Vignettes of the World
It came time to say goodbye finally. The tour group boarded the plane to fly back to Dubai. Yang, a fellow tour member, invited me to her home in Abu Dhabi. We arrived late night after an hour and a half of driving from Dubai. …
Perhaps photographs would better convey the Dead Sea and its wonders. The tour finally made it out of Israel (there were some glitches at the border), and arrived at the Dead Sea’s Jordanian shore. Some of the tour members changed into swimsuits and bathed on …
Literally meaning “the dragon leaps over the mountain,” Lung Yeuk Tau spans a large area in Fanling in the Northern District. It was the second heritage trail in the New Territories that the Antiquities and Monuments Office proposed and promoted. The 2.6km walk takes visitors along many fascinating sites of historical significance because the area is home to many indigenous villages.
Under Hong Kong law, the indigenous inhabitants of Hong Kong are defined as “a person descended through the male line from a person who was in 1898 a resident of an established village in Hong Kong”.[i] Relevant to the indigenous inhabitants is the Small House Policy. It aimed at soothing the relations between the Colonial Government of Hong Kong and the residents of the New Territories. A male descendant of the indigenous population is entitled to one small house upon the age of maturity.[ii] In practice, if an indigenous household has three sons, then the household is usually entitled to the construction of a three-storied structure, with each son claiming one flat in such structure.
There is an overarching feature of the indigenous villages that is unique in character. Many indigenous villages of Hong Kong are walled (“wai” in Cantonese). These stone and brick structures used to serve as bulwark against pirates, bandits and wild and stray animals. Back in the days there were tigers in the rural areas of Hong Kong.
Perhaps these walls would be the one of the last standing structures as reminders of Hong Kong’s indigenous past. So are the ancestral shrines that usually lie at the very end of the central corridor of these villages. While visitors can still see the clear boundaries of each squared plots, the houses that stand on the plots are now modern homes.
I took an excursion on the Lung Yeuk Tau Heritage trail on a beautiful autumn day in 2018. There was plenty of sunshine, yet at the same time generous breezes mitigated the heat. Although the villages are open to entrance by car, I chose to park in the industrial zone of Fanling. I then walked over to the starting point of the trail at Tsung Kyam Church (photo above). The Antiquities and Monuments Office has done great introductions of these sites, and they are hyperlinked below.
Wing Ning Wai
[i] Annex III, The Sino-British Joint Declaration of 1984.
[ii] Small House Policy, Wikipedia.
What is known in the West as the Wailing Wall is known to the Jewish people as the Western Wall. It is the famous remains of the Second Temple. Built during King Herod’s time, the remains was part of the wall intended to serve as …
The Old City charmed visitors with its crisscross streets. Bazaars selling all kinds of oddities along the roads form an air of festiveness. The goods and fruits shine incredible colors upon the Old City’s characteristic sandstone buildings. The street signs in Old City displayed English, …
“We think this is where World War III will begin.”
Alla____hu Akbar! Alla_____hu Akbar!
At the Dome of the Rock, groups of men shouted this repeatedly. Meaning “God Allah is Greatest,” this phrase often preceded terrorist attacks in the West. Located on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, the Dome of the Rock is the holiest of the holy for three theistic religions: Islam, Christianity and Judaism.
While the general areas outside of the mosque were open to tourists and the Jewish people, the Golden Dome and the mosque only permitted Muslims for worship. At the public area, the Jewish people often encountered animosity. The Arab worshipers that gathered in groups would chant, “alla____hu akbar!” to shoo them (and the secular and the religious tourists) away.
Our tour guide stressed again and again: no Bibles! Security at the Dome of the Rock had to do with the presence (or actually, the forced absence) of the Bible. The rule was very strict. That was just one of the many ways that tension expressed itself at the holiest of the holy. The Muslims believed that Prophet Mohammed ascended to Heavens from the foundation rock at the Dome. The Jewish people and the Christians believed that this was the site where Abraham sacrificed his son Isaac.
The Arabic chant notwithstanding, the area surrounding the dome was serene. I walked around in the wonderful weather, sun-soaked. Although I fancied a sneak-in for a look, I dared not temper with Muslim religious decrees. Nor would I stretch the limits of our Arabic Christian tour guide’s explicit warnings. A close view of the architecture served all my purposes. Furthermore, the Muslim-Jewish tension at play opened my eyes. Their interactions here were representative of the centuries-old strife between these peoples.
