Our Trip to the Holy Land

Days 1 & 2 – Sunday 17/10/10 & Monday, 18/10/10

On Sunday 17th Oct., under the care of Fr.John and Malcolm Lock, 42 of us began our pilgimage with a 19 hour trip to Amman via Dubai arriving at 8.30am local time in 38º heat after 12º in Melbourne. Our first stop was at the Jordanian town of Madaba and the church of Saint George, noted for the remaining part of a mosaic map created in about 550 AD. Originally measuring 25m x 5m and having over 2 million pieces of coloured stone, the remnants show a large part of the Holy Land and in particular Jerusalem. The detail is such that previously unknown features of Jerusalem were discovered from the map.

We continued on to Mount Nebo in what is now western Jordan. It was from here that Moses was shown the Promised Land (Deut 34:1) and the view from the summit provides a panorama of the Holy Land as far as Jerusalem. The walk up to the church site from the car park is past a memorial to Pope John Paul II who visited the site in 2000. Back on the bus (tourists are described as BTBPBL people – bus, toilet, bus, photo, bus, lunch!) and on to Machaerus, one of Herod’s strongholds and a possible site where he imprisoned & beheaded John the Baptist. There are many caves in the area, one of which may have been John’s prison. From Machaerus, there was a long drive to Petra, tea and bed at the end of a long day, 35 hrs after leaving home.

Day 3 – Tuesday 19th

Day 3 started at the Petra Visitor Centre. The ancient city of Petra was established about 6th century BC as the capital city of the Nabateans. It was carved into the hillsides and is known as the ‘rose-red city’ from the colour in the rocks. From the Visitor Centre, we walked about 1km down the wide dusty track to the Siq. The Siq (the ‘shaft’) is the entrance to the ancient city through a dark narrow gorge formed from a deep split in the sandstone rocks. After another 1km walk through the Siq we arrived at a bend around which we were confronted by the magnificent sight of the ‘Treasury’, so called because the Bedouin thought it contained gold. The Treasury was carved in the early 1st century as the tomb of an important Nabataean king. It has a façade measuring 30m wide by 45m high and it illustrates the skill of the builders. We spent time admiring this extraordinary building and in awe of the craftmanship of other tombs carved into the side of the cliff face.

Our overnight stop was at Aqaba, Jordan’s only seaport. On the drive down the King’s Hwy we were surprised at the number of trucks on this road heading to and from the port. The traffic rivalled the Hume on a busy day. En route we saw Ash Shubak, one of a string of castles built by the Crusaders to guard this important road going from Damascus to Egypt. (Here also was a wonderful ‘Kodak Moment’, posing with some lovely Bedouin kids minding their flock alondside the road.)

Day 4 – Wednesday 20th

First stop for the day at El Yahud, the most probable site of Christ’s Baptism (Mark 1:9), now about ½Km from the present course of the River Jordan. There are the remains of three ancient churches on the site, each built higher than the last to get above flood waters. We walked down to the river which has access to the water on staging where baptisms are carried out. There are a number of churches being built in the area and we visited a new Greek Orthodox church. This had a number of beautiful icons and some relics of an unknown saint which were found under the altar of one of the old churches.

Then onto Jerash, considered one of the most important and best preserved Roman cities in the Near East. We started our tour in a Roman theatre in which a fellow in national dress was playing the bagpipes (of all things!). Our guide Rami demonstrated the remarkable acoustics. There is a particular spot, marked by a worn paving stone, where a speaker could stand to speak quite normally and be heard throughout the theatre.

After the long process of getting across the border between Jordan and Israel at the Allenby Bridge, we had a 3hr trip to our accommodation at the Dead Sea with a new Israeli guide and bus driver, not arriving until 10pm for a late dinner.

