Midwest Adventures: Northwoods Filled With Sound Of Music
'No Place Like It On Earth'
Nine Day Journey Through Israel Leaves Lasting Impression
By TODD WESSELL Journal Travel Editor
It's 4:45 p.m. in Nazareth, the boyhood home of Jesus.
There are no white robed children riding on donkeys, nor camels nor young carpenters or halos. There are, however, plenty of street hawkers selling t-shirts and trinkets. The traffic gridlock is maddening caused by an endless stream of cars and frustrated drivers worming their way along the tourist-clogged sidewalks.
Amidst all the congestion and confusion is an oasis. The Church of the Annunciation, where the angel Gabriel told Mary that she would soon give birth to a Savior, towered above the human chaos below. The circular shaped edifice glowed as the sun slowly settled in the west. Everything was quiet, and still.
Then suddenly, the call came out slicing through the cool late autumn air. Loud speakers, placed throughout Nazareth, are sounded five times a day, including at dusk, summoning the Muslim faithful to prayer. How ironic, I thought. Only steps from the place where the mother of Jesus walked, members of a different faith could be called to their God. It was all a very normal part of life to Nazareth's Christians, Muslims and Jews and indicative that people really can get along.
That's just one of a plethora of awesome impressions and experiences that flourish throughout Israel, a young nation replete with cultural and religious history of more than 3,000 years. From modern day Tel Aviv, with its atmosphere of hustle and white architecture to the cradle of the world's three dominant religions, Jerusalem, Israel is a mixture of inspiration and fascination. From King Herod's summer palace along the Mediterranean to the crusty beauty of the Judean Desert at sunset, there's no place like it on Earth.
I can think of no better way to see this country of 7 million people than the way five others and I did during a nine day visit last December. Our journey began on a fresh, warm day in Tel Aviv along the sea coastline and ended in Jerusalem with a visit to the National Memorial and Museum of the Holocaust. In between, our group walked in the footsteps of Jesus, John the Baptist and Herod, learned about the great Roman historian Josephus Flavius, toured the living quarters of the Crusaders, and floated in the chilly waters of the Dead Sea a day after snaking our way among the caves where the famous scrolls of the earliest known Biblical text were found just a year before Israel became a country.
Even before our plane from the U.S. touched down in Tel Aviv, the change from American to Israeli culture appeared with the arrival of the morning sun. That's when about two dozen Orthodox Jewish men, dressed in their traditional black attire, suddenly moved one-by-one to the front of the aircraft to engage in their 30 minutes of morning head bobbing prayer. Within a few hours, the ritual was over, everyone was safely buckled into their seats and our plane was preparing to land.
Modern day Israel can be found in Tel Aviv, a city that just 100 years ago was nothing more than sand dunes. Originally, it was part of an outlying section of the mostly Arab and early Egyptian city of Jaffa located just a few miles away. Following years of gradual settlement and after the departure of the British, the new nation of Israel was declared in a 1948 ceremony in Tel Aviv. Today, it's home to 500,000 people and is the economic hub of the country. In the city, cars whiz by on wide boulevards packed with businessmen and mothers carting children around in strollers. Sidewalk cafes seem to be on every corner packed with people eating and sipping on drinks. On Tuesdays and Fridays, Tel Aviv's big market is choked with people buying fresh fruits and vegetables all of whom seem to be speaking Hebrew at the same time. It's organized mayhem full of very polite people, vendors yelling out their deals for the day to people who seem to know what they want and where to get it.
From Tel Aviv, we traveled north along sand dunes, some development and the blue waters and dunes of the Mediterranean Sea to Caesarea, an ancient port city that played a major role during Biblical times. Caesarea is the place to visit if you want an up close and personal look at majestic Roman architecture set in a city planned by King Herod who ruled around the time of Christ. It was also home for a while to Pontius Pilate and even the apostle Paul. Today, the restored sandstone amphitheater of Caesarea serves as a venue for Jazz and pop concerts.
A short walk north lies the football field sized Hippodrome where chariot races took place in ancient times. Still further north stands the remains of Herod's palace, a portion of which juts out into the Mediterranean. This was considered the best place to be in Caesarea during Herod's time and a place where he and his entourage liked to bathe and relax. Further along are the remains of residential housing, some of which likely served as homes for Roman legions that in the year 66 were dispatched to quell the Jewish revolt that led to the destruction of Jerusalem. Scattered throughout are pillars that once supported bathhouses and well preserved mosaic-tiled remnants of residential flooring.
At the end of the coastline promenade stands a Crusader-era church, surrounded by a 12th century dry moat, and a 19th century mosque.
