18/3 (Saturday) - left KKIA at 6pm for KLIA.
Arrived 8.30pm. Transit there for a few hours before flying off on a Turkish
Airlines A310 plane. Transit at Dubai and Istanbul.
19/3 (Sunday) - touchdown at Tel Aviv at 10am
local time. Boarded coach to Kibbutz Netiv Halamed He, which is located
somewhere between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Eucharist at
night.
20/3 (Monday) - breakfast early morning.
Boarded coach to Jerusalem which took about 45 minutes. Entered Old City via
one of the gates. Went out via Jaffa Gate. Walked through Via Dolorosa (Via
Crucis) and finished at Church of Holy Sepulchre, the holiest site in
Christendom, which contains Calvary (site where Christ was crucified), the
stone slab where Christ's body was laid before burial and the tomb of Christ.
The last 5 stations of the cross is located here. Had packed lunch outside the
old city. Place very packed and could not enter into the tomb of Christ.
Had afternoon free - went shopping and
re-entered the Church of Holy Sepulchre. Still too crowded to enter the tomb
of Christ. Went to Western Wall (Wailing Wall), the holiest place of Judaism,
a 60m by 30m stone wall, the only remnant of their 2nd Temple which was
destroyed by the Roman Army in 70AD. Did not have enough time to go to the
Dome of the Rock - the 3rd holiest site of Islam and the place where Abraham
sacrified Isaac and where Muhammad went up to heaven on a steed.
21/3 (Tuesday) - breakfast early morning.
Boarded coach to Bethlehem, located south of Jerusalem. Had Eucharist in the
morning at a church next to the International Nativity Museum. After that
visited the Museum. Unsurprisingly, it has the most nativity/crib displays I
have ever seen.
After lunch, queued for 3 hours to visit the
Grotto of the Nativity at the bottom of the Church of the Holy Nativity. This
is the oldest church in the world, having been spared from destruction by the
Persians in the 7th century. The remains of 4th century floor tiles are still
visible. The remains of mosaics on the wall are 12th century.
The
spot where Jesus was born is marked by a 14-pronged silver star. About 5
metres away are the Grotto of the Manger (where Jesus was laid after birth)
and Grotto of the Magi (where the 3 wise men visited the infant Jesus).
22/3 (Wednesday) - Went to see the rocky and mountainous Judean Desert.
Passed by Jericho, the lowest city in
the world (250 feet below sea level). It is warm there, compared with the
other places. Viewed the Mount of Temptation located near Jericho.
Visited the Monastery of St John the Baptist.
Went to the spot where Jesus is believed to
have been baptised by John the Baptist on the Jordan river. This is located on
the Jordan border and the road to the spot is narrow and flanked by
minefields. At first glance, the river at the spot where we went looked
just like any other muddy river at the back of any housing area.
Had lunch at a restaurant in Tiberias, sea
of Galilee.
Changed accommodation to Nof Kinneret, a Youth
Hostel located near the Sea of Galilee. It is flanked by orange (?) fields.
23/3 - visit to Nazareth - Basilica of the
Anunciation, which houses the Virgin Mary's home, where the angel Gabriel appeared
to her and told her that she would conceive Jesus. Only the back part of the
house remains (looks like a cave with altar built in it). The front part was
carried to Italy by the Crusaders in the middle ages. The crowd here was more
manageable, and the queue faster moving.
Went back to the hostel early for an early
night.
24/3 - Woke up 3am and hopped on the coach by
4. Arrived at the parking area before dawn. Trekked up the Mount of Beatitudes
for the mass with the Pope on the hillside. A specially built stage designed
by Kiko Arguello, founder of the Neo-Cathecumenal movement dominates the area.
The whole setup reputedly cost US$3 million. The view from the hillside is
breathtaking with the Sea of Galilee clearly visible down the hill.
Security was tight. Each person was given a
pass and body-checked at the entrances. Soldiers with machineguns could be
seen behind us.
There was around 50,000 people of the Neo-Catechumenal movement present,
not including thousands others. Estimated people from 80 nations were present.
Apparently Italy sent the most number of pligrims with more than 10,000. Spain
came a close second. The nations were very diverse, from the USA, Africa,
Indonesia, Europe to Korea and Japan.
The Pope arrived at 10.30am and the mass lasted
until 1pm. He delivered the sermon on the mount. It had special significance
since Jesus preached the same sermon on the same hill.
After the lunch break, there was a meeting with Kiko. 4000+ men and
women went up on stage when the call was made for those who want to dedicate
their lives to Christ as priests and nuns.
The half-completed Domus Galilaeae is
behind. Reputedly the cost of the whole Domus and the purchase of its
surrounding land cost US$2 billion.
25/3 - Boarded boat for a 30-minute cruise on
the Sea of Galilee (Lake Tiberias),
to Tiberias. It was on and around this sea that the miracle of the
fishes and loaves took place (where Jesus fed 5000 people from just a handful
of fish and bread), where he walked on the waters and where he chose his first
disciples. The waters were calm, but we were warned it has a reputation of
changing its mood without warning.
Visited the Golan Heights. Planned to have
Eucharist there but had to leave for check in. The check in turned out to be a
laborious affair with us having to wait for ages due to other groups checking
in as well. By the time we arrived back at the hostel, it was already 11 pm.
26/3 - Eucharist in the morning. Had
last-minute shopping at the nearest sundry shop.
Boarded coach
bound for Tel Aviv early afternoon. Flight to Istanbul aboard Turkish Airlines
A310 at 6pm. More last-minute shopping!
Had extended transit at Istanbul. Only boarded
flight for Dubai/KL at 12 midnight.
27/3 - touched down at KLIA in the afternoon.
Spent 2 nights in KL, then arrived at KK on the morning of 29/3.