A long overdue trip to the Holy Land Part VI

Day 7: Lingering in the aftermath of the Holy City

I woke up with a heavy heart because I was about to leave Jerusalem, such a beautiful city with so much history to offer. On a positive note, I was heading to the Masada and the Dead Sea, the latter being one of the places that I want to visit on my bucket list.

Dead Sea:

• Lowest point on Earth but highest pressure and oxygen content!
• Formed from the Great Rift Valley that stretches from Turkey all the way to Ethiopia. (Not that into Geography so I probably cannot explain well how the Dead Sea is formed.)
• Formed by 2 tectonic plates, the Arabian plate and the African plate. Imagine two zigzag plates moving in a different direction, one towards the north and the other towards the south. They then create two main rifts, one the Sea of Galilee in the North and the Dead Sea in the South. 
• Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee used to be together and Jericho is the area where they used to be one. So Jericho is an area where there used to be a lot of minerals and springs but subsequently the water dried up. Nonetheless, the soil is still very fertile and you can see a lot of agricultural activities in the area. 
• Jericho is known as the oldest city in the world as it has a history that dates to 6000 BC, which is 8000 years ago! It is believed that Moses could not lead the Israelites to the Promised Land so Joshua, leader of the Israelites after Moses, first brought the people to Jericho. They stayed here for 7 days and eventually Joshua blew the trumphet to bring down the city walls. There is not much evidence of the presence of the Israelites in Jericho perhaps due to them using mud brick to build their city 8000 years ago and it simply dissipated. 
• Water boils at 102deg and not 100deg in the Dead Sea due to the high salt content of 35%! Apparently, the water source is similar to that from the Jordan river and of course the Sea of Galilee. However, the Sea of Galilee has an exit whereas the Dead Sea does not. So when water evaporates, the minerals and salt are left behind. Since there is no exit for the water, there is no way freshwater could enter the Dead Sea either. Hence, the water level recedes by about 1m every year. The British had made marks of the water level in 19th century and as we pass through the Judean Desert, we could see the marks. In order to ensure the sustainability of the Dead Sea, a South lake was created whereby water could be pumped from the North lake to the South lake. In this way, the water level in the South lake could be maintained, otherwise, we will lose the Dead Sea to nature i.e. evaporation. So currently, only the North lake experiences receding water levels. 
• Why the Dead Sea is called the Dead Sea? I saw a T-shirt that illustrates - Mediterranean Sea (fishes are blue), Red Sea (fishes are red), Dead Sea (fishes are dead). I think the high salt content would not be deem suitable for the survival of any marine life. In addition to that, as we pass through the Judean Desert, the guide told us about some horror stories of drowning incidents in the region.

One, there are floods at certain times of the year and drivers who want to pass through the Judean desert are unable to gauge the actual water level because the water is muddy. So cars may end up being totally submerged in the water and death results. People would then wonder, why would any car be in the area should there be a flood. As the saying goes, curiosity kills the cat. People drive there just to cure their curiosity of how the flood would look like and tragedy happens. 

Two, the soil or sand surrounding the Dead Sea contains 2 different layers of water. There is salty water underneath coming from the Dead Sea and also freshwater above that comes from the springs. However, the two types of water do not mix. Hence, as the Dead Sea water level falls, salty water underneath decreases, bringing down the freshwater level with it. Eventually, this will then melt the ground i.e. the soil absorbs the water and sinks, creating sinking holes. On the surface, you see a pool of water but as we all learn in Physics, the water level is deeper than you see with your naked eye. Therefore, people who unknowingly step into a sinking hole risk diving into the unknown and no one will be able to swim in water that contains 35% salt! 

Indeed, the view from the Dead Sea region near our resort is one that is beyond your imagination! The different gradient of blue, orange, and yellow that you see in the sky and it eventually combining with the light blue waters as one is indescribable. 

Biblical stories/ places:

• Story about the Sons of Light - so they were living in a mountainous area that is a day's walk from Jerusalem and where the Dead Sea is. The high salt content also ensured the preservation of the Dead Sea Scrolls, hence its name. It is located in Qumran and it is probably a small household of 140 men, evident by the 140 sets of plates and 4 rows of seats, with each row seating 35 people. 
• You see lots of water cisterns, pools for ritual baths because they were very religious and had to be cleansed frequently? 
• A story from the New Testament: Jesus's disciple asked Jesus, "Who's our friend?" His disciple then sees that a Jew was injured and while other Jews ignored him, it was actually a Samaritan (known to be enemies of Jews) passer-by who took care of that injured Jew, brought him to an inn and even paid for all his medical bills and associated expenses. Subsequently, he also visited to check on his recovery. So Jesus answered his disciple, "A friend is someone who takes care of you, not necessarily one that is of the same religion or race." In addition, he was also trying to teach them a lesson on maintaining peace. :) 
• Fun fact: Why do religious Jews wear a hat, and even non-religious ones wear one when they enter a religious site? To acknowledge the existence of a greater Him that is above mankind. 

And now, I shall move on to the last story for my adventures in the Holy Land. 

Masada: 

• A fortress where luxurious kings built their palaces, one of them being King Herod. Before he became a king, he went to Rome to seek approval from the then Roman emperor Caesar Augustus to grant him the throne so he hid his family in Masada. 
• Subsequently, Masada became his winter palace since temperatures in the Dead Sea region was much warmer than anywhere else in Israel. Jaffa was probably still non-existent and also too susceptible to attacks. He had 2 palaces in Masada and a swimming pool i.e. Roman bath. THe Northern palace had lesser exposure to the sun whereas the Southern palace had natural protection from the fortress since it was located on a steep slope. 
• Despite its glorious existence during King Herod's time, Masada became a roman soldier's guard post after Herod died and his kingdom was split between his two sons since none was bold or witty enough to fill his boots.
• Masada also has its legendary existence as it was the hiding place of King David before he became King and was under the chase of King Saul. 
• Masada also lend its UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE CENTRE's status to the Great Revolt of the Jews when Israel was under Roman rule. The siege ramp, camps and surrounding walls that go around the walls of Masada are very well preserved with clear markings and this is probably the inspiration for many of the ancient movies that we see such as Troy, Kingdom of Heaven, Lord of the Rings, etc. 
• A group of 963 Jews hid in Masada and it was the last fortress that was still standing for the Jews back in 66 AD. They had to fight against 15,000 Roman soldiers and the Romans simply pooled together all their resources in an attempt to bring down Masada. They built a wall around Masada  so that no one could run away from the Roman siege and till today, you can still see the marks being made. On top of the 15,000 Roman soldiers, they also had 5,000 support soldiers and 8 encampments surrounding the Masada fortress. 
• Though the Roman soldiers cut off the water supply, the Jews living within Masada had enough food and water. The way they channel the water into the water cisterns is simply amazing, partly thanks to Herod's brilliance. Lol! In fact, it was the Roman soldiers who were struggling with their water needs and the Jews would at times pour water down the fortress walls to exhibit their ability to be extravagant when it comes to water. 
• Masada has very good fortification because the end that was facing the Dead Sea was 500m tall. In the end, the Romans had to built their siege ramp at the Western side (I think so) where there could make use of the surrounding mountains 200m from Masada and start building a siege ramp from there. Of course, the Jews were constantly attacking the Romans from their fortress as the Romans work to bring down the walls of Masada. Eventually, when the siege ramp was about to be completed (after a 3-year war), all the people in Masada committed suicide. In those days, if you start a war against the Romans, you know that there would be no escape for you if you fail. All men would be massacred, women raped and even children were not spared their lives. So perhaps the mass suicide was to escape any humiliation that was to follow when the Romans eventually break in. However, according to Jewish tradition, no one is allowed to commit suicide thus it is believed that family and friends probably killed each other. Eventually, it was down to 10 chosen men who did their part to kill their family and friends and they had to draw lots to decide who would be the last standing one who will eventually end his own life after killing the other 9. 
• One of our tour members then raised a ethical question. If it was a sin to kill yourself, wouldn't it be and worse and even more unethical to take away someone else's life? Oh well, Jews are Jews and traditions and beliefs have no logical reasoning to begin with, more often than not. Eventually when the Romans got into Masada, they found only 5 people, some women and children who had hid themselves in the kitchen and hence were not killed by their loved ones, but probably by the Romans. What an irony! 
• I read somewhere that this could be a myth because no one could testify to such stories that the famous historian, Joseph son of Matthias, wrote. Apparently, Joseph Matthias himself had led the Great Revolt in 66 AD but failed and when he was hiding in a cave with 9 other men, the whole drawing lots thing came about and he was the chosen men to kill the rest and himself but fortunately he kept himself alive and surrendered to the Romans! Otherwise, we would not have any account of the Temple Mount or even the great Masada holdout. Anyway, his story about Masada could be supported by archaeological findings of the 10 names that he mentioned, believed to be the 10 chosen ones to end the holdout in Masada. 
• We do not belong to that era of living so we will never comprehend why certain decisions were being made. All we can do is to reinforce the positive takeaways and learn from the negative ones. At least for me, no one should ever throw in the towel before putting up a fight! Coincidentally, the Israelis have the same sentiments as me in present times. Great minds indeed do think alike! Lol. Why did I draw similarities between the Israelis and me? It is not uncommon to see Israeli soldiers making their way up to Masada (most probably by foot, and not by the cable car) to say an oath that there will not be another Masada again so as to not let history repeat itself. War is about morale and mental fitness. Beside the widespread belief of God not letting His chosen people lose another war, the triumph earned by the Israelis in recent wars could also be attributed to their history of letting down their land and people by giving up even before it began. 
• I like the slogan, "There will not be another Masada again." They are not going to lose a war ever again. The only regret that I have from this trip is not getting that T-shirt with the above slogan. 

