Travel Biography Photo Extravaganza - Part 11.

A Divine Vision or Imagination ran wild?

The 1980s came and went, and travel was restricted to Western Europe after visiting the Middle East and flying twice across the Atlantic in the 1970s. This was mainly due to a major change of occupation from an employee in a factory to self-employment. However, the nineties opened the opportunity to explore Great Britain. The first was the bicycle ride from John O'Groats in the Scottish Highlands to Land's End on the tip of Cornwall. The second was two weeks of hiking in the Lake District National Park in Cumbria. On both these trips I was accompanied by a Christian friend, Gareth.

These holidays are often incorrectly referred to as Staycations, even though the proper meaning of the word is to stay at home. Yet, in my mind, there is something not quite right about travelling around the world without first visiting locations in my homeland. These two trips, the first in 1990, then two years later in 1992. While we were in the Lake District, Gareth dreamt up the idea of hiking up the UK's three highest mountains within 24 hours. These were Ben Nevis in the Scottish Grampians, which is the highest mountain in the UK, then Scafell Pike of the Lake District, the highest mountain in England, and finally, Mt Snowdon of Snowdonia, the highest in Wales.

I thought that was a brilliant idea for a very testing challenge, and I agreed to it. The approximate date was set for the summer of 1993, with Tim given the option to join us, and another Christian friend, Keith, providing the transport links to all three mountains, thus becoming a foursome.

With this challenge in mind and already agreed with the other two mates, I returned to work as the summer of 1992 gave way to the autumn. One of my window-cleaning customers was also a Christian friend, Geoff, whose home I had been calling for a couple of years. So, in October 1992, I made my routine call to his house to clean his windows. As usual, I was invited in for tea before starting.

A disagreement developed between us which got rather intense. Geoff ordered me out of his house and although I was allowed to finish the job at hand, he forbade me from calling in the future, hence the loss of a customer. Feeling very disheartened, I made my way across the road to my next client. This couple was out during the day. So, with access to their backyard, I began work on that property.

I was up on the ladder cleaning one of the bedroom windows when I saw myself standing on the Mt of Olives, east of Jerusalem, facing towards the city and praying over it. Was this a divine vision? Or has my imagination gone wild due to the distress caused by our disagreement?

To cut a long story short, by August of 1993, I was waiting for a delayed flight from London Gatwick to Tel Aviv against all financial odds. If the vision I had during the autumn of 1992 was a Divine intervention in my daily routine, then it found its fulfilment ten months later as the Monarch Airlines 'plane soared over western Europe and the Mediterranean - my first flight since returning from the USA fifteen years earlier in 1978.

After the vision, I felt the nostalgia of visiting the Holy Land in 1976. One of the locations which struck me back then was the walk through Hezekiah's Tunnel, or the Tunnel of Siloam, an example of a magnificent ancient engineering effort completed around 700 BC. The dig through solid limestone under the old City of David was authorised by King Hezekiah, a descendant of David and ancestor of Joseph the legal father of Jesus Christ. The purpose of the Tunnel was to divert the waters of Gihon Spring into the city and away from the Assyrian army which was then under the command of King Sennacherib.

Wading through the still-functioning conduit in 1976, the water was ankle-deep. But when I waded through again in 1993, the water was deeper, reaching above the waistline. Just before the exit at the Pool of Siloam, the floor of the tunnel dipped, forming a sump in caving terms. This allowed me to swim out and then allowed the warm sunshine to dry me off as I sauntered back to the hostel in Jerusalem Old City. Below are two pictures of myself at the Tunnel, first in 1976, then again in 1993.

Inside Hezekiah's Tunnel, 1976.

Exiting the Tunnel in 1993.

I spent two weeks in Israel in 1993. After arriving in Tel Aviv late in the evening, I spent much of my first full day there before boarding an Egged Bus to Jerusalem. In the Old City, I came across the New Swedish Backpacker's Hostel in Souk David and reserved a bed in one of the mixed-gender dormitories housed in a Medieval building. This became the base for the rest of the holiday. 

Also a note about the Dome of the Rock. In 1993, the golden dome was under renovation, hence a crane towered over the grey underlay. However, I was one of the more fortunate ones who entered the dome and saw, and touched, the foundation rock which is the actual summit of the mountain, and also the traditional site where Abraham was about to sacrifice his own son Isaac. Unfortunately, photography of the interior was banned, hence I have no interior photos to display here. Yet, to touch such a significant rock was an exhilarating experience.

This is a photo album of the first part of three or four of the 1993 trip.

For the main Biography, click here for the Index which gives access to Weeks 48-51 which covers this trip.

Arrived in Tel Aviv and then boarded a bus to Jerusalem.

Tel Aviv Youth Hostel

Tel Aviv Beach and Marina.

Market at Tel Aviv.

Another view of the market.

I bussed from Tel Aviv to reside here.

Hostel Dorm. The bed with the blue towel is mine.

Kitchen, Laundrette, Dining Room, Lounge - all in one room.

At the Western or Wailing Wall.

Children at the Western Wall.

The Wall is part of a Jewish Synagogue.

The ladies section.

Orthodox Jews initiate the Sabbath.

The initiation of the Sabbath is a joyous occasion.

Watching these Jews celebrate was a joy to me, too.

Old City Attractions.

The original Cardio, Old City.

Another look at the excavations.

The Cardio was restored to its Byzantine original.

Remains of a Jewish Synagogue.

Panorama of Jerusalem Old City, from the Citadel.

Looking towards the Mount of Olives.

View of the New City, from the Citadel.

Christ Church. I attended on both Sundays.

Another view into the New City, from the Citadel.

Tomb of Zachariah (right).

The Church of Dominus Flevit, Mt of Olives.

Silwan, the Kidron Valley.

Another view of Silwan.

The roofed Souk El Zytoun el Shafa.

The same street at night - could be creepy!

El Shafa extends from the Cardio to the Damascus Gate.

Christian pilgrims pass through Via Dolorosa.

The cross is heading for the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Via Dolorosa.

Via Dolorosa means Way of Suffering.

Posing near the Church of St Anne, Mary's mother.

The Church of St Anne is hidden behind trees.

Muslims pour out of Damascus Gate on their Sabbat.

Nice setting for the Damascus Gate.

Fruit Market outside the Damascus Gate.

The Ramparts Walk.

Posing at the Ramparts Walk.

The walk was from Damascus Gate to Jaffa Gate.

View of East Jerusalem.

Looking south along the Walk.

The Ramparts Walk continues.

Approaching Jaffa Gate.

Unusual view of Jaffa Gate.

The walk ends here at Jaffa Gate.

After Jaffa Gate, the walk resumes to Zion Gate.

Bonei Jerusalem Gardens.

At the Harim Al-Sharif (Temple Mount).

In 1993, the Dome was under maintenance.

Yet, I still captured its beauty.

Solomon's Porch looks out to the Mt of Olives.

Facing south towards Al-Aqsa Mosque

Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Meditating at the Dome of the Rock.

Foot washing fountain, Temple Mount.

The Dome of the Rock was under maintenance.

Al-Aqsa Mosque.

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Next Week: Jerusalem continues with the site of Christ's Crucifixion, Archaeology sites, and the Citadel Museum.