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Show H2 The Salt Lake Tribune TRAVEL Sunday, December 26, 1999 Pedaling Pilgrims Follow in the Footsteps of Jesus IF YOU GO Manyare shunning tour buses to see the Holy Land on two wheels Lod, about9 miles east ofTel Av: 24 miles west of Jerusalem aq about 80 miles southwest of ho sites in the north. Many majq airlines fly to : Highway No. 1 connects th airport to Tel Aviv, Jerusalem a other highways to the nort Rental car, taxi and bus service are available at the airport foi connections to all areas of tha BY LAURIE COPANS THE ASSOCIATED PRESS MOUNT TABOR,Israel — For David Hiebert of Scottdale, Pa., biking through the barren Judean Desert — where tradition holds offers service from to Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and from’ that Jesus wandered for 40 days before he was tempted by the devil was the most hands-on way to experience the Bible. “T understood Christ's work can be stored in luggage compartments. much better being in the wilderness,” Hiebert says after a gruei- Lodging: Jerusalem, Tiberias ing bicycle ride for 25 miles along and other areas where there are the tough desert trails. “To travel any other way you just don’t get holy sites offer a variety of options, including five-star hotels, the same feeling that you get guest houses and hosteis with biking.” As thousands of pilgrims converge on the Holy Landto cele- prices ranging from $150 per night for a double room down to $20 per night. Manylarge hotels havejust brate Jesus’ birth, many are look- been completed aroundIsrael, but ing for ways to get off the worn path of tour buses. They hope to it’s best to make reservations wel] in advance during the year 2000, especially in holiday seasons. get awayfrom exhaust fumes and crowds to explore the open spaces where Christlived 2000 years ago. Weather: Due to the hot sum- Travel on two wheels can offer mer weather and potential for rain in the winter, bike riding is tourists an adventurous trip to many holy sites, while staying most comfortable during the months of March-June and within whatever time andfinan- September-October. Even in cial constraints they may have. For many, cycling also awakens a spiritual side they can’t conjure up sitting in a tour bus. northern Israel, temperatures can pices be All it takes is a courageous David Hlebert/The Associated Press spirit and perseverance for those Bikers pass through thevillage of Wadi Hammam near MountArbel, background,in the northem part of Israel. Travel on two wheels can Offer tourists an adventurous trip to many holysites in Israel while staying within financial constraints thay may have. hills. With the sunon their faces and windin their hair, Hiebert and 49 other Christian bikers from the United States, England, Scotland and Ireland biked 125 miles recently in a five-day tour of sanc- tuaries in Israel and the Palestin- ian areas. They were raising moneyfor the Edinburgh Medical Missionary Society that supports Nazareth hospital. With almost every pedal they pushed, the amateurcyclists from age18 to 64 — including ministers, “With biking, you have a chance to know where the terrain changes, especially in Israel. One minute you're biking in the desert and the next you're biking next to lush, greenfields.” musicians, an editor and a violin repairer — followed Jesus’ path, from Jerusalem through the Jud- ean wilderness to Nazareth. site is www.goisrael.com. Biking:Few areas offerbicycle rentals. For off-road and long trips, it may be best to bring your own bicycle. Mostairlines charge an extra fee for packed bicycles to cover insurance costs. Road maps David Hiebert in English can be obtained through the Society for the Pro- Whobiked through the Judean tection of Nature in Israel, 4 Hashefela St., Tel Aviv 66183, They passed through the phone (972) 3-687-7695, Website www.spni.org. desert, the West Bank town of Jericho by the Jordan River — near where Christ was baptized — and through the grassy hills aroundthe Sea of Galilee where he performed his miracles. A local tour company provided a guide and a support bus. get as high as 100 in July and August. In the winter, day tempera- tures in the northern areas and Jerusalem usually range between 45 and 65. Information: Call or write Dina Aharon,director of the U.S. Information CenterfortheIsraeli Tourism Ministry, 800 Second Ave., 16th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10017. Phone (212)-499-5660 or fax (212) 499-5665. The ministry's Web All aroundthe lake, mountains Also see the Web sitebike.orgil for stores, organizations, events loomed, signaling the tough ride ahead.After breakfast and a quick in the country,orcall theIsraeli warmup,they were off. Thepilgrims, clad in yellow Tshirts, biked part of the 37-mile Bicycle Federation (972) 3-649. 