The Gathering Darkness (the Connor series) - Dirk B. (Page 11 of 57)

Up first, Bethlehem! Currently in Palestinian territory. Fortunately, since the Church is behind this mission, they're using their diplomatic contacts to bypass normal travel restrictions and delays. I plan a "convoy" of two SUVs, one filled with Connor, Father Romero, their Catholic guide, and a Swiss Guard as driver. SUV number two is more Swiss Guards. The Swiss Guards are expendable. Normally, the elite Swiss Guards only protect the Pope and his residence, but given who Connor may be, they're not taking any chances.

Good grief. The little things you have to think of when writing. The SUVs carrying Connor will have Vatican City State plates while traveling in Israel, Palestine, and Jordan. I can't find documentation if this is what they actually do, but it avoids having Israeli plates in Palestinian Territory and vice versa.

Maybe instead Italian plates?

Bethlehem & the Church of the Nativity are done! I could spend a week or two writing a high school-level book report on it, but I'm not that insane. Two days will do for now. It's a good thing the Vatican will assign one of its Jerusalem-based experts as a tour guide. There's going to be a lot to describe, and the Holy Land is rich with both Biblical and Roman history.

https://inkasarmored.com/armored-suv-ba … des-gl550/

Look up the Rezvani Tank.

Next up, Nazareth. According to the Bible, Jesus had some knowledge of his holiness at age 12 in Jerusalem. However, Jesus went to the Temple (now the Dome of the Rock) multiple times in his life, so I'll probably save it until the end of the trip, ending in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. I'll have to recheck my list of miracles tomorrow. If he performed any major miracles in Jerusalem on earlier visits, then I'll need to take Connor there more than once, albeit to different locations. Possibly the healing pools.

Good grief! The baptism site of Jesus is turning into a real bitch to research. It's an archeological site in Jordan about 500 meters from the modern Jordan River. Christians built anywhere from 3 to 5 churches at the same location, only to have earthquakes and the river keep wiping them out (the river used to run right past the building's foundation). It took me hours just to find a picture and, later, video of the original site. Apparently there is a visitor's center, a bus terminal, trinket shops, and shuttle buses to take you from the parking lot to the site. I can't find pictures of any of that, so the description of those is either going to be very minimal or made up. Parts of the archeological site has been covered with open wood structures supporting gable roofs. There's a long walkway around most of the site. Took me all day to discover that most of the pictures of those were out of date and they're now covered walkways. Opposite the church remains, there is an elevated walkway I have yet to discover in pictures that takes you from the remains to the Jordan River where, on the other side, the Israelis have built a very large modern  tourist center for people who want to dunk their heads in the river. I knew they both existed, but I didn't realize the Israeli side was so close to the original, nor did I know the archeological site is so close to the modern path of the river. Turns out the remains are built on a flood plain and when the river overflows, the ancient baptism site in Jordan gets enough water to fill the dried out river bed from 2000 years ago. I've looked at 100s of pictures, dozens of videos, and countless web sites to get a sense of where everything is, what it looks like today, and what it looked like thousands of years ago. Unfortunately, I have no info yet on where the highway is, nor Elijah's Hill from which he rode a chariot to Heaven (it's nearby and big, so I need to know where), and the modern mosque(s) and Christian churches that the motorcade will pass along the way. There are also numerous caves nearby that John the Baptist and his followers lived in. A small number of tombs were also located on the main site, but I'll be damned if I can find them.

I was going to have Father Romano take Connor to the false Israeli site first as a test, but I don't want to spend two days researching it just for a few paragraphs in the story. I may still do it, but only if I wrap up the original research by tomorrow.

This is probably going to be the hardest site to research because it's so remote, second only to Old Jerusalem, although I don't plan for Connor to go sightseeing there, since he's still being pursued. Just the key Christian stops and then back to Rome.

Way past my bedtime.

Thanks. That looks like part of the Israeli side, I believe.

Kdot, turns out Yardenit is a competing site for where Jesus might have been baptized. It's just southwest of the Sea of Galilee. It's considered the least credible. So far, only Bethany Beyond the Jordan is formally recognized by most Christian denominations (including Catholics) and is the only one of the three to be designated a UN World Heritage Site.

Correction, Yardenit isn't really a competing site. It was created up north because the current Israeli baptism site (Qasr al-Yahud) was hostile territory until the Israeli-Jordanian peace treaty and de-mining.

It looks like Qasr al-Yahud is going to be very easy to write up. I only have two pages of notes for the entire site. 360°-view photos are a God-send. Unlike the archeological dig in Jordan, the Israeli site is brand new with only a few unmistakable attractions, the steps into the water being one of them. Add two outdoor churches. A couple of shaded areas. And a large building that no one has photographed from the inside, so that's gotta be the visitor's center, shops, and bathrooms. Palm trees spread about. Very large tour buses run here in droves.

Google maps rock! Street view allows me to see the landscape for major routes through Israel. Indispensable given that the travel guides don't cover most of this in a way I can follow on a map. I'm 60% of the way through rereading the best of the travel guides for the sites Connor may visit. The author jumps around, though, both in time and place. The only reason I can follow most of the book is that I have a table of the major events in Jesus's ministry. I'm still pondering whether to follow a chronological path through Israel or a circular one. Since virtually nothing is known about Jesus as a child and young adult in Nazareth, it seems like overkill to drive all the way north after Bethlehem, only to come south again for the baptisms, then north again to Galilee. Unfortunately, there are quite a few sites for which I still don't have enough description. What I'd give for the health to see it all in person with a good tour guide.