Home sweet Israel day 2

Home Sweet Israel 2

We were supposed to port in Haifa for one day then move south and port in Ashdod.  Well Ashdod is precariously close to Egypt and it is Israel’s biggest port so it is a major target so the ship stayed in Haifa.  They continued all the tours people had signed up for in Ashdod but instead of a 45 min drive to Jerusalem, it was over 2 hours.  It is always lovely to see the Israeli countryside though.  We took road 1 down the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and then turned inland near Tel Aviv.  We drove through Ein Kerem – the village where John the Baptist was born – before we arrived in Jerusalem.

We took a short tour of the newer part of Jerusalem.  We drove by the Knesset, Israel’s Parliament, the Shrine of the Book, and the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum.  I went to the museum last year.  It is a place that is hard to be in but interesting and powerful. 

We went to the Church of Gethsemane or the Church of Agony – also called the Church of All Nations.  It is one of my favorite churches.  12 nations participated in the building of it – nice that people got along!  The windows aren’t glass – they are made from a transparent purple rock.  It gives the church a mood of darkness and gloom. 

There is a slab of rock at the front that is supposedly the rock He wept on.  Gethsemane translates into something like olive factory.  It was a place to process olive oil.  There are ancient olive trees there – ones they know for a fact are over 1500 years old and could reasonably be the ones that Jesus actually walked among and touched.  Many people visit this church and it is a famous sight that commemorates the Garden of Gethsemane.  When you view the church from the hill by the old city walls you can see the largest Jewish cemetery – over a third of a million people are buried there – all facing the Temple Mount.  The Jews believe that when the Messiah comes to the temple they will be raised from the dead – body and all. 

There are so many places that could be the actual spot where something happened.  They do a lot of research and find places that are reasonable, but there is always a doubt as to whether that is THE place.  The same is true for Gethsemane. There is a place nearby that I went to last year that is run by Protestants and they have not built a huge church.  They say there aren’t going to fight about where the garden actually was and they feel the Church of Agony is a great way to honor the event, but they have created a place that feels more like it would have back then.  Quiet, peaceful gardens and a cave nearby that looks like a skull – definitely could be Golgatha.

We arrived at Mount Scopus to take pictures of the city and the Temple Mount.  Seeing the view of Jerusalem with the Dome of the Rock.. it really does take your breath away.  We did not get to go to the temple mount this time.  There is only one gate that non Muslims can enter through.  Security takes forever – you cannot be wearing a cross or have a Bible on you etc.  They screen for weapons and bombs – it is one of the most contested pieces of land in the world.   There is a foot bridge that goes to that gate and it is in desperate need of repair and everyone wants it to be repaired but no one will let anyone repair it!  The Muslims feel if the Jews or Christians fix the bridge then they control it.  The bridge goes right over the Western Wall (or Wailing wall) – the Jews already control that.  The Jews don’t want the Muslims fixing it because then they’d control part of their Wailing Wall territory.  Throw the Christian in there arguing about the same thing and you have a mess!  I went to the Temple Mount last year.  It is amazing.  There is a Mosque there that is the third holiest site for the Muslims.  The Dome of the Rock is not a mosque.  It is a Dome… over a Rock.  Said to be the rock that Abraham laid Issac on to slaughter.  Also it is where Mohammed ascended ( I think) and it has something to do with Adam.  Very popular rock!

We went through Zion gate and visited the room of the Last Supper.  It is built over what they think is the original building.  There are carvings of a falcon feeding it’s young with its own flesh – symbolically representing the body and blood of Christ at the Last Supper.  The tomb of King David is nearby but she said we couldn’t go in because of security and not being Jewish etc.  but Last year we saw it and walked right in.  It is weird how things change here.  We weren’t allowed to take pictures of the Wailing Wall either.  They said we could really far away but not near religious people – they are all religious people there!  I managed to get a few in then was scolded by a man.  But when I got up really close to the wall people were taking pictures and no one said anything.  Last year I took a ton of pictures.  I don’t know if it was because it was near sunset on Friday which is the start of their Sabbath or what.   It was disappointing.  I did get up close enough to touch it and put my piece of paper with a prayer on it in a crack. There are all these different sects of Jews.  Some have coats to their knees, some to their ankles.  Some have fur hats, some regular.  Some tall hats, some short, some just have the beanies (I don’t know the word for it – yumaka?) Some have really long curls in front of their ears, some short.  Etc. etc.  the guide said each thing meant something.  People that are not Hasidic Jews barely notice these differences, but each detail means something to them. 

Last year I got to go through the entire Via Deloraosa and see every station of the cross.  I got to put my hand in the handprint that they say is where Jesus braced himself when He stumbled.  I didn’t get to see any of that this year L  We did get to go through Old Jerusalem through the Jewish Quarter, Muslim Quarter and Christian Quarter.  The Armenian Quarter is not open to the public – there is a church that is open an hour or so a day.  Old City Jerusalem is much like it was then.  Many narrow corridors with shops and stalls on the sides.  It is crowded and loud and easy to get lost. 

