Today we are leaving early- 7:45 am- and going into the Palestine administered area to visit two monasteries. Next stop will be Shepard's field and Bethlehem which are also in the Palestine Administered area.
The driver took us to a border between the Israeli area and to the Palestine area. At the border which was really a street, we saw young people with rifles standing around like they were securing the general area.
The area seemed more rural than urban and we saw homes, farms and animals along the way to the Monastery.
We kept on driving until we reached St. Theodosius Monastery. Here we all got out to go in to see the Church and the cave where the 3 Magi stayed after delivering their gifts to Jesus.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monastery_of_St._Theodosius
The monastery was locked and our guide had to call to have the watchman come and open the door with a giant key.
We walked as a group to the new Church with new iconography. The candle stands were located outside the Church so the smoke would not damage the interior of the Church.
We then were led to a stairway which took us downstairs into the cave where the Magi stayed.
There were also some cases with relics of Saints in the cave.
At 9:30 am we boarded mini buses to take us to St. Savas Monastery because the road was not suitable for the bus to take us. It seemed when we got there we were in the middle of nowhere. Once we got near a wall we saw a door which was the entrance to the Monastery. Only the men were allowed inside to visit the Monastery as that was one of the provisions of St. Sava.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mar_Saba
http://stsabbas.org/jerusalem.html
A man came out with cushions for the women to sit on while the men went inside for a tour of the Church and Chapels.
We were taken to a balcony which overlooked the valley and walls where the Monks had their cells including St. Sava. The monk who gave us the tour told us the Monastery gets 15 liters of water a day from a spring or well and that is the only source of water for the Monastery.
After our tour of the Church and chapels we were invited to go to the guest hospitality center where we were offered water and Arab coffee. The Abbot then joined us and visited with Metropolitan Nikitas. The Metropolitan was offered a liqueur and loukoumi and given the guestbook to sign. Afterwards the Abbot gave us a greeting and then we headed back out to join the women.
We were all asked what when on inside by the women since they were curious and tired of waiting outside.
We then go on the mini vans for the ride back to our bus. When we were boarding the street vendors bombarded us with purses and magnets and in order to keep us moving onto the bus His Eminence took some of the items on the bus to sell them and keep the vendors at bay.
It is now around 11 am and we are making the stop we have been promised every day on the tour- the best Christian gift shop in the area where all things are available at reasonable prices. We were allowed about 45 mins. to browse and shop. This is where we got some small souvenirs to bring back. Some things were not available but should be in the Old City tomorrow when we go.
12:15 we boarded the bus to go to the Church of the Shepherd's Field.
The Church has three altars and dedicated to the Virgin Mary, St. Pantelion, and the Archangels Gabriel and Michael.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcLVT5aAyNQ
http://www.seetheholyland.net/shepherds-field/
It was here an Angel announced to the Magi announced the birth of Jesus. We visited the Church and then went down into a cave where the Shepard's heard the proclamation that Glory to God in the highest, peace on earth and good will to men" (Luke 2-14).
Afterwards we went to the site of the ruins of the original Church where we saw a mosaic floor.
It's 12:35 and our next stop is for lunch at the Christmas Tree restaurant. First time on the trip we ate around noon.
We were given 35-40 mins for lunch which was a choice of chicken wrap or veggie wrap and a soda for $7.00. Since I was starving I went back for a second chicken wrap and the clerk did not have change for a ten so he gave a small dish of baklava as change.
After lunch I felt recharged and ready for the rest of today's tour.
Our bus took us through a checkpoint and then to Manger's Square where it parked in a garage. Per the guide the locals want tourists to walk past the tourist shops to reach Manger Square so they have an opportunity to shop.
http://wikitravel.org/en/Bethlehem
Once we got to the square we headed to the Church of the Nativity where Jesus was born.
As we entered the Church we noticed scaffolding all over because the Church was being repaired.
Fortunately because we were here in off season the Church was not too crowded so we had a short wait to descend down to the place where Jesus was born. We went down some steep narrow steps to reach the bottom. Once everyone venerated the Star we all headed back upstairs.
This was a very emotional visit for me- one I have been looking forward to a long time.
We then walked through Manger Square back to the garage and got on our bus around 2:40pm.
Our guide explained we were going to make two more stops at Jewish Museums and then we will go back to the hotel.
Our first stop was a Museum that had an outdoor depiction of Old Jerusalem and then an exhibit of scrolls inside. We had a short visit inside before we met the bus to go to the next stop.
