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It was a chance of a lifetime for
this writer. Even uncertain of the actual situation at the
point of destination, I jumped at the opportunity and I was
not disappointed in my decision.
The tour was auspiciously
scheduled to embark in time for “Succoth,” or the Feast of
Tabernacles, observed every first week of October by Jews
all over the world. Jacob Tamari, our tour guide and
teacher throughout the trip, said the week is traditionally
a holiday in Israel. It is the Israeli harvest festival
observed since Mosaic times and also commemorates the time
when their ancestors wandered through the wilderness after
the Egyptian bondage.
As we were driven by Yoram Barr to
holy sites and historical places, we saw “Sukkas” or
make-shift rough shelters in front of houses and
establishments. This was supposed to be part of the joyous
festival, also called the Feast of Booths.
Similarly drawing thousands of
tourists to the Holy Land are such Biblical places as
Jerusalem, ancient Judea, and the Wailing Wall, the last
also called the Western Wall, considered Judaism’s holiest
shrine. For more than 2,000 years the Jews have revered
this place, it being “the only remnant of the temple complex
to survive the Roman’s destruction of the city.”
At the ruins here, Jews gather
every time they are at the Holy Land to bemoan the loss of
the temple, openly expressing their grief over the ancient
tragedy, earning for the place the name the “Wailing Wall.”
At any given day, but notably
during the Feast of Booths, Jews and Christians gather at
the holy shrine. We were told 9,000 pilgrims came last
October to pray and insert written petitions in found in
between the old stones of the ruined temple. We also did
the same—in the strong belief that our prayers would be
answered, as testified by pilgrims before us.
From the Mount of Olives, we saw
the Bible come alive, with the breathtaking, panoramic view
of Jerusalem in all its solemn beauty. At the foot of Mt.
Olives is where you find the Basilica of the Agony, known as
the Church of all Nations.
To the three monotheistic
religions, Jerusalem has its own meaning and symbol. For the
Jews, it is the spiritual center of their faith; for the
Moslems, it is the third holy place. It marks the spot
where they believe the prophet Mohammed was raised to heaven
aboard a chariot. Thus, the glorious mosques on top of Mt.
Moriah. But, for Christians, Jerusalem is where Jesus was
crucified and died. There are countless Christian churches
built upon sites where the God-made-man walked the earth in
his time.
From Jerusalem, we drove to the
Garden of Gethsemane. Here was the spot where the Gospels
tell of Judas betraying Jesus with a kiss. The old
refreshing garden is still dotted with still lush olive
trees verified to be 2,000 years old. It is believed that
Judas hanged himself from one of these trees.
Other historic churches we
visited, built and continually preserved through the years,
were the church of the Annunciation and the chapel of St.
Jerome. The chapel is really a cave where the saint stayed
for 40 years as he worked to complete what is now the Bible
from Greek and Hebrew to Latin.
We were next brought to the Garden
Tomb that Anglicans and Protestants maintain and attest as
the authentic tomb in which Jesus was laid after he had died
on the cross. It is a dual–chambered cave situated in East
Jerusalem.
Now housed at the Yigal Allon
Center in Kibbutz Ginosar is the 1st century
Galilee boat believed to have been that referred in the
Bible as used by Jesus’ disciples, who were mostly
fishermen. The boat was found buried in the Sea of Galilee,
underwent an 11-year-long conservation process, and is now
on exhibition in an atmosphere-controlled museum.
Our itinerary had stopovers at
Capernaum, the site of most of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee,
where he had healed the sick, preached and circulated at the
three-centuries-old marble synagogue, and performed
miracles, as well as at Tabgha where the multiplication of a
few pieces of bread and fish is believed to have taken
place, feeding 5,000 people not counting women and children.
At Tabgha also stands the Church
of the Multiplication built in the year 350, its 5th Century
mosaic floor still well preserved.
Our navigator then brought us to
Mount of the Beatitudes where Jesus, as recorded by St.
Matthew in his New Testament Gospel, delivered the sermon on
the mount. The hill is contoured and has a sunken portion,
serving as a natural amplifier. It did make a speaker’s
voice come out loud and clear, indeed.
Highlight of another day’s tour
was a visit to the Holy City of Bethlehem, the birthplace of
our Lord Jesus. Of interest is the Church of the Nativity
built over the cave where Jesus was born.
We were lucky to find the place
not overcrowded, as they said it usually was. Also found in
this Arab city seven kilometers south of Jerusalem are
Rachel’s Tomb, the chapel of the Milk Grotto, Basilica of
the Nativity, and the shepherd’s fields.
We were all in awe as we drove
toward the Golan Heights and had a view of the golden Judean
desert on our way to Nazareth, the Biblical city where once
the angel Gabriel said to the Virgin Mary, “Rejoice, so
highly favored, the Lord is with You.” Here, located in
Lower Galilee, was the Church of Annunciation physically
marking the very first Christian event. It was also in
Nazareth where Jesus spent his boyhood.
Driving next for Haifa in the
north, we toured this ancient city, including the prophet
Elijah’s cave, the Baha’i Shrine and gardens, the Carmelite
monastery, Stella Maris church and monastery. Now Israel’s
main port and industrial center, Haifa sweeps up the slopes
of Mount Carmel, known as the “Vineyard of God,” closely
associated with the prophets Elijah and Elisha.
Another major spot is the city of
Caesarea, built by Herod the Great to honor Augustus Caesar
in ancient times. This vast scenic city is where Peter
baptized the centurion Cornelius, the first recorded Gentile
to be converted.
The drive along the shore of the
Mediterranean on our way to Jaffa, one of the oldest
caravanserai towns of Israel, was simply breathtaking. In
Biblical times, Jaffa served as an ancient port during the
reign of King Solomon. Today, it is one of the cities
composing metropolitan Tel-Aviv, at which one can find the
Artist’s Quarter and entertainment centers, and where one
can have a panoramic view of downtown Tel-Aviv.
On the eve of our departure, Angel
Weinstein, manager of El Al Israel Airlines, Ltd, and Danny
Pavell of International Travel and Congress met the media
group and extended their invitation for Filipinos to visit
Israel.
“As a Christian country, I believe
your people will find it an exciting experience to see
places where Jesus walked and to be at familiar ancient
towns and cities that they only read in the Bible,” Weistein
said.
The invitation was once again
extended during the farewell reception hosted by Renaissance
Tel-Aviv Hotel represented by its sales manager Abigail
Shaaya-Harel.
As earlier assured by Ministry of
Tourism’s Raphael Ben-Hur that Israel is safe for tourists,
we can truly say after our tour that common fears over
unrest and disorder prevailing in Israel are unfounded. “In
fact,” Ben-Hur declared at the farewell dinner, “Israel is
has been rapidly establishing itself as an ideal tourist
destination.”
Personally, one trip is not enough
to truly enjoy and experience the eternal spell of the Holy
Land. It touches the heart and seems to have hold on you
that no other foreign country does. |
