Lonespruce Designs and Farms

Holy Land Pilgrimage - the valley of Jezreel from Mt. Tabor.

This page holds the photo album of selected photo's of Babs and Ken on their pilgimage to the Holy Land in June of 2010

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The trip consisted of a trip to visit Teresa's family and then a train trip from Baltimore to New York JFK. From there we met the rest of the pilgrims at JFK and boarded our flight to Tel Aviv. Once in Tel Aviv we loaded up on buses and were driven to the Olive Tree Hotel in Jerusalem. The next days were visits to the churches and locations such as Bethlehem, Emmaus Nicropolis, Ein Karim, etc.,around the Jerusalem/Judea and West Bank area. After 4 days we boarded our bus and went to Galilee. Following a visit and mass at Mount Tabor we went to our hotel in Tiberius. We stayed at the Rimonim Galei Kinnereth Hotel which is right on the Sea of Galilee .

From Tiberius we visited the churches and holy places of Galilee including, Caparnaum, Mount of Beatitudes, an archaeological dig in Magdala, and a (cooling) boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. Except for a few early days of the trip, most were typically in the 38-42C temperature range and any heights and water was a welcome rest from the heat. On the last day, we went to Caesarea Philippi and Joppa. At Joppa, after mass and then a dinner at a restaurant owned by a Palestinian Christian located just off the Mediterranean we loaded up the bus for our return home via Tel Aviv.

Babs at Ein Karim - The Church of the Visitation and the Magnificat in English.

Ein Kerem is a quiet village 7km southwest of Jerusalem. The Church of the Visitation is reached by a long walk up steps up from the main road through the village of Ein Karim. In the church courtyard, one wall is covered with ceramic tiles bearing the words of the Magnificat in 42 languages.

Babs waiting for to load the bus at our hotel in Jerusalem. The view from our window at the hotel. Note the mosque in the center background across the street. The call to prayer 5 times a day was done with amplified speakers.

Babs at the Crusader ruins in Emmaus with the Franciscan Church in the far background. To the right is the Emmaus Nicropolis description plaque.

Herods pool ruins and the Herodian fortress ruins at the top. To the right is Babs outside the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem

Babs in the Church of Nativity at the altar of Jesus's Birthplace. To the right is the pilgrim's access to the River Jordan. On the opposite side of the river (really a stream) is Jordan. This is a heavily militarized zone and only accessed with IDF guards.

A cistern at the ruins of Qumran. Qumran was excavated after the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The photo to the right is of one of the Qumran caves.