Waiting for Christmas in the museums and churches of West Jerusalem

Dateline: West Jerusalem. We have been here a week and we have not even done visiting  a third of our scheduled destinations here in the Holy Land. We took off very early after the daily mass celebrated by my cousin Father Rey Gilla at six in the morning. We grabbed a quick bite of Jewish foods for breakfast, and we are here now in the Bible Lands Museum, which is just a stone throw away from the Israel Museum. The Bible Lands Museum houses the many valuable artifacts from all ages in human history. It stores the archeological treasures from Middle eastern areas beyond the boundaries of Israel. This museum contains very important pieces whose values are beyond pecuniary estimation, like the Holy Shroud of Turin.

The Israel National Museum houses also priceless legacies of the olden times. Although it does not contain the Dead Sea Scrolls Inside it is the Shrine of the Book which contains some scrolls which are one thousand years older than what used to be considered as the oldest copies of the original Hebrew Bible. The Museum is divided into five main sections, namely the ARCHEOLOGY WING containing the world's largest and most dramatic display of Israeli archelogical finds; the JUDAICA WING, which contains the world's most comprehensive and daxxling collection of Jewish cultural and religious objects; the FINE ARTS COMPLEX containing some of the best paintings and literary gems; the BILLY ROSE SCULPTURE GARDEN, and the scale model of HERODIAN JERUSALEM.

The churches fascinated us more. They are very imposing and impressive in their architectural design and interior decoration. They also give us a feeling of piety and God-centeredness. First of all, is the Abysinian or Ethiopian Church with an elegant structure with the Lion of Judah carved into the gate. Our tourist guide tells us that this lion is the living symbol of the momentous meeting between the Queen of Sheba, an Ethopian empress and the biblical figure, King Solomon, or Suleiman in Arab. Inside this circular church are great masterpieces of paintings. Then we proceeded to the Notre de Dame de France Church, built in 1882. It is located near the New Gate of the Old City.

Next is the Saint Andrew Church of Scotland. We were in awe with its interior which was all in Amenian tiles.This was built by the people of Scotland in 1929. This was dedicated to the Scottish General Allenby who led the army that liberated Jerusalem in 1917 from the Ottoman Empire army. Adjacent to this church is the Prsbytherian Church located in a very scenic hilltop nearby the Jerusalem railroad station. Then just at the end of the Jaffa Road is the impressive Russian Orthodox Holy Trinity Cathedral. It is a multidomed architectural icon painted in white and very majestic in view. This was constructed just after the Crimean Church. The Russian prilgrims always come here to worship.

Next site we went to is the Monastery of the Cross located in the Valley of the Cross just outside Rehavia. This monastery is now being maintained by the Greek Orthodox Church From the churches, our goup proceeded to other interesting sites. The first is the great Beit Ticho House, which was built in 1880 as a private villa of Aga rashid Nashashibi. This became a residence of the great opthalmologist Dr Ticho. Today, it is considered a tourist spot where many interesting tourist item for sale. We also entered the Hebrew University Campus in Givat Ram. It is a great museum of education both, ancient, medieval and rennaisance. Then we saw the landmark Knesset Parliament Building, which is the legislature center of Israel.

This travel is emerging not just as a religious pilgrimage but also an educational tour. We have learned a lot and are still learning in every site and spot we visit. We are thus able to connect the dots in our knowledge of history, religion, culture, history and geography. I am encouraging all Filipinos to travel to this sacred nation called the Holy land. In this particular area, the West Jerusalem alone, we gathered a lot of new insights that have made our perspectives more complete and sophisticated. Every Filipino should be able to go on this kind of tour even for once in a lifetime. There is nothing else like it. The experience is beyond words.