Oct. 18-19 We left LA in the late evening aboard Tower Air bound for NY. This airline is notoriously late. Finally arrive in NY. They make us get off the plane for more security questions and to reclaim and recheck our luggage. Then we are told the luggage is staying on the plane. Finally, 2 hours later, we leave for Tel Aviv. After a long 10 hour flight we arrive at 6pm to find our luggage is nowhere to be found. They decide to wait until the next flight arriving Tel Aviv at 9:30pm hopefully with our luggage on board. We are bussed to a mall to kill time and have dinner. Get back to the airport. The arriving 9:30pm flight turns into 11 and we get our luggage. However, some people still did not get their luggage, particularly an older woman with Hepatitis who was taken to the hospital the next day. She had her medication in her checked luggage. They located her bags and she was able to return to the tour. After all of this we still have a 2 hour bus ride to Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee. (Not a sea, a lake) Arrive at the hotel around 2:30 am and get some much needed rest after a very long travel day(s).

Oct. 20 In Tiberias at a Holiday Inn. Vernon Porter is my roommate. He's the bass player in the group. Great player. We slept in a little. Left around 10am. Went to watch 'The Galilee Experience' a short slide show about the area. Tiberias and this area are rich in history. Got baptized in the Jordan River. Lot's of tourists here and it costs 6 dollars for a dunk. Stopped in Kursi. It was here that Jesus exorcised demons from a man causing them to enter a herd of swine which then ran down the hill and drowned in the lake. (Matthew 8.) There are ruins of a fifth-century Byzantine church and monastery here. Back on the bus. We pass through the Golan Heights. Very desolate but also strategic in that all the natural water sources pass through this area. The Syrians were here in the sixties waiting to invade Israel. Still remnants of old bombed out encampments and mine field warnings. We pass by Gamla. (camel's hump) Where, rather than be captured by the Romans, 9,000 Jews committed suicide by flinging themselves into the abyss. We arrive at Mt. of Beatitudes. A great view here overlooking the Sea of Galilee. Walked around. Went into the church, which was built in 1937. Back at the hotel for a buffet dinner. Oct. 21 Driving through the Golan Heights again. Pass by a very suburban town called Katzrin. Nice though there are bomb shelters here. Drove to a look out and saw the border of Syria. We are in The Disengagement Zone. Also can see the bombed out town of Kuneitra. Captured in 1967, lost and regained in the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Then returned back to Syria in the Disengagement Agreement that followed. Syria has made no effort to rebuild it. Instead they build a new town just beyond it. Keeping the ruined Kuneitra as an example of what the 'horrible' Israelis have done. We stop under a small hill with some weather satellite equipment on top. Our guide, Zvi tells us that's 'the weather hill.' It's used so the Israelis can tell 'whether' or not the Syrians are getting closer. Drove to Caesarea Philippi in the Banias Nature Reserve. It was here that Jesus changed Simon's name to Peter. Or Petros meaning 'rock' in Greek. Jesus said in Matthew 16 ...'and on this rock I will build my church.' Large rocks here. And a huge natural rock cave. Some scholars think Jesus deliberately selected the heartland of paganism for this statement. There are remains of a temple to the god Pan. No time to explore this nature reserve. My guide book says there are waterfalls nearby. Maybe next time. On the way now to Tel Dan. Passing by many Kibbutz. We pass Nimrod's fortress in the distance up on a hill. It was build in the 1100s. They're not sure by whom. It changed hands over the years between Muslims and Christians. Around 1129 Nimrod's fortress was occupied by a fanatical band of Muslims. According to our guide they would get tanked on hash and go around murdering people. The Muslims earned the nickname 'hashahin' from which the word assassin is derived. We arrive at Tel Dan in another wonderful nature reserve. A Tel, by the way, is a hill or mound. Through history civilizations would build on top of older cities. So even though we would be standing on a hill looking at ruins, there are a couple more cites under our feet. Archaeologists don't want to dig them out because each ancient city would be ruined digging to the next. At Tel Dan we hike pretty far up come hills and finally arrive at the ruins of the temple. A large city occupied these grounds in biblical times. The Israelite tribe of Dan captured the Tel around the time of Judges. When the kingdom was divided up King Jereboam built a golden calf to worship. (1 Kings) We explore the ruins and check out the city gate and town plaza. Stop at Kibbutz Kfar Blum for lunch. Tonight we do our first concert and have to leave early for sound check. I miss out on seeing Cappernaum. It was here that Jesus established his base for part of his ministry. The New Testament relates 'follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.' The rest of the group also went on a boat ride on The Sea (lake) of Galilee showing up at our gig later. We play outside at a Kibbutz over looking The Sea of Galilee. Pretty setting.

