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Customer Review
Reviewed in the United States on April 4, 2010
EDITED to say that in July, after having posted this in April and not even having considered going to Israel, I decided to go. I took a 22-day trip which included Greece (Athens, Mars Hill), Turkey (Ephesus, Patmos) Jordan (Petra), as well as 10 days in all parts of Israel. We went from as far south and as far north as it is possible to go.
Unfortunately, we went fast! There were so many places we saw that I didn't realize just what I was seeing it while I was seeing it. I might have been in the back or wandering off by myself, not listening to the tour guide. Other times someone would say something like, "I didn't realize we were seeing the stations of the cross until we had almost finished!" and I agreed. We didn't have enough time to appreciate some of these sites. Traveling by DVD has its advantages!
Now that I just remembered this DVD, I'm going to go find it and watch it again, after having seen those sites in person. I have others that I've bought since, but after reading what I wrote back then, I want to see it again.
-------------------------------
In April, I wrote:
This DVD is truly amazing to me.
Other DVDs cover much of the same material, but this is my favorite to date. I learned so much that I had never known. It was definitely worth my time.
This review will be briefer than I'd like to make it and very quickly written, because I want to go back and watch it again. It's that good. Part of that is because it gives me the feeling that I'm actually there, not really as a tourist, but there spending time experiencing the Holy Land.
I've learned things I had not heard before. That usually doesn't happen on more generic DVDs of The Holy Land and/or Jerusalem. Are there errors in it? Probably. I'll let those wiser than I am discuss discrepancies. There were a couple that I believe may be debated by historians, but nothing offended me.
I'm viewing it from the Judeo-Christian perspective, although Islam is covered as well, just not in as great detail, so it is important to me that in this DVD we were able to spend time in Bethlehem and Nazareth. We are shown the area where Mary and Joseph are believed to have had their home and where they raised Jesus. We go way back to St. Catherine's Monastery and see where Moses encountered the bush that burned but was not consumed. We visit Petra. We get to see tourists floating in the waters of the Dead Sea, covering themselves in the mineral-packed mud there which is said to have healing abilities, and then we are told that beneath it is thought by some to be the remains of Sodom and Gomorrah (sp), where Lot was warned by God to leave and not look back, but his wife did look back and was turned to a pillar of salt. We see a pillar of salt which eerily resembles a woman.
We visit the Sea of Galilee and learn what life was like there in the time of Jesus and the way it is today.
Much time was given to the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Copper Scroll. Very interesting. Researchers are interviewed as part of the presentation, and we watch as archeologists dig near the Dead Sea.
Then we visit the stations of the cross and the location where Jesus was believed to have been crucified. We see what legend tells us is the tomb where the body of Jesus was placed. Some time is spent explaining how those of different faiths control certain sections.
We visit the Wailing Wall, a retaining wall for the Western side, not part of the Temple itself as many believe, according to the narrator, and time is given to a fine description and history of the Temple.
After watching the DVD, we are treated to 3 Extra Features:
1. Mystery of the Lost Ark - narrated by Leonard Nimoy - maybe 5-10 minutes long I think. I didn't time it. It's a description and history of the Ark of The Covenant - a search beginning in Jerusalem - Where is the Ark of The Covenant - in Jerusalem? or was it carried off by marauders. We start at Mt. Sinai when God first gave the 10 Commandments and Moses was instructed to construct the Ark, then go with Joshua to Jerico. King David finds the Ark in a village and brings it to Jerusalem. to a 2-room tabernacle. King Solomon builds the permanent sanctuary for the Ark, and that Temple lasted for 400 years, but where did the Ark go? We don't know. Did it go with the Queen of Sheba where her son, fathered by King Solomon, takes it to Ethiopia to hide it, or did it go to Egypt or in the lost grave of Moses, or is it in the Old City of Jerusalem somewhere, or in the hearts and spirits of believers.
2. Riddle of the Dead Sea Scrolls - narrated again by Leonard Nimoy. Longer than #1. One of the greatest archeological discoveries of all times, in caves above the River Jordan. In 1947, Qumran, Jordan, a shepherd looking for a lost goat, discovered the scrolls. He was tossing stones hoping the goat would run out of the cave, but he found a cave pot with scrolls in them. The story of the journey of those newly-discovered scrolls continues. Almost 800 scrolls were found by archeologists. More discoveries come from the vicinity and are described here. Who hid the scrolls here, and why?
3. Gates of Jerusalem - A History of the Holy City - narrated by Richard Kiley. This one was not a short feature, but every moment of it was interesting. Old Jerusalem. Walled off from the rest of the world. The blocked gate, the beautiful Golden gate, where many people believe the Messiah will enter the city, has been blocked to prevent prophecy from being fulfilled. Jerusalem in Modern Israel. History, today, and prophecy. Each gate has a story to tell, and we journey through those gates briefly. Each gate is defined by history. "To enter or leave Old Jerusalem, you must choose a gate that suits your spirit.