Day 5 – Thursday 21st

We had only limited time for a quick ‘float’ to experience the 34 per cent salinity of the Dead Sea. This is a remarkable experience, impossible to sink and difficult to stand in depths above waist level. The water tastes foul, and it is not advisable to enter if you have any open wounds! Apart from tourism, the lake is big source of income in that Dead Sea brine produces millions of tons of potash and other minerals for Israel and Jordan each year. The southern part of the Dead Sea is separated from the larger northern part by dikes to form the evaporating pans. The water level in the Sea is dropping, with consequent environmental concerns, and plans are underway to replenish it with water from the Red Sea.

From here, we travelled north to Masada. A natural fortress from its shape, the mountain was developed by the paranoid Herod as another of his strongholds. The history of Masada is very interesting. Jewish extremists captured it in 66 AD, but a siege by the Romans led to the mass suicide of the rebels who preferred death to surrender. Up to the top via a cable car, we were guided around the site seeing storehouses, a Roman bathhouse and other buildings. The bathhouse followed the typical Roman pattern, which we also saw elsewhere, of a change area, wash room and a cold bath area, all leading to the hot bath, or alternate tepid bath if you preferred, and a sauna area heated by hot air circulated under the false floor.

Everywhere throughout our trip we were made aware of the importance of water collection & storage in this arid country. Here at Masada and at Qumran, our next stop, large cisterns were fed by extensive water catchment systems. Qumran was a settlement of the Jewish sect of Essenes and believed to be where the Dead Sea Scrolls, discovered in caves nearby, were written. At the site there are excavated storage rooms, the large water cisterns and a room that was possibly the ‘scriptorium’ where the scribes worked. Back on the bus and on to Jericho. We stopped at a large ancient tree, traditionally the tree up into which Zacchaeus climbed to be able to see Jesus (Luke 19:4). From Zacchaeus’ tree, we went to the Mount of Temptation, ‘the high mountain’ where Jesus was tempted by Satan (Matt 4:8), and went by cable car to a station half way up the mount. Steps led from there to the Greek Orthodox Monastery of Temptation. Here we saw some wonderful icons typical of the Orthodox, beautiful frescos or paintings in the domes and a cave in the mountain side which is traditionally where Jesus spent the 40 days fasting (Mark 1:13).

Another long drive to our accommodation at the Sea of Galilee near Tiberias. After dinner, we celebrated Mass in a room also used as a synagogue.

Day 6 – Friday 22nd

Our first visit was to Cana. We walked up a narrow street to the Franciscan church built in 1881 over a 6th century church which in turn was built over the house traditionally the site of the wedding feast (John 2:1). We celebrated Mass in a side chapel where couples renewed their marriage vows, and then visited the crypt where remains of the house and 6th century church are preserved.

Next to nearby Nazareth. The journey from Nazareth to Cana would have been an easy journey for the Holy Family going to the wedding feast. We first visited ‘Nazareth Village’, an area set up as a village of Christ’s time. We had a guide who led us around the village, showing us the shepherds tending flocks (well, one or two sheep & a few goats!) the carpenter’s shop, the weavers shop, the olive oil workshop, a home and synagogue typical of where the Holy Family would have worshipped. Our guide made the comment that, while usually portrayed as a carpenter, Joseph would more likely have been a stone mason. Nazareth was a very small village with not much work for a carpenter/woodworker, but in the surrounding areas archaeology shows that there would have been a lot of building going on requiring skilled stone workers, eg Sepphoris, 8km from Nazareth, was under reconstruction in Jesus’ time.

Then to the Basilica of the Annunciation. Held by tradition to be part of the house of the family of Mary & the site of the Annunciation (Luke 1:26), it was consecrated in 1969 & built over the ruins of five earlier churches, the oldest being a church-synagogue used by the early Jewish-Christians. In the church there are paintings donated by many countries. That from Australia was of the Annunciation & featured lyre birds. The crypt in the church preserves the Grotto of the Annunciation. We then visited the Synagogue Church near to the Basilica and owned by the Melkite Greek Catholic Church. This is built over the remains of Nazareth’s ancient synagogue where Jesus preached (Matt 13:54).