With that, I put a period to my 7-day journey in the Holy Land physically but the memories and stories live on. I will return, someday because this small little country has left a permanent mark on my heart. Revisiting a place is a must especially after you have been to others that are connected in a complex way. Rome will not be the same on my 2nd visit compared to the 1st because I had not witnessed and fully comprehended the majestic empire and spread of the Romans back then. 

Next exotic destination: Turkey!

A long overdue trip to the Holy Land Part V

Day 6: Understanding the history of the Holy Land

This is the 2nd last post about the Holy Land and indeed, it has taken me more time to blog about this than what I had expected. Nonetheless, a little a day goes a long way so I am glad I did this for it will be something that I will remember for the rest of my life. Without blogger and the Internet, I doubt I would have a lifetime memory of the short 7 days in the Holy Land! 

Anyway, day 6 was a free day for sis and I to explore the city. Fortunately, I had the Jerusalem guide with me to figure out how to spend our free day in the city. Like what sis said, we learnt more about Israel, Jerusalem, Judaism, Christianity and the whole ancient history of Jerusalem the most from our visit to the Tower of David Museum. Before I talked about the religious visit to Temple Mount, let us go back in time to understand the history of Israel! 

• 2000 BC: City of Canaan: Fortified town on a hillside above the Gihon spring. Subsequently, Egyptian pharaohs ruled Canaan and the Kings of Jerusalem became their vassals.
• 1020 - 1006 BC:  Saul, the first king of Israel chose Gibeah (territory of his own tribe Benjamin) as the capital
• 1006 - 965 BC: David, King of Israel, conquered Jerusalem
• 965 - 930 BC: Solomon, son of David, ruled the empire and extended the city to include Mount Moriah (location of Isaac's sacrifice). He also built the First Temple Mount (a.k.a. Temple of Solomon)
• 930 - 722 BC: Israel was split into two kingdoms - Israel and Judah - first decline of Jerusalem
• 722 -586 BC: Assyria kingdom - Refer to the story about the spring and water tunnel (Hezekiah) in Part IV. 
• 586 - 538 BC: Babylonians (territory in present day Iraq, some of Turkey, Syria Iran and Kuwait), under Nebuchanezzar, captured Jerusalem and destroyed the First Temple.
• 538 - 332 BC: King Cyrus of Persia took over and allowed the Jews to return to Zion. Rebuilding of the First Temple begin - known as the Second Temple. 
• 332 - 63 BC: Hellenistic Period (Greek) - Time of Alexander the Great but he only ruled for 9 years after which he passed away and Jerusalem was passed from hand to hand.
• 301 - 200 BC: Ptolemies of Egypt
• 200 - 141 BC: Seleucids o Syria
• 141 - 63 BC: Hasmonean Kingdom: Jewish recapture of the Temple and full independence 
• 63 BC: Roman general Pompey conquered Jerusalem. 
• 37 - 2 BC: King Herod's 35-year reign - Monumental building and also the four walls to surround the Second Temple and 3 watch towers (I think). 
• 66 - 70 AD: The first of the three Jewish revolts.  This led to the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD. The Romans also brought back many Jewish sacred objects to Rome (My next visit to the Vatican museum or British museum will make me keep a lookout for the connection between Rome and Jerusalem). 
• 136 AD: Jerusalem became Aelia Capitolina after another Jewish revolt against Roman emperor Hadrian's plan to build a pagan city. Jews were expelled from Jerusalem. 
• 324 - 638 AD: Byzantine Period - Romans who adopted the Christian faith and after a visit by Constantine's Mother, she identified the burial site of Jesus Christ. Constantine then ordered the Temple of Aphrodite which then stood at the burial site to be destroyed and ordered to build the Shrine of the Holy Sepulchre, one of the 14 stations in Via Dolorosa. Although Constantine granted the Jews to rebuild the Temple Mount, the construction never came through. 
• 638 - 1099 AD: Moslem rule (Umayyad dynasty, 660-750 AD, which ruled from Damascus, capital of present day Syria); Abbasid dynasty, 750 - 969 AD, which ruled from Baghdad; Fatimid caliphs of Egypt, 969 - 1099 AD) - Jews and Christians were allowed to return to Jerusalem. Jerusalem became the third most holy city for the moslems after Mecca and Medina. Although Jerusalem is not mentioned in the Koran, according to the Moslem tradition, the prophet Mohammed had a night journey from the holy mosque of Mecca to an outer mosque while being carried on the back of his winged horse. The outer mosque is to be present day's Al-asqa mosque in Jerusalem and it from the rock on Temple Mount, Second Temple, the prophet ascended to the Hughes heavens, hence the Dome of the Rock was built in 691 AD. The Umayyads built various palaces next to the Dome of the Rock and moslems wanted to be buried near the Dome of the Rock but those palaces were destroyed by the Abbasid empire. Since then, Jerusalem has been the source of constant fighting between the Jews, Christians and Moslems. 
• 1099 - 1187 AD: Crusaders' rule. If you are a big fan of Kingdom of Heaven, this would ring a bell in you. Apparently, when the crusaders invaded Jerusalem, they massacred the Moslems. All Christian shrines were liberated from the Moslems as well and mosques (including Al-asqa mosque) were turned into churches or buildings to accommodate Christian pilgrims from around the world. Jerusalem became the capital of the Latin Kingdom and was inhabited by Europeans and Eastern Christians such as the Greek Orthodox, Syrians and Armenians. The one thing that surprises me is that the Dome of the Rock was untouched. In 1187, Salah-aldin, ruler of Egypt and Syria i.e. Ayyubid dynasty, defeated the Crusaders at the decisive Battle of Hattin. Jews returned to the city and settled among Moslem inhabitants and the Eastern Christians - Jewish, Moslems, Christian and Armenian quarters (have walls around their quarter because they were massacred by the Turks and wanted protection when they came to Jerusalem). Entire crusader population was either ransomed, expelled or sold into slavery (this was probably a light punishment considering what they had done to the Moslems and Jews when they gained control a 100 years ago). A peace treaty between Salah-aldin and Richard, the Lion Hearted in 1192 assured Christians access to holy places in Jerusalem. In 1229, emperor Frederick II negotiated to divide Jerusalem - Temple Mount in Moslem hands while the rest for crusader rule. In 1244, it was attacked by Turkish tribes from Central Asia. The Jews escaped but the Christians were slaughtered. 
• 1260 - 1517 AD: Mameluk empire - The mameluks came from steppes of Asia and were educated in special schools of warfare and Islamic studies. The elite military sect ruled over vast areas from Cairo to Jerusalem but Jerusalem was mainly for religious purposes, not economic or political. Pilgrims from Europe came in the 15th century by sailing on Italian merchant ships to Jaffa then Jerusalem. Mameluks built many impressive structures in the area of Temple Mount and streets such as Madrasas for religious studies, hospices for pilgrims, water fountains etc.
• 1517-1917 AD: Ottoman Empire: Sultan Suleiman the magnificent (1520-1566) wished to improve the city's life and security so he rebuilt its walls to prevent against invasion and regulated the water supply. 
• 1917 - 1947 AD: British rule after World War I - common bloodshed between Arabs and Jews
• 1948 AD: War of Independence and although the State of Israel was eventually declared, Israel was divided - East bank was given to the Jordanians and West bank to the Israelis. 
• 1967 AD: Six-day war to reclaim East Jerusalem
• Till forever (hopefully): Pray for the peace of Jerusalem! 

