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In the afternoon we headed toward Jerusalem which meant that we had to cross the
border between the Palestinian and Israeli territories again - this time in the light of day
- and we were shocked to see how tall and scary the wall that separates them actually
is. We were looking at the graffiti, constantine wire, armed soldiers and got a first hand
glimpse at the painful and often dangerous situation this land is facing. By the way; the
U.S. Department of State "urges Americans to defer travel to the West Bank and refrain
from all travel to the Gaza Strip at this time".
The dramatic crossing was all but forgotten at the beautiful settings of MARY'S SPRING under the mosque, the CHURCH OF VISITATION, and ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST CHURCH in the village of EIN KEREM, the birthplace of John the Baptist, on the outskirts of Jerusalem.
The dramatic crossing was all but forgotten at the beautiful settings of MARY'S SPRING under the mosque, the CHURCH OF VISITATION, and ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST CHURCH in the village of EIN KEREM, the birthplace of John the Baptist, on the outskirts of Jerusalem.
The Bible says: "And Mary arose
in these days and went into the
hill country with haste, into a city
of Judah; and entered into the
house of Zacharias and saluted
Elisabeth. And it came to pass,
when Elisabeth heard the
salutation of Mary, the baby
leaped in her womb; and
Elisabeth was filled with the Holy
Spirit…"(Luke 1: 39-41)
The Church of Visitation is surrounded by a wall
that holds plates with the prayer "Magificat"
written in 42 languages. There is an upper church
with beautiful frescoes painted by Cesare Vagarini,
and a lower church with a well and the rock,
where, according to tradition, St. Elisabeth and St.
John hid at the time when King Herod had sent his
soldiers to slaughter all the sons of the Tribe of
Judea, since it had been told to him that the
Messiah was born in Judea.
The Bible says: "But the angel
said to him: 'Do not be afraid,
Zechariah; your prayer has
been heard. Your wife Elizabeth
will bear you a son, and you
are to give him the name John.
He is never to take wine or
other fermented drink, and he
will be filled with the Holy Spirit
even from birth. . . And he will
go on before the Lord, in the
spirit and power of Elijah, to
turn the hearts of the fathers to
their children and the
disobedient to the wisdom of the
righteous-to make ready a
people prepared for the Lord."
(Luke 1:13-17)
St. John the Baptist Church has an impressive history
and, like so many other churches in Israel, has been
destroyed and rebuilt many times. It greets you with a
decorative archway and a courtyard with a wall that
holds plates with the famous prayer known as the
"Benedictus" in various languages. The most sacred
place in the church is the grotto where St. John the
Baptist was born.
THE WALL
GRAFFITI
MARY'S SPRING
CHURCH OF VISITATION
EIN KEREM WITH
ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST CHURCH
ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST CHURCH
BENEDICTUS
It was still early in the afternoon so we had time to visit one more place: YAD VASHEM,
a memorial, museum and research center for the 6 million victims of the holocaust. We
happened to be there on the eve of Remembrance Day.
The most touching were two memorials: the Hall of Remembrance which holds the ashes of holocaust victims under the names of concentration camps and the memorial to approximately 1.5 million children who perished in the holocaust. The children's memorial is the one that keeps coming back into your thoughts and you simply couldn't understand how something like that could ever happen. First, when you walk into the underground cavern, you find yourself in completedarkness. Than you notice dimly lit black and white photographs of children's little faces. After a couple of steps you are faced by hundreds of tiny flames that flicker in the darkness while someone is reading Children's names, ages and hometowns. The eerie feeling stays with you long after you have left the monument.
The most touching were two memorials: the Hall of Remembrance which holds the ashes of holocaust victims under the names of concentration camps and the memorial to approximately 1.5 million children who perished in the holocaust. The children's memorial is the one that keeps coming back into your thoughts and you simply couldn't understand how something like that could ever happen. First, when you walk into the underground cavern, you find yourself in completedarkness. Than you notice dimly lit black and white photographs of children's little faces. After a couple of steps you are faced by hundreds of tiny flames that flicker in the darkness while someone is reading Children's names, ages and hometowns. The eerie feeling stays with you long after you have left the monument.
YAD VASHEM
HALL OF REMEMBRANCE
On the way to the hotel
we stopped by the
Knesset Menorah - which
stands just over the street,
in front of the Knesset -
Israelis Parliament.
It was donated to the
Israelis by the members
of the British Parliament in 1956 and has 29 reliefs that represent events from the ancient Jewish history all the way to the modern times.
we stopped by the
Knesset Menorah - which
stands just over the street,
in front of the Knesset -
Israelis Parliament.
It was donated to the
Israelis by the members
of the British Parliament in 1956 and has 29 reliefs that represent events from the ancient Jewish history all the way to the modern times.
KNESSET - ISRAELIS PARLAMENT
KNESSET MENORAH