November 7, 2009

Bob’s Sabbatical

November 7, 2009 - “Free Day”

 

            Today is
a “free day,” or, for $60 per person we could go on an excursion to Masada, a
Dead Sea float, and Qumran.  Since I have
been to/done all three, and we saw Herodian yesterday [Masada is another
hilltop palace built by Herod the Great, near the Dead Sea, now only ruins],
and Susan brought no bathing suit to “float” in the Dead Sea [high salt/mineral
content] and all one does at Qumran is get out of the bus to look at the
hillsides where you see some cave entrances, we decided to skip the trip.  One other Episcopal Priest stayed back,
otherwise the entire group left at 8:00 am and returned about 5:30 pm.

            We had a
more leisurely, but satisfying day.  We
left about 10:30 am to go visit a couple of the quarters in the Old City we had
not yet experienced.

            First,
we made our way to the Armenian quarter, which is about as far away as you can
go from where we are (We are outside the northeast corner, and the Armenian
quarter is in the southwest corner of the Old City).  We went to the Jaffa Gate, and went into the  Tower of David Museum of the History of Jerusalem.  Ruins at the Citadel there date from the 7^th
Century BC.  Over the centuries it was
added onto, and served as a source of protection from attack from the west and
the south.  There were great views of the
city from the top of what is left of one of the towers.  There is also a model of ancient Jerusalem
which was done in the 19^th Century.

            We wandered
in the Armenian quarter, saw many Jews on their way home from Sabbath services,
had lunch, and looked into Christ Church, the other Anglican Church in Jerusalem.
It was the first Protestant Church built in Jerusalem (1849 – fifteen years
after St. Paul’s, Franklin).  It has a
ministry with and for Messianic Jews.

            As we
walked through the Jewish quarter, we noticed the different modes of dress,
especially of Jewish men.  Apparently
everything from hats to coats to fabrics distinguish between different sects.

            One
thing about Jerusalem, the military/police presence is very visible.  There are young men and women with machine
guns walking among the crowds.  In the
shops, toy guns are very popular.  Here is
a picture of a man carrying a young girl who is holding a toy machine gun in
her arms. 

A sad commentary, it seems to
me, on the reality of life now, and perhaps for generations to come, in this
city.

          

We are
heading to Galilee for three days tomorrow morning.  I do not know what kind of internet access I will
have, so if I do not post to the blog for a few days, I’ll try to catch up on
Wednesday.  Speaking of the internet,
when you Google something here, the options come up in Hebrew, and on the right
hand of the screen.  Peace, or:

          Bob