It was a long day, and to be honest, not the kind of travel day that I am used to as a backpacker/free-lance style traveler. I am with a tour and the objective is to see things...but the price for a long list is little time. That said, we saw some pretty cool sites today starting with a stop on an arid bluff that looks out into the Judean desert and also down into Wadi Qelt, a river basin that runs between Jerusalem and Jericho and becomes active when there is consistent rain. It is dry now. From our bluff we looked down on St. George’s Monastery, a 5th century wonder carved into the rock beneath the cave where Elijah is believed to have been fed by ravens. Eight Greek Orthodox monks live there. Would love to have walked there and visited, but that will have to be a different time...
We moved on from there to the scrappy town of Jericho, the “world’s oldest continuously inhabited city”...they date this back to about 10,000 years ago! The town is also famous for being the first city the wandering Israelites conquered after their desert sojourn (though archeological dating posits that the town was actually sacked about two hundred years before this fabled conquest). Mostly we went to Jericho to see the Mount of Temptation (below) which is the site said to be where Jesus experienced his 40 days of temptation. This site is home to the Greek Orthodox Monastery of the Qurantal, which appears to be hanging on a cliff face. Tiny caves poch-mark the hillside where monks flee and retreat for weeks trying to escape the annoying, half-clad tourists that bang on their door and want tours. Everybody’s got their own deal!
Okay! From here we descend down, down, down until we are well below sea level (somewhere around 300 meters) and begin to experience the change in geography as we enter the Jordan Valley and travel north up into the agricultural hub of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel. It was also at this time of day that we crossed a highly militarized check-point as left the West Bank and re-entered Israel. Teenagers with semi-automatic rifles walked down the aisle of the bus and I did not enjoy that. Onward!
Our destination was Nazreth, the home town of Jesus and the holy family, likely a village of no more than thirty families in the early first century. We walked around a bit in old part of town and then entered the Basilica of the Annunciation, built between 1960-9 and an absolute artistic marvel. It’s the largest church in Israel/Palestine and one of the most stunning I have ever been in. It is especially striking because the entire complex is rich with devotion and artwork highlighting Mary.
The walls of the courtyard and the interior feature murals of Mary and the lower level of the church is a grotto built at the traditional site of Mary and Joseph’s home. The murals below only begin to hint at the beauty and vast diversity of modern artistic renderings which frame the experience of this incredible basilica.
The one above is from Mexico.
From the United States...
I have never really traveled like this before. For example, we wear ear pieces when we are at the sites so that our group of 34 can all hear the guide (who is amazing, by the way) and on the bus he uses a microphone to tell us about the regions we are in and the sites coming up. There is really very little free time in a day or choice about where to eat. The hotels we stay in have many other groups our size who all eat in the same areas and are coming and going in their buses, like ours, at similar times. And I accept that...this is not a rant. I am just saying that this method has design behind it which is effective for its end and just different than the ways I have travelled before.
I find spaces to cut out, take walks, find space. Grateful for the chance to be here and looking forward to seeing the Sea of Galilee in the daylight tomorrow.
Be well!
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