We did get to see the Holy Sepulcher.  It is a magnificent church built over the crucifixion site.  I always think of the cross being mounted in dirt, but Israel is a very rocky place.  There is a rectangular hole in the rock where you can put your hand in – it is supposedly the hole that Jesus’s cross stood in.   It is highly decorated – a beautiful chapel.  The church is built on a hill – the hole is in the upper floor of the church (top of the hill) and on the ground floor there is a rock slab that is said to be where they laid His body when they took Him off the cross.  It makes sense because it is a little ways down the hill.  Then a little ways further is the grave – the cave they say His body was laid in when He rose.  It is covered in a chapel and people wait hours to go inside.  I went inside last year.  It is really hard to experience peace and religious feelings when there are thousands of people all trying to touch the same thing for a few seconds.  The church has several sections – Catholic, Greek orthodox, Armenian etc.  It is divided up and no one can touch anything that is in another section.  It is so sad.  All these churches are there because they want to honor Christ’s death etc. but all they do is fight over who has control over what.  What a way to honor the fact that Jesus came to save us ALL.  No one wants to allow anyone else to open the church up every day or close it.  Guess who has the keys to the church and has the responsibility/power to open it every day????  A MUSLIM family.  For hundreds of years this family has been responsible for that task.  We saw a ladder under a window that has been there for 130 years.  (I don’t know which belonged to which so I’m just going to give an example of who did what)  An Armenian used a ladder that belonged to the Catholics to go fix a window on a balcony on the orthodox side.  He came back in and forgot the ladder.  He was not allowed to get it back.  The orthodox won’t let the Catholics get the ladder and theyOrthodox won’t bring the ladder in because it belongs to the Catholics.  RIDICULOUS.  There are many other churches touching the Holy Sepulcher – several Ethiopian churches – they built a small African village next to the church.  They fast 270 days of the year. 

Our guide had this thing she called a whisper system.  It allowed her to talk softly into a microphone and it projected into our headsets.  So we could wander around and take pictures and still hear her.  Fabulous.  It started to get chilly as the sun set.  We ended the day at the Wailing Wall.  She told us to meet her at the exit sign when we were done.  I am a great person on a tour – I do what I’m told, I follow directions, I’m on time.  But for once I was one of THOSE people.  I got lost!!  I went to the wall and went to the bathroom and went to the sign like she said.  My group wasn’t there.  I found other tour guides and asked them to call her – I had her number.  She never answered.  Occasionally I could hear her on the whisper system.  It was like playing “hot and cold”  If I couldn’t hear her voice I knew I was getting farther away from her.  I’m wandering around the Western wall trying to figure out where she was.  It was getting dark and I knew I was holding up the whole bus and was hoping she would leave me there!!  Another guide told me this was the only way out so she would have to go through there.  Well I’d been standing there the whole time so I thought maybe she was waiting OUTSIDE the gate.  I walked out and saw three of my bus mates beam with excitement when they saw me!  I make it a point to introduce myself to a few people so they notice I’m missing when I travel by myself.  It was this cute Asian family from Toronto and they said “We kept telling her the teacher is missing!”  ha!  I felt terrible but the many of the others said they didn’t understand we were supposed to go out of the gate.  We drove back to Haifa on road 6 through the country since it was dark. 

It was amazing to go back to Israel but there were so many places that I didn’t get to go back to – that I got to see last year but have no pictures.  Masada, Bethlehem, the place where Armageddon is supposed to happen, the dead sea, all the stations of the cross, etc. 

As we drive up to the ship, Israeli security gets on the bus and looks us over.  They ask us if anyone gave us anything, if we watched all our purchases be packed in front of us.  She said it only takes a few minutes usually but if someone makes a joke, it could take hours.  People are idiots.  We are in Israel!  Don’t make jokes.  I saw a guy walking around all day with an Egypt shirt on.  Are you kidding me?!?  I am very careful with what I wear in foreign places.  I don’t wear anything with America on it unless I’m in Ireland or Israel or somewhere that I know it won’t cause problems.  I saw some beautiful purses and bags but won’t buy anything with the words Israel or Jerusalem on it (unless it is just for my house like magnets or coasters or Christmas ornaments)  - it could be a safety issue in some countries that I go to.

Security let us through and they took my passport for when we go to Greece.

Today is Dec 29^th and we are at sea on our way to Crete.  We have been at a port for 4 days in a row so it was nice to sleep in, get caught up on blogs and labeling pictures etc. 

