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Sunday, March 17, 2019
Update 70
Here's the rest of the story of our trip to Israel ...kinda the nuts & bolts part. First night in Tel Aviv we had sketchy accommodations, then trying to get around proved to be tricky & expensive. Luckily our room in the Old City with old stone walls...though very minimal...we loved the authenticity and it made it easy to get around. David's tomb and the upper room (site of the Last Supper) was in the building right next to us. It was an easy walk to many holy sites. We hopped local buses to get to the ones a bit farther away.
In Egypt we were in the midst of Muslims easily identified by their clothing. Here the Jewish men proudly wear their skull caps, tallits, tall black hats, short pants & white shirts...many with beards and long side curls. Women wear long black skirts & scarfs. Again telling the world they are Jews. The Wailing Wall, massive Dome of the Rock mosque and 5' golden menorah are their most holy sites. Later we'd experience how the entire public busing system & most stores shut down Friday at sundown & stay closed until Saturday at sundown. After two days in Jerusalem and Bethlehem we headed to Tiberias...about 2 1/2 hour bus ride. The roads were excellent. The landscape was lush green with lots of rocks on the rolling hills. Even saw a few flocks of sheep. The spring flowers were in full bloom!! And everywhere !! They were sneaking out of cracks & crevices and filled hillsides in their vibrant colors. I took way too many pictures of them. Huge fields of corn, grapes, veges, palm trees, banana trees and miles of netted covered crops. Saw several tractors but unlike Egypt, no one stooped over & working in the field.
The bus stopped many times to pick up & drop off...and often young soldiers with their guns slung over their shoulder got on. Here all youth...boys & girls...must serve. Not sure how long. Both here and in Egypt there are guards at most every corner.
Again our Airbnb was sketchy ...made us think that probably that's how most middle class live
After dropping our bags, we took a bus into town to see the sites there. Tiberias was once the main city in this area and so there were several old structures there to remind one of it's past importance.
We didn't find a guided tour that would match our plans so we did it our way. The next morning, we took the bus to Tabgha and we just started walking a trail along the Sea of Galilee for about a mile to Capernaum where Jesus called the fishermen to follow him and where he walked on the water (along the trail we saw several markers labeled, The Gospel Trail, how'd we find that??). We took a taxi to a nearby hill where he spoke to the five thousand delivering the Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount.
We met an adventurous Indian couple from Toronto who were not with a tour. They were happy to share the taxi with us down the hill to Tiberias. There were many tour buses filled with tourists at each site but we agreed that the tour group experience did not appeal to us.
Since we'd visited the church "built on a rock" where Jesus told Peter to build his church we thought it was fitting to finish the day with a "Peter's fish" dinner in Tiberias. And as our luck continued, there was a small church built in 1040 AD next to the restaurant. The door was open so we went in...glorious paintings of the storm & walking on water bible stories adorned this simple , tiny church...later we came back to celebrate Mass there. Could not have planned a better place to be that night.
Next morning, our luck ran out as it was pouring rain and since it was Shabat, we couldn't get a public bus out of town. So we paid the big bucks and hired a taxi (driver was Muslim) to get to Tel Aviv. Again the road was excellent. The driver pointed out the Palestinian Wall as we followed along it for several miles. He drove us right to our Airbnb...and a bit better than last night...not what we expected...but then we are used to expecting the unexpected! It was still raining and we were hungry so we walked to what our host said was a "close" place to eat. It was at least a mile...in the rain...and it was a bakery. But... we did find a restaurant a couple blocks later. Had a huge and delicious authentic Israeli dinner.
Our host told us the area we're in use to be all Arab. After the war in '47, Jews were allowed in. It's really a run down area with lots of high rise housing.
When we got back, hung our coats to dry and a German couple who were staying there also joined us. They offered us beer & wine and we sat and chatted for over an hour. ..mostly about immigration. Germany is also at a loss as to how to address the issue. They told us there are more immigrants in Berlin than Germans!
