Bethlehem and Jerusalem, Israel Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Up bright and early, Larry and I met Moriah, our guide, at 7:30am to travel two hours south east to Bethlehem. The drive was mostly down a four to eight lane highway which took us straight to the check point of the Palestinian owned territory, Bethlehem. We were allowed to enter, only with a prearranged Palestinian guide who met us on the street corner.
Palestinian license plates are red and white.
Israelites license plates are yellow and black. This makes it easy to spot each other’s car. You would most likely never find an Israelite’s car in Bethlehem just as you would never spot a Palestinian’s car in Jerusalem.
Our guide said that they, the Palestinians, do not travel into Israel, just as she, an Israeli, never comes to Bethlehem, except to hand over the tour group to the Palestinian guide.
While driving into Bethlehem we passed a huge dove painted on the side of the wall wearing a bullet proof vest. That says a lot about how they feel towards each other.
We walked up the hill...oh the sights we saw.
Lots of Muslim women dressed in long coats with scarf covered heads....
Shopkeepers selling their wares.
Tea pot simmering
Two locally owned renditions of American Starbucks.
Camel leather sandals
Razor wire topping fences and walls to keep the Israelites out.
We walked to the Church of the Nativity....with hundreds of other visitors. It appeared to be a very busy day in Bethlehem.
A tiny door made the entry of unwanted visitors easy to defend....This was our only way in.....called the Humble Door.
Archeological excavations revealed original mosaic floors.
First stop in Jerusalem.......The Church of All Nations
Mount of Olives was just above the Church of All Nations
Garden of Gethsemane
Our driver took us to an overlook into Old Jerusalem.
Mosque in Old Jerusalem
Jewish Cemetery Outside the old walled city of Jerusalem
The Wailing Wall
we visited the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Here Jesus was nailed to the cross,. It was the end of the day and many visitors were packed in.
Once we enter, we were only able to observe the rock where Jesus was laid to be cleaned and readied for burial. Visitors were rubbing speciality items over the rock. It was a very emotional place for the deeply devoted.
We walked through the church into another room to find a two or three hour waiting line to pass by the area dedicated to where Jesus was buried. Many had stood there for hours to be able see it.
Mariah, our guide, lead us to a room where a cave had been discovered. This would be very similar to what the long line of visitors would see.
After our tour of the Holy Sepulcher Moriah led us back through the Jewish section of the old market.
There were many exquisite sights!
We walked through a wonderfully modern shopping mall...what a contrast to the old market! We found our bus just in time to miss a rain storm that followed us on our two hour trip back to Haifa. Larry and I had another great adventure visiting Bethlehem and Jerusalem. In the morning we will be going south through the Suez Canal.
Up bright and early, Larry and I met Moriah, our guide, at 7:30am to travel two hours south east to Bethlehem. The drive was mostly down a four to eight lane highway which took us straight to the check point of the Palestinian owned territory, Bethlehem. We were allowed to enter, only with a prearranged Palestinian guide who met us on the street corner.
Our guide said that they, the Palestinians, do not travel into Israel, just as she, an Israeli, never comes to Bethlehem, except to hand over the tour group to the Palestinian guide.
While driving into Bethlehem we passed a huge dove painted on the side of the wall wearing a bullet proof vest. That says a lot about how they feel towards each other.
Lots of Muslim women dressed in long coats with scarf covered heads....
Shopkeepers selling their wares.
We walked to the Church of the Nativity....with hundreds of other visitors. It appeared to be a very busy day in Bethlehem.
The Church of the Nativity looked like a castle fortification....tall walls like a castle.
Looking at the outline of the arch, the original entrance was much larger years ago.
Greek Orthodox Chandeliers
A huge mass of people stood in line to go to the nativity area below the church. The nativity was not a stall or a barn as often it is portrayed...it was actually a cave where animals were kept. The church was built over it to protect it and preserve the memory of the place where Jesus was born. So interesting!
After some browsing in some local shops, we stopped for lunch and then continued driving about half an hour into Jerusalem.
Mount of Olives was just above the Church of All Nations
Garden of Gethsemane
We walked into the Church of All Nations
Mosque in Old Jerusalem
Jewish Cemetery Outside the old walled city of Jerusalem
The Wailing Wall
Jewish gentlemen visiting the Wailing Wall.
Our group walked through the Old Jerusalem market.
After a half an hour of walking through the old markets,
we visited the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Here Jesus was nailed to the cross,. It was the end of the day and many visitors were packed in.
Once we enter, we were only able to observe the rock where Jesus was laid to be cleaned and readied for burial. Visitors were rubbing speciality items over the rock. It was a very emotional place for the deeply devoted.
We walked through the church into another room to find a two or three hour waiting line to pass by the area dedicated to where Jesus was buried. Many had stood there for hours to be able see it.
There were many exquisite sights!
Colorful veggies!
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