Walking in the Footsteps of Jesus and the Prophets: A Spiritual Journey through the Holy Land 10 – 16 December 2009 OTTALIL KOCHUKUNJU JOY, M.A. Table of Contents I. ISRAEL........................................................................................................ 3 II. JUDAISM..................................................................................................... 5 1. Signs and Symbols........................................................................................5 1.1. Mezuzah ......................................................................................................5 1.2. Tzitzit, Tallit (in Hebrew) Tzitzit and Tallit ........................................................6 1.3. Tefillin .........................................................................................................6 1.4. Menorah ......................................................................................................6 1.5. Yarmulke .....................................................................................................7 2. Magen David (Shield of David, Star of David) ...................................................7 2.1. Chai ............................................................................................................7 2.2. Hamesh Hand...............................................................................................8 III. BETHLEHEM - BIRTH PLACE OF JESUS CHRIST............................................ 8 1. The Church of the Nativity .............................................................................8 1.1. Grotto of the Nativity and The Star of Bethlehem..............................................9 1.2. Bethlehem: Milk Grotto................................................................................ 10 1.3. Shepherds’ Field ......................................................................................... 10 IV. JERUSALEM (YERUSHALAYIM) ...................................................................10 1. SIGHTSEEING OVERVIEW ............................................................................ 12 2. The Austrian Hospice of the Holy Family in Jerusalem...................................... 12 2.1. Gates of Jerusalem ..................................................................................... 13 2.2. Citadel or Tower of David............................................................................. 15 2.3. The Souk ................................................................................................... 15 2.4. The Four Quarters....................................................................................... 15 2.5. Via Dolorosa............................................................................................... 18 2.6. Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Keniset el-Kiyaneh).......................................... 19 2.7. Church of the Holy Sepulchre: Present Status ................................................ 21 3. Room of the Last Supper ............................................................................. 22 4. Herod's Family Tomb................................................................................... 22 5. Western Wall (Wailing Wall) (Kotel HaMa'aravi) .............................................. 23 6. Temple Mount (Mount Moriah)...................................................................... 23 6.1. Dome of the Rock ....................................................................................... 24 6.2. Al-Aqsa Mosque.......................................................................................... 24 7. Mount of Olives .......................................................................................... 24 7.1. Church of the Pater Noster........................................................................... 25 7.2. Dome of the Ascension ................................................................................ 26 7.3. Jewish Cemetery on the Mount of Olives........................................................ 26 7.4. Tomb of Avshalom (Yad Avshalom) ............................................................... 27 Memorable Visit to the “Holy Land” 2 of 51 7.5. Tomb of Zechariah...................................................................................... 27 7.6. Garden of Gethsemane................................................................................ 27 7.7. Grotto of Gethsemane (The Grotto of the Betrayal/Grotto of the Agony)............ 27 7.8. Basilica of the Agony (Church of All Nations) .................................................. 28 7.9. Tomb of the Virgin ...................................................................................... 28 7.10. Dominus Flevit ........................................................................................... 29 7.11. Church of Mary Magdalena........................................................................... 29 8. Abyssinian Church ...................................................................................... 29 9. Mea Shearim.............................................................................................. 30 10. River Jordan (Baptismal Jesus’ Location) ....................................................... 30 11. King David Hotel......................................................................................... 31 12. Knesset ..................................................................................................... 32 13. Yad Vashem ............................................................................................... 32 14. Ammunition Hill – National Memorial Site....................................................... 33 15. The Israel Museum ..................................................................................... 34 15.1. Rossini's Restaurant .................................................................................... 35 V. TEL AVIV-JAFFA .........................................................................................36 1. INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................... 36 1.1. Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore ........................................................ 36 1.2. St. John's Medical College, Bangalore ............................................................36 1.3. Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Israel........................................................ 36 2. Major Sight-Seeing Attraction of Tel Aviv-Jaffa ............................................... 38 2.1. Azrieli Observatory ..................................................................................... 38 2.2. Ben-Gurion House....................................................................................... 38 2.3. Frishman Beach.......................................................................................... 38 2.4. Independence Hall ...................................................................................... 39 2.5. Yitzhak Rabin Square .................................................................................. 39 2.6. Old Jaffa .................................................................................................... 40 VI. EIN GEDI ...................................................................................................42 1. Ein Gedi: Attractions ................................................................................... 43 1.1. David’s spring ............................................................................................ 43 1.2. Ein Gedi Spa .............................................................................................. 43 2. Dead Sea................................................................................................... 44 3. Masada...................................................................................................... 45 VII. EILAT .........................................................................................................47 1. Biblical references....................................................................................... 47 2. Red Sea..................................................................................................... 48 2.1. Dolphin Reef .............................................................................................. 48 2.2. Snorkelling with Dolphins............................................................................. 48 2.3. Network of Guest Houses and Youth Hostels in Israel ...................................... 49 VIII. CONCLUSION ......................................................................................50 1. Tel Aviv Ben-Gurion International Airport....................................................... 50 2. General Impression..................................................................................... 50 Memorable Visit to the “Holy Land” 3 of 51 I. ISRAEL The Land of Israel, known in Hebrew as Eretz Yisrael, has been sacred to the Jewish people since Biblical times. According to the Torah, the Land of Israel was promised to the three Patriarchs by God as their homeland; scholars have placed this period in the early 2 nd millennium B.C. According to the traditional view, around the 11 th century B.C., the first of a series of Israelite kingdoms and states established rule over the region; these Israelite kingdoms and states ruled intermittently for the following one thousand years. The sites