Construction for the Golden Dome completed in 691 A.D., by the Muslim Caliph Abd Al Malik. It stood at the former site of a Roman temple, which was built on the yet former site of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. With the Roman invasion came the destruction of the Second Temple in 70A.D. (Matthew 24). [1].
In the Dome’s long history, many religious administrators have overseen and restored the structure. The most notable was the Jordanian Arabs. They shouldered the funds necessary for the gold-plated dome. The Muslim religious trust is the current administrator overseeing the Dome, after years of contentions. The three religions all laid claims on the Dome’s sacredness and significance. Lavish mosaics line the interior of the Dome. The photographs online were the second-best option for me as I did not dare going inside.
There were many ways in which the three religions were still at war with each other over the control of the Dome. As I stood amazed at its beauty and significance, I sensed a history that remained very relevant to us now. The tensions that caused so much miseries in the world manifested in the very dynamics that believers interacted with each other here, right at the heart of Old City.
“We think this is where World War III will begin,” said Nahzee, our tour guide, as we were departing this conflict zone.
[1] Wikipedia on the Dome of the Rock.
By Patrick H. Hase “The leased area [the New Territories] was not seen as an economic advantage to the City (indeed, it was initially assumed that it would be a drain on the Colony’s finances), but it was seen as greatly strengthening the City’s security …
“It is not important where Jesus died but why he died.” I rose in excitement on my first morning in Jerusalem. There would be a full day of sightseeing, and the Hortus Gethsemane (Lat. The Garden of Gethsemane) was to which I most looked forward. …
“Reverend, don’t you want to buy some of these, maybe for your wife?”
“No, thank you. There are many in Heavens,” my father said.
I witnessed my father’s first act in Jerusalem and it was brilliant. He found a perfect way to bring forth the message of Heavens (Revelation 21:19-21) in midst of the most secular tour activity one could do: diamond shopping.
Israel is the number one diamond distributor in the world. We visited a diamond distributor that sold the glamour stones at manufacturer’s price. Neither my father nor I were going to buy any, but the introduction session there was very informative and engaging.
There is the “4-C” standard in judging a diamond. First is the color: the whiter the diamond was, the higher the value. Clarity: the clearer the stone, the better. Cut: the number of cuts in the diamond determines its aesthetic value. There has to be the right number of cuts in proportion to the diamond’s size. Finally, the higher the carat, the more valuable the stone was. The store manager showed us the crown jewel: the one and only nine carat diamond ring that I was fortunate enough to see, possibly for the first and the last time in my life.
Despite its high value to the gem lovers, 90% of the discovered diamonds go to industrial use. Only 10% go to jewelry making.
The myriad diamonds on show at the store dazzled us. My father pulled me aside, “well, you would have to work a bit harder now. Find yourself a really good job.” My wits came, “find a job? Find a husband instead!” He then said, “what husband would buy you these?” In response, “back at UAE I will find myself an Arab prince!” “They have four wives though.” “Yes, but each wife is legally entitled to equal gifts that the other three get!” I concluded this useless banter on a point of some significance in Sharia law. We had a merry time talking about diamonds and life on earth.
Jerusalem, the crown jewel of our pilgrimage, greeted us in the early evening when we finally made our way into the city. West Jerusalem was our first view of the city, and indeed it was impressive. Even at night hour I saw how neat and clean the streets were. The area breathed an air of confidence, it being the most affluent part of Israel. It was also the home to the Israel parliament Knesset. The vibe of a posh community lingered long after our trip to the diamond distributor.
In Hebrew, Jerusalem means “the city of peace.” “Salem” is in fact “shalom,” meaning peace. Under British administration, the building decree of the city mandated the use of cream colored sandstone for all structures. This decree was in force to this day. As such, all of Jerusalem glistened in a creamy gold under the sun. For this reason Jerusalem was also known as the golden city.
At Leonardo Hotel we had to wait for a while to check in. As we gathered in the conference room, an old man served us drinks and snacks. He handed me a yogurt-like, warm beverage in a shot glass. Although I did not know what it was, I drank all of it faithfully as my return gesture for the hospitality. We savored out-of-the-oven oats cookies alongside and we were thankful. We really had a very long day visiting many sites along the route to Jerusalem. I thanked the old man, and he was genuinely pleased that he had done a good job for the guests.
Jerusalem was finally in view.
I was sad to leave Tiberia. Yet the journey must go on, for the tour was making its way to Jerusalem, the ultimate destination of our pilgrimage. Mount Tabor was believed to be the site of Jesus’ transfiguration (Matthew 17; Mark 9; Luke 9). The …