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WHILE
HAVING COFFEE on our balcony we read from the Urantia Book about
Jesus’ final days in Jerusalem so it would be fresh in our minds when
locating the spots he frequented. After breakfast we asked the
receptionist how we could walk to Bethany, and were told that this would
be impossible, that the only way to get there was by sheirut, a large
Mercedes Benz limo-like taxi that holds up to eight people. Buses do not
go there, she said. We were left with the impression that it had
something to do with Bethany being an Arab town.
Large
crowds of Moslems were out today. Joy stopped to buy underwear from a
street vendor while I took pictures of the transaction.
Joy choosing underwear. . .
Getting out her money . . .
Handing back the change . . .
Outside
the gate we found a sheirut, which we shared with a large Moslem family,
to Bethany. It was a longer and hillier ride than we'd expected, and we
wondered how Jesus could have walked this route so often.
| Jesus
and Jude walked over to Bethany for the night….[1416]
Jesus
and John stopped overnight at Bethany with Lazarus and his
sisters, going early the next morning to Jerusalem. . . .
Many days John went into Jerusalem alone while Jesus walked
about over the near-by hills and engaged in many seasons of
spiritual communion with his Father in heaven. [1494]
Seeking
again to avoid the crowds passing through the Kidron valley back
and forth between Gethsemane Park and Jerusalem, Jesus and the
twelve walked over the western brow of Mount Olivet to meet the
road leading from Bethany down to the city. [1934] |
In
Bethany, which was smaller and quieter than we’d expected, we were
dropped off near a church built on the supposed spot where Lazarus had
lived.
The church. . .
Nearby was his tomb and across the street was “The Oldest House
in Bethany,” advertised as the authentic home of Martha and Mary.
The orange sign points to the entrance to Lazarus's tomb
We
were skeptical but paid a few shekels to the owner for a little tour
(the price included a glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice). We agreed
it was an obvious fraud created for tourists, but it was cooler inside
and there were tables and chairs, so we decided to stay a while. Being
the only patrons, we took turns reading “The Resurrection of
Lazarus” paper aloud searching for more quotes relating to Bethany.
We
asked the owner if he knew of an English-speaking driver to take us
around, but he couldn’t find one on such short notice. Businesses all
around were closing up and shutting down for the afternoon, people
retreated indoors, and by the time we emerged from the Mary and Martha
house, Bethany had become a ghost town except for one man, sitting on
the corner of the street. We approached him and found that he spoke
English, so we asked him, “If you were to walk to Jerusalem, which way
would you go?” He pointed to the road we were standing on, telling us
to follow it over the hill to Bethpage, and from there to the Mount of
Olives, then across to Jerusalem. He told us that cars couldn’t use
that road because there were too many obstacles. He even walked part of
the way with us.
The "local" showing us the way
to Betphage
Up the hill . . .
To the top . . .
Looking back at Bethany
. . . and over the hill
It
was uphill all the way—a dirt road of perhaps two to three kilometers
to Jerusalem. We also found the “fork of the road” in Bethpage where
perhaps the “colt of an ass” had been tied:
| "Go
to Bethphage, and when you come to the junction of the roads, you will
find the colt of an ass tied there. Loose the colt and bring it back
with you. If any one asks you why you do this, merely say, ‘The Master
has need of him.’”
And when the two apostles had gone into Bethphage as the Master
had directed, they found the colt tied near his mother in the open
street and close to a house on the corner.”
[1881]
|
The corner at the junction of the road leading from Bethany to Bethpage
Another view of Bethpage
The walk from Bethany to the Mount of
Olives, seen in distance
At
the Mount of Olives we stopped in again at the Seven Arches Hotel, after
which we visited a few of the tourist sights and descended into the
Garden of Gethsemane. Joy wanted to immerse herself in the atmosphere
and pray by herself, so I left her there and headed back.
The floor of a church near the Garden of Gethsemane
Walking
around the wall outside the old city toward the Damascus Gate, I
encountered swarms of Moslems and busy, noisy traffic. I was beginning
to feel like a mountain goat with all the climbing I was doing. After
freshening up at our hotel I took off on foot again to find the Netcafé
and got lost in a beautiful part of the new city. It was close to
sundown, and hundreds of orthodox Jews in black frock coats and top
hats, with a long ringlet of hair on each side of the face (obviously
curled by curling iron), were streaming toward the Old City for their
Sabbath ritual in the synagogue.
My
Netcafé was closed, so I walked back to our hotel, stopping on the way
to buy a bottle of wine for 15 shekels (the same brand we’d paid 44
shekels for in the hotel earlier). This time I came in through the Jaffa
Gate, where I noticed an unusual hotel, the Imperial. I went in and
found it was a Palestinian hotel run by an American woman who had lived
there for decades. She showed me an enormous room overlooking the
entrance to the city, $44 for two, and on a whim I reserved it for the
next night, hoping to convince Joy that this was something we needed to
experience.
The Jaffa Gate from the outside
The New Imperial directly inside the Gate
I
went back to our room and poured myself a glass of wine on the balcony.
When Joy came in she had already eaten (she told me she couldn’t
resist a street vendor who was selling incredible falafel plates!), so I
went alone to yesterday’s restaurant where the same Japanese tourist
and group of Americans were sitting at the same tables as the night
before. It was a pleasant atmosphere and, like all the other lone
diners, I propped up my books and notebooks and made myself look busy.
*
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CLICK
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or
read on by clicking on any of the following
links:
1.
From Los Angeles to Amsterdam
2. The Flight to Greece
3. Ancient
Corinth
4. The
Citadel
5. To Piraeus
6. Hania on
Crete
7. A
Day in Limbo
8. Back
to Athens
9. From
Athens to Cairo
10. Cairo
11. The Pyramids
12. The Bus to Israel
13. Jerusalem
14. Bethany and Bethpagethis
page
15. An Old Palestinian Hotel
16. The Drive to Galilee
17. Capernaum and Environs
18. The Ancient Boat and Nazareth
19. The Golan Heights and Mt. Hermon
20. The Eastern Shore and Scythiopolis
21. Mount of the Beatitudes
22. Ptolemais and Caesarea
23. A Day in Piraeus
24. Santorini
25. A Rainy Day
26. An Eventful Day in Athens
27. Return to Amsterdam
28. Going Home
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