{"id":641,"date":"2016-12-12T22:03:00","date_gmt":"2016-12-12T22:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rochellesroost.com\/index.php\/2016\/12\/12\/dippinng-into-river-jordan-mount-tabor-megiddo-and-nazareth\/"},"modified":"2026-10-08T04:59:44","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T04:59:44","slug":"dippinng-into-river-jordan-mount-tabor-megiddo-and-nazareth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochellesroost.com\/index.php\/2016\/12\/12\/dippinng-into-river-jordan-mount-tabor-megiddo-and-nazareth\/","title":{"rendered":"Dippinng into River Jordan, Mount Tabor, Megiddo and Nazareth"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\nNov 22, Tue: River Jordan-Mount
\nTabor-Megiddo-Nazareth<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n            <\/span><\/span><\/b>Our
\nday began with a buffet breakfast in the hotel where I opted, once again, for
\nShakshuka Eggs and a variety of roasted vegetables with local cheese and
\nolives. <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\nBaptism in the River Jordan at
\nYardenit:<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\nNot
\nlong after, we were in the van driving along the shores of Lake Galilee and
\narriving at the spot where modern-day pilgrims re-enact the Baptism of Jesus by
\nSt. John the Baptist in the waters of the river Jordan. Although faith causes
\nmany groups to take a ritual dunking in the water and although we, for lack of
\na priest in our midst, baptized ourselves with the river\u2019s waters, I should
\nstate that contemporary scholars are of the opinion that the actual spot at
\nwhich Jesus\u2019 baptism took place is in modern-day Jordan. In fact, during our
\ntravels in Jordan, a few years ago, Llew and I had visited this spot. The
\nJordan no longer flows through that part of Jordan (the country) as it has
\nchanged its course in 2000 years. But archeological evidence believes that John
\nconfined himself to the \u201cwilderness\u2019 at this point and stayed alive through the
\nuse of water from a natural spring which is still active at the site in Jordan
\nwhere every Christian denomination has built a church. <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n            <\/span>Here (as an aside) are my notes from
\nmy Jordan Travelogue that I thought I would share at this time, in order to
\ncompare the two sites: <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\nOff we went next to the
\nbanks of the River Jordan to a spot known in the Bible as Bethany to see the
\nsite of Christ\u2019s Baptism. For the longest time, Biblical scholars and
\narcheologists were not quite certain exactly where, on Jordan\u2019s banks, Jesus
\nwas baptized by his cousin John. Pilgrims to Israel are usually taken to a spot
\non the river where accompanying priests perform baptismal rites upon them. Only
\nin recent years, in fact, has the exact spot of Jesus\u2019 baptism been pin-pointed
\nwith a reasonable degree of accuracy and this spot seems to be, not in
\nmodern-day Israel, but in Jordan. Indeed, the Bible refers to the spot of John
\nthe Baptist\u2019s retreat as \u201cBethany-Beyond-The-Jordan\u201d where fresh springs flowed
\nand where he began baptizing people with water. 
\n<\/span>Again, Pope John Paul\u2019s visit to the spot where he said Mass,
\nlegitimized it as being the spot of Jesus\u2019 Baptism and ever since then, various
\nChristian denominations have been rushing there to build churches. Several are
\ncurrently under construction and I would have liked to have entered the Greek
\nOrthodox Church of St. George (as the area is under the jurisdiction of the
\nGreek Orthodox Church) but, alas, it was closed.<\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n            <\/span>Still,
\nwe saw the simple wooden canopy that has been built to replicate the kind of
\ncircumstances in which John might have carried out his baptisms. There are
\nmoving mosaic depictions of the event at the site. A winding walk down a narrow
\noasis-like path, past fresh rushing springs brought us to the banks of the
\nRiver Jordan, reduced to a mere muddy canal at this point. Here we could bend
\ndown and trail our hands in the cool flowing waters and look across its bank
\ninto Israeli territory, appropriately marked by the armed presence of its
\nsoldiers. Pilgrims on the Israeli side were treated to the swish glass and
\nconcrete, air-conditioned interior of a modern visitor\u2019s center. It was the
\noddest feeling to look just across the river into Israel and think how far
\ndivided these two countries have become\u2014although after the Peace Accord much
\nmore ease prevails between Jordanians and Israelis<\/span><\/i>.
\n<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n            <\/span>We posed for pictures at the sign
\nsaying \u201cJordan River-Baptismal Place\u201d but it was quite obvious that there are
\nno signs or notes anywhere stating that this was the spot of Christ\u2019s Baptism.
