Amman, Jordan

We spent a night in Amman, Jordan on 26 May 2014 in transit to Israel. In the evening, we had our dinner at Tawaheen Al-Hawa, a restaurant awarded with a Certificate of Excellence of 4.5/5 rating by Tripadvisor in 2012. It was my first experience eating middle eastern food in a middle eastern country.

The dining area at the first level was large and spacious. Local music was played in the background and shisha smoking was available for guests. Unlike Chinese meals eaten around a huge round table, food was served on huge square tables each with eight chairs.

Food served in different plates and bowls were placed over a large copper tray laid in the middle of the table. We had grilled meat, salads, pickles, puff bread, hummus and even fried potato chips etc. 

At the courtyard of the restaurant before entering the dining hall, a lady was seen baking fresh bread called Saj in a traditional Lebanese oven. Freshly baked Saj would be served straight away to the guests. A unique feature of the restaurant!

Interior of the restaurant.

Hung copper tray to hold the numerous dishes of food!

With a friendly waiter. Some commented that their friendliness was motivated by favorable tips at the end of the meal!

The next day, on the way to Israel on land travel, we stopped at Madaba, a town in Jordan made famous because of the discovery of a mosaic map of Jerusalem (Read here).

Israel, a Country with Security Walls or Partitioned Walls

This blog is a continuation of the recent entry on the Tour of Israel in late May to early June 2014 (Read here). 

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Recently, someone in the BibleLandWalkThrough webinar asked whether it's safe to visit Israel when the country is at war.

Israel, since the establishment of the nation in 1948 has been at wars, either with the neighboring countries or engaged in armed conflicts with Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.

Israel made the greatest gain in the Six-Day War in June 1967 when they captured big swathe of land - the Golan Height from Syria, Sinai Peninsular from Egypt, West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan. In exchange for peace with Egypt, Sinai Peninsular was returned to Egypt in 1982. In 1981, Golan Heights was annexed by Israel. In 1980, East Jerusalem was annexed and the whole Jerusalem was declared as the undivided eternal capital of Israel. The annexations however are not recognized by many nations.

During our visit to Israel in May/June 2014, we saw Israel Defense Forces patrolling in many parts of the country. Our tour bus was scanned thoroughly by security personnel before permitted to enter from Jordan to Israelite territory. The country appeared to be in the midst of a war. 

We saw many high concrete walls and barb-wired fence erected in many places of Israel, especially closed to Palestinians-populated areas. These walls were erected in response to the uprisings of Palestinians against Israelite rule, universally referred to as the Intifada. Since 2002, more than 700Km of these concrete walls have been built. To the Jews, these walls are security walls to protect them from unprovoked attacks from the Palestinians. To the Palestinians, these are separation walls that restrict their free movements, cut them off from social services, schools and farms.

The walls will always be controversial as long as they are in place!

Barb-wired fence seen on the way to the Dead Sea which is in Palestinian-governed West Bank.

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As a side note, many thought that concrete partitioned wall would be a thing of the past after the Berlin Wall was demolished in 1990. Berlin Wall built in 1961 used to separate Berlin into East Berlin and West Berlin. The Berlin Wall finally "fell" upon the reunification of East and West Germany on 3 October 1990.

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In 2014, we were part of  the 3.25 million visitors to Israel. In 2019, 4.9 million visitors visited Israel just before the global Covid pandemic struck in early 2020. 

War or no war, tourists arrivals to Israel will never cease! After all, this is the promised land of God!

Land of Milk & Honey

Interestingly, whenever someone mentions a land of milk of honey, one would naturally think of the country of Israel. The origin of this phrase traces back to Exodus 3:8 when God urged Moses to lead the Israelites out of slavery from Egypt to a land flowing with milk and honey. This piece of land is recognized as the strip of land in between the Jordan River and the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea where the nation of Israel now occupies.

In Israel, did we see cows and bees? We did see cows grazing on hill slope but not bees. Even if bees were around, they were probably too tinny to be seen.

Cows.

Horses.

We caught sight of a camel as well. Instantly, my mind was drawn to the picture of the three wise men from the east riding on camels to Bethlehem some two thousand years ago looking for the new born king! 

Israel has one of the most hostile environment for cow breeding. Yet, with advance technologies including computerized milking and feeding systems, cow-cooling systems and unique farming management technique, Israel's dairy industry has become a global leader in efficiency, production and sustainability. Its milk yield per cow is highest in the world. Its annual milk production is 1.6 billion litres.

Israel too produces honey. A search shows that it produces around 3,600 tons of honey annually. New Zealand which is famous for their Manuka honey produces 4 to 5 times more at 15,000 tons to 20,000 tons.

Indeed, credit must be accorded to Israel which has 60% desert land for having transformed such hostile environment  into a land of comfort and luxury, the figurative equivalent of a land of milk and honey.

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Within this land of milk and honey, we also saw another side of Israelite society. Like many countries faced with squatters and transient people; Bedouins or Arabs in Israel still erect makeshift tents along the road side to survive under the harsh condition of the arid desert. 

Ruins of the Summer Palace of King Herod the Great at Caesarea Maritima

Approx. mid-way along Highway 2 from Haifa to Jaffa, we caught site of the remnants of the Summer Palace of King Herod the Great at Caesarea Maritima. This site which is by the seaside of the Mediterranean Sea is now within the Caesarea National Park.

