Transfiguration - and then some
We got up early on Tuesday morning to begin our journey back to Jerusalem with a stop at Mt. Tabor, where many believe is the site of the Transfiguration (Matt 17; Mark 9) - where Jesus is raised up in front of Peter, James and John in clothes of dazzling white and Moses and Elijah appear with him. (We celebrate this event on the last Sunday of Epiphany, right before Ash Wednesday). There is a magnificent Roman Catholic Church dedicated to that event on the top of the mountain. We had to take vans up a switchback road to get to the top (Bishop George said he experienced it for the first time in a small Mercedes going about 110 mph - not something he missed this time!) Once again, because of Iyad's, our guide, insistence on an early start, we were the first ones there that morning. It was beautiful - though a bit windy and foggy. We saw several groups, including Youth Groups, that were making the trek up or down the mountain on foot - that would take awhile! It is a rather steep incline and suddenly the throw-away line of "they went up the mountain" took on a whole new significance! That was not an easy trip, nor would I have been in any hurry to go back down, like Peter, James and John. It was a great way to spend the morning.
We then made our way down to Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947. It was hot. No, it was H!O!T! We did see the famous "Cave 4" that had the largest collection of scrolls, and walked around the ruins of the Essen community that created the scrolls. It was suggested that John the Baptist was a member of the community for awhile before returning to the desert (in Jericho) to baptize people.
Nowadays the area is best known for the beauty products that come from the minerals in the Dead Sea. We had lunch at a roadside cafe that was conveniently connected to an "outlet" of all the beauty supplies one could want. I choose not to spend $50 on a 8 oz jar of mud, as our next stop was floating in the Dead Sea.
I say floating because you don't really swim in the Dead Sea. The water was HOT! Eventually we found the holes that offered the real mud that people spread over their skin. I did it too - fortunately there is no photographic evidence. I did, however, with all grace and agility, step into a hole on my way out of the Sea and fell right into the water. Fortunately my face did not go under water, but it did splash a bit into my eyes. Oh did that burn! I got to a shower as quickly as possible. My skin did feel smoother, but that water is intense!
We made our way back to the Holy Land Hotel, and after a much needed shower and doing some laundry, a colleague wanted to go into the Old City to buy a traditional outfit, so I went with him. After getting lost on the fist night and then going through the city on our way to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, I actually had an idea of how to get around - a bit. We did find a stall where Mark (Van Sant) bought what looks like a very long man's shirt. It was an interesting experience. More on that another time.
On Wednesday we made our way into the West Bank (again, that is the west bank of Jordan) to head into Nablus. We actually walked through the checkpoint, where we needed to go through 3 turn styles. No one checked our documents - there are not guards that can be seen. It is all done by video surveillance, which makes it incredibly impersonal - almost "Big Brother-esque". I did here a voice over the loud speak say (in English) "No pictures!" Someone in the group didn't hear the instructions not to take pictures, I guess. Any Palestinian who lives in the West Bank MUST have a permit to go into Israel, and they don't issue them very easily. The experience was very eye opening and sad that the Israel's have become the pursecutors.
We boarded another bus with a green and white license plate (that is for the West Bank - yellow and blue is for Israel) and made our way to a church in the town of Nablus that was built over Jacob's Well.
It is at this well that Jesus mets the Samaritan woman (John 4:6-42). We met Fr. Justin (Justinius) the Greek Orthodox priest who almost single handedly organized the expansion and decoration of the church. He is a master icon painter and the icons in the church are breathtaking. We went down to the well, read from John's Gospel and drank from the well. During this, Fr. Justin (who is probably 5'2") sat at a small desk to the side filling small jars with well water and sealing them with wax. All of his actions were like continuous prayer. I felt privileged to witness it. And the water was delicious! Did I mention we were the only ones at the church? What a treasure and no one goes to it because of where it is located.
Our next stop was St. Matthew's Episcopal Church in Zababdeh, where Fr. Nael is the Rector. Zababdeh is about 45 minutes north of Nablus, over some very hilly, starkly beautiful country. It did get a bit bumpy in the back of the bus as there are speed bumps in every small town on the main road.
Zababdeh is a bit unusual as it is 80% Christian. It also is right next to a university (I forget its name), so many students come to Zababdeh looking for housing. The church has a fairly new building (with a screen and projector next to the altar!). Fr. Nael told us of the Summer Camp program they just finished for over 200 kids, Christian and Muslim, in the area.
Under the church is the Penmen Medical Clinic, named after the Primate of Australia. It offers medical services to about 50,000 people in that area as a branch of St. Luke's Hospital, which I believe is in Nablus. They have a regular physician most days, and specialists, like a cardiologist, dentist, OBGYN, etc. that come on a rotating basis. They even have a very modern lab and a small pharmacy right there! It was an impressive set up in a small space. They are in the process of looking for a land to build a larger clinic in order to also accommodate more emergency medical services.
Fr. Nael and his congregation made lunch for us of a local dish called musachan, which is a large "pita" like piece of bread soaked in olive oil and baked, than spread with sautéed onions and almond slivers, baked chicken with a spice called "sumac" (not the poison we know, fortunately) and goat yogurt. It was delicious but I wish I had known the bread was soaked in olive oil. It has been a bit rough on my system.
On the way back to Jerusalem, Iyad bought us dessert of a local favorite (I don't remember the name). He called the main ingredient wheat, but it had the color and texture of cornmeal or couscous, which is fried, spread with goat cheese (almost like mozzarella) and drizzled with a light syrup. It was served warm. After the lunch, I was only able to take a couple of bites. It was good, but not my favorite. Too much grease (and not enough chocolate! :)
We ended the day with dinner at the hotel and watched some of the Men's Gymnastic All-Around Competition. It is the first time I have actually had time to watch any of the Olympics. (GO USA!)