Oct. 21 On the way to Zippori we drive through Cana. Jesus performed his first miracle here. Changing water into wine. (John 2) The City is now Arab. We learn from Zvi how to tell a Jewish town from an Arab town. The Arabs build their homes on stilts and are not uniform. The roofs are flat. They tend to live in the home while it is being built. Or don't bother finishing it at all. Jewish homes have slanted roofs. Having come from Europe where the roof was slanted to keep off the snow. They build in an orderly fashion. The same amount of space between homes. So basically the Jewish towns simply look nicer. Zippori was a Roman City. Joseph may have come here looking for work as a carpenter. It was in Zippori that the Mishnah was compiled. This is the Jewish Oral Law. Oral Law. Further commentary was added in later years. This became the Talmud, the primary guide to Orthodox Jewish practice. It's basically real life questions and responses to civil and religious law. We walk through a Roman theater. And learn the difference between theater and amphitheater. Amphi means 'both.' Like an amphibian lives both in the water and on land. Amphitheater is 'both' halves of a semicircular 'theater.' So a theater has the audience seated in a half circle. An amphitheater, the people are seated a full 360 degrees around. We walked through ruins of a rich persons home. Wonderfully preserved mosaics on the floors. A face on one resembles the Mona Lisa. We pass a watchtower. The lower Crusader foundation is constructed with recycled Roman sarcophagi as cornerstones. On the way back to the buses we pass the many souvenir stands. Many trinkets costing 'one dollar.' A phrase we will hear a lot. We drive through Nazareth. The upper part is Jewish. The lower Arab. The Church of the Annunciation is here. This is were the angel told Mary she was with child. The Arab Muslims have discovered some famous leader is buried next to the church. They want to build a memorial there. Big uproar. Christians are threatening to close all the churches and the pope may cancel his visit in the year 2000. Drove through the fertile Jezreel Valley. This is the sight of the final battle, according to Revelation. Also called The Plains of Armageddon. This is also the area where the last horse back battle was fought ending World War One. We arrive at Tel Megiddo. This Tel is 26 layers high. Lots of carob trees. They change sex as they mature. Because the carob seed is always the same weight it is used to weigh diamonds. This is where karat comes from. We explore the ruins of Tel Megiddo. Some almost 5,000 years old. Very impressive water system. Before It's construction residents had to leave the safety of the city walls to draw from the spring. The Israelite engineers dug a deep shaft and a tunnel to get the water from outside to inside the city. We walk through the tunnel and up the shaft. The spring is just a trickle now, though. We stop at Book Attar, a Druze village for falafel lunch. The Druze are an Arabic-speaking people who practice a secret religion. They broke from Islam 1000 years ago. The traditional garb consists of different head coverings denoting religious levels. We next arrive at the Carmelite Monastery at Mukhraka atop Mt. Carmel. This is the area where the struggle between Elijah and Ba'al is believed to have taken place. (1 Kings 18) We check out the monastery built in 1883 over Byzantine ruins. Back to the hotel for another Las Vegas style buffet.

