November 1, 2003
Saturday
All Saints Day

This will be our last day in Egypt. We are visiting the Cairo Museum today where the complete treasures and coffin of King Tutankhamun are located. This afternoon will be partly free so I hope to put this into the e-mail to send home.

I have enjoyed these 11 days in Egypt. Although the smog in Cairo is horrible, the beauty outside the city has easily compensated for this. Southern Egypt was magnificent with the Nile River flowing through mile after mile of farm land. I saw a few tractors but the majority of the work is still done the old fashion way: oxen and donkeys .

Allow me to say something about the religiosity of the Eygptian people. I have been very impressed with the presence of faithful Moslems who will take off the shoes and pray several times a day. Once we were walking around a large old monument and there was a soldier with his shoes off and doing his noon day prayer behind the monument. I will also people on the street with their small prayer books, praying the prayers of the day.

Right now , Moslems are into the holy month of Ramadan. This is one month of fasting when they do not eat or drink (even water) from sunrise to sunset. The official sunset right now is around 5:12 PM and you can see tables with food set up everywhere for people to eat at that exact time. In the evenings it is a time of celebration and prayer. People are very faithful to it. Yesterday I went to the internet café around 5:30 and the owner was sitting there eating. He immediately invited me to join him in his meal! People are very friendly and desire to share . I am not sure if I could go 12 hours a day, without food or drink! But people do!

I’ m ready to head back to Bethany. Probably about 12 hours on the bus tomorrow. We have three short days before we fly out on Thursday. I will be spending a week with my brother and sister in Europe before flying the rest of the way home. But I am ready to come home!

I will hopefully send another e-mail later this week. If I don’t I will see all of you soon.

Peace to all of you.

Fr. Paul

Thursday Afternoon
October 30 , 2003

We just finished visiting the tombs of the pharaohs and the queens. Apparently, early pharaohs built pyramids, but they soon realized that the pyramids attracted the grave robbers (the graves were filled with gold and many valuables for the next life). So, the following pharaohs decided to be buried near Luxor (400 miles from Cairo where the pyramids are) and the hide their burial places. Therefore, the west bank of the Nile, across from Luxor is filled with many tombs (more than 60 pharaohs, and thousands of nobility).

Most of the tombs found have only been found in the last 100 years, and some of these are just magnificent. There are numerous rooms in each tomb, with colorful drawings and hieroglyphics on all the walls.

Yesterday , we visited two Temples, Luxor and Karnak. Karnak in particular was unbelievable in size and design. It was built over 1,000 year, with each pharaoh wanting to add something in the Temple to honor the gods. In one part of the Temple, there are 136 pillars, about 11 feet in diameter and probably 50 feet high!! It is just overwhelming. The Egyptians had a strong belief in the afterlife so much time is spent describing the journey to the afterlife and making connects with the gods .

The restaurants are very inexpensive here. Yesterday I had soup, spaghetti and meat sauce and a coke for $2.00! Shopping is also an experience since they shop keepers are unbelievably persistent. If you show any interest in their shop, they will not give up! Sometimes you just want to run.
Tonight we are catching a night train at 9:30 PM and arriving in Cairo around 6:30 AM. Lets home I sleep better!!

Peace,
Fr. Paul

Tuesday Evening
October 28 , 2003

We are now in Luxor, Egypt about 200 kilometers further north on the Nile. We visited several magnificent temple sites from ancient Egypt today. The most impressive was the Temple of Edgu, built in the 3rd century BC. Actually since it took 150 years to build, it crossed over several centuries! Since much of it was buried in sand for many centuries, and only recently excavated, it is remarkably intact . It is immense, with hirographics everywhere. The ancient religion of the Egyptians would often create gods whose image was both human and animal. Frequently, the body was human and the head that of an animal. For example the god, Horus, is shown with a hawk’s head. This is all very obvious in the drawings on the walls of the temple.

We are once again in a hotel on the Nile. Spent part of the afternoon walking around the town , visited an Internet Café and five of us took a carriage ride. It cost a dollar per person for about 20 minute ride.

We see farming going on everywhere. Since the Nile use to flood this land regularly, the land is very fertile. Most of the men here where the traditional dress of the long, white or gray garb. They are very light and less hot to wear (or so I am told!). Women are usually veiled although there is much variety in the kind of veils. Today our guide talked about traditional marriages in Egypt (still the majority), telling us things like: the guy and girl can only be alone together if the door is open and a parent is close by; before the engagement is final, the father of the girl has several weeks to check out the reputation of the guy to see if he will let his daughter marry him; the wedding takes three days, ending with the man going the house of the girl’s family and the whole wedding party dances and sings in the streets as they travel from the girls house to the new house of the groom (and bride)!! Suggest that to your teenage kids!

Tomorrow we are staying around Luxor, visiting the tombs of the kings and queens of Egypt .

Fr. Paul

Monday Night
October 28 , 2003

We are now in Aswan, Egypt. The train ride last night was not the most wonderful experience . I think my periodic sleep was normal for the group. One exception was Terry who is a priest from Australia who has served in the Outback. Terry said he had to frequently travel by train and got use to sleeping on them! God love him! My sleep was mild!

Aswan is very nice. The Nile River is magnificent here. Clean and beautiful. Just a little south, they have built several dams creating Nasser Lake and providing 95% of their electrical needs. We are staying one night in a hotel right on the Nile with a beautiful view.

It is interesting how the desert comes right down to the green along the Nile. There is no “in between”. You see the desert sands and then you see the palm trees and flowers that surround the river. I have read that 53% of Egyptians are farmers and all farming occurs within five miles of the Nile River. Without the irrigation , it would not be possible. With irrigation they can get three growing seasons each year. Farming is still done traditionally with water oxen and donkeys to carry the packs and pull the wagons. Donkeys are everywhere. It is very normal to see donkeys on busy streets filled with cars and buses. The old and new blend fairly comfortably here.

Aswan is also great because the pollution of Cairo has been left behind. The air is clean , though very hot. In the summer it often gets to 45 degrees Celsius (120 degrees in Indiana!). This seems unbelievable! Today was very hot, but not that hot.

Today we visited a granite quarry that provided building blocks for ancient buildings. It still amazes me that they could quarry and transport such heavy stones. We saw a oblesik (one piece large pillar) that was still in the ground (cracks developed after it was carved free) and it was 45 yards long and weighed 1,000 tons!!! How did they do it!!

We also visited a 2,000 year old shrine to Philae, one of the goddesses of Egypt. It had been moved when the lake was built because it was underwater. Now it has been completely reconstructed.

One difference I have noticed between ancient buildings of Greece, Rome, Israel and Egypt is that while very little writing and images are on the Greek, Roman and Jewish building , Egyptian buildings are covered with images of the gods, animals, live in Egypt and heirographics! Stories are told which allows us to know a lot about ancient Egypt.

We ended our tour today with a one hour sailing venture on the Nile River. Refreshing.

