), watch out for danger of trampling!

A variety of traditional costumes abound -

mushroom cap hats, kippa skull caps, side

curls, aprons and sashes and of course all

include the phylactery.  (If you're not sure what

that is an explanation will follow at some point)

There is something of a celebratory mood at the

gathering of thousands.  Last trip, Shauna

danced the Hora with a group of Israeli soldiers!  

     Overnight:  Jerusalem
            St. Andrew's Scottish Guesthouse & Rafael Residence Boutique
               (http://scotsguesthouse.com/)     https://he.rafael-residence.com           

                

   DAY 6,  Saturday,  March 24:
         The Golden City - 
                   Walk where the Savior walked


    AM:  Church at the BYU Center
              Mt. of Olives Overlook, Orson Hyde Park, Gethsemane
             
    PM:   Gates of the City - St. Stephens
              Via Delarosa Stops
              Church of the Holy Sepulchre
              Western Wall Tunnel - the Kotel

               David's Tower - Night Spectacular  

Old City of Jerusalem:

    The Old city of Jerusalem is an area of only 1/3 of a square

      mile,the borders of which grew and receded thru the battles,

      migrations and destruction of the episodes of history. The

      current delineation of the Old City is marked by the walls

      constructed in 1538 at the command of Suleiman the Turkish

      leader, with 11 gates (7 currently in use) which lead into 

      streets teeming with history.  The stone paved roads and

      limestone blocked buildings contain several sites revered

      by Christianity and create and atmosphere appropriately 

      Biblical.  The Old City of the Holy City id divided into 4

      quarters - the Christian, Jewish, Armenian, Muslim and

      never the 4 shall meet, the suspicious and embittered

      populations staying fairly close to home in their own

      quarters, but each is happy to sell to the passing tourist!

      The Christina Quarter is our favorite for shopping but

      in the Jewish Quarter more expensive but lovely items

      including menorahs, gems and jewelry, phylacteries

      woven items and candles are sold.          

                 

            BYU Jerusalem Center:

      The BYU Jerusalem Center was built in 1988 in a remarkable setting on 

      Mt. Scopus, the hill adjacent to the Mt. of Olives that overlooks

      Jerusalem.  The center houses BYU students attending study abroad

      program and is the meeting place of the Jerusalem branch of the 

      church.  The western wall of the auditorium where church is held is a

      curtain of windows which allows you to gaze at Golgotha, where Christ

      was crucified, the Temple Mount where Solomon's temple stood and

      the road to Damascus as you sit in the service - the perfect visual aid

      to whatever is being taught!

                 

       The Jerusalem Overlook:

       The most photographed panoramic view of Jerusalem is

           offered at a plaza on the slopes of the Mt. of Olives.  With

           the Jewish cemetery sepulchres crammed and jumbled

           like clumsy barnacles across its skirts, the Mt. of Olives

           rises just east of the Holy City and provides an unparalleled

           vista of the Temple Mount and the Herodian wall that

           encompasses the Old City.  The Eastern Gate (Golden 

           Gate) sealed since Suleiman's time in 1535 to delay the

           2nd coming of the Savior (Suleiman the Magnificent, 

           Turkish Ottoman ruler), stands as a testament to man's

           lack of understanding of the power of the Savior, who is

           not intimidated by mortar sealed stones!  The Kidron

           Valley gouges a deep rift between the mount and the

           city to define this sentinel of the eastern approaches.  The

           Garden of Gethsemane rests further below and a moque

           marks the spot on the top of the mount from which Christ

           ascended to visit his other sheep, after his resurrection.           

                                  

   Orson Hyde Memorial:

It was to this same popular mount that Joseph Smith sent Orson Hyde

in 1841 to dedicate the land to the return of the Jews.  they haven't

stopped coming since and now claim Israel as their homeland and they

the rightful heirs.  A memorial stone was placed and a garden created

by the Orson Hyde Foundation in 1979 though the park has suffered

at the hands over the years.

