Highlights: The Sea of Galilee, Jerusalem, Petra, The Pyramids of Giza, Nile River Cruise
Tips: Israel is very safe; I’d feel comfortable there traveling on my own. However, in Jordan and Egypt, for baby boomer travelers like us, we felt comfortable being part of an organized tour group and would recommend the same for others. Bring bags of cheap candy for little kids in Egypt.
Cultural Preparation:
Books:The Bible — all those Sunday School lessons on the Bible come to life here.
Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie — Book or Movie (I read this back in the early ’80’s in my Agatha Christie reading phase and then again just before this trip in anticipation of the Nile Cruise.)
Lawrence of Arabia — book or movie. Jordan was forever changed by T.E. Lawrence during World War I.
Movies: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (for great scenes of Petra).
A dream come true — riding a camel at the Pyramids of Giza. I’ve seen photos of tourists doing this all my life…and, now, here I am!
Back in 2018, my sister, Jill Fisher, mentioned that she and her husband, Roger, were planning to go on a trip to Israel, Petra and Egypt in March of 2019. She asked if we’d like to join them. Well, it didn’t take long to think about it and say yes! We knew it’s not cheap, but we could make monthly payments and, yes, I still have a full time job, but I could save my leave. So, once the decision was made, there was no turning back.
So, yeah, its a long way from Southern California to Israel, so the packing and carry on had to be pretty strategic. As a side note, my husband John, packed old underwear that he disposed of as he went. So he got rid of some pretty ratty underclothes and made room for the extra stuff we’d be bringing back home. I’ve done the same with clothes I wanted to donate in the past and just left items in my hotel room thinking maybe the housecleaning staff could find a home for some out of style (by American standards) clothing. For what to bring on the plane, see my post on personal carry on items for long long flights And, as usual, we started our journey by local Metrolink train to get to the airport.’s quite a long flight to Israel. We left from LAX (see my post on the best way to get to LAX.)
Luckily, this long Delta flight had individual seat back TVs. I watched a couple of movies, A Star is Born and Bohemian Rhapsody. I took a few naps and tried to enjoy the food. This flight had USB chargers at each seat — one nice thing about flying in newer planes.
After losing an entire day to travel and time change, we were happy to walk on solid ground once again.
It was at our layover was at JFK in New York, that we got a preview of what we’d be seeing a lot of in Israel over the next week or so.
Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv
We were a part of Fun For Less Tours our of Salt Lake City. This is a private tour company that caters to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Ladder-day Saints…people like us. John volunteered to hold the sign so others in our group coming off our flight would know where to come so we could get out to our buses.
John and Jill (my sister)…Welcome to Tel Aviv!
After a ride of over just over an hour, we arrived at the beautiful Sea of Galilee Hotel, and sat down for dinner and a good night’s sleep.
Our first hotel was the beautiful Sea of Galilee Hotel. The morning view from our hotel room balcony overlooking the Sea of Galilee.
The Food….oh my gosh, all through Israel, it was amazing! So much fresh deliciousness at every meal! Tabbouleh, sweet yam salad, hummus and so much fresh, vegetable-based dishes! I’m a very happy omnivore, but while in Israel, I became a temporary vegetarian (except for a little bit of chicken). What make it all so good were the spices…I know I could find recipes and eventually find similar taste combinations…but it was so magical just having it all right there in front of me!
We visited Nazareth Village, an open-air museum in Nazareth, Israel, that reconstructs and reenacts village life in the Galilee in the time of Jesus. The village features houses, terraced fields, wine and olive presses all built to resemble those that would have been in a Galilee village in the 1st century.
What a Synagogue was like during Jesus’ life…..
A Sunday morning boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. It was a sweet thing to hear a devotional with bible readings, and hymns about Jesus calming the sea, walking on the water here, calling his apostles on the shores and more.
Husband John; Sister, Jill and her husband, Roger on Mt. Arbel — where Jesus may have set apart his apostles
The Roman Theater in Caesarea Maritma — on the Mediterranean Coast
What’s left of the Synagogue where Jesus would have actually taught in Capernum
We visited the active archaelogical dig in Magdala.
This photo is the alter overlooking the Sea of Galilee inside a new church in Magdala
We took a tram up to the top of Masada instead of the hour and a half hike….
What Masada looked like
Masada — rather than be killed by the Romans who were building a ramp to the top of their settlement, a group of what I call, Jewish Ninjas, killed each other and their families rather than being captured and killed by the Romans.
One of many Bedouin Camps we saw throughout Israel.
Inside the Church of the Nativity
A Christmas theme here….appropriately!
This doesn’t quite fit with the manger I’d always pictured in my mind (see the photo above this one) of where Jesus was born…but this is where they say it happened. Under this alter there is a 14-sided star around a thick round piece of glass about 10 inches in diameter — where they say Jesus was born. Catholic Pilgrims kiss each point. I consider myself a pilgrim too…but just touched each point (very quickly).
One of the things I loved was hearing the “Call to Prayer” several times a day from the mosques.
The View from the BYU Jerusalem Center. We heard a couple of amazing organ pieces –a hymn and a Bach piece — while we sat in this auditorium looking across to Jerusalem.
Just a cute pillow in our hotel room.
The City Walls of Jerusalem
The City Walls of Old Jerusalem
The Dome of the Rock
Placing a Prayer at the Western Wall
Our tour host, (on the left) Dr. John M. Madsen, a a former associate professor of Ancient Scripture at Brigham Young University and who once served as member of the LDS First Quorum of the Seventy, made every stop in Israel more meaningful by leading a devotional with scriptures and hymns. Here he is, having a great discussion with our brother in law, Roger Fisher, of Clinton, Utah.
A sculpture of Mary (mother of Jesus) as a little girl with her mother, Saint Anne.
The below photos were taken at the site of the Pools of Bethesda.
The water cisterns below Jerusalem.
These stones were here underground over 2000 years ago and may have been where Jesus began carrying his cross.
The Upper Room — the location of the Last Supper. This building was built on this site in the Middle Ages (as you can see from the architecture….but on the same site.
Scenes from shopping in Old Jerusalem:
Just the front of a tee shirt in a tourist shop.
The Shrine of the Book — where the original Dead Sea Scrolls are housed. The water signifies the scriptures being “the water of life” and help keep the building cool.
The Garden of Gethsemane
As devout Christians, being in The Garden of Gethsemane was one of the most spiritual times of our trip. The olive trees, the view across the Kidron Valley to Jerusalem….it was easy to imagine Jesus Christ praying and agonizing there among the olive trees. After our devotional, we had the chance to roam the garden on our own.
“Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem”
The Garden Tomb — there was a sweet peaceful feeling being there too…which made it feel like, this, in fact, was the actual tomb which held Jesus’ body and from which his resurrected being emerged. Please see the link below for more information on this site and the nearby Golgotha. Golgotha and the Garden Tomb
Inside the Garden Tomb
Golgotha — can you see what looks like a skull? (What was the nose fell off a hundred or so years ago.)
Our hotel in Jerusalem, The Olive Tree Hotel
Jerusalem, at the crossroads of Europe, Asia and Africa And now, it’s off to Jordan and Egypt….see Part 2
