It's been a while since I posted, but for very good reasons. First, Bob and I went to Israel for 10 days. And second, we both came down with bronchitis. Bob on the plane trip home, and me the day I got home.
Wow! This had to be the trip of a lifetime. Israel has something for everyone, regardless of their interests. History of the bible; ongoing archeology digs; ancient history. Since all of these things are of interest to me, I was thrilled to be there.
We went with our church, so our focus was primarily on sites relating to the bible. We couldn't go into Jesus's birthplace, Bethlehem, as it is considered unsafe because of the Palestinian presence. But we did go to Shepherd's Field, which overlooks Bethlehem. A beautiful, large field where Arab women herd sheep up to the tourist stop, and charge a shekel (Israeli money. 3.5 shekels represent $1.00 US) to have their picture taken. It was interesting and fun; especially when two shepherdesses got into an argument over which one of them got there first. (:
We walked on the Avenue of Palms, where Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. We sailed on the Sea of Galilee, the lowest fresh water sea in the world, and ate Peter's fish for lunch. (This is where a seagull dropped a bomb on my head, and then proceded to splatter Bob on his chest. Ugh!!) We visited Capernaum , where Jesus performed so many miracles. We visited The Garden of Gethsemene, where He prayed to be spared the agony of crusifixion. We saw where it is believed He was crucified and entombed and rose, due to the skull configuration of the rock, as stated in the bible.
Jerusalem is a beautiful city. All buildings are required by law to be of Jerusalem stone, and, so, all are the same color. The ancient wall is still standing in places, and we saw the new wall built by the Israelis for protection in modern times. Our hotel was just a mile from the unfortunate shooting at the Jewish seminary, where eight young boys were slain.
Whole cities are being uncovered by archeologists, and we were actually allowed to walk among some of the ruins. We saw Roman baths, saunas, mosaic tile floors that look like carpeting, ancient public bathrooms (who knew they had them?), a 4000 year old mud-brick gate, the ruins of Masada (a city built by Herod on top of a mountain), and Herod's palace.
I climbed straight up a mountain to see a beautiful waterfall. Well, it seemed like it was straight up! We went to the Dead Sea, the lowest site in the world. The water has such a high salt content that you cannot sink in it. You just float. The mud is supposed to have healing qualities, so I bought a mud facial mask.
The flight! What can I say about the 17 hour trip to get to Israel and the 20 hour return trip? In one word--cramped. Or two words--bad food. Or another two words--worth it. Security is tight at Tel Aviv Airport. Bob and I had to open both of our suitcases. The bottle of Pepto Bismo (Since I got sick in New Zealand on a prior trip, I go prepared.) looked suspicious on the x-ray. Not sure why I had to open the other one. It's okay, though. I'd rather be a little inconvenienced than sorry.
Wow! This had to be the trip of a lifetime. Israel has something for everyone, regardless of their interests. History of the bible; ongoing archeology digs; ancient history. Since all of these things are of interest to me, I was thrilled to be there.
We went with our church, so our focus was primarily on sites relating to the bible. We couldn't go into Jesus's birthplace, Bethlehem, as it is considered unsafe because of the Palestinian presence. But we did go to Shepherd's Field, which overlooks Bethlehem. A beautiful, large field where Arab women herd sheep up to the tourist stop, and charge a shekel (Israeli money. 3.5 shekels represent $1.00 US) to have their picture taken. It was interesting and fun; especially when two shepherdesses got into an argument over which one of them got there first. (:
We walked on the Avenue of Palms, where Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. We sailed on the Sea of Galilee, the lowest fresh water sea in the world, and ate Peter's fish for lunch. (This is where a seagull dropped a bomb on my head, and then proceded to splatter Bob on his chest. Ugh!!) We visited Capernaum , where Jesus performed so many miracles. We visited The Garden of Gethsemene, where He prayed to be spared the agony of crusifixion. We saw where it is believed He was crucified and entombed and rose, due to the skull configuration of the rock, as stated in the bible.
Jerusalem is a beautiful city. All buildings are required by law to be of Jerusalem stone, and, so, all are the same color. The ancient wall is still standing in places, and we saw the new wall built by the Israelis for protection in modern times. Our hotel was just a mile from the unfortunate shooting at the Jewish seminary, where eight young boys were slain.
Whole cities are being uncovered by archeologists, and we were actually allowed to walk among some of the ruins. We saw Roman baths, saunas, mosaic tile floors that look like carpeting, ancient public bathrooms (who knew they had them?), a 4000 year old mud-brick gate, the ruins of Masada (a city built by Herod on top of a mountain), and Herod's palace.
I climbed straight up a mountain to see a beautiful waterfall. Well, it seemed like it was straight up! We went to the Dead Sea, the lowest site in the world. The water has such a high salt content that you cannot sink in it. You just float. The mud is supposed to have healing qualities, so I bought a mud facial mask.
The flight! What can I say about the 17 hour trip to get to Israel and the 20 hour return trip? In one word--cramped. Or two words--bad food. Or another two words--worth it. Security is tight at Tel Aviv Airport. Bob and I had to open both of our suitcases. The bottle of Pepto Bismo (Since I got sick in New Zealand on a prior trip, I go prepared.) looked suspicious on the x-ray. Not sure why I had to open the other one. It's okay, though. I'd rather be a little inconvenienced than sorry.
Continued at top of next column....
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