We woke after fewer hours sleep than we would have liked, but last nights “entertainment” was worth it. (See Day 13 and sorry, Suzanne!).
This day had been arranged for us by Suzanne. As we were leaving the studio, Mohammed, our taxi driver for the day, called to say he would meet us at New Gate a little after 9:00am.
A short walk had us standing outside New Gate guessing who our driver was with every taxi driving by. The taxi drivers give a hoot every time they see what they think is a potential fare, read “tourist”. Mohammed arrived and off we went to Beit Lechem. En route George, our Beit Lechem guide, called to see where we were as we were approaching the town centre. Stopping at his “new” shop he invited us in to “look around” as the Church of the Holy Nativity was holding a mass and we could only go later. We browsed around and quickly amassed a collection of olive wood items and a few other things. The olive wood carvings are exquisite and include a whole range of items mostly relating to the nativity. These are produced by local craftsmen and woman and George’s shop is partly like a co-operative. (Note from Jen: I’m surprised that Rob didn’t mention the third piece of gold that was accumulated!)
George then took us to the Milk Grotto, not a place on our list, but it was interesting. The architecture, both the old and new church, is amazing. We then went to the Catholic Shepherd’s Field, there are three – Greek, Catholic and Protestant; everyone has to have their piece of the pie. It was nice to be in that place again and see the relationship between the field and the birthplace. Travelling back to Nativity Square we stopped at George’s other shop which is opposite a back door to the Church of the Nativity. We had to “fight” our way down into the Grotto as a LARGE Greek group were monopolizing it (why is it always/only the Greek Orthodox that have been objectionable?), but thanks to George he got us in and out, taking us around the church he explained the various significant features and some of the stories behind the events.
Having a guide like George who not only got through the various sites in record time gave a very different view on the sites and traditional events. It included a fair amount of Catholic and Orthodox views but somehow made it interesting and informative.
Leaving Beit Lechem we asked Mohammed if we could make a detour to Betheny. This he readily agreed to, even though it involved going back through Jerusalem and then a loop back and around to Bethany, today called El Azariyeh. The churches were closed as it was lunchtime but we visited a house reported to be the oldest house in Bethany, right opposite the tomb of Lazarus. The whole area is very run down and neglected, this is in part due to the security wall that cuts it off from Jerusalem which is just over the hill. The other reason is that the town like Beit Lechem is in PA controlled area and most of these area are not maintained like the Israeli controlled areas. Our driver pointed out were he had gone to school for a number of years before moving to Jericho, where we were headed next.
Travelling down, and we mean down, we passed the sea-level sign and continued through a landscape that became increasingly desert-like. Turning onto the approach road to Jericho we were stopped first at an Israeli check-point. We were asked for our passports which were carefully examined and then asked if we were Jews. On replying “no”, Mohammed said “we’re all the same people”. The IDF soldier looked quite embarrassed and said, “I’m just following orders”. Not to be outdone, there was a Palestinian check point about 200 m further, with almost the same conversation, but with a smile, a light- hearted manner followed by a “WELCOME”. Driving into Jericho we again noticed the general neglect and run-down look of the town. A street trader at the Zaccheus tree was desperate to sell us any thing so Jen’s kind heart (Rob’s words) saw us part with a few dollars…. At the aptly named Temptation Restaurant and Shop we had lunch from a buffet. The food was good, but unless you ate a lot it was a bit expensive. What we discovered was that tour drivers and tour guides generally get to eat free, as well as free entry into most tourist sites. We only realized this when Rob was trying to pay for his lunch!
After lunch, with a bit of prodding from Mohammed Jen rode a camel. With a
few shrieks and laughs she very bravely survived. She has been really brave trying all these things, weird food, scary drivers and water tunnels (again, Rob’s comments!). After videoing the event Rob then had to have a turn, and yes the camel did survive him… but boy, did it STINK. The camel, not Rob! (Jen’s comment!)
Following a walk around the excavations on the Tel we took the cable car up to the Temptation Mount. It goes up about halfway to where a Russian Orthodox Monastery is built into the 
cliff face. We decided not to do the walk to the monastery but sat and had a drink at the restaurant, looking out over Jericho. Sitting there we suddenly realised the size and extent of Jericho, a strange mix of houses, farms and shops.
Mohammed met us at the bottom of the cable car and took us to see one of the springs that supply water to the area – sparkling clean and straight out of the ground. It is obviously not on the “usual” tourist route as it was locked up and he persuaded one of the locals to open up for us. On our way out of Jericho he took us to the ruins of a Sultan’s Palace, wow it was amazing how well some of it was preserved and the workmanship of the stones was incredible.
The drive back up the hill to Jerusalem was only interrupted briefly by two check points, through which we were waved with out any questions.
Back in the Old City we visited a jewellery shop so that Jen could order a necklace we had discussed with the owner the previous evening whilst at the Armenian Coffee Shop. A quick supper at Samara and we headed back to the studio, a good day but in need of much sleep.
Tomorrow … an easy day, and perhaps a few other sites in Jerusalem. Day 15