Our tour guide is named Deeb, an incredibly smart and kind dude with a lovely English-sounding accent. He has promised to keep us on our toes in regards to Biblical knowledge, so I better be on guard. Since we got here so early we went to the city of Jaffa, which is basically merged with Tel Aviv. This is the main economical hub of the nation, and it showed with impressive skyscrapers and sprawling markets.
We stopped in Jaffa for an hour break. We first entered a church 100 years old, beautiful, dedicated to St Peter when he received the vision of the clean and unclean food. 
The funny thing though is that when we entered the church a group came out and one of them was wearing an Atlanta Braves hat. HERE?! Talk about a small world. 
We were also stopped right next to the Mediterranean Sea. The waves were thrashing! Some friends and I took the long journey down from the street level to check it out. Some braved the water itself. I'll save my insanity for later. (Something to note, this is a very hilly country).
We then took a walking tour of some of the markets. Hearing the sounds, the languages, filled with Hebrew and Arabic, it's truly a rich sound to behold. I didn't buy anything, but as he headed back to the bus the loud speaker from the nearby minaret began chanting the noon prayer. It was so reverent, so rich in sound and flowing music, piercing the sounds of the market, it was beautiful. 
We then boarded the bus to head toward Jerusalem. It's an uphill drive; my ears kept popping. You know all the songs of rising up to the Holy City, all the elevation talk? Guess what, it's more literal than you realize! (That tiny gold speck is the Dome of the Rock, a great marker for the Old City).
The countryside, the air reminds me Malta a lot. On the way I also saw my 1st McDonalds....it's like the Braves hat. We stopped by a panoramic view of the old city, beautiful and WINDY and COLD! Amazing, but the bus called us back quickly. We will spend a lot more time there later in our trip.
Afterwards we took our bus trip to Bethlehem. That meant going into the West Bank, which meant going through the security barrier, or gigantic wall that separates Israel and Palestine. While looking at it, images of the Soviet era in Germany came to my mind. We are going to learn more about the wall (which is called different names) thoughout this pilgrimage. A complex situation without easy answers for sure. Well, we went through, no problem, and headed into Bethlehem for a late lunch.
Our lunch was at the Christmas Tree Restaurant. Seriously, who couldn't love a place like that?!
I had a chicken shwarma. Don't ask me what was in it (I know, chicken), but it was delicious! The spices and sauces kind of reminded me of Greek food. Good times. Then we went to the hotel run by a Christian family here in Bethlehem. We were given an opportunity to check out the city but this is when I raised the white flag. This cold of mine was giving me a fit, as well as the jetlag, so I took an extended siesta and felt a lot better afterward. Here's the view from my room; wow.
This evening we had dinner at the hotel. I was hungry and eager to try it out. A buffet! Check out this smorgasbord; 
Included in here is the creamiest, tastiest humas I've ever eaten. They tasted wonderfully with the neon pink radishes (they're soaked in beet juice and vinegar). Also in there is beef and potatoes, chicken, creamed corn, and a "sausa" (the red stuff on the green lettuce) that was hotter than the hottest jalapeño I've ever had. Like a fool I took a big mouth full and it felt like my whole mouth was burning, like if you take a big spoonful of really hot soup and you feel the inside of your mouth incinerate. Fortunately, it was all spice, no after effects. An important lesson was learned.
Included in here is the creamiest, tastiest humas I've ever eaten. They tasted wonderfully with the neon pink radishes (they're soaked in beet juice and vinegar). Also in there is beef and potatoes, chicken, creamed corn, and a "sausa" (the red stuff on the green lettuce) that was hotter than the hottest jalapeño I've ever had. Like a fool I took a big mouth full and it felt like my whole mouth was burning, like if you take a big spoonful of really hot soup and you feel the inside of your mouth incinerate. Fortunately, it was all spice, no after effects. An important lesson was learned.Now we have been given an early bedtime which we are all taking advantage of. Tomorrow, more of Bethlehem, and a bunch of other stuff, can't quite recall at the moment...brain...failing.
God Bless all of you, and as I hear, enjoy the snow!!!
(The shore of Jaffa by the Mediterranean, and the waves were intense! This shot was carefully timed, thanks Luke!)
(The shore of Jaffa by the Mediterranean, and the waves were intense! This shot was carefully timed, thanks Luke!)
Thanks for bringing us along with you. Hope you feel better after some more rest. We are praying here at EUMC.
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