This DVD is worth my time to watch it with care. I'm off right now to do that again.
Unfortunately, we went fast! There were so many places we saw that I didn't realize just what I was seeing it while I was seeing it. I might have been in the back or wandering off by myself, not listening to the tour guide. Other times someone would say something like, "I didn't realize we were seeing the stations of the cross until we had almost finished!" and I agreed. We didn't have enough time to appreciate some of these sites. Traveling by DVD has its advantages!
Now that I just remembered this DVD, I'm going to go find it and watch it again, after having seen those sites in person. I have others that I've bought since, but after reading what I wrote back then, I want to see it again.
-------------------------------
In April, I wrote:
This DVD is truly amazing to me.
Other DVDs cover much of the same material, but this is my favorite to date. I learned so much that I had never known. It was definitely worth my time.
This review will be briefer than I'd like to make it and very quickly written, because I want to go back and watch it again. It's that good. Part of that is because it gives me the feeling that I'm actually there, not really as a tourist, but there spending time experiencing the Holy Land.
I've learned things I had not heard before. That usually doesn't happen on more generic DVDs of The Holy Land and/or Jerusalem. Are there errors in it? Probably. I'll let those wiser than I am discuss discrepancies. There were a couple that I believe may be debated by historians, but nothing offended me.
I'm viewing it from the Judeo-Christian perspective, although Islam is covered as well, just not in as great detail, so it is important to me that in this DVD we were able to spend time in Bethlehem and Nazareth. We are shown the area where Mary and Joseph are believed to have had their home and where they raised Jesus. We go way back to St. Catherine's Monastery and see where Moses encountered the bush that burned but was not consumed. We visit Petra. We get to see tourists floating in the waters of the Dead Sea, covering themselves in the mineral-packed mud there which is said to have healing abilities, and then we are told that beneath it is thought by some to be the remains of Sodom and Gomorrah (sp), where Lot was warned by God to leave and not look back, but his wife did look back and was turned to a pillar of salt. We see a pillar of salt which eerily resembles a woman.
We visit the Sea of Galilee and learn what life was like there in the time of Jesus and the way it is today.
Much time was given to the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Copper Scroll. Very interesting. Researchers are interviewed as part of the presentation, and we watch as archeologists dig near the Dead Sea.
Then we visit the stations of the cross and the location where Jesus was believed to have been crucified. We see what legend tells us is the tomb where the body of Jesus was placed. Some time is spent explaining how those of different faiths control certain sections.
We visit the Wailing Wall, a retaining wall for the Western side, not part of the Temple itself as many believe, according to the narrator, and time is given to a fine description and history of the Temple.
After watching the DVD, we are treated to 3 Extra Features:
1. Mystery of the Lost Ark - narrated by Leonard Nimoy - maybe 5-10 minutes long I think. I didn't time it. It's a description and history of the Ark of The Covenant - a search beginning in Jerusalem - Where is the Ark of The Covenant - in Jerusalem? or was it carried off by marauders. We start at Mt. Sinai when God first gave the 10 Commandments and Moses was instructed to construct the Ark, then go with Joshua to Jerico. King David finds the Ark in a village and brings it to Jerusalem. to a 2-room tabernacle. King Solomon builds the permanent sanctuary for the Ark, and that Temple lasted for 400 years, but where did the Ark go? We don't know. Did it go with the Queen of Sheba where her son, fathered by King Solomon, takes it to Ethiopia to hide it, or did it go to Egypt or in the lost grave of Moses, or is it in the Old City of Jerusalem somewhere, or in the hearts and spirits of believers.
2. Riddle of the Dead Sea Scrolls - narrated again by Leonard Nimoy. Longer than #1. One of the greatest archeological discoveries of all times, in caves above the River Jordan. In 1947, Qumran, Jordan, a shepherd looking for a lost goat, discovered the scrolls. He was tossing stones hoping the goat would run out of the cave, but he found a cave pot with scrolls in them. The story of the journey of those newly-discovered scrolls continues. Almost 800 scrolls were found by archeologists. More discoveries come from the vicinity and are described here. Who hid the scrolls here, and why?
3. Gates of Jerusalem - A History of the Holy City - narrated by Richard Kiley. This one was not a short feature, but every moment of it was interesting. Old Jerusalem. Walled off from the rest of the world. The blocked gate, the beautiful Golden gate, where many people believe the Messiah will enter the city, has been blocked to prevent prophecy from being fulfilled. Jerusalem in Modern Israel. History, today, and prophecy. Each gate has a story to tell, and we journey through those gates briefly. Each gate is defined by history. "To enter or leave Old Jerusalem, you must choose a gate that suits your spirit.
This DVD is worth my time to watch it with care. I'm off right now to do that again.
