ISRAEL - DAY 7

Sept. 24 was our last day of touring Israel and it began with a visit to old Akko (or Acre as it is also known).  Akko was in the hands of the Muslims and Turks before being conquered by the Crusaders.  We visited a prison that was built by the Turks and used by the Crusaders to imprison Jews.  It is now called the Museum of Heroism dedicated to the underground Jews who were killed.  The courtyard of the prison is now used for festivals.

Picture of one side of the prison.

Another angle of the prison.

 Ceiling structure inside the building.

Clock tower in old Akko.

‘Goods’ of an enterprising vendor.

Caravans arrived in this square.  Animals stayed in the bottom and people at the top.

Looking down the ‘corridor’ of the square.

Looking across the Mediterranean from Akko to Haifa.

Young men jump (for fun) from this rock formation into the sea.

And here's one of those jumpers!

View of old Akko from atop a restaurant.

Our next stop was at Haifa.  On the way to the top of Mount Carmel, we passed the Baha’I World Centre which has spectacular gardens meticulously groomed.  You can only get into the gardens by appointment and we didn't have one.

View of the Baha’I World Centre from the street.  The golden dome represents the founder of the Baha’I sect.

Haifa is a bustling city on the coast of the Mediterranean with a large port.  Arabs and Jews coexist in Haifa.  Most of the Arab population are Christians and there are many churches and also some mosques.

The two pictures above are views of Haifa Bay from Mount Carmel.

An office building in Haifa reminiscent of those in Dubai.

View of the Baha’I gardens from Mount Carmel.

The extended family with Haifa Bay in the background.

Panorama of the Baha’I World Centre, Haifa and Haifa Bay.

Our next stop was to see the Roman ruins at Caesarea.  Caesarea was built by King Herod and had the largest and most modern port of that time.  The port no longer exists.

Panorama of the ruins at Caesarea.

 The remains of Herod’s swimming pool which actually extended out another 100 meters into the sea.  The original mosaic still remains.

 These were public toilets and people used feathers to ‘dry/clean’ themselves.  There was no inhibition among the citizens.

 The Hippodrome where chariot racing took place.

 Hall of Hearing where Paul would have been brought for charges against him to be heard.  (The hall ends where the stones curve).

Our final stop was at Jaffa in Tel Aviv.  Our tour guide’s boss met us with a ‘touch’ of red wine and a couple of different kinds of breads to have a celebratory toast to the Jewish new year.  Our guide was able to get us to the top of the hill and give an explanation of the gate in the picture below and since we were all very tired by that time, a sip of wine and the gorgeous view of Tel Aviv from he hill was all it took for us to decide the tour was ended.

A picture of the gate with biblical representations on the hill at Jaffa.

View of Tel Aviv.

Our extended family with our tour guide (in the white pants).  She is likely THE best tour guide I have ever had.  She separated fact from fiction and had a very dry sense of humour which we all enjoyed.  I would highly recommend her for anyone contemplating doing a similar tour.

Last but not least, the extended family with our bus driver.  I think he has to be one of the best bus drivers I’ve ever had.  He navigated streets so narrow that at times, he barely had an inch left on either side……and he was probably THE calmest driver I have ever had.

And so ends an amazing, eye-opening experience.  Israel is truly a very complex and complicated country where Arabs and Jews reside in harmony, sometimes beside each other, and at other times in a bit of an uneasy peace.  It’s hard to believe that it can be so peaceful on one side of the wall and on the other side, there is so much unrest.  The topography of Israel was also surprising to me.  I thought it was very flat and it’s quite the opposite – very mountainous - dry in the south and very fertile in the north.  It was wonderful to visit some of the actual places in the bible, especially with my extended family.  These are memories I will cherish for the rest of my life.

ISRAEL - DAY 6

On Sept. 23, we set out for the Golan Heights en route to the Sea of Galilee and Mount of the Beatitudes.  We passed by a Druze village and managed to see a Druze man walking on the street.  The Druze are a closed sect who live in the Golan Heights.  One can only be a Druze if the parents are Druze.  There are no career ambitions but they are loyal to the country so the Druze boys serve in the Israeli army.  The Druze are citizens of Israel.  In 1967 when Israel won the Golan Heights, Druze were given the opportunity to become Israeli citizens.

For about the last fifty years, it has been quiet on the Golan Heights.  There are UN personnel on the border of Syria and Israel but they serve merely as ‘watchers’ and ‘incident reporters’.  Israel cannot count on the UN personnel to guard the border as Syrians already tried to get into Israel but were stopped by Israeli soldiers.  As a result, Israel is building a border patrol system high on the mountain but we were asked not to take pictures.  There are several memorials along the Golan Heights dedicated to soldiers who lost their lives in the 1967 war.  We did, however, encounter a few soldiers who had stopped in the same place we did and they obliged us with pictures.

