Book of Love Chapter/ Twenty One/ Arrival too the Sea of Galilee

   

  As I was on the Arab Palistinien bus heading towards the Sea of Galilee on one of my four times total that I have been in Israel and stopping along the way too Narareth on my way back and coming close to the Sea of Galilee a relatively short bus ride from Nazareth I was expecting to see some great resort hotel as coming towards a mountain hill bluff excepting to see the Sea and some big hotel along the way too the entrance of the view and instead I saw nothing but the Sea and when arriving in Tiberious there were no fancy tourist hotels to be seen, in my memory but did find a Youth Hostel on the Sea of Galilee and remembering feeding the fish on the Sea that came in swarms like that I have never seen in my life and it started by finding a quite place on a sea wall with calm and gentle and wave free water, where I could see the bottom and started throwing bread in the water and remember the verse in the Scriptures about casting ones bread upon the waters and after many days, it will return too you and when I did small fish started appearing and then bigger fish and then even bigger fish and a sight that I have never witnessed before as a fisher from my youth and they swarmed until I ran out of bread and then crossing the Sea of Galilee on a small ferry boat too the other side and seeing an amazing looking mountain that spoke volumes of mystery and was told something like this side of the Sea is where Jesus cast the demons out of the demonic and where the Sermon on the Mount was spoken, the greatest sermon every told or was that on the other side of the sea as some may say, but this mountain on the other side of the sea looked like the most dramatic place, that the most dramatic sermon was ever told and after a brief stop at the tiny port upon returning I could image how this Sea could be turbulent in a storm and had an erie feeling of what it must have been like in a storm and learning later or have been told or read that the winds can come down on the Sea in Great turbulence due to the fact that the Sea of Galilee is nearly below sea level and part of the Great African Rift that extended too the Dead Sea in the Jordon Valley or which the sea was part of in the North and surrounded by potential funneling mountains and it was obvious to me later that this was part of the ocean at one time, due to the Sea crabs on shore that looked exactly like the sea crabs on the open ocean on the rocks in shore as I was camping on the shore of the Sea after the  crossing and after checking out of the Hostel and finding a ace to camp,for there was not camp ground noticed, when I was there in the early seventies and after finding a solitary looking place on foot, just North of Tiberious and crossing a small farmers field and climbing over a stone border wall cautious of poisonous snake in the stones of which some of the most poisonous of snakes are in Israel with a Palastinian looking Arsb farmer watching in curiosity or concern, for this was put of the tourist or Pilgrims venue and coming too a small clearing on shore I steeled down and unrolled my light weight  but super earm down mummy bag. I began fishing with a drop line and wondering and praying in my heart, that I might catch a fish, with a coin in its mouth, like Peter did when Jesus told him to do, for tax money. Instead I caught a little fise at first and probably was an immature fish the locals call, Saint Peter's fish and but too sma to swallow a coin, so I fished again and caught a small or moderate size Catfish and I thought that this must have been the type of fish that Peter caught, due to its large mouth and able to swallowa coin and being a bottom feeder and Saint Peter's fish may be a misnomer, like many sites and things in the Holy Land are by traditions that are not always based on the facts and but even then, people are blessed I'm thier bliss for even the beautiful picture of the three wise men at Christ's birth never happened for they came some years later and but still a beautiful picture in spite of right being wrong and so many places in the Holy Land are not always a historical fact place and but close enough to be blessed in the heart and mind and visions and from the Sea of Galilee Iateth  traveled by bus again too Narareth and found na catholic Pilgrims Monestary to stay with a sweet and beautiful Nun greeting me at the door and from Nazareth and from there I traveled back to Jerusalem and from there I traveled further south too Hebron and visited Abraham's Tomb and also Joab"s tomb a cave and Abraham's tomb is a cave also but no one can enter in but one can peer down through a hole in the ceiling and I remember an Hasidic Jew in full garb tried to put a prayer note  down the well and chased off by an armed Israeli soilder guarding the Holy Site Moaerod sqe and venerated site by both Jews and Muslims of which building site over the tomb was built by Harod the Builder and one of the most authentic sites in Israel and the Holy Land and Joab's Tom just s modest cave tomb and I had to take it at the guides word or posts that it was authentic and creepy also when one knows the full history of King David's right hand man who died in disgrace and then I found myself stranded in Hebron and for it was the Sabbath and no busses were running so I visited Beer Shiva the place of the seven weeks that Abraham dug and so I checked onto a cheap and but clean Hostel and only way the next day through the amazing country side ride, back up too Jerusalem and checked into one of a number of Pilgrims Monestaries to stay in like the Lutheran Hostel. Casa Nova a Franciscan Monk Monastary where one can eat and drink wine with the Monks in the same large room and one Monk took a great liking to my son Elijah Muchael as a child and playing a sort of tag and making my son laugh and they both laughed together and but my favorite place to stay was the White Sisters Cathollic Monestaries and built over the Pavement that Jesus stood before Pontus Pilafe call the floor of Antonio's  Fortress the garrison that watched over the Holy Temple site and a carved game was on the floor by  by soldiers who mock Jesus before his crucifixion and the card game on the wall depicted someone being mocked as a king and robed and such and is a stark and real testimony of what happened to Christ at the head of the Roman soldiers under Pontius Pilate and the white sisters monastery was built over the ruins of Antonia's Fortress and the pavement where the famous words or inFAMOUS words were spoken by Pontius Pilate behold the man which in Latin is "Ecce Homo", from the roof of this Monastery one can see a good part of the old city of Jerusalem and the Temple area and the most fascinating is deep down below the in the lowest part of the monastary the  Flagstone of someone being mocked before being crucified is the story....to be continued and edited 