We travelled onto Mt.Tabor, visiting Sepphoris, the home of Anne & Joachim and Mary’s birthplace, en route. We had there a short tour of the Roman ruins with particular emphasis on the mosaics, the most famous in Israel, but did not see any Christian ruins. At Mt.Tabor we were transported to the Basilica of the Transfiguration in a small bus which wound its way up a narrow road similar to the Arthur’s Seat road only more sinuous. The church is unique with two bell towers, each having a chapel. The northern chapel is dedicated to Moses and it contains an image of him getting the Tablets of Stone on Mount Sinai, and the southern chapel is dedicated to Elijah the prophet and it contains an image of him in his confrontation with the Baal prophets on Mt. Carmel. In the main church above the altar there is a mosaic which depicts the Transfiguration (Matt 17:1). On August 6 this is illuminated by sun beams reflected from a glass plate located on the church's floor.

Day 7 – Saturday 23rd

We boarded one of many tourist boats plying their trade on the Sea of Galilee. At the centre of the lake the captain stopped the motor for a time of quiet reflection. Sitting in silence on the Sea of Galilee with all its biblical connotations was a very spiritual time. Fr. John read a bible passage, appropriately Christ walking on the water (Matt.14:25) and calming the waters (Mark 4:39).

En route to the Mt. of Beatitudes (Mt.Eremos), we landed at Kibbutz Ginnosar where there is a museum to house a 2000 yr old boat discovered when drought lowered the level of the Sea. It is significant being the sort of boat used by Jesus and the disciples. At the Church of the Beatitudes, we celebrated Mass in one of a number of chapels. Fr.John suggested that the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5:3-11) was likely the ‘sermon in the hollow!’ If Mount Eremos is indeed the true location of the Sermon, there is a natural ampitheatre down the hill from the Church which would be an ideal location for preaching to crowds rather than in an open field or on a bare mountain.

After Mass, we had time to look at the lovely church & grounds. Then back on the bus and on to Tabgha, the site of the miracle of the loaves and fishes (Matt 14:16-21). We went into the Church of the Multiplication, a basilica layout largely undecorated apart from some lovely floor mosaics. The famous mosaic of the Loaves and Fishes is located under the altar and shows only four loaves, the fifth being the worshippers.

Our next visit was to the Chapel of the Primacy of Peter close by. This is a lovely, small, unassuming chapel built in 1934 on the shore of the Sea and built around a rock known as the ‘Table of Christ’. There has been a chapel here since the 4thcentury marking the spot where Jesus appeared to the disciples after the Resurrection, prepared a meal for them on the rock, directed them to a large catch of fish and conferred primacy on Peter (John 21). This simple chapel and the site seemed to be more meaningful than the more ‘touristy’ Church of the Multiplication next door. There is a large statue of Christ and Peter in the grounds.

After we wet our feet in the waters of the Sea of Galilee near the Chapel, we were back on the bus and on to Caphernaum, where Jesus was based for much of His Galilean ministry. Perhaps more than any of our previous visits, we could feel the presence of Jesus in this town. There are the remains of an ancient synagogue built over another one that existed in Christ’s time and in which he taught & prayed. A short walk from the synagogue site are the remains of what is believed to have been Peter’s house where Jesus cured Peter’s mother-in-law (Mark 1:29-31). We viewed the excavation of the house, extended by the early Jewish Christians into a house/church, a ‘domus ecclesiae’, now protected by the Franciscan Church built over it.

Our last stop for the day was at Caesarea Philippi, mentioned in Gospels of Matthew and Mark, eg Matt 16:13. The area had been dedicated to the Greek god Pan and the ancient city of Paneas was resettled by the Romans in 3BC.

Day 8 – Sunday 24th

First stop Megiddo, a hill made of 26 layers of the ruins of ancient cities. Site of a giant fortress built by Solomon and important because of its strategic position overlooking the ‘Via Maris’, a trade route connecting Egypt & Assyria. The term ‘Armageddon’ for the battle at the end of time derives from the Hebrew Har Megiddo, Mount of Megiddo. Megiddo had another example of an extensive water catchment and storage system with a tunnel bored through rock for 300ft. to an underground cistern.

