Day 4

Bob’s Sabbatical

Day 4 September 3, 2009

 

            My day
started uneventfully.  After breakfast
(great lemonade, but third day in a row of hard-boiled egg, and definitely NOT
Tennessee style bacon, I think I’ll be ready to move on.  I asked at desk about check-out time – it is
11:00 am.  My ride to Jerusalem was not
scheduled to pick me up until 2:00 pm. 
Not caring about buying lunch at Tabgha, and about ready to leave anyway
(maybe have time to look around Jerusalem, since I have to leave for the
airport early tomorrow), I called Issa. 
He had made the mistake of giving me his phone #.  I woke him up.  After apologizing, I asked if he could come
get me before lunch – volunteering to buy him lunch along the way.  He agreed, I packed checked out, and read
some more in preparation for the St. Paul course.

            As I
waited in the lobby, a nun brought a tray full of little vases with fresh
flowers to put on the tables in the dining room – all I got were plastic
ones.  I did notice that they had a glass
of fresh mint sprigs for people fixing hot tea at breakfast.  Seems a little odd to be here in Israel, at a
German facility, after what the Jews went through in the Holocost.  It seems that non-Jews over here are not
pleased with the Israeli government’s policies, especially the building of the
wall.  Issa says that Christians are
really caught in the middle, and thinks most will be gone ten years from now.

            The
drive down to Jerusalem was interesting. 
Saw many places I remember from 2000. 
We drove with the Jordan river valley to our West.  Sometimes the river is in Jordan, sometimes
in Israel. The valley is green with bananas, dates, olives, mangos, orange and
grapefruit trees.  Strawberrys and grapes
are grown under mesh tents so that they do not burn.  On our right as we drove, there was mostly
nothing but barren wilderness (saw a couple deer crossing signs, but did not
see anywhere any self-respecting deer would want to live).  There are Bedouins who live in those barren
places.  All they have to eat is
lamb.  It looks like they have nothing
but a beat up old car, trikes and bikes for children and a 20’X 20’ “tent” to
live in and a camel and some sheep.  Issa
said that many have satellite TV and computers. 
I said, “you mean they have generators?” 
“Some,” he said, “others steal from the lines,” as he pointed to the
electric lines along the road.

            We
stopped for lunch at the Temptation Restaurant, so named because it is at the
base of the hill that is said to be where Jesus, after his baptism, faced the
temptations from the Devil.  Issa said
that when he was young, he and his brothers climbed it.  Now there is a tram that takes people up.

            The
restaurant has an upstairs that holds hundreds of people.  Many tourist buses stop here.  I believe this is where our group ate in
2000.  We did not go upstairs.  We went into a much smaller space with
ceiling fans moving lots of air.  Issa
greeted EVERYONE like it was old home week. 
This is where the drivers and guides eat, while the tourists are eating
buffet food upstairs.  8 salads, pita
(including some that had been split and toasted – really good!), falafel,
lemonade were brought first.  Then a
plate of French fries ?????  Next a plate
of chicken legs and wings that had been broiled in oil, lemon and garlic.  Then a plate with shish-ka-bobs, 2 with
ground lamb, 2 with chunks of lamb.  On
top were two grilled lamb chops.  I was
glad all I had was a hard-boiled egg for breakfast! A cup of espresso topped it
off.  I was ready for a nap.

            I asked
about paying, and Issa waved me off. 
When we got back in the car, he said to never volunteer, that most
places would have charged me triple.  I
asked in the car if I could pay him, and he waved me off again.  I do not think I ever saw any money change
hands.  I’m thinking the restaurant comps
these meals to get the drivers to bring tour groups here, rather than the other
places nearby.  I did give him a
substantial tip when he dropped me off. 
I also asked about the drinking water in Turkey.  He said to stick with bottled water, AND
warned me to check to be sure the bottle was sealed before I drank from it –
something I might not have ever paid attention to.  He said the Turks can be pretty sly.

            I’m at
the Pontifical Institute Notre Dame.  It
is a Roman Catholic ‘guest house” right at the New Gate into the Old City of
Jerusalem.   The room is simple, small,
but adequate, and I am only here for16 hours anyway.  Not sure if this is where Susan and I will
want to stay in November for 5 days after our course on the Palestine of Jesus.  I had hoped this would be the kind of place
that had laundry facilities for guests, but no such luck.  So, I took off on a walk through the part of the Old City near here.  What amazes me is how alive it is.  Children playing in the street, yes, there are tourist traps, but there are also spice shops, butcher shops, linen stores, and just about anything else you can imagine.  As you wander from one quarter to another, Jewish, Christian, Moslem, Armenian - the people, language and signs change.

            Off to
Turkey tomorrow.  Not sure how much, or
how often you will hear from me, but know you are in my prayers.

Peace,

Bob

p.s. - My 10 megapixel Canon SD790 takes great pics (when I hold it still), but they take forever to upload to this blog (even the small size today).  Any of you technical folks know how I might change settings on either camera or typepad to speed things up, without totally compromising quality?