My travels in the Holy Land, with Christmas letter

Christmas 2008

Dear Friends, Brothers and Sisters, Fellow Pilgrims,

Happy Nativity and Merry/Happy Christmas!

Well, here am I at last trying in some poor (and belated) manner attempting to sum up my final days in the Holy Land. Truly, what a marvelous pilgrimage, no? It was certainly a great privilege and honour to be in Jerusalem and amongst the Holy Places with His Eminence Metropolitan KALLISTOS – and with all of you!

To begin with, let me say that on the notion that some of you might possibly have some photographs of your experiences [thanks to those who have posted theirs!], a friend shared with me about a website for Orthodox photographs that sometimes has contests, too. It can be found at: http://www.orthphoto.net

Should you happen to be in the London area between now and March (or so), there is a fabulous exhibition at the Royal Academy of the Arts entitled “Byzantium: 313-1453”. The main site is here: http://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibitions/byzantium/ A good site with about a dozen pictures is here: http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1853552,00.html

If you have time on your hands, I have uploaded a summary of my photographs and all of my videos under one minute in length (63) here: http://s336.photobucket.com/albums/n326/Parzival3/Jerusalem%20Pilgrimage%202008/
Videos 1-8+ minutes are here: http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=parsifal7&emb=0&aq=f# Ten or eleven should show up, but, if not, then just search for Parsifal7, and they should appear.

Finally, if you are really interested in all umpteen hundreds of my Jerusalem 2008 photographs (about 1,800, I think), I have them up at www.snapfish.com. Just ask, and I will happily send you the invitation.

I know not if you might be interested, but I have some contact details of various parties, should you care:
1. Ibrahim S. Jaber, Chairman, Greek Orthodox Church Council, Beit Sahour [He spoke to us briefly at lunch in the caravansary]:
2. Archimandrite Innokentios, Greek Orthodox priest in Madaba, Jordan, and in charge of a guesthouse in Madaba (right by the famous Church of St. George of the Map, & about $15 per night for a single) and, so I was told, another pilgrim house not far from Jerusalem’s Old City: .
3. Mr. George Sandrouni, Armenian ceramics artisan (across from the Armenian Patriarchate). He is very nice & helpful, & lived in Canada for several years. http://www.sandrouni.com;
4. The Safed Inn. A very nice B&B type establishment, reasonably priced, located between Safed & Rosh Pina, about thirty or so minutes from Akko, and roughly twenty minutes from the Sea of Galilee. The owners are very nice. http://www.safedinn.com;
5. Mariam Hotel in Madaba, Jordan (large Christian community), built with funds from USAID, & about $20 brings superb luxury. http://www.mariamhotel.com;
6. New Imperial Hotel, Jerusalem (just inside the Jaffa Gate). Though faded from its glory days c. 1900, one can still imagine the vision. It is owned by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate. $50 for an en suite single is about the best to be found for the Old City. Look on www.hostelworld.com
7. Ecce Homo Convent, Jerusalem (on the Via Dolorosa; we all went there). Word has it that you can stay here for free if you agree to work thirty hours a week for (I think) six weeks or more. Someone stayed here and said it was nice. http://www.eccehomoconvent.org;

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For an account of the Pilgrimage proper, with the Friends of Orthodoxy on Iona, go here: http://orthodox-iona.co.uk/new_page_8.htm

Post-Pilgrimage Travel:

JERUSALEM: Like many others, I stayed in Jerusalem on Saturday and Sunday morning. During the afternoon, I largely visited with a few folks, including the nun Jostina at the Syrian Orthodox Cathedral and Monastery of St. Mark’s in the Armenian Quarter. She is from Ninevah in Iraq, the Suriyani heartland around Mosul in the north. It is in Mosul where Christians of all confessions have been targeted of late by Islamists, robbed and murdered. How truly tragic. She had a large group of Indians of her Church in for the weekend, but she did regale me with miracle accounts that occurred right in the very church there (especially where they have an icon of the Theotokos that they say was painted by St. Mark himself [or is it St. Luke? I always get them confused…]). She also recounted to me about an Egyptian imam in the 1990s who organized large crowds to essentially hunt down Christians at night in Cairo and attack them in the name of Islam, but Christ appeared to him and, over time, he repented and became a Christian. Another particularly moving account she shared was about her own parents, who lived in the town of Arbil (I think) near the Tur Abdin in southern Turkey during the First World War. When the Kurdish tribes surrounded a Christian village and murdered everyone there, others nearby villages evacuated to Arbil. The Kurds called in the Turkish army to besiege the now somewhat fortified town and bombard it with their artillery. In the end, however, the Christians prevailed. There were two churches in the town, and the women would take turns praying in them (whilst the others worked). One was dedicated to St. Mary, and one to St. George (I believe). At any rate, after a time of ineffectiveness and with significant loss to his own men, the Turkish commander asked for a truce and, promising to leave, demanded to know who the woman and the man standing on top of the wall was? These, of course, were the Theotokos and St. George. Years later, it was revealed that the Turkish commander had become a Roman Catholic and was later a Cardinal in Rome. Most interesting.
I decided to head down to the Church of the Anastasis for the Divine Liturgy about 1230am and found several hundred Russian pilgrims eagerly (if tiredly) looking on, many of them in the line/queue to enter the Holy Sepulchre. Unfortunately, over in the Franciscan chapel, a nun had just started up on their amazingly loud organ, accompanying about six Franciscan monks and clergy in the chapel proper. It seemed somehow unfair to me, and as I could hardly hear myself think anywhere in the church, I went back to the hotel for some rest. In truth, I had not planned on staying for the entire liturgy anyway, as I planned on attending the Sunday morning liturgy with the Arab faithful at St. James’ Orthodox Church adjacent to the Church of the Resurrection. And, of course, I saw a number of you there. Some while later – following lunch on the roof of the Pappas restaurant nearby, I joined our fellow pilgrim Scott Ferrel as we headed north for a few days in the Galilee.

CAESAREA: Our first stop, however, was at Caesarea-by-the-Sea (or Caesarea Maritima, not to be confused with Caesarea Phillipi or Caesarea in Cappodocia, Turkey), obviously located on the sea coast, a little more than half way up the Israeli coastline. What a lovely spot! Herod the Great created one of – if not the – largest ports in the Roman Empire, as it could hold the entire Roman fleet. It was last significant in the late Crusader period, as Louis IX (canonized in the Roman Catholic Church) fortified it around 1253. Just a few decades later, the Mamluks of Egypt completely destroyed it, as they demolished most fortified urban areas along the Palestinian-Lebanese coast. These were really only rebuilt in the nineteenth century (by Arabs) and in the twentieth century (by Israelis), although Europeans and Americans have had a significant role the last century-and-a-half, financially, politically, and, at times, militarily. Oh, how I go on!
Well, let’s just say that Caesarea is definitely a worthy visit. There are three primary attractions: the Roman-Herodian area (including a nice amphitheatre still in use and the remains of a palace in the sea), a mediaeval area (including massive Crusader walls, covered entrances, and numerous arches), and – a little ways off – a fantastic Roman aqueduct.

SAFED/ROSH PINA: Scott and I stayed at a lovely place just north/northwest of the Sea of Galilee called the Safed Inn (between the Jewish mystic town and former Crusader city of Safed and the early Zionist settlement at Rosh Pina). It was really fantastic and homey, very reasonable, nice owners (the wife born in Washington, DC), and even an outdoor hot tub. We used this as our base for the coast and the Galilee, as it is so close to them all. Other than a kosher pizza, we really did not explore the area much, sadly.