Our next stop was at the church and monastery of the Carmelites on Mount Carmel, where the battle between Elijah & the Prophets of Baal took place (1 Kings 18:22). Each party prayed to their respective deities to light the fire of their sacrificial offering. Only Elijah’s fire was lit, so he won! There was a statue of a rather aggressive Elijah in the church grounds and a wonderful view over the countryside from the roof of the monastery.

Back in the bus to another Caesarea, this one on the Mediterranean coast and hence called Caesarea Maritima. At one time the largest city in Judea, Caesarea was built by Herod the Great with the largest harbour on the eastern coast. It was supplied with water by a long aquaduct from Mt.Carmel and a well preserved part of this has been uncovered on the coast. The Romans were great builders and the massive construction is not only utilitarian in function, but built to look good as well. After some of us had dipped feet in the Mediterranean at the aquaduct, we went on to the site of Herod’s palace and ‘beach house’ built on a short promontory jutting into the sea, seeing the hippodrome, a Roman theatre and a copy of the stone inscribed to Pontius Pilatus, the original of which was found on the site and which is the only reference found anywhere outside the Bible to his name. We saw the ruins of a large hall in the complex which it is suggested may have been where Paul was first tried (Acts 23:35) before he was taken to Rome.

Next to Abu Ghosh, one possible site of Emmaus (Luke 24:13). We visited the church of Saint Mary of the Resurrection, home to a French Benedictine community. This is one of the best preserved Crusader remains in the country, built in 1143 using as foundations a Roman reservoir constructed to store spring water. The arched roof of the large crypt is interesting and there are a number of frescos in various stages of restoration. These have suffered from humidity and by deliberate removal of faces.

Finally to Jerusalem, the pinacle of our pilgrimage. We were quite surprised at the size of the city as we drove through extensive built up areas before reaching our hotel. After dinner, we celebrated Mass in the synagogue in the basement of the hotel. Again the readings chosen by Fr.John were appropriate for what we had seen during the day.

Day 9 – Monday 25th

First stop Herodion, another of Herod’s palace/fortresses. The fortress was built on top of a cone shaped hill and on the plain below are remains of royal buildings around a large pool with a central island having a pavilion for entertaining. It was believed that Herod was buried somewhere on the hill and in 2007 Professor Ehud Netzer reported that he had discovered the tomb at a flattened site halfway up the hill, the precise location given by Jewish historian Josephus in his writings. Netzer died in October 2010, shortly before our visit, from injuries sustained from a fall at the site.

Back in the bus and on to Bethlehem. We went through a checkpoint in the abhorent ‘security’ wall around the Palestinian area of the West Bank. Bethlehem is dominated by the Basilica of the Nativity built in around 550AD over the ruins of a Constantinian church. We had to wait some time in Manger Square outside the church for our turn to enter through a ‘Door of Humility’ only 1.2 meters high. This doorway has been reduced in size several times over its history to prevent attacking horsemen riding straight into the church.

Once inside, we again waited in a long queue to get access to the Holy Crypt. There was a lot of restoration work going on inside the church and the space was cluttered with scaffolding. We could see enough to know that it would be a magnificent sight uncluttered, being adorned with many icons, hanging lamps and chandeliers in the Orthodox manner. Fragments of 12th century Byzantine mosaics depicting the first seven ecumenical councils can be seen on the upper walls of the nave above the 6m high pink limestone columns. The mosaic portraying the Council of Constantinople of 680 is the best preserved and it is a great pity that the spirit of the Councils is not shown in the ongoing jealousy & friction between the Armenian, Greek Orthodox and Catholic groups that control parts of the church.

The crypt contains the Chapel of the Nativity, having the Altar of the Crib over the Silver Star marking the birthplace of Jesus (Luke 2:15,16) and the Altar of the Magi, the location of the Manger. These are cut into the rock of the cave traditionally the ‘stable’of Bethlehem, which was more likely a storage area for fodder rather than housing for animals. It was the practice to build houses over or alongside caves, where it was warmer in winter and cooler in summer. We left the crypt by a stairway that took us up to the Church of St Catherine next door and into a courtyard surrounded by a beautiful Crusader built cloister. There is a statue here of St.Jerome, who worked in one of the caves under the church translating the Bible into Latin. The traditional Christmas Eve Mass is broadcast to the world from St.Catherine’s each year.