Tomorrow we drive north to Luxor where there are many ancient monuments.

I will sleep well tonight!

Fr. Paul

Saturday Night
October 25 , 2003

It has been an eventful three days since I last wrote. On Thursday we visited the Monastery of St. Catherine which is at the foot of Mt. Sinai. This monastery that we saw was built in the 6th century although there has been a continual monastic presence since the 3rd century. At one point in our history, most icons and images of Christian figures were destroyed. St. Catherine’s escaped this purge since they were so far out into the Sinai desert, so it has many, many icons dating to 1500 years ago!

On a side note, the monastery is very strict that no one can wear shorts into the church. So I noticed these MEN and women walking around with wrap-around skirts on! At first I did not know why they were doing it and then I realized! They had shorts on and someone had wrapped them in this skirt!! Strange looking outfits!

In the afternoon , we climbed Mt. Sinai! What a great experience. The first 2/3s was on a camel ! Most of us rode 90 minutes on camels up to the point that it became too steep . Then we began to climb! It still took us about 40 minutes to reach the top, at around 7,300 feet above sea level! It was magnificent up there! I can understand why Moses had a “God experience” on Mt. Sinai (this mountain can be found in Exodus when he goes up for the 10 Commandments. It is also connected to the burning bush although Exodus calls the mountain, Horeb). Anyway, the mountain was grand, beautiful view, powerful. We were there when the sun was setting which was wonderful, except that we then had to come down in the dark! Fortunately, we were able to still have light while we were on the steeper part, but the last 70 minutes was in the dark!!

A funny thing happened near the bottom. We were almost down the mountain when I noticed this dark figure up ahead, seemingly moving. As we walked it became clearer, but also more ominous! No sound, slowly moving…gliding along! It was a monk!! Spppppooooookkkkkkyyyy!!

Friday we traveled to Egypt. Long bus ride, not very comfortable, but we made it. Saturday , today, we visited the statue of Rameses II, the great pharaoh of Egypt, the Sphinx and the great pyramids. The pyramids are located right outside of Cairo. One can see them as one drives through the city. So amazing. The largest covers 3 acres of land and is 143 meters high! As you know, they are all burial places for the pharaoh and other important figures. We also rode camels again!!

Tomorrow we are visiting several Christian sites, then in the evening we are taking a train to southern Egypt (sleeper train…see what that will be like!).

Fr. Paul

Wednesday
October 22 , 2003

We left this morning around 8:45 for our Sinai/Egypt trip. It was about five hours to the Israeli /Egyptian border by bus, driving through desert and mountain areas. We drove by the Dead Sea which has large industrial areas where salt and chemicals are removed from the water. These chemicals are used for health products, including Dead Sea Mud! Don’t worry, I have not had any mud bath!

Border crosses are always a guessing game in this part of the world. Sometimes they go very smoothly and other times there are great delays. Coming into Israel last time, our passports were checked four times. Coming into Egypt today, they were checked three times . Delays can happen at any point, usually when someone is called aside for additional questioning. Being with a group does help all this.

We arrived about an hour south of the border at a wonderful hotel on the Sea of Aqaba. If you look at the Sinai peninsula you will notice a body of water on the southeast side (Sea of Aqaba in Arabic and Sea of Eilat in Israel) and a body of water on the southwest side (Sea of Suez). Being on the sea, we were able to do some swimming and, since there is coral in this area, some snorkeling! I really enjoyed it, seeing some beautiful coral and colorful fish.

Tonight the temperature is very hot and humid. Going to bed early.

Fr. Paul

October 21, 2003
Tuesday

Tomorrow we head to Sinai and Egypt. When we return from this trip on November 2nd , we only have four days left before we fly home.

This week we finished our second class and the final assignment was turned in immediately . I decided early in the trip that I would give my papers and assignments a good effort, but I wasn’t going to kill myself over them! I have watched some of our seminary students in the group as they sweated over the papers… I am very glad that stage of life is in my past! Since the courses are “ pass-fail”, it really doesn’t make much difference…yes , I will pass.

The rainy season has not started here yet. It really only rains one season a year, sometime in the last fall. But once it starts, it will rain almost every day. Fr. Leslie said that Jerusalem receives about the same amount of rain as London! Of course , the further we go south, the less rain.

In Sinai, we will see more desert. One thing has impressed me about the desert and that would be the mountains. I was thinking flat, but in most cases, there are mountains also. Traveling in this terrain would have been very challenging (as with most of Israel).

My next reflection will be in November after we return.

Peace to all of you.

Fr. Paul

Sunday Night
October 12, 2003

We are back in Bethany, after a final two days in Jordan that included a visit to a Crusader castle, Mt. Nebo where Moses saw the Promised Land, the Jordan capital of Amman and an ancient city called Jerash.

The Crusader castle is called Kerash and is located maybe 60 miles south of the capital city of Amman. It has been very well restored which allowed us to walk around inside the many rooms. Often these castles were built to guard trading routes and this is the case for this one also. It is built at the highest point overlooking several valleys and it is huge! How did they do it in the 12th century?

Mount Nebo is where Moses completed his life. God had told him that he would not enter the Promised Land but that he would see it. Mt. Nebo is across the Jordan valley just north of the Dead Sea. The smog was pretty bad that day so we could not really see much. You can read about Moses in Deuteronomy, chapter 34.

Amman is a modern city and we stayed at a nice hotel much like a Hyatt. It was very different from sleeping on the ground in the Negev! In 1920 Amman had about 25,000 people. Today it has close to 2 million! It is obvious in Jordan that the people had a great affection for their deceased king, King Hussein. As you might remember he died of cancer about four years after reigning for 45 years! He was a real voice of balance in the Middle East, having made a treaty with Israel in 1994 and also providing a home for many of the Palestinians who left the West Bank after the 1967 war. King Hussein’s picture is everywhere. His son, King Abdullah II, is also very visible but people do not say too much about him.

Today we saw the ancient city of Jerash. So much of the city is still preserved so we were able to see many structures that date from about 1st century BC to 6th century AD. Amazing!

This after we re-crossed the border back into Israel. The Jordan side was easy, but the Israeli side took forever. Our passports were checked four times; all luggage was X-rayed; we went through the metal detector; some luggage was searched. One of our members, a Vietnamese American, was held for sometime for further questions! I know they are trying to protect their country, but I do feel like it could be handled better. It all took about 2 hours.

So, we are back now for about 10 days before we head to Egypt for the final trip of the program. This week we have class five days, three hours each morning! Back to school!

Bye for now.

Fr. Paul

Friday Evening
October 10, 2003

We just finished an amazing day at the ancient city of Petra, Jordan. Petra, was a major city in southern Jordan during the last centuries BC and first centuries AD. It was on a trade route from the East to the West, bring primarily spices. What is so amazing is the fact that the city is carved out of sandstone with these amazing facades that front building after building. Many of these buildings are burial places, although some had other purposes.