\nIsrael has built a very swanky Visitor\u2019s Center at this spot with well-defined
\nstone steps leading down to the water to enable pilgrims to take a dip\u2014and
\nindeed it was quite interesting to see some Filipino Evangelical groups take a
\nphysical dunking and come up spluttering. <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\nVisit to Mount Tabor\u2019s Basilica of
\nthe Transfiguration:<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n            <\/span>Our next stop was Mount Tabor to
\nwhich our van climbed to enable us to enjoy stunning views of the Valley of Jezreel
\nspread out below us and to see the sides of the mountain dotted white by
\nsettlements. This church, a grey stone edifice that resembles a castle with
\ntwin turrets, was also designed by Antonio Barluzzi. In the front churchyard, a
\nsculpture of Pope John Paul II who visited the church, has been placed in a
\nsmall garden. There is also a bas-relief<\/i>
\nbust of the architect Barluzzi on the wall. Inside, we discovered that the
\nchurch is built in two tiers. A long nave with a lovely hammered timber ceiling
\n(quite unlike any other church we visited) leads to a sort of \u2018platform\u2019 from
\nwhich one can view the lower half of the church where the main altar is located.
\nThe gold mosaics on the church, in imitation of the style of Byzantine
\nchurches, gives it a very rich appearance. <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n            <\/span>We were fortunate to find that a
\nconcelebrated Mass was being said at the main altar and since we had not heard
\nMass anywhere up to this point, we trooped down the stairs to the altar and
\njoined the congregation there. This enabled us to receive Communion in the
\nchurch built at the spot where the Transfiguration of Jesus took place.
\nAppropriately, the mosaic above the altar depicts the two figures from the
\nBible, Moses (holding the Ten Commandments) and Isiah glancing at Jesus who
\nshines with a pure light. It was a very uplifting spiritual experience and the
\nfirst of the kind we would have as the days passed by. Mount Tabor is supposed
\nto be the spot at which the Transfiguration took place\u2014which is why it has been
\nmarked by a church that is a frequent sight-seeing and pilgrimage point.  <\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\nVisit to a Date Processing Factory:<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n <\/span>           <\/span>Throughout
\nour drives of the previous two days, Moti had been passing around a box of
\ndates for us to snack on. They were delicious and he had told us that he would
\ntake us to the processing plant where top-quality dates are harvested and
\nprocessed for consumption. Hence, our next visit was to a date-processing factory
\nwhere we had the opportunity to taste really superior varieties of the fruit on
\nwhich the entire Middle East survives and to taste a number of preparations
\nmade with dates such as a concentrated date sauce and a fruity tea. There were
\nalso a wide variety of spices to be bought and a number of cooking tools and
\ngadgets. Some of us did leave with boxes of dates to be gifted to friends. <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\nExploring the Excavated Site of
\nMegiddo (Armageddon):<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n            <\/span>Our visit to Megiddo (also known as
\nArmageddon in the Bible) was one of the highlights of the trip for me as it
\nintroduced me to a site about which I had known nothing and from which I
\nlearned so much. Moti explained to us that Megiddo was excavated recently and
\ndiscovered to be the site of a Hebrew settlement that was ingeniously created
\nas a refuge from Roman persecution. Its location in the unprotected Valley of Jezreel
\nmade it vulnerable to attack\u2014which was why it was essential for the Jewish
\ninhabitants to create defenses that would baffle their enemies.  <\/span>   <\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n            <\/span>As we walked through the thick walls
\nof the city, we entered Tel Megiddo (as it is known in Israel). The area has
\nbecome a major spot of tourist interest\u2014which explains why superb landscaping
\nhas created steps upon which visitors can climb and walk through the excavated
\nruins that date from the time of King Solomon in the 10th<\/sup> century BC.
\nAmong the many aspects of interest was the sacrificial altar (upon which
\nanimals were sacrificed to Yahweh). We also saw the foundations of what had
\nbeen horse stables indicated by the presence today of a wrought-iron sculpture
\nof a chariot upon which we all climbed for a picture.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n            <\/span>However, the most fascinating aspect
\nof Megiddo is its underground tunnel (through which the modern-day visitor can
\nwalk) that was constructed as a means of providing water for the inhabitants
\nthrough a source in a faraway spring that lay far beyond the city walls. Thus,
\nwhen the Romans laid siege to the settlement, the people inside did not perish
\nas they had a steady source of water that kept coming even while they were
\nsurrounded by their enemies. Moti led us to the entrance to the tunnel (which,
\nat the time, was completely disguised so that no one could find it) and then
\ntold us to walk through it. He would meet us, he said, on the other side.