As for all the stories about Palestine, I cannot write anything about it because it is something that is very complicated and I did not have many chances to find out from the guide. 

The famous quotes that I saw and was deeply moved by it. 

David's time: And his kingdom was firmly established,  

Second Temple: Come let us build the wall of Jerusalem, 

Herod's time: Jerusalem: a metropolis for all, 

Moslem rule: Jerusalem the first of two directions of prayers 

Ottoman rule: Jerusalem, the rising dawn, 

Independence as State of Israel: Jerusalem shall be inhabited as villages without walls. 

Our first stop was the Dome of the Rock and Al-asqa mosque, the supposed ground for Temple Mount.  Our guide told us that there is always a long queue due to stipulated opening hours, pilgrims from all over the world, and of course stringent security checks therefore we have to make sure that we arrive early to beat the queue. We were rather fortunate because when we reached the security checkpoint at 7.30 a.m., there was no queue at all! Indeed, the early bird gets the worm.

Anyway, we were prohibited from entering the Al-asqa mosque and the Dome of the Rock as it is only meant for religious moslems. We could only take pictures from outside, see Mount Olives from the opposite and also have some restricted view of the Old City. Seeing how big the premise is, it really make me wonder how the Temple Mount had looked like thousands of years ago. It is moments like this that make me feel and think about what I had said during Shabbat dinner - that I hope the Israelis with their superior technological know-how can one day invent a time machine to bring me back in time to see with my own eyes the wonders of the ancient world. 

My last story for this post is all about Temple Mount and the Western or Wailing wall. The details of the Temple Mount were documented by a famous Jewish historian, Joseph Matthias (not sure if I spelt his name correctly). Read about how him in the Masada episode but all you need to know is that he followed Roman soldiers around Jerusalem and described the war that had taken place between Rome and Jerusalem, Masada (will come to that on the last day). The Western wall is the last wall remaining that was built in Herod's time to hide the Second Temple Mount within four walls. The southern wall is 300m long and the western wall is around 500m long. At the Southwest corner, there is a bridge that provides quick access to the Temple Mount and it is also at this end that we have the Jewish quarter. The Jewish belief in a one and only God meant that they are not to pray to tombs of even righteous people, rabbis, Kings, etc. thus there is not a single statue or image inside Temple Mount back then. Paganism is the idea of idol worshipping e.g. God of Sun, Goddess of Love, etc. The holiest of holiest in the Temple is probably tablets from Moses at Mount Sinai (not too sure). A story about Jesus - he flipped the table where the money changers were  located (at the entrance to the Southwestern end of the Temple) because pilgrims came from all over the world and foreign coins had images of foreign kings or gods so it should have been forbidden inside the Temple premises. 

Why do the religious Jews pray at the Western wall? For reasons such as them believing that the Western wall is closest to the holiest of the holiest, the presence of the divine never left its presence and it is the only part of the wall that was not destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. Or perhaps, we could link it all up and think: because it is closest to the holiest of the holiest so it was the only part of the wall that was not destroyed since the divine never left. One thing that sis taught me and coincidentally I myself learnt in Intro to Psychology is that people often like to link up events after they have happened and try to draw conclusions from these events. 

Of course, I myself was filled with many puzzling questions and if I had more time, I would probably bug the tour guide to explain more. One of those many questions that was also bugging the other tour members was - why did the Moslems build the Dome of the Rock above Temple Mount and now that the Jews have control of Israel, why did they not take back the Temple Mount premise from the Arabs (or Palestinians) through negotiations or by force as the last resort? This is definitely a sensitive one and in order to understand this complex issue and appreciate all that has happened in a war-plagued Jerusalem in the hundreds of years, you really have to be able to take a neutral stand and not let your emotions rule you, be it you being a free thinker, a believer of God, Islam, Judaism, Christianity, blah blah blah. One of the many perspectives that has been related to me which I could perhaps share - that for financial and political reasons, the Moslems built the Dome of the Rock above Temple Mount. The riches that you can gain from the pilgrims all over the world is limitless and that a place that you can claim as a holy site for your religion grants you access or the entitlement to claim it as your territory, perhaps? As for the second part of the question, the state of current affairs in Jerusalem is indeed intriguing to me but when you think about the bigger picture of peace for all living in Jerusalem and also experiences of a race that has undergone extermination, why not just let go and prioritize harmony? 

If indeed Jerusalem is the Holy Land, because it is in the center of Israel and Israel being in the centre of the world and choosing such a central location as the Promised Land for a group of people who are descendants of followers of our Creator, then the more the people should have absolute faith in the eventual arrival of the Messiah at the time the Third Temple Mount will be built. I cannot live forever, neither do I want to be immortal but I do relish the opportunity to be able to witness for myself this grandiose idea that will take the world. :) 

A long overdue trip to the Holy Land Part IV

Day 5: Why the name, Holy Land? 

This was a day whereby we traced the footsteps of religion, be it Judaism or Christianity or the Moslem faith. We first arrived at Mount Olives (holy mountain claimed by the Jews, Christians and also Moslems), overlooking Mount Scopus and listened to the stories of Judaism. 

Judaism: 

• Abraham is the Father of all Jews and he was the first to believe in the existence of a one and only God. To test Abraham's fait, God asked him to kill his own son Isaac at an altar at Mountain of Moriah. Although Abraham loved his son a lot, he loved God even more so he brought Isaac to Mountain of Moriah. When he was about to slit Isaac's throat, an angel appeared and saved Isaac. In return of his faith in God, God promised Abraham to give his descendants a land of their own because they would be enslaved in a foreign nation for 400 years. Isaac's son, Jacob, had 12 sons and they are the 12 tribes of Israel in ancient times. 
• For 400 years, the Jews were enslaved by the Egyptian pharaohs. Eventually, Moses was commissioned by God to take the lead to bring His people to the promised land. 
• Initially, the pharaoh refused and oppressed the people of Israel even more. There came the cycle of ten plagues in Egypt and after the final plague - death of the firstborn, the Egyptians agreed to let the children of Israel leave. However, they went back on their word after Moses set off and sent their chariots and army after them. It was at the Red Sea that God delivered the parting of the Red Sea such that Moses and his followers were led to safety but the Egyptian armies were drowned. 
• They then arrived at the holy mountain, Mount Sinai, whereby God delivered the ten commandments. 
• The reason why circumcision is done by the Jews is because of the events of Abraham and Isaac. Circumcision is the idea of mankind cutting a flesh on their body and giving it to God. 
• On Mount Olives, we see Mount Scopus where all Jewish tombs are placed. All the tombs face Temple Mount (in the Old City in Jerusalem) and it is believed that the dead should have their feet pointing towards Temple Mount. The day the Messiah arrives, the dead will be resurrected and will all walk towards Temple Mount. Our guide has a very interesting way to put it across - some people may have been dead for thousands or hundreds of years and back in those days, there were no GPS. So long as their feet point towards Temple Mount, the moment they are resurrected, they just have to walk straight and not have to figure out their way. :) However, during the 19 years between 1948 and 1967 when the Jordanians were in control of East Jerusalem and the area of Mount Olives, a lot of the tombs were destroyed. Perhaps (I am not sure either), the Israelis felt that they had to take back whatever that belonged to their ancestors. 
• Apparently, before the Second Temple Mount was destroyed, the Jews simply buried dead bodies underneath the soil. However, in order to save space, they started to bury them in boxes i.e. coffins. They are not supposed to burn the corpse because if you do, the dead cannot be resurrected. 
• It is believed that the Messiah will enter the old city via Gate 8. Unfortunately, this area is under Palestinian control and the Moslems built their tombs in front of Gate 8. It is such insensitivity that has brought decades if not centuries of wars between the various religions, I guess. 
• To know about Temple Mount, stay tuned for tomorrow's post! 

#Fun fact: The word 'carat' to describe diamonds is derived from the carob tree, tree of the poor people. Each carob fruit weighs 0.2g and if you say the diamond is of 0.5 carat, it means it weighs 0.1g. Interesting!