                                  

          Russian Orthodox Church:

     The Russian Orthodox Church, Church of the Magdalene,

       built in 1886, is recognized from a distance by its beautiful

       golden onion domes.  Not far away, the Church of All Nations, 

       constructed in 1922 by the Roman Catholic Church, with 

       donations from "all nations", sits in the traditional Garden 

        of Gethsemane.  The claim is made by some that the trees in the

       courtyard are the very same that witnessed Christ's agony as he 

       prayed in the grove.  Perhaps from the same roots, but though ancient,

       not the same trees as the Romans razed the city to the ground during 

       their conquest in 77 AD (didn't every empire take their turn?)  The

       bedrock  upon which Catholics believe Christ prayed during his agony

       is exposed in the center of the church near remains of preserved 

       Byzantine mosaics.

Pools of Bethesda:

          Site of public Roman baths in operation during Christ's

life, it was at this spot that Christ healed the lame man who

could not manage to crawl to the swirling waters to benefit

from their healing powers.  The ruins are now studded with

bright crimson poppies.  Several churches have sprouted on 

the site in the centuries since, including St. Anne's, a small

stone chapel, elegant in its simplicity whose domes and

crevices provide rich resonance for those inclined to sing

Gregorian type chants - we'll teach you our favorite one!

      

                                                     

                 VIA DELAROSO OR WAY OF THE CROSS:       

The current route dated to the 18th century makes it unlikely that this road 

was the authentic path of some 2,000 feet which traced the route Jesus took on 

his  final mortal walk.  Christ took up the cross at Station #1 and 13 stops later arrived

at Calvary.  Groups of Catholic devotees follow that course every Friday, some with a 

volunteer playing the Christ as he carries a cross leading th epilgrims, others dressed as 

Roman soldiers.  The processions stop at each of the 14 stations where Christ was 

assumed to have stopped, such as Station #3, where he stumbled under the weight he 

bore; Station #5, where Simon helped him carry his burden and Station #14 (inside

the Church of the Holy Sepulchre) where he was ultimately crucified.  In many 

Catholic churches today, as you look around the chapel, you will see representations

of each station in paintings, carvings or stained glass. There will be a quiz at the end

 to see how may of the stations you can name!

                  Lunch:  Christian Quarter Cafe     

      Many delicious discoveries await in the Old City as well,including bakeries with hot Arab breads (khoubz

and ka'ik), buttery cookies, (grayeb), baklawa & k'nafi,

street foods - felafel & shwarma, fresh juice and cafes 

stuck in stone corners here and there.  Here we will 

munch and lunch!   

     Church of the Holy Sepulchre                

        This Catholic version of the setting of Christ's crucifixion and burial is at the end 

        of the "Way of the Cross" in the center of the Old City. The church sits in the courtyard 

        of this most sacred of Christian spots, which lured Crusaders from cooler Northern

        climates to come and risk their lives to liberate it.  You will note the ladder which 

       leans against the facade of the second story as it has done since 1854.  It is suggested

      that because of the friction between the different denominations that control the

      church (Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Armenian and Eastern Orthodox -

       the Coptics have a small chapel in the back and the Ethiopians a space on 

      the roof) there was a dispute as to who should remove the ladder and so it remains

      to this day.  A result of the Crimean War, the keys to the church are kept and controlled

       by a neutral 3rd party, two Muslim families, to avoid squabbling over the front 

      door in a complicated arrangement which exists between the interested Christian

      sects.  And that's only the outside of the building!

          

      9 pm:  Night Spectacular, Sound & Light Show 

                    at David's Citadel,  Jaffa Gate
              https://www.tod.org.il/en/the-night-spectacular/

 Overnight:  Jerusalem

            St. Andrew's Scottish Guesthouse & Rafael Residence Boutique

               (http://scotsguesthouse.com/)     https://he.rafael-residence.com 

             Who can sleep!  Your heads will be so full of all the

             amazing things you have seen - visions of olive wood
             will dance in your heads!  But the church bells and
             muezzin calls of Jerusalem will sing out early to wake
              you to another glorious day in the Golden City!