AKKO/ACRE: This was a particular highlight for me, as I had never been here before. Akko was an ancient Phoenician city many thousands of years ago, but more recently it was the capital of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem following the capture of Jerusalem by Saladin in 1187 (to 1291). Much more recently, the city (under the Ottomans) successfully resisted a siege by Napoleon in the early 1800s – with the help of the British Navy. Both of these historical events are reflected in the present architecture of the city, particularly the Crusader aspects. The city really juts out to the sea, with a great wall along the furthest reaches. Haifa lays some distance across the bay. About a decade ago, a resident with water problems called in a plumber – who fell through the ground level into an underground chamber. Needless to say, he was traumatized. What was discovered – and what one can now walk through – was a secret Crusader tunnel stretching the length of the peninsula. It is pretty impressive. Above ground, medieval European-style architecture blends with typical Arab style. We found the Greek Orthodox Church of St. George (surprise!) really deep in the warren of streets and passages, as well as a structure dedicated to a New Martyr. There are a number of impressive structures all around the Old City, but perhaps the most astounding was the enormous Hospitaller building (Knights of the Hospital of St. John in Jerusalem, later the Knights of Malta). It was only first worked on in the past decade and restoration continues to the present. Words really do not do it justice, but it is truly enormous.
Of course, the part of the city that is of interest is the Old City, which is predominantly Israeli Arab (mostly Muslim, but also with a significant Christian population, Orthodox and Catholic). The New City largely consists of Israeli Jews, increasingly fanatical Ultra-Orthodox Jews. The city really had a relaxed, lazy feel to it, of individual fishermen standing out on the rocks with waves crashing amongst them, merchants dazing in the humidity and sun, children playing soccer or basketball, and tourists walking leisurely around. What a shock to us when we learned only a few brief weeks later that a series of riots had broken out. It turns out that an Arab man was driving through town on a holy Jewish day when no one generally drives (at least in Jewish areas). The stories differ a bit, but it seems that Jewish “youths” (i.e. mobs) attacked him and started rioting, burning cars, tires, and wrecking shops. Arab mobs then formed and fighting ensued. The greatest tragedy is that Akko really seemed to be a unique city in Israel in which Jews and Arabs really seemed to get along well enough and where mutual respect and tolerance existed. I fear, however, that this is lost.

GALILEE & AROUND: One day we explored around the Sea of Galilee, including: Bethsaida, Chorozain, Capernaum, Kursi, and the Horns of Hattin. There are only 3 villages in Galilee mentioned by name in Jesus’ ministry: Capernaum, Chorozain, & Bethsaida, all three condemned by Him for their lack of faith. BETHSAIDA: home of Peter, Andrew, & Philip (John 1:44), but they lived in Capernaum; here Jesus restored the sight of a blind man (Mark 8: 22-26). Though of a much older origin, Herod & his son Philip built up the area, giving it a very Hellenistic character (as Andrew & Philip are Greek names, & they spoke Greek (John 12:20-2). It was destroyed in the First Jewish Revolt (AD 66-70). It is just a little over a mile (2km) from the lake, whereas Capernaum sits right on the lake. “CHOROZAIN=Capernaum with a view” & is 3.5km above the lake. It was still a town expanding in 