Book of Love by Who/ Chapter Sixteen/ Istanbul and Journy across Turkey too Adana

 

   Upon arriving too Istanbul from Greece the first thing we looked for was a Church but could not find one, except for what appeared to be and office operated by the Seventh Day Aventist as sort of an Embassy !? In a country that is historically very hostile to Christian  institutions  and still was when we were there and no doubt still is today and more and but the people were great and very friendly to us and I would further say that the people are friendly to a fault and finnally we  contacted the mission and met to men inside an office setting and no Church building or meeting room or hall in site and just a front office setting and we say down to chat with them and were relieved to find some Christians in the first Muslim country that we have ever entered onto and it was a strange and new World with the city skyline all filled with Mosques instead of what the Western skylines look like in New York of high rise office and residential building and instead I remember seeing mostly nothing but Mosques and Minirets and an an awesome and beautiful and foriegn sight it was and a sadness that no Church in Sight and upon finding a couple of Seventhday Day Adventist is was so good to speak freely in English again without an interpreter and by the time we reached Israel I was babbling to talk tot

 folks freely in English, for English is the third language officially in Israel, but really the second along with Arabic and basically everyone understands English for they ran what the Romans renamed Palistine or the land of the Philistines for no Arabs lived there then only the Jewish State of Judia/Israel of from which the Romans destroyed the State and deported its inhabitants until the recent return, after two thousand years and then imported foreigners in spite of the false Jewish king Herods Arab blood and let's go back too Turkey in this story, so Kenny and I talked and fellowshipped with the Adventists that the Pastors busiest day was the so called Christian Sabbath Sunday and Adventist pastors also on Saterday thier Sabbat and they just grinned and didnt know what to say and by the way a Christian pastors day off is Monday and so funny how truth is that Christ is our Sabbath and rest in Him daily and or whatever day one can rest and Saterday the Biblical Sabbath is good if one can keep and rest a full day a week of which is highly recommended or on Sunday for traditional Christian's or both days like the early Christian's did and go and figure and the Pastor and the Middle East Missionary Evangelist with him admired by Christian workers Bible that I had with me and the Evangist said he was the Evangelist for the whole Middle East for the Church and was visiting or .ministering in Istanbul and after leaving this stored front office and incognito location and probably with a discrete meeting room or place in the back, for missionaries are not looked on kindly in Muslim countries and is a dirty word in Israel, when get mad at someone they call them a  "Missionary ", and a much hated word especially amonog the ultra Orthodox Jews for they spite at the name and so use it sparingly in Muslim countries and Israel even though the average Muslim and Jew are just as friendly as in any country in the World and downtown Tel Aviv is just like downtown Los Angelist and it's in Jerusalem that things can get very intense and Ultra Orthidox believers will even spite at the name of Jesus and use a word that means let his name be forgotten. "Yehsu", and so after leaving the two Aventist ministers, we checked into a Youth Hostel in the evening and after a good nights sleep we woke up to being in front of the oldest and largest Christian Catherderal in the World and older then Saint Peter's although currently Sant Peter's is the largest Catheral in the World and in fact the latest open space building in the World and but the Church we stood in front of was the oldest and largest in the World until Saint Peter's, build centuries before our relatively modern Peters in comparison to the Cathederal called The Church of the Holy Wisdom or Saint Sophia and or in Arabic called the Aia Sophia and currently is being used as a Museum after the Turks took Contantinople now Istanbul from the Byzantine Romans and had turned it into Mosque and it is breathtaking to think about the history of this Church of which I had, had no idea about it being the Mother