Well my journey is almost over...

Today I traveled back to the River Jordan and to the site of the baptism of Jesus near Bethany (see photo below). 

This time I am in Jordan looking across to Palestine. And maybe because it isn't very hot and not many people it seems more poignant than the first time or perhaps it is the completion of this journey that is affecting me. Having visited Mt Nebo and stood, possibly, where Moses stood and then traveled through the desert to the River Jordan, I too can see the promised land. It's odd but I can feel the pull of Jerusalem from here and yet in Israel I couldn't, perhaps my vision was clouded by religion and politics!

Tomorrow I head home... (to good coffee and temperatures below 30!)

(Below are some photos that fit the theme including the mosaic map of the biblical lands and Jerusalem found in a church at Madaba, and finally a haloed mountain or something...)

Wadi Rum to the Dead Sea via Aqaba

Sounds like a quiz question- travelling by car where in the world can you be in the desert, then go snorkelling then float in the Dead Sea all within 3 hours? Yes you guessed it, either Jordan or Palestine! Aqaba is a strange place, it is mainly a Port city stuck in the middle of the desert, even the hotel area seemed to have grown out of nothing. Desert on 3 sides but still green in the hotel complex.

PS snorkelling was great though.

Some more photos of Wadi Rum, with me in my 'safari' style outfit!

The desert is fascinating though because it is very fertile and all you need to do is add water and hey presto you can grow anything!

And finally the Dead Sea with a little bit of a biblical connection, can you guess who this might be?

Wadi Rum

I've had a great couple of days in the desert region of Wadi Rum, sleeping overnight in a Bedouin style camp (for tourists of course), riding a camel (probably once is enough), and spending 6 hours in the desert itself. It is an amazing place from the shades of desert sand, burn't orange through to yellow and white to the absolute quiet and the vast open spaces. One of the special experiences was standing very still watching the sunset while a group of three camels approached me. I was very surprised when two of them came up and nudged me as if to say hello and then wandered off towards home!!

Petra Continued

Petra is a very engaging and beautiful site so here are some more photos including some of the rock formations and also a little friend I discovered in a rather deserted part of Petra, the Wadi Farasa. The first one is a view from the top of the Monastery, a very long climb up 900 steps!

Travels In Jordan

Travelling in Jordan is really a continuation of my travels through Turkey and Israel/Palestine. The borders are very arbitrary and have been contested for at least 2 millennia. The food is very similar (which has been great by the way) as well as the culture of hospitality, and the sense of being in an ancient land. Yesterday in Petra I picked up 2000 year old shards of pottery and sat and looked at the remains of the Nabatean buildings which are still impressive today and I can appreciate the awe and dread the tombs might've inspired in an invading army.

There are layers of civilisations in this land, from Neolithic to Nabatean to Greek and Roman, Byzantine to Islamic, Crusader to Ottoman, continuing to today. The following photos are from Petra but the last one is from Jerash and shows the Roman buildings set against the city it lies within, still going strong today.

Thinking of Home

Sometimes I feel a long way from home especially hearing the news that one of the staff at St Matthew's school has died from cancer. 

Daphne was a really lovely person, courageous and determined right to the end. 

She was a great teacher and will be missed by many. 

May she rest in peace and know the welcoming embrace of God, 

amen.

Reflection

Later today I head on the final leg of my journey to Jordan so I thought that I would send some reflections from my time in Israel and Palestine. 

I sat in the "Garden Tomb" this morning, a place not far from the College, a beautiful place full of trees and shrubs, an oasis really, and watched the groups of tourists circulating the garden hungry for a glimpse of where Jesus might've been. 

Not dissimilar to what we have been doing for the last 12 days throughout Israel and Palestine, and yet the sign on the door of the tomb reads: "He is not here, for he is risen". 








And so it has been amazing time and I give thanks that I have seen some amazing places and understood the geography of this place and have a better sense of the landscape of the biblical stories, but I do wonder if it is more important to ask - what does the birth, the incarnation of Jesus, the healing stories, the parables, and the way of the cross look like in Aotearoa, New Zealand? What is our Jesus landscape?

Jerusalem in particular has unsettled me as it is a place where men dominate. Although I was able to celebrate the Eucharist in Nazareth I can't in Jerusalem, women need to be more covered up than in other places, we have less of a voice here. It is a place of walls, ancient and modern, that either keep people in or lock them out. Not far from here we visited a town called Nablus, in the West Bank, where we joined with a congregation for Eucharist. We could come and go with few restrictions and yet this is a town that is surrounded by 7 checkpoints and the Palestinians need a permit to leave. So at any time the checkpoints can be closed and 600,000 people confined to this town/city. Throughout Israel and Palestine we always carried our passports with us just in case we were stopped, thankfully this never happened.

It does however feel like a holy place where the Muslim call to prayer rings out alongside the bells of the churches and (in Jerusalem) there is singing to announce the Shabbat (time of sabbath) for the Jews on Friday at dusk. 

Religion and prayer is very present and a source of both tension and joy.

Blessings from Jerusalem.

(photos on this post were sourced by Tim from the interweb thingy...they did not come from Helen)

Way of the Cross

This morning we walked the way of the cross, 14 stations from Damascus Gate to the Holy Sepulchre (also known as the Church of the Resurrection, or the Church of the Empty Tomb, depending on whether you are Orthodox or Catholic!). Very moving walking through the nearly empty streets of the Old City remembering the journey Jesus made.

We ended with Eucharist back at the College and not at one of the Churches on the road to Emmaus, as across town there is a very significant funeral happening (and all the roads are closed). Former President Peres is seen by many here as a man of peace, who sought a different path for the people of Israel and Palestine. So on one level an appropriate day to finish the course - the 2000 year old story mixed with contemporary realities.

PS I often refer to 'we' and I've realised that I haven't mentioned the various people on the course. Well there are about 34 of us including English, Canadians, Americans, Australians, and even Kiwis and Fijians. Some of whom I knew so that was a lovely surprise! Anyway below is a photo of the Cathedral of St George, next door to the College and part of the College complex.

Jerusalem and the three religions of the Abraham

Yesterday we explored Islam, Judaisim and Christianity within the confines of the Old City. We were invited as guests of the Waqf to visit the two very important mosques on the Temple Mount - Al Aqsa and the one we know as the Dome of the rock. It was wonderful to be able to explore these two places as they are generally closed to visitors.

We then went to a beautiful church - St Anne's, that had wonderful acoustics and in the crypt an amazing icon of Anne giving birth to Mary.

And then the Western wall also known as the Wailing wall, where Jews offer prayers.

We ended our day sitting on the steps of the Temple which go back to the time of Jesus.

Journey back to Jerusalem

As we journeyed from Nazareth to Jerusalem we went to the far north of Galilee and around the lake edge. We stopped at Banias Springs, the source of the river Jordan, at the foot of Mt Hebron, in the region of Caesarea Philippi, where we sat and heard the gospel story from Matthew 16, a very profound moment!

We then went and visited Agrippa's palace as mentioned in Acts

But it was probably the drive back to Jerusalem around Lake Galilee that was the most interesting partI because of how close we got to the borders of Lebanon, Syria and Jordan, all enemies of Israel. At some points we were metres away. It was quite safe but still a little unnerving!