Israel Trip

Somehow, I have forgotten to post this trip. I may try to continue to add to it, because this is such a small highlight of our whole trip

Old Jerusalem
Near the Western Wall

Noah and I went to Israel in December of 2017.
It was an amazing time to explore, learn, and grow. We saw so many things and still there was so very, very little that we saw. To imagine that these places have been inhabited by many, many generations of people for several thousands of years is just so incredible. There is such richness of  history throughout the area; no matter where you turn or which direction you travel everyone has a story and history to tell that is just so huge that you can not ever take it all in.

Tower of David
Old Jerusalem

There are many, cultures, many differences, so much beauty and a lot of struggle and turmoil because everyone wants to claim a part of its vast richness, religious significance, cultural significance, historical significance.

Tower of David
 Old Jerusalem

I have always loved history and how the pieces of history weave into each other  to form layers of stories that fit together like a puzzle, but on so many layers and levels that you can only imagine it as an intricate tapestry of many layers, levels, and colors. Being in Israel was so much like that. I am not good at remembering timelines, dates, and specifics of history, but listening to the tour guides and others tell the history and layers that literally stack and add upon the previous generations either rebuilding the destruction of the past eras or adding on to existing structures and fortifications. 

Entrance to the
Church of the Holy Sepulchre

at the end of the Stations of the Cross

on the Via Dolorosa and St. Helena Rd.

The historians can show where different eras ended and others began by the size and structure of the brick work on the walls. There were many times where they pointed out where the walls were destroyed by siege and taken over by the Phoenicians, Arabs and Philistines, Romans, Babylonians, the rise and fall of the kings and their kingdoms.

That is just a very little bit of the historical end of things. From a religious standpoint, the very idea of walking in the very place where the birth of our Lord happened. Touching some of the very same places, seeing some of the very same sights and vistas,  and  walking some of the same streets. It has truly made the Bible more understandable and more real. Over the years in life you read and imagine the places and the stories that you are told and you have an idea of it, you see movies and pictures and get glimpses and they seem so much closer. 

Bread Shop at a Market

Then you get there, you walk the streets, see the sites and the vast expanses of dessert, smell the smells and touch the rocks, and sand, and stones. Walking the market places watching the families go about their usual daily business and visiting with people that  live and work there, kind of gave me a pang of jealousy, but only for a moment because everything in life comes with a price and although it looks exotic and wonderful, it also comes with a high cost of living and living under constant military and heavy police guard, constantly having tons of tourists always walking the streets and

neighborhoods and relying on the many tourists and visitors as a steady stream of income.

Dessert Shop at the Market

Each area we visited had more stories to tell than there was time for. We spent a lot of time in Jerusalem, I truly loved walking the streets of Old Jerusalem the most. Walking in and out of the high walled streets that were very much like a maze and very easy to get lost in. It was broken up into Quarters that belonged to the Christian section, Muslim section, Jewish Section, Armenian Section

and maybe another. It was interesting to walk along and realize that the dynamic of an area changed drastically as you moved from one area to the other. 

Beautiful Pomegranates

Although the market places had mixed markets of different groups, Each area had a unique feel according to its section. The amount of culture and diversity found in this small space was incredible. Growing up and only hearing English everywhere you go and then getting the opportunity to walk these streets and for the first time in life understanding that you are in a place that language is so very wide, and diverse and everywhere you turn there is a different culture standing next to you no matter which corner you are on. American culture is a melting pot(that's what we were taught as kids); but what I found fascinating and I loved about this experience is that I love the distinctions in each of the cultures. 

This had to be one of my favorite shops 

Fruit cubes used for Tea

I loved the sights, the sounds, the looks, and styles. I loved that each individual culture was still part of the

bigger picture, but still distinct and separate and yet they each existed in and among each other with respect. I am fully aware that it doesn't fully exist in harmony and they are in an area of extreme conflict and it can be seen as an area of danger from on moment to the next, but in talking to the people that lived there, a lot of that is political and the day to day life is a different experience. 

 

Street in Old Jerusalem

When we arrived the Jewish people were celebrating Hanukkah. Every night throughout the celebration something different was going on in the area. We spent one of our first evenings out on the last night of Hanukkah walking around during their celebrations and they did something similar to what we would consider caroling at Christmas time where people walked through the streets and viewed all the lit Menorahs throughout the area.  It was quite crowded and chaotic, but fun to see and be a part of. The Christian/Catholic section was decorated in typical Christmas decorations with lights and Christmas trees and it felt very familiar. The other areas were not particularly decorated for celebration, but it was no less impressive to walk through and experience. All of the market stores, vendors, and things for sale made each area unique and beautiful. 

The Shepard's Fields Fountain

Every single place was a little treasure to see and explore. We spent a decent amount of time on buses traveling to the destination sites on the tour routes and quite a lot of things were quickly pointed out along the routes. Some of the areas that we really wanted to see were closed because of the holidays but we were able to see enough to make the experience complete. 

The whole trip was amazing and surreal. It is not something that I every expected to experience in my lifetime and I will truly be humbled and grateful for the experience. As a child I had always expected that I would travel the world and see every corner. That didn't happen, but in my lifetime, I think that I have gotten to experience on of the absolute best places. 

Mount of Olives Tour- Catholic Church

with a View of the Dome of the Rock

I hope that by having to opportunity to travel with Noah as a child, that it will give him the fortitude to reach further in life to live, travel, and find adventures and experiences to fill his life. 

