Israel – Day Two – Bethlehem

The usual wake-up call at 4.30am - courtesy of the nearby mosque…then our 15-strong pilgrimage group piled into the mini bus at 8.30am for a very full day.

The countryside of south Israel, specifically the area of Judea around Bethlehem is incredibly hilly; we spent an hour puffing up steep hills then making hair-raising descents down switchback roads. The land was rocky with little vegetation, the little villages on the hilltops were built out of the same honey-coloured limestone that was found everywhere, so it was sometimes hard to distinguish the buildings from the empty scrub land around them.

We passed a couple of Israeli military checkpoints. It was hot now, over 3o degrees and the soldiers manning the barrier languidly waved us on. Even their two military dogs lay fast asleep on the road – in fact we first thought that they were dead and had been run over.

First stop was Bethany where Jesus stayed with his closest friends, Martha and Mary, and their brother, Lazarus - whom Jesus raised from the dead. Archaeological research is quite confident about having located the actual tomb, which is on the site of a 16^th century mosque, which was built on the ruins of an earlier Benedictine Convent. (Moslems also venerate Lazarus as a prophet). Twenty-six steps lead down a narrow stone passage hewn out of the rock, down about 30 feet below ground level to a final three steps (which you have to enter to enter on your knees to access the burial chamber). A bit claustrophobic but worth it; one more tangible association with the Lord.

 

Afterwards, we celebrated mass in the Franciscan Church dedicated to St. Lazarus. A modern building, it was situated on the ruins of two earlier churches that had been built on top of the ruins of the family home of Martha, Mary and Lazarus. One of these earlier churches was a Byzantine fourth-century one and parts of the original mosaic floor were on view. Father Ephraim, a Nigerian priest accompanying our tour, said Mass, spectacularly vested in gilt vestments supplied by a friendly local Franciscan brother who posed for a photo with our two tour priests. 

 

Then it was back into the bus and off deep into the Judean desert. Sand and rock everywhere, steep hills and valleys, all the same honey colour. We passed several ramshackle-looking camps of Bedouin, nomadic people who hold no national passport and wander at will with their animals. Speaking of which, we also passed two herds of camels.

Then, a sudden burst of greenery and we were in the outskirts of Jericho, billed as ‘the world’s oldest city’ and well known to Jesus who healed two blind men there and also stayed with tax collector Zacchaeus, the small chap who climbed a sycamore tree to view Jesus (yes, we stopped to view a centuries-old sycamore tree!). On the outskirts is a desert and mountains where the devil allegedly tried to tempt Jesus away from his 40-day fast. We stopped to view the Greek Orthodox Monastery of the Temptation which dates back to the twelfth century and is perched high on a cliff edge on Temptation Mountain

(and can now be reached by cable car from Jericho).

 

Then on to lunch at Temptation Restaurant (all you can eat buffet for US$15 or soup and bread only for US$6). Afterwards, a quick tour of the excavations of old Jericho with ruins dating back to 10,000BC – yes, fortifications that were 12,000 years old! The entry ticket was only 10 Shekels (£2) but the labelling of the ruins was rather confusing.

The Temptation Tourist Centre attached to the restaurant was, as usual, vastly over-priced. Who wants to buy guide books for US$30 to $50 or uninspiring olive wood carvings for over $100? An enterprising member of our group refused to pay US$10 for a box of dates, wandered outside the gate of the complex and discover the same box of dates on sale for US$5 and promptly bargained the price down to US$3 – and still felt ripped off!  Interestingly, the vendors never seem to have heard of Pounds or Euros, they just love the mighty Dollar.

 

Then we motored on to the Jordan River to visit the site where John the Baptist baptised Jesus. Except he didn’t - at least, not where we went. Access to the site that the archaeologists favour is restricted by the military and a new site has been built further down the river. It’s a shame. Even worse, the location is in the middle of a mine field. No, I’m not kidding. Mines from the 1967 war have not been cleared and, as the yellow warning signs indicate, if you stray from the road leading to the Jordan river’s edge, you risk being blown up.

Qumran was a whole lot better. This is where a Bedouin shepherd boy discovered a hoard of 190 scrolls that were 2,000 years old – the famous Dead Sea Scrolls of the Old Testament. It is believed that they had been written by the Essenes community around the time of Jesus.

 

There is a small exhibition on the community and the archaeological site is well-signposted and easy to walk round. There is a refreshments kiosk that sells ice cream, crisps, biscuits, sweets – and Jameson’s Irish Whisky; haven’t worked out why yet!

Qumran is just a mile from the Dead Sea so we headed there next, to a tourist site with a restaurant, bar, camel rides and souvenir shop. There were a lot of Russian tourists slathering black mud all over themselves and then gingerly stepping into the ultra-salty water to gently bob about.

The mud has been famed since ancient times for its supposed therapeutic benefits and the water in the Dead Sea is 26% mineral so it’s all but impossible to drown. The Dead Sea is the border between Israel and Jordan so the lifeguards were keen that swimmers (floaters?) did not go out too far.

The temperature had fallen to 24 degrees, the sun was setting and the sky was crimson and gold as I joined my party in the bar and had a local beer – and very therapeutic it was too!

Then, back to Bethlehem via Jerusalem where we stopped to view the city set out below us like a bowl of lights. Smashing.

After dinner, a little walk around Bethlehem’s quiet streets, past a coffee shop whose name reminds me of a famous American coffee shop chain…can’t think what it is.

Then to blog and to bed.