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.