\nLittle did we know how deep we would have to descend into the earth through a
\nseries of stairways hewn into the rock base. Once we arrived at the bottom, we
\nfound a wide and very long tunnel stretching out ahead of us. Obviously, in its
\nheyday, this cavern, about an arm-span wide, was filled with a pipe through
\nwhich water was conveyed from the spring to the settlement in an incredible
\nfeat of ancient engineering. We walked right through the tunnel and had to
\nclimb several ranks of steps to emerge at ground level on the side. This took a
\ngreat deal of effort and stamina and was perhaps the most strenuous part of our
\ntravels. It was easy to see why Megiddo is included on a tour of Israel. In its
\ndimensions and in the objective with which this plan was hatched, designed and
\nimplemented, it was quite ingenious indeed and a great tribute to the astute
\nJewish minds that envisioned it so many centuries ago. You can understand now
\nwhy most of the Nobel Prize winners are Jewish!<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\nLunch at Megiddo Cafeteria:<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n            <\/span>Since Megiddo is such a well-visited
\nsite, it has a fairly well-organized cafeteria (which was where we stopped to
\nhave lunch). Llew and I chose to share a Set Meal which included a variety of mezze<\/i> salads, onion soup, rice and
\nchicken with fries and an orange for dessert. It was a very utilitarian lunch
\nbut it served its purpose of fueling us up for the rest of the day\u2019s
\nsightseeing\u2014for we still had a lot in store. <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\nOn to Nazareth and the Church of
\nthe Annunciation:<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n            <\/span>Another longish drive brought us to
\nthe city of Nazareth which is busy, chaotic and characterized by incessant
\nhonking. Nazareth, of course, is the city of Jesus\u2019s childhood and early
\nupbringing. It was where his foster-father Joseph plied his trade as a
\ncarpenter and where Jesus would have assisted as an apprentice. This is also
\nthe town in which Mary was raised and where, as a maiden betrothed to her
\nneighbor, the carpenter Joseph, she received news from Angel Gabriel that she
\nwould conceive\u2014the Annunciation. Accordingly, Nazareth is visited by modern-day
\npilgrims for the Church of the Annunciation\u2014it was one of the most elaborate of
\nthe churches we saw and distinctive for its collection of beautiful mosaic
\npanels from most countries of the world that depict the Virgin Mother in some
\nshape or form. This motif commences in the courtyard along a lengthy walkway
\nand continues inside the church\u2014a quite beautiful one built in yellow and pink
\nsandstone with a pretty dome at the top. We decided to recite a decade of the
\nrosary in every one of the sacred venues that we visited and we started at this
\none. <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n            <\/span>Inside, the church was rather dark
\nand somewhat unusual in its design\u2014it is almost stable-like and created from
\nstones in varied shades of sand. Behind 
\n<\/span>the main altar was a niche in which there was yet another altar\u2014as
\npeople paused there in prayer, I do believe that they consider this to be the
\nactual spot where the Annunciation took place. The church is also constructed
\naround a batch of ruins that might indicate the home in which the Annunciation occurred\u2014presumably
\nMary\u2019s home. At one end of the church is a really beautiful depiction of the
\nVirgin in a painted sculpture at the foot of which are the words, Maria di Nazareth<\/i>. This church too is
\ntwo-tiered and upstairs (you reach there through a number of steep flights of
\nstairs), you arrive at a much grander basilica where mosaics make up the main
\naltar, stained glass panels let in light, a high conical dome can be seen above
\nthem and varied panels continue to present the Virgin in her glory. What I found
\ninteresting about this church was that the panels depicting the Station of the
\nCross have notes in Arabic script. What I find most intriguing about these
\nchurches is the manner in which the original ruins of significant spots have
\nbeen retained with contemporary architects designing new structures to sit
\nright upon them.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\nThe Church of St. Joseph:<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n            <\/span>Just next door to the grand basilica
\nis a much more modest church that is called The Church of St. Joseph which is
\nsaid to be built above the exact location of St. Joseph\u2019s home and workshop. A
\npainting inside depicts the Holy Family with Jesus learning carpentry while his
\nparents look on. The main altarpiece also depicts the Holy Family. There is a
\nlovely statue of St. Joseph holding Jesus by the shoulder. I found it to be a
\nvery moving representation of foster-fatherhood. <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n            <\/span>When we had spent a few minutes in
\nprayer and circumnavigated the church, we were told to look for stairs leading
\ndown to the crypt in which parts of Joseph\u2019s original home are preserved. We
\ndid find the steps and did get downstairs to find the place mobbed by tour
\ngroups whose guides had accompanied them downstairs and were offering commentary
\non many different aspects of the space. I stopped to listen to what one of them
\nwas saying and was deeply impressed by the detail to be found in his comments.
