Home and the Epilogue

Day 7

We got a wake up call at 4.30am but they might as well have not bothered as I don't think any of us got much sleep.  The coach was waiting so after a quick coffee, we piled in.  We then waited half an hour with no information until the guide finally arrived with her suitcase as she has finished for the season and was catching the same flight home as us.  Bit annoying though.

There were three security barriers to pass with lots of questions to answer and the guide told us not to mention that we had been to Bethlehem (in Palestine) unless we were asked.  By this time we were running late so little time to shop for duty free and get rid of the remaining shekels.  On the plus side the flight was on time.

So what was the consensus on the tour?  We have all really enjoyed it.  It has been very hectic and we are all tired after early starts and little rest during the day but it was also instructive and fun.  The guide was excellent, extremely knowledgeable and she had very good presentational skills.  She was also 8 months pregnant!  The names and places I have read about since I was a child came back to me and seem to fit together better and make more sense but you need to use all your powers of imagination.  I had thought for example that the site of the crucifixion was as described in the hymn, There is a green hill far away, without a city wall.  In fact, the accepted site is very much within the walls and less that a stone's throw to the burial cave.  Also, there are no neat little flat topped, white houses with staircases going up the outside like you see on Christmas cards.  Everything of significance has been built over many times and nothing much remains of the original except rocks and small caves.  Was I naive to expect something different?  What does remain and is very much alive, is the fervour and belief of all those visiting the shrines.  So much impromptu singing, masses conducted and private worshipping from quiet chanting to loud repeating of a pastor's comments from the large groups of African pilgrims. 

And Jerusalem itself was not quite what I expected.  Ancient, old, modern, new, Israelis, Jews (which is not the same thing) Muslims, Christians, Armenians, Greek Orthdodox, Copts, monasteries, synagogues, mosques, churches all huddled up cheek by jowl, elbowing for their own space. Inside and outside the old city, Jerusalem is built on lots of rounded mounts so you are upping and downing all the time.  The climate is great for us Brits.  We have had a couple of very hot days and the rest sunny and warm with blue skies, though not on our day in Bethlehem when there was a strong and cool breeze.  Prices are reasonable (though not in the American Colony Hotel of course!) especially in the Muslim areas and you can away haggle them down if you want to.

In the end, it is one of those places you must see for the wealth and diversity of its history but probably once is enough, as there are so many other fascinating places on Earth.

I personally am fancying the Great Migration in Kenya and a cruise through the Panama Canal and I will in all probability be doing my blog, if you have not been bored rigid by this one.  Bye for now from the Famous Four.