Ashdod – Jaffa

Today’s tour was a short bus ride up the coast to the ancient port city of Jaffa followed by a tour of Tel Aviv. In a nutshell, the tour was kind of lame. There is really not much left of Jaffa and Tel Aviv, although a modern Israeli city, virtually has no history so unless you are into trendy restaurants and shopping, it is pretty insignificant from a historical perspective. Personally, I was happy to get back to the ship to enjoy cocktails and food. On a side note, this was as close as we came to the Gaza Strip and the controversy only 20 miles south of the Port of Ashdod. 

JERUSALEM – Day One 
This tour was a thirty-six hour marathon of overwhelming history, biblical sites and eye-opening political revelation. We began our journey from the Port of Ashdod traveling to Jerusalem and arrived at the Israel Museum to see the Dead Sea Scrolls. The museum also featured a scale model of the 2nd temple era city which really helped us understand the original layout when we began seeing the points of interest. Without attempting to offer a history lesson, I’ll just list the incredible places we visited on our first day in Jerusalem.  

After visiting the Israel Museum we drove a short distance and entered Bethlehem. This was our first visit to this part of the world and we did not know that Bethlehem is Arab controlled. We also did not expect that visiting The Church of the Nativity, built on the site of the birthplace of Jesus, requires driving through a security checkpoint with machine gun toting Israeli soldiers and that the entire city itself is completely surrounded by a huge ugly wall nothing short of that of a prison. I am not trying to make a political statement here but I am saying that this had a huge impact on me and my former vision of the baby Jesus in a manger. They say that visiting the holy land changes you and this is the point at which my change hit me like a ton of bricks.  

We then headed back to Jerusalem and visited the Garden of Gethsemane where Judas betrayed Jesus, below The Mount of Olives. We then entered the old city through the Dung gate, through the crowded markets arriving at the church of the Holy Sepulcher, the site of the crucifixion, the empty tomb and the resurrection of Christ. I can only say that for me, it’s pretty hard to wrap my head around all this and the overwhelming emotion of standing in this most holy of holy places. Regardless of your beliefs, the events that take place here continue to change the world. 
Leaving the church we waked down the Via Dolorosa, the Way of Suffering, past several Stations of the Cross finally arriving at the western or “Wailing Wall”. It was so interesting seeing the mix of Christians, Jews and Muslims all laying claim to this incredible city. 

JERUSALEM – Day Two 

Our tour company provided us lodging at the Dan Hotel in Jerusalem which included dinner and breakfast. We didn’t spend much time in the room except to get some sleep and early on our second day we were leaving the city and descending into the Jordan Valley with spectacular views of the Dead Sea, the River Jordan and the Sea of Galilee. We traveled north along the path of the River Jordan and the Jordanian boarder. Again, in stark contrast to the biblical theme of our journey and the otherwise pastoral setting one can’t ignore the double fence line topped with razor wire and the occasional security check points as we headed toward the Sea of Galilee. 

Arriving near the Sea of Galilee we stopped at the place believed to be the site of Jesus’ Baptism by John the Baptist. There were people from all over the world entering the water to be either baptized or renewing the rites in the holy River Jordan. We then journeyed up to the Mount of Beatitudes where Christ delivered the Sermon on the Mount, then back down to Tabgha to the Church of the Multiplication, believed to have been built on the site of the miracle of the fish and loaves.  

In Capernaum we had a short walking tour of ruined synagogue and the center of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee. After lunch we completed our two day tour with a visit to Nazereth, the Church of the Annunciation and the preserved grotto where the Archangel Gabriel appeared to the Virgin Mary. Finally we headed back through the Jezreel Valley and the Carmel Mountains where we re-joined the cruise ship in Haifa and enjoyed the opportunity to get off our feet and do some relaxing. Next port of call, Paphos on the Island of Cyprus.