From mount olives, we also saw the various churches that are of significance to the Christians and subsequently walked the Via Dolorosa. 

Christianity: 

• Garden of Gethsemane: After Jesus and his disciples had their last supper, he brought his disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane on Mount Olives and sat in the garden to pray. But at times, his disciples would fall asleep. Lol! Anyway, I cannot remember the story well but it should be something along these lines - Jesus felt his body weakening so he prayed to have his body strengthened to endure whatever that was coming next. Jesus sat on a rock and while he was praying, he perspired and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. Subsequently, Judas (one of his disciples) brought the Roman soldiers to Jesus. 

• Church of Dominus Flevit: Shaped like a teardrop, it is said that Jesus had foreseen the destruction of Temple Mount and wept. Indeed, through the windows in the Church, you have a splendid view of today's Dome of the Rock, ancient times' Temple Mount. 

• Church of St. Stephen: He was stoned to death because he was the first to believe in Christianity in the olden days. 

• Via Dolorosa (14 stations that Jesus passed by upon his arrest till his crucification): Apparently, the 14 stations were not written in the bible but it was a tradition started by the Franciscans. Nevertheless, so many of the things that we do today are due to traditions from the past. Rationale and logic need not always be the backbone of why we do certain things. Just live life and enjoy life. 
• Station 1: Jesus was condemned to death at this Courtyard of the Roman Fortress. 
• Station 2: Chapels of the Condemnation and Flagellation - Jesus was led into the hall called the Praetorium and was clothed in purple, plaited a crown of thorns and picked up the cross for the first time. The chapel had decorations of the thorns. 
• Station 3: At a corner on El-Wad Road (Polish chapel), Jesus falls under the Cross for the first time. 
• Station 4: Mary stood at the roadside and saw Jesus carrying the Cross. She was shocked and fell to the ground. In this little Armenian Catholic chapel today, her grief and sadness are remembered. 
• Station 5: Simon, a passer-by, helped Jesus to carry the cross as Jesus was about to carry the cross uphill next. 
• Station 6: As Jesus was carrying the cross uphill, a lady by the name of Veronica, who saw it from her home, came to Him and helped wipe the sweat from Jesus's face. It was said that Jesus's face was printed on the cloth that was used to wipe His face and Veronica who was down with a sickness miraculously recovered after she touched Jesus. 
• Station 7: Jesus fell to the ground the second time at this spot when He was leaving the city through a gate. Tradition tells us that His death notice was posted here and hence, the Christian name for the site: "Judgment Gate". 
• Station 8: Some of the Jewish people felt sorry for Jesus when He passed them by. However, it is said that Jesus felt the opposite because he know that their city was going to be destroyed soon. 
• Station 9: Jesus finally left the city and was outside of the city walls. Marked by a Roman column, Jesus fell to the ground for the third time. 
• Station 10: Jesus was stripped of His garments at this spot. It is now part of the Church of Holy Sepulchre -  a church built by Constantine of the Byzantine Empire. We could only see the windows of the church. 
• Station 11: Jesus was nailed to the cross on the ground. 
• Station 12: This Greek altar stands over the Rock of Calvary. The cross which Jesus was nailed to, was put in an upright position at this very spot. Why this spot? Crucification is the harshest punishment during the Roman times and it is usually carried out on the hills. The site of Jesus's crucification is also a hill in ancient times until the Byzantine Emperor, Constantine, built the church. Therefore, this was actually a spot on a hill. 
• Station 13: Here, Jesus was taken down from the cross and today, a statue of Virgin Mary is placed as a remembrance that Mary stood there to see Jesus being taken off the cross. 
• Station 14: They placed Jesus's body on a stone, washed it and wrapped it in a clean, linen cloth and laid it in a tomb. Apparently, it is said that because Jesus was hanged on a Friday afternoon (since Thursday evening was Passover holiday and Jesus and His disciples spent time in the Garden of Gethsemane), he was not supposed to be buried during this time of the day. A guy had given up his own tomb to Jesus in a burial chamber but they had to do it quick. It was Joseph, a disciple of Jesus, who went to ask for Jesus's body and had it buried.
• Before we know it, when the people returned on Sunday, they realised that Jesus's body was gone and that He had resurrected!
• Room of the Last Supper where Jesus broke bread and offered wine to his disciples, saying to take a part of Him with them, bread like His flesh and wine as His blood and that He will sacrifice Himself to redeem the sins of mankind. The Moslems are the ones who are holding the keys to the Church (including the Holy Sepulchre) because there are many different sects in Christianity and each fights over the rights to the church. So the Moslems took over and there, they built a minaret that points towards Mecca. Funny how things iron out in Jerusalem. In any case, most of us would have seen or heard about the painting of the Last Supper by Leonardo Da Vinci done in 1496. Our guide told us that the painting was done based on the European perspective and that it is not what the Last Supper would have looked like because Jesus dined with his disciples on the floor, not while sitting around a table. During the Last Supper, Jesus also spoke of his disciples, of which one (Judas) will betray him and another will deny him 3 times (Peter). 

• It is also said that 49 days after His death, a fire broke out in this very room and people heard a lot of echoes. Subsequently, it allowed them to speak many different languages or tongues so that they could spread the word of God all over the world. Then came the joke of the Jerusalem Syndrome whereby one who has visited these sites would start to hallucinate and think that they are the disciples of Jesus or Jesus Himself and start sprouting weird things or speak in unknown languages. 
• Dormition Abbey (Lutheran Church of the Redeemer): A German church which was believed to be where Mary resided after Jesus died. Mary is said to have ascended to Heaven while sleeping. 
• King David's Tomb: Said to be but not necessarily. 

Fun fact: The old city's walls are all made of limestones thus there is a regulation in Jerusalem that all buildings in the city must have its exterior being built using limestones. This explains why all the buildings in Jerusalem have the same color. Perhaps this is what makes the city beautiful as well! :) 

We also went to the Western (a.k.a. Wailing) Wall on this very day but I guess I will leave it to tomorrow to blog about this, together with Temple Mount and the thousands of years of history of Israel. And the footsteps shall continue…. 

A long overdue trip to the Holy Land Part III

Day 4: And the footsteps in the Holy Land shall never be forgotten

First stop of the day: City of David (King), built in 1000 BC by King David

• If you have heard about the battle of Goliath and David, then you should know who David is exactly. A few years ago when I went to Florence, the Statue of David meant nothing to me. Now, I fully comprehend. 
• All of the city's foundations and structures are built using rocks and stones. If a city is destroyed, a new foundation has to be built on top of the original ones which explains why the City of David is at a much lower ground compared to the Old City today. 
• Fun fact: How to know if the remnants that you see belong to a rich or poor family? If you see a loo, then you are looking at a rich man's house. Apparently, during ancient times, only the wealthy can afford to have a toilet in their house! 
• City of David was built on a hill because it had a valley as natural protection, farming and also there were springs nearby to provide water. More often than not, we neglect the importance of water. However, a visit to Israel made me realised that the rise and fall of most civilizations can be attributed to the control of the water source. 
• The choice of the location was also due to a covenant that Abraham had with God. God had told Abraham where he wanted the Temple Mount to be located. 
• As we walked through the City of David (only remnants and a lot of archaeological work being carried out), we also went to the Hezekiah Tunnel or Siloam Tunnel where we saw how the water shaft system worked. The spring was outside of the city walls and in the event of a siege, one's enemies would first gain control of the spring and cut off the water supply to the troops inside the wall. Hence, a tunnel was dug to channel water from the spring into a reservoir inside the city walls to collect water. Despite now being 3,000 years later, we could still hear the water gushing down the water channels. The next question would then be: "Why didn't they build the city walls around the spring?" This was because the terrain around the spring was flatter and it would be easier for your enemies to attack. So they built the walls slightly further away from the spring which had a steeper slope and would made it difficult for enemies to attack. 

Second stop: Israel Museum - to see the model of the city of Jerusalem including how Temple Mount would look like if it had still been there. We also get to see the Dead Sea Scrolls which are writings about the Torah or the Bible.

