Trip Report
– Israel 2011
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Tour of
Jerusalem and Bethlehem
Tour of Caeserea, Rosh Hanikra, and Acre
Tour of Petra
Tel Aviv
Grand Beach Hotel Review
United #91:
Tel Aviv, Israel (TLV) to Newark, NJ (EWR)
United #311:
Newark, NJ (EWR) to Denver, CO (DEN)
United #403:
Denver, CO (DEN) to Orange County, CA (SNA)
Part 3 – Tour
of Jerusalem and Bethlehem
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| Morning in Tel Aviv |
Morning broke in Tel Aviv with some blue sky
showing through the clouds. Rain was
predicted for today and the weathermen didn’t lie. I was able to get an OK sleep but I was not
looking forward to my alarm going off at 6:30am so I would have time to get
ready for my tour which started at 7:15am.
After a bus ride to a central gathering point I met up with the 11
others that were on the tour to Jerusalem and Bethlehem. The tour was split with the morning and lunch
in Jerusalem and the afternoon for Bethlehem.
The drive to Jerusalem took us along highway 443
through the hills and Modi’in and then into the West Bank. As we drove the driver, also our tour guide,
was providing commentary on a variety of topics including the high-end condos
in Tel Aviv go for $6 million USD, history of the areas, the wars Israel has
been in, and more. His opinions were
definitely pro-Israel although he did provide some even handed insight on
issues on both sides. One of the
interesting points mentioned along the drive up was the amount of trees that
have been planted to introduce greenery and replenish forests in the
country. Approximately 3.5 million trees
have been planted with a focus on trees that do not need irrigation after their
first year to preserve water.
Once we started getting closer to Jerusalem the
security walls began to appear. We
passed through a military checkpoint before entering the West Bank on a road
exclusive to Israeli traffic – Palestinian settlements have no access to the
road at all. Due to a court ruling
though, Israel must provide access to Palestinians to the road so they are
building a parallel road with wall dividers to keep the people and traffic
separate.
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| Security Fence Between Israel and the West Bank |
Unfortunately it was cloudy and grey all morning
preventing us from getting great panoramic views while driving. We passed by the Garden of Gethsemane, Church
of All Nations, Mount of Olives, and the Church of Maria Magdalene. We only did a drive-by viewing of the sites
then headed around the walls of the Old City and parked the van. We walked towards the Jaffa Gate getting
oriented with the 4 quarters in the Old City:
Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and Armenian.
The Jaffa Gate entry was originally designed to hamper any invaders
trying to get in through the gate as all those entering have to make a 90
degree left turn once passing the gate.
The facades along this portion of the Christian quarter are heavily
influenced by European design as they were built/rebuilt with German money in the
1800’s.
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| Christian Quarter |
We
walked through the small streets lined with merchants trying to sell their
wares to our group. We were directed to
an “official” bazaar to purchase goods.
I bought a couple items as souvenirs.
A small fountain was outside the bazaar next to the only Lutheran church
in the area. The first historical site
on our walking tour of the Old City was the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
located on the site of Golgotha and the place where Jesus was buried. It was a bit awe inspiring to be going inside
the church and climbing the very steep stairs to the top of the “mound” of
Golgotha to where two alters are present where the crucifixion occurred, one
Catholic and one Greek Orthodox. The
spaces were dark and intimate and the ceilings were a tile mosaic with wall
frescos depicting angels. Heading
downstairs to right in front of the main entrance is the Stone of Anointing in the
place where Jesus was prepared for burial by Joseph of Arimathea (the stone is
under the marble cover). Further down
the church is the Dome of the Sepulchre built on the location of Jesus’
tomb. Walking around the church and
praying was a very powerful moment for me.
One of the challenges of booking a tour to show you around versus going
at your own pace is that you sometimes cannot fully take in the moment and
experience of an incredible site before having to move on to the next spot.
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| Church of the Holy Sepulchre |
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| Alter Over the Crucifixion Location |
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| Stone of Anointing |
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| Dome of the Sepulchre and Sepulchre |
We left the church and headed through some of the
other areas around the church and then along a path that followed the stations
of the cross (in reverse order). Down
along more bazaars and through the Muslim quarter we stopped at the stations
marked by large metal roman numerals.
Shortly after that we were passing the checkpoints for the Dome of the
Rock and then the checkpoint for the Western Wall. It was Saturday so we were unable to take any
pictures from the Western Wall Plaza, but we were able to go down into the
plaza and see the wall up close and those praying there.