We had to walk about two kilometers into the city, the last kilometer being through a deep narrow canyon with sandstone walls rising as much as 300 feet on either side (sometimes the canyon was only a dozen feet wide).

Along with the rocky cliffs was the different tones of the sandstone, going from grays, reds, yellows and a little black mixed in. We would enter a room that had been cut out of the rock and one would have thought that the walls had been painted, so magnificent was the color in the sandstone. People in Petra lived in the hundreds of caves that lined the walls. Some of these were natural and some had been cut, or enlarged, from the rock. As we have seen from many ancient places, caves were often times used as dwellings (ready built and cool year round!).

Time after time on this trip, we have been amazed at the accomplishments of the human person in creating beauty from stone. I marvel at the ability to look at a wall of solid sandstone, and create majestic façade over 100 feet tall…with a chisel and pick! How did they do it? What motivated them?

Many more tourist here in Jordan than in Israel. I am sure it is because of the violence in Israel. We were glad to see the visitors (German, Hungarian, Japanese…to name a few) for the Jordanians, but it reminded us just how depressed the tourism business is in Israel. We also saw lots of camels and donkeys that were used to transport people who chose not to walk. One of our guys took a donkey ride up 800 steps to an ancient shrine! Most of us rode horses out of the park for the last kilometer.

We were also commenting today that in each civilization we have visited, there was always a belief in the divine. Maybe it was a belief in many gods, many only one, but there was always a belief in the divine and the desire to relate to this god(s). Is there something in the human spirit that naturally believes and desires to know the Divine? Just as is there something in us that naturally knows that we are created in God’s Image? I say “yes”.

Tomorrow we travel to the capital of Jordan, Amman. This is a large city with several million people in it and it will take about three hours to get there.

Bye for now.

Fr. Paul

Thursday Night
October 9, 2003

It has been a very eventful two days since I last wrote. We have been in the southern most part of Israel in the land called the Negev, mostly desert, visiting both historical and nature sites. First we visited the site where David Ben Gurion, the father of modern Israel, spent his last years and was buried in 1973. He became convinced that the Jewish people would never be safe until they had their own country. Beginning in 1906 when he immigrated to Palestine, he fought for the formation of a Jewish State.

We then visited Ein Ardat which is a deep canyon that was magnificent! Beautiful, refreshing, and we were able to see many Ibex, mountain goats! We also climbed out of the valley which was a little challenge!

Last night we stayed in a outdoor camp! It was a large “tent“ with sleeping pads on the ground. The group reaction was rather mixed, but for one night, it was fine (although I did not sleep very well…mosquitoes!). We had a beduoin gentleman speak with us about this people’s lifestyle. Beduoin are nomadic people, who primarily live off their sheep, goats and camels. They still do not have permanent dwellings, but continue to move. Very interesting man, who shared about his life and his people’s traditions.

Today we entered Jordan where we received a new guide. Tomorrow we will visit a major site at Petra which has a well developed historic site.

Fr. Paul

Tuesday Evening
October 7, 2003

We started our six day visit to southern Israel and Jordan. We drove out of Bethany/Jerusalem about 90 minute, going straight south through Hebron to our first site, Beer Sheva (also Beersheba). As we moved out of the Jerusalem area, we left the mountains (large hills) that Jerusalem is built upon. Driving south we saw many terraced hillsides where 3,000 years ago, he inhabitants of that region created terraces on the mountainside to grow grain. The amount of work it took to do this must have been unbelievable, but it was the only way to survive in such terrain. It made me think about the rich luxury of flat farm land that we have in central Indiana!

Beer Sheva is on the edge of the desert. The modern day city is Israel’s fourth largest with 150,000. The area receives about 8 inches of rain per year. We visited the historic site that dates from the 4th century BC. Much of it has been restored. The biblical tradition is in Genesis, chapter 21, when Abraham makes an agreement with Abimelech at Beer-Sheva (the name means, “seven wells”).

We then went to another site, Arad which is close to the Dead Sea. There are actually two sites: one that is 3,000 to 2,000 BC and one that is 8th century BC and forward. One of the interesting facts about the latter site is the presence of a Jewish temple. While at some point in Jewish history, sacrifice was limited to only the Temple in Jerusalem, there did exist other temples around Palestine where Jewish sacrifice did occur. Of course, this was animal sacrifice.

It is nice to be traveling again. The group is getting along well and we have learned how to adjust to the many site visits. Some of us are saying that we have seen enough “rocks”, but we are taking it all in good human.

Tomorrow will be a busy day with four site visits as we head further south. From here on, it will be desert.

Fr. Paul

October 5, 2003
Sunday Night

It is strange each week to have three days that are honored as holydays: Friday for the Moslems , Saturday for the Jews, and Sunday for the Christians! I’m never real sure just what day we are celebrating, especially since we generally have our Sunday Mass here at the house on Saturday night! This allows us to visit different churches for Mass on Sunday.

I’ m learning my way around more each week. Generally, when we want to leave Bethany and go to Old Jerusalem (about 2 miles), we walk about 150 yards to where we can pick up a “sharoot”. These are like taxis that transport us to and from the Old City. Since they only carry Palestinians (and us), they are very safe. If we are going on a longer trip, we then call a taxi to take us. Depending on how many are going somewhere, this can be fairly expensive (but not as much as a taxi in the U.S. would be). For example, we went to the Holocaust Museum today, leaving from the Old City. It was about a 15-20 ride and was $10 each way. Sharoots are very cheap (50cents).

The visit the Holocaust Museum was somewhat mixed for me. We arrived only to find out that it closed in 90 minutes, resulting in not being able to see all of it. What we saw was powerful -- I wonder how much of the Israeli “strength” stance today relates to this experience? It is still difficult to fathom that a “civilized” nation executed 6,000,000 innocent people -- yet they did. What changes a heart so much that it can do this? And, being of German heritage, these are my ancestors! Several times I have heard in films the phrase, “Never again”. Seeing the Holocaust Museum, it is not difficult to understand why they say this.

Saturday, four of us went out to the American Colony Hotel (very nice) and had a traditional breakfast!! Yes, it included ham, bacon, sausage, eggs, potatoes, etc. We just needed that good ole pork!

The food here at the house, fixed by the Italian sisters, has been very good. The evening meal always has a pasta (tonight was tortellini) followed by a regular three course meal, tonight be baked chicken, mushrooms and artichokes! Quite good. The glass of wine before dinner is now making me feel very sleepy! It is only 7:45 PM!

Tuesday we go to southern Israel and to Jordan for six days. Southern Israel is desert: sunny and hot. We will be visiting different archaeological sites, then crossing over into Jordan to visit more sites there.

Yesterday there was another suicide bombing, this time in Haifa, which is about 100 miles from here. Haifa has both a Israeli and Arab population, and the restaurant that was targeted was co-owned by an Israeli and an Arab. I find this particular sad since this was an example of cooperation. The radical Palestinians want no cooperation with the Israelis, and will obviously take extreme measures. Israel has now bombed terrorist camps in Syria. When will it all stop.

