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The next day, en route to Bethlehem,
we came across a terrible traffic jam. We could not find out then or later if it had been
because of an accident or a terrorist attack. The driver managed to get off the
motorway and to take paved back roads. It was hard to believe the mile after mile of
rich farm land with animals and mixed farmingand no houses. We were
passing through an area of kibbutzim, and the
housing for the co-op was out of sight. Since Bethlehem is in the Palestinian authority
we had to pass through a border check point. Finally, we reached Manger Square and
the Basilica of the Nativity, built by Helena, destroyed in an uprising and rebuilt by
Justinian in 535. Part of the floor from Helena's building is exposed. We descended to
the Grotto of the Nativity in an underground sanctuary beneath the church, where
Helena determined that Jesus was born.
Later, in Jerusalem, we had lunch at a
fine hotel high over the Dome of the Rock, whose dome, in the 1990s had had applied a
thin skin of pure gold. Later still, I had my picture taken with my hand on the
Western Wall (The Wailing Wall), just below the Dome of the Rock. While moving along
the Via Dolorosa, containing many interesting street markets, the guide explained each
of the stations of the cross. Beautiful strawberries were being sold just below the
plaque for the fifth station. Then the Church of
the Holy Sepulchreone of the most reverend buildings on earth. Within what is now
the church, Christ is said to have been nailed to the cross, the cross raised, his body
taken down, placed on a rock slab, also in the church, prepared for burial and then
placed in the sepulchre from which he rose from the dead. An Orthodox priest guarded
the entry, allowing two to three people in at a
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time. We were very lucky and only had
to wait about ten minutes. By the time we came out, the length of the line meant
at least an hour's delay. The building looks in very poor shape. Because so many
Christian groups are involved and fight so much among themselves, it is difficult to agree
on the changing of a light bulb, let alone repairs to a rather decrepit building.
Before returning to the ship, we
stopped at the Garden of Gethsemane, at the foot
of the Mount of Olives.
The most exciting Greek island that
we visited was Crete. Here we visited one of the greatest archæological findings of
all time, Knossos, the palace of King Minos. The original palace was destroyed by
an earthquake in 1700 BC. and we saw traces of the fire that destroyed its replacement
over 3500 years ago. In the second palace, wood replaced stone in the pillars to better
withstand earthquake.
The final days of the tour were spent
in Athens. It was a thrill to climb to her Acropolis, to see the Pantheon and other
buildings, to imagine Pericles addressing the
citizens, and to survey the great city, which to
me looked somewhat like a great theater, with the Acropolis as its stage.
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