Where to begin to describe a walk through so many churches, so many prayers, so many people? We began pilgrimage this morning at the Paternoster church. The fragrance of roses, the hibiscus blooms, gardens all around provide a setting for the tiled illuminations of the Lord’s Prayer in 140 languages, some no longer spoken. Inside – the remains of a cave – were Jesus and his disciples ever there? Does it matter when the stones were there in His time close to this place where He was presented, learned, entered in triumph, prayed, was betrayed and taken prisoner, was tried … Continue reading Day 6 Via Dolorosa

A strange Jericho. All our previous impressions were wrong. Instead of a closely packed ancient city we found a sprawling half unkempt town. We stopped by the side of a road and looked at a mound of earth – which was a Tel – showing archeological evidence of civilisations going back 12000 years! The geography of this spot must have been compelling with fresh water springs as well as the Jordan encouraging nomads in prehistoric times to stay and settle here. No-one so far has found evidence of the Biblical walls of Jericho, but the city certainly existed way before … Continue reading Day 5 Jericho and arrival in Jerusalem

  An early start meant the joy of seeing the Petra mountains in cool and creamy light. We once again passed the white spot which signified the hilltop dedicated to Aaron. We found the first part of our journey familiar, the same tethered white pony to the side of the Kings Highway, but then we took a left turn and began to drop through the mountains. We are becoming accustomed to spectacular scenery. We wove through and dropped more than 3000 feet to reach the Dead Sea coast road and then followed the Sea right along to it’s northern shore. … Continue reading Day 5 Allenby Bridge

The perspective of your Kingdom with which to see the things of this earth. Much of the day focused on history, and included a stop to see mosaics being made and pots painted in traditional patterns such as the tree of life and the black iris,  but a climb in the morning up to one of the desert fortresses of Herod Antipas at Machaerus – today’s remnants of water cisterns and littering of Roman pot and carved stone do not do justice to the Biblical event which happened here: the order to behead the imprisoned John the Baptist at the … Continue reading Day 3 perspective

Morning swimming with friends in an infinity pool – gazing to the hills and distant haze-hidden Jerusalem – relishing the renewal of a night’s sleep and warming sun on your shoulders. Now back on the balcony before breakfast , the Dead Sea is mirroring the shoreline and the land is dotted with flamboyant trees and hibiscus. But this little paradise is confined to the hotel coast. Beyond there is desert in lots of ways. Quite close to the north lies troubled Syria, people losing life whether they signed up or not, families in fear. Something to reflect on as we … Continue reading Day 3 swim to infinity