DAY 7,  Sunday, March 25:

             More Holy City - 

       AM:  Temple Mount & Dome of the Rock
                 Bethlehem

                                                                                          Dome of the Rock

 On the Temple Mount today, sits the beautiful gold-domed, "Dome of the Rock" built in the 600s by a Muslim Caliph.  The much less   impressive silver-domed Al-Aksa Mosque, hunkers on the southern end of the mount, but is the more revered of the two.  In fact, the 3rd most significant spot in Islamic tradition:  the spot from which Mohammed the prophet, ascended into heaven on a great white steed to view the glories of Allah. This hotly contested Temple Mount is the very bone of contention between the modern-day inhabitants of Israel; to Jews as the spot of their great temple, to Muslims as their 3rd holiest site and let's not forget the Christians for it was to this mount that Abraham came to offer his son Isaac as sacrifice to show the Lord unwavering obedience.  David the King bought the land from a wheat thresher for the temple around 1000 B.C. - did he have any idea what a contested bit of earth it would become and the fortunes and lives that would be spent in its pursuit of it? 

 

                                             Bethlehem

 Haven't you wanted to see Bethlehem, since a wide-eyed child, enthralled by the beautiful Christmas story? The destination of the Wisemen, the compass of the star, the very                   spot on earth where Christ was born!  I was first impressed with how close to Jerusalem it is - just a walk over a hill, a few minutes car ride - just 6 miles to the south!  A favorite family memory involves going to thes shepherd's fields on the hills outside Bethlehem, on Christmas Eve with a picnic of felafel & hummous.  Sheep and goats, now as then, ambled by, their bells tinkling,  their modern-day shepherds wearing sneakers and jeans. In that idylic setting we sang every Christmas song we could think of with the word "Bethlehem" in it including, "O Little Town", "Angels  We Have Heard on High" &"Far, Far Away on Judea's Plains" and 

yet, when you are there it won't be far at all  and you  will have to pinch yourself to believe

 it is so, because the bustling Arab town is nothing like the Christmas card  pictures of the          sleepy village of the city of David.  And yet, upon entering the Church of the Nativity, you would imagine it must  be so!

       Church of the Navitity:

         To bring home the point, that every knee must bow, you must stoop to enter the little
          door of the church, which is another motley collection of construction projects by

   different sects during different building frenzies throughout history. St. Helena was the

 first in 327 AD to initiate building a church over the site of the cave where she believed

 Christ was born. It is today the oldest continuously used church in the world.  Though

 not glamorous, the stones smoothed by the passing feet of generations yet echo with

 the tales of those pilgrims.  And they are clean! We once visited the church a few

     days after Christmas, our visit coinciding with the annual cleaning of the church 

cleaning of the church by gasoline. Was it the fumes or the sacredness of the holy site,

 that left us gasping for air?!

Olive Wood Factory:

   Manger Square, the market area outside of the Church of 

     the Nativity, hosts several shops selling olive wood nativities,

      bibles, spice containers, rosary beads, crosses, statues, etc.

        our favorite being the shop that owns the workshop down the

          road from the square, which lets you observe craftsmen 

           carving and finishing the wood.

    

     PM:  The Palm Sunday Processional

               Jewish Quarter & Roman Roads

Palm Sunday Processional:

Palm Sunday is celebrated by Catholics with a colorful procession of pilgrims carrying palm fronds and singing from the church in the small village of Bethpage on the Mount of Olives to Saint Ann's Church on the Via Dolorosa, in the courtyard of the Pools of Bethesda.  We can observe or join in as you prefer as the procession descends the narrow road down the Mt. of Olives, passing Gethsemane, crossing over the Kidron Valley and up again through St. Stephan's Gate into the Old City of Jerusalem; roughly the same route Christ would have taken as he traveled into Jerusalem from Bethany and the home of Martha and Mary, each day during his last week of life. The procession stops at St. Ann's church, the first station of the cross to sing and recite prayers.