\nHere too, a mural depicting the Holy family contributes to the psychological
\nsense of being in a place where the presence of the Holy Family was frequent.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\nSampling Sweetmeats in Nazareth:<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n            <\/span>Unfortunately, although Nazareth
\nappeared to be quite an intriguing city, we did not have much of an opportunity
\nto explore it on foot (which was actually quite a drawback in our itinerary).
\nMoti did, however, direct us to a sweetmeat shop as we had told him that we
\nwanted to try kanafi<\/i>. He took us to Mahmoon <\/i>which our guide books had also
\nextolled as selling the best sweetmeats. Moti arranged to have all sorts of
\nitems sent to us\u2014but I have to state that I was disappointed as the kanafi<\/i> that I had expected simply did
\nnot show up. We did try some varieties of baklava<\/i>
\nand other sticky sweet desserts\u2014soaked, as baklava
\n<\/i>is, in orange blossom honey. But, the kind of kanafi<\/i> that we had eaten repeatedly in Jordan and loved, remained
\nelusive in Israel.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\nA Visit to a Diamond Merchant:<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n            <\/span>As part of our travels, Moti thought
\nit pertinent to include a visit to a diamond merchant\u2019s showroom as Israel is
\nwell-known for its business in commercial diamonds (and other precious and
\nsemi-precious stones). As we all know, the Diamond District in New York\u2019s
\nManhattan used to be dominated by Jews\u2014it is only quite recently that Indian
\nGujaratis have entered the trade. Raw diamonds are sourced from mines in
\nAfrica, sent to India for sorting and grading, then sent to Antwerp for cutting
\nand eventually distributed to showrooms worldwide by the Israelis. <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

\n            <\/span>Upon entry in the showroom, we were
\ngreeted by a salesperson who gave us a very brief introduction to the cutting
\nand grading of diamonds based on the concept of the four Cs: Color, Cut, Carat
\nand Clarity. For
\nmost of us who are familiar with the Indian diamond trade, the prices at the
\nshowroom were atrocious. It is obvious that a huge markup was part and parcel
\nof sales and that tour guides receive a heavy cutback from any sales.
\nCertainly, the prices were higher (double or more) that any to be found in even
\nthe most prestigious diamond showrooms in India such as Bombay\u2019s Tribhuvandas
\nBhimji Zaveri. It is not surprising that none of us bought anything as we
\ncertainly have far more reasonable sources from which to obtain our stones.     <\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

\nBack to Our Hotel, Dinner at Magdalena <\/i>and a Piano Recital:<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/span><\/div>\n


\n
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\n            <\/span>Back in our hotel in Tiberius, we
\ndebated our dinner options and decided to eat at Magdalena<\/i> which is so-named because it is based in the town from
\nwhich Mary Magdalen is supposed to have hailed. The restaurant turned out to be
\ndeluxe and although its menu was limited, its food was delicious. Llew and I
\nshared superb Mediterranean Shrimp (which was similar to Scampi) and Kebabs
\nAnatolia (minced meatballs with Turkish spices). Both our choices were good and
\nwith desserts based on chocolate, we had ourselves a very good meal indeed. <\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n


\n<\/p>\n

\nSoon
\nafter, we returned to our hotel and were treated to an amazing mini-recital
\nfrom Cherie-Ann who played two most impressive pieces of classical music for
\nus. She took the hotel by storm as she stormed the keyboard and had all the
\nguests on high alert as they listened to her virtuosity on the piano. It was
\nnot long after that we called it a day and returned to our rooms.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nov 22, Tue: River Jordan-Mount Tabor-Megiddo-Nazareth             Our day began with a buffet breakfast in the hotel where I opted, once again, for Shakshuka Eggs and a variety of roasted vegetables with local cheese and olives. Baptism in the River Jordan at Yardenit: Not long after, we were in the van driving along the shores… <\/p>\n

Read<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,1905],"tags":[666,668,670,672],"class_list":["post-641","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-daily-musings","category-israel","tag-megiddo","tag-mount-tabor","tag-nazareth","tag-river-jordan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rochellesroost.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/641","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rochellesroost.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rochellesroost.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochellesroost.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochellesroost.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=641"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochellesroost.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/641\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4852,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochellesroost.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/641\/revisions\/4852"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rochellesroost.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochellesroost.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=641"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochellesroost.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}