A stop at this ruin is not in the pilgrimage itinerary because this site is not normally considered a site for pilgrims' visits. Nevertheless, King Herod the Great is a prominent individual mentioned in the Bible. He is recorded in the Gospel of Matthew as the ruler of Judea at the time of Jesus' birth . When he heard from the magi from the east who came to look for the new born king of the Jews, he was worried of the rise of another potential future leader who might be a threat to him. It is recorded in Matthew 2:16 that he ordered the killing of all male infants below the age of two in Bethlehem and its vicinity to make sure the threat was neutralized.

Despite being viewed by many as a tyrant, King Herod is credited as a great builder of city and mega-structures. He was credited to have rebuilt the Temple of Jerusalem after it was destroyed in 586BC by Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king. He was also credited to have built the port city in Caesarea Maritima of which the ruins of the Summer Palace is part of it. In Caesarea Maritima, there is an old 4,000-seat capacity Roman theatre which was built during King Herod's reign.

Matthew 2:19 recorded that Herod died when Jesus was still a child. His death allowed Jesus and his family to return to Israel and they chose to stay in the town of Nazareth.

View of the ruins from the bus.

Google map of the site in Caesarea.

Courtesy from BiblePlaces.com

Jaffa, the Old Joppa

This blog is a continuation of the recent entry on the Tour of Israel in late May to early June 2014 (Read here). 

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After Mount Carmel, our bus moved downhill to Haifa, moving along Highway 2 by the coastline through Carmel Beach, then to Tel Aviv and finally to Jaffa which is a mere 2.5Km from Tel Aviv.

Jaffa, a cosmopolitan city of modern Israel is once an old port city by the Mediterranean Sea. Out of the current 46,000 inhabitants, two third are Jews and the remaining Arabs. 

Joppa, its old name evokes a couple of Biblical incidences. King Solomon used to import cedar trees cut from Lebanon and transported in floats by sea to Joppa before they were moved to Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 2:16). Jonah instead of going to Nineveh as directed by God chose to flee from Joppa to Tarshish by a ship (Jonah 1:3). Simon Peter stayed in the house of Simon the Tanner when he was in Joppa (Acts 9:43).

Skyscrapers at Tel Aviv, visible from the seafront of the new Jaffa.

Old buildings at the old Jaffa.

An Orthodox Jew.

Left photo: A newly married Jewish couple were happy to have a photo taken with us. Right photo: A lone kid found seated on a short retaining wall.

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In Jaffa, we were led to the front gate of a building with the inscription, " House of Simon the Tanner". Whether it is the restored house or an entirely new house built over the purported site, I am uncertain. But Simon Peter did stay in a Tanner's house and he did quite a fair bits of things in Joppa. It was in Joppa that Peter raised a dead woman called Tabitha back to life (Acts 9:36-43). 

But it was in Joppa where Peter had a vision in a roof top that caused him to decide to share the Gospel with the non-Jews (Acts 10: 9-18).

A recent photo of the front door of the Tanner's House
captured from Google Map.

Front door of the Tanner's House taken on
29 May 2014 during our visit.

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Joppa, being a place associated with Simon Peter, it is unthinkable that there wouldn't be a Church named after him. We visited the St. Peter Church with a commanding view of the Mediterranean Sea. This is a Roman Catholic Franciscan Church of Baroque architecture. The original Church built in 1654 was dedicated to St. Peter. The Church was twice destroyed and rebuilt twice in the 18th century. The current Church was built between 1888 and 1894 and most recently renovated in 1903.

A recent photo of St. Peter Church
captured from Google Map.

A closer view of St. Peter Church
captured from Google Map.

A recent photo of the interior of St. Peter Church
captured from Google Map.

The following three photos were taken when we were led to see the interior of St. Peter Church.

Carmel Beach, Haifa

After our visit to Mount Carmel, our bus moved downhill along a road in northwest direction to reach Haifa. Haifa at the northwest of Israel is approx. 12Km from Mount Carmel which is at the slope of Mount Carmel.  

Haifa is the third largest city in Israel after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Haifa, an old city with 3,000 years history has been occupied by all major powers in the Middle East - Canaanites, Israelites, Phoenicians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Hasmoneans, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Crusaders, Ottomans, British and now back to the modern Israel.

As the bus traversed southwards along the major Highway 2 alongside the coastline overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, we saw miles and miles of beaches. Carmel Beach is nearest to Haifa, followed by Zamir Beach and then Dado Beach over a distance of just 1.5Km. Carmel Beach is one of the favourite destinations for travelers.

We had a very brief stop by the road side at Carmel Beach, just enough time to take a few photos of the beach. 

Carmel Beach

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Unlike Jerusalem, Haifa is normally not in the itinerary of Christian pilgrims to Israel. Haifa is known worldwide not because of Judaism, Christianity or Islam. Instead, it is the Bahai Faith.  The Bahai Terraces or the Garden Terraces at the northern slope of Mount Carmel is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Israel. The Bahai World Centre Garden houses the Bahai World Centre. Bahai Garden were inscribed into the World Heritage List in 2008.

Photos with courtesy from Wikipedia.