Gramma's Trip to Europe - Part 1

Greetings everyone! We've been back from our incredible trip for about a week, have recovered from a little bit of jet lag, and are now ready to regale you with pictures from all of our adventures. Ben and Marinda outdid themselves with this journey, and we had a terrific time. The night before we left for Israel, Emily performed on her violin. We thought it was wonderful, but Caroline was underwhelmed. We later had a performance from Caroline on a new song she had written--a most unique event.


We had to be extra early at the airport the next morning, so the kids had an improvised picnic in front of the Turkish Airlines desk. We flew from Stuttgart to Istanbul and then on to Tel Aviv.


Our first day  of sightseeing at the Mount of Beatitudes.


A short ways from the Mount of Beatitudes, we stopped at a recently discovered site known as Magdala, Mary Magdalene's hometown. It's on the Sea of Galilee and a chapel has been built over what was a fish market 2000 years ago. The site is dedicated to women and this mural was on one of the walls, showing the story of the woman who touched Christ's robe, having faith that she's be healed. Appropriate that we were there on Mother's Day.


Later that day we drove to Caesarea on the Mediterranean Sea. We're standing in front of a Roman aqueduct....can you tell it's windy?!


Rabbis on wheels! This was Pat's favorite photo of some orthodox Jews enjoying the beach.


The next day we went to Capernaum and were amazed at this place because of the spirit that we felt there. These Thai tourists were fascinated with the kids and took lots of photos; everybody seemed to want to rub James' blonde head.


A statue of Peter surrounded by Christian pilgrims from Africa. Among the ruins at Capernaum is a portion of Peter's house.


We had a harrowing drive up to the Mount of Transfiguration, but it was well worth the white knuckles...beautiful chapel, ancient ruins, and beautiful gardens (would you look at the bougainvillea)!


This was one of the most incredible sites for me, Bet She'an National Park. It's believed that settlement began here 6,000 to 5,000 years before Christ! Egyptian (a monument to Rameses II was found here),Canaanite, Philistine (1st Samuel 31 tells of King Saul's body being hung on the walls here after he was killed by the Philistines), Israelite (King David captured the city and expelled the Philistines), Assyrian, Greek, Roman, and Byzantine civilizations were all established here...simply mind-boggling. This photo shows the Roman theatre and pillars which are wonderfully preserved.


More of the ruins; an earthquake was responsible for much of the destruction.


After a hot day at Bet She'an, we stopped at this fresh water pool which was wonderful...a true oasis!


The next day we visited Masada, an absolutely fascinating fortress built by Herod the great. You've probably heard the story about this...Jewish rebels retreated here during their war against the Romans. The Romans eventually breached the gate after building a siege ramp and rather than be taken slaves, the rebels killed their families and themselves before the Romans entered the city. Ben said that as part of their training, all Israeli soldiers hike up to the top (we took a tram), and take their oaths there.
This is a view from the top and you can see the outline below of one of the Roman encampments.


Remnant of the siege ramp used to move up an apparatus with a battering ram and archers to set the wooden gate afire and then assault the compound.


On to Jerusalem; this is a portion of the Arab market that snakes through the old city.


The dome of the rock; unfortunately non-Muslims are not allowed inside the mosque. It houses the rock that Muslims believe was where Abraham nearly sacrificed Isaac and where Mohammed ascended into heaven, leaving his footprint. The mosque is built over the place where the Temple of Herod originally stood, and the Rabbinical Council of Jerusalem tells Jews not to  go here because the area has been desecrated. I had to wrap a shawl around my arms and shoulders before I could enter the compound.


Some people believe this is Golgotha where the Savior was crucified.


Standing outside the Garden Tomb, a site revered by many as the Savior's resting place (actually the site General Gordon (of Khartoum fame) believed was the site of His burial, and the site just above as the place of the skull (Golgotha)). The door is inscribed with the scripture, "He is not here; for He is risen." It was a humbling and beautiful place to be.


This is the purported site of Jesus' ascension into heaven, with the stone in the box being the last place His feet touched the earth prior to His ascension.


Couple of camel jockeys on the Mount of Olives overlooking the dome.


The Garden of Gethsemane where some of the olive trees are over 2000 years old.


The "wailing wall," the only portion of Herod's temple that still exists. (Pat here: this was a photo taken in an enclosed enclave (like a cave) for male worshipers that Ben showed me; lots of bookcases of prayer books and many colorful locals--not sure if we were allowed to photograph but i couldn't resist a clandestine shot on our way out)



Note the hole in the back of Caroline's dress...she went with Marinda's mom into the little chapel at the end of the wall and sat down on a votive candle, catching her dress on fire! Luckily Debi immediately extinguished it, but according to Ben, Caroline's reaction gave new meaning to the term, "wailing wall."


This was spooky. The Catholics believe that the Savior was crucified and resurrected at this site and built a church over it, The Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Several denominations claim it as their own and the Coptics were holding a ceremony there when we arrived...sort of looked like something out of Harry Potter!


Lots of incense! (comment by Pat--I think this was Greek Orthodox; the two men by the front altar were very scary; in fact, the whole church was pretty scary)


Dinner on a street in the Arab market...we loved the freshly squeezed orange juice!


The wailing wall on the eve of the Jewish Sabbath.


Breakfast in the courtyard of the house we stayed in while in Jerusalem.


Marinda's dear friends from Price, the Heiners. He's the resident physician at the Jerusalem Center. He and his wife took us to this beautiful spot where Orson Hyde dedicated Jerusalem for the teaching of the gospel. Marinda's mom, Debi, is on the far right.


The kids performing a rendition of "Go-go bananas."


Pat and I went to the Israeli Museum which was amazing. We were especially impressed with this model of Jerusalem showing what it looked like during Herod's reign...all of the soldiers are Israeli recruits. The dead sea scrolls are on display here in a special facility nearby. This was the last day of our Israel adventure.