during His 40-day stay in the wilderness, fasting after His baptism. The monastery can be reached by foot - for the hardy - or by cable car. Aside from Bethlehem, Beit Sahour and Jericho, other sites in the P.A. are of potential interest to Christian pilgrims, and the P.A.’s Ministry of Tourism & Antiquities has worked to identify and develop a number of them. These include Jacob’s Well in Nablus, on the grounds of a Greek Orthodox monastery, where Jesus is said to have asked a Samaritan woman to draw water for
mosaic work, depicting both the characters themselves and some of the important incidents recorded in the gospels that took place in Bethany. BETWEEN JERUSALEM AND TEL AVIV Especially - though by no means exclusively - for pilgrims flying into Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport, there is much of Christian interest to see in the vicinity of the airport, as well as in the entire region between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. A pilgrimage tour of the country could easily start - or conclude - with a visit to both the Neot Kedumim Biblical Landscape Reserve, and Mini Israel, the Madurodam-like exhibition not far away. At the former, where plants mentioned in the Bible are grown and biblical-style meals are available, pilgrims can read the Gospels in their context - Israel’s natural and agricultural landscapes and first-century daily life - and find new and rich dimensions in familiar texts that take on color, texture, fragrance and fresh meanings. They can also visit a chapel where pilgrims prayed 1600 years ago. At Mini Israel, a large number of miniature models of Christian holy sites are featured - as well as others of general interest from all over the country - and a visit to this site is one way of introducing groups to what they will see, or recapitulating their visit, just prior to departure. Mini Israel is close by the Latroun Trappist Monastery and there may be groups interested in visiting this facility, too. One of the latest sites in the area of potential interest to Christians visiting Israel, and Catholic visitors in particular, is the Saxum Project in the Judean Hills region, between Kibbutz Maaleh HaHamisha and Abu Ghosh, 15 km west of Jerusalem. the Saxum Visitor Center opened in 2019 and is now a major Catholic pilgrimage hub. The Saxum Visitor Center is an information center for tour guides and visitors to the Holy Land, where interactive and multimedia resources highlight the heritage and roots of the Christian faith, with the aim of fostering a deeper knowledge of other faiths and to provide a solid foundation for understanding the holy sites. Pilgrims can now walk the new 18-km. (11-mile) Emmaus Trail that goes from the Saxum Visitor Center in Abu Ghosh and ends at the monastery of Emmaus Nicopolis. The whole walk should take five to six hours.
Him from a well, the Byzantine church at Burquin (near Jenin), built to mark the spot where Jesus cured the 10 lepers, the Byzantine church ruins in El Bireh, where Joseph and Mary stopped to rest on their way to Jerusalem, and Sebastia, where Salome is said to have performed her dance of the seven veils, receiving John the Baptist’s head in return (a site of particular interest to Provoslav pilgrims, because of the St. John’s Russian Orthodox convent situated there). Another important pilgrimage site is Bethany, situated just over the brow of the Mount of Olives. The Gospels indicate that Jesus chose to stay in Bethany, rather than in Jerusalem itself, when He visited the City and that He was particularly close to Lazarus - whose tomb may be visited there - and his two sisters, Martha and Mary. Today, a modern church (built in the early 1950s) stands on the site considered to be the home of Martha, Mary and Lazarus. It contains some very striking modern
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