Home Sweet Israel

Home Sweet Israel

I hope everyone gets a chance to go to Israel at some point.  It is an amazing country.  I love to learn about the history etc., but I also love that it is clean, safe, and pretty.  The food is safe to eat, people speak English, there are rubbish bins everywhere, the men are HOT (seriously – you need more proof that Israelis are Gods chosen people – look at how hot the men are J )

There was much more security getting into Haifa than in other ports we’ve been in.  Last year my camera card was lost/stolen and I lost all the pictures I took in Israel so I tried to go back to some of the important places.  Today I went on a tour of Nazareth and the Sea of Galilee.  We drove through the Jezre’el Valley to Nazareth.  We went to the Church of Annunciation (said to be where Mary lived and the angel came to her telling her she was pregnant)  It is a very large, beautiful church.  The doors are huge with amazing carvings depicting the life of Jesus.  The guide told us that the biggest doors were gifts from America – I was the only American in the tour group which is weird, but people thanked me for the doors J  Nearby is the Church of St. Joseph – where his carpentry shop was.  It was a much smaller church.  Mary’s well is nearby – some say the Angel came to her there, not at her house, but really they are meters apart from each other!  It doesn’t really matter.  We drove through Cana but didn’t get to stop.  I didn’t even pass anything that said Cana to take a picture.  Last year I remember seeing tons of wine shops declaring to be the place where Jesus turned water into wine.  We went down into the Jordan Valley to the Sea of Galilee.  Last year I got to go on a boat ride on the sea and it was amazingly bright, clear, and pretty.  This year I just got to see it from the shore and it was hazy so you can’t really tell the sea from the sky in my pictures.  We ate lunch at a Kibbutz overlooking the Sea.  There are many Kibbutz(I don’t know how to spell the plural) in Israel – they aren’t as socialist as they used to be.  People used to work as much as they could and take what they needed.  If you needed money, the group would take a vote as to whether or not it was actually needed.  They don’t run exactly that way anymore but people do live on there and work and live kind of like a commune. 

We went to Tagbha and visited the Church of Multiplication – where they fed the crowd with the loaves and fishes.  It is a beautiful church with lovely mosaics. 

We went to Capernaum – St. Peter’s village and saw the remains of the 1^st century synagogue where Jesus taught.  There are also remains of more recent synagogues.  There is a octagonal church (which delights me as a math teacher) over St. Peter’s mother – in – law’s house said to be where the four men lowered their crippled friend through the roof.  

There are remains of the original octagonal church underneath a beautiful new church.  It is literally a few meters to the Sea of Galilee and has gorgeous views.   It is easy to see why fisherman lived here.  This was the area Jesus “collected” his disciples.  This was a border between several tribes and Matthew was the customs agent.  He is always called a tax collector which he was but he also was the customs agent and collected taxes from foreigners. 

The Sea of Galilee provides 25% of the water for Israel.  It is a desert nation and it is miraculous the way they have built up the country considering there are pretty much NO natural resources.  The Sea is in the northern part of Israel near the borders of Syria and Lebenon.  The borders are well guarded because if either country were to take control of the Sea of Galillee… well it would be disastrous for Israel.  After Capernaum we went to the Mount of Beatitudes where Jesus gave his Sermon on the Mount.  I remember thinking last year that it was the most beautiful place I’d ever been.  Gorgeous gardens, beautiful churches, amazing views of the sea.  And it is beautiful but due to the haze we couldn’t see much.  The Golan heights are right there and we could barely see them.  They are a contested border area – Israel is willing to give some of them back to Syria, but Syria wants the border to be 10 meters from the Sea.  Um. Israel will never agree to that. They need the water! 

The last place we visited today was Yardenit, the site where Jesus was baptized in the Jordan river.  This is one place where everyone agrees that it is not the actual place where he was baptized it is just a nice place to commemorate it. 

Jordan river baptismal site

Last year I went on a 2 week tour of this area and I was with the same people every day so it was easy to make friends.  Here I am with people for just one day at a time and they are all with other people so talking to me is not a priority.  Which is fine – it makes it easier for me to enjoy the holiness of places.  But it is nice to have a little conversation at lunch.  I met a woman today who lives in Mumbai – Andheri – which is very close to the part I live in.  A lot of people hate tour groups.  I’m ok with them most of the time – I get a little impatient with people who don’t know how to be in a tour group!  But it is fun to listen to people’s observations.  For example people complained that we had to pay to use the toilet and that they weren’t that clean.  UM.  Considering thousands upon thousands use those bathrooms every day – they were pristine.  Mall bathrooms in America are far worse.  And every single bathroom we went to had soap, running water, AND toilet paper (that is rare outside of America).  And all western toilets.  Those bathrooms are fabulous.  I’d like to see these people use an Indian squat toilet.  I heard people say they expected to see more military.  It was weird – I saw very few soldiers whereas last year they were everywhere.  Maybe it’s the places we went to?  I don’t know.  But we did see very few soldiers. 