• Dead Sea Scrolls were written by a group of religious men (no women was accepted into the group because they felt that women cannot be trusted) who were known as the Sons of Light
• Lived around the Dead Sea area which explains how the name "Dead Sea Scrolls" come about 
• This group of religious men copied the biblical text day and night because they decipher from the Old Testament that there will be war and they had to protect the scripts. They also engage in ritual baths to always keep themselves clean. 
• When the romans came, they hid the scrolls in a jar initially but subsequently merely dumped them into a cave, most likely due to time constraint. 
• It was a Bedouin nomad who was looking for his lost sheep who found the scrolls. 
• They are very well-preserved and protected in the Israel museum and are written in ancient Hebrew. According to the guide, there is not much difference between ancient and modern Hebrew and he can read it perfectly. However, when we requested for him to read it to us, he simply say, "yeah I will." and then digressed. 

Third Stop: Yad Vashem Museum (Holocaust Museum) - a place never to be forgotten 

I like the way the Jews put thought into everything that they design, akin to the Japanese people. You get to see a lot of trees being planted to show their appreciation and remembrance of the people who tried to save the Jews from the Nazis at the entrance to the museum. The design of the museum itself is one whereby you walk through a maze and you begin your journey in a gloomy hallway. The last stop in the museum is a room decorated like a library with a pit in the bottom and a mirror on top. The rooms have lots of shelves and there are thousands, if not hundred of thousands, of files labelled with the names of all the Jews who, unfortunately, were massacred or died during the Holocaust. The reason why they have a pit with a mirror is because these people who died were never given a proper burial, especially if they were victims of the concentration camps in Birkenau and Auschwitz because their corpse visited Poland just two years ago, everything about the Holocaust and whatever that happened in WWII was still fresh in my memory. Recently, I also read a book titled "The Berlin Boxing Club" which is related to the treatment of Jews in Germany during the 1940s. At the end of the gallery, you will get a bird's eye view of the city of Jerusalem and it is so that though the past was gloomy, the future is a bright one filled with hopes for this beloved city and home of theirs. 

As photography was strictly prohibited, I do not have any photos to show but everything that I saw, read and heard about will stay with me for the rest of my life. How the Jews were being cornered in Germany, sent to live in ghettos, shot to death, and eventually the Final Solution came about. I have admiration for the Jews because they are a race who has been through so much from ancient times, wars with the Babylonians, Persians, Romans, Moslems, Turks, and eventually Arabs, extermination by Germans who for no apparent reason simply hated them back then, etc. However, they stood strong and finally they get to return to their promised land. I am particularly touched by what the guide said, that they are not asking for abundant natural resources or vast land space but merely a small strip of land which is hardly visible from space, 500 km long and 130 km wide, a place promised by God to them and a place that they can call home. 

Biblical places that we visited:

• Church of Nativity in Bethlehem: Bethlehem is currently under the Palestinian control based on a peace treaty signed in 2000 between Israel and Palestine. Church of Nativity is believed to be the birth place of Jesus. To go to Bethlehem, we have to pass through a security checkpoint. You can see high walls and some barbed fences because there were constant attacks by the Palestinians on non-Arabs living in the area separating Jerusalem and Bethlehem before the peace treaty in 2000. I also saw graffiti of messages directed at the Jews and also Israel on the side of the wall that is in Bethlehem. I would say that though we were trapped in the hotel due to the snowstorm, we were very blessed while we were in Israel. Most of the places that we went to did not have long queues and we were able to see for ourselves the Star of Bethlehem, enter the Temple Mount area, etc. The reason why Christians connected Bethlehem to the birth of Jesus was because they believe that Jesus was a descendant of King David and when Jesus was born, 3 shepherds saw a star in the sky and it was known as the Star of Bethlehem. Honestly, that birth spot was really like a cave and you had to walk down a steep flight of steps in order to get in. 
• Fun tale: When the Persians invaded Israel around 600 AD, this church was not destroyed because they saw a mosaic painting of the three wise men and mistook it as the Moslem's three magi. Truth or not, I have no idea either. 
• Rachel, 1 of 4 wives (Sarah, Rebecca, Lia and Rachel) of Jacob is believed to be buried in Bethlehem
• Statue of St Jerome in the Courtyard: He gave himself a test to translate the biblical text from Hebrew to Greek and before he died, he managed to complete it. 
• Jerusalem cross: The cross in the middle represents Christianity or God and the 4 smaller crosses means to spread the faith to the 4 corners of the world.

Last stop for the day: Shabbat of a lifetime

• Shabbat means the 7th day of the week which is actually our Saturday! In the Jewish calendar, there is no Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, etc. but just the 'first day', 'second day', etc. The first day of the week is actually Sunday (yes, Jews work on Sundays) and Friday is the sixth day of the week. 
• Shabbat starts from 7 p.m. on Friday till 7 p.m. on Saturday because they believe that 7 p.m. on Friday is actually the beginning of a new day. Markets close at 2 p.m. on Friday so do all other stores. 
• Shabbat is a day whereby everyone is to rest and not do anything or use any new creation e.g. watching tv programmes, writing, calling, texting, checking emails, surfing the Internet, switching on the lights, not even push the buttons in a lift. 
• During Shabbat, lifts will stop at every level and all lights are pre-programmed to be turned on and off.  Food has to be cooked before 7 p.m. on Friday evening and kept warm and served during dinner. 
• Reason for Shabbat: It is believed that God created the world in 6 days and rested on the 7th day so He wants people to rest, relax and spend time with their family during Shabbat. 
• Fun fact: What is Kosher? It is something like Halal but slightly different. Kosher means the food that is prepared involves having a slaughter house to slaughter the animals that are to be eaten, be it chicken, lamb, sheep, cow, etc. I think prayer is involved and the slaughterer needs to be a religious person and he or she has to kill the animal at one specific place i.e. the throat at one attempt. The blood then has to be drained since the blood symbolises the soul and salt is placed on the meat to extract all the blood. 
• Food that is Kosher: Fish with fins and scales, Chicken, Beef. 
• Food that is not Kosher: Dairy products e.g. not to mix lamb with goat milk because lamb is considered to be impure since it involves killing whereas goat's milk is considered to be pure since it does not involve killing. 

Personal thoughts about Shabbat: I honestly love this practice. We are all so busy with our lives in Singapore that we have simply neglected one of the many riches of life - to spend time with our family members and do nothing but talk and share our happenings in the week before. When I was in Israel, I did not have access to wifi during the first four days but instead of feeling disappointed, I actually gave my mind a good rest to be away from the games, messages, calls, emails etc. I enjoy the "ME" time and sis and I simply just lazed around. I did some personal reflections for the year, watched the news a lot and also slept a lot to recharge myself for the new year. Can we have Shabbat in Singapore too? There are too many things about Israel that impressed me. Remember I talked about the wifi and the Majulah Singapura in the previous post? This Jewish family that hosted us for the dinner has three kids, a girl aged 5, a boy aged 3 and an infant. While the parents were explaining to us the different practices during Shabbat, the stories of the guests that they had entertained over the last year or so, the young girl would always interrupt and ask lots of questions. In a typical Asian family or maybe is just my family, we would probably ask the kiddo to shut up or we would find a toy or gadget to keep her entertained in a corner. However, the parents did otherwise. They would give the young girl attention, answer her question patiently then return to whatever that they were talking about. At certain junctures, I myself found the girl to be a little disruptive but seeing the way the parents handled the girl made me felt a little guilty and perhaps also ashamed that we do not practice such habits to give a young child the opportunity to speak up. This is a lesson that I would take home with me and that in my classroom, everyone is free to interrupt and ask lots of questions while I am explaining something. I like it when my students ask questions in class but I would prefer them to ask me after I have finish explaining something rather than interrupting me and disrupting my train of thoughts. However, after this Shabbat experience, I should perhaps change my perspective with regards to this. 

Anyways, perhaps it is because this Shabbat experience is something new to me which explains why I enjoyed the dinner a lot. Maybe if I have to be constantly away from new creation, I would go bonkers eventually. Imagine having a burning question and no one knows the answer except Google. What would I do? It is also during such times that I really miss the times in Europe when the pace of life is much slower and I cycle around the city with my friends, go for picnics and strolls in the parks. I had no Whatsapp, Candy Crush, Subway Surf, Facebook or Instagram, etc. to entertain me but I wasn't less happy at all. In fact, I felt that I had more back then. 

And the footsteps linger, till tomorrow.

A long overdue trip to the Holy Land Part II

Day 3: We started the day early and travelled southwards from the Sea of Galilee to other key cities in Israel - Haifa, Tel Aviv (Jaffa) and finally Jerusalem.

