Photo Credit: courtesy of ©BiblePlaces.com
Recent rains have raised the level of the Sea of Galilee, and Arutz7 provides a nice drone video of the Jordan River bringing some of that water into the lake. See the video here.
Jordan River Aerial Footage
January 11, 2019 By
Photo Credit: courtesy of ©BiblePlaces.com
Visiting Bethlehem’s Church of Nativity?
December 24, 2018 By
Over the last several years, the number of visitors at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem have grown to unmanageable sizes. This growth has caused many visitors to the church to leave before actually getting to visit the basement, the most desired destination in the church.
As a result of the growing numbers of disappointed travelers, The Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Tourism is developing a reservation app that is supposed to help reduce the wait time at the church.
For a more complete report on this development, see this article.
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What Happens to Those Papers?
March 20, 2018 By
These papers are prayers inserted into the Western Wall in Jerusalem.
After visiting the Western Wall in Jerusalem, many visitors wonder about those papers they see stuffed into the wall. Those papers are generally the written prayers that people hope God notices. If that’s the case what happens to them? Are they simply left there forever?
“Each year millions of notes are placed among the stones by Jewish and non-Jewish worshipers from Israel and abroad, including notes sent via the website of the Western Wall, fax and mail.”
Arutz-7 (Israel National News) published an article that answers that question. Read the full article and see the video at the link above.
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Holy Sepulchre Closed for 2nd Day
February 26, 2018 By
Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a regular tourist stop for most Christians visiting Jerusalem, has been closed for two days (from noon Sunday through Monday, so far) in protest of the Israeli government’s claim that the Church owes several million dollars in tax debt. The leaders of the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer opted to close their church building to tourists on Monday in solidarity.
The government insists it is not taxing church activities, which have historically been exempt from taxes. What is in dispute is whether church properties that are commercial and not specifically for religious use should be taxed. The government says yes. The church says no. Jerusalem’s mayor claims the tax debt is 650 million shekels, which is over $186,000,000.
At the time of this writing, church officials remain uncertain how long the church will be closed to tourists.
See the Arutz-7 article here and the ABCNews article here.
Priests pray at the Thirteenth Station of the Cross: The Stone of Anointment in Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre. (Photo: ©2006 Craig A. Dunning)
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Jaffa: Old City, New City
February 13, 2018 By
A modern fishing boat enters the ancient port of Jaffa. (photo credit: ©2004 Craig Dunning
The city of Jaffa stirs in the memory of many the Old Testament story of Jonah who set sail from the ancient port of Jaffa as he tried to run from God’s call.
Touch Point Israel has a nice article contrasting Old Jaffa and New Jaffa: Both The Old And The New Are Jaffa’s Lure.
It’s the oldest Israeli port city on the seashore, yet even modern-day Hollywood starlets like Natalie Portman can’t stop in Israel without visiting the ancient city of Jaffa– nicknamed the Bride of the Sea.
