Journey Home to Israel

Daily Journal for Saturday, November 3, 2007

The Day's Itinerary: Our jam-packed day began with the unusual experience of having our tour buses being accompanied by hundreds of cyclists of all ages who were enjoying their Shabbat routine of circling the 50 miles around the Sea of Galilee. After shopping for souvenirs that included Jerusalem crosses, olive wood nativity sets, Israeli flags and Jerusalem keychains, we visited Beit She’an, with ruins from the Roman and Byzantine periods, and ate lunch at a kibbutz before traveling 125 miles through the rolling landscape known as the Judean Wilderness that includes the West Bank before an emotional entrance to Jerusalem.

The Ruins of Beit She'an: For archaeology enthusiasts, the highlight was the extensive, fascinating excavations at Beit She’an, which have uncovered six Egyptian temples, the main street of the city destroyed by an earthquake nearly 2,000 years ago, remnants of a Roman bathhouse, broken columns from a pagan temple, and a Roman theater with a capacity of 8,000.

Saturday Sightings: Gazing through our bus windows we saw horseback riders, cattle, white donkeys, goats being herded by men riding camels, ponds cultivating sweet water fish, vineyards, spectacular flowers including hibiscus, flowering trees including the baobab (originating in Kenya) with pink orchid-like blossoms, produce stands, markets with all sizes and shapes of clay pots, and Bedouin settlements with corrugated tin shanties for houses and John Deere tractors as farm equipment.

The Typical Kibbutz Experience: Our lunch was in the cafeteria of Kibbutz Beit Alpha, a commune celebrating its 85^th anniversary. The 300 members and 500 non-members of the kibbutz raise wheat and vegetables but are primarily sustained by factories that produce woodwork for hospitals and institutions, control systems for air conditioners, fire trucks and armored vehicles. Surprisingly, Beit Alpha is the major manufacturer of water cannons used by U.S. prisons to quell riots.

And Just for Fun: An afternoon pause turned into a Kodak moment and cheers when a smiling Al Garrett, 86 this next Tuesday, put aside his cane and climbed on a camel for a ride in a service station/jiffy market parking lot. Soon, the majority of tour participants were enjoying the once-in-a-lifetime thrill of being camel jockeys. "It was different a lot higher than a regular old horse. Exciting! Exhilarating!" enthused Charles Miller Jr. after his ride. Gloria Inigo de Moreno surprised her husband, Luis, by climbing aboard the camel after he encouraged, "Get on it! Get on it!"

The Day's Perfect Finale: We sang "Jerusalem" and many were overcome with emotion as we arrived at our destination the Holy City and from Mount Scopus looked over Jerusalem just as the sun was setting. Beryl Ratzer, one of three tour guides on The Fellowship buses, read from Psalm 122 which includes the poignant "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem."

Everyone is Fine: After a day of climbing on and off the buses and considerable walking, everyone is tired but fine fully ready for a good night's sleep in the Regency Jerusalem Hotel before heading to the Mount of Olives and other Jerusalem sites Sunday.

And So You Feel Better: Yossie Amos, one of our three tour bus drivers, told us he doesn't think we Americans have it so rough when it comes to the gas pump. In Israel, gas is more than $7 per gallon and it costs $650 to fill up a tour bus!

Events for NOV. 4: Tour participants will have the opportunities to harvest food for Israel’s hungry in The Fellowship-funded project "Table to Table" and donate blood for Israel's version of the Red Cross.