2nd cent, but Eusebius a century later describes it in ruins. It had Jewish inhabitants b/t late 4th & 8th cent, then Crusader settlements in the 12th and 13th centuries. CAPERNAUM is called “his own city” (Jesus’, in Matt 9:1 & Mark 2.1). The most famous synagogue in Galilee is here. Until Constantine, Jews forbade Gentiles, Christians, & Samaritans from dwelling here. Thereafter, both all were present there & it was prosperous, though at the Persian invasion in 614, Jews destroy Christian property. Then, the reverse occurred under Heraclius’ protection a decade or so later. Both sides rebuilt to the east, though this settlement was eventually destroyed by an earthquake in 746. KURSI: Excellent view. This was the site where Christ cast out Legion into the swine (Mark 5.1). It is the largest Byzantine monastic complex in Galilee, on the east side of the lake, dates from the 5th century, was destroyed & rebuilt after the Persian invasion of 614, & then destroyed by an earthquake in 741. THE HORNS OF HATTIN: We came to Hattin towards sunset, on the road just west of Tiberias (that we drove on at least once with the Pilgrimage). One actually must turn off the main road and drive on a side track across some fields for a ways. At the base of the hill, there is a small official sign, and – most curiously – a sort of unfinished-looking plaque/memorial for the Church of Prophecy of Cleveland, Tennessee (Pentecostal-type). Interesting. One must there park the car and walk up the hill to the top of the first “horn”. From the road, one might question the designation as the “horns” of Hattin, but from a different angle it becomes obvious. In between this hill and the next is a small plateau, and from this entire area are beautiful views of the Sea of Galilee and the surrounding farmland. So what are the Horns of Hattin? It was here that the Frankish army of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem was defeated by the army of Saladin in 1187. They had foolishly decided to march away from their supply lines and seek him out to attack him. They were in the weaker position, however, and had they but stayed home, they very likely would have been able to resist him (as he had a very difficult time keeping his army together). But off they marched and soon ran out of water. And yet, here, where so many were slaughtered, those who were parched with thirst died within sight of the Sea of Galilee.
Not related, but do you know the old Carter Family song “The Sea of Galilee”? The lyrics are thus:Am I a soldier of the crossA follower of the LambAnd shall I fear to own His causeOr blush to speak His name On the sea (the sea, the sea) Of Galilee (of Galilee) My Jesus is walking on the sea On the sea (the sea, the sea) Of Galilee (of Galilee) My Jesus is walking on the seaShould I be carried to the skiesOn flowery beds of easeWhile others fought to win the prizeAnd sail through bloody seas On the sea… There shall I bathe my weary soulIn seas of heavenly restAnd not a wave of trouble rollAcross my peaceful breast On the sea…
BELVOIR CASTLE: This was the final major stop on our way out of the area. Belvoir is a fabulous Crusader castle way high up on a most impressive hill down southerly from the Sea of Galilee towards the Decapolis city of Beit She’an and overlooking the Jordan. The view is truly incredible, and while I am sure that the garrison would be able to see anyone coming along the valley below them, I dare say that they latter would be far gone by the time anyone from on the mountain reached the valley! There was an open-air art exhibition sharing the hill with the castle, while in the distance we could make out the rounded mountain of Mount Tabor.

