Descending into the Underworld - Ascending Into the Universe

 Descending into the Underworld

    In the mid-west we could call it spelunking. Caving. There are some ancient mounds and old caves with old paintings and writings, petroglyphs, from old and sometimes forgotten tribes and indigenous peoples. I have gone in a few caves and sort of tombs over the decades back in Indiana and Kentucky, where there are some relics found. But not like the Middle-East. Different wave lengths.

    In the Middle East it is another thing, really. There are some deep underground lairs in other parts of North America that I must explore, sure. I did not go to Chichen Itza with my family last winter. I did not see tombs or depths in the middle of the Yucatan Peninsula, and there must be hundreds more across the Western Hemisphere.

    In ancient Israel and Palestine, and Egypt, I have plumbed some depths and seen the undersides of places, the spaces kept and preserved for centuries and millennia. 

    In Egypt, yes: inside the great pyramids of Cheops, in Giza. I cannot recall how grand it was; it was certainly not as majestic as depicted in Moon Knight by Marvel/Disney. In southern Israel, a tomb where the claustrophobic were not welcome. We made it from a small crawl, and a smaller corridor led us to a room that was very tucked away. No rain in August, no problem. A couple of students chose not to enter. I can understand why: it was very tight.

    In and around Jerusalem there are tombs and caves. There are the watery tombs or caves underneath the Ethiopian Church next to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. The Garden Tomb lies outside the gates of the Old City, but we do not enter those. Or did we? Yes, we crawled and crouched in there, where some believe that Christ came back from the dead. Where perhaps the stone was rolled away. Other parts and churches have their basements, crypts, catacombs. Some are ossuaries, where many bones lay. 

    Around the bend from the city is the village of Bethany, where we hiked down steep stairs where possibly Lazarus was lain.

    In the city of Bethlehem, the great church lies over the basement where Jesus was possibly born; there is a room where Saint Jerome translated the Latin Vulgate version of the Bible, in the basement, around 400 A.D. That was a sacred and solemn place to me.

    In the basement of Al-Aksah Mosque in the southeast corner of the Holy City, these are ancient horses' stables, and mostly from those days of Jesus, or at least Mohammed. We were told not to take pictures because of its holy nature.

    We walked and almost swam the length of Hezekiah's Tunnel, created even before the Roman Empire, I believe.

    Where else? We did not see the Caves of Qumran, of the Dead Sea Scrolls, but we were close.

    We swam in northern-central Israel, at some natural springs. Some of us were caught below slabs of rock, which was scary when trying to find air to restore our lungs. Where else?

    Hmmm...

    In descending beneath the earth, I do believe it is possible to transcend space, time, imagination, history. I hope that I could capture this notion, this action, this experience.

    There was a half-covered rock cave area, on the way back from the Sinai Penisula.

    Mysteries and shafts of light are hidden and buried there. All to be discovered in our dreams, hopes, and memories.