If you are wondering, we are quite safe. Leaving in the Palestinian neighbor means no bombing will occur here. What we do experience are the considerable inconveniences of having the border blocked between Israel and Palestine, and seeing a lot of Israel military around. Some places we will not go. For example, we will not go to Samaria (cities of Nablus and Jenin) simply because it is too volatile. So we pick and choose. This is where having an experienced guide makes all the difference. Fr. Leslie is probably as familiar with this land as he is of his home, Chicago. 30 years of coming here, sometimes living here for several years at a time. He is very good and very prudent.

Time to close down. Not sure if I will get this mailed before we head out on Tuesday or not.

Fr. Paul

Thursday Night, October 2, 2003

It has been a quiet week, with class each morning for three hours. This is our second class, entitled, “Jerusalem, The Holy City”. We are presently studying how Jerusalem is viewed in the Old Testament writings -- covering ground that I have never covered before! The class is interesting, but as I remember most text books, the reading is rather boring!

Today was a field trip day, going east to the Dead Sea, where we visited Masada, Ein Gedi and Qumran. A little about the Dead Sea.

The Dead Sea is called “dead” because absolutely nothing can live in the water. Because there is no outlet to the water, the mineral level has continued to grow year by year as the water evaporates in the hot, dry climate (the water is 33% minerals!). I was expecting the sea to somehow be uninviting, perhaps dark and dirty. It was just the opposite with very blue water and very clear. The water is 10 times saltier than the ocean and it is impossible to sink! All you can do is float on top! I had the chance today at Ein Gedi. It was fun, yet strange at the same time. We were warned not to shave this morning because of the potential of creating cuts that the salt water would love to get into!

The Dead Sea is the lowest point on earth. The lowest in the United States is Death Valley which is about 300 feet below sea level. The Dead Sea is 1,200 feet below sea level! The water flows in from the Jordan River and simply evaporate. Because most of the water of the Jordan River is being used for irrigation, the Dead Sea is slowly drying up. In 30 years they are predicting that it will be dry if something is not done.

Masada is a large plateau with 1,000 foot cliffs on all sides, located on the southwestern coast of the Dead Sea. In the First Century BC, Herod the Great built a palace for himself on top of this mountain. In 70 AD, at the end of the Jewish Revolt from the Romans, the remaining rebels fled to Masada, because it was virtually impossible to conquer. 1,000 people, men, women and children, lived on the mountain for three years while the Romans built a ramp up the side of the mountain! Because of huge cisterns on the mountain and food that had been stored, the people survived all those years. But finally, the Romans broke through the city walls.

Tradition says that the Jewish people, in an act of defiance, chose to commit suicide rather than be killed or enslaved by the Romans. Josephus, a Jewish historian, says that when the Romans entered the city, they found 1,000 dead! Now, our guide, Fr. Leslie, questions just how accurate this whole story really is. Suicide was not acceptable for a Jew (it was for a Roman); Josephus, through whom we know the story, didn\rquote t always tell his history with great accuracy! Whether it all happened or not, Masada has great power in the imagination of Jews today. The statement I have heard in reference to Masada and to the conflicts today is, “never again”. This speaks of determination and courage.

As Masada is on the southern coast of the Dead Sea, so Qumran is on the northern coast. Qumran is where many, many scrolls were found in 1947, which dated back to first century AD. The scrolls were found in pottery jars in caves. They included many scrolls of the Old Testament, and other writings of that date. Three complete scrolls of the Book of Isaiah were found. These scrolls have had a tremendous impact on our understanding of the first century AD, when the Qumran community was destroyed by the Romans (during the same revolt).

This was a good day, but we were all tired when we returned.
Tomorrow is class and homework isn’t finished!!

Paul

September 24, 2003
Wednesday Evening

Today we visited Megiddo, Yardenit and Hamat Tiberias. Mediggo is a large reconstruction site in the Jezreel Valley which was very significant in the history of the area . Many battles were fought in this valley, and whoever controlled the city, controlled the trade route that went from Egypt to Assyria. They have excavated 24 different levels of civilization in this city, from 4,000 BC to 400 BC!! Mediggo is mentioned in the Book of Revelations, 16:16, as the place of the final battle of Good verses evil. Many significant battles had been fought at this location and perhaps this is why the author of Revelation offers this place for the final battle.

Yardenit is the place, just south of the Sea of Galilee where some Christians will come to be baptized in the journey. This use to be done closer to the Dead Sea, until that section was closed to tourist. Yardenit use to be very busy, but now there are very few who come! One more sign of the lack of visitors to this land.

Hamat Tiberias was an ancient synagogue, just south of the present day, Tiberias. As with the one in Sepphoris, this one also had a Zodiac on the floor!

We returned to our Kibbutz to view a special display available there. IN 1986, during a severe drought at the Sea of Galilee, a wooden at was found in the seabed! It was discovered to be a first century AD fishing boat, similar to the ones that Jesus would have used. The boat was recovered and is now on display in a museum at our kibbutz. It is about 30 feet long and included a sail at one point. Maybe this was the one from which Jesus calmed the storm!

Nice swim, good dinner and packing tonight before we return to Bethany and Jerusalem tomorrow . I will miss Galilee. It has been a beautiful area of the country and my own leaning toward rural over city, causes me to want to stay here. Jesus must have felt this also. But, it is time to return to the city! We start our second class on Saturday.

Tuesday Evening
September 23, 2003

Another busy day, although we did arrive home early, around 3 PM. This has allowed for a swim in the Sea of Galilee, some reading and working on my pictures. This digital camera I am using for this trip is soooo easy, and since I am downloading them onto a laptop (last minute purchase!), it is very inviting to take tooooooo many pictures! So, I’m trying to organize them to make it easier to find certain shots . I doubt if I will print them out (maybe a few) but rather just leave them for viewing through the computer.

Today we saw the ancient city of Gamla, Katsrin and Kursi. All are located on the Golan Heights, east of the Sea of Galilee. The Golan Heights run the northeastern edge of Israel in a section that was once controlled by the Syrians until the 1967 war . Gamla was the most interesting and most exerting! It is a mountain city that was destroyed by the Romans in 67 AD when they put down the rebellion by the Jews . This was the same rebellion that lead to the destruction of Jerusalem and the battle at Masada. You would not believe that a city could exist in this mountainous setting. It was only discovered about 25 years ago, and although only 5% has been excavated, you can certainly get a sense of the city. The city clung to the side of a mountain! When it was destroyed, they successfully defended themselves twice, before they were taken. Tradition has it that the Jewish fighters, when surrounded, jumped to their death. There is some reason to doubt this final end to the battle, but either way, the city was destroyed.

Katsrin has restored houses within the village which allows us to see what a house would have looked like in the early centuries of this millennium. Not what we have today, but also not primitive. Much space was given for storing grain, oil, and tools for work.

