Palestine
Kanīsat al Mahd

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    • Day 10

      Nativity Church

      December 11, 2022 in Palestine ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

      Our final stop today was the Church of the Nativity. As it turns out, at times, groups can wait 3-4hrs to get into the small grotto, it took us maybe 15mins. Inside the Grotto there is a silver 14 point star that is the actual place that Jesus Christ was born, on the left was a shrine for the manger. I actually became quite emotional while in the grotto, it did make tear up. It was incredible to see children and adults, of all faiths coming to witness such a place.Read more

    • Day 65

      Geburts - und St. Katharina Kirche

      November 10, 2022 in Palestine ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

      Den Nachmittag haben wir dann genutzt um die Geburtskirche zu besichtigen. Sie muss mit dem kompletten Mosaik einmal wirklich schön gewesen sein. Erbaut wurde sie von Kaiser Konstantin 335 nChr, im 5 Jhd nochmal komplett neu erbaut (Brand oder Erdebeben) und zählt damit zu den wenigen Beispielen komplett erhaltener frühchristlicher Kirchenbauten. Heute stehen die Menschen Schlange um den Stein in einer Grotte unter der Kirche zu berühren, wo angeblich Jesu geboren wurde.(Bild 1-6)
      Gleich an die Geburtskirche anschließend wurde 1347 ein Schrein der Heiligen Katharina geweiht, der Jesu hier erschienen sein soll und ihr Martyrium vorhersagte. Durch den Kaiser von Österreich wurde aus dem Schrein 1882 die heutige Kirche, die alljährlich Austragungsort für die weltweit ausgestrahlte Weihnachtsmesse ist. Unter der Höhle befinden sich drei große Räume die als Schreine und Gräber dienten, heute werden dort Messen gehalten.(Bild 6-9)
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    • Day 65

      Mauer

      November 10, 2022 in Palestine ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

      Der Vormittag war definitiv etwas bedrückend. Ich stand noch nie neben einer so hohen Mauer, die Menschen so hart trennt.
      Schon nachdenklich stimmend, wenn man die ganzen Geschichten ließt, das Graffiti sieht und von jemandem seine Sicht der Dinge hört.
      Und dennoch denken wir, ist es sehr wichtig, sich ein paar Sichtweisen zu dem Konflikt anzuhören um sich ein möglichst vielschichtiges Bild zu machen.
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    • Day 60

      Jerusalem, Bethlehem and the Dead Sea

      February 18, 2023 in Palestine

      Due to our flight getting changed, we had less time in Israel. It was for this reason that we chose to do a day tour of Jerusalem, Bethlehem and the Dead Sea in one day. Also, Saturday is the Jewish holiday of Shabbat, which means public transport plus most shops and eateries are closed.

      The morning started when we arrived in Jerusalem, which is around an hour drive from Tel Aviv. Jerusalem’s old town is a walled city made up of four quarters - the Muslim, Jewish, Christian and Orthodox quarters. First we visited the Western Wall which is significant as it is the closest and oldest remnant of the Temple Mount, which was built by Solomon on land purchased by his father King David. The site is significant as it is where Abraham came to sacrifice his son Isaac. Later, the temple was burnt down by the Romans and the Western Wall was the only remains. Now, a mosque sits on the site of the original temple and until the reunification of Jerusalem in 1967, Jews were denied access to the wall. Now, Jews from all around the world come to visit, touch and pray at the wall, making it the most important historical site for Jewish people. During our time in the Western Wall plaza, we had the opportunity to touch the wall.

      Next we moved into the Christian quarter. Here, we visited the first, and most important Christian Church - The Church of Sepulchre. This church holds the sites of the most important biblical events, including the the site where Jesus was crucified and resurrected. The tomb where Jesus’ body laid was also in the church but the line was too long for us to have time to go inside. From Jerusalem, you can also see the Mount of Olives, the site where Jesus ascended into heaven.

      After touring around the quarters of Jerusalem, we hopped back on the bus and headed for Bethlehem, to visit the Church of Nativity. This is the oldest church where services still take place. The building is made up of three worship areas - for Catholics, Eastern Orthodox and Greek Orthodox Christians. This church is also the site of the birth of Jesus. Again, the line into the actual area where Jesus was born was just too long, but we were able to catch a glimpse by peering down the exit.

      After lunch, we traveled though the Judea desert to the Dead Sea. On the way, we passed by Jericho and the rolling dunes of the desert.

      The Dead Sea was an incredible experience. The sea is 33% salt and the lowest place on earth. We floating around easily and smeared mud on our bodies to extract as many good minerals from the area as we could! After the swim I felt salty for hours!
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    • Day 3

