Brendan Doms

We began our final day by going into Bethany. It was immediately apparent that this was Palestinian territory thanks to the numerous flags, posters, and signs. We didn't have to cross through a security checkpoint, but the change was stark.

Palestinian flags and a poster of Yasser Arafat in Bethany.

In Bethany we visited the Tomb of Lazarus, another church designed by Italian Architect Antonio Barluzzi, who I mentioned in an earlier post. Despite this it was relatively plain and unremarkable. As usual there was a service going on. They seem to happen at all hours any day of the week at these tourist spots.

We then visited the Israel Museum, which has the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Aleppo Codex on display. It was a great opportunity to be able to actually see these historic writings up close in person. So I'd recommend a stop at this museum if you get the chance.

This is a scale model of ancient Jerusalem in the middle of the Israel Museum. It really helped me to visualize the past version of this city.

We then moved onto Bethlehem, which is a bustling, busy city in Palestinian territory, and this time we did have to pass through a security checkpoint. It was embedded in a tall, seemingly never-ending shear concrete wall. Once inside Bethlehem we visited the Church of the Nativity. It's a really unique setting because next to the church is a 30 foot tall pine Christmas tree that stays up all year. That northern tree looks completely out of place in this dry, arid part of the world. And just past the tree there's a minaret that sounds out the call to prayer several times a day. It's a thought-provoking combination.

A view of downtown Bethlehem: the Church of the Nativity on the left, the permanent Christmas tree center, and a minaret on the right.

The church itself is also made up of disparate elements, as control of it is shared between Roman Catholics, Greek Orthodox, and Armenian Apostolics. The interior is even split into different areas so that each denomination can care for and decorate it as they see fit. If there were ever a building that was a chimera, this is it.

Outside of the church we visited a shepherd's field, which is a collection of rocks and caves preserved to show how people might have lived thousands of years ago. Each house was quite literally a hole in the ground. Furniture like chairs and tables were carved directly from the stone. This included beds and cradles for infants, and they didn't look comfortable.

We then went shopping at a store in Bethlehem devoted entirely to olive wood. The pieces were smooth and beautiful, full of knots and whorls in the wood, but quite expensive.

Upon returning to Jerusalem we finished the day by visiting the Garden Tomb, another suggested location for Golgotha, the "place of the skull." It's owned and operated by a British group. It was fun and a mild shock to hear English from other native speakers. The garden itself was full of meandering paths and flowers, a good place for contemplation.

Do you see a skull?

And so another journey came to an end. I'm grateful to my mom for inviting me and bringing me along. I'm not sure when I would've made it to Israel by myself, and now I have a lot of memories from there that I'll never forget.