The following day, we jettisoned forward from antiquity to modern times by visiting the northern Israeli city of Haifa. Here, we were able to absorb present day life by strolling through the narrow, busy city streets that were full of fruit and vegetable markets, small shops and stands where a favorite snack, Falafel, is cooked and served. Falafel is the fast food of the Middle East. It's usually served in pita-like bread where a fried ball or patty of chick peas along with salad and pickles are crammed in.
Haifa is the site of one of the great architectural masterpieces of the world, the Baha'i temple, which serves as the tomb of the religion's founder. The temple, which lies on the side of a large hill, is surrounded by beautifully manicured gardens and is a favorite stopping point for tourists.
Throughout the streets of Haifa, children with painted faces run and play and old men watch the hordes of people walk by that include couples arm-in-arm. A sea of TV antennas sprout from rooftops and damp laundry hangs from balcony railings. A small red and white crescent Turkish flag flaps in the wind over one home. Jews and Arabs get along fine. Throughout, sounds of Arab music resonate. On one street corner, a smiling vendor, working a levered machine, manually crushes oranges to serve as drinks for unsuspecting customers.
Before we begin to curve east toward Nazareth, Tiberius and the Sea of Galilee, we make stops in Akko, an ancient Phoenician and Crusader seaport and Rosh Hanikra, the northernmost point of Israel where gawkers can enjoy a panoramic view while taking a short ride on a cable car. Akko was particularly intriguing with its rich blend of east and west, authentic sites of times gone by in the form of mosques, temples, castles and fortifications. Within its walls is the only preserved Crusader city in the world. For more than 5,000 years, Akko was a city conquered and re-conquered. Today, only about 4% of the city has been excavated. As visitors walk among the ruins, workers continue to discover Roman, Byzantine and Greek ruins. Among the great findings---so far---are 10 huge Crusader dining halls where Knights socialized and ate their meals using their fingers only to soon be "cleaned" by dogs and cats scurrying around looking for a treat.
Our travels went from more of historical flavor to religious with the arrival in the area around the Sea of Galilee. Looking out from my hotel room the morning after our arrival, I tried to imagine what this area looked like and what Biblical accounts describe happened here nearly 2,000 years ago.
For Christians, the Sea of Galilee is important for many reasons, most notably because it was here that Jesus' ministry blossomed. Four of his followers, including Peter, were recruited here and later, Jesus gave his Sermon on the Mount on the north shore overlooking the tranquil waters that is the lowest freshwater lake in the world. Perched atop the northern shore of the sea is The Church of the Beatitudes that overlooks the Galilee region including the Golan Heights to the northeast toward Syria. Built in 1937, it is considered the area where Jesus gave his sermon, which were his rules of how to lead a good life and included the Lord's Prayer. The church itself consists of eight sides depicting Jesus' eight blessings. Located on the property are thornbush trees from which Jesus' Crown of Thorns was made.
Moving south we met up with the headwaters of the Jordan River that flow from the Sea of Galilee toward the Judean Desert. From here, we enter the West Bank (of the Jordan River), which since 1948 has been a land of turmoil and conflict and today is controlled mainly by Israelis and Palestinians. Located within the West Bank are communities like Bethlehem, Hebron and Jericho.
Continuing south along one of Israel's modern roads, we finally notice the calm, bluish, eerie waters of the Dead Sea off to our left, the lowest place on Earth. The next two days are full of unforgettable moments that include our introduction to the Biblical community of the scholarly Essenes people, who wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls, an oasis-like kibbutz where people live and work for equal benefit, an exciting evening Jeep ride through the moon-like landscape of the Judean Desert, rising via cable car to the top of the Masada fortress, and a morning dip into the Dead Sea where the heavy salt content makes it impossible to sink.
The ongoing archeological digs of Qumran showcase the residential community where the Essenes' sect lived and the locations where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in a cave in 1947 by a Bedouin shepherd. Visitors are invited to tour the area on foot walking on a strong, wooden walkway that meanders from home to cattle pen, Scriptorium, pottery workshop, kitchen and pantry used by the ancient community. In the distance are some of the caves where the Biblical texts were discovered. Today, the area is part of the Israeli national park system.