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| Western Wall |
It was finally time for lunch and it couldn’t
happen sooner. Our guide led us to a
restaurant back in the Christian quarter where we were able to sit down and get
some food. I opted for a shawarma
sandwich and a Fanta. The sandwich as
good and I scarfed it down. A couple of
the other people on the tour tried the non-alcoholic beer. Their facial expressions of absolute disgust
solidified my desire to avoid trying to too.
We were able to get up to the roof and take some panoramic photos of
Jerusalem, particularly of the Dome of the Rock.
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| Shawarma and Fanta |
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| Jerusalem and the Dome of the Rock |
In order to get into Bethlehem, our tour driver had
to drop us off on the Israeli controlled side of the border and pass us off to
a Palestinian tour guide. Israeli
citizens are not permitted to enter into Palestinian Authority controlled spaces. It was a little disconcerting hopping into
another bus and going through a checkpoint with soldiers and guns ready. Once inside Bethlehem, the scariest part wasn’t
the people or the PA police but rather everyone’s driving. I don’t know if I can really complain about
CA drivers anymore – except BMW drivers, they are about as bad as all those
driving over here.
Our destination in Bethlehem was the Church of the Nativity, on the spot where Jesus was born and is the oldest church in the world according to our tour guide. The original church was constructed by Constantine and St. Helen and later rebuilt after being destroyed. The original door had been filled in with stone and only a small door remains. The purpose was twofold; to prevent invading groups or cavalry from entering the church and to have all people visiting kneel in respect on the way in.
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| Church of the Nativity |
Inside of the church was rather stark with some of
the original paintings of saints and apostles on columns and a small opening in
the floor revealing the original tile mosaic floor. The most decorative element in the nave was
the Greek Orthodox alter above the manger and birthplace of Jesus. Our guide took us to the stairs which lead
down to where the manger was located.
Two alters are down in this grotto.
The one on the left marks the location of where Mary laid the baby Jesus
down in the manger. The alter on the
right is above a 14-point silver star which marks the location of Jesus’ birth. Being in this space, touching the silver
star, and praying was an emotional experience despite the crowds of
tourists. I can only imagine how much
more emotional the experience of celebrating Christmas here would be over just
being in the church on a regular day.
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| Alter of the Manger |
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| Alter of the Birthplace of Jesus |
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| Silver Star Marking Jesus' Birth |
The return trip to Jerusalem took longer due to the
checkpoint. Our van waited in line to
pass through the checkpoint with military guards all around. Our passports were all ready as they
approached our vehicle and I was the lucky one that received some added
questions. Nothing being the guy being
curious, but I was asked where I was from in the US, and after I responded “California”
he seemed excited to ask if I was from San Diego and a little disappointed I wasn’t.
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| Bethlehem |
We returned to our original driver and headed back
to Tel Aviv. Our driver took us on a
different path back to the city, along highway 1, which accentuated the topography
of the area. I knew that Jerusalem had
some hills around it, but I was expecting a hill or two and a fairly broad
valley in between. Instead, each hill
has a steep decline and then inclines into the next. I can understand why the Top Gear hosts loved
driving around the area in the Middle East Special. The downside of these hills in a 16 passenger
van and slippery road conditions is that the driver we had didn’t have as much
control and it felt like we were frequently sliding around a bit and then
slamming on the brakes. We passed two
accidents on one of the main downhill road segments.
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| Settlement on Hill |
Each passenger was dropped off at their respective hotel
and I returned to the Grand Beach hotel to find that my bathroom sink was still
running / leaking to the point where water was all over the tile floor and the
small trashcan which had been cashing the dripping water was overflowing. The faucet was left just slightly on and the
leaks were coming from the faucet mounting.
After that was fixed I went out to find something to snack on for dinner
and hit up an AM-PM down the street. I
picked up some very tasty braided cinnamon bread, some energy bars for
tomorrow, and some milk. Well, I thought
it was milk but I think it is actually kefir a fermented milk drink that tastes
like yogurt. The only way I know what it
might be is because I am addicted to Chopped on the Food Network. The package was all in Hebrew so I had no
clue what I was getting…
I think I may have a new guilty pleasure on TV - watching professional darts. I don’t know what it is about the world dart
championship, but I couldn’t turn it off.
It was fast paced and, from what I could tell, really good matches. The semi-finals were tonight so let’s hope
the finals are tomorrow so I can watch the final match.
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