We started the day with a boat cruise on the Sea of Galilee. Israel really surprises me in different ways. First, we had roaming wifi on a tour bus on the very day we arrived. Next, they played our National Anthem and started raising our flag with the Israeli flag beside it. Who would have expected that? Anyway, the view was picturesque and perhaps only New Zealand can match the view?

Biblical places that we visited:

• Church of Annunciation: This is believed to be the childhood place of Virgin Mary. It was at this place in Nazareth where an angel announced to Mary that she would conceive and become the Mother of Jesus (meaning Saviour), marking his Incarnation - union of God and man in the form of Jesus Christ (became flesh by being conceived in the womb of a woman). While at the Church of Annunciation, we see mosaics donated by Christian organizations all over the world and Singapore was not left out either. The interesting thing was that the Mosaic painting was typical of Singapore in the 1960s or 1970s whereby you see the four different races, CIMO, being depicted in the painting. Thumbs up to our multi-racial policy and social cohesion!

Subsequently, we went to a Druz village located on Mount Carmel and had our lunch there. Druz are a minority group in Israel and they also reside in our surrounding Arab nations. They have interesting cultural practices and beliefs as well. Most of them do not believe in identifying themselves with the borders that separate them, the religion that they adopt and also race. A druz born in Israel calls himself a Israeli whereas another born in Jordan or Lebanon would probably call themselves a Jordanian and a Lebanese respectively. According to the druz guide, the typical druz race draws a line between black and white, right and wrong, yes and no and prefers not to have any grey areas or ambiguity. Their religion does not permit polygamy, fasting or enforced rules as they believe in reincarnation whereby life is a continuous cycle whereby you are born and die and reborn later. They also have their own flags with the 5 main colors - green, red, yellow, blue and white. 

• Green - nature and the mind
• Red - heart and energy
• Yellow - soul and intelligence
• Blue - peace and hope and our body parts
• White - Pure 

The next time you see men and women in white headwear in Israel, he or she is mostly like a religious drug. The interesting thing about them is that they 

Our next stop was at Caesarea - a favorite place of a Great King of Israel, Herod, not because of his achievements for Israel but he was one who built lots of infrastructure, temples, castles, fortresses, etc. in Israel. 

The story of King Herod goes like this. After the Roman empire took over Israel, there was no appointed ruler in the country. Herod then went to the Roman King and sought his approval to appoint Herod as the King of Israel. Herod knew that while he is far away in Rome, his rivals might take advantage of the situation and that his family might be in danger so he kept them at Masada (if I remember it correctly). He arrived back in Israel as the King a day before his family had to surrender due to a lack of water. remar due to a lack of water. Under his rule, Jerusalem remained the religious capital of Israel but Herod built another capital for the non-Jews and also for himself. The city, Caesarea, was named after the Roman Emperor, Caesar Augustus , as his way of maintaining a warm relationship with the Roman emperor. As a city, Caesarea flourished during Herod's times as a lot of ships from Europe sail on the Mediterranean Sea and would come through Caesarea to get to Jerusalem. To supply water to his newly built capital, he cut a slope through the surrounding mountains to supply water to Caesarea and even had a pool in his fortress. The Byzantines also made Caesarea their capital subsequently but beyond that, the city was in ruins for most of the time. In Caesarea, you will also find a Roman Amphitheater which was built in Herod's times but is still in use for major concerts and performances during Summer in Israel. It is equivalent to Taiwan's Arena, Hong Kong's Coliseum, those in Vienna, etc. The amazing thing is it is an outdoor venue with an ancient backdrop. Just the thought of it makes me wanna be there personally someday. Of course, back in those days, besides song and dance performances, they also had a chariot racing i.e. modern day's horse racing. What our guide totally resonated with me that so long as people are sufficiently occupied day and night either by work, family, or entertainment, they would not think of revolt and Herod managed to keep his people happy with such entertainment. In present times, I guess smartphones and the Internet are our best companions. 

Other things that Herod built: 

• a surrounding wall for the Temple Mount: The Western Wall or Wailing Wall is the one section of the wall that remained from Herod's time
• winter palace in Masada - temperatures are warmer in Masada
• Herodium - a hill south of Jerusalem and southeast of Bethlehem where Herod is believed to be buried there. 

Fun fact: The word, "salary" is derived from the word "salt" because in those times when the Roman soldiers worked to build the various fortresses, palaces, etc. they were given salt in return. Salt was a precious commodity in ancient times when we did not have refrigerators. Apparently, it is said that the soldiers perspire a lot doing construction thus they needed salt to replenish the loss of salt from their body. 

Our last stop before the Holy Land is none other than Jaffa city in Tel Aviv, the gateway to Jerusalem centuries ago. The British were the ones who discovered modern day's largest port in Israel, Haifa, but prior to that, Jaffa was the main port where ships called at. Apparently, crusaders from Europe went through the port of Jaffa hoping to find good trees for wood needed to construct siege machines to attack the fortress in Jerusalem. In Jaffa, you will find the only church in Israel that faces the West, St. Peter's church, because the church was constructed based on the New Testament whereby there was a belief that they had to spread the religion to the west. 

As for Tel Aviv, it is a relatively new city founded after Israel's independence. It hosts the only international airport in Israel and the best beaches. If you have plenty of cash and cannot decide what to invest in, you could possibly consider buying an apartment that faces the beach in Tel Aviv and bank on Summer to collect skyrocketing rental rates. Apparently, it costs around US$6,000 to rent an apartment for a month during summer. Rent it for 3 months and you are guaranteed a holiday to anywhere in the world! As for the rest of the year, you can still expect lots of expatriates and tourists or locals working in Tel Aviv so your income is guaranteed. 

With that, a long day traveling to various cities in Israel ended.

Part II - slideshows

A long overdue trip to the Holy Land Part I

I promised to blog about my trip to the Holy Land and as always, procrastination is my biggest enemy. However, the fact that today is a beginning of the a new year gives me the motivation to get things going before I get busy with work and other stuff again.

My sister and I have always wanted to visit Israel because I have read much about the country, heard much about stories from the Bible from my Christian friends and also I have a compelling love for ancient civilizations. We had wanted to go about three years ago but back then, we chose Egypt and we also had a go at it last December but the cost was way beyond my sister's budget. This year, we were determined not to be disappointed and on 12th December, we packed our bags and set off!

We first landed in Jordan but a snowstorm ruined our plans for our visit in Amman, the capital of Jordan. The roads were filled with snow and as a result, the authorities closed the roads and we were forced to stay in the hotel for a day and a half! I was very upset that we started the trip with such negativity but there was nothing that we could do either. Fortunately, we were blessed enough to see improvements in the weather and successfully set off for Wadi Rum and Petra on our 2nd day in Jordan. However, it was not easy. We had to drag our luggages through the snow-filled roads to the coach which was about 500m away but the roads were slippery and for once, my sister and I were really glad that we travelled really light.

Understanding Jordan: 
1. Governed by the Ottoman Empire (turkish) between 1560 to 1916
2. English Colony between 1916 and 1946 after WWI
3. Gained Independence from 1946

4. Wars with neighboring Israel meant that there was mandatory national service prior to 1992/3. Subsequently, peace was attained and national service was no longer compulsory. 

5. Appointed their first king, King Abdullah and when he visited the Al-Asqa Mosque in Jerusalem in 1951, he was assassinated, his eldest son, King Tulane took over but only ruled for 2 years. King Hussein, the longest serving King took over the throne in 1953 and ruled until 1999. Currently, his son, King Abdullah II is on the throne. 

6. The British brought the Jews to Palestine starting from 1916. Israelis occupied everywhere in Israel except the Gaza Strip and West Bank - border of 1948 (green line)

7. Significance of Wadi Rum - Desert where the revolt against Turkey began. The Arab tribes gathered in the desert of Wadi Rum to plan their revolt. It is the only sand desert in Jordan and yes, the sand is soft and you could slide down the sand dunes and have your feet sinking into them as you walk. 

8. Significance of Petra - One of the crossroads in ancient times and the Nabataeans are the settlers of Petra. Petra is located along the King's way, a major route where the Greeks, Persians and Romans took when moving from Europe to Middle East. As such, trade flourish. Petra is one of the 7 New Wonders of the World because of the famous Treasury but it is merely a burial ground for the Kings. It is like a canyon and as you walk through the narrow passageways in the Canyon, you feel the breeze and also get to see the ancient way of life.