                                    The Jewish Quarter:

The quarter is inhabited by around 2,000 residents and is home to numerous yeshivas and synagogues.  In CE 135, when the Roman Emperor Hadrian built the city of Aelia Capitolina on the ruins of ancient Jerusalem, the Tenth Legion set up their camp on the land that is now the Jewish Quarter.^[3] New structures, such as a Roman bathhouse, were built over the Jewish ruins.^[The Jewish Quarter changed hands throughout the centuries until finally coming under Jordanian rule in 1948, until the Six-Day War in June 1967 when Israel occupied it. During the first week after taking the Old City, 25 dwellings constituting the largest part of the Mughrabi Quarter were razed to create a plaza at the foot of the Western Wall. Beginning in the years immediately after 1967, around 6,000 Arabs were evicted from the Jewish Quarter, and the start of exclusion of Palestinians from appropriated land by the private company in charge of its development, for the reason that they were not Jewish. This later became legal precedent in 1978 when the Supreme Court made a decision in the case of Mohammed Burqan, in which the Court ruled that, while Burqan did own his home, he could not return because the area had "special historical significance" to the Jewish people.

                                      Roman Roads:

The Roman main north-south thoroughfare, the Cardo Maximus, was originally a paved avenue approximately 22.5 meters wide (roughly the width of a six lane highway) which ran southward from the site of the Damascus gate, terminating at an unknown point.  The Cardo’s most striking visual feature was its colonnade. The line of the Cardo Maximus is still visible on the Jewish Quarter Street, though the original pavement lies several meters below the modern street level. In the 7th century, when Jerusalem fell under Muslim rule, the Cardo became an Arab-style marketplace. Remains of the Byzantine Cardo were found in the Jewish Quarter excavations beginning in 1969.^[10]

In 1971, a plan for preserving the ancient street was suggested which relied heavily on the sixth century Madaba map, a mosaic map of Jerusalem found in 1897 in Madaba, Jordan. The map clearly showed the Roman Cardo as the main artery through the Old City. 

Overnight: Jerusalem, Scottish Guesthouse

                        Having trouble sleeping again? Little wonder. Either that
                        or  you will sleep as though you yourself are awaiting the
                        resurrection. If you are among the insomniacs a game of
                        scrabble or a quick run out for felafel, prowling the Arab
                        quarter by night, will fill in the sleepless hours!


Day #8:  Monday, March 26th
                 "Down from Jerusalem"

    AM:     Garden Tomb
                   Shopping in Jerusalem
                   Israeli Museum & Shrine of the Book

                    

            Golgotha:

                         St. Helena, the mother of the Christian convert,

                         Constantine, ruler of the Roman Empire (300 AD) made a

                         pilgrimage to the Holyland in 326 and to her inspiration and

                         visitations is credited the location of several of the

                         Christian holy sites, but whose accuracy has been

                         questioned by historians and archaeologists ever since.

                         But who's quibbling - a site by any other name would be as

                         scenic!

                         And so the Catholic version of Golgotha (or Calvary) is

                         housed within a Catholic Church - find the spot, build a

                         church and fill it with relics- the traditional way to pay

                         homage. Not even the church building went uncontested

                         and is now controlled by 4 separate Christian

                         denominations who lay claim to four specific areas of the

                         church. It is on this mount that Catholic tradition

                         suggests Christ was crucified and then buried - and it is

                         fittingly enshrined in old stone, festooned with candles,

                         gilded stars and incense perfumes the air. My favorite

                         touch are the thousands of tiny crosses carved in the walls

                         by crusaders throughout the centuries: the medieval

                         version of "Thomas was here."

                        The Garden Tomb:                        

  Now, a bit more humble and subdued is a protestant version

 of a tomb, near a hill studded with more recent Muslim 

tombstones, below which rumbles the Arab bus station of

East Jerusalem.  Some say the face of this craggy mountain

resembles the face of a skull: the term "Golgotha" meaning

place of the skull.  Discovered in the late 1800s, this humble

tomb carved into the hill, adjacent to Golgotha, complete

with a trough for rolling a stone to cover its mouth, is

accepted by some of the Christian world as the actual tomb

where Christ was buried.  The hill is indeed on the road to

Damascus and outside the city wall, as designated and the

lovely, quiet garden is much easier for some to appreciate

as the appropriate setting.  In this small quiet tomb our

children and I sang, "When Jesus Wept" a lovely hymn

that recalls most sacred events that certainly transpired

somewhere nearby.  We will enjoy the ambiance and pick

a sprig of rosemary on our way out.