Kursi was a 5th century Christian monastery which functioned for two centuries before being destroyed. The church in the monastery has partly been restored. This is the location that tradition has given for the miracle in Mark 5:1, when Jesus sends the demon into a herd of pigs and they run off the cliff into the lake! There is a steep cliff at Kursi, but the lake is a mile away!!! Not sure if this site is very accurate.

One interesting part of the monastery is the crypt. Three burial slabs were found and a place in the back of the crypt where the bones were put. Remember, after death, the bodies were simply put on a stone “bed”, until only the bones were remaining, then the bones were moved to another site. The bones of about 30 adults were found in the monastery’s crypt.

When we returned to the Kubbutz, there were students everywhere! 10 large buses and brought them . They appeared to be high school, but not sure what they were doing.

Galilee has been a wonderful part of this trip. The beauty, quiet and of course, visits to sites so clearly related to Jesus\u8230\'85all has been so good. As I swim in the Sea of Galilee this afternoon, I was wondering if Jesus did the same? I imagine he did. Wonder how well he swim, given that Nazareth is 20 miles away and not near any bodies of water?

Monday Evening
September 22nd,

We just got back from another three-site day. Today is our guide, Fr. Leslie’s birthday (he is 59), we are having a little party before dinner. Some are taking a quick swim in the Sea of Galilee, but I thought I would type a little, take a shower and relax.

Today we saw Nazareth, Sepphoris and Mount Tabor. Nazareth is a city of 40,000 Arabs today, with about 28,000 Jews living close by in Upper Nazareth. But in the time of Jesus this would have been a very small village of only 200-500 people. Caves are very common in this area and the hillside of Nazareth is filled with caves. These would have been used as dwellings by the people of the first century, with an additional room built on the front. So, Joseph, Mary and Jesus might well have lived in one of these cave-houses.

Joseph was known as a carpenter. The actually word used in the scriptures is the word for “skilled worker”, and traditionally this has been translated as “carpenter”. However, it could have been another form of skilled labor. About two miles from Nazareth is the city of Sepphoris, a regional capital which was being re-built in the time of Jesus. Workers from the neighboring villages provided the labor to re-built this sizeable city. Joseph, and perhaps Jesus also, might very well have been skilled workers (carpenters, stone cutters, etc.) in the re-building of Sepphoris.

In Nazareth we visited the Church of the Annunciation and the Church of St. Joseph. At the Annunciation Church a cave is honored as the place the Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary, announcing the birth of Jesus. The Church is very large, recently built in the 1960s, over a much earlier church. At the Church of St. Joseph I saw a beautiful stain glass window of the marriage of Mary and Joseph. It struck me because I do not think I have every seen any representation of the marriage of Mary and Joseph . In the midst of our honoring Mary in so many ways, we sometimes forget that her lived-out vocation was as the wife of Joseph.

Sepphoris is a large excavation site, where Fr. Leslie worked in the archaeological work in the early 80s for two years. So he was very familiar with the site. It is primarily first century AD and later. A sizeable synagogue has been found with beautiful mosaics, but not early Christian church has been found yet.

A comment about synagogues. At the time of Jesus, synagogues were general assembly buildings, used for many different kinds of assemblies including religious assembly. It was against the Jewish religion to have any images of animals or humans, seeing this as a form of idolatry. So early synagogues would have geometry and floral designs in the mosaics and stone carvings, but no animals or human images. But this changed as time went forward. In the synagogue in Sepphoris, not only are their images, there is even a Zodiac for the yearly cycle according to the stars! Lots of explanations have been offered as to why this is there, but no one really knows.

Mount Tabor is where Roman Catholics celebrate the Transfiguration of Jesus. Scripture does not identify the mountain, only saying that it was a very high mountain. Mount Tabor is southwest of the Sea of Galilee, about 20 miles from Capernaum. Protestant communities honor Mount Hermon which is in the northern part of Israel where we were on Saturday. On Mount Tabor there is a large church built in the 1920s. Here we had Mass celebrated by Chong Gi, one of our South Korean participants. It was a simple, and beautiful Mass. It felt peaceful being there. The view from around the church was simply magnificent!

Final note: lunch today was at McDonald’s! I had number six, the McChicken Meal!!

Sunday Evening
September 21

Today we spent around the Sea of Galilee, visiting Capernaum, Church of the Multiplication of Loaves and Fishes, Church of the Primacy of Peter and Tiberias. The day also included a swim in the Sea, a ride on a boat and an evening meal with the St. Peter fish being served!

Some of our places that we visit are historically known (the city of Capernaum, for example ) and other sites are suggested sites, or perhaps a place chosen to honor a certain moment in the ministry of Jesus. So at the Church of the Primacy of Peter, we read the Gospel in St. John (chapter 21) where, after the resurrection, Jesus appears to some of the disciples along the shore of the Sea, performs a miracle, has breakfast with them and ask Peter three times, “Peter, do you love me?” It was here that we celebrated Sunday Mass (whenever you visit a Holy Site, you use the special readings and Mass for that site, not the normal daily readings).

The swim was wonderful. The water is warm and clean, and not salty since the Sea is fresh water. I’m still getting use to the idea that I am really here. Jesus spent so much time around the Sea of Galilee and I’m sure it had a major impact upon him. Still wondering where that deserted place is that he went to pray -- there are many choices! Each side of the sea has a mountainous terrain which this time of year is quite brown. However, in spring these mountains would be very green.

Capernaum was especially good today. We saw a large synagogue, that probably sits over the place where the synagogue of Jesus’ day stood and in which he taught. Close to the synagogue is a room that has come to be honored as the house of St. Peter, where Jesus healed his mother-in-law (ask the parish secretaries for whom is Peter’s mother-in-law a patron saint??). The present church is built over a 5th century church which is built over a room that was obviously venerated by early Christians. It had been enlarged and whitewashed. Graffiti in the room makes reference to Peter’s house. Amazing!

We took the boat ride on the Sea of Galilee today, and at one point, Fr. Leslie read the Gospel of the calming of the storm (Mt.8:23-27). The ride on the Sea in the boat was a little disappointing, but still good.

Saturday Night
September 20, 2003

It was Sabbath here in Israel, so we started our day later so that we would get to our new hotel later. Because of Sabbath rules, Jews are allowed to not check out of a hotel until late on Sabbath, 5:30 or so. Thus, they cannot clean the rooms until later for new arrivals. So, rather than starting at 8:30, we didn’t leave HaGosherim, our last kibbutz hotel, until 11 AM with the intent of getting to our new place, Nof Ginosar Hotel, by 6 PM. We got here at 5:30 and our rooms were available soon there after.

Nof Ginosar is actually on the shore of the Sea of Galilee! It is beautiful here. The land drops very quickly toward the sea which is 600 feet BELOW sea level!! The Jordan River flows into it and also out of the Sea, moving toward the Dead Sea which is 1300 feet below sea level, the lowest place on the planet! The River is feed by all the springs out of the mountains that we saw yesterday.

