Adventures of Epic Proportion
Back on the bus we charged up Mount Bental, a peak in the middle of the Golan Heights, occupied territory that was formerly the possession of Syria. There are settlements of Israeli citizens, wineries/vineyards, ranches, and a few Druze villages there. It’s a spectacular view. You could see Mt. Hermon, where the water for all of Israel melts down to the Sea of Galilee. There were bunkers belonging to the Syrian army which we could climb around in. Apparently it’s near an area laced with landmines. But gorgeous nonetheless, I can see why Israel would like to keep it.
Down the mount we headed for Capernaum, the village on the Galilee believed to be the center of Jesus’s ministry. It houses an ancient synagogue and other ancient dwellings–perhaps even the whole of the former town. Right on the sea, you can walk down to the water and dip in. There is a modern church built on top of the former city, with a glass section so you can peer down on the ruins. The interior is striking and there are lovely wood panels of Christ’s various miracles there. You can see out from the windows spanning 360 degrees. Silence, prayer only the sign reads, but of course the guides ramble on and on with no relief in sight.
Nazareth was a short trip–only to see the Basilica of the Annunciation. A massive modern architectural marvel it is very bizarre in some respects. It had a bare concrete interior and on the outside there was a huge courtyard filled with renditions of Mary and baby Jesus or of just Mary. From so many nations! Some were inside the chapel too, including the US and Canada. We ran inside to see the Church of St. Joseph quickly, not as nice as Mary’s church of course but more relaxed too.
The bus ride back was extended by Passover traffic but eventually we made it back to Damascus gate where I asked the bus driver Moussa if he would take me up to the Mt. of Olives. Turns out he lives very close by and we had a good chat on the way as he offered me a Golani apple. He thinks that peace is not very likely with this Israeli government. A third intifada, he told me, is inevitable as people see that nothing will work.
The Monday after Easter, the MESPers and I headed out to Masada, to tackle the Herodian fortress where Zealots took over following his death during the Jewish Revolt against the Roman Empire around 66 CE. They hung out for a few years but were held under siege by the Romans for many months before, according to Josephus’s account, there were 10 men selected by lot to kill all of the others before themselves. There was a mass murder-suicide of about 900 people, men, women, and children, before the Romans busted through the wall. They said they would rather die free than live as slaves again.
This Zealot mythology has been central to the Zionist ideology, and Masada has long been revered–to what end I’m not sure. The snake path to walk up is treacherous, and Becca and I decided to take the three minute tram instead. It was very dusty and brown everywhere, but our eager tour guide Brian kept the interest high. I’m not sure what it means to the Israelis now that they would prefer to sink with the ship than make any concessions. But it was a cool ruin. There was a mikve, a Jewish ritual bath that sounds like the wrong pronounciation of our last name, so we found this amusing. “Mc Vah” or “MacVaugh”
After we got a tour of the grounds some of us got down to see the palatial areas which were a bit more intriguing including roman baths of the latest technology and a nice ballroom area. I decided to walk down but this wreaked havoc on my knees which were slipping every which way on the snake path. It took me almost 40 minutes to get down! Then a mediocre lunch followed by a trek over to the Dead Sea to see about Ein Gedi. Unfortunately we discovered that there were huge masses of Passover visitors, Israelis on holiday and we would never get tickets, much less be able to hike with all the crowds. So instead we went up and sat overlooking the waterfall from above. It was beautiful but distant. I forgot my camera. As an alternative, we went to Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found.
At Qumran, it is theorized that there was a group of Essenes, separatist Jews who fancied themselves “Sons of Light” and everyone else as “Sons of Darkness.” They had a secretive monastic community with a community rule and common pot. They also valued scriptures highly and apparently wrote dozens of scrolls which they kept up in these caves by the Dead Sea until they were found around the time Israel declared independence, by Bedouin shepherds. Kind of neat.
That concluded our two bus trips together.
For photos of:
the Jordan River,
the Golan Heights, Capernaum, and Nazareth,
Masada and Qumran
Or, if you want to see
Holy Week in the Holy Land
Eastertime in Jerusalem
