Two weeks in Israel

Good to see you back Cicerone. I (and others here) have missed you.

What an awesome trip it must have been! Can't wait to see the pics:)

Glad, you're returned dafe, c.i.! Waiting for the reports/photos ...

Ditto. Your rare appearances have always been one my daily highlights.

But since you now make only one, two short responses per week ..

Two Weeks In Israel

Shalom! I came back with two Hebrew words, boker tov (good morning) and todah (thank you) for your interest.

INTRO: One must remember that Israel is a tiny country. It's only 260 miles long and 60 miles at its widest and 3 miles at its narrowest. The southern part of Israel that represents 60 percent of the country has only 10 percent of the population, and 65 percent of the population lives within a 9 mile wide section of Tel Aviv. Our tour did a sort of a crazy "8," starting from Tel Aviv up to Caesarea to Megiddo to Haifa to Nazareth to el Rom, around the Sea of Galilee, down to Jerusalem following the border of Jordan, back to Qumran, to En Boqeq, to Arad, then back up to Tel Aviv.

October 15, Sunday:
We started and ended our two week tour of Israel in Tel Aviv. The only things notable in Tel Aviv are our trip to Latrun, a tank battalion history and training base with over 100 tanks, and Abu Gosh where we had lunch, Jaffa (the old city mentioned in the bible), and the two seafood restaurants (Goocha and Aladdin) where we enjoyed dinner.

Gilad, our tour director in Israel.

Our first sunset in Tel Aviv.


An American tank on a high pedestal at Latrun.


The old city of Jaffa.


The coast of Tel Aviv from Jaffa.

Hi, CI. Wonderful pics. I look forward to more.

Hi edgar, Glad you dropped by.

October 16, Monday:
For me, our first tour started in Caesarea harbor. The history of this settlement goes back to 586-332 BCE (before common era) during the Persian rule, and the Phoenicians built a settlement on the shoreline. Most of what exists today was a port built by King Herod during the Roman era, but its history includes the Byzantine, Arab and Crusader eras. As we progress into other parts of Israel, Herod's impact on Israel becomes evident. Caesarea was named for Caesar, and in addition to the bathhouse, hippodrome, theater, and the reef palace, there is a Bosnian mosque on the property. This Roman city is believed to have grown into a community of 10,000 people at its height.

In the afternoon we visited Megiddo, inland from the coast and north-east from Caesarea. This settlement dates back 5,000 years, but ceased to exist after the Persian invasion of Palestine 2,300 years ago, and nothing is left except the ruins from the time of King Solomon. The Egyptian Pharaoh Thutmose III, son of Hatshepsut, invaded Megiddo in 1479 BCE. This city is referred to as "Armageddon" where the last great battle will be fought when the forces of good will win over evil - so the bible says. More recent history for this location was its use by the Israeli forces during the 1948 war. One last interesting aspect of Megiddo is the water system developed and used that now serves as a tunnel for tourists to walk through into a 215 feet shaft, 183 steps down and 120 feet deep. We stayed overnight in Haifa. We stopped a few minutes at the B'hai gardens for a picture stop before we proceeded to our hotel. A small group of us took the funicular down to downtown Haifa for dinner at a Arab restaurant.



The hippodrome.


A sculpture on the site.


The moat.

Map of Megiddo.


Why Megiddo was an important location.

Thanks, c.i. - as always it's a great pleasure to follow your tour by your excellent comments and pics!

October 17, Tuesday:
Our first stop today was at a Jewish settlement called Zippori (Sepphoris), which became the center of Jewish religious and spiritual center by the second century. The discovery of mosaics during excavations provides evidence of the Roman influence of this Jewish center which shows that Jews and Romans coexisted in harmony during the Roman period. During the Byzantine era, Christianity grew considerably and accompanied by the construction of many churches. The city declined after the Arab conquest in the mid-seventh century. It is claimed that a watchtower and a church were dedicated to the parents of Mary, mother of Jesus, were built on the city's hilltop. A large portion of Zippori have been excavated since 1990 by American and Israeli archaeologists.

We arrived in Nazareth in the late afternoon to visit the Church of the Annunciation, that is the largest in the Middle East. This modern church built in 1969 consists of two levels, and the grotto is claimed to have been the home of Mary and the site of the annunciation. The inside walls of the church are covered with magnificent mosaics from Catholic communities from all around the world. The one from Japan shows the Virgin Mary and Jesus wearing Japanese kimonos. All the surrounding buildings are small shops selling religious artworks. (Somewhat tacky to my mind, but people must make a living.)