The land around the Sea of Galilee is very mountainous and rocky. This area is known for quality wheat, but it is not easy to grow because of the rocky soil. It brings new meaning to Jesus’ parable (Luke 8:1ff) about the sower and the seed (more rocky soil, than good soil!). We are staying on the north edge of the sea, close to the historic cities of Capernaum and Bethseda. Bethseda, which we visited today, was the home town of Peter, Andrew and Philip. Tomorrow we will visit Capernaum which became Jesus’ home base for his ministry.

It is not surprising that Jesus was attracted to the Sea of Galilee. In an arid climate, it is so inviting to see the vast body of water. Water calms the spirit, and I imagine that Jesus experienced this also. Tomorrow we will take a boat ride on the sea, hopefully hearing the story of the Walking on Water while on the water. I’m looking forward to this!

Friday Evening
September 19, 2003

Today has changed how I saw the life of Jesus. We visited Caesarea Phillipi, which is the place where Jesus asked the disciples, “who do you say I am?” (Mark 8:25 or any of the other gospels). Peter ended up speaking for the disciples and it was following his profession of faith (“You are the Messiah”) he is given the keys of the kingdom. Given the rock cliff that stands above the town, it is not surprising that Jesus used the image of Rock when he described Peter’s role in the new community.

But this was not what changed my view of Jesus’ life. It was seeing this beautiful land, filled with ice cold flowing water, with tropical trees and cool air. Caesarea Phillipi (also called Banias and Paneas), is about 30 miles north of the Sea of Galilee. Fr. Leslie called it an “R&R” place for Jesus. The waters flowing from the snow on Mountain Hermon surface at this point, to form a fast flowing, crystal clear river. We were able to walk along this river for over a mile, as it cut itself through a deep canyon. It is not hard to see why Jesus would get away to this region. I tried to picture Jesus walking along this same river, listening to the rushing water and feeling the coolness of air rising from the stream. I tried to picture him resting on the side of the water with his feet dangling in! Maybe he took an icy swim! Perhaps it was here that Jesus found his time away and maybe it was here that he developed the comfort to ask a very personal question to his friends, “what do you think of me?” This was away from the ministry of Galilee and the crowds at the Sea. Here he found renewal.

We are in the northeastern most part of Israel. Only a few miles from both Lebanon and Syria, is the Mountain Castle of Nimrod (built 13th century, AD) from which we could see the fertile valley leading into Capernaum and the valley leading into Damascus (remember St. Paul was on the road to Damascus when he was knocked to the ground and converted...Acts:9:1).

We came back to the kibbutz for a nice swim, then supper (food has been very good, but the fish tonight included the full head\u8230\'85at the least the eyes were not staring at me!).

Tomorrow we will end the day at the Sea of Galilee!

Thursday Evening
September 18, 2003

We had another great day. Starting with a tour of the museum at the kibbutz where we stayed last night, we then visited Mt. Carmel where the Carmelite priests, brothers and sisters make their connection with their foundation. This overlooks the modern city of Haifa which is Israel’s major industrial port. Mount Carmel is where Elijah the prophet, confronted the prophets of Baal (I Kings 18). We then visited the city of Akko, just north of Haifa, which had a history of 3,000 years as a seaport and major city in the Middle East. In many of these cities there is one city on top of another. Since this land had been conquered so many times, the cities were often destroyed and a new city build on top of the last one. In Akko, there is consider remains of a 12 century Crusader castle which was huge. Although much of it was destroyed, the walls still remain and the basement level is still intact. Unbelievable.

The Crusades occurred primarily in the 11th centuries as an effort to regain control of the Holy Land from the Islamic rulers. Although they did conquer Jerusalem and hold it for awhile, all the land was eventually lost again to the local rulers. The Crusades, while noble in some ways, were ill-fated and often times, extremely cruel. For example, when they conquered Jerusalem, all Moslems and Jews were put to the sword. Great hatred for the Crusaders remained for many centuries.

We are now in upper Galilee. Beautiful land, rugged and mountainous. Easy to image Jesus walking the valleys and mountains. It is so good to be outside of the city and see open land! We are staying at a Kibbutz called HaGosherim, which is very comfortable . The kibbutz hotel obviously focuses upon families since there are many families staying here.

Tomorrow we will visit Caesarea Philipi (with two other sites) where St. Peter made his profession of faith when Jesus asked, “Who do people say I am?”

Wednesday Evening
September 17, 2003

Today we began our nine day trip into northern Israel, into the Galilee region. Although I will probably not be able to send these reflections until I return to Jerusalem, I intend to do a daily writing as I go.

Today we visited two sites: Afeq, also known as Antipatris, and Caesarea. Afeq, on the Plain of Sharon, is an ancient city that is mentioned as early as the life of King Saul, 1,000 years before Christ. It is also mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles as a stopping spot for the night when St. Paul was arrested. As with many ancient cities, it has gone through the Roman, Byzantine and Islamic stages. The ancient remains that we saw today was a fortress during the Islamic period to provide shelter to travelers who were coming through this trade route. The trade routes were not safe at night because of frequent bandits, therefore shelters with walls were provided to give them safety at night.

It is also at this location, Fr. Leslie, our guide, pointed out that 2,000 springs exist here, making it an extremely well irrigated area. With water being extremely precious in Israel/Palestine today, most of this water from the springs is now pumped out and sent to southern Israel to provide irrigation for their farms.

Speaking of farms, Israel is well known for their vegetables and fruits. Much of the soil is fertile, and with careful irrigation, wonderful crops are produced. We are blessed every day since I have been here with fresh fruit, especially plums, grapes and apples.

Following Afeg, we visited the archaeological digs at Caesarea, located on the coast of the Med. Sea. This city was built by Herod the Great in the first century, B.C. and became the provincial headquarters for the Roman government. Only about forty years ago, the sand along the sea was removed, revealing a magnificent city. The theater which was built (outdoors) is still standing today and is often used for productions. In the New Testament, Caesarea is mentioned more than any other city, with the exception of Jerusalem! This is because it was a seaport, and any time St. Paul began or ended a travel by sea, it was usually through Caesarea. It is also where St. Peter converted the family of Cornelius in Acts of the Apostles ( chapter 10), opening the door to Gentiles in the young Christian church.

Today we are staying at the guesthouse of a kibbutz in Dor, Israel. Many kibbutzes run guesthouses for income. This particular one has many small buildings that serve as the guesthouse, located on the Med. Sea. As always, being near the ocean is a spiritual experience, hearing and seeing the ways crash into the shore. By the way, a kibbutz is a communal living arrangement where everything is in common ownership, and the needs of the residents are provided for. There are many kibbutzes in Israel.

September 15, 2003

The weather is the same today as it has been since we arrived: hot and sunny! The only difference is that the nights are getting cooler. We are told that the rainy season will arrive around the end of October, so we will till be here for it.