Oct. 23 Today we drive to Bet She'an. A Canaanite/Israelite City built about 4000 years ago. Called Scythopolis in more recent Roman times. This place is huge. A very large city and probably the largest archeological dig in Israel. Climbed up to the tel. (there's always a Tel) Beautiful view. There is a wonderfully preserved Roman theater here and a down town shopping area. I can see chariot marks embedded in the stones. Also remnants of the earthquake that partially destroyed this city. After Saul committed suicide by falling on his own sword, he was beheaded and his headless body was nailed to the city gates here. (1 Samuel 31) Back in the bus we pass Mt. Gilboa where Saul fell on his own sword. David curses the mountain saying 'let there be no dew or rain upon you.' Half of the mountain is in fact dry. We arrive next at Gideon spring. The spring is in a large park where an international dog show is going on. The story of Gideon is in Judges 7. Next stop is the spring at Sachne in the Gan Hashelosha (the garden of the three) National Park. This park is a memorial to three Jewish pioneers killed here by a land mine in 1938. We have lunch here and some in our group take a dip in the water. Since today is Saturday (the Jewish Sabbath) there are lot's of families enjoying the day. Back on the bus we pass through a check point into the West Bank. Saw the border with Jordan. Jordan, Israel and the Palestinians are fighting over the West Bank. It looks very barren. The area is small. About the size of Delaware. Basically, Israel is not willing to give up the Jordan border. Also the Palestinians want part of the West Bank and the Gaza strip. Israel is not willing to split up the country. We drive through a Palestinian autonomy. (meaning both Israeli and Palestinian). We pass the Palestinian police academy. Looks very run down. We arrive at Jericho, an oasis in the dessert. The oldest city in the world. Also at 850ft below sea level the lowest. Walked up on the tel. Archaeologists haven't found the famed walls of Jericho yet. On the Tel we hear the Muslim chants calling the people to worship. ^This happens five times a day. Back down now at the very touristy shops I enjoy a Turkish coffee and watch a Bedouin and his camel charge two dollars for a short ride around the parking lot. Jericho is under autonomous Palestinian control and a little tense so we stay around the buses. Back on the buses we drive to Jerusalem along a very narrow road. Passing the Inn of The Good Samaritan. This is also the area where Jesus was tempted by the devil in the desert. We stop at an overlook and view the Monastery of St. George of Koziba in the ravine. Amazing how they built on the side of the cliff. We pass many Bedouin nomadic tribes. It looks like a hard life. We arrive in Jerusalem as the sun is setting. We stop and get out at the Hebrew University overlooking the city. Great view. We are all blessed in Hebrew. A traditional blessing about reaching a milestone in one's life. Next we go to view a model of the city. This is a great idea. We really get a good overview of Jerusalem before we actually go into the city. Back at the hotel for dinner. Vernon (the bass player) and I, go explore Ben Yehuda St. The main drag in downtown Jerusalem. Many kids around. It's mandatory in Israel that everyone serves a couple of years in the army. It's a different sight to see 17, 18 year old kids still carrying their rifles around. Boys with their M-16s, girls with Uzis. We meet up with some more from our group and end up at a club called Syndrome. Vernon and I sit in with the Israeli band. Lot's of fun. They have a wonderful drummer. Just a kid but has a lot together. Music is truly universal. Word then gets around to the rest of the Capo Beach group and about 30 people show up the next night hoping for us to play again. The group this time is an acoustic folk group with no drums or keyboards. We don't play but have fun anyway. Again the next night our 30+ group shows up. This time there is an American blues band playing. They seem to be into us sitting in. 'Seem' is the right word. We wait an hour and a half. They clearly don't want us playing. Tonight, music is not universal. Oh well. Back to the hotel for some rest.

Oct. 24 Today we bus to the Mount of Olives. This used to be a dangerous Arab section. Pretty view of Jerusalem. Walked down to the garden of Gethsemane. The Church of all Nations is next to the garden. Some of the olive trees are very old. They are also hollow inside. Their hearts torn out because of the destruction of the temple. According to legend. We can also see the fairy tale-looking Church of Mary Magdalene. This is a Russian church with gold domes and white turrets. We can look across the street and see the Golden Gate. One of the gates into the city. It is through this gate that the Messiah will walk through after appearing in the Mount of Olives. It was closed by the Muslims in order to prevent this. Next we bus to the Temple and sit on the steps by which Jesus entered. We get a huge group picture taken sitting on the steps. I'm looking forward to staying here but instead it's back in the bus. We travel to Bethlehem which is a Palestinian autonomy. 100% Palestinian 70% Arab, 30% Christian. We stop and have lunch at a hotel across from a junky souvenir shop. I think the tour operators get some money for taking the buses to these shops. Finally we get to see some of Bethlehem. We drive to the Church of the Nativity. Built in 320 AD this church has the oldest columns, floor mosaic and ceiling in existence. There is a lot of certainty in this being the site of Jesus' birth. A Greek Orthodox service is going on. Beautiful chanting. After waiting in a long line we walk into the grotto and see the actual spot where they think Jesus was born. A star on the ground marks the place of birth. This part is Greek Orthodox. The manger (actually a feeding trough) is in an alcove to the left. This area is in possession of the Franciscans. The ceiling under here is black from a fire in the 19th century. Back in the buses we pass Rachel's tomb. This is the only Jewish area in this Palestinian area. Rachel was Jacob's second wife. She died on the outskirts of Bethlehem. And according to Genesis "Jacob set up a pillar upon her grave." We drive through a check point into the West Bank. Stopped and climb what is a typical shepherd's hill. Saw a man tending his sheep. He owns the only well in the area. He show's us how he draws water for his herd. We bus back into Jerusalem and to the Western or Wailing wall. We pass through a security check. Close to the wall I pick up my little paper yarmulke and stick my prayers into the wall. The Western wall is the most important Jewish shrine today, because it's close to the onetime Jewish Temple and is the last remnant of the enclosure of that temple. We then walk underneath the length of the wall. Very narrow path. This is called the Rabbinical Tunnel. There is one huge 600 lb. rock that is used in the wall. At this point we are under the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem. The Muslims up above us used part of the Western wall as one of the walls in their homes. They then only have to construct 3 walls. We walk out into the outdoors and back on the buses.