Our third stop was to the Jordan River (more like a creek) where Jesus was supposedly baptized. Members in our group were given the opportunity to get baptized, so some took advantage of being soaked in the water by the minister in our group.

We then traveled to the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee to the kibbutz, Kfar Haruv in the Golan Heights where we stayed for two nights. Our cabins faced the Sea of Galilee where we could view the whole lake by our location on top of a hill.

One word about the kibbutz of today vs. why and when they were established. The kibbutz was a socialist and Zionist communal enterprise that began in the early 20th century that was primarily agricultural. Although they always represented a very small movement in Israel, the image for foreigners are disproportionate to the reality. The kibbutz of today have been transformed into a capitalistic enterprise where income is now distributed based on skill and merit. Many kibbutz have gone bankrupt because they failed to change with the times. Some even have factories where they produce world competitive products. Some credit the kibbutz system for the creation of the Israeli state.

Map of Zippori National Park.


The tower at Zippori.


Roman mosaics.


The spot claimed to be Mary's home.


Our first sunset from the kibbutz overlooking the Sea of Galilee.

October 18, Wednesday:
We departed for the Gamla Nature Reserve after breakfast. Gamla, situated on the crest of a hilltop, is noted for the fortress where Zealots committed suicide in order to escape becoming slaves to the Romans during the great revolt of 67 CE. The last one who survived, a royal, Josephus Flavius, was supposed to kill himself, but instead surrendered to the Romans to become an important historian. He wrote the history of Gamla, so we wonder if his survival was as a coward or his value as a historian was more important. The area is surrounded by vultures and other birds.


Our next stop was a tour of Katzrin, known primarily as the ancient Talmudic village which was destroyed by an earthquake 1300 years ago, and the remains of a synagogue. We visited the Museum of Golan Antiquities that displays the archaeological finds in the Golan area.
We visited a Druze family and enjoyed lunch sitting on the floor with our hosts. Two brothers and their families lived in two connected homes in a modern building. The interesting information about the Druze are simply that they are Arab-Syrians (and Lebanese) that serves in the Israeli Defense Forces and Border Police, and do not wish to become Syrians after coming under Israeli rule in 1967. They believe in a secret religious order that is officially recognized in Israel with its own courts, and in their own Arabic language.

We visited Mount Bental where we could view Syria and Lebanon. We visited the former Syrian bunkers. From 1948-1967, Syria controlled the Golan Heights as a military stronghold, and its troops killed Israeli civilians in the Hula Valley below. Israel moved against Syria forces on June 9, 1967, and by late afternoon on June 10, Israel was in complete control of the plateau. In a surprise attack on Yom Kippur six years later, the Syrians overran the Golan Heights before Israeli counterattacks. After the war, the Syrians signed the "disengagement agreement" that left the Golan in Israeli control. A UN patrolled buffer zone was subsequently created between the two countries, and their compound is visible from the bunkers.

October 19, Thursday:
We drove north from the kibbutz toward the north side of the Sea of Galilee after breakfast, and our first stop was at the Golan Heights Winery. There are now about 100 wineries in Israel, and some of their wines are world renowned for their quality and price. After viewing a short film and a tour of their winery, we were treated to their Cabernet Sauvignon and a Chardonnay. I bought a bottle of their Cab that we drank at our group party at the last kibbutz before returning to Tel Aviv.

Our visit to Copernium's imposing synagogue and St Peter's home sort of completed the whole circle for me after visiting St Peter's basilica in Rome last year(2d visit). Our next stop was at the Church of Primacy where three important christian traditions was supposed to have occurred; the Sermon on the Mount, the multiplication of the five loaves of bread and two fishes to feed 5,000, and the third apparition of the Risen Lord where he commissioned Peter to serve him.

We also visited the museum where they saved a boat from Jesus' time, and is now called the "Jesus boat." The saving and restoration of the boat is interesting all on its own accord, because the wood was soft and crumbly. Chemicals were contributed by DOW to preserve the soft wood. They now have the boat in a temperature/moisture controlled room on steel supports. We also enjoyed a one hour cruise on the Sea of Galilee, then traveled southward toward Tiberias where we stopped at the diamond factory; a 'wasted' stop for most of us.