                 Shopping in the Old City:

                    Shoppers, tie up your shoes, keep wallets handy and hone

                    up your bartering skills for a serious shopping morning! And

                    what do the merchants of Jerusalem peddle? A caravan of

                    tempting souvenirs - yours for the bartering! Favorites include

                    Palestinian pottery - plates, cups, bowls and knick-knacks

                    painted in vibrant blues and whites, leather sandals, jackets,

                    slippers, painted tiles, Roman glass set in jewelry, gold and

                    silver jewelry, oil lamps, ancient coins, spices, woven bags,

                    olive wood nativities, bibles, sheepskin coats, candles, t-shirts..

                    Our favorite shop belongs to Shabaan on Christian Quarter

                    Road, who can spot a Mormon a block away,

                    having catered for years to the BYU Jerusalem Center

                    population. He was always our longest stop in the Christian

                    Quarter as he would insist we sit and visit, offering typical

                    Arab hospitality in the form of fresh orange juice and kibbe -

                    a Palestinian meatball, the best being made by an old man in

                    Jerusalem. Shabaan would send a courier to fetch them for us

                    until the old man died, taking the wonderful recipe with him to

                    paradise!

 The Israel Museum

 is host to the finest biblical and 

                    Jewish antiquities collections in the world.  Its star exhibit is that 

                    of the Dead Sea Scrolls housed underneath a roof shaped like 

                    the lid of the clay jars in which they were found. The Jerusalem 

                    Model of the 2nd Temple Period, was great fun for our children 

                    to walk through, the waist high structures making them feel

                    Goliath-like! Other exhibits include a reconstructed Jewish

                    Synagogue from eastern Europe during the diaspora and 

                    fascinating scrolls and records of religious significance.

     PM:    Jaffa, Caesarea, Picnic at Aquaduct Beach

                       Jaffa is located on the Mediterranean coast, just north 

                                of Tel Aviv. 

                           -This is the site of the Biblical Joppa, the town to which 

                                Jonah fled to escape the errand of the Lord at which folly 

                                he was swallowed by the whale.

                            -Jaffa today has been restored to lovely stone streets 

                                winding among polished limestone shops and charming

                                restaurants, (including a favorite French restuarant

                                which would undoubtedly serve whale sauteed in butter,

                                if they could!)

                            -The hill where Jaffa sits provides a beautiful panoramic 

                                view of Tel Aviv and the Mediterranean.

Caesarea:

The town was built by Herod the Great about 25–13 BCE as the port city Caesarea Maritima.  It served as an administrative center of 

Judaea Province of the Roman Empire, and later

 the capital of the Byzantine Palaestina Prima province during the classic period.   Following the Muslim conquest in the 7th century, in which it was 

the last city to fall to the Arabs, the city had an Arab majority until 

the Crusader conquest. 

This is the city to which Paul the apostle, was taken and kept under 

arrest for two years.

The Roman Aquaduct at Caesarea

Overnight at Nazareth:

       Al Mutran Guest House:  http://www.al-mutran.com/                                

       Villa Nazareth:  http://villa-nazareth.co.il/



Day #9 - Tuesday, March 27:

        ...In His own country...

    AM:  Nazareth, Boat ride on Sea of Galilee,
              Capernaum

Nazareth:

We will all be Nazarenes for a day - how proudly we accept that 

honor now, to be labeled as He was, to walk in His footsteps, to

climb the steep hills and eat the same kind of flat loaved breads 

He did.  To sleep for a night in the hometown of The Nazarene!

And the places we will stay, right in the heart of the older part

of the town, allow us to walk the alleyways, wander in the souk,

wander out early in the morning looking for fresh ka'ik (donut-shaped

sesame seeded bread.  A must see is The Church of the Annunciation,

built over what is believed to be the spot of Mary's childhood home

and where the angel Gabriel visited her.  Built in 1969, over centuries-

worth of previous churches, an outstanding feature are the mosaics

of Christ and Mary created by various countries around the world.

  "Mary's Well" not far from our hotels also contends

 for the honor of being the site of the Annunciation.  

There is a wonderful spice market in the

town we might visit if time allows.  But we must make time for the

small Synagogue claimed to have been the one in use during the Roman

period and it is one in which you can imagine Christ standing and

reading the prophetic scriptures and boldly proclaiming that they

spoke of Himself.  Its location is odd, in the middle of the market

across from tinkling head scarves and woven handbags, but the

suggestion of authenticity is intriguing.