What we saw in Petra: 

• Statue of the "God" that the Nabataeans pray to 
• A wedding ceremonial ritual of the ancient times 
• The Treasury
• The 600 steps to the shrine - the highest place for worship for priests - completed only 3/4 due to time constraints 
• The monastery which is the burial ground for Aaron, brother of Moses - we could only see from afar and not get there personally. 
• Differences between royal tombs and those of commoners - one with decorations and the other without
• Existence of a byzantine church 

9. Mount Nebo and School of Mosaic - Moses was believed to be buried at Mount Nebo but the exact location is unknown. It is written in the Bible that Moses struck the rock with his rod in today's Moses Valley (area in Petra) to bring forth water thus he was only allowed to have a glimpse of the Promised Land from Mount Nebo but not enter it personally. So he died on Mount Nebo and is supposed to be buried there. Beautiful view, I can attest to that. 

That pretty much sums up Jordan. 

Understanding Israel: 

1. Israel means Jacob in Hebrew. Jacob is the son of Isaac, son of Abraham, the origins of the Jewish race

• Capital - Jerusalem (largest city that houses about 1m people), 
• Tel Aviv is the 2nd largest city and perhaps also the financial capital, 
• Population of 8 million whereby 62% of it is desert. The Israelis is working to shrink the desert by planting trees to beautify the nation and also have their own agricultural sector,
• Star on the flag represents: Star of David OR Union of men and women OR current and future life OR 2 triangles OR symmetry OR ? It simply can mean many things. 
• Center of the world: Connects Europe, Asia and Africa, the 3 largest continents in the world and also two of the oldest civilizations - the Egyptians and the Babylonians; lots of ancient civilizations which explains the vast amounts of ancient coins from archaeological findings. 

2. Oldest city in the world - Jericho but it is currently under Palestinian control. Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank (Dome of the Rock and Al-asqa mosque), Bethlehem are also under Palestinian control. Israel does not recognise Palestine as an independent nation (I think) but they grant them internal control over certain cities. Nonetheless, Israel maintains control and authority over all foreign affairs. 

3. Had 5 wars since independence in 1948 - Most significant one: 

• War of 1967: to gain control of Golan Heights as it was a mountainous region and back then, Syria had control of it. This meant that they could easily attack Israelis living in the region of Tiberius (near Golan Heights) due to the high ground that they had control of and also the Old City of Jerusalem and also Mount Olives and beyond 

4. What drives their economy? High-tech industries such as diamond cutting, weapons (haha! expected), Dead Sea products, etc.

5. Compulsory military service for boys (3 years) and girls (2 years) - This is something that really makes me salute the women in Israel. For women to carry guns, undergo military training, throw grenades, experience bloody scenes and still maintain emotional stability is something that is really beyond me. Perhaps the biggest difference between them and us is that they serve the army purely out of love and duty to their country to maintain peace for their fellowmen whereas in Singapore, a lot of it is because the government dictates it. From the way the tour guide talks about his experience in the military service and how everyone in Israel sees military service, you can feel the passion and love that he and his fellowmen have for their country. 

6. Geography: 500km in length and width ranges from 15km (narrowest) to 130km (widest); 79% are Jews, 19% are Arabs and the rest are Christians and other minorities; Highest mountain: Mount Heron; Biggest ports: Haifa and Ashdod ports 

7. Education: Their education system is very much like Singapore's, whereby they have childcare centers, have public universities that are more prestigious than the private ones, etc. The only difference is that education is free for all! To the Israelis, education is important because they need to interpret the bible and also, a good education is the gateway to good jobs. Law is probably the most prestigious course, not because they aspire to become barristers but that a law degree leads to better job opportunities. To quote our guide: Not every country is like America whereby you have freedom of speech and free rights and any accidental blabber can lead to a law suit and financial opportunities for lawyers. Lol! 

The Holy Land Journey: 

Day 1: We crossed the Allenbey border in the morning but there was much delay as usual! Sis was stopped when we went through the security check for no apparent reason (my conjecture was that it was due to the bottle of water that she had inside her bag). Having heard many stories from friends who travel to UK and US, I was worried that they might detain her for private checks. Fortunately, they did not. Then it was my turn to get unlucky because my luggage was detained due to the power bank that I had inside. I did not have a good first impression of the Israelis owing to the encounters with the women at the checkpoints. They were rude and I even saw one playing candy crush on her handphone while at work. The woman who was supposed to clear my detained luggage was also very unfriendly and shouted at our tour leader. Perhaps it was the nature of her work that required her to be stern and firm on her end but she really could have showed more courtesy. When we had to return to Jordan a week later, the lady at the VAT refund office was another difficult one to handle as well. Sometimes I really feel like telling these people off that, "You are paid to do this and if you ain't happy, you should just quit your job rather than vent your frustrations on unrelated people." Then again, I try to avoid confrontations as I grow older so I chose to keep quiet. Nevertheless, the rest of the journey was a fulfilling and splendid one. 

Biblical Places that we went to: 

• Yardenit: It was believed that Jesus was baptized in the Jordan river but it was at the Jordan's side of the Jordan river as in the first century, Jordan and Israel were one. However, pilgrims these day go to Yardenit for baptism. One of the tour members then asked a funny question about whether there are priests on site that could provide Baptism services? The tour guide said, "NO" but he can consider starting such a service if there was sufficient interest. 
• Church of multiplication: It was believed that Jesus taught his disciples a lesson at this very church. Back then, followers from all over the world came to Tiberius after hearing about Jesus and his teachings. There were thousands of followers gathering but Jesus's disciples told him that they only had 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish left to provide food for these people. Jesus asked them to leave whatever that they have on a rock and not to turn away these people. He then performed a miracle whereby He fed all the people with the 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish by having them multiplied. What Jesus wanted to teach his disciples that you might be small, but so long as you faith, you will survive. They call the fish St. Peter's fish and it is actually Tilapia. 
• Sea of Galilee: Important to the Christians because it is the site where a lot of miracles happen for the Christians. Fun fact: Sea of Galilee is actually a lake. However, in the Bible, lakes are known as Sea which explains why they call it the Sea of Galilee. 

Besides the biblical significance, most of us who studied Social Studies or read up on History would have known about the conflict between Jordan and Israel over the Jordan River. Back then, the Israelis built a Dam to the stop freshwater from the Jordan River from flowing southwards to the Dead Sea (high salt content). This created uproar in Jordan. However, the Israelis felt that they needed to do that because they face a constant shortage of water and building the dam would help to satisfy their water needs. Water in the Jordan River comes from Golan Heights and the Sea of Galilee. 

Kibbutz: A collective community that sprouted in Israel after independence which is traditionally based on agriculture. They were started by some Russian Jews who settled in Israel after independence and they changed the ideas of how life should be in the holy land. 

• No one was to have their own private property
• Everyone donated their salary to the kibbutz to be redistributed
• Children were also property of the whole group in this agriculture style of living - had to work to milk the cows and help out at the fields - teaches them values of having to work hard to earn a living and not take things for granted. Fair enough. 
• About 25 years ago, they started to disintegrate - communism fell out of favor around that time
• Some changes were made to the villages whereby they no longer share everything equally but they live in a community whereby they celebrate occasions together and maintain the safety and security of their village 
• No tall buildings, congestion and pollution 

As we observe from the outside, you feel serenity and because we were in the area around evening time (5 plus), it was absolutely silent and sometimes, I long for such peace and tranquility of rural life. 

Day 2: We toured the places around the Sea of Galilee. We started the day at Banias, an archaeological site in the ancient city of Caesarea Philippi. The place is named after the God of Pan who had the upper body of a human but the lower body of a goat. However, because the Arabs cannot pronounce the letter 'p', Paneas became Banias. Fun fact/ Joke: The word 'panic' is derived from the Pan's name. Whenever Pan sees beautiful women, he will tap them on the back and when they turned around and saw him, they will scream and run away because of his looks. The biblical significance of Banias is that it was at Banias where Peter (Jesus's disciples) confessed and gave his view that he believed Jesus was the messiah. However, Jesus related his eventual destiny and Peter rebuked Jesus. Here, Jesus gave Peter the keys to heaven. 

