SI MONTHLY NEWS DECEMBER 2006 Travel reports
From SI Exco News
Israel and Turkey - part 4
In the November issue the 12 travellers from India visited the Dead Sea finishing up in Jerusalem. They move on now to their next port of call.
As in every issue space precludes being able to include the whole of this descriptive report. Those wishing to read the full report should contact the editor - see email address on p1.
Sunday 4.6.06 Mount of Olives and the old and New city
After breakfast our host took us to meet the others. On the way our host showed us the buildings of Jerusalem which were built with stones except when many people came in from other countries, then Government allowed cement to be used for buildings for sometime, otherwise all the buildings are to be built with stones.
Our tour started at 8.30 a.m. We went to the Mount of Olives and had the view of Jerusalem from there. It was a beautiful sight. Jerusalem is many things to many people. It is like a good book which can lend itself to so many different interpretations. For me, it was the city of Christ, an incarnation of love and compassion.
The old city is what remains of ancient Jerusalem. Jerusalem has expanded out of its ancient walled city in all directions. Over the years, nearly every Christian denomination has ensured its name by building churches and adjacent settlements, such as the Russian compound and the Anglican compound in the Centre of “Modern Jerusalem”, the Ethiopian Consulate nearby and nowadays chic German colony to the south.
We got down from the bus and walked for four hours in the hot sun to see the old city Jerusalem. It is a walled city divided into four quarters- the Muslim quarter, which is the largest, the Christian quarter, with its numerous centers that represent the various denominations that exist in the country, the Jewish quarter and the relaxed and beautiful Armenian Quarter.
Since Roman times and until the reunification of Jerusalem in 1967, the Damascus gate with its adjacent Roman Square was the most important entrance to the city. The present ornamented gate was designed during the Ottoman period. Closed gates include the western gate, the Chain gate, and the gate of Forgiveness.
The most holy site for both Judaism and Islam in Jerusalem is a point of contention- the Western wall and the Temple Mount (“Haram al Shrif” in Arabic) that overbooks it. Further to the east lies the Mount of Olives Cemetery, which belief has it will be the scene of the resurrection of the dead. Disputes exist regarding who are actually buried in David’s tombs of the kings and the tombs of the Prophets. The Tomb of Mary is located on the ruins of a church that was destroyed before the first Crusade, and the Ceneculum is traditionally the location of the last supper. The Basilica of the Sacred Heart (church of the Ascension) stands at the top of the Mount of Olives, nearby the Russian tower- a slim spire of a Russian monastery that sports a beautiful mosaic floor from the sixth century. One of the holiest places in Islam and certainly one of its greatest monumental structures is the Dome of the Rock (“Qubbut As-Sakhrah” in Arabic)-in fact not a mosque for worship but rather a shrine for pilgrimages. Twenty meters high and ten meters in diameter, the dome’s original gold covering was eventually removed and replaced by aluminum. In the 1990’s, King Hussein of Jordan reportedly sold a palace to pay for the re-plating of the dome in gold. The building houses the Holy rock of Sakhrah, which until the crusader invasion of 1099 was the most important of Islamic sites, and below it lies the Well of Souls (“Bir el Arweh”).
After the Dome of the rock, the Dome of Ascension Mosque- located on the Mt. of Olives- is the most renowned. Across from the Dome of the rock, the earliest and largest mosque built in Israel is El. Aqsa. Built in the 9th century, it replaced an earlier mosque that was destroyed in an earthquake, and most of its decoration date from medieval times.
Our Guide, Dalia showed us the Old churches and Synagogues in the old city. She showed us the old structures of the City. The “Herodian Quarter” is the largest and most important sight of the second Temple period in the Jewish Quarter. It is a unique experience which takes us 2000 years back to days of splendor and beauty where priests of the upper city of Jerusalem lived during the Second Temple period. She showed us the statue of Moses raising his rod on the Red Sea, which is divided into three paths with the Israelites behind him on horses carrying banners. The depiction alludes to the Jewish Midrash, which posits that they crossed the sea in twelve paths, a path for each tribe.
We saw the place of last supper where the picture of thirteen persons is drawn. Then Dalia led us to the path where Jesus had to climb for his crucifixion. Before coming out from the old city of Jerusalem, we went to the Wailing Wall, where the temple of Solomon was built and where people ask for the fulfillment of their wish. People write their wishes on the chit and leave between two stones of the wall.
We could see beautiful farms from the Bus. The dates, olives, corns, oranges, lemons were grown even in the desert. Today most of Israel’s proud agricultural heritage is moving towards south into the desert, irrigated by salt and water, and invested with high-tech equipment and state- of the art techniques. At kingdom of the Denise, visitors can witness how fish are cultivated amidst the sand.
We had to go through a long process of passing through three doors to go to Israel. I was worried about the new host where to reach and how to reach? We went to Romat Khel and the host Amitai was there. He drove to his house. Miss. Azone and I met his wife Nurit. She prepared rice and Soya vegetables within half an hour and we had dinner. Azone and Amitai went to his music class. I enjoyed chitchatting with Nurit, his wife. It seems Nurit is very common name in Israel. It is a name of a flower.
To be continued next month
Dr Geeta Mehta, India
uploaded by Amelia
