We stayed at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem. It was a 5 star hotel and I would highly recommend it. All the restaurants inside the hotel have great food as well. After our plane to Egypt was canceled the airline put us up in a hotel (forgot the name) It was on the beach in Tel Aviv. The bus driver got lost and we saw a part of Tel Aviv maybe they don't want people to see. It was dirty and poor.
View from our room at our hotel in Tel Aviv
Our first day out we went to Mt. Scopus and Mt. of Olives and saw magnificent views of Jerusalem. What a beautiful city! I don't know why but I imagined it desert like, but it was green and hilly.
We went to see the Garden of Gethsemane which had the most awesome ancient olive trees. We also went to the Church of Peter in Gallivant and the Upper Room where Jesus had the last supper. The Upper Room is probably the correct location but the inside has been updated and not at all original. We had a little fun watching our guide argue with another person who was trying to block him from parking because she as saving the spot. (lol).
View of Temple Mount and Old City
View of City of David
Close up of Temple Mount
Garden of Gethsemane
Upper Room (no point in showing the inside)
We also went to Bethlehem which was in Palestine control and Nachum as an Israel citizen was not allowed into Bethlehem by Israel law. So we had to switch tour guides for that portion. The Palestinian tour guides were not so great. We had lunch in Bethlehem, visited the Church of the Nativity which was all gaudied up. They have some ridiculous set up where they believe Jesus was born. (Picture below). I highly doubt if they know the exact spot he was born. All sorts of people going in and kissing the ground etc. I love my Lord and wouldn't it be nice if we really knew the exact spot he was born in, but I doubt this is it, and if it is, they really jacked it up.
Here it is - the spot Jesus was born at?
The next day we went to David's Tower which is an ancient citadel on the old city wall, we walked the Via Delorosa which is supposedly the path that Jesus walked with his cross to the place where he was crucified.
There are two separate locations that he could have been crucified and buried. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher houses what is most notably the place where Jesus was crucified and buried. Again it is so gaudied up that it is hard to believe it is the actual place. We also went to a second possible site (which to me appears more likely). The mountain looks like a skull (which in the last month with rains and erosion, the bridge of the nose has collapsed). It is believe he was crucified under the skull on the street below. Near the mountain is an old tomb where it is believed Jesus was laid and risen. I won't get into to the stories both locations claim as their reasons for believing they have the right location, but I will say that the place of the skull and its tomb seem so much more likely. Again we have no way of actually ever knowing this for sure.
We had falafel for lunch which was great. We went to the Western Wall (wailing wall). The jewish tradition has females on one side and male on the other. They stuff prayers in the wall and believe it to be a holy site. The Temple Mount is right above it with the Muslim Mosque on top. We had to go thorough check points to get into the area. There was no required dress unless you are of the Jewish religion.
We walked through the old city and all four quarters (Armenian, Arabic, Christian and Jewish). The roads are filled with shops. If you go off the beaten path you will find that inside the old city there are actual neighborhoods where people live. I will make note that a lot of people smoke. Coming from a country that is trying to do away with smoking in public places, it was very noticeable. I loved the old city just walking around realizing how very old it really is.
Streets of the old city
Western (Wailing) wall
Via Delorosa
Place of the Skull
Jesus' Tomb
Entrance to the tomb at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
We then went to the Israel Museum where the Dead Sea Scrolls and Shrine of the Book were displayed. No pictures were allowed but it was very interesting.
The next day our wonderful guide, Nachum, took us to Masada and the Dead Sea. So glad that these were added. Masada is this ancient stronghold city on a hill build by Herod. It was amazing the abilities of men so long ago to build a huge city on a hill so high about the land. It had cisterns for water that could last for years, a courtyard for growing vegetables etc., plaster facades that looked like stone and were painted with brilliant colors. The story goes that the Romans surrounded it on every side and build a ramp to reach it and everyone committed suicide rather than being captured by the Romans. There are still ruins of the Roman military camps. You can walk up and/or down to Masada or take the arial tram. You have to have a good amount of time to walk it. We then headed to the Dead Sea where we took a quick float.
Nachum our guide
View of the Dead Sea from Masada
Us on top of Masada
Us floating in the Dead Sea
Some kids mudding up with the Dead Sea mud
which is supposed to be very good for your skin
Another view from Masada
We loved our trip to Israel and we definitely have to go back to visit Galilee and so much more of Israel. I would love to go on a Holy Land trip with our church so we could get some good preaching and teaching from the Bible at the same time. Next our trip to Egypt. It may take me a while, I have to edit my photos.