We visited next Shepherd’s Fields, the area where the angels appeared to the shepherds with the message of the Birth (Luke 2:8). Also this area is believed to be where the Hebrew matriarch Ruth gleaned in the fields behind the harvesters (Ruth 2:2). We were told that this practice of allowing the poor to pick up what is left behind the harvester is still carried out in parts of Israel. We celebrated Mass in the 1954 Chapel of the Angels which had some lovely paintings of the shepherds in the fields, the appearance of the angels and a ‘crib’ scene. After Mass, we went to a cave under the church which was set up as it would have been when used by shepherds.

We went then back to Jerusalem and to the Israel Museum where we saw a large model of Jerusalem as it was in Jesus’ time. This gives an idea of the beauty of Herod’s Temple and how it dominated the Old City. One can appreciate how devestating its destruction was for the people, not only with the desecration of the Holy-of-Holies but also the loss of a beautiful building with all it stood for as the center of the Jewish faith. We went from the model to the Shrine of the Book, built to house the Dead Sea Scrolls and topped with a white dome shaped to represent the top of a jar in which the scrolls were found. Fragments of the scrolls and other ancient documents are displayed periodically in rotation to avoid deteriation.

Day 10 – Tuesday, 26/10/10

First to the Mt. of Olives where we celebrated Mass in the Church of Dominus Flevit (‘Lord Wept’). This church was built in 1954 to commemorate Luke 19:41, where Jesus weeps seeing the beauty of the City and Temple and knowing of its future destruction. During Mass it was hard not to be distracted by the classic view of the Old City, the Dome of the Rock and Temple Mount framed through the window behind the altar. After Mass, we headed out onto the Palm Sunday Road, the traditional route taken by Jesus riding on the donkey into the City (Luke 19:37). We walked past the beautiful Orthodox Church of Saint Mary Magdalene with its gold, onion shaped domes, one of the most recognisable churches of many on the Mount, coming finally to the Garden of Gethsemane and the Church of All Nations. The preserved Garden within the walled grounds of the church is quite small, with a number of ancient olive trees in a well kept setting.

The Church of the Agony or Church of All Nations, was built between 1919-1924 using funds donated from many different countries. It is built around a rocky outcrop, the Stone of the Agony, on which Jesus knelt to pray (Luke 22:41). Australia’s contribution to the church was a cast iron ‘Crown of Thorns’ surrounding this stone in front of the altar. The interior of the Church is quite extraordinary with its mosaics & paintings. The façade is dominated by a hugh mosaic over the entrance, which makes this Church unmistakable from any other, depicting Jesus as mediator between God and Mankind.

We entered the Old City through the Lion’s Gate, or St.Stephen’s Gate. Not far through the Gate, via a typical narrow Jerusalem roadway, is the Church of St.Anne and the Bethesda Pools. The pools are believed to be the site where Jesus cured the paralytic (John 5:2). The Church of St.Anne is a 12th century Crusader church which survived by being used as an Islamic school and stables, and is known for its amazing acoustics, being designed for Gregorian chant. We visited the Church (but did not check out the acoustics!) and went down into the crypt to see the small chapel dedicated to the Birth of Mary.