Tomorrow I will get to go to Jerusalem – one of my favorite places on Earth!

Day 8 And 9 Negev Desert and Eilat

many of the people we've been traveling with parted way with us today. We aren't sad to se them go. :) except for the Indiana family that adopted us! All that was left was Gretchen and I, Tom, Anne, the Kims and the very strange Toronto couple. The man, Sam was driving me nuts today thankfully it was our last day with him! We joined up with another group who had been doing the Jewish heritage tour. Oh my. We stopped at the hotel and this obviously Jewish woman started yelling and complaining from the get go. Whining she was standing the the rain too long, it was cold and that we'd taken their seats in the front of the bus. Jackie the tour guide had been with them all week and in the first 10 minutes she hollered through the bus that we'd taken their seats. Tom said loudly " and we thought it couldn't get worse"has this woman made Andrea, this loud annoying Jewish woman we'd been with all week seem sweet and quiet! One thing positive about this group was that they were on time to things- no stragglers, no Betty Ann holding us up.

We visited the Israeli Air Force museum at Hatzerim. Mrs. Kim, Anne and I took this opportunity to take a nap on the bus. We were working on 4 hours of sleep due to the Midnight Mass excursion.

We got to have lunch at an authentic Bedouin tent and ride a camel. We didn't get to ride them far but it was my first time. It was two camels tied together and two people on a camel. The annoying Toronto couple were on the front camel and Mrs. Kim and I were on the second. Mr. Kim was videotaping of course. Thank goodness they were tied together. Our camel did NOT want to cooperate- she would have taken off if she could have and Mrs. Kim and I would have had to ride off together in the sunset! The camel was so bad the guy stopped using her and I got a great pictue of her climbing a fence and escaping. She was DONE!! Ha! There is a south African family in our group with two boys that are very... Whiny and cowardly so were some of the adults I. Their group. Wouldn't get on the camel and whined about walking short distances.

We visited Ben Gurion's hut and grave which had an amazing view of the Zin valley. We stopped briefly at Mitzpeh Ramon to see the Ramon crater. I personally though the site by Ben Gurion's grave was more impressive.

Next was a two hour drive through the Negev Desert. Beautiful and we saw groups of kids camping out there and tons of military camps and excercise fields where they were doing night training maneuvers. The Israel Army is pretty impressive.

We stopped at an ice-cream store for a bathroom break. There was a boy quoting the Torah and others with him. Not sure but think a Bar Mitvah was happening at the reststop!

Got to Eilat and were exhausting. Long fairly boring day. We drove around Eilat while Jackie pointed out some things. We dropped off the others and of course, Tom, Gretchen and I were the last dropped off in a hotel far away from everything. We are C class travelers.

Day 9
Most everyone went on a dat trip to Petra. Gretchen and I had a free day to read, nap and walk. We went to McDonalds. Mrs. Kim says it's the US embassy!!! Ha! We just wanted beef! Mr. And Mrs Kim did not tell us their first names because they said it is hard for westerners to
pronounce. Yesterday I heard mr. Kim looking for her calling out "Mrs. Kim" cracked me up.

Our hotel is ok but there are a lot of loud Jewish families with loud children. And the Internet that you have to pay for does not work in your room just in the lobby. Sigh.
The red sea is beautiful though :)

Day seven-Masada, Qumran, and bethlehem

Day 7 Masada, Qumran, dead sea, bethlehem

It was freezing cold in the morning! We drove along the Dead Sea to Masada-the last Jewish stronghold after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD. It took the Romans two years to breach it-there were 1000 Jews there. There Romans got through then went back to there camps at night and were going to take it in the morning. The leader of the Jews proposed they kill themselves. They picked 10 men to slay all the others then the 10 men drew the name of the man that would kill the other nine then fall on his own sword. Horrible. Two women and  some children survived to tell the story. When we got to the top Joyce said this is where she's going when the zombies attack! Ha!

We went to Qumran where the dead sea scrolls were found. In 1947 a Bedouin shepherd boy looking for a lost goat and came upon a cave with jars that held the scrolls.

We had to be back early for people to go to the midnight Mass since it is Christmas Eve :)
Our last stop was the dead sea. We got to put mud our ourselves and float in the dead sea. So cool! Gretchen didn't come with the group today to I hung out the Bill, Joyce, and Aaron. Some people were having a lot of trouble trusting the water to hold them so they couldn't enjoy it. I Loved it! You just sit down and you float effortlessly. When you get out the water leaves this oily film on your skin. When it dries your skin feels amazingly soft.you stink though and I had salt in clumps in weird places like when I run marathons. Luckily the water wasn't nearly as cold as I thought it would be.