From where we stopped, we were looking at Syria.

A Druze village in the Golan Heights.

This is the UN compound at the border between Syria and Israel.

Looking over into Syria.  (The buildings in the distance are in Syria).

My brother with one of the soldiers. 

My friend (at the end) and I with the soldiers.  We were photo-bombed at the last minute by the woman in front of me.

My niece with the soldiers.

The Sea of Galilee (taken from the bus) 

The New Church of St. Peter (Church of the Beatitudes) built over previous churches.  The rocks are the remains of the house of Peter’s mother-in-law where Jesus stayed.

A view of inside the church.

Some of the remains of a synagogue.

At the Mount of the Beatitudes with the Sea of Galilee in the background.

Date palms laden with dates on the grounds of the New Church of St. Peter.

Rock formation of fishes also on the grounds.

We took a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee.  The boat we were in was similar to this one.

Picture of the extended family (plus one) on the boat ride. 

Family picture on the boat ride.

Looking at the Mount of the Beatitudes from the Sea of Galilee.

The altar of the Church of the Loaves & Fishes was built over a rock which represents the place where Jesus was when his disciples came to tell him there was no food for the multitudes.

The mosaic floor in the church is the original floor from about 1600 years ago.  The church was lost in a fire and was rebuilt about 43 years ago.

An so ends another great day in this fantastic week of learning!

   

   

   

   

ISRAEL - DAY 5

ISRAEL – DAY 5

We left Jerusalem on September 22 and headed for the northern part of Israel.  We drove through the West Bank as we headed towards the Jordan River.  The West Bank has three areas – area A is controlled by the Palestinians; area B is under Israeli control; area C is under joint control of the Palestinians who are responsible for civic rule and the Israelis who are responsible for security.The Jordan River is the border between Israel and the state of Jordan.  These pictures represent our tour for that day.

This is a group of people saying mass on the Jordan side of the River Jordan.

My niece dipping her toe in the Jordan River. 

   

My nephew dipping his hand in the Jordan River.    

Yours truly dipping my hand in the Jordan River. 

The extended family in front of the Jordan River.  Note that the river is not very wide.

We left the Jordan River and headed to Jericho.  Jericho is a thriving city as it has a sub-tropical climate.  It is under Palestinian rule and its residents are very laid back compared to Bethlehem.

View of Jericho from the bus.

This tree is called a Zaccheus tree after the biblical Zaccheus who was so short, he had to climb a tree to see Jesus.

This is the Mountain of Temptation where Christ was when he was tempted for forty days and forty nights.  The Monastery of Quadrantal (far left building in the sandstone colour) was subsequently built on what is considered a holy site.    

My brother enjoying a leisurely camel ride.

 We then headed to the archaeological site of Bet She’an which was destroyed by an earthquake about 700 years after the crucifixion.  No one was killed in the earthquake as the citizens recognized in the elements that there was something wrong and left the city.

View of the site from the top of the hill.

Part of a Roman theatre at the site.

Part of the ruins still being excavated.  The two dark coverings in the background of the picture are where archaeologists are working.  Note the size of the fallen columns.

My niece and nephew on one of the fallen columns.    

A close up of some of the fallen columns.

A view of a typical Roman main street. 

We then made our way to Nazareth with our first stop being at the Church of the Annunciation which was built to replace the small church which was there after a visit from the Pope circa 1964.  The church is dedicated to Mary and there are many ‘art works’ donated by countries around the world to commemorate Mary.  It’s interesting to see how Mary is represented by the many countries. 

This is the front of the Church of the Annunciation.

Some of the artwork donated by some of the countries is mounted on the exterior walls in the compound.    

The door to the church was donated by The Netherlands.

Part of the interior of the church.    

Close up of the site of “The Cave” believed to be where the annunciation took place.    

More artwork donations mounted on the interior walls.    

Canada’s contribution.    

The USA’s contribution    

Japan’s contribution.

In contrast to the Church of the Annunciation dedicated to Mary, this is the Church of St. Joseph dedicated to Joseph.  No artwork on the walls

A beautiful Ficus tree which is on the grounds of the complex.

We then went to visit a small synagogue in the little town of Safed.  This is a picture of the Ark behind curtains. 

These are old books in the synagogue which must be destroyed but they are kept until a certain time then they are destroyed during a ceremony. 

And so ended day 5 of our trip.  We overnighted at a kibbutz hotel where we would spend two nights.  The hotel has been bought from the commune and is now privately owned but many of the kibbutz residents still live around the hotel.