They made a point of telling us that they believe as travelers, we were ambassadors of our home country. Good point.
We had to be up early to catch our flight and many connecting flights home so we went to bed early...excited to think we will be home in 36 hours!!
from my iPhone
In Egypt we were in the midst of Muslims easily identified by their clothing. Here the Jewish men proudly wear their skull caps, tallits, tall black hats, short pants & white shirts...many with beards and long side curls. Women wear long black skirts & scarfs. Again telling the world they are Jews. The Wailing Wall, massive Dome of the Rock mosque and 5' golden menorah are their most holy sites. Later we'd experience how the entire public busing system & most stores shut down Friday at sundown & stay closed until Saturday at sundown. After two days in Jerusalem and Bethlehem we headed to Tiberias...about 2 1/2 hour bus ride. The roads were excellent. The landscape was lush green with lots of rocks on the rolling hills. Even saw a few flocks of sheep. The spring flowers were in full bloom!! And everywhere !! They were sneaking out of cracks & crevices and filled hillsides in their vibrant colors. I took way too many pictures of them. Huge fields of corn, grapes, veges, palm trees, banana trees and miles of netted covered crops. Saw several tractors but unlike Egypt, no one stooped over & working in the field.
The bus stopped many times to pick up & drop off...and often young soldiers with their guns slung over their shoulder got on. Here all youth...boys & girls...must serve. Not sure how long. Both here and in Egypt there are guards at most every corner.
Again our Airbnb was sketchy ...made us think that probably that's how most middle class live
After dropping our bags, we took a bus into town to see the sites there. Tiberias was once the main city in this area and so there were several old structures there to remind one of it's past importance.
We didn't find a guided tour that would match our plans so we did it our way. The next morning, we took the bus to Tabgha and we just started walking a trail along the Sea of Galilee for about a mile to Capernaum where Jesus called the fishermen to follow him and where he walked on the water (along the trail we saw several markers labeled, The Gospel Trail, how'd we find that??). We took a taxi to a nearby hill where he spoke to the five thousand delivering the Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount.
We met an adventurous Indian couple from Toronto who were not with a tour. They were happy to share the taxi with us down the hill to Tiberias. There were many tour buses filled with tourists at each site but we agreed that the tour group experience did not appeal to us.
Since we'd visited the church "built on a rock" where Jesus told Peter to build his church we thought it was fitting to finish the day with a "Peter's fish" dinner in Tiberias. And as our luck continued, there was a small church built in 1040 AD next to the restaurant. The door was open so we went in...glorious paintings of the storm & walking on water bible stories adorned this simple , tiny church...later we came back to celebrate Mass there. Could not have planned a better place to be that night.
Next morning, our luck ran out as it was pouring rain and since it was Shabat, we couldn't get a public bus out of town. So we paid the big bucks and hired a taxi (driver was Muslim) to get to Tel Aviv. Again the road was excellent. The driver pointed out the Palestinian Wall as we followed along it for several miles. He drove us right to our Airbnb...and a bit better than last night...not what we expected...but then we are used to expecting the unexpected! It was still raining and we were hungry so we walked to what our host said was a "close" place to eat. It was at least a mile...in the rain...and it was a bakery. But... we did find a restaurant a couple blocks later. Had a huge and delicious authentic Israeli dinner.
Our host told us the area we're in use to be all Arab. After the war in '47, Jews were allowed in. It's really a run down area with lots of high rise housing.
When we got back, hung our coats to dry and a German couple who were staying there also joined us. They offered us beer & wine and we sat and chatted for over an hour. ..mostly about immigration. Germany is also at a loss as to how to address the issue. They told us there are more immigrants in Berlin than Germans!
They made a point of telling us that they believe as travelers, we were ambassadors of our home country. Good point.
We had to be up early to catch our flight and many connecting flights home so we went to bed early...excited to think we will be home in 36 hours!!
from my iPhone
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