A Lush, Green Desert

This morning we went hiking in the desert near Jericho and the Dead Sea. The weather down by the Dead Sea is perfect right now. In another few weeks, this area will be too hot during the day for any physical activity.

We have had an exceptionally rainy winter season. One sign of this is the exceptionally green desert landscape. Typically at this time of year, one sees hints of green in the wilderness hills outside of Jerusalem on your way to the desert. And by the time you reach the Dead Sea, all green has disappeared. But one would never describe this landscape as “lush”. But the green we saw today in the desert was definitely lush! We even saw grass waving in the wind. And most surprisingly, it was still very, very green (I would even call it lush) when we reached our hiking destination by the Dead Sea. It is definitely the greenest we have ever seen this area!

Our rainy season is coming to an end. This green will likely all be turned to brown within another 3-4 weeks. So we were very happy to enjoy it while it lasts!

We hiked the lower part of Wadi Og, a dry river bed (except for when it rains and there is a flash flood).

It was a beautiful walk through a narrow canyon that was carved out of the rocks by the force of the flash floods.

Elizabeth has recently acquired a love of climbing. She is climbing everything and anything she can! So this hike was perfect for her. She loved climbing over all the large boulders. And tonight she said that was her favorite thing about the hike.

We also encountered some steep climbs that involved ladder rungs placed in the rock walls. Again, Elizabeth did great! Jonathan only had to spot her. She had no fear! So proud of our girl.

Sarah had an easier time because she could simply relax and enjoy the ride!

What was unexpected, however, were the pools of water. We have had some recent rains, so the sitting water was actually not that unexpected! Some we could easily walk through by stepping on rocks. But other pools required the adults to go barefoot and carry the little ones. What you don’t see in the picture below is that this pool lead directly to another ladder that needed to be climbed.

It was a really delightful morning with friends. Sarah and Elizabeth were all smiles and laughter.

They are becoming such great friends!

On our way back to our car after we ate lunch. And we were even home in time for Sarah to take her nap!

Vacationing with Friends

Friends from Holland visited us for a week in October. J and I took vacation days from our work to spend as much time with them as possible! We vacation often with our friends. Our pace of activity during our holidays together has understandably slowed with the introduction of small children. But even with a different pace and adjusted type of activities better suited to children, it is always a a wonderful time together. Dank je vel, Familie Mast, for joining us in Israel this year. We look forward to our next holiday together, wherever that might be!

We spent part of our week touring areas around the Jerusalem area, and the remainder of the week in the North. We stayed at a guest house in Rosh Pinna which was centrally located in the North for us to enjoy many different things…More to be said later :)

Elizabeth loved having extra people in the house, and particularly enjoyed playing with the two young daughters, D & E. She was so happy and excited each morning to come out into the living room and see the girls. We had to do little to help entertain her, as she was perfectly content to just follow D around and laugh loudly at her. It was a delight to observe our social little girl enjoy our company so much.

Holy Fire

Last weekend was Orthodox Easter. As with Christmas, the Orthodox believers also celebrate Easter on a different calendar. Beit Sahour Christians are predominantly of the Greek Orthodox faith, so this past weekend was a festive time in our village.

Holy Saturday, the day before Orthodox Easter, has been witness to the longest-attested annual miracle. Since 1106, it has been annually documented that a fire miraculously appears in the tomb of Christ within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. However, first mention of the Holy Fire is as early as 870. The Holy Fire is considered to be the flame of the Resurrection power. Following the celebrations in the Old City, the Holy Fire is then transported to various Eastern Orthodox countries around the world…including our little village next door to Bethlehem!

In previous years, we could have gone to the Old City to participate in the event. But for whatever reasons, we never prioritized spending the day in the crowded Old City with all the other pilgrims.  But this year the event came to our front doorstep, and we could watch from the relaxed perch of our building’s rooftop.

The view from our roof, looking towards the Judean wilderness. The distant hills are located in Jordan. 

Our rooftop perch to watch the festivities.

While waiting for the arrival of the Holy Fire, the local scout groups entertained the crowds with music and marching.

 

This was definitely the most organized of the groups.

The Holy Fire arrives! Here it is being held by a Greek Orthodox Priest from Jerusalem (in black). The priest in gold is the Beit Sahour priest to whom the fire was handed off to.

