Israel Trip

To start off with blogging about Israel we thought we would have our first blog give a general overview and itinerary of our trip to Israel, with some pictures from each day.  We hope you will keep checking back as we add more blogs over the coming weeks about specific topics and things we did.  Thanks for reading!

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in Bethlehem:
We arrived on the morning of Christmas Eve and made our way to Bethlehem. We had a tour of the Church of the Nativity in the afternoon. This is the church built over the place where Jesus was born.  Hannah and Garth went to Midnight Mass at St. Catherine's Church which is attached to the Church of the Nativity; everyone else was too tired and went to bed. The next day, visited the Milk Grotto where Catholics say a drop of Mary's milk dropped while feeding Jesus and miraculously turned the cave a chalky white colour.

In front of a manger in Manger Square by the Church of the Nativity,  Bethlehem

Bethlehem on Christmas morning

December 26: Jerusalem and the The Old City:
We joined an organized tour that would go until December 31. The first stop was to visit the Mount of Olives for a panoramic view of Jerusalem, overlooking the walls of the old city and the oldest Jewish cemetery in the world. After our visit to the Mount of Olives we visited the Garden of Gethsemane. Next, we went to visit the site of David’s tomb and the upper room where the Last Supper was held. We then went inside the Old City to visit the Western Wailing Wall. the most sacred site for Jewish people and the only remaining part from the Jewish Second Temple. We then went down the Via Dolorosa, recreated steps that Jesus walked from being condemned in Jerusalem to being crucified on the cross outside the Jerusalem city walls. The Via Dolorosa ends at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher which marks the area where Jesus was crucified, buried, and rose from the dead. Our last stop was at the Garden Tomb, which is another possible place some say where Jesus was crucified and rose from the dead. 

The four girls by the Garden Of Gethsemane

All of us at the Garden Tomb

December 27: The Shrine of the Book, Ein Kerem, Yad Vashem, and Bethlehem:

In the morning we went to the Israel Museum to see a model of what Jerusalem looked like during the second Temple Period. We then went to the Shrine of the Rock which had information and artifacts about the Dead Sea Scrolls. We drove to Ein Kerem, the birthplace of John the Baptist. We then went to Yad Vashem - the Israeli Holocaust memorial that describes the experiences of Jews during World War II. In the afternoon, we went back to Bethlehem with our tour group and spent more time there. 

Hannah, Kate, and Elizabeth by the statue of Mary and Elizabeth in Ein Kerem

All of us outside the Church of the Nativity

December 28: Masada and the Dead Sea area:

In the morning we drove towards the Dead Sea area. Our route took us past Jericho. We then turned south and started to see the shores of the Dead Sea. We drove down to the lowest point on the surface of the earth at 1305 feet (398 m) below sea level. Our first stop was to visit Qumran where a young shepherd boy discovered the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1946. We then drove to Masada which was the last stronghold of the Jewish Zealots in their struggle against the Romans. We drove down to the Dead Sea to have a chance to float in the Dead Sea. 

The girls in the ruins of a synagogue in Masada

Garth, Hannah, and Elizabeth in the Dead Sea

December 29: Beit Shean, Megiddo, and Nazareth:

In the morning, our tour drove north towards the Sea of Galilee. The first stop was at Beit Shean. The ruins from Beit Shean are from the time of the Romans and it was also the site where the Philistines executed King Saul and his sons and nailed their bodies to the wall (I Samuel 31:10). The original city was destroyed by an earthquake. After Beit Shean, we went to Megiddo. The site has layers from 25 different cities that were built on the site (called a 'tel'). Meggido is also known as Armageddon, where some people think the final battle between good and evil will take place. After Megiddo, we went to see Nazareth, the town where Jesus grew up. 

Hannah and Aimee sitting on the Roman public latrines in Beit Shean

Eileen, Elizabeth, and Kate walking through the ruins of Megiddo

Garth having coffee at Megido ("End of the World Cafe")

December 30: Tiberias / Western Galilee / Banias:

At the beginning of the day we started our tour at the Mount of Beatitudes, where the Sermon of the Mount took place. We then went to Tabgha, the site where Jesus fed 5000 people with five loaves and two fish. We continued on to Capernaum, the center of Jesus' Galilean ministry and the site of many of His miracles. We also saw the remains of the apostle Peter's house and the synagogue site where Jesus taught and worshiped. We then drove north to the Golan Heights and visited Banias, one of the sources of the River Jordan and the site of ancient Caesaria Philipi, where Peter made his confession of faith in Christ (Matt. 16:16). 