On the way our guide explained that everyone who wanted to can go to the short experience of listening to holocaust victims - an auditory experience.
All but three of us went. My wife and I and our friend stayed on the bus. I asked the driver if the Jewish museum visits were mandated by the Government and he said yes.
Some of the group were visibly shaken when then came back.
On to the hotel and meet for dinner and fellowship.
The driver took us to a border between the Israeli area and to the Palestine area. At the border which was really a street, we saw young people with rifles standing around like they were securing the general area.
The area seemed more rural than urban and we saw homes, farms and animals along the way to the Monastery.
We kept on driving until we reached St. Theodosius Monastery. Here we all got out to go in to see the Church and the cave where the 3 Magi stayed after delivering their gifts to Jesus.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monastery_of_St._Theodosius
The monastery was locked and our guide had to call to have the watchman come and open the door with a giant key.
We walked as a group to the new Church with new iconography. The candle stands were located outside the Church so the smoke would not damage the interior of the Church.
We then were led to a stairway which took us downstairs into the cave where the Magi stayed.
There were also some cases with relics of Saints in the cave.
At 9:30 am we boarded mini buses to take us to St. Savas Monastery because the road was not suitable for the bus to take us. It seemed when we got there we were in the middle of nowhere. Once we got near a wall we saw a door which was the entrance to the Monastery. Only the men were allowed inside to visit the Monastery as that was one of the provisions of St. Sava.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mar_Saba
http://stsabbas.org/jerusalem.html
A man came out with cushions for the women to sit on while the men went inside for a tour of the Church and Chapels.
We were taken to a balcony which overlooked the valley and walls where the Monks had their cells including St. Sava. The monk who gave us the tour told us the Monastery gets 15 liters of water a day from a spring or well and that is the only source of water for the Monastery.
We were all asked what when on inside by the women since they were curious and tired of waiting outside.
We then go on the mini vans for the ride back to our bus. When we were boarding the street vendors bombarded us with purses and magnets and in order to keep us moving onto the bus His Eminence took some of the items on the bus to sell them and keep the vendors at bay.
It is now around 11 am and we are making the stop we have been promised every day on the tour- the best Christian gift shop in the area where all things are available at reasonable prices. We were allowed about 45 mins. to browse and shop. This is where we got some small souvenirs to bring back. Some things were not available but should be in the Old City tomorrow when we go.
12:15 we boarded the bus to go to the Church of the Shepherd's Field.
The Church has three altars and dedicated to the Virgin Mary, St. Pantelion, and the Archangels Gabriel and Michael.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcLVT5aAyNQ
http://www.seetheholyland.net/shepherds-field/
It was here an Angel announced to the Magi announced the birth of Jesus. We visited the Church and then went down into a cave where the Shepard's heard the proclamation that Glory to God in the highest, peace on earth and good will to men" (Luke 2-14).
Afterwards we went to the site of the ruins of the original Church where we saw a mosaic floor.
It's 12:35 and our next stop is for lunch at the Christmas Tree restaurant. First time on the trip we ate around noon.
After lunch I felt recharged and ready for the rest of today's tour.
Our bus took us through a checkpoint and then to Manger's Square where it parked in a garage. Per the guide the locals want tourists to walk past the tourist shops to reach Manger Square so they have an opportunity to shop.
http://wikitravel.org/en/Bethlehem
Once we got to the square we headed to the Church of the Nativity where Jesus was born.
Fortunately because we were here in off season the Church was not too crowded so we had a short wait to descend down to the place where Jesus was born. We went down some steep narrow steps to reach the bottom. Once everyone venerated the Star we all headed back upstairs.
This was a very emotional visit for me- one I have been looking forward to a long time.
We then walked through Manger Square back to the garage and got on our bus around 2:40pm.
Our guide explained we were going to make two more stops at Jewish Museums and then we will go back to the hotel.
Our first stop was a Museum that had an outdoor depiction of Old Jerusalem and then an exhibit of scrolls inside. We had a short visit inside before we met the bus to go to the next stop.
On the way our guide explained that everyone who wanted to can go to the short experience of listening to holocaust victims - an auditory experience.
All but three of us went. My wife and I and our friend stayed on the bus. I asked the driver if the Jewish museum visits were mandated by the Government and he said yes.
Some of the group were visibly shaken when then came back.
On to the hotel and meet for dinner and fellowship.
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