The priests and local elders lead the way with the Holy Fire. He is hard to point out in the crowd, but our landlord is directly behind the priests. He is one of the respected elders in the village and therefore appeared to have a place of honor. 

Everyone crowded behind the priests as they processed and delivered the Holy Fire to each of the churches in the village.

Nazareth Village Friends

During my parents’ visit, we spent a weekend in Nazareth.

It was Elizabeth’s first overnight trip away from home and she did great. She went with the flow, charmed everyone she met, and slept like a champ in an array of strange places (including during mass at the Church of Annunciation).

The reason for our trip was to visit friends my sister and her family made this past summer during their 2-month volunteer stay at Nazareth Village. Needless to say, we were treated like royalty! Everyone was very excited to meet the parents of Teresa and to meet Elizabeth. And Arab hospitality knows no limits!

Meeting Evonne, otherwise known as “Hannah” the weaver at Nazareth Village.

The shepherd at NV – in costume with his sheep and out of costume with Elizabeth. Elizabeth was completely enamored with Jul and found him to be endlessly fascinating to look at!

An amazing meal served to us the evening we arrived. All the Middle Eastern delicacies were offered…homemade and absolutely delicious!

A Glimpse of this Beautiful Land

We have enjoyed having Teresa, Wes and the kids in Israel this summer. It is always a joy to show people around this land…and we always experience new things along the way as well.

In effort to entice more of you to come visit with us (a first, second, or upteenth time), I am sharing this movie trailer of an IMAX movie that is scheduled to be released in 2013. It provides beautiful aerial views of the land of Israel…from north to south…from Mediterranean Sea to Dead Sea to the Sea of Galilee. For those of you who have travelled to Israel, I am sure you will enjoy catching familiar views and places. Enjoy!

Jerusalem | Filmed in Imax 3D from JerusalemGiantScreen on Vimeo.

Christmas Week in the Holy Land

Although I felt twinges of sentimental sadness at not celebrating Christmas with family this year, being able to celebrate this special season in Jerusalem and Bethlehem certainly helped to compensate.  Pilgrims from all over the world journey here for a once in a lifetime experience.  At times like this I am reminded what a unique privilege it is to call this corner of the world “my home”.    

This is the third year we celebrated the Christmas season in Jerusalem.  The first year, Christmas 2007, we attended the midnight mass in Bethlehem.  The second year, Christmas 2008, we worshiped with Palestinian believers on Christmas morning at a church service in Bethlehem.  And this third time around, we filled our week with a variety of musical events. 

The weekend before Christmas, a friend and I attended a Christmas music program at the Church of the Redeemer in the Old City.  The concert had more of a classical music feel to it than a traditional Christmas Carol service, but the music was lovely and helped me relax and refocus on the real meaning of Christmas. The candlelit inner courtyard provided the perfect setting for the mulled wine served after the concert. 

On Christmas Eve, J and I attended a Christmas carol service at Christ Church in the Old City.  We arrived for the last hour of the drop-in carol sing-along and then stayed for the Lessons and Carols service.  I was delighted to sing Christmas carols, but missed the experience of doing so with fellow 4-part harmony loving Mennonites! We found it interesting to observe that many in the church were secular Israelis.   Our experience confirmed for us what we have heard before…Israelis come out in large numbers on Christmas Eve to visit the many services being held in all the churches in the city.  Many will also ask questions about the Christian faith and the meaning of the Christmas season. 

Our musical celebration of Christmas continued on Christmas Day morning when the young children of our church put on a Christmas Pageant.  As is typical of such events, the kids and their costumes were very cute!  I particularly enjoyed their rendition of the song “The Friendly Beasts”, one of my favorite kid songs of the season.   

A non-musical highlight of our Christmas celebrations was welcoming a guest to our home. Laura, one of my Boston roommates, arrived in Israel Christmas afternoon. Laura now lives in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emerites, and she came to visit us during her week’s vacation between Christmas and New Year’s Day.  She and I went to Bethlehem shortly after she arrived for her to see the Bethlehem sights on Christmas Day. It was a beautiful time to visit the city as we watched the Christmas lights come “alive”. It also helped that the majority of the tourist crowd had already dispersed, making a very crowded place a lot more enjoyable and relaxed.

Above – Nativity Square in Bethlehem, at dusk.