Yesterday , Sunday we attended Mass in the Holy Sepulchre, the place where the crucifixion and the burial place is recognized and honored. A little about this church. As we known Jesus was crucified outside the old Jerusalem wall, probably at a stone quarry. At the time of Jesus, the place where the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is located was actually outside the wall (the wall is changed several times since Jesus day). From earliest traditions, this is the location that the Christians honored as the place of the crucifixion. The site is an old Jewish limestone quarry . Besides being used for crucifixions, this quarry was often used as the place for burial, since much of the digging had already been done. People would just cut into the side of the quarry to create a grave. Tradition has been that after the death of Jesus, he was quickly taken down, since Sabbath was approaching at sunset , and taken hurriedly to a pre-cut tomb, probably in the local quarry.

When a person was buried, his body was anointed with oil, wrapped in cloth and was placed on a burial slab of rock in the tomb. After the body decomposed, the bones were then removed and put into a “ossurary” (box) which could usually hold several family members bones. The slab was reused over and over again, usually by members of the same family as they died. Jesus’ tomb was a “ barrowed” tomb, having been cut out for another family.

The Mass at the Holy Sepulchre was in a small chapel (inside the big church) close to the place honored as the location of the crucifixion. It was very crowded and the Mass was celebrated in Italian and Latin. Since the Franciscans have the charge to care for the Holy Places in the Israel/Palestine, this group of Franciscans are primarily Italian.

After the Mass, we were given the chance to step forward and kiss a small relic of the True Cross. This was humbling and I could see the emotion on people’s faces .

The Church itself is very cut up with different branches of Christianity having their own smaller chapels. It is a little confusing; rather loud and perhaps not the best example of Christian unity! And yet, it is a sacred place.

I am still getting use to walking the narrow streets in the Old City. Merchants are everywhere and you can see and smell so much! I bought a couple things yesterday and I’m slowly getting more bold in the “shopping” endeavor! It isn’t my thing!!

We are heading to Galilee (80 miles north) for 9 days, starting this Wednesday. Here we will visit historic sites of the Old and New Testament, three or four per day!! Very busy time, and I am greatly looking forward to it. This will include the primary area of Jesus ministry, especially Nazareth, Capernaum and the Sea of Galilee. I will probably not be able to do an update until I am back from Galilee.

I have heard about the death of Gov. O’Bannon. I share in the sadness that must be felt in the state of Indiana. He was a good man -- from southern Indiana !

Peace to all of you.
Fr.Paul

September 9, 2003
We had class this morning (discussed the role of miracles in Jesus’ ministry) and this after we visited by foot various shrines close to our house.

We first visited the Church of the Ascension, where the Ascension of Jesus is commemorated . This is a very small church, that also a mosque today. Since we are in the area of the Mount of Olives, we went on to visit the Dominus Flevit (“Jesus wept”, Luke 19:41) which commemorates when Jesus was entered Jerusalem and he went for the people of the city where “a stone will not remain upon a stone” predicting the destruction by the Romans in 70 AD. Then we visited the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus spent the night before he died ( Luke 22:39...). This was particularly powerful for a olive garden still exist that might date back to the time of Jesus. I have a picture of one such tree, which is amazingly old. We also visited the cave where the Betrayal of Jesus is recognized and the Greek Orthodox “Tomb of Mary”. We wanted the visit the Church of Mary Magdalene which is the most striking externally because of the golden “onion domes”, but it is only open on Tuesday and Thursday morning -- we are in class.

September 8, 2003
Today I returned to the Old City (about 3 miles away) with several program participants: Andy and Juan, both being seminarians in Chicago. After taking a van-taxi to the Old City , we first visited a Crusaders Church of the 12th century, St. Anne’s. While the church is very interesting, the site is honored also for the presence of the Pool of Bethesda, which is referred to in Chapter five of John’s Gospel. This pool is one of several that surrounded the Temple of Jesus’ day. Since many animal sacrifices were held in the Temple, large amounts of water were needed to wash the blood away and keep the Temple clean. This was one of the pools. In John’s Gospel, Jesus healed a paralytic here. Although Mary, the mother of Jesus, is general recognized as having been born in Galilee , this site (Church of St. Anne) also claims her birth place. This is not uncommon to have more than one place “claim” a holy place.

The church had amazing acoustics! Unbelievable. One person singing could fill the church! It is also asymmetrical. Now, I had no idea what that meant until one of the Fathers who live there explained it. The crusader architect of the 12th century , felt that the church should represent the people of God, all being different. Therefore, although the church looks symmetrical, it isn’t. Columns are different sizes; windows are different sizes; different angles are use!

We also visited the Wailing Wall, the western wall of the first century Church which was completely destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. All that remains is a section of the western wall of the Temple and it has become most of holy of prayer places for the Jewish people. Pope John Paul came here to pray a few years ago. Tradition has it that you place prayers in the cracks of the wall--which I did. It was a prayerful place and you could sense it. I was touched by the number of Israel soldiers who were coming to pray. Among other things, I prayed for peace in this land of great conflict.

September 5, 2003

It is just after lunch and we have some time free. This is a good time to work in our house since going to a store, internet café, or Old City is not possible. Friday afternoon is the primary time for Moslems to go to the mosque. Their noonday prayer is considered their primary prayer time so most shops are closed till around 4 PM. I have noticed this in Indianapolis when I would drive by the mosque on Cold Springs Road around 1 PM…it was always packed with cars! Now I know why.

Since the Jewish Sabbath starts this evening, many shops close earlier into the afternoon in anticipation. So most stores, Jewish or Arab, are not open this afternoon!

Yesterday we went to Bethlehem. Since it is in the Palestinian area, we had to go through a roadblock. We had no problem. The Israel guard looked very young and was very cordial. Of course, the primary places we visited in Bethlehem were the Shepherds Field and the Church of the Nativity.

Let me say a little about “caves” in this area of Palestine. Because there is a lot of limestone here, there are a lot of caves. Rain water and limestone create an acid, which eats away the stone…resulting in many caves. It was not usually for people to live in caves. Often they would build a room outside of the cave, leaving the cave itself for animals and storage. At he birth of Jesus, Mary would have moved to the back of the cave for privacy which, of course, is where the animals were placed at night. Thus, the presence of animals at Jesus’ birth.

The Church of the Nativity was first built in the 6th century AD. Within a hundred years, conquers came who destroyed most Christian churches. The Church of the Nativity escaped this destruction, because mosaics on its external walls depicted in the Canticle of Zechariah, written in dozens of different languages. The Canticle is in Luke’s Gospel around chapter 3, when John is born and his father makes the proclamation.

At the church of the Visitation (up a very high hill), we saw a beautiful painting of the Blessed Virgin. So striking in color and design.

We have class on Saturday, then we are free on Sunday and Monday…not sure what I will do on the freedays (more than study!).