We headed back to Jerusalem and I took a quick shower. Our guide was Mollie who was great! Gretchen, me, Vivica, Anne, Bill, Donna, Bill, Joyce, and Arron all went in this group. We ran into Betty Ann on another tour.  It was cold and rainy.  we went to see the parliment building just from the outside. We went up to the Mount of Olives to see Jerusalem by night. We went throughh the Jaffa gate and went back down the Via Dolorosa to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It was much less crowded at night. We went into the church and got to go onto the place marked as His tomb. We didn't get to do that the other day. We had to drop Mollie off because she isn't allowed into Bethlehem. It was different tonight - soldiers everywhere! Our driver and guide tonight were obviously Muslim Palestinians. They kept emphasizing that we were entering another country, Palestine.  We went back to the Olive wood store and had tea and I went back to the store for chocolate. I had also brought ginger bread men from Mumbai to celebrate Christmas :) I shared them with Gretchen and the Terra Haute family that adopted us! Aaron said we were taking his gig :)

We parked the bus and started walking toward Manger Square. Soldiers stopped us and said we couldn't go because the Prime Minister was on the move. We stood in the freezing rain for awhile until finally the soldiers found an overhang for us to huddle under. I heard soldiers yelling at someone near me-the dumbass had taken a picture of the Palestanian soldiers. I'd bet money they were American! Dumb dumb. Some of the soldiers covered the lower half of their face. Some people thought they were trying to scare us on purpose. I think they were actually just really cold.  We were finally allowed to go to the Christmas Bells restaurant. It was warm and we got to sit In There and we could see the mass on the screen. We had hours to kill but we had a great time hanging out with our Adoptive family.  I was the only one to venture outside to see if I could hear anything in Manger Square. I've seen guards in crowds before. They are usually standing a few yards apart from each other. In this case they were shoulder to shoulder with their faces covered and in full gear. It really was a little freaky.  Once Mass ended and the Prime Minister left, the soldiers relaxed a little. As we were walking down the street many of them wished us Merry Christmas. Our guide got off at the border and we had no problem getting back into Israel. It was 1:45 am before we got back.  I was exhausted and much of the night was boring, but I got to see the Tomb and I get to say I was  in Bethlehem for Christmas Eve! 

Day 6 Chuch of all nations, Yad Vashem, bethlehem

Day six church of all nations, holocaust museum,Bethlehem

It is Friday and still sunny out. We drove to The top of mount Olives for the panoramic view of Jerusalem. It was the most amazing sight! I didn't cry at the wailing wall or the Via Dolorosa, but tears started falling down my face the sight of the Dome of the Rock in the middle of this gorgeous view. "When He draw near and saw the city He wept over it" Luke 1:26 We could see the Basillica of the Agony or Church of All Nations.  It was a really beautiful church. Twelve countries contributed to the construction of the church. It is over the rock Jesus prayed over in the Garden of Gethsemane. There is a wrought iron fence around the rock that looks like a crown.  We also went to St. john's church where John the Baptist was born.

We went to the Israel Museum Shrine of the Book where some of the Dead Sea Scrolls are kept.  There is also a really cool model of Jerusalem how it was during the Second Temple period. It was huge model with great details.

We went to Yad Vashem -the memorial and museum to the Holocaust. The children's memorial was amazing. 1.5 million children died. The memorial is in a circle surrounded by mirrors. There are five candles in the center and the lights reflect t endlessly in the mirrors. Entrance to the main museum is along the Avenue of the Righteous Among Nations which is lined with plaques with the names of people who put their lives on the line to help Jews. About 23,000 people are honored and Oskar Schindler is one of them.
The museum was in a triangle shape and you go to different eras of the Holocaust. They have artifacts from victims-burned passports and pictures, a pile of shoes. I was torn between just wanting to get out of there and trying to read everything and learn as much as I could.  We ate in the cafeteria there. Lots of restaurants here are kosher and I think things are worse because it is Hanukkah. At this particular cafeteria there was one section where you could buy food with dairy in it and one section to buy meat products. If you got food in the meat section and your friend got food in the dairy section, you couldn't eat together.

In the afternoon we drove to Bethlehem. It is easy to get in to the Palestinian territory but you need your passport in case they stop you going out. Meir, our guide had to get off the bus right before the border. Jewish Israelis are not allowed to go in. When we get across the border a Palestinian guide gets on the bus. The driver is a Muslim Israeli so he can drive in. Adele, our new guide told us about Bethlehem and took us to Johnnys -a Christian store that specializes in Olive Wood carvings.  I was done shopping and needed chocolate so i headed to cross the street to go to a store. adel rushed over to help me cross which cracked me up. I live in Mumbai. I can cross the street better than anyone! There are about 30 percent Christians and 70 percent Muslims in Bethlehem. We got to go to the Church of the Nativity where Christ was born. We had to wait in line for an hour to get into the cave. We got to touch the star that marks the spot where He was born. The church is gorgeous. There is a section run by Armenians, Greek Orthodox, and Roman Catholics (that is where the midnight mass is celebrated. It is right next to Manger Square which is all lit up with Christmas lights.