There was then a short walk onto the Via Dolorosa. The route of the Way of the Cross has changed several times over the centuries and the current Stations are marked by various chapels, monasteries, convents and wall plaques with Stations 10-14 being within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. We entered the Church through the Coptic Monastery of St.Antony and were led to the area of the Edicule, a structure enclosing the Holy Sepulchre itself, probably the holiest site in Christendom, where there was a long queue waiting entry to the tomb. We were told this wait could be up to 3 hours and we were given the option of not waiting by our Jewish guide. A vote was held and overwhelmingly we elected to wait however long it took, seeing that the main purpose of a visit to Jerusalem is to see the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and especially the tomb. As it eventuated, we were about 1¼ hrs in line to make our visit, which was limited to about a minute! Disappointingly, we were not given time to see much more of this amazing sprawling church which, as well as the Tomb, encloses Calvary and many other chapels commemorating aspects of the Passion and Resurrection. (Throughout our trip, in what he was prepared to show us against what we wanted to see, our guide did not win favour, despite objections from Fr.John, and particularly so in this truncated visit to the Holy Sepulchre.)

Back on the bus and off to Mount Zion, an elevation west of the Mount of Olives outside the Old City, to see the Tomb of David. Like many others this building has a complex history, being owned at various times by Jews, Christians and Muslims. The Cenacle, Room of the Last Supper (Luke 22:12), is on the floor above the Tomb of David. At King David’s Tomb there were separate entrances for men and women and we entered to a hall that was the lower part of a 12th century Crusader church. The cenotaph of David is covered by a cloth embroidered in Hebrew with verses from the Torah and the star of David surmounted by twenty-two crowns in solid silver which represent the kings who succeeded each other on the throne of Israel after David. Behind the cenotaph is a niche dated at about the 4th century that could be part of an original synagogue or Byzantine church. We then went up to the Cenacle, which cannot be the historic Last Supper room being dated to the 12th century, but like many revered holy places the site can be venerated for what it represents. The room is rather plain with pillars and a vaulted ceiling. Its previous life as a mosque can be seen with an arabic stained glass window and an elaborate mihrab (niche) in the south wall facing Mecca.

Our next stop was at the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu, built like many others on the remains of previous churches. According to tradition, this was the site of the palace of High Priest Caiaphas. Gallicantu means ‘cock-crow’ and the Church commemorates Peter’s denial of Christ at His trial (Mark 14:66). There is a wonderful statue of Peter’s denial to the servant girls in the grounds. There are caves under the Church dating from Jesus’ time and we gathered in one considered to be the prison in which Christ was held. Here Fr.John read Psalm 88, a moving experience and very meaningful in the situation.

Day 11 – Wednesday, 27/10/10

We had an early booking to see the Western Wall Tunnel, a tunnel excavated under the buildings alongside the wall. We went through a security check at the oddly named Dung Gate into the Western Wall Plaza. We walked through the plaza overlooking the area in front of the Wailing Wall set aside for prayer and one of the most sacred sites in Judaism, and into the Tunnel which goes down to the street level of Christ’s time, well below present street level. This was quite fascinating, seeing the original Herodian structure close up. The size of the stones is extraordinary and one wonders how they were ever moved into place. The biggest stone in the Western Wall, often called the Western Stone, is revealed within the tunnel and ranks as one of the heaviest objects ever lifted by human beings without powered machinery. The stone has a length of 13.6 meters and an estimated weight of 570 tons. It was interesting too to see Jewish women praying at the wall half way along its length, the closest available point to the Holy-of-Holies of the destroyed Second Temple.

Out from the Tunnel, we re-entered the Plaza through another security point that gave access to the platform of the Temple Mount. In around 19 BC, Herod the Great extended the natural plateau of Mount Moriah to form this platform on which to construct the Second Temple (the first having been built by King Solomon in 960BC). This was the temple out of which Christ drove the money changers (John 2:15). It was destroyed along with the rest of the city by the Romans in 70AD and the Mount then went through a chequered history until the beautiful Islamic shrine, the Dome of the Rock, was constructed in 691.

The gold plated dome of the shrine dominates any view of the Old City. The building covers an outcrop of rock on the top of the Mount, first venerated by Jews as the Foundation Stone, the spot where God chose the Divine Presence to rest, and where Abraham offered his son in sacrifice. It was from here the world expanded into its present form and Adam was raised from the dust. The rock is venerated among Muslims as the place from which Muhammad ascended to heaven and it is the third holiest site in Islam, and Jerusalem the third-holiest city after Mecca and Medina. As well, the site is associated with Jewish biblical prophets who are also venerated in Islam. In light of the dual claims of both Judaism and Islam, it is one of the most contested religious sites in the world. The other major building on the Mount is the al-Aqsa Mosque, the ‘furthest mosque’ (ie from Mecca). Access to the Dome or Mosque is not permitted.

