Our Holy Land Pilgrimage – Day 11
Day 11 – Thursday February 21
This day was the longest touring day of our trip being 13 hours in length taking us from Jerusalem (2500 feet above sea level) in the morning at about 40 degrees out into the desert, down to the Dead Sea (1400 feet below sea level) with the temperature in the low 70’s and eventually back up to Jerusalem as the sun set and the temperature dipping into the 30’s. It was definitely a day of variety!
Bethany – This little village on the south-eastern slope of the Mount of Olives about 2 miles east of Jerusalem was the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. It is believed Jesus would often stay with them here when He was visiting Jerusalem. This is where Martha served Jesus on one of His visits and complained to Him while Mary sat listening to Him (Luke10:38-42). Jesus must have been very close to Lazarus because He wept when He heard that Lazarus had died (John 11:35) and He raised Lazarus from the dead (John 11:1-44). Not long after, a dinner was held for Jesus in Bethany (Matthew 26:6-13, Mark 14:3-9, John 12:1-8) and during the dinner “Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oil … and anointed the feet of Jesus and dried them with her hair” (John 12:3). This is also where Jesus began His entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday (Mark 11:1, Luke 19:29) and near where he departed from His disciples as He ascended into Heaven (Luke 24:50).
We had Mass in a small chapel followed by a quick tour of the church with three readings and a song. We did not receive any history about the church which was built in 1954 and contains mosaics depicting the events which occurred here in this village.
Just a short walk from the church, we were able to visit the tomb of Lazarus. The entrance is right off of a pedestrian street through a wall with shops all around. There was even a camel near the bus available for pictures (just “one dollar”) or a brief ride. We were able to enter the tomb in very small groups of about half a dozen or less since the tomb itself is an extremely small space. The tomb is down a set of 24 very steep, old and uneven stone steps. First, one comes to a small open area referred to as the vestibule which according to tradition is where Jesus stood to call Lazarus from the tomb. The tomb itself is 3 more steps down through a very small opening in the rock which we literally had to crawl and squeeze through. The only way out was squeezing back through the small opening and climbing back up the same steps we came down to get in which are only wide enough for one person at a time.
Today, Bethany is located in the West Bank and thus is separated from Jerusalem by Israel’s separation wall. This area is not really wanted by either the Palestinians or the Israelis, so the people who live in this area need to fend for themselves. Our guide informed us that both sides officially claim it, but neither side really wants it. So neither provides any services. We saw first-hand what this does for a community as we witnessed cars driving on the wrong side of the road, garbage piled everywhere and half-finished buildings.
On our way back to the bus, there was an opportunity to have your picture taken with a camel. Some of us were even able to ride the camel!
Masada – It was very interesting and somewhat thrilling to see Masada. Although it is not part of the Christian history we came to the Holy Land to see, it is an important part of Jewish history and an amazing geographical site to behold. This isolated rock plateau is located on the eastern edge of the Judean Desert about a 60 mile drive from Jerusalem. We headed east out of Jerusalem past Jericho and then turned south and drove along the western shore of the Dead Sea to near its southern end. It took about an hour and half to drive there. This giant rock plateau is flat on the top and shaped somewhat like wide cruise ship being about 1,800 feet long and 890 feet across at its widest point. On the east side the cliffs drop very steeply about 1,300 feet straight down to the floor of the desert. On the west side it is a little less foreboding at only a 300 foot vertical drop before it slopes a little more. Thus, the elevation on the top of Masada is about sea level! It sure doesn’t look that way! The view of the Dead Sea from Masada is more than spectacular. It is possible to walk to the top on trails snaking up from the western side and wrapping around to the eastern side. We rode the cable cars to the top; an amazing engineering feat in itself. Each of these cars carried about 75-80 people and rode very smoothly with a spectacular view of the eastern face.
Herod the Great built a fortress here between 37 and 31 BC with two grand palaces and a 13 foot high wall around the perimeter which was about 4,300 feet (~0.8 miles) in length. This wall was actually two walls; one inside the other with barracks and storehouses in between and fortified by many towers. In addition to storehouses and barracks, the fortress also contained an armory, the two palaces and cisterns that were refilled by rainwater. A sophisticated water system channeled rain water to the cisterns. Allegedly, the run off from a single day’s rain could sustain 1,000 people for 2 to 3 years. We were told it rains here only about 7 days a year. Only three narrow, winding paths led from below up to fortified gates. We were able to walk through the ruins of the palaces and cisterns and even a bath house; some of it reconstructed by archeologists after an earthquake. They even marked the walls with a line so we could see what was reconstructed! We stood on a balcony of one of the palaces that seemed to ‘hang’ off of the northern edge of the plateau. From here we could shout and hear it echo back. It is said that the Jewish and Roman leaders would talk to each other in this way during the Roman siege in 73 AD. There is an amazing view from anywhere on the eastern side of the plateau of the Dead Sea over a thousand feet below but only a few miles away. It was a nice sunny day and very warm compared to Jerusalem. Most of us were shedding layers of clothing as we strolled around this amazing park. After 10 days in mostly chilly or cold conditions, the warm sun felt oh so good! Groups of Jewish school children were also touring this Israeli National Park. Our guide told us that Masada is a big rallying call for the Jewish people. The children are brought here and taught the history and then reminded again when they enter the military. Never again Masada.
