Blair's World

Summing Up

Blair — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 21:23:17 +0000

On the long flight back to the USA, I tried to encapsulate my thoughts and experiences of the remarkable two weeks we spent in the Holy Lands

Israel is exceptional. The country is modern and efficient, geared for tourists with excellent roads, facilities and hotels. The country works

The biggest change to my thinking is …

Sea of Galilee, Capernaum, Caesarea and Tel Aviv

Blair — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 02:47:11 +0000

This is my penultimate blog and the last one about the tour sites (relief!). We start the day by visiting a 50AD sail boat that was buried under the sand on the Galilee shore and hence preserved. The excavation and preservation of the boat is a saga and a wonderful example of how Israel preserves …

Galilee, Tel Dan and the Golan Heights

Blair — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 03:27:53 +0000

Tiberias is one of the four holy cities in the Talmud, and had a hgh court or Sanhedrian. We motor around the sea to Magdalla and the 4 AD church of Mary, where the multiplication of loaves and fishes occured. It has some exquisite mosaics including the loaf and fishes.

Mosaic Loaves and Fishes

On …

North to Bet She’an, Gideon Springs, Tel Megiddo and Nazareth

Blair — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 14:59:09 +0000

We check out and leave early and go up to the Mount of Olives (where Jesus prayed and agonized before his trial and death) and had one last look at the old city, now with so many more memories

Old_city_from_Mount of Olives

We motor up, through West bank Palestinian territory (the Israeli highway runs right …

Southern Israel

Blair — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 03:34:20 +0000

We leave early and visit the Garden Tomb, a site that could have been the tomb where Jesus was buried, before His ascension. It has geographical and locational validity and is a quiet, serene garden

Garden_Tomb

We drive two hours south on excellent roads and reach Beth Shemesh (Place of the Sun) astride the …

Muslim Jerusalem

Blair — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 03:15:18 +0000

We visit the dome of the rock – the gold dome, built over a rock, that dominates the old city of Jerusalem – the third most holy Islamic site. Prophet Mohammed, was taken by Angels to Jerusalem, and given the Koran on this site. The rock is also purported to be where Abraham went to …

Jewish Jerusalem and the Holocaust

Blair — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 06:44:30 +0000

The Western Temple Wall is the only original existing part of the Second Temple (built by Herrod around 60BC, and destroyed by the Romans in 60AD) and is the most sacred site for all Jews, and a necessary pilgrimage visit. There is a continuous stream of worshippers, men on one side and women on the other, …

Jerusalem – Christian and Jewish Quarters

Blair — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 23:10:31 +0000

The old, inner, walled city of Jerusalem, contains remnants of the First (1000BC Kings David and Solomon) and second Jewish Temples (Herrod 50BC); the sites of Jesus’ crucifiction, death and ascension; and to complete the religious panoply it contains the rock that Mohommed ascended to heaven to receive the Koran. It is the holiest (superlative) …

Jerusalem

Blair — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 05:01:36 +0000

Our first visit to the old city of Jerusalem. We visit the Caenaculum on the Mount of Zion, where Jesus celebrated the last supper. This is the main site for Pentecostals as the Holy Spirit descended to this site. Our group is in the foreground of the picture, reading the appropriate passage of the bible. …

The Dead Sea Complex

Blair — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 03:00:24 +0000

We drive an hour south, descending to about 1000 feet below sea level, and skirt the dead sea to visit Masada – a historic site and one of the Israeli people’s greatest symbols. It is a large, high plateau, surounded by wilderness on three sides and the Dead Sea on the fourth. We travel up …