ISRAELI   Wedding / Vacation

Now HERE's a city!  Holy to three religions and born from a confederation by Saul between the Philistines and the Hebrews (1010-BCE); built by son David and grandson Solomon and then conquered by the Assyrians, Babylonians (587-BCE), Persians (538-BCE), Alexander the Great, the Macedonians, the Syria-based Seleucids, the Jewish Hasmonean family (164-BCE), Romans (63-BCE), Persians (614), the Byzantine Empire (628), Turks (1071), Crusaders (1099), Saladin (1187 - Horns of Hittim), Muslim mercenaries (1244), Marmelukes (1260), Ottoman Turks (1516), the British (1917), the United Nations (1948) and if that weren't enough, finally the Six Day War (1967).

The Old City is divided into four Quarters: The Muslim Quarters (the largest and most densely populated), The Jewish Quarters (today, the most restored), The Christian Quarters (in the shadow of the great Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre), and The Armenian Quarters (the smallest and quietest part of the Old City).

The Armenian Quarters.

The Jewish Quarters.

The Arab Quarters.

The Christian Quarters.

Unearthed remains dating back to the 20th century BCE, establishes Yaffo as one of the oldest ports.   According to the Old Testament, Yaffo was founded by Noah's son Japhet in the wake of the flood.   And Jonah (of the whale) caught that ill-fated boat to Tarshish here.   Even Peter (New Testament), while staying at the house of Simon the Tanner in Yaffo, had his vision (and thus Christians eat pork and shellfish).

EVERYBODY in history conquered Yaffo: The Egyptians (1468-BCE), King David (around 1000-BCE), King Harod, the First Crusaders, Salah al-Din, Richard the Lionheart, the Muslims, Louis IX, the Mamelukes (1267), Napoleon (around 1800) and lastly the United Nations (1948).

Restoration efforts, of the then ruins, began in the 1960's.  Today, only those making a living as a full-time artist may live within the old city walls.

In Hebrew, the city's name (Beit Lehem) means "House of Bread".  In Arabic, the city's name (Beit Lahm) means "House of Meat".  In either case, the city is the backdrop of history's quieter religious moments: Rachael's death, the love between Ruth and Boaz, the birthplace of the shepherd-poet-king David, and of course, the pastoral birth of Jesus.  Today, the locals are almost entirely Arab Christians.

And, for the first time in history, the Palestinian flag flies over the city.  As such, we had to change taxis in Jerusalem into one with a Palestinian owner/driver, licensed to travel between Israel and the West Bank.  We also passed thru security (going and coming back), each time the driver telling the Israeli soldiers that we were "tourists".  You see, WE were the "people of concern", not our Arab driver (who lived in Israeli Gilo, and proud enough of it to tell us twice).

It was a trip most Israelis discouraged us from making , or upon hearing we went to Beit Lehem just shook their heads in disbelief.  But, it was well worth making and we were NEVER made to feel uncomfortable.

Rising on the eastern side of Jerusalem, The Mount of Olives offers views of the Dome of the Rock and the Old City.  Today best known for Jesus's Agony and betrayal in the Garden of Gethsemane, this has always been a holy place to Jerusalemites.  In 2400-BCE Jebusites dug tombs on its slopes.  The Valley of Jehoshaphat (aka The Kidron Valley), where it is said mankind will be resurrected on Judgement Day, lies between the Old City Walls and the Mount of Olives.  

The bride and groom got a room at the local Hilton for after the wedding.  But BEFORE the wedding it was used for prep.  They had a hair stylist and a makeup artist come and do hair and faces.  Also downstairs, appointments had been made for manicures and pedicures.  All was well.

Then the power went out.  Joan was downstairs in the dark with some lady that didn't speak English; the hair stylist had tools which no longer worked and everybody was wondering what the hell happened.  Power to the rooms and elevators came back pretty soon, but Joan remained in a dark subterranean salon with that lady who spoke no English.  Then Joan hears Monica calling out "Noans? Noans? You in here somewhere?"  Shortly thereafter, things got back to normal.

The day after the wedding, Joan and Rick cancel a 7:00-am pick-up time to tour the north.  Instead we slept-in and then toured a bit of Tel Aviv.  It was the hottest day of the year.  So when we got back to the hotel all we wanted was something cold to drink and some air conditioning.  But, again today, the power had gone out.

We were told it would be just a while, so we headed to the beach for the afternoon.  No problem.  When we got back three hours later, the air conditioner still wasn't on.  "Maybe another half hour", we're told.  Nope.

We were then told that when the power came back on, the air conditioner for our room died.  We elected to change hotels to the Yamit Plaza (for the same price [Thank You, Edna!]).  Good decision, too!

After conquering a small Phoenician harbor called Strato's Tower in the first century BCE, Augustus Caesar granted the land to his vassal-king, Herod, who returned the favor and re-named the area Casarea and its port Sebastos (Greek for Augustus).  Harod transformed the city and port, making the Great Casarea Games of major region-wide interest and the port the largest in the eastern Mediterranean.  After Harod died, his incompetent son Archelaus took charge and within a decade the Romans disposed of both Archelaus and the position of vassal-king.

In the year 66, Jews and pagans clashed over property rights and riots left 20,000 Jews killed.  This in turn led to the Jewish Rebellion which eventually resulted in the destruction of Jerusalem's Second Temple in 70-CE.  The Romans celebrated the fall of Jerusalem by slaughtering thousands of Jews in Casarea's amphitheater.

Over the course of two centuries, possession of the city changed hands four times.  In 1101, King Baldwin I took the city and discovered a goblet, which was subsequently declared to be the Holy Grail and taken to Genoa.

In 1265 Mameluke Sultan Beybars conquered Casarea and his successor ordered it destroyed.  So it remained for six centuries.