We went then to the City of David, the original area of settlement in Jerusalem. The area includes several sites of interest, notably the Pool of Siloam to which Christ sent the blind man for cure (John 9:7) and Hezekiah's tunnel. The tunnel, leading from the Gihon Spring to the Pool of Siloam, was designed to act as an aqueduct to provide Jerusalem with a secured water supply during siege and is one of the few intact 8th century structures in the world that the public can not only visit, but enter and walk through. In our case, there had been issues with the Arab inhabitants in the days before we visited and we were not permitted to walk through the tunnel which ends in the Arab region.

Back into the bus and onto Ein Karem, traditionally the home of Zacharia and his wife Elizabeth and the birthplace of their son John the Baptist. Luke 1:39 tells that Mary went "into the hill country, to a city of Judah" to visit Elizabeth. We went to the Franciscan Church of John the Baptist. The walls around the church gardens have the words of Zechariah’s ‘Benedictus’ (Luke 1:68) on plaques in many languages. We visited the crypt which houses the Grotto of the Benedictus, considered to be the place where John the Baptist was born. A marble star beneath the altar bears a Latin inscription, ‘Hic Precursor Domini Natus Est’ (Here was born the precursor of the Lord).

Back to Jerusalem for our fourth night at the Prima Royale Hotel. After tea we celebrated Mass in the synagogue and this being the last official day of our pilgrimage, Fr.John presented us with Certificates to record our status as ‘Jerusalem Pilgrims’. Notice that our trip followed geographically (but a bit out of order) the same path that Jesus took in His ministry. We had visited His birth place at Bethlehem, His early life at Nazareth, His Baptism in the Jordan, His first miracle at Cana, His ministry in the Galilee, and finally His arrival in Jerusalem, trial and Crucifixion.

Day 12 – Thursday, 28/10/10

Day 12 was a ‘free day’ and several of us walked to the Old City, out to Mt.Zion and the Church of Dormition which commemorates the Assumption of Mary into Heaven. A beautiful church made all the more special by the magnificent organ being played while we were there. There is a mosaic of Madonna and Child in the apse and in the crypt a cherry-wood and ivory statue of the sleeping Mary. Also in the crypt are a number of lovely side altars donated by various countries.

We then made our way back to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. (The tensions in Israel were made apparent when we saw local school groups on excursions with armed guards.) We visited the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer en route where we joined a small group praying in German. We entered the Church of the Holy Sepulchre through the narrow main door and up a stairway to the Calvary site. Here there are two chapels, the rather austere Franciscan Chapel, commemorating the 11th Station, and the very ornate Greek Orthodox Chapel, the 12th Station, which has the altar built over a glass case showing the rock of Calvary. At the foot of Calvary is the 13th Station, the Stone of Unction (Anointing), venerated as the stone on which Christ was prepared for burial. The 14th Station is of course the Sepulchre itself.

We visited various other chapels missed on our first visit and made our way out of the Church to the Jewish Quarter of the City to see the ‘Burnt House’, an excavated house of Christ’s time which was destroyed along with the rest of Jerusalem when the Romans sacked the City in 70AD. It remains as an example of the devastation left by the Romans before they rebuilt the city as Aelia Capitolina in 130AD. Back to the Hotel for tea, Mass and our last night in Jerusalem.

Day 13 – Friday, 29/10/10

We were driven back to the border at the Allenby (Sheik Hussein) Bridge. It took us about 3hrs to get through both sets of customs, then onto Amman Airport, the end of our wonderful Pilgrimage. Our thanks to Fr.John and Malcolm for their care, attention, & guidance. A constant worry making sure nobody got lost – Fr.John became very expert at rapid counting to 42!