We headed back out of Bethlehem and saw a santa claus riding a bicycle! Israel soldiers stopped us at the border and just walked through the bus - the only people they said anything to was the Ethiopean family.

We went back to Jerusalem to spend the night.

Day four Cana, Nazereth, Tiberias

Day four Cana, Nazareth, tiberias

We loaded up one van with our  luggage and the other van with 17 people. We dove through Cana where Jesus performed His first miracle-turning water into wine. The were several shops with names like "First Miracle Wine Shop " then we drove to Nazareth. Mary grew up there and the Holy family lived there after their stay in Egypt. We went to The Church of the Annunciation over the site where Mary was told she would bear God's son. Meir was telling us about how people think that Mary and Joseph went to Bethleham to pay taxes during the census. He said if it was just about taxes they would have sent someone else to pay them.  Mary went so she could be counted among her people of Judah so that prophecy would be fulfilled. The church was amazing!!! Mass is still held there and one was going on while we were there. Many countries gave gifts to the church with their version of the story and it was interesting to see what they gave. The one from Japan had a Japanese woman and child.  :)

The church had these amazing doors with pictures depicting stories in the Bible. One of them was Noah and the dove bringing the olive branch.  He said it was a dove because they can land on anything and it was an olive branch because they are nearly Impossible to break off if they aren't completely dry.

We also went to the church that is on the spot where the family lived -st. joseph's church. The family lived in the house above ground and his workshop was below that then there was a cave under the whole area for the basement. Nazareth has about 55,000 people that are 50/50 Muslim and Christian.  Their is a new part of the town called Nazereth Illit that is for Jews.  I saw the most Christmas decorations in Nazerethh and some one wished me Merry Christmas!!

We drive pass a lot of Kibbutzes. Kibbutz are like communes where people work the agricultue land together and don't get paid but get all their needs met. To join you must live there a year and then people vote. If the don't get a majority the first year you get another year. If you don't pass the second year- you are out!

We see a lot of Israeli soldiers on the roads and at bus stops. He said that they used to hitchhike  all the time until terrorists started dressing as devout Jews, picking up soldiers and killing them. Soldiers are no longer allowed to hitchhike.

We went to Yardenit - the place where it is said that John the Baptist baptized Jesus in the river Jordan. There is also a site across the border in Jordan :)

Apparently it is a big deal to buy diamonds here so we went to a shop.  Some of us were not into diamonds so we went looking for an ATM. I finally have shekels! We had lunch at McDonalds-real beef burger. No cheese because it was kosher-but it was still great!

We rode in this train thing pulled  by tractor to Beit Shean or Beth Shean-very cool excavation site!! We are touring ruin and I feel something hit my head. Didn't know if it was a bug, debris etc.  My friend checked it out it was bird poop! Twice in one week! She tried to get it out of my hair :)

We drove along the Jordan river to Jerusalem. So weird driving through the West Bank. Barbed wire everywhere. There is a fence along the Jordan border and another fence quite a bit away from it and the space between is a battlefield area. It is full of mines to stop terrorists from crossing the border that way.

The people in our group continue to entertain! The hong kong couple is on their honeymoon and are Super cute. When I ask why they chose Israel he aid because it is warmer than Europe :). Continuing to enjoy the terra haute family. Normally  when I tell people I've eaten guinea pig and loved it I get looks of horror. Aaron said he has been to Ecuador too and enjoyed eating Guinea pig :) Alabama makes us laugh constantly. She sais Israeli men are so hot she wants to make a calendar. She said "i think it is impossible for Israel to make ugly men! She's not wrong!!  mrs. Kim talked to me quite a bit they are Christians and live in France. Mr. Kim works at a nuclear facility- is from Korea so just says he is an engineer at boarder crossings :) Bill, the guy from New Zeland lost his wife unexpectedly 13 years ago. They had always talked about coming and now he is here. He is .... A little mentally impaired... It is sweet to see his reaction to everything here. He is so moved by all of it!

day three Banias Springs, Golan Heights, and sermon on the mount

We had breakfast at the Kibbutz which included eggs and pancakes so I was happy. We were supposed to go for a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee first thing but it was really windy and the water was rough so they postponed it. It would have been interesting to see what it was like rough so we could understand the Apostles' fear and why they needed Jesus to calm the sea. But we probably would have all thrown up!