Boat Ride on the Sea of Galilee

 Capernaum:

               Now in ruins just as was prophesied by the Savior    

               in Matt. 11:23, they are yet wonderful ruins of a

               small fishing village on the northern shore of the

               Sea of Galilee.  This was the home of Peter, James

               & John and perhaps that is why Christ spent time

               there performing several healings, including the

               servant of the Roman Centurion and the paralytic

               lowered through the roof to where the Savior was.

               A carving in stone of the ark of the covenant provides

               an ancient visual aid to what it may have looked like.

               Peter's house is interesting and and my favorite, the

               ruins of a synagogue that some believe date back to

               the time of Christ. Standing on its gleaming white

               stones (most of the buildings were composed of black

               basalt) one can imagine the Savior speaking to the

               congregation about the lack of respect 

               prophets receive in their own countries.

    PM:    Beit Shean, Cross over Jordan at

                          Sheik Hussein Bridge

Beit Shean:

Roamin' with the Romans!

Beit She'an's location has always been strategically significant, due to its position at the junction of the Jordan River Valley and the Jezreel Valley, essentially controlling access from Jordan and the inland to the coast, as well as from Jerusalem and Jericho to the Galilee. Archaeological studies suggest that settlement began in the Late Neolithic or Early Chalcolithic periods (sixth to fifth millennia BCE.)^[3] Occupation continued intermittently up to the late Early Bronze Age I (3200–3000), according to pottery finds, and then resumes in the Early Bronze Age III.^[4] A large cemetery on the northern Mound was in use from the Bronze Age to Byzantinetimes.^[5] Canaanite graves dating from 2000 to 1600 BCE were discovered there in 1926. Then followed the waves of the various cultures and influences of

the Egyptians, Greek, Romans, Byzantine, Arab caliphates, Crusaders, Mamluks, Ottoman, and the British

The Roman era ruins we see today are remnants of the city of 63 BCE, when Pompey made Judea a part of the Roman empire. Beit She'an was refounded and rebuilt by Gabinius.^[24] The town center shifted from the summit of the Mound (the "Tel") to its slopes. Scythopolis prospered and became the leading city of the Decapolis, a loose confederation of ten cities which were centers of Greco-Roman culture, an event so significant that the town based its calendar on that year.

The city flourished under the "Pax Romana", as evidenced by high-level urban planning and extensive construction, including the best preserved Roman theatre of ancient Samaria, as well as a hippodrome, a cardo and other trademarks of the Roman influence.

Cross over from Israel to Jordan via the Northern Crossing: Sheik Hussein Bridge/Jordan River

                                                       

    

Overnight at As Salt, Jordan:

                        Saltus Hotel:

                        Beit Aziz Boutique Hotel:

https://www.booking.com/hotel/jo/bait-aziz.html?label=gen173nr-1FCAEoggJCAlhYSDNYBHIFdXNfdmGIAQGYATHCAQp3aW5kb3dzIDEwyAEM2AEB6AEBAECkgIBeagCAw;sid=165e99c0a5c69945f6748915d5074449;dest_id=-970545;dest_type=city;dist=0;group_adults=2;hapos=2;hpos=2;room1=A%2CA;sb_price_type=total;srepoch=1520568473;srfid=a3085d34b3da64a5334dc5b29e269e6392ebedb2X2;srpvid=27451d0c3620000c;type=total;ucfs=1&#hotelTmpl


Day 10:  March 28th:
         ......Dead...Fed...Bed

    AM:   Ajloun Fortress, Jordan

• 
  

Ajloun Castle:

Set "high on a hill with a lonely goat-herd" - (actually a possibility), Ajloun castle/fortress dominates hills of cypress and pomegranate  trees dotted with white block limestone houses. When we visited we would spread our picnic mat out under an olive tree and eat as the peskier of the children pelted green olives at one another.  One of our favorite ruins to visit, the drive there was on twisting back roads and through tiny villages or nestlings of houses.  On one occasion it was the end of Ramadan - Eid el Fitr - and little girls waved to us in their frilly new dresses as we drove by. Built on the site of an old monastery in the 1100's this is a Muslim fortress (anti-crusaders) situated in Northwest Jordan.  From its high ground the castle guarded 3 wadis which descend towards the Jordan Valley. It was renovated as a fort in 1184 by Izz al-Din Usama, a general in the army of Saladin (the chief anti-crusader) and controlled traffic along the road connecting Dasmacus and Egypt.  Once you stand out in the open courtyards you will better understand why it was built in this strategic location as you can see the valleys and hills as far as your eyes allow you to see!

