Jerusalem

Thurs, June 20

The Bible came alive for us today as we started our tour from the port of Ashdod in Israel heading to Jerusalem which is a city sacred to three major religions.

Our first stop was to see the Tomb of King David atop Mount Zion. Men and women entered from separate sides to view the impressive tomb.

The next stop was to the Western or Wailing Wall, the only remaining piece of Jerusalem’s Second Temple. This is the most holy Jewish site in the world, where people come to place their written prayers within the cracks between its massive stones. Men and women were segregated once again. (We have since heard that there was an incident there the day after our visit where someone was shot and killed but no other details.)

Also in this vicinity were boys’ celebrating their Barmiszvah’s, being the Thursday following their 13^th birthdays. Several boys were with their male relatives at the Western Wall with the women standing on plastic chairs to see them over the dividing wall. They were then taken through the streets under a canopy with their families all singing and playing music.

Moving on, we saw the room where the Last Supper took place as well as where Jesus was condemned to death by Pontius Pilate. Next was the Garden of Gethsemane with olive trees many centuries old. Jesus was praying in this garden when he was arrested.

We then entered the Church of the Holy Sepulchre – this 12^th century church contains quite a number of chapels and shrines. Among the most important places are the elevated Chapel of the Cross, marking Calvary and I was able to touch the nearby Stone where Jesus’ body was laid when He was taken from the cross and prepared for burial. Under a large rotunda is the location of the Tomb of Christ, covered by a small chapel and is also the site of the Resurrection. We also visited the nearby Church of All Nations, relatively modern in comparison and built by all the nations of the world.

After such a busy morning, we stopped for lunch then continued on to walk through the old Jewish Quarter, from north to south and east to west. This included the Via Dolorosa (or Sorrowful Way) tracing the Stations of the Cross. Christ’s route from the seat of judgement to his crucifixion at Calvary.

Finally, on the way back to the ship we saw the field where David met Goliath. We had an excellent tour guide who entertained us with many stories from the bible. Such an awe-inspiring day.

Western Wall

Ladies side of Western Wall

sea princess ashdod jerusalem 077 (530x800)

sea princess ashdod jerusalem 093 (800x529)

Church of the Holy Sepulchre

Christ’s tomb

Garden of Gethsemane

From the Red to the Med

Wed, June 19

We had been looking forward to seeing this water passage between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, and after reaching the anchorage waiting area at 3.30am we joined our convoy of ships. I think there were about 14 ships, however we were second in line and could only see the french warship ahead and one container ship behind..

We passed through the Great Bitter Lake around 10.00am and then passed under the Suez Bridge around 2.30pm without incident, finally making our way clear of the canal around 5.00pm.

It was interesting to see “The Highway to India”as it is sometimes called, approx 120 miles long, 79 feet deep and 673 feet wide. It was opened in 1869 and today, over 17,000 ships pass through it each year.

We spent most of the day on deck watching the passing scenery which was quite amazing – fertile and green and populated on the port side and desert on the starboard side. Also quite evident were the number of military establishments along the left bank of the canal with armed soldiers stationed about every 100 metres patrolling the desert side.

Falucca with sail down

Floating bridge

Swinging bridge

Fertile left bank

War memorial

Petra – The Lost City

Mon, June 17

Early this morning we followed the coast of Egypt on our port side and Saudi Arabia on our starboard side, then the coast of Israel and Jordan as we made our approach to Aqaba on Jordan’s southern coast.

Our destination was the awe-inspiring city of Petra, centuries old and located about 2-1/2 hours away through the desert where Bedouins make their homes. We were so lucky with the weather yesterday and today, where temperatures can soar to the mid to high 40oC. Both days we have started off with 32oC rising to about 35oC which has been great considering that the Valley of the Kings and the visit to Petra were the two most strenuous days of the whole trip.

The Lost City of Petra was revealed as we made our way through the narrow rock gorge, dwarfed by towering walls. At the entrance is the remains of an arch, one of its bases is still there. There is much evidence of towers, obelisks and tombs with inscriptions built into the face of the sandstone and after walking for 2-3 kilometres, we finally emerged into a large square where The Treasury was revealed. This is an elaborate ancient sandstone building, carved into the rock face and built from top to bottom. It was featured in the film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. It is believed to have been built as a tomb during the first century B.C.

We walked on the remains of the original pavement and saw where channels had been carved into the rock to convey water to the inner city dating back to the second half of the first century B.C. The city was built by the Nabataeans and flourished until the 3^rd century when this civilisation was mysteriously destroyed and Petra was not rediscovered until 1812.

For those who found the long walk difficult, there were lots of seats spaced along the way and carts, donkeys, camels or horses to ride either one or both ways. With some areas very narrow, we had to listen for the horses hooves in order to keep out of the way of the carts.

It is summer break in Jordan right now, so there were a lot of children selling postcards. English is taught in schools and we were amused to hear one very small boy spruiking his wares, calling out “Happy hour” and “Make my day!”’

Jordan is a beautiful country and combines desert with areas of green where the River Jordan flows. The family unit is very important and we asked our tour guide about unfinished houses as we knew, unlike Egypt, that property taxes are paid before the building is started. We were told that in Jordan, the second storey is built for the son so they have plenty of time to complete their houses.