We went to Banias Springs first which feeds into the Jordan river. Yeaster I forgot to mention that we could see a piece of Lebanon from the gardens that we went to. Today we saw Lebanon and Syria! Who would have thout I be this close to those places! We drove by a town the is half in Lebanon and half in Israel. Line right down the middle. Crazy. We saw a lot of barbed wire fence with signs that say "danger-mines" left over from Syria and Lebanon. Our guide Mier says cows get loose and wander around sometimes and blow a mine and they have Israeli hamburger :) it was a depressing ride ther but at the springs there were wonderful ruins. There were pilgrims from south Africa there singing and getting crazy -it was a nice addition to the scene.

We learned that Israel grows a lot of wheat that is perfect for pasta so the export it to Italy. Then they import all the wheat they need to make bread and stuff in from the US. Weird.

Gas is 7 US dollars a gallon here!

We went to the Mount of Beatitudes where the sermon on the mount was given. It was one of the most gorgeous places on Earth. So beautiful with a great view of the Sea of Galilee. An impressive church was built at the site by an Italian designer who did a lot of churches in Israel. It was funded by Muselini. Weird fact.

Then we went to Tabgha -the place where the miracle of the fishes and loaves took place. The Church of the Multiplication is there. There is an alter over the supposed rock where he laid the food. Marvelous tile mosaics that depict it are still there.

We went to Capernaum and visited the remains of a second century synagogue. At a lot of there sites they keep the original foundation which can be one to three THOUSAND years old and then they put some kind of marking to show where the original part ends and reconstruct it higher so you can see what the structure might have looked like. There is a church over the place where peter's house was.

We went to this place right by the sea and had Shwarma for lunch. Then we got in this boat and went on the Sea of Galilee. The weather has been perfect! It was probably in the 70s today and blue skies. Pretty white birds flew alongside the boat. They turned on music and played Chris Tomlin songs ( and some others) seriously got to sing along to "how great is our God" on the sea of Galilee!!

We had a new couple join us today from Hong Kong -they are adorable and always holding hands. The terra Haute family still remains the most sane and I like to hang out with them. Alabama is late getting to the bus every time! She is entertaining though. In her thick accent she said "I think spiders are the most misunderstood creatures on Earth" ok. California lady is loud and argumentative and her husband is pompous. You can get Christian or Jewish focused tours. Our is lead by a Jewish archeaologist so he knows his stuff for both Jews and Chriatians. Well somehow California man and Alabama were talking about beliefs and the man said he didn't believe in any god - he was atheist. And Alabama in her great accent said "it isn't possible to be an Atheist. Every one believes in a god. Sometimes it is just themselves. That's why "I"is in the middle of sin!

We learned that the sand along the Mediteranian sea in Israel is sand from the Nile. Pretty cool.

It was a great day. The sea of Galilee was amazing. The mount of beatitudes and the site of the loaves and fishes were amazing. new Zeland guy said that today was a day he'd cherish for the rest of his life. We agree.

Israel day two-Caesarea, Megiddo, Haifa, and Acre

Day two

I had breakfast at the hotel with gretchen. Oh my. We were talking yesterday about craving eggs, they had boiled eggs and scrambled eggs! They had cereal with real milk. Cheese and bread and fruit. And mediteranian food like olives and figs and dates and Greek salad. Yum. The only thing they had that I eat regularly in India is dahi-which is yogurt.

There are 15 people on our tour.
A South Korean couple who live in the south of France right now- didn't get chance to talk to them today.
A couple from north of Toronto. The man seems ok. Not the woman :)
A couple from California-totally WT (David and Andrea)
A couple and their son ( in his 20s) from Terra Haute IN. We like them. (bill,Joyce and Aaron)
A man from New Zeland I didn't get to talk to
A man from Washington state who we like. (Tom)
A woman from Alabama who currently teaches in Japan. She has a great accent and says great things. I have a feeling many of my stories will be from her. We'll call her Bama. (Betty Ann)
And Ann who sat with me and we hit it off. She is Austrailian and is on a long trip -2weeks in New Zeland, 10 days in Istanbul, a week in Jordan, and now 2weeks in Israel.

We drove along the coast to Caesarea. We saw the Ampitheater, the Roman Theater, aquaduct, and other excavated ruins. It was so beautiful. The Mediteranian sea is so blue!

As we drove he would tell us about the region and history. In 1948 when the war started the Palistanian Muslims were told to take a vacation somewhere until the fighting stopped.  When a cease fire was called no one allowed to cross the borders either way so all those people were stranded and became permanent fixtures in refugee camps in Egypt, Syria, Lebanon etc. The Muslims that didn't run away got to stay and become Israeli citizens. They are exempt from the mandatory military service all Israelis must do. Mostly because any fighting would be with Muslim nations and they'd have to fight relatives so they can't be trusted.

We saw the site where Elijah prayed and his sacrifice was consumed by fire while all the other people were praying to Baal and were ignored.
We had a lunch of falafels.