Hanging at the park on a dragon

At the Jordan River

Noah always has an animal near him

A boat on the Sea Of Galilee

The Sea of Galilee

Mary at the Basilica dedicated to her

A view from on of the areas at
 Ein Gedi Park Reserve

View of the Dead Sea seen at the top of the Masada Fortress

The Dead Sea

The Dead Sea

The Dead Sea

Camel and the dead Sea

Very old olive Tree

Wall Surrounding Old Jerusalem

Rampart Walk on the Wall Surrounding Old Jerusalem

The Cardo - Part of the North-South Roman Main Street

Life sized Nativity

Given to Bethlehem by Italy

6th Century Mosaic

Bethlehem

Mosaic at the Church of the
Holy Sepulchre

Church of the Holy Sepulchre 

One of my favorite meals
Falafel and Hummus with a salad

On of the many interior streets in Old Jerusalem

Christmas on the Bayou

For the past three years we have built a Gingerbread Display for The Gertrude C. Ford Center here in Oxford as a way of advertising our little budding soap business Cypress Lake Soap, and also as a way of contributing to benefiting our community because the Gingerbread Village also collects food for the local food banks and pantries in our area. This year in honor of our little business, We decided to recreate a scene reminiscent of the poem A Cajun Night Before Christmas.

Every year the kids have been able to participate a little more than the previous years. I like that it is becoming a collective effort and as they get older they are able to do and accomplish more. This year most of the gingerbread was created by me, but the boys helped by making animals from the chocolate clay that I made. They made chickens, alligators, chairs, pots, birds, rocks, nests, eggs, a deer, and cypress knees. The princess helped by testing, tasting, molding and eating what she molded. She said it was all pretty good. Matt helped with the trees, and made a couple of the cutest raccoons.

We worked for weeks and yesterday when it was finally finished and ready to be driven to its new home we couldn't get it through the door. It is quite a bit easier to get a 3'x 3' pallet through the door when it is turned sideways...and not one of us thought to even check to see if it would fit flat. After trying a couple of doors in the house I finally made the decision to risk it, remove everything that was not fixed in place and have Matt and Nathan turn the pallet while I held the house in place and hoped and prayed that everything else that was stuck on didn't come tumbling off.
There were a few casualties, but fortunately nothing that wasn't repairable, and other than a couple of birds and maybe a squirrel all the animals made it during travel from home to the destination. Although we originally had grander plans and not everything got accomplished, I am very happy with how things turned out and very proud of the work that my family did helping to create our Christmas Bayou Wonderland. I hope you all enjoy it too. I leave you today with pictures of our creation and the Cajun Night Before Christmas poem...




 Cajun Night Before Christmas

 Twas the night before Christmas an' all t'ru de house,
 Dey don't a ting pass Not even a mouse.
 De chirren been nezzle good snug on de flo',
 An' Mama pass de pepper t'ru de crack on de do'.

 De Mama in de fireplace done roas' up de ham,
Sit up de gumbo an' make de bake yam.
 Den out on de by-you dey got such a clatter,
 Make soun' like old Boudreau done fall off his ladder.

 I run like a rabbit to got to de do',
 Trip over de dorg an' fall on de flo'.
 As I look out de do'in de light o' de moon,
 I t'ink, "Mahn, you crazy or got ol' too soon."

Cux dere on de by-you w'en I stretch ma'neck stiff,
 Dere's eight alligator a pullin' de skiff.
 An' a little fat drover wit' a long pole-ing stick,
I know r'at away got to be ole St.Nick.

 Mo' fas'er an' fas'er de' gator dey came
 He whistle an' holler an' call dem by name:
 "Ha, Gaston! Ha, Tiboy! Ha, Pierre an' Alcee'!
 Gee, Ninette! Gee, Suzette! Celeste an'Renee'!

 To de top o' de porch to de top o' de wall,
 Make crawl, alligator, an' be sho' you don' fall.
" Like Tante Flo's cat t'ru de treetop he fly,
 W'en de big ole houn' dorg come a run hisse's by.

 Like dat up de porch dem ole 'gator clim!
 Wit' de skiff full o' toy an' St. Nicklus behin'.
Den on top de porch roof it soun' like de hail,
W'en all dem big gator, done sot down dey tail.

 Den down de chimney I yell wit' a bam,
 An' St.Nicklus fall an' sit on de yam.
 "Sacre!" he axclaim, "Ma pant got a hole
 I done sot ma'se'f on dem red hot coal."

 He got on his foots an' jump like de cat
Out to de flo' where he lan' wit' a SPLAT!
 He was dress in musk-rat from his head to his foot,
 An' his clothes is all dirty wit' ashes an' soot.

 A sack full o' playt'ing he t'row on his back,
He look like a burglar an' dass fo' a fack.
 His eyes how dey shine his dimple, how merry!
Maybe he been drink de wine from de blackberry.

 His cheek was like a rose his nose a cherry,
 On secon' t'ought maybe he lap up de sherry.
 Wit' snow-white chin whisker an' quiverin' belly,
He shook w'en he laugh like de stromberry jelly!

 But a wink in his eye an' a shook o' his head
 Make my confi-dence dat I don't got to be scared.
 He don' do no talkin' gone strit to hi work,
Put a playt'ing in sock an' den turn wit' a jerk.

 He put bot' his han' dere on top o' his head,
 Cas' an eye on de chimney an' den he done said:
 "Wit' all o' dat fire an' dem burnin' hot flame,
 Me I ain' goin' back by de way dat I came."

 So he run out de do' an, he clim' to de roof,
 He ain' no fool, him for to make one more goof.
 He jump in his skiff an' crack his big whip,
 De' gator move down, An don' make one slip.

 An' I hear him shout loud as a splashin' he go,

"Merry Christmas to all 'til I saw you some mo'!"

 by Trosclair

If you are local stop by the Gertrude C. Ford Center on the Ole Miss campus and take a look at the local supporters for this years Gingerbread Village . Admission is free, but people are encouraged to share a canned good or non perishable food item for families in need.