Below – Santa and an olive wood nativity…side by side at a tourist shop in Bethlehem

A special musical highlight of the Christmas season this year was the opportunity to attend a Hebrew performance of Handel’s Messiah the night after Christmas.  This is the first year I have heard about such a performance, which is not surprising since the work is not so popular in Israel.  I was thrilled at the chance to attend and was delighted that Laura, a fellow music lover, could experience it during her visit as well.  Listening to the Messiah in Hebrew was a unique and meaningful experience.  I appreciated the English translation that was provided and found that I reflected on the meaning of the music in a new way because of needing to listen and read the scriptures simultaneously.

Kosher Land

McDonald’s are everywhere in the world.  You either love the fact or hate the fact that McDonald’s is the symbol of world globalization.   McDonald’s has an ingenious marketing strategy that has helped propel it to such global success.  They alter the menu just enough to provide some food options appreciated by the unique tastes of the locals.  It can actually be a fun thing to do when in a new country…seek out a McDonald’s for at least one meal or snack just to see what unique menu options are thrown in with the ever present Big Mac and fries.  In France, they offer local cheeses as toppings for their burgers at certain times of the year.  I’ve been told that in Japan there are more fish options than burger options.  And here in Israel, the local options include kebab wraps and chopped Middle Eastern style salads.  The kosher status of many McDonald’s in Israel is another unique Israeli feature.   

Kosher laws are far from simple, but simply stated the laws prohibit eating milk and meat products at the same time.  Restaurants are usually either all dairy kosher…or all meat kosher.  No chance of any accidental mixing going on in those places! But McDonald’s takes a unique approach to make their restaurants kosher.  Customers are permitted to choose if they want to buy dairy products or meat products.  If a milkshake or a cappuccino is your preference, go to the McCafe on the left.  If you are hungry for a burger (without cheese, of course) and fries, steer right to place your order.  I have joked with J that they should allow non-kosher abiding customers to buy a slice of cheese on the dairy side to make a self-serve cheeseburger!

If you are a very curious reader or simply concerned about my husband’s fond appreciation of fast food, you might enjoy reading this Jerusalem Post article:  McDonald's Israel - The Healthiest in the World. 

You may also enjoy perusing this Wikipedia article about what unique menu options are available around the world.  International McDonald's Products

A New Way to Think about Duty Free

Large airports around the world share many similar qualities. True, the food court options vary considerably, depending on where in the world you might be.  You may be part of the majority or part of the minority depending on where you are.  The tourist-oriented shops are suggestive of the culture that lies just outside the airport walls.  But in general, once you have experienced one airport, there is little left to discover new in another airport. 

One of the things that large airports all share in common are the duty free shops.  Airports provide this sense of a no-man’s land where heavily taxed items can be purchased tax free.  Duty free shops are filled with the same array of alcohol, cigarettes, perfume, expensive chocolates and small electronic gadgets.  Duty free shops are tailored to the needs of the traveler, since everything can be easily carried with you as you continue your journey.  Whether you are a browser or a buyer, duty free shops are a helpful outlet in helping to pass the long, boring hours of waiting for your departure.

However, the duty free shopping available at Ben Gurion Airport in Israel takes duty free shopping to a whole new level.  These shops are not designed for the mobile traveler.  Instead, these shops are designed for the Israeli traveler wishing to buy household items tax-free.  Alongside the standard duty free wares which can all be purchased in bulk, one can buy a food processer, a KitchenAid mixer, a vacuum cleaner, a microwave, or even a large screen plasma television…to name just a few examples.          It’s an ingenious system that openly “beats the system”.  When leaving on your trip, you stop by the duty free shop and make our tax-free purchases. Upon your return to Israel (whether that be just a few days or many weeks) you pick up your new purchases at the duty free desk in the baggage claim area.  There is even a home delivery service option, if you buy a very large item that you cannot easily transport back to your house.  

It’s a very common sight to see Israeli travelers leaving the baggage claim area loaded down with as much duty free purchases as luggage.  A case  of wine, a microwave oven, a blender, a vacuum cleaner, bags overflowing with cigarette boxes…all precariously balanced on top of their suitcases.  Custom officials typically just look the other way.  Although occasionally you do read in the news of a customs crackdown on people buying more than the acceptable amount of such products at one time.    

Yes, I openly admit that we have also gone household shopping in the duty free shops at Ben Gurion!  It does provide an incredible savings for large ticket items, since these items are heavily taxed in Israel.  As a result, that KitchenAid mixer was almost the price it would have been in America!