Oct. 25 We bus to Shiloh which was were the tabernacle stood. (Joshua 18 and 1 Samuel 3) The tabernacle was actually a tent and was a meeting place. (Joshua18) It's very rocky and desolate here. We walk from the buses a ways to a huge circular area surrounded by rocks. This is not a popular tourist area. No mention of Shiloh in my guide book. This is the place where the Philistines capture the Ark. (1 Samuel 4) We bus back to Jerusalem. Pass by Mt. Zion and the Zion gate. One of eight gates into Old Jerusalem. We walk into the Jewish quarter and have lunch at a falafel place. After lunch we walk down the Cardo. This was the main street in Roman times. Next is the Herodian Quarter and the Wohl Archaeological Museum. Here they have unearthed homes from around Jesus' time. Beautiful mosaics and actual preserved ashes from when the city burned in 70 AD This was a rich uptown area with the remains of a huge 8000 sq. ft. home. From here we walk to the traditional site of David's tomb. Very small room with a synagogue nearby. Next we explore the Upper Room. The site of the Last Supper. This room has been torn down and rebuilt many times over the years. It is part Muslim, Roman and Byzantine. Our guide points out the different corners of the room that are Christian, Muslim, etc. Lots of groups singing hymns here. Interesting sounds. Different languages all meshing together. Time to head back to the hotel.

Oct. 26 Today we bus to Qumran where they found The Dead Sea Scrolls. These include books of the old Testament. The scrolls were found in 1947 in one of the caves. We watch a film about the area then walk to an overlook. Lot's of caves here and ruins of different rooms. I'd love to hike up into some of the caves but we are rushed off to Ein Gedi overlooking The Dead Sea. This area is a nature preserve and a village. Very pretty with waterfalls up in the cliffs. Hard to believe we are still in the dessert. This was the area where David hid from Saul in 1 Samuel 23. There are some deer here. We even see some ibex which are sort of like goats. Looks like some fun hiking. Maybe next time. On to the Dead Sea. Very dense and salty water. About 10 times that of the ocean. It's impossible to sink. I had a great time floating around. My skin feels smooth and even a shower doesn't rinse off all of the salt. This is a health retreat for people with skin problems and arthritis. We have lunch here and buy some Dead Sea mud to take home. Back on the buses and on to Masada. Herod the Great built this fort high on top of a mountain. Herod had 30 years of supplies stored here. Insane. We take a tram up to the top and walk around. When Jerusalem fell to the Romans in 70 AD about a thousand Jews retreated to Masada. Since the battle was lost their leader Elazar Ben Yair in a moving speech instructed everyone to "choose death with honor." Rather than face capture and slavery. Our guide reads Ben Yair's speech out loud. We explore a little more then head back to the hotel.

Oct. 27 Today is a free day in Jerusalem. I get up around 10 am and take a taxi to BenYehuda Street. Walk around a bit. Saw some street performers. Someone playing a banjo. A man yelling about Abraham. Sounded like he was from Texas. A man with one arm bowing some kind of stringed instrument with his foot. A cripple begging. He has a strange club foot. Lot's of Army people around. Walked down Jaffa Rd. to the Old City. I stop and have some lunch. Arrive at Old Jerusalem and enter through the Damascus gate. Through the Armenian quarter with lots shops. Walked through the Jewish and Muslim quarters. Pass spices, sides of beef and live chickens. All out in the open. Very close, tight passageways. I come to The Church of the Holy Sepulcher and go inside. This is the site Catholics believe Jesus was crucified, buried, and rose from the dead. (Christians believe the site is farther away at The Garden Tomb) I guess because this church is Catholic, it's not included on our tour. I'm glad I have a chance to see this beautiful church on my own. Because no executions or burials were permitted within the city this area was outside the city walls in Jesus' day. The first church was built here in 326 AD Like so many other structures in Israel it was destroyed and rebuilt many times. There is a Catholic service going on while I'm here. I walk upstairs and view the altar under which is the rock the cross is said to have stood on. This Church has four sections. Greek Orthodox, Latin, (Roman Catholic) Armenian and Copts. (Egyptian) Each exercises its right to a procession through the Church at different times of the day. Next I head back through the different quarters of the city and out the Damascus gate. There is a smaller gate under this larger one where it is very certain Jesus came through on the way to be crucified. I hang out under the walk way here enjoying some Turkish coffee from the little kiosk under the gate. Back to the hotel for dinner and a shower. Vernon and I venture out again to sit in. No such luck but we have fun anyway.