Church in the world until around the fall of Constaninople around the thirteenth century and then until the Renaissance ara in around the fifteenth century and as we stood in front of this historic site that was built in the fifth century and that for a thousand years was the largest Catherderal in the World we were flat broke at this time in a ninty nine percent Muslim country and no Church prospects to minister in and and to be supported and down to virtuall just enough money to buy a bus ticket too Adana Turkey almost three quarters away across Turkey to make our way too Israel via the Island of Cypress of which would leave us virtually broke when we finally arrived in Andana and checked into a hotel with our passports as security and no ticket money for the ship ride to Cypress, while waiting for a letter from our Church in California visa via my wife Becky with boat fare, after a week there and so we are here standing front of this historical Cathederal and because it was a museum now, they  charged a fee to get in, so instead we went a cross a groomed and pavedfield accros from the Cathedral too what was called the Blue Mosque and was build as kind of a diversion from people going too Saint Sophias as an alternate to visit and a big and spectacular as the Mosque was, it felt no sense of history but a clean and sterile and beautiful building designed to compete with Saint Sophiaz of which was full of history that se could not see, from lack of entrance fee for the upkeep and maintenance of the ancient building built by the Roman Christian Emporer Justinian but started by Constantine the Greats first Church site in Byzantina later called Constantinopl,  after him of course and the feelings that I have going back and thinking how close we came to entering into the Catherdral still haunts me as I look back then and knowing today of that I know of the Church building is that I have no regrets no entering in, but anticipation of going someday to enter in for I was wholly amazed at the time and honestly ignorant of the historical value of the site at the time and the Arch BIshop of Istanbul and the Eastern Orhodox want it back as a Church and the Muslim and Turkish government will give it back for Christian services for a certain  amount of which the Patriarch named Matthias currently dies not havethe moey to buy it back and meanwhile the current goverment in power as I write these words in May of two thousand and twenty two wants to or threatening to use it as a Mosque again in spite of someone like Elon Musk, could probably donate enough alone, to buy it back for the Christian World to use it again as a Church and last I heard or read Brother and Patriarch Mattias is hold up in his office in Instanbul from Muslim extremist and terrorists some time ago and is on constant alert and the Muslim controlled government won't allowe even seminariesto train new Priests or let trained Priests intothe country to serve and would like all Christians especially Orthidox just to die off or go away as an institution and but the option to sell the Catherdal back too the Orthodox would be a  great game changer and of course its been decades since I've been there and but have tried to keep up on current events and anyone can contact the Patriarch Mattias at his office in Istanbul for an update on the offer some time ago to sell the Catherdal back too the Orthodox Church and after visiting the Blue Mosque of which if recall was built by Sulimen the Magnificent across from the Saint Sophia and remember there was no Saint named the such, but a referance to Christ the Wisom of God based in passages from the book of Palms concerning " I Wisdom", a shadow referance to Christ for the Greeks love wisdom so the Church is called the Church of the  Holy Wisdom and Saint Paul said "Christ the Wisdom of God", and not after a Saint like Saint Peter, but after Christ for the Church is called, after all is said and done is the Church of Jesus Christ and not the Church of Saint Peter or Paul to be more Orthodox speaking and from Istanbul we boarded a bus for th he long drive across the country too the city of Adona on the South East of Turkey to board a ship to Cypress and fromthere too Israel our final destination...to be continued unedited and unpunchuated and to be published into book, with as little help from family and friends in the near future and if would like to help edite then send chapters too peteromanowsky@gmail.com and thank you !!!