Golan Heights: The meaning of "Golan" means all Jewish towns. Unfortunately, the area was covered by a lot of snow and we did not manage to ascend Golan Heights and see the Syria-Israel border! Ah! However, if fate permits, some day I will visit Israel again and get to Golan Heights. Instead, we went to the Golan winery. [Travel agent: Scott Dunn to camp in the alps.] The Golan Heights region is one whereby there are volcanoes and hence, the soil is very fertile and can allow a lot of agriculture to take place should there be sufficient irrigation. The Israelis invest in a lot of technologies to conserve and create new water sources and if you see purple pipes in Israel, it means that it carries recycled water, which is mainly used for irrigation purposes. 

Biblical places that we visited: 

• Church of Beatitudes: Jesus talked about the 8 beatitudes which explains why the church is octagonal and uses 2 colors, black and white. Beati means "blessed" in Latin and beatitudes means "all people are blessed". 
• Capernaum: Home of Peter, Jesus's first chosen disciple. It was here that we learnt a lot about the differences between Judaism and Christianity. There were remains of a first century synagogue which they believe it is where Jesus prayed because it had an entrance that was facing Jerusalem. Archaeologists found scripts with Jewish language they were buried because the Jewish believe in returning things to the ground i.e. earth. 
• Kanna city: place where Jesus performed his miracle of turning water into wine. 

Abraham was the first person (Jewish) to believe in the existence of a one and only God who created mankind and he prayed to God. David was from the lineage of Abraham (one of the twelve tribes of Israel i.e. sons of Jacob. Jesus was born and died as a Jew. 

• The Jews only believe in the Old Testament and the Torah whereas the Christians believe in the New Testament, written by the disciples of Jesus and the Bible. 
• The Jews do not believe that Jesus is the Son of God i.e. he is not the messiah which explains why he was crucified by the Romans. Jesus believes that this was his destiny to atone for the sins of mankind. So the Jews are still waiting for the Messiah, whom they believe is a descendant of King David. Reason being that the Jews believe that the Messiah should be someone who would be born into a respected family but Jesus was born into a humble family. 
• In Judaism and a synagogue, there should not be any statutes or rocks (unlike churches which have the statues of Jesus) and Jewish face Jerusalem to pray. Fun fact: they did not have synagogues prior to the destruction of the Second Temple Mount because people could simply go to the Temple to pray. However, after the Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans, synagogues were built as a common place to study the bible and pray. 

It will probably take me hours and days to blog all about the trip but spending that kind of effort and time in exchange of a lifetime memory and remembrance of Holy Land, I believe it is worth it. 

So stay tuned for Part II in the next few days or weeks! 

Counting down to 2014

It is the time of the year whereby we reflect on the year and set our new year resolutions. I was not born into a family who celebrates Christmas and family get-togethers and hence, I never set new year resolutions. When I grew up, I appreciate the importance of doing so because you think about the things that you did not do well and go forth to make it right the following year. Furthermore, you look back at your own accomplishments and savour the happiness that accompanies it and use that to motivate you to propel forward the following year. About seven to eight years ago, my cousins and I started to organise Christmas gift exchange parties and my secondary school friends also orchestrated Christmas parties or gatherings. If some day I were to leave Singapore, these are the events and people that I will miss dearly for sure!

Anyway, back to the topic of my personal reflections for 2013 and moving forward to 2014. Visiting the Holy Land was definitely one of the best decisions that I made this year. Since young, I have heard a lot of about Christianity, Islam, Taoism and many other religions. Never did I live through a year without someone asking me if I believe in God? Rather than to hear it from the priests, the followers, etc., visiting the Holy Land meant so much to me to see for my own eyes how it all started. Holy Land or not, my answer remains the same. I choose to believe in that there is a greater Him out there who has created us though I may not pledge my allegiance to Him.

I do not deny that one of the many reasons why I enjoy traveling is because it is an escape from reality. However, visiting Jerusalem made me realised that all the stories that I hear while I was there, all the sights that I visit and see with my own eyes, the museums, churches and the old city meant that getting to learn about such ancient civilisations was the more compelling reason behind my love for traveling. While on tour, I would diligently take down notes of what the guide was explaining and information in the museums so that I can blog about them and also recall whatever that I heard or saw. This meant so much and I am totally in love with Israel. I did not travel to that many places this year but going on one good trip beats going to multiple lousy getaways.

Besides traveling, I have also set out to do what I had wished for last year when all the talk about 21.12.12 being the day the world will come to an end was ongoing. I wanted to stop nua-ing and do away with the excuses of work draining me and my life. So in 2013, I made my decision to return to school and though the process was tiring and sometimes I question my own decision, I am glad I pulled through round 1. Before I know it, round 2 will come knocking and 2014 will be a year filled with uncertainty. I have decided to take the plunge and step out of my comfort zone - leave behind whatever that I own now - income-less, starting all over again either as a student or in a new career, perhaps go on a one-year travel to places that I would never imagine myself going?

In 2013, I also revisited my professors, my old friends and my old self. Perhaps like the saying, "Experience is not what happens to you; it is what you do with what happens to you." It finally dawned upon me that despite me having the ability to satisfy all my material wants at this stage of my life, I am still not truly satisfied. I saw a nice quote somewhere about enjoying a high quality of life but I cannot recall it! Arrghh! All the craze about the branded bags, cars, money, etc. seems meaningless to me at times. I would still love to own them but perhaps not as badly as I used to be.

Come 2014, a new life begins at the end of my comfort zone. I have to blog about this before 2014 comes knocking and I would then be too lazy to blog.

A quote from a friend's blog many years ago that left a deep impression on me:

When we were five, they asked us what we wanted to be when we grew up. Our answers were things like, astronauts, president... or in my case, a princess.. When we were ten, they asked again. We answered, a rock star, cowboy, or in my case, a gold medalist. But now that we're grown up, they want a serious answer. Well, how about this. Who the hell knows? This isn't the time to make hard and fast decisions. This is a time to make mistakes. Take the wrong train and get stuck somewhere. Fall in love... a lot. Major in philosophy, because there's no way to make a career out of that. Change your mind, and change it again, because nothing's permanent. So make as many mistakes as you can. That way, someday, when they ask what we want to be, we won't have to guess... we'll know.

31 things to say for a month - Day 22: Friends who are like Family

Day 22: Friendship that will last till the end of time... From SIDY to CDGJ

We love acronyms and we have an unique way to create them. These people are friends who have been extremely important in the last decade of my life and I believe will be so for the many decades to come.

I am someone who has very few female friends, most crucially attributed to my boyish character. I love having fun, hardly serious about anything unless it is studies and perhaps now work, critical, judgmental, competitive, likes to argue for the fun of it, passionate about sports, watches football week in week out, etc. and so in my teenage years, I was hardly someone who was sensitive to others' feelings nor that of myself. I could tolerate critical comments and jokes that my friends made of me because that meant I could do the same to them. As a result, I hardly had any female friends who could find a confidant in me except for one but our relationship subsequently soured. It was in the Polytechnic that I became more mature and the fact that there was only 6 boys in my class and they stuck around each other like glue and that they were very much like girls as well that made me ended up in a clique with 3 other girls. They have brought me tons of joy and laughter back in those days and sometimes I wonder why is it that we hardly meet these days?

In the last ten years or so, while other girls had a whole platoon of girlfriends, I often hung out with those boys in my secondary school. Even in the places that I worked at during vacation, the friends that I made were also mainly guys and I ain't have a clue as to why. The one negative thing about having an entire list of guy friends in your contact list but few female friends is that when they start to go into relationships or date, you drift apart and I totally understand. My presence in certain gatherings started to diminish except for that in CDGJ. The bond between the four of us was so strong simply because we were in each other's (CDJ) company for all sorts of leisure activities and real work from studying together, playing games and sports, eating out, drinking, clubbing (when we were younger), and eventually to travelling on a road trip last June. We were also each other's confidants, bitching about others and also finding comfort to our own miseries. In short, we were like the band of brothers in the Big Bang Theory, albeit less intellectual and do not live together or hang out every single day.

I would not say that our friendship has not undergo tough times because as we aged, our work and relationships have caused us to spend lesser amounts of time with each other. However, that heartwarming feeling that we get from each other (since we have gone through so much of life together) is simply irreplaceable. You know that they will not judge you for the things that you do because they know who you really are, what is your value system like and in the absence of the need to survive in a competitive environment, you show who you truly are. They support, comfort and commend you in everything that you do so as to make you a better person.

I dedicate this post to them because they are like my family members too and I know that the footprints that they have left in my heart has brought so much joy and laughter to my life that I want them to know how much I appreciate them for what they have done. They have played the roles of girlfriends for me and for that, I am really grateful!