The coolest thing today was Megiddo. It was a very important place because it linked the three continents together It is also supposed to be the site of Armageddon-the final battle. What struck me about the valley of Armageddon is that it looks like it is ready for the battle. It is a clear, flat field- no buildings or other structures.

We went to Haifa and saw the Persian gardens at the Bahai shrine. The gardens were gorgeous! we then drove to Acre and saw a mosque and some typical alleyways with shops.

The weather is nice. In the 60s, sunny and windy. I have to wear a jacket! The roads are nice and smooth. Most road signs are in Hebrew, Arabic, and English.

We are all staying in the same Kibbutz- kibbutz Lavi. It is a lot bigger than I expected. we had a buffet style dinner that was decent.

Before we left, I looked up the electricity situation and it seemed Israel has same plugS India does. Well anything I bought in India that only has two prongs-my hair dryer and camera work fine. My cell phone which has three prong does not fit in the three prongs here. Neither does my powerstrip that works in India and should work here! I got an adapter I got in The gift shop that works for American plus like my I-pad, but not my phone so I won' t have an alarm clock once the battery dies!

Day one Israel trip

Day one -flying to Tel Aviv

I try to make these things somewhat interesting but sometimes it just turns out like an online journal -which is what it is i guess :) we had a half day of school on Friday Dec 16th. I went to the doctor to show him the test results I got done on Monday. I went to the Hinduja hospital in Khar  which is a section of Mumbai near Bandra where I live. khar is very different than Bandra! Dirtier, lots of oxen everywhere :) but they have a beautiful, brand  new hospital there. Much more western looking than The one I went to on Monday h -it was filled to the gills with pushy Indian people! I like this doctor -he doesn't push meds. Quite a few of my lab numbers where abnormal but they  weren't so severe that he's going to load me with meds. My sjogrens markers were high - which is causing severe dry eyes and mouth. My eyes feel like sandpaper and I wake up Choking because my mouth is so dry. Sjogrens can be really awful where it damages the eyes etc. Mine isn't that bad - i'm going back in 6weeks for him to monitor it.

On Saturday I went running for 3 miles which is so sad considering my half marathon is in ONE month and I have NOT trained for it :(  I went home and packed then went for my body combat class! I love this class! It is mixed martial arts with loud upbeat American music. I also take body balance class which is tai chi, yoga and pilates. I am not very good at that one! Years of running have left me inflexible! But I give in my best!

I went to one of my favorite restaurants - Eat Around the Corner - to meet my friend Andrea. Then I ventured down to the craziness of Hill road to peruse the Christmas stalls. I'm really glad I decided to give myself a day in Mumbai before leaving on vacation -it would have been too stressful to leave the day school got out.

I went to bed around 8:30 because a school driver was going to pick me up at 2:20 am to take me to the airport. At 2:15 Darshan was out waiting for me -he's the driver that drives my morning bus. It's been a little cooler lately - like 80s in the mornings and Darshan was wearing a sweater!!  :) We picked up Gretchen and off we went. Gretchen is a student support teacher and is in her second year here. It is always amazing how busy the airport is at 3am. The good thing about India is all the stores And food places are open in the airport in the middle of the night. I had a sandwich at 4 am.  Bad thing about Indian airports? People pushing shoving all the time. Augh! It drives me insane! We are all boarding a plane To sit on for 7 hours - why are you pushing and shoving???!?? They also push and shove getting off a plane, in stores, on streets. I guess it is learned behavior from living in crowded spaces.

I watched 3 movies on the plane. One was with Steve Carrel and Ryan Gosling -Crazy Stupid Love I think. Funny. The I watched Contagion. Yikes! A little too realistic especially with there are Asian people on the plane with masks on!  The I watched Black Swan and that was just disturbing.

We flew Turkish air to Istanbul. The airport in Istanbul was really nice. We walked through the shops and I got some Turkish delight. And bought some Popeyes  chicken nuggets that were 9 Usd! This guy asked if I spoke English!! Then asked if I'd see if his wife was in the toilet. I've never been asked if I speak English! It is always assumed I do.

We were placed in the very last row of the next plane. One thing I do like about Indian airlines-they board from the front and back so it is quicker!

We were told so many horror stories about immigration here. I went up to the counter she asked how long I was staying, complied with my request to not have an Israeli stamp in my passport and I was literally through in 45seconds! People warned me not to bring my laptop.  Now I wish I would have-they didn't even ask if I had one.  Let's hope the land border crossings go as smoothly :)


Our hotel was the Leonardo Basel in Tel Aviv right next to the the Mediteranian Sea. It was an adorable hotel with a comfortable bed and hot water. We went for a walk by the sea and through the town. Everything and everyone is so nice. Families out on the streets, cute little cafes every block. Wonderful fruit stands where we got a great smoothy. Too bad we only get tonight here. I would like to explore more!