Israel 2013
Israel is the place where Jesus Christ lived and that was the reason why I went to the Holy Land, so I was there between March 6 and 10 2013. I saw Tel Aviv with its famous beach and its White City, architecture in the Bauhaus style from 1930's and 1940's, and the old city of Old Yaffa. I then went to Jerusalem and proceeded to the Western Wall and the Dome of Rock. The Western Wall is where the Temple of Jerusalem once stood and the Dome of Rock is the place where Abraham was supposed to have killed his son Isaac. However, it was only a test and Abraham was saved from doing so by an Angel of the Lord.
The next place was the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus Christ prayed the night before he was arrested and I went there, but on my way I met a taxi driver, who asked if I wanted to go to Bethlehem, and I said yes. We went up the Mount of Olives and after that I could enter the garden. He was a Palestinian, so he was allowed to go to Bethlehem, which Israeli citizens are not. He called a guide friend of his, who let me see the Nativity Church of Bethlehem with himself as guide. He could speak English as well as German. He showed me the exact spot where Jesus Christ was born and took a picture of me. Also the place of the manger was marked, not far away from the birthplace.
I was curious to see the Dead Sea and Jericho, so the taxi driver took me there and it was extremely pleasant to see the two world famous places. Jericho is one of the oldest cities in the world and in order for Israel to take Jericho with its high walls, they were told to walk seven times around the city and blow in their trombones and then God would smash the city walls. This was exactly what happened. Nearby was the mountain where Jesus Christ was tempted, but did not succumb. We went back to Jerusalem and I was also able to see the Knesset, the Israeli parliament. The taxi ride helped me a lot and many of the sights I had envisaged seeing before going to Israel were now a fond memory.
The day after I started with visiting the national Holocaust Museum,Yad Vashem. It was indeed touching, and focus was not only on concentration camps, but also on the ghettos in various cities of Eastern Europe. After that it was time for the Holy Church of the Sepulchre, the place where Crucifixion and Resurrection took place. I saw the Mount of Calvary and the tomb of Jesus Christ.
On Saturday I went to the place where Jesus Christ and his disciples celebrated their last supper, the Room of the Last Supper. It was very fascinating to see the room with its valves. The crusaders had turned the place into a gothic room and the Arabians later decided it should be a mosque. Today there was a synagogue under the room, so three religions prefer the same spot. Nearby Oscar Schindler, who saved more than 1,200 Jews, has his grave.
I love Mercedes cars, and the taxi ride took place in a Mercedes E-Class and the taxi the last day to the airport was also in a Mercedes.
