Day 3: Holocaust Museum, Bethlehem, the Upper Room, David's Tomb

Yad Vashem, Holocaust Museum 

Our trip from the hotel to Yad Vashem was rather interesting. Our driver talked us into a day trip to Bethlehem, he being our tour guide. So we took an hour at Yad Vashem before going into the forbidden Palestinian Authority.

And to be honest, one hour is not enough.

The museum would not allow pictures inside, so we took a few outside after our tour. The museum was pretty packed, including several groups of Israeli soldiers getting a guided tour.  The most interesting and sobering part of the museum was a computer database in a library of books containing the names of the dead. I looked up my relatives and their friends who had died in Auschwitz. I did not find Hildegard, but I did find an Adolph Kessler from Berlin whose age and information fit the description of Omi's fiance.

After this sobering experience, we returned to our small taxi where we ventured into Bethlehem.

When we think of Bethlehem, we often think of the nativity or pastures ready to host caroling angels. However, Bethlehem now has this beautiful wall to keep the rockets and people out of Israeli territory.








THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WALL

Upon entering the West Bank, we were greeted by a small taste of America. I do mean, a small taste, as Stars and Bucks has only a small resemblance to Starbucks.

This is the square where a bunch of Christmas events are held. The Pope has been here several times among other foreign dignitaries (including the one in the picture). The Church of the Nativity is behind the photographer.










Here is me at the entrance of the Church of the Nativity. The entrance is one where you have to crawl into, supposedly to keep out horses. Good thing there's probably no fire code out here.




A shot from inside the Church of the Nativity. In spite of the picture looks like, it doesn't make everyone demonic looking.

A random statue we found in the courtyard of the church.

After a visit to the Church of the Nativity, we went to the fields where the angels sang to the shepherds 

 There is a church, like every other site, dedicated to the events of the bible. Here, mother is celebrating by the fountain of the shepherds' fields.

Here I am waving to the camera outside the church at the shepherds' fields. 

And Mother still posing for the camera (because we like it!)

Inside the church, there are some murals which would make great Christmas cards. I took a bunch of pictures  so that I don't have to buy cards for the next few years. 

After the shepherd's fields, we went out to eat at an authentic Palestinian restaurant. The shopping bags contain olive wood statues of the nativity scene, as well as olive wood statues of Joseph Smith and Emma Smith (Joseph Smith being the founder of the Latter-day Saint faith).  The relationship between the Brigham Young University Jerusalem Center and the Palestinian Authority has certainly yielded interesting tourist traps for the LDS population.

After our visit to the PA, we went to David's Tomb and the Upper Room in Jerusalem. Of course, no sites are believed to the historically accurate, but nonetheless, we enjoyed our time at each. 

I don't know what this sign says...Does anyone read Hebrew?

Day 2 - BYU, Holy Sites, Dead Sea, Haunted Graveyard

Shabbat Worship

So normally I go to church on Sunday, but the LDS church in Israel holds services on Saturday, respecting the Sabbath of Israel. Services are held in the Jerusalem Center, where I was a student in 2000. Unfortunately, the theatrics of the Second Intifada have now died down and we worshiped without the sound of tear gas guns firing off into the Palestinian neighborhood just south of us. I wish I could say the same about my experience in 2000.

A rockin' congregation in the Holy Land

I'm covering up the Dome of the Rock in this shot. When I took a photo from this spot in 2000, plumes of smoke covered up the Dome during riots. I guess I'll just have to go back again and get it right. 

The Jerusalem Center has a series of olive presses. Students have the chance to participate in both olive and grape pressing events during their stay at the Center (I even picked the olives when I was there). Although these are not considered religious icons of any sort, they remind us of the heavy weight that Christ bore for us in Gethsemane, otherwise known as the "olive press." 

This video contains a view of Jerusalem from the backside of the Jerusalem Center, where the other pictures were taken. There are many nice views, including the people. 

Mother and me at one of the olive presses. She's kinda lit up like an angel!

Wow, this picture sure shows the weight! This is me next to an olive tree. Such trees are important symbols of Christ. Olive oil has been an important part of the economy of the Middle East for thousands of years. Olive oil is used in cooking, healing, cleaning, anointing the sick, and other important functions of life. Olive oil as a life source becomes a powerful metaphor for human salvation when we reflect on the bloody agony of Christ in Gethsemene.

This picture is from the Church of All Nations on the Mount of Olives. In the background, there is the Sealed Gate, or the Golden Gate, which will be opened at the Second Coming of Christ. The surviving Jewish population will come pouring out of this wall to the location near where I am standing to meet our Messiah.