0436. Rental, Guides: The following chance to know where theterrain road aroundthe Sea of Galilee tq are stores, companies and indi- Capernaum, where it is believed changes, especially in Israel,” says Hiebert, the editor of a Mennonite publishing company. “One minute you're bikingiin the desert and the next you're biking next to viduals that can help get bikers on their ways: gogue. The basalt stones of the biking. Since the bike touring in- woman and exorcised an evil lush, greenfields.” Someof the route was off-road dustry is just awakeninginIsrael, cyclists who want to go without a guide may want to stick to the roads. The biking group started off near the Jewish settlement of Mishor Adumim southeast of Jerusalem — wherethey saw wild camels wandering through the desolate hills — and rode to the communal farm of Mezukeh Dragotonthe cliffs above the Dead Sea. After turning north, the group reached Jericho and the Mountof Temptation, where the Bible says Jesus wrestled with the devil. “And he was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angel ministered to him.” (Mark 1:13) Today, a cable car sweeps pilgrims up over the banana groves of the Palestinian town to the 19th-century Greek Orthodox monastery hewn intocliffs at the traditional site of the temptation ofChrist. Visitors can enjoy spicy vegetable salads, falafel and shish ke- bab in restaurants at the base of the gondola. If tempted them- selves, tourists can try their hand at Jericho's Oasis casino. The cyclists then turned north, stopping for the night atthe city of Bet Shean, with its Roman ruins Jesus lived at the house of Peter and preached in a nearby synaoriginal sanctuary werestill visible. It was here that, according to the Bible, Jesus healed a bleeding @ Mountain Wheels: A Christian pilgrim holds a cross aloft as he bathes in the Jordan River during a Greek Orthodox ceremony marking Epiphany at KasserEl-Yahud baptism site near the West Bank town ofJericho. spirit from a man. Excavations nearby have uncovered whatis believed to be the among thevery first up,” said the British Baptist minister, who wore argyle socks over his lean calves on the steep, 2% mile ride up From Capernaum, tourist boats with masts in the shape of crosses made their way across the tranquil Sea of Galilee. The group stopped briefly at Tabgha, described in the book of “It was quite satisfying, the spiritual feeling and physical one together making the whole,” former missionary to actual house of Peter. Markas the location of Jesus’ miracle of feeding the multitude with fish and loaves. Along the wayaround thelake, pilgrimscan also visit the sites of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1-35) and Jesus’ preaching to unwelcomeresidents at Kora- zim (Matthew 11:21). The cyclists began to tire once they climbed the Roman route to Nazareth, through an Arab village near MountArbel. The riders stopped part-way up to observe the view; tendrils of sun on amber grass stretched down to the ragged cliffs of Mount Arbelin the south and the Sea of Galilee in the east. No sight of a tour bus here. The tranquility on the way up the gravel road prompted Trevor Jones from western to start a philosophical conversation about how much women could teach men aboutconflict resolueal in Ireland and the Middle For the pilgrims, the phys! exertion ~dey tough alambe through the of- ten evoked Plein of elation. For 60-year-old Terry McNulty, the last day’s ride up to a church ap the son ofGod (Mark 9:2), was an epiphany. “I felt quite fulfilled to be (972)-9-746-4444. @ Singletrack: (972)-4-830-7340. @ B’Kol Ofen HaGolan: (972)-52-850-282. @ Avinoam 1B Oceanus: (972)-3-544-0544. @ Cannondale Israei: (972)-3-604-1688. a meluo Trek Israel: the Galilean mountain. (972)-3-540-3111 India and Indonesia. As their knobby tires whirred on the road down the mount, the Holy Sites: Most sanctuaries charge only a nominal fee or nothing at all. Modest -dress is mandatory for bikers looked outat a quilt ofdeep brown fields spotted Golan Heights to the east. And some could even imagine the biblical figures walking on the same paths 2000 years ago. “For me, this makes the characters of the Old Testament come to life,” said Roger Glick, a violin through the pine forests from MountTabor to Nazareth. “You could really imagine the time of Jesus,” adds Giick, who rides his bike 24 miles to and from work each day. oeee Yanai: (972)-3-771-7367. Theslone commemorating the “Mirae ofthe Four Thousand Feed.” showing a mosaic representation of Jesus, fishes and loaves at Dugit Beach on the Sea of Galilee. read Genesis in Hebrew. BSSTIISy “With biking, you have a |