PM:  Dead Sea

                  

               Looking for seashells, coral life, a pleasant dive to the

               sandy bottom or even for ruins of the destroyed cities of Sodom 

               & Gomorrah? You may find a pillar of salt but that is as close as

               you'll come to any treasures lying at the bottom of the sea - not

               because they aren't there, but because you won't be able to get 

               yourself underwater to see!  Floating on the Dead Sea is a unique 

               experience (unless you grew up near the shores of the Great Salt

               Lake).  You'll feel something like an inflatable child's toy bobbing 

               on the water. Once you get your bearings to this sort of weightless

               sensation you will have great fun.  And the intense mineral 

               composition of the waters work wonders on your skin, especially

               if you opt for the mud treatment, or just scoop up handfuls yourself 

               and rub it on. Either way, once rinsed and dried, you will feel 

               rejuvenated! The marvelous spa and swimming pools perched

               looking out over the Dead Sea are a rare treat in luxury as well. 

               I once returned from a day at the Dead Sea unable to  move for the

               rest of the evening, I was so relaxed, drugged with its healing 

               properties!    
 

Dinner at the Terrazo Restaurant:

http://www.marriott.com/hotelwebsites/us/q/qmdjv/qmdjv_pdfs/IL_

Terrazzo_Vintage_Menu_web.pdf

Overnight:  Dead Sea Marriott Hotel & Spa          

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/qmdjv-dead-sea-marriott-resort-and-spa/

                  

   Day #11:  Thursday, March 29th:

           ....beyond Jordan....

             

           AM:   More Dead Sea

         
     PM:  Amman Citadel, Museum, Theater

                                             Philadelphia (Amman) Citadel:  

                            The center of the ancient Rabbat Ammon, the citadel

                         crowns the city of Amman with pillars reaching up to a

                    remarkably blue sky to support roofs which have long since

                   crumbled; remnants of the royal palace of the Umayyad period.

                   But they were just the most recent buildings in a succession of

     houses, shops and palaces that housed the generations of

      inhabitants beginning in about 7,000 B.C.! Other notable ruins

         include those of a Roman temple to Hercules built in 175 AD.

       Remember the story of David sending Bathsheba’s husband to

      the frontlines to die in battle? Somewhere near here he met his

       doom. There was a grazing donkey in our Amman neighbor-

           hood we named Uriah in his memory.

                     

               The Jordan Museum:

               This newly built and rather impressive facility houses the one and 

               only copper Dead Sea Scroll but owned most all of the Dead Sea

               Scrolls until the loss of their East Jerusalem branch of the museum

               in the ‘67 War to Israel. While constructing new roads in 1983,

               Ain Ghazal, a Neolithic community was discovered near Amman.

               The museum touts statues of the same name as their most 

               important acquisition. Considered the oldest anthropomorphic

               statues (human images) made by human hands (circa 7000 B.C.) 

               32 of the statues were found in ceremonial pits. Lime plaster 

               molded over cores of bundled twigs, the statues were painted with 

               clothes and hair with life-like eyes made of cowrie shells.

                   Roman Theater:

                   One of 5 you will see during our trip, the Roman theater in

                   downtown Amman seats 6,000 and is better preserved than 

                   Petra’s but not as large as Bet Shean’s but is still used today for

                   concerts &programs. It is built into a mountainside in a similar 

                   fashion to Petra’s but of limestone rather than sandstone – a 

                   more durable substance. Two small museums have been built 

                   on the site which contain traditional costumes and cultural items.

        
      Depart for US from Queen Alia International Airport 

                        Ma'Salaama