My last day in Palestine was absolutely AMAZING! I slept in! (What a luxury!) And then, I met my Uncle for a traditional Arab breakfast - ca'ek and baid mashwee (amazing bread and roasted eggs) and cucumbers. I even had the opportunity to go to the baker's place to see the old stone oven and how he makes the ca'ek.
This poor man! It was over 100 degrees outside and this man is standing (in his underwear) in a pit in front of a large fire. But he sure does make good ca'ek! Ca'ek is traditionally sold in the streets, by boys or men pushing carts with loads and loads of fresh-baked ca'ek. As they push their carts, they shout out, "Ca'ek, Caaaaa'ek!" To me, it's the sweetest sound! (We bought our ca'ek in Ramallah. Here is a picture of a ca'ek peddler in Jerusalem...)
After my fabulous breakfast of ca'ek, baid mashwee, and cucumbers, I headed to Jerusalem with both family and friends to celebrate the Feast of the Assumption.
The Feast of the Assumption, as many of you know, is 15 August and celebrates the death of the Virgin Mary and the assumption of her body into heaven. The Assumption is the principle feast of Mary in the Catholic Church. In the States, as best as I can tell, the Feast is only a day long celebration. In Palestine, however, it is more like a two-week celebration. Wahoo! Nothing like a good party!
Unfortunately, I missed the start of the celebration. What apparently happens is "they" (I believe priests), carry a statue of Mary from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (inside the Old City of Jerusalem), to the Church of Il 'Adra, which is just outside of the walls of the Old City, right next to the Garden of Gethsemane. For the duration of the two-weeks of the Feast, people come from all over Palestine to pray at the Church of Il'Adra. It is such a special feast, that the IDF even gives tasreeh (special passes) for the Christian Arabs living in the West Bank, so they can go pray. My last day in Palestine was also the last day of the tasreeh, though certainly not the last day of the Feast, so the checkpoints leaving the West Bank were jam packed. It felt like half (if not more) of the Christians from Ramallah were at the Church. Here are some photos with explanations:
This is the entrance (standing inside looking out) to the Church of Il 'Adra. The church itself is basically built into a cave and these are the stairs that descend into the cave. It is tradition to light candles and put them on the steps. It was a HOT day (39 C), the Church was clearly crowded, add to that the heat from the candles and it was nearly unbearable!
Candles on the stairs.
More candles. (I really loved the candles!)
This was so cool! This figure of Mary was laid out on a table much like a body would be laid out in a wake. There was a huge line (more like mob) of people waiting to kiss the statue and pray before it. Conventional wisdom there is that if you crawl under the table, the Blessed Mother will bistow her blessings upon you. So, there were people, crying, praying, and yes! crawling under the table. (In case you were wondering, of course I crawled under the table! Who in their right mind would pass up such an opportunity?!)
Praying at an icon of Mary and the Child Jesus.
Mireille, me, and Auntie Um Victor in the Church of Il 'Adra.That same afternoon, Mousa, Mireille's father, and I ran over to Gethsemane. We literally ran over, it is so close... The garden there is beautiful....
The ancient olive trees are breathtaking!
Mousa at the site where Christ prayed.
The Catholic Basilica in the Garden of Gethsemane.
The ancient olive trees are breathtaking!
Mousa at the site where Christ prayed.
The Catholic Basilica in the Garden of Gethsemane.(Mousa and I just went in to tour the Basilica and they were actually having Mass there. It was Communion time, so I ran and got in line. What an amazing experience to receive the Eucharist in Gethsemane!)
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