The Holy Land is known as the 'Fifth Gospel' and after this month I know why. As I say goodbye I am conscious of many things, not the least is the need for peace in these lands. Jerusalem has been destroyed and rebuilt 18 times history records!
It is not easy to understand the levels of intense beauty crossed with the pain of man made suffering; the great mix of strong religious devotion crossed with the common knowledge and love of the One God; the fight for freedom and the apparent need to keep people humiliated, and, the ancient paths and ramparts of a history that retell the same story, with the same characters and the same endings. I wonder what mankind has truly achieved over the centuries.
The pics show Troy outstretched to show the thickness of the ramparts that we walked all around at the Old City. Can you see the horrible 8 metre high wall that now separates Bethlehem from Jerusalem (double click the pic)? 
To demonstrate the ironies: the holiest site in Christendom, the Holy Sepulchre here in Jerusalem did not have any toilets in it. The main three custodians, the Greek Orthodox, the Armenian Orthodox and the Roman Catholics under the sponsorship of the Franciscans, along with other Christian Churches took 10 years to finally agree on the need for this basic resource, and then install and pay for it. The problem exists now about who provides the toilet paper! 
My strongest advice for your visit here...bring your own toilet paper. The last three pics are of t-shirts that caught my eye as I leave. They sum up my travels to some degree, and some of the emotions I experience.
I am off to Italy now where I will start a new adventure. Troy leaves me here and I have to say he was a great companion. We never had one word of negativity between us. Pity there was not more of that in this special place, and in the world. I am going to keep trying to make a difference wherever I travel.
This page is dedicated to Troy as he struggles to work out the difference between 'The Cisterns', 'The Sistene Chapel' and 'The Sixteenth Station of the Cross'. You are too funny. Pace e bene.
This page is dedicated to Troy as he struggles to work out the difference between 'The Cisterns', 'The Sistene Chapel' and 'The Sixteenth Station of the Cross'. You are too funny. Pace e bene.
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