We then drove through the Jordan Valley to Jerusalem, and checked into the Mount Zion Hotel not far from the Old City.

October 20, Friday:
We finally have a four night stay at the same hotel. A small group of us walked towards the pedestrian mall with shops and restaurants on Ben Yehuda Street, and walked into the King David Hotel on the way to look at their lobby (nothing special), because many VIPs have stayed there, and finally found our destination after asking several people along the way for some shopping and dinner at a Chinese restaurant recommended by some customers as we perused their menu in the front, outside seating area, and also at the store a couple of young girls recommended the restaurant while a couple of the ladies did some shopping close by. The food was very good - and good for a change!

After an early breakfast, we visited the bird sanctuary in Jerusalem where most of the birds that migrate from the north to Africa passes through this area. The bird sanctuary sits on prime land not far from the Knesset, the government of Israel. The director, Ellen, of the sanctuary was our guide, and she showed us the migration patterns of the birds on a map, how they tag the birds, and what plants to grow to attract the birds, because they lose one-third their weight during their migration. Most of the sightseeing on this day was in the Jewish area of the Old City, and we ate lunch in the Arab quarter market area. At about 6 PM, we visited the Western (Wailing) Wall which is the western supporting wall of the Temple Mount. This wall has been intact since 70 CE, and has become the most sacred spot in Jewish religious and national consciousness, because it is believed the holy of holies in the temple, the divine presence has remained, and the center of mourning over the destruction of the temple and Israel?'s exile. Since this was Shabbat (Shalom Shabbat), we were not allowed to take pictures. Even at the hotel, there was a special elevator that worked automatically, and stopped at every floor, because Jews are not supposed to "work" on Shabbat. I did a couple of round trips on the elevator before we learned why. LOL Oh, and another surprise at this hotel is that the reception/lobby is on the sixth floor, and all the rooms are below ground level. My room on the fifth floor had a view of the Old City wall, one of the benefits of being a "regular" customer of the travel company.

NOTE: I apologize for this travelogues length, but there was so much we learned and saw that I felt worth sharing. You can also opt to look at only the pictures.

Gamla.


Golan Heights Winery


Archaeological Museum for the Golan.


Cruise on the Sea of Galilee

Spme of the pictures will be out of sequence, because I discovered another chip with pictures after I started posting.

This is baptism on the River Jordan.


Synagogue.


St Peter's home.


Location of the three bible events. The mosaic shows the loaves and fishes.


The Jesus boat.

I always love looking at your travel photos, c.i.! Thanks for sharing them with us!

Neat shots. Who's baptising who there?

Hi wandel, Glad you dropped by.

farmerman wrote: Neat shots. Who's baptising who there? Michael is the white guy, a minister from Colorado baptizing Cal and Faye from San Francisco. Cal's father was a christian minister in the US and China.

On our drive to Jerusalem from the Sea of Galilee, we say these border fences between Israel and Jordan.


Bird sanctuary in Jerusalem.


Our first tour of the Old City was in the Jewish Quarter. The Jewish Quarter has many new constructions compared to the others.


This is Hal being blessed by a Rabbi.

This is the Cardo in the Jewish Quarter, and uncovered by Nahman Avigad's team in the 1970s. This portion dates to the time of Emperor Justinian in the first half of the 6th c. A.D.


A mosaic Roman floor at the Whol Museum in the Jewish Quarter.


A vew of Temple Mount from a roof in the Jewish Quarter where our tour director served us some wine.


October 21, Saturday:
Today was our visit to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the christian quarter, the place where Jesus was crucified (Hill of Calvary) and buried in the cave. Our visit here was after our walk on Via Dolorosa Street by coming through the Lion?'s Gate in the Arab quarter, the path that Jesus followed when he carried the cross. 14 stations of the cross are marked by signs or small chapels.
When you walk into the front entrance of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, there is a slab of flat rock where Jesus was anointed, and there are steps to the right side to go to where he was crucified. The tomb sits in the middle of the church under the dome. I believe this was one of the highlights for most in our group.

We were treated to a meeting with a well spoken young Palestinian woman who lives in the Arab Quarter. She told us that her family owns two homes which is a rarity in Israel.

This is Lion's Gate (St Stephen's gate) to Via Dolorosa.


The first time Jesus fell is marked with this wall sculpture.


Our approach to the Church of the Holy Sepulchure.