BORDER CROSSING: Perhaps twenty or thirty minutes down the road, Scott dropped me off at the border crossing. I understand that the Allenby Bridge crossing – just east of Jerusalem and Jericho – is politicized and travel is sometimes tricky, often backed up, and exit fees increased. This northerly one was not bad, however, and really quite easy. After clearing through the Israeli side (and paying the exit fee), one must then take a bus across to the Jordanian side, where one must then pay an entry fee. Perhaps I should have simply rented a car, but I ended up taking a taxi south on my journey. I had thought to simply get a ride to Amman, and thence a bus to Madaba. But as soon as we had left (on a set fee from the taxi stand), my friendly driver Yahyah offered in his broken English if I might like to stop along the way – obviously at an increased price. So I responded in broken Arabic and English and agreed on Pella and Jerash.

PELLA, ALJUN, JERASH, MADABA: I had only once before been to Jordan (and then only to magnificent Petra), so there was much I wanted to see. These two first stops were unplanned, and thus a treat. PELLA was where the first Christians fled to shortly before the First Jewish Revolt and the destruction of Jerusalem. There are numerous ruins on a steep hill, and probably worth a short visit if you are in the area, but there is not, I confess, that terribly much to see. Jordan is SO much cheaper than Israel, and there is cheap quality lodging available there or nearby. From Pella, we drove into the forested (in Middle Eastern terms) hills around Aljun (or Ailjun) and past a mediaeval Muslim fortress. Had I more time, it would have been interesting to visit. This area is fairly cool and pleasant, and perhaps that is why King Abdullah and Queen Rania built a villa high up on one of the hills that we passed. JERASH was one of the ten cities of the Decapolis in Roman times. It is a much different feel from ruins off in an isolated area, as it is dead in the middle of town, and yet covering a huge area. Although it was supposedly closed (or closing early) due to Ramadan, my driver talked it over with the bored-looking gate guard and, for a few Jordanian dinars, I went in for as long as I liked. I was soon wiser to the game, however, as there were a number of large groups inside. Although I walked the breadth of the site, the most endearing spot was at the Roman amphitheatre, where I entered to the performance of four Jordanian soldiers (retired?), two on bagpipes and two on drums, marching around the performance area. [The Jordanians inherited the usage of bagpipes from the British army during the Mandate period.] From Jerash, we went on to Amman, but found that the last buses had already gone. So my driver agreed to drive me to Madaba, another forty-five minutes or so away. This fellow Yahyah was Muslim, and as it was nearly dusk, he stopped for sweets and drinks and listened closely to the radio for the official signal that it was okay to eat, although the whole time after pressing me to eat the (delicious) festival pastries. This night in Madaba I stayed at the Mariam Hotel in Madaba. My wonderful Rough Guide to Jordan highly recommended it, and I could see why. It is run by Christians and was funded (at least in part) by USAID. It is worthwhile.
AMMAN: The next day, I journeyed Middle Eastern-style to Amman. This means, of course, that you walk to the major intersection and wait for a “service” [serv-eess] going the way that you want, or to the destination listed on the front of the very large van (in Arabic). Thankfully, here, at least, there was a designated stop area. The price is very cheap, only twenty or thirty cents, and you must like close quarters, but it does work. Anyway, I went in to Amman specifically to go to the new, fabulous National Museum of Jordan. After much effort and walking around, I finally found the site, only to discover that they were a good two years behind schedule and not exactly open yet. So, in frustration, I took myself to an International Hotel where I found a nice-enough Mexican restaurant. I love Mexican food, I must say. J Amman is ancient Philadelphia, and smack-down in the middle of the city is an impressive Roman amphitheatre and a few other visible structures. While Amman is an Arab city, it also features plenty of Western influences, and seems nice enough. That said, as I was walking around, a Muslim fellow (not far from a large mosque), approached and asked if I was Muslim and talked a bit about that. That was a bit intimidating. I am always happy to talk about religion and the Christian Faith, but I would be wary to be too confrontational next to a mosque with lots of unemployed-looking youths around. Anyway, after a while, I headed back to Madaba.