Thursday we had a free day - so many choices and a body not happy with yesterday's lunch. I kept it simple with a visit to St. George's Cathedral (the home of the Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem) and lunch at the American Colonial Hotel (New York City prices is all I can say, but the place is gorgeous).
As we head into the last two days of this awesome pilgrimage, I am sad to see it come to an end. There is so much more I would like to do and see, but maybe there is a course at St. George's College in my future at some point.
Until next time, I send prayers of peace and love from the Holy Land.
We then made our way down to Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947. It was hot. No, it was H!O!T! We did see the famous "Cave 4" that had the largest collection of scrolls, and walked around the ruins of the Essen community that created the scrolls. It was suggested that John the Baptist was a member of the community for awhile before returning to the desert (in Jericho) to baptize people.
Nowadays the area is best known for the beauty products that come from the minerals in the Dead Sea. We had lunch at a roadside cafe that was conveniently connected to an "outlet" of all the beauty supplies one could want. I choose not to spend $50 on a 8 oz jar of mud, as our next stop was floating in the Dead Sea.
I say floating because you don't really swim in the Dead Sea. The water was HOT! Eventually we found the holes that offered the real mud that people spread over their skin. I did it too - fortunately there is no photographic evidence. I did, however, with all grace and agility, step into a hole on my way out of the Sea and fell right into the water. Fortunately my face did not go under water, but it did splash a bit into my eyes. Oh did that burn! I got to a shower as quickly as possible. My skin did feel smoother, but that water is intense!
We made our way back to the Holy Land Hotel, and after a much needed shower and doing some laundry, a colleague wanted to go into the Old City to buy a traditional outfit, so I went with him. After getting lost on the fist night and then going through the city on our way to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, I actually had an idea of how to get around - a bit. We did find a stall where Mark (Van Sant) bought what looks like a very long man's shirt. It was an interesting experience. More on that another time.
On Wednesday we made our way into the West Bank (again, that is the west bank of Jordan) to head into Nablus. We actually walked through the checkpoint, where we needed to go through 3 turn styles. No one checked our documents - there are not guards that can be seen. It is all done by video surveillance, which makes it incredibly impersonal - almost "Big Brother-esque". I did here a voice over the loud speak say (in English) "No pictures!" Someone in the group didn't hear the instructions not to take pictures, I guess. Any Palestinian who lives in the West Bank MUST have a permit to go into Israel, and they don't issue them very easily. The experience was very eye opening and sad that the Israel's have become the pursecutors.
We boarded another bus with a green and white license plate (that is for the West Bank - yellow and blue is for Israel) and made our way to a church in the town of Nablus that was built over Jacob's Well.
It is at this well that Jesus mets the Samaritan woman (John 4:6-42). We met Fr. Justin (Justinius) the Greek Orthodox priest who almost single handedly organized the expansion and decoration of the church. He is a master icon painter and the icons in the church are breathtaking. We went down to the well, read from John's Gospel and drank from the well. During this, Fr. Justin (who is probably 5'2") sat at a small desk to the side filling small jars with well water and sealing them with wax. All of his actions were like continuous prayer. I felt privileged to witness it. And the water was delicious! Did I mention we were the only ones at the church? What a treasure and no one goes to it because of where it is located.
Our next stop was St. Matthew's Episcopal Church in Zababdeh, where Fr. Nael is the Rector. Zababdeh is about 45 minutes north of Nablus, over some very hilly, starkly beautiful country. It did get a bit bumpy in the back of the bus as there are speed bumps in every small town on the main road.
Zababdeh is a bit unusual as it is 80% Christian. It also is right next to a university (I forget its name), so many students come to Zababdeh looking for housing. The church has a fairly new building (with a screen and projector next to the altar!). Fr. Nael told us of the Summer Camp program they just finished for over 200 kids, Christian and Muslim, in the area.
Under the church is the Penmen Medical Clinic, named after the Primate of Australia. It offers medical services to about 50,000 people in that area as a branch of St. Luke's Hospital, which I believe is in Nablus. They have a regular physician most days, and specialists, like a cardiologist, dentist, OBGYN, etc. that come on a rotating basis. They even have a very modern lab and a small pharmacy right there! It was an impressive set up in a small space. They are in the process of looking for a land to build a larger clinic in order to also accommodate more emergency medical services.
Fr. Nael and his congregation made lunch for us of a local dish called musachan, which is a large "pita" like piece of bread soaked in olive oil and baked, than spread with sautéed onions and almond slivers, baked chicken with a spice called "sumac" (not the poison we know, fortunately) and goat yogurt. It was delicious but I wish I had known the bread was soaked in olive oil. It has been a bit rough on my system.
On the way back to Jerusalem, Iyad bought us dessert of a local favorite (I don't remember the name). He called the main ingredient wheat, but it had the color and texture of cornmeal or couscous, which is fried, spread with goat cheese (almost like mozzarella) and drizzled with a light syrup. It was served warm. After the lunch, I was only able to take a couple of bites. It was good, but not my favorite. Too much grease (and not enough chocolate! :)
We ended the day with dinner at the hotel and watched some of the Men's Gymnastic All-Around Competition. It is the first time I have actually had time to watch any of the Olympics. (GO USA!)
Thursday we had a free day - so many choices and a body not happy with yesterday's lunch. I kept it simple with a visit to St. George's Cathedral (the home of the Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem) and lunch at the American Colonial Hotel (New York City prices is all I can say, but the place is gorgeous).
As we head into the last two days of this awesome pilgrimage, I am sad to see it come to an end. There is so much more I would like to do and see, but maybe there is a course at St. George's College in my future at some point.
Until next time, I send prayers of peace and love from the Holy Land.
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