Oct. 28 Today we are going to tour The Temple Mount. Because this area is Muslim controlled, our guide tells us it's very important not to bring our Bibles. There should be no touching of wives or girlfriends. This is a very volatile area. We pass through a metal detector. The Dome of the Rock is Muslim so it is not on our itinerary. I paid anyway and take a quick hurried tour. Shoes off. This is the rock Jews believe Abraham was about to sacrifice his son when the Lord stopped him. Also the Rock from which Mohammed ascended to heaven to confer with God. (In a dream) They believe it is the center of the world. It's a pretty large rock. There is a canister containing a lock of Mohammed's hair. It's only opened once a year on Ramadan. I venture down into a little room below the rock. The Well of Souls, the entrance to the netherworld and the place where the dead pray. There are a couple Muslim women down here telling people not to touch the rock. Walk past many prayer rugs. We arrive at The Pools of Bethesda. This is where Jesus healed the paraplegic man. (John 5) Over the bigger pools both the Byzantines and Crusaders built churches which are now in ruins. A few steps away is St. Anne's Church. Anne was the mother of the Virgin Mary and was born over the grotto where the church stands. This church has wonderful acoustics and our choir sings a couple of songs inside. We walk down the Via Dolorosa. The Way of Suffering or Way of the Cross. This is the route Jesus walked when he carried his cross. I would have liked to linger by each Station but we are rushed off to The Garden Tomb. Beautiful gardens surrounding the tomb. This is the area Christians believed Jesus died, was buried and rose from the dead. I can see Golgotha (the place of the skull) from an overlook. It's now a paved bus terminal. The rock face definitely looks like a skull, however. We did a Communion service in the gardens and toured the tiny tomb. Lot's of tourists. Back in the buses we drive to lunch at (guess what) another falafel place next to another junky souvenir shop. Next we travel up to Caessarea near the Mediterranean. We check into the hotel and head over to the beautiful Roman theater where our final concert is tonight. What a wonderful setting to play in.

Oct. 29 While the rest of the group tours Jaffa and Tel Aviv I play hooky and scuba in the Mediterranean. I'm joined by three other divers from the group. We take a cab to the Lee Yam dive shop on the Med. Not the greatest facilities, but all the gear worked. We were told there was a wreck right by the dive shop but find out it is 10 min. up the road. We decide to stay here and dive. The visibility was only about 30 ft. And we were on a small reef about 200 yds. out. Looked a lot like a California beach dive minus the kelp and Garibaldi. Beautiful warm water. It felt to be in the water. Took it wasy the rest of the day. Watched the paragliders next to the hotel take off and land.

Oct. 30 I'm looking forward to getting home today. We check out of the hotel and drive through Tel Aviv to Bet Shemesh. This is Samson and Delilah country. ( Judges 16) The ark was returned by the Philistines to Israel at Bet Shemesh. (1 Samuel 5) We climb to the top of the Tel. Nice view. Lunch is at a snack bar at a rest stop. I have a delicious spicy, humus burrito made by a Bedouin man. Our flight doesn't leave until this evening so its off to kill some more time. Next we tour the "bell caves" at Bet Guvrin National Park. Here there are huge bell-shaped white caves. In Roman times lime for cement was extracted from these caves. The soaring domed ceilings are awesome. Some scenes from the movie Jesus Christ Superstar were filmed here. Next we stop by the place were David fought Goliath in the Elah Valley. It's easy to visualize the battle that took place here. (1 Samuel 17) It's getting dark now and time to catch our flight home. Tower Air is not too late this evening. However, we do make an unscheduled stop in Bangor, Maine to "refuel." We finally arrive in NY only to hear about the Egypt Air flight that went down pretty close to the air space we were just in. Too close for comfort. I've had a wonderful trip to Israel and look forward to returning here soon. Take care and Shalom. Ron

email: pedfly2002@yahoo.com