A Jewish revolt against Rome persisted from 66 to 73 AD. In 66 AD, a small extremist group of Jewish rebels known as the Sicarii overcame the Roman garrison at Masada and inhabited the fortress. When the Romans destroyed Jerusalem including the Temple in 70 AD, more of their group migrated to Masada. In 73 AD, the Romans laid siege to Masada, the only Jewish encampment left. The Romans built a wall and a ramp on the western face of the fortress. We could see the remnants of this ramp from our vantage point on the plateau. It was built largely of natural material with wood supports. The ramp was completed in the spring of 73 after probably several months of siege. The Romans were finally able to breach the wall of the fortress with a battering ram. What they found when they rushed in was both shocking and amazing. There was almost no one there. Only two women and five children were found alive. About 960 people had all killed themselves. The men were instructed to kill their families and then kill each other and the last one living committed suicide rather than live under Roman slavery leaving the Romans with a hollow victory.
Qumran – These ruins of a village a mile from the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea are near the set of 11 caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered between 1947 and 1956. Nearly 900 scrolls in all were discovered most of which were written on parchment and some on papyrus. We toured the ruins of the village and stood outside one of the caves on a covered platform in a light and chilly rain shower as our guide told us of the history of the village and the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The scrolls were first discovered by a bored shepherd boy who was throwing stones to entertain himself while watching sheep. He heard a strange sound, entered a cave to investigate and discovered the clay jars which contained the scrolls which had been hidden in these desert caves in the 1st century. These scrolls opened a new and huge door to scripture study allowing scripture scholars to study the Old Testament writings in their original form. It is believed by many that the village of Qumran about 34 miles north of Masada was inhabited by a Hebrew sect known as the Essenes. The excavations at Qumran have revealed cisterns, Jewish ritual baths, cemeteries, a dining or assembly room, pottery kilns and a tower. Many scholars believe the Essenes are responsible for the protection of these priceless treasures by hiding them from the Romans who destroyed the village possibly as late as 73 AD around the time of the destruction of Masada. Today, the scrolls are safely kept in an Israeli Museum named The Shrine of the Book which we visited on our first day in Jerusalem, just after seeing the Model City of Jerusalem.
The Dead Sea – Only a few miles away from Qumran where we were chilly and wet was the shore of the Dead Sea where it was comfortable to be outside in your bare feet or in a swim suit. It was mostly cloudy with a little sun and probably in the very low 70’s. A few of our group even went into the water. You can’t really swim due to the density of the water (1.24 kg/liter), you mostly just float. It was crowded with people from many different places on the earth. Sharon and I took our shoes off, rolled up our pants and stepped into the water. We stayed for a minute or two and helped another one of our group get in and out.
The Dead Sea is the lowest point on the face of the earth at 1412 feet below sea level and is about 31 miles long (north to south) and about 9 miles across (east to west) at its widest point. However, the Dead Sea is receding at a swift rate with its surface area today (234 square miles) being only about 57% of what it was in 1930 (410 square miles). The Dead Sea separates Israel on the west side from Jordan on the east side and is fed mostly by the Jordan River. The water is about 10 times more salty than the ocean and at a salinity of 34% is one of the saltiest bodies of water in the world. The water makes your skin feel soft and new yet it can also irritate your skin. The water is way too toxic to be consumed. After dipping our feet in, we rinsed them off in an outdoor shower and hurried back to the bus for our return to Jerusalem. We were only there for a very short time; probably less than 30 minutes.
The Western Wall – We arrived back in Jerusalem as the sun was setting and the temperatures were dipping down into the 30’s. We next visited one of the iconic images many people have of Israel; the Western Wall or Wailing Wall. The Western Wall of the Herodian Temple is what is left above ground from the Temple of the time of Jesus. The Jewish people pray at “The Wall” constantly as it is the closest one can be today to what was once the “Holy of Holies”, the center of the Temple where the Jews believe was the presence of God. To the west of the wall is a large stone paved plaza. We had to go through a security check to get in and men and women are separated in different sections which are separated by a partition. It was dark, about 6:00 in the evening and crowded but not packed. It was kind of noisy with a buzz of excitement which was unexpected for me. We were able to find a spot at the wall to pray for a few minutes, each in our own space. We could leave prayers in the crevices between the stones, but it was hard to find a space. Somehow I managed to find a spot for my two written prayers on one piece of paper. Bruce our guide told us the stones at the bottom of the wall were the 2,000 year old stones from the time of Jesus and the ones above were newer, only about 1,000 years old! I knelt on one knee for my prayers to be sure to touch the stones that were there with Jesus. One of my pilgrim brothers helped guide me to and from the wall so that I could re-connect with the group afterwards in this very busy maze of people. It was moving for me to pray here even for such a brief time as it was. I thought of my deceased parents and my whole family. It may be the holiest place on earth for Jews, but for me as a Catholic man, the holiest place on earth where I can be the closest to God is in the Holy Eucharist!
After our time at The Western Wall, we entered into a building on the side of the Western Wall Plaza for a very impressive and interesting journey down about 70 feet or more underground to the original streets of the time of Jesus. It was long believed that the stones at the current street level did not follow the same path of the streets of the time of Jesus in 30 AD. It took a long time for the archeologists to get permission to start going underground to discover how many layers were built and built over again to form today’s street level! It was a very interesting tour of about 45 minutes to an hour even after such a long day. The most amazing part of the whole tour for me though was near the end where we had reached bedrock and the street level at the time of Jesus right at a main entrance to the city. Jesus surely entered and left the city along this street. We were able to stand on and walk along an old original roman road paved with stones which Jesus Himself walked across. Sharon and I both not only walked on but bent down and touched our hands to this pavement where once upon a time, our Savior walked! What an amazing way to end the day!
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