      Jaskyňa Narodenia

      November 18, 2017 in Palestine ⋅ 🌙 11 °C

      Veľmi som túžil mať sv. omšu v Jaskyni Narodenia, ale ako sa tam dostať?
      Náš sprievodca mi poradil, že každé ráno o 5h sa tam slúži sv. omša. Večer líhať unavený z celodennej púť-nej turistiky a ráno vstať minimálne o pol piatej, je trochu náročné; ale povedal som si, že keď sa zobudím, pôjdem. Niektorí spolupútnici chceli ísť so mnou, ale ja som si nebol celkom istý, či sa vôbec zobudím ... zobudil som sa! Prichystaný som vyrazil z izby hotela a zo 7-ho poschodia som scupkal na prízemie - ranná rozcvička je za mnou :-) Vo vstupnej hale už niekoľko ľudí čakalo... Poprosil som ich aby išli neskôr (majú ešte čas), pretože ja by som chcel koncelebrovať a musím ešte nájsť miesto, kde je sakristia. Vyrazil som do tichej, tmavej ulice. Prišiel som do jaskyne a tam nejaký pravoslávny mních ma jednoducho vyhodil - nemám tam čo robiť!!!
      - "Kde je sakristia?" - pýtam sa.
      - "Hore" - strohá odpoveď.
      Začínam mať divný pocit, že sakristiu nenájdem včas ... vošiel som do vedľajšieho otvoreného kostola sv. Kataríny Alexandrijskej a prešiel som okolo istého pána. On mi dal otázku či som kňaz. Keď som prikývol, povedal po taliansky a anglicky: Rýchlo!
      Viem, nemusí mi to hovoriť ... hľadal som to miesto, ako som vedel ... obliekam sa sám v sakristii (ostatní iste už čakajú pred jaskyňou, veď máme cca 2 min do začatia). Poprosil som o liturgické texty (podal mi slovinsky :-) do rúk mi dal kalich, pod pazuchu vymenený slovenský liturgický text a vykročili sme do chrámu... v duchu si myslím:
      ...už asi omša začala, asi budem slúžiť pri jednom z bočných oltárov ... nevadí, do jaskyne sa síce nedostanem teraz, ale friško si odslúžim sv. omšu a posledných pár minút pobudnem v jaskyni, keďže naposledy som si odstál vyše 90 minút a do jaskyne som sa dostal na 10 sekúnd...
      Ale Pán (a pán) ma viedol do jaskyne ... neveril som vlastným očiam ... budem slúžiť sv. omšu priamo na mieste Narodenia Pána ... sám (v sprievode spolupútnikov) a v slovenčine! S úmyslom za jezuitov a uzdravení vzťahov ... po skončení sv. omše sme mali 8 minút na odfotenie sa a spokojne vychutnanie si priestoru...
      Keď sme prišli na raňajky, vyrozprávali sme čo sa stalo, a Rasťo nám povedal, že ráno sa tam tradične slúži sv. omša len v taliančine, alebo latinčine ... asi si slúžil kdesi inde ... neskôr zistil, že miestny kňaz, ktorý slúžieva sv. omšu, niečo sa mu stalo s nohou a musel do nemocnice a keďže sa v sakristii ukázal nejaký kňaz tak ho františkáni nemuseli zastupovať...
      Pán prekvapení znova ma prekvapil, že nesplnil mi "iba" moju túžbu, ale prekročil hranice a urobil aj nečakané (celebroval som sv. omšu v mojom rodnom jazyku za moju rodinu jezuitov). Z mojej strany to chcelo len vstať... oplatilo sa!
      Otec františkán ospravedlňujem sa, je mi ľúto toho zranenia!

      Foto:
      - ulice ráno o 5h
      - vstup do baziliky Narodenia ... nikoho ani nohy ...
      - Spoločné foto po sv. omši
      - 90 minút čakania na 10 sekúnd "dotknutia sa" miesta narodenia... bežný "nával" pred jaskyňou Narodenia.
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    • Day 4

      Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem

      February 5, 2022 in Palestine ⋅ 🌧 9 °C

      The Church of the Nativity is built upon the cave or grotto that is the traditional site of Jesus' birth (see another post). The original basilica was built by Constantine in the 4th century on the site identified by his mother, Helena, as that site. The 1st building was destroyed. The current structure dates to the 6th century and was built by Justinian on the foundations of Constantine's basilica.
      The panorama inside shows the building and some of the preserved and restored mosaics. The small section of floor mosaic is the only part of the Constantino's building.
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    • Day 7

      Church of the Nativity

      May 13, 2019 in Palestine ⋅ ☀️ 77 °F

      According to Christian tradition, Jesus is said to have been born at the Grotto of the Nativity, enshrined since the fourth century in the Church of the Nativity. To enter the church, one must kneel over because the door is so short. It is called the Door of Humility. The 3rd century St Jerome put into words my feelings at this location: “If I could only see that manger in which the Lord lay! Now, as if to honor the Christ, we have removed the poor one and placed there a silver one; however, for me the one which was removed is more precious . . . .”Read more

    • Day 7

      Church of Saint Catherine

      May 13, 2019 in Palestine ⋅ ☀️ 81 °F

      Church of St. Catherine is a Roman Catholic monastery. The present Monastery, rebuilt in 1882 with the financial help of the Emperor of Austria, incorporates the remains of the 5th-century sanctuary of St. Jerome and parts of the 12th century Crusader Church.Read more

    • Day 12

      Den oprindelige kirke

      November 13, 2018 in Palestine ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

      Jesu fødested i Bethlehem. I en grotte under alteret er en sølvstjerne der markeret det eksakte sted. Jeg stod 1 time i kø for st komme ned. Forskellige trosretninger har skendes om denne sølvstjerne og den var årsag til Krimkrigen.Read more

    • Day 9

      Bethlehem

      October 30, 2018 in Palestine ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

      Links, direkt an die Geburtskirche angebaut, befindet sich die 1881 von den Franziskanern an Stelle einer früheren Kirche neu errichtete Katharinenkirche (der heiligen Katharina von Alexandria geweiht) mit einem Kreuzgang und dem Casa-Nova-Komplex. Dieser beherbergt unter anderem das römisch-katholische Pfarrzentrum von Bethlehem.
      Über eine Treppe gelangt man zum nördlichen Teil des Grottensystems, in dem sich die Gräber des hl. Hieronymus, der hl. Paula und der hl. Eustochium befinden. Die Gebeine der Heiligen wurden im 15. Jahrhundert nach Rom in die Basilika Santa Maria Maggiore gebracht.
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    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Kanīsat al Mahd, Kanisat al Mahd, كنيسة المهد

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