KERAK & MADABA: The next day I headed for the Crusader Castle of Kerak, about two hours or so, or half way down the Dead Sea towards Petra, along what is called the King’s Highway. On the way, we stopped at a huge ravine, a magnificent vista across the great rift that stretches from East Africa into the deserts of Transjordan. A new dam was evident, although its harvest was less impressive given that September was approaching the end of the dry season. One notices quite soon that the pine trees growing to either side of the road actually tilt to the left [west] reflecting the effects of the ferocious wind that raves through the desert. We stopped Kerak was originally an Orthodox monastery, but in the years after the First Crusade (after 1100), the monks invited the Frankish knights to bring a garrison and to fortify their monastery. The reason for this is that they had been harassed for years by Bedouin raiders, who pillaged the monastery, kidnapping monks and holding them for ransom, and even killing them outright. Other than a higher wall, the monks were really defenseless. It is also from Kerak and its hinterland – mostly Melkite Christian at this time – that King Baldwin of Jerusalem invited some of the local Christians to repopulate the city following its loss of population due to the massacre of the Franks (and by the Fatimid Egyptians and Seljuk Turks in the preceding twenty years). The castle [I am unsure if the monastery was in the grounds of the castle, or the town below] itself is built on a truly commanding hill overlooking the area. After Crac des Chevaliers in Syria, Kerak is perhaps the best surviving of the Crusader fortresses [although Saone (Qalat Salah ad-Din) and Margat (Marqab) castles in Syria are close rivals] still extent. The Ayyubids and Mamluks continued to use the castle after the Franks were defeated. There are several levels to the castle, most of which are underground. The far wall can be climbed up three levels I think, adding to the view. It was quite windy, however, so it would not do to lean too far out. Most impressive were the extensive underground tunnels, stretching from one end to the next. There is an interesting account of Saladin’s first siege of Kerak, around 1180. The ignoble resident lord, Reynauld de Chatillon, was so bold as to build a fleet of ships and to carry them overland and launch them from the port at modern Eilat (or perhaps at Aqaba), where he raided into the Red Sea. I believe his ultimate goal (or at least so-rumoured) was to raid Mecca itself. Anyway, that and his predations upon Muslim caravans and hajjis (pilgrims) led to the siege by Saladin. The lady of Kerak, Stephanie, sent rich dishes from the feast then ensuing in the castle due to the birth of her child to Saladin. In response to this generosity, Saladin is reported to have enquired of which tower they were then in, and directed his artillery to aim away from this sole tower. That siege, at least, was then raised.
MADABA: I walked around Madaba a number of times during my three nights staying there, and there is much that is lovely to behold. If I recall correctly, the city has about twelve thousand Christians (mostly Melkite in the historic sense, that is, Greek Orthodox) and perhaps a hundred thousand Sunni Muslims. However, only a few decades ago it was much smaller and almost entirely Christian. The city was abandoned until the 1880s, when Christians from Kerak immigrated to Madaba due to intertribal warfare (and constant rebellion by Muslim tribes against the Ottoman authorities). Within just a few years, excavations revealed numerous mosaics along the floors of many of the ruined churches in the city. These splendid mosaics date mostly from the high point of early Byzantine history and the days of the early Fathers – that is, the fifth and sixth centuries. It is for this reason that Madaba is called the “Mosaic Capital of the World.” That said, there is numerous evidence of the impact of the Muslim presence and of the iconoclastic movement, where skilled portraiture is removed and replaced by more primitive geometrical or nature-based designs. Today, besides historic mosaics preserved in several locations for viewing (mostly from ancient churches), there are also living and active mosaic artisans, trained at a special school there.
The most famous mosaic – one that we saw on numerous postcards even in Jerusalem – is called the Madaba Map, depicting Jerusalem, the Dead Sea, and, indeed, the entirety of the Holy Land (albeit the mosaic is imperfect in certain areas). This mosaic is located in the Greek Orthodox Church of St. George of the Map, the central church for the faithful in Madaba. My impression is that the Patriarchate of Jerusalem – under whose authority the Orthodox of Jordan fall – recently bestowed significant funds, as it has adjacent to the church a prestigious new school (in which Muslims must also be allowed to attend) and a pilgrim house. It may be, however, that the funds are arisen from pilgrim donations and tourists, I really cannot say (though there is a small entrance fee). St. George’s itself is really quite unique in that most of its iconography is actually mosaic in form, and really quite stunning. The Madaba map takes up about half of the floor on the central right side looking towards the iconostasis. There is a railing around it, except when it is covered with carpets for services. There is a most peculiar icon of the Theotokos in a chapel below and to the right of the iconostasis. It is called the “Virgin of the Blue Hand” (or something approximate) and the story is that this was a normal icon until a few years ago. All of a sudden, following a service in which it was normal, suddenly a third, blue hand appeared, and it is thus called miraculous. I had the privilege of attending the service for the Feast of the Elevation of the Cross (I do believe), based on the Old Calendar, at St. George’s. This was not a Divine Liturgy, but the most interesting characteristic (to me, at least), was that they ended it by handing out candles stuck into the top of a pomegranate. Once lit, we followed the priest in a procession (with cross and fans preceding) outside to a pre-prepared spot where they started a small bonfire and shot up some fireworks, whilst singing a short while. There was a fairly large crowd, perhaps a hundred. The priest, incidentally, was ethnically Greek, as I learned when some Greek pilgrims arrived to stay the night at the pilgrim hostel. I stayed at the pilgrim house there two nights, primarily to support the Church in some small way. It is fairly spartan, but nice enough and very cheap (maybe $15 per night). One night, I also walked around the local area some, and it was packed with Muslims out for their Ramadan feasting. We saw this in Jerusalem, as well, of course.

