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Is it the multiplicity of selves that you wanted me to take note of (for Joseph and Apollo), the fact that you don't have perfect knowledge but need to make a decision (which route to take in Israel), or having a watcher/judge?

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.

He will indeed demonstrate that he can take care of himself before the tour is over. One of the reasons he's there is that he's being hunted in Rome, even inside the Vatican. They send him to the Holy Land not just to jog his memory, but also to keep him relatively safe while they hunt for a killer of cardinals and bishops in Rome. That killer is believed to be the Antichrist.

He's a target of the Antichrist, so he'll be traveling in a motorcade of three armored Mercedes SUVs loaded with heavily armed Swiss Guards. There's a Catholic expert on the Holy Land in the group. How's that for a tour? :-)

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.

Just found what I needed to finish the description of Bethany Beyond the Jordan. All that remains is a detailed description of the Israeli site opposite the Jordan River. So close, but I have errands to run today. Probably wrap up sometime this week. Way more time than I wanted to spend on this damn location.

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.

Temple, where do you sign up for their blog/posts? I can't find a field to submit my email address.

Thanks.
Dirk

Nazareth is done, including the Church of the Annunciation, where Gabriel told Mary she would give birth to Jesus. The lower church surrounds the remains of what is believed to be Mary's home. tripadvisor.ca has a ridiculous number of excellent pictures of the church (and probably every other church I care about). There's at least one church for every major event in Jesus's life, ministry, and crucifixion.

Next up, Jesus's baptism at Bethany Beyond the Jordan (river), now located in Jordan. I think I'll take Connor to the tourist baptism site in Israel first and have him realize that it's not the original site (a test by Father Romano).