Me at the Church of All Nations...oh yeah...

This is Golgotha, or Place of the Skull, one of the candidate locations of Christ's crucifixion. I didn't get a shot of the Garden Tomb, which is just to the left of this picture, because of the large crowds. My Sunday school consisted of archeologists and biblical scholars visiting Jerusalem. In class, I learned that the tomb next to this hill is probably not Christ's actual tomb because the tomb is more reflective of an Iron Age tomb. Because Christ's tomb was evidently freshly hollowed, the scholars in my class ruled out this tomb as the actual spot. Yay for gospel scholars in Sunday school.

After taking a nap, we all went to the Dead Sea. Here we found a Mermother basking in what was left of the desert sun.


Shooting off the big guns at the Dead Sea.


Wallowing around in the Dead Sea mud.

Later that night....

Yep, I still have my Sunday shirt on. This picture is the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the southern end of the ancient Temple Mount.


If you thought San Antonio drivers were bad...



A different angle of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.



Elizabeth and I walked through the Muslim graveyard in front of the Sealed Gate at around midnight. Yes it's creepy, and no we probably shouldn't have, but your trip to Israel is not complete without a good scare. This gate is guarded by the spirits of the dead as well as an Israeli policeman at the top of the gate.

Day 1 - Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, The Wailing Wall

Shabbat Shalom

In spite of the happy faces and sun shiny beaches, the day actually started at 3:00 in the morning when Elizabeth and I left from the hotel. After getting past the rush hour traffic of Tel Aviv, we finally made a break to the airport. The rush hour in Tel Aviv always exists, we found, because there is always a party. At 4:00 am all the kids out partying are looking for taxis to take them home, and traffic begins to die down, only to start up again at around 8:00. 

A curious, but nonetheless, likable creature taking pictures. Oh, I mean, Hi Dad!

We also found a cute German lady at the beach. She loves the camera, and the camera loves her! Oh wait, it's Mother!

After taking a nap, we enjoyed a Friday morning at the beach. We then left for Jerusalem, especially for the Western Wall to see the welcoming in of the Sabbath. Security was tight, but still in concordance with Jewish law, as Dad is displaying by the metal detector. 

This sign ensures that the metal detectors are rabbi approved.

Dad within the men's section of the Western Wall

Dad praying at the Western Wall

One of the last pictures taken before all cameras were banned for the Sabbath.

The following video takes place at the Israeli flag outside the men's and women's sections of the Western Wall. Historical events such as the announcement of the birth of Israel as well as celebrations after several conflicts have happened here.

There are many Jewish youth groups which come to the Western Wall to celebrate Shabbat. Other local groups also come to show off their moves. In this shot, there's a crazy South African woman laughing who later told us that her visa expired, but that she was out of money to fly out of Israel. I told her that the Palestinian Authority would be very happy to have her. 

These festivities are similar to what happens at the Western Wall when Shabbat begins. Dad and I joined a 60 person circle at the Wall and danced with the best of them. In the middle of the circle, a group of Israeli soldiers hoisted their fellow comrade about 3 feet in the air as part of the celebrations. 

Later that night, as I was exiting the Western Wall praying area, I saw a man with a BYU shirt who informed us of church times at the BYU-Jerusalem Center. 

Day 0 - Arrive to Tel Aviv, Rent a Car, Find the Hotel

Shalom to the Holy Land

After informing my supervisor that I was not going to be coming to work for the next week, I rushed off to the San Antonio airport, stopping at Subway for my last non-airport meal for the next 24 hours.. My chauffeur was Brandon Pitcher, Esq. The flight went something like San Antonio, Charlotte, Philadelphia, Tel Aviv.

Mediterranean coast, Tel Aviv at sunset.

In Philadelphia, we (meaning me and myself) picked up an old friend, Elizabeth, who would accompany me and my parents through the Holy Land. The gate boarding to Tel Aviv was not difficult to find...just look for the black hats and curly locks of hair boarding the plane.

Poor Elizabeth! Don't let the plane ride get you down. 

After renting a Hyundi at Ben Gurion Airport, we took a scenic route to the Grand Beach Hotel in Tel Aviv. By scenic, we mean driving through Tel Aviv, ending up half way to Haifa, and turning around, only to find that the exit signs don't list roads, but the names of intersections. Thankfully, Elizabeth quickly learned Hebrew and navigated us to our hotel.

We decided to spend some time on the beach before the sun went completely down. Above is me enjoying some Pita bread that we purchased at the corner grocery store.