MOUNT NEBO, BETHANY-BEYOND-JORDAN, & THE ALLENBY BRIDGE: On my final morning I took a taxi (arranged by the hostel manager with a Christian driver, though to be fair my Muslim driver of the previous day was much more gentle and gracious, for what it is worth) to the border via Mt. Nebo and Christ’s baptism site at Bethany. Mt. Nebo, of course, was the site that Moses arrived at and ended his days there – this place promised by God where he could view the Promised Land ere his departure from this present life. I was the first one at Mt. Nebo (at 8am), only to find that a large part of the ruins were closed for excavations. Secondly, a German Franciscan priest/monk frustrated me by saying, “Oh, you are American? Americans, America is for war, for killing, for murder…[etc.]” To be honest, I have seldom heard such charges from Middle Easterners. Generally, the ones with whom I have had any kind of political conversations readily differentiate between a government of a country and its people. I wonder if this is because they have seldom had worthy or benevolent rulers? Anyway, there were some very nice Byzantine mosaics at Mt. Nebo. And the view was simply stunning. What is more, that morning from the beginning it had rained. No, not pouring torrents, but simply to have rain in such a dry land is amazing, shocking even. And when it was not raining, the clouds were beautiful. Though a beautiful view, one really need not spend too much time at Mt. Nebo, and so we next headed to Bethany-Beyond-Jordan, the site certified by the Greek Orthodox Patriarch as the true place of the baptism of Christ. It is, I think, perhaps thirty minutes from Mt. Nebo (which is perhaps that long from Madaba, probably less). Bethany is definitely much more of a tourist site, even though it is very new. I say this as there is a whole gamut of shops at the entrance. One must park and then take a shuttle to the site itself. I was joined only by two others – a nice young Russian couple, one of whom spoke decent English to my not so great Russian – and our guide. Near the Jordan itself is a lovely Greek Orthodox Church, although only a few years old. They are going to build a Russian hostel and perhaps a Greek Orthodox monastery, too. But at present the Greek Church is the only completed building on site. In one place, they have built a pool should one care to walk in Jordan river water. A path leads past a partially excavated and reconstructed Late Antique site showing how the water bent around the area. At the end, there is something of a pier and steps leading down into the Jordan. Several Jordanian soldiers watched from not so far away, while the Israeli border stood literally just across the river. Their flag joined the Jordanian emblem, streaming in the gentle breeze. I believe the Israeli side is where my Suriyani friend Jostina told me that all the Christians in Israel (at least, a certain number) are allowed to come once or twice a year for holy services. She told me of a number of busloads of her fellow Jacobites journeying there the previous Pascha. Well, after taking the shuttle back, my taxi driver raced me to the border crossing. Naturally, there was no obvious explanation of what to do, so myself and several other confused looking foreigners finally meandered through the process and managed to get through okay. I, at least, was a bit stressed, as the border closed early on Saturday for Shabbat, but all was well. There was another bus from the Jordanian side to the Israeli border. On the Israeli side, this pretty all of eighteen passport control officer chewed her lip for at least ten minutes while decided whether or not I should be allowed to pass, but in the end (Ahamdililah!), she sent me through. Outside the Israeli security area, there was a ready shuttle service where you could purchase tickets on site. The trip to Jerusalem (ending right at the Damascus Gate) took about an hour. Should you ever consider visiting Jordan, I highly recommend the Rough Guide to Jordan (supplemented) along with the excellent Jordanian tourism site: http://www.visitjordan.com
JERUSALEM & DEPARTURE: I will leave off discussing my leisurely last few days in the Holy City, as I largely bought some final gifts, visited some favourite sites and with some friends. I do, however, remember a particular conversation with an American staying at the New Imperial Hotel. Essentially, I was describing out time amongst the indigenous Arab Christians, and she was completely ignorant of their existence – even having been there an entire month. She had assumed that all of the Arabic-speakers were Muslim. Sadly, I find this a much too common assumption. It reminds me of the new church – or convention center or what have you – there at Capernum (I think), where it was explained to us that this structure was the original result of an agreement between Pat Robertson and the Israelis. His people – mostly Pentecostals and low-church Protestants – would then go there and avoid the Orthodox and Catholic holy sites, thus gaining a perverted view of the Holy Land and of history. We must do our best to educate those with whom we have contact. If we do not speak up, others will, and what harm will they do?
As to my departure, I will only say that it was harmless enough and no one bothered me at all – unlike my two-hour initial interrogation!

Well, if you have made it this far, I am greatly impressed. May God bless thee and thine this holy season, and may God grant that we meet again. What a wonderful experience was this delightful pilgrimage with the Friends of Orthodox on Iona!

Yours in Christ,
Kenneth