The Tour - Part 2

Back to the tour....

After taking my Dad to Ramallah, we realized we were almost halfway through his week and we had a lot to cover. We sat down and organized some sightseeing which basically involved non-stop touring for the next four days, whether he liked it or not. His one request was that he spend some time in the Old City in Jerusalem, so we allowed him a few hours between Yad Vachem[1] and Masada. We wandered around getting lost and getting ripped off in the market (“Tam, first he said shekels, then he said dollars, can you believe it!”) and trying to figure our how old everything was. As I was beginning to realize, with a place full of history spanning thousands of years, there are few sites which are genuinely singular in their description. For example, David’s Citadel is basically a combination of Hasmonean, Herodian, Byzantine, Mameluke, Islamic and Crusader architecture. Once I understood this, I felt much better about not understanding it. Elle would usually read to us a passage from our guidebook before we would enter yet another ancient massive arched structure but Dad and I would promptly forget and wander around just enjoying all the old stone. We also made it over to the Western Wall where it was really busy because it was the last day of Sukkot and it was the place to be for all religious Jews. Dad made it down to the wall and was happy he got a blessing from a Rabbi (for $10).

The highlight of this day however, was the The Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Once again, this is no simple church of one denomination, and it shows. Somehow shared between Armenians, Greeks, Copts, Roman Catholics, Ethiopians and Syrians, it seems everyone has a piece of it and nobody wants to pay for it (and it needs a bit of TLC if I may say). Strange how the apparent site of where the crucifixion ‘all went down’ with hundreds of pilgrims pouring in and out, is lit with bare fluorescent bulbs! Any way, we skipped the big line-up for Christ’s tomb, but saw the apparent prison where he was held, and the rock where he body was laid. Well, it’s not the real rock, a substitute, but that didn’t stop those crazy Christians from throwing themselves on it. [2] One nun suddenly started pouring ‘Christ’s blood’, which looked more like Strawberry Fruitopia on it and nobody even seemed to mind if they got splashed! Dad and I were shocked, our quiet protestant sensibilities had never experienced such visceral Christianity. We shook our heads and went home.

So the next day, we headed to the desert. The first time I was in Israel, Elle took me to the Dead Sea and we drove to Masada, but were short on time so we never went up. [3] Masada is an archeological ruin excavated in the 1960s, built as a fortress/palace by King Herod around the 1st century BC.[4] We had an option: to walk up the Snake Path, which is an hour of vertical climbing, or take the cable car. Considering how cranky I get in the heat on horizontal surfaces, I thought the cable car might be best for all. Luckily we got there early because the throngs of tourists were right behind us. The money shots at Masada are on the northern side, where Herod built his ‘hanging palace’, Roman baths etc. I was interested in a cistern on the south side which was really just a huge hole in the ground, but it had an opening at one end to let in light and the picture in our guidebook looked interesting as a space. Next to the cistern was the swimming pool, which at this point really was a rectangular pit with a stone fence (I think it was a 4-lane). Considering that water had to be carried up about 1000 ft. by donkeys or slaves or whatever, the swimming pool next to the cistern is just plain mean. Then again, Herod apparently wasn’t the most sensitive of kings. In any case, the whole complex is pretty amazing; you just need to go to your special place when you find yourself pinned against a rock by a mass of passing tourists.

Footnotes

1. Yad Vachem is the Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem.
2. Considering all the time I spent in Sunday School I feel entitled to a little blasphemy.
3. My sister-in-law was unimpressed with the drive-by Masada trip. To go there, but not go up was just lame.
4. The other story of Masada was the mass suicide in the 1st century A.D of a group of Jewish revolutionaries who had won Masada back from the Romans but were under siege. Having clearly no way out as the Romans built a massive ramp up the cliff and eventually broke through, they drew lots to kill each other rather than surrender.

Next up: Nazareth and Akko plus a bonus: name-the-kitty contest