The girls at the Mount of Beatitudes

Kate and Elizabeth at the ruins of the synagogue in Capernaum

All of us on the Sea of Galillee

December 31: Acre (Akko) / Haifa / Caesarea:

In the morning we drove to Acre, also known as Ptolemais (Acts 21:7-8), a major city of the Crusaders for more than a century. We visited the ancient city and harbour. We continued along the coastal road to the beautiful port city of Haifa, nestled on the Mediterranean Sea. In Haifa, we visited Mount Carmel, where Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal (I Kings 18:25). We continued south along the coastal plain to Caesarea, capital of Judea under the Romans. We visited the excavations of this ancient city, the Roman theater, and aqueduct.  This ended our group tour. 

All of us at Akko

View from Mount Carmel, looking down to Haifa and the Mediterranean Sea

All of us at Caesarea

January 1: Tel Aviv and Jaffa:

Our first day by ourselves, we walked along the Mediterranean Sea on the boardwalk from our hotel in Tel Aviv to Jaffa (also called Joppa), which was about a 45 minute walk. Jaffa is the place where Jonah caught the boat to Tarshish (Jonah 1:3). Jaffa is also the place where Peter had the vision on Simon the Tanner's roof of unclean animals (Acts 10:9-23). In the evening, we went back to Jerusalem.

The girls at the house of Simon the Tanner

Port of Jaffa (Joppa)

January 2: Jerusalem - Temple Mount Sifting Project / City of David:

In the morning we participated in the Temple Mount Sifting Project. The purpose of this project in Israel is to examine dirt that was illegally removed from the Temple Mount to see what archaeological items can be found in it. Kate found part of a stone vessel cup that the priests would have used in the Second Temple period. Aimee found some pottery from the Byzantine era, but we all found pieces of lesser importance like pottery shards and mosaics. In the afternoon, we went to the City of David to look at the remains of David's palace. We also walked through Hezekiah's tunnels (Second Kings 20:20).

Hannah and Aimee sifting through the dirt

Kate working with an archaeologist

Eileen and Elizabeth looking for something valuable

Garth and the girls wearing their bathing suits at the entrance to Hezekiah's Tunnels. The water was about thigh deep.

Kate, Hannah, and Aimee in Hezekiah's Tunnels

January 3: Western Wall Tunnel Tour / Jerusalem Archaeological Park:

We first went to visit the Western Wall tunnel to see some sections of the Temple Mount walls that were built by Herod. These were underground sections of the wall because over time more and more building kept on being layered on top.  There was one single rock the size of a bus. After, we went to Jerusalem Archaeological Park to see an excavated Herodian street. We also saw some of the stones that were thrown down from the temple by the Romans in 70 AD (Mark 13:3) when the Romans set fire and destroyed the Second Jewish Temple. There has never been another Jewish Temple since then at this most sacred spot for Jews. We also went to visit the Broad Wall built by King Hezekiah and reinforced by Nehemiah after he came back from captivity (Nehemiah 3:8).

Single stone in the Western Wall the size of a bus (amazing to think people carved and put this stone in place back in about the 1st century B.C.)

Stones from the Temple and Temple Mount thrown down from the Temple Mount by the Romans in 70 AD

Part of the Broad Wall, one of the oldest sites from the Old Testament

January 4: Citadel (also called the Tower of David Museum): 
The Citadel has some of the remains of Herod's Jerusalem palace and the museum had a lot of information about Israel's chronological history. We went back for an excellent light show in the evening that showed highlights of Israel's history.

View of the Dome of the Rock from a part of Herod's palace

January 5: Last Day:
We went up on the Temple Mount, to see the Dome of the Rock up close (now it is a Muslim shrine but built on top of the most sacred place for Jews because their history says Adam and Eve were created on that spot, this was the spot where Abraham almost sacrificed Isaac, and this was where the Holy of Holies in the two Jewish Temples was).  The Dome of the Rock is very important to Muslims also (the third most holy place for them) because they claim that Mohammed made his very important night journey there and visited the seventh heaven there. We also went to the ruins of the pools of Bethesda (John 5:1-15) where Jesus healed a lame man. We revisited two of our most favourite spots - the Western Wailing Wall and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

Garth standing in front of the Dome of the Rock.  Non-Muslims are not allowed inside

All of us in front of the Western Wailing Wall