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  • Visit To Holyland

    VISIT TO HOLYLAND

    Mangalorean.com
    Oneal Hector D'Cunha

    This trip happened exactly a year ago as some of my readers suggested
    that I should go down my memory lane and jot down a few highlights
    on our trip to the Holy land, that we undertook while we were in
    Cyprus. Travelling during the great recession is never easy but when
    you want to re-define it as a pilgrimage, then one does not hesitate
    to dig deep into ones pocket.

    Visiting the holy land had been one of my ardent wish for several years
    and an opportunity never came by given the geographical location that
    I am currently in. However during our visit to Cyprus, my better half
    suggested that we should do a visit to the holy land as well, given
    the proximity and then at a closer look, it appeared feasible and
    for luck to be in our favor there was an overnight cruise that was
    available and incidentally was also the last cruise for the season
    before the winter set in. There are several tour operators in Cyprus
    who sell packages for overnight cruises to Jerusalem and we managed
    to find a reliable one. I have never been a sea farer however from
    the time I had watched the movie Titanic, I always had a desire to
    sail in a cruise line. Since I was new to a cruise liner, the next
    question was to book an appropriate suite so that the journey becomes
    enjoyable and worthwhile. This is when we realized that in a typical
    cruise lines the higher the deck that you occupy, the more expensive
    it gets and rooms without sea view is always cheaper. Although being
    an overnight cruise this may not make much of a difference, itï~^'s
    always good to occupy a higher deck.

    The cruise line ï~^'Salamis Gloryï~^' normally leaves the port city
    of Limassol (Cyprus) in the evening, reaches Haifa Port (Israel) the
    next morning. The Israeli immigration provides you with a visitors
    pass based on your credentials on the ship itself (Although getting
    a visitors pass is not always guaranteed) and the Cruise operator
    then takes you to Jerusalem through tour buses for a dayï~^'s tour
    and gets you back to the ship by same evening.

    After our breakfast on board, a convoy of 10 buses left the city of
    Haifa to Jerusalem. It was a two hour drive from Haifa to Jerusalem
    was about 130 kms by road. Haifa is a port city and also called the
    high-tech city as we saw the bill board of several Multinational
    Software companies. (Reminded me of the Dubai Internet City or our
    own Electronic City in Bangalore). One another interesting fact about
    the city of Haifa is that it is the place where the Bahia Religion was
    founded. Bahia is a culmination of several religions and believes in
    monotheism. This region has over 6 million followers worldwide and
    they have a beautiful monument and a place of worship right across
    the Haifa Port and it is also called the hanging gardens. Incidentally
    the famed lotus temple in Delhi belongs to this religion.

    Our journey to Jerusalem took us to many cities such as Netanya,
    Herzliya through the legendry Jaffa Orange groves. We reached Jerusalem
    by 10.00 am. Jerusalem is the largest city in Israel with a population
    of 750,000, one of the oldest cities in the world and a city revered
    by three religions. The city has been destroyed twice, besieged 23
    times, captured and recaptured 44 times.

    We passed through some important landmarks including the Knesset
    (Israeli Parliament) and finally got off outside the walled city of
    Jerusalem. We discovered the wo s sacred city on foot along with our
    lady guide by entering through the Jaffa gate. We walked through the
    bustle and hustle of the bazaar and around the quaint narrow cobbled
    streets which seemed to have history carved in every stone. Finally
    we reached the church of the Holy Sepulcher (Golgota or the hill
    of Calvary).

    The church complex is shared between several Christian denominations
    such as the Catholics, Orthodox, Armenians etc and the atmosphere
    was one filled with devotion, adoration and the whispers of countless
    pilgrims. The paintings and religious artifacts within the Church were
    predominantly oriental and very moving. The place of Crucifixion,
    Anointment, Burial and Resurrection are all in the same complex. We
    spent some quiet time in prayer and then stepped out to see the
    enchanting Islamic and Jewish quarters. The walk was not tiring as it
    was down hill and on smooth cobbled stones which probably has been
    laid thousands of years ago. We then proceeded to renowned Western
    Wall (commonly known as the Wailing Wall). Visitors can write and
    leave a prayer or a wish on the wall. Amongst other celebrities,
    Barack Obama is also said to have visited the place just before his
    election. On the way we stopped for a panoramic view of the Temple
    Mount, the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa Mosques.

    The infrastructure of the city is excellent and the security was
    visible at every stage. Despite the ongoing conflict there is an urge
    among the permanent residents of Jerusalem to coexist in harmony. One
    interesting episode that was told by our guide was on the church of
    the Holy Sepulcher. The current structure was said to have been built
    by the crusaders in 10th century and this has gone through several
    renovations from time to time when the citys ownership changed hands
    due to constant conquests. But since the 12th century the keys to the
    church was handed over by emperor Saladin to two Muslim families who
    are tasked with opening and closing the door each day, a tradition
    that is still followed to this day.

    We left the walled city of Jerusalem and then boarded the bus and
    headed towards the next city of Bethlehem (Palestine) which was
    about 30 minutes drive given the traffic in the city and checks at
    the border gates to Palestine. At Bethlehem we had lunch at a nearby
    Arabic restaurant and we spent some time buying Souvenirs. We then
    visited the Church of the Nativity and the grotto built over the
    Jesusï~^'s birthplace.

    It was evening by the time we boarded our bus back to Haifa Port. After
    dinner we needed to catch up with some good rest as we planned to
    rise early. We captured the sun rise on the Mediterranean sea and also
    spent some time exploring all the decks, outlets and amenities on the
    cruise. One cannot stop thinking and humming the tune ï~^'my heart
    will go on and onï~^' especially being spiritually revived visiting
    the Holy-land and with a sincere prayer for peace and happiness to
    return to this eternal city.
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