Another one of the great wonders of our trip was the visit to Masada, a massive plateau that towers 1,300-feet above the Dead Sea that was the last bastion of Jewish freedom fighters against the Romans. The story of Masada was featured in a 1981 movie starring Peter O'Toole. As well depicted in the movie, 1,000 Jews and their families, having fled from Jerusalem 13 miles to the west, blockaded themselves on top of the mesa holding off the Romans for three years (70-73 AD). According to historian Flavius, Herod built the fortress as a luxurious hideaway for himself complete with all the amenities of a king including a swimming pool. Finally, after numerous attempts to rout the rebels, the Romans came up with an ingenious idea of building ramps leading to the top of the plateau where they were able to confront the enemy. However, the rebels had the last laugh, so to speak. Rather than falling into the hands of the Romans, they killed each other off. The world was able to learn about the life the rebels led there from two women and five children who managed to survive the massacre by hiding.
Getting to the top of Masada is a marvel unto itself. A large cable car lifts about 50 people at a time to a spot near the top of the plateau where a short walk brings you to the summit. There, one can spend an hour or two strolling the compound learning how the Jewish rebels coped and survived. Among the ruins are an early synagogue, Roman-style bathhouses, Masada's architectural gem, the Northern Palace with its mouth-dropping view of the Judean Desert, a Byzantine church and rebel dwellings.
Our final destination, Jerusalem, encompassed nearly two days, which began with a panoramic view of the great city that included the famous Islamic site, the golden Dome of the Rock. As we peered from our vantage point from within the Mount of Olives, thousands of white Jewish gravesites faced toward the city. Further below the cemetery at street level is Mary Magdalene Church on the spot where Jesus cried for Jerusalem. From the Mount of Olives, we traveled a short distance to walk through the tranquil grove of olive trees called Gethsemane where Jesus is said to have spent his last night before being betrayed.
Within the walls of Jerusalem, we walked from the Arab Quarter to the Jewish Quarter to the Christian Quarter and back again marveling at the new and ancient wonders around every corner that date back to the time of David. For about an hour, we maneuvered our way along the Via Dolorosa, known in English as the Stations of the Cross, that Jesus stumbled his way through on the day of his crucifixion. We eventually found ourselves at the end of the line where today stands the Church of the Holy Sepulcher on the spot where Jesus died. Believers can actually touch the rocks where the cross was positioned.
On our final day, the circle was closed with a refocusing on modern day Israel with a stirring visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum. The new facility that opened in 2005 is located on 45 acres of Jerusalem's Mount of Remembrance. The campus is comprised of indoor museums, outdoor monuments, memorials, gardens, sculptures and research and education centers. It's the biggest Holocaust Museum in the world depicting stories of the Holocaust from a Jewish perspective.
Approximately 100 video screens are situated throughout the museum where personal stories are recounted and the crime against humanity is documented in vivid detail.
Visitors are walked through the Holocaust in chronological order first viewing a movie that consists of numerous home film clips taken by those who experienced the horrors some 70 years ago.
Displays include a street light form the Warsaw Ghetto, Nazi flags and mementoes, rail lines of trains that transported victims to concentration camps, and glass covered displays of thousands of shoes and sandals.
The most moving part of the museum is the Hall of Names, which is an archive of names of Jews who perished in the Holocaust, as relatives and friends on Pages of Testimony have recorded them. It includes a room for conducting searches of Holocaust victims' names online.
If you go...
* El Al Israel Airlines offers trips from JFK Airport in New York City on a regular basis. The airline is known worldwide for its security precautions. Passengers are asked a variety of questions by polite ticket agents before they board. Some questions may seem obtrusive, but after a few minutes, the experience is over.
* Casual dress is the rule for sightseeing. Good walking shoes or sneakers are recommended.
* Weather conditions are usually mild. In summer months, temperatures hover in the high 80s and 90s; in spring and fall, daytime temperatures are around 75; and in winter, 50s and 60s in most places, but cooler in Jerusalem and Galilee.
* Shekels is the national currency. On arrival at the airport, money can be obtained from ATMs or dollars can be exchanged at most large U.S. airports like O'Hare. Credit cards are widely accepted.
* Almost all hotel rooms are equipped with hairdryers and all have shaver sockets. For other appliances, Israel's electricity is 220V A/C, single phase 50-cycles. Israel outlets have three prongs. If you don't have an adapter that works, call the hotel's front desk.
* Generally in Israel tipping is less prevalent than in the U.S. Often, a service charge is added to restaurant bills. If not, add 10 to 15%.
Contact Information
* Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum: www.yadvashem.org
* Israel Ministry of Tourism: www.goisrael.com
* Israel parks information for Masada, Qumran, etc.: www.parks.org.il
* City of Akko: www.akko.org.il
* City of Rosh Hanikra: www.rosh-hanikra.com
* Upper Galilee Tourism Board: www.galilee-tour.org.il