Peace,

Fr. Paul

9/02/03

Greatings to everyone. We have arrived in Jerusalem after a smooth flight on Turkish Airways. We arrived on Sunday night, spent Monday touring the Old city of Jerusulem and today we started our first class: "Jesus in the Historical Context". We will be in class from 9 to 12:15 everyday except when we have a trip planned. I thought I was auditing the classes, but found out that all must take them for credit. That means I will be doing papers. Not my favorite part of the trip, but it will challenging me in a way that I haven't been for.....26 years!

Our house is run by the Camboni sisters. It is built around an open courtyard, with rooms facing in and out. Mine faces out toward the morning sun and it gets very hot1 the rooms are not air conditioned so the heat has been a challenging. The meals are excellent, though!

I will write more later. I have a disk for a longer letter and some pictures but this cafe doesn't seem to be able to handle the disk. Next time.

Peace to all of you.

Fr. Paul

8/30/03

It is Saturday night here in Turkey, and we will be flying on to Israel tomorrow. Today was a day off from our normal schedule so I had time to do some reading and "tourist" activities! This is a beautiful place and has changed my impression of Turkey for the better!

I would like to share a little more about Ephesus. As you know, St. Paul visited there several times, but what I failed to mention was that St. John lived out his life in Ephesus. It is believe that he came to Ephesus during the middle of the first century (tradition has that Mary came with him) and died there. He was buried on a hill across the valley from the town of Ephesus. A church was built there in the 6th century, which we visited. One of the pictures I sent was of myself next to the tomb of St. John. Again, the experience brings it home that not only did Paul visit here, but John probably lived 30 years! How did this community mold his view of life, faith, struggle, etc? Did Mary come with him? What was it like to care for the mother of our Lord? Did she become like a mother to John?

Yesterday, the 29th, we visited three sites: Priene, Miletus and Didyma. All three of these are close by and on the coast of the Aegean Sea (they WERE on the coast, but silting has moved the sea miles away!). There are impressive remains of antiquity at each of them. St. Paul visited Miletus in Acts of the Apostles (I believe it is chapter 19), and did his farewell talk to the people there and the people from Ephesus (neighbor city), saying that they would never see him again. Many tears.

Didyma has a huge temple to Apollo and an Oracle was present here (we also visited an Oracle in Delphi, Greece). Oracles were part of the ancient Greek religion, believing that Apollo spoke through a designated person (often a woman). People would ask a specific question and he would give an answer. Often the answers were very ambiguous. For example, the ancient ruler of this area was Croesus (appox. 6th c. BC). He asked the Oracle of he should battle the Persians? The response was "if you battle the persians, a great empire will be defeated?" So Croesus battled the Persians and a great empire was destroyed...his!!

Special prayers for all of you.

Fr. Paul

8/28/03

It is the evening of August 28th, the feast of St. Augustine. I thought of those in the parish, especially those who are struggling on the feast of St. Monica yesterday. You are in my prayers.

Yesterday, we got up at 4:15 AM to go to the airport to flight to Ismir, Turkey, via Istanbul. All went well, actually feeding us a few meals on a one hour flight to Istanbul. In Turkey, the currency is Lira which is 1,400,000 to $1.00!! Yes, you read that correctly. It is so strange to ask for something small and it is $3,000,000 lira!

We are staying in a town on the Aegean Sea and it is beauty. We are close to Ephesus where St. Paul visited several times and to whom he wrote the letter to the Ephesians. The city of Ephesus has changed location five times, primarily because of silting of the river. the town of St. Paul's day is now 20 miles from the sea!! And it was a seaport in his day!

The primary site we visited was the actual site from 4 century BC to 8 century AD. It has many, many archeological sites...unbelievable. It is certainly easier to imagine St. Paul walking these streets. The theater actually holds 24,000 people! Imagine this before microphones. I was asked to read a section from Acts 19, where there is a great riot in the theater about St. Paul. It was striking to know I was standing at the spot where it happened.

We are visiting several other sites tomorrow that relate to St. Paul and also antiquity: Priene, Miletus and Didyma.

All is well.

Fr. Paul

8/26/03

Well, I am five days into the trip and all is going well. We have been in Athens, Greece for four days and tomorrow we go to Ephesus, Turkey. I'm sitting in an Internet Cafe listing to very American rap music! I feel right at home (although the rap music has a little "different" language than what I am use to!). The plane ride was fine with no difficulties. We are a group of 17 with two leaders/professors. My roommate broke his leg a couple weeks before we left, so he did not come. I would be so disappointed if that was me. But, it means I have a private room! All rooms are private in Israel, but during travels, we are together. I have enjoyed the private room greatly. The first day, we visited sites here in Greece. The sites go back to 1,000 BC and earlier. The first day we visited the Aeopagus where St. Paul spoke in Acts of the Apostles (chapter 18, I believe) and the Acropolos where the Parthenon is located. The Parthenon is a temple to Athena the female god of the Greeks from the BC era. Magnificant structures and the history is amazing. For the Greeks, their history and they mythology of the gods is so intertwined. Hard to know where history ends and mythology begins. On Sunday we visited Mycenea and Corinth. Mycenea is the site of a palace from 1,600 BC. Amazing. Corinth of course is where St. Paul visited three times, one time staying for 18 months. He sailed out of Cenchreae, a port close to Corinth. It was here that he shaved his head with a vow. Again, check out chapters, 17-19 in Acts of the Apostles. We saw where St. Paul probably worked and preached. Remember he was a tent maker and would work for his living. In the agora (marketplace) there were little shops where people could do their skill. Paul probably worked out of one of these. We also say where he went before the leader of Corinth, Gallio, but was aquitted. All this in Acts of the Apostles. I'm stil imaging those spaces, thinking of Paul sitting and working with the cloth, talking to people about Jesus. What was that like? Monday we visited the Oracle of Delphi. This is a major part of the early Greek mythology. Apollo, the son of Zeus, created the Oracle, who was a woman through whom Apollo would speak. For over 1,000 years, people would come to Delphi and ask the Oracle to give an answer to a question (for example, Alexander the Great, came to the Oracle to ask if he would be successful against the Persians...she said "yes"). The words that came from the Oracle were ambiguous so they needed "priests" to interprete the sayings! The site is built into the mountain side, outside the gulf of Corinth. It is interesting that often times, a Greek temple will be built along with a theater and a gymnasium. Somehow all three elements were bult together. There at Delphi, on the mountain side, was a temple to Apollo, a theater (seats 5,000) and a gymnasium (similar to outdoor track today...almost 200 yards long) with seating for thousands. We also visited a Byzantine Monastery of the 10th century yesterday. Quiet, peaceful built into a mountain side with an exquisite view of the valley. One can understand why the monks chose this place 1,000 years ago. As you know, 97% if Greeks are Orthodox, with only a few Roman Catholics. Our guide said the local people enjoyed the movie, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding!" Tomorrow we travel to Turkey, via Istanbul. Bus is leaving at 5:15 AM. Yuk!! I hope all of you are doing well. Thank you for your support.

Love Paul