We went North to the Dead Sea. An amazing body of water that is the lowest spot on earth, 400 plus meters below sea level. It is so salty there are chunks of salt floating in it. There are a number of resorts on the Israeli side of the Dead Sea that are quite nice … we drove through them but did not spend any time there.
We left the Dead Sea and drove South and West of Masada to a town named Arad. We stayed there overnight because we wanted to climb Masada from the West side where the Roman Ramp was built the next morning on the shady side of the mountain. (Google the very interesting story story of Masada). There is a lift and path on the East side but that’s where all the tourists go so we went to the West side. Masada is a story of Israeli heroes who stood off the Romans for years. The walk up the ramp is steep but not too difficult. Walking around on the top is extremely interesting. There are information points throughout the top identifying what you are looking at, showing pictures of what things would have looked like when Masada was there. A DO NOT MISS.
A short summary of the story of Masada from Wikipedia: Masada is a mountain-top fortress complex in the Judaean Desert, overlooking the western shore of the Dead Sea in southeastern Israel. The fort, built in the first century BC, was constructed atop a natural plateau rising over 400 m (1,300 ft) above the surrounding terrain, 20 km (12 mi) east of modern Arad.
The most significant remains at the site date to the reign of Herod the Great, King of Judaea under Roman administration c. 37–4 BC, who transformed Masada into a fortified desert refuge early in his rule. He enclosed the summit with a casemate wall and towers, and constructed storerooms, an advanced water system, and bathhouses, along with two elaborate palaces: one on the western side and another built across three terraces on the northern cliff. These palaces remain among the finest examples of Herodian architecture.
Masada is most renowned for its role during the First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 AD), when it became the final holdout of Jewish rebels following the destruction of Jerusalem. A group known as the Sicarii, a radical faction led by Eleazar ben Ya’ir, defended the site against the Roman Tenth Legion under Lucius Flavius Silva. The Romans laid siege by building a circumvallation wall and a massive ramp. According to Josephus, when the walls were breached in 73/74 AD, the Romans found nearly 1,000 inhabitants had died by mass suicide—a claim that remains debated among historians. In modern times, the story of Masada was interpreted as a symbol of heroism that became influential in early Israeli national identity.
We spent the remainder of the day in Arad, found a place to have dinner, drove around a little. Interesting place.
**A caution when visiting Israel, especially in the country. Saturday is the Sabath (Holy Day, Day of Rest), they don’t play around … they shut down from sunset Friday night to sunset Saturday. Make sure you ask about this regarding your hotel and where you plan to eat.
After Dinner we met a very nice couple from Paris who were occupying the room next to ours. They were both Surgeons and on a holiday. We sat in the evening cool, looking out over the desert, talked about where we had been in Israel and where we were going, had some wine … a great way to end the big day.
20 Oct: Up and at’em again. Off we went heading East to Jerusalem. Many more people, more traffic, bigger roads but we got to Jerusalem in early afternoon, checked into our hotel, and walked to the Old Walled City of Jerusalem. We walked around a bit, found a place that had great pizza and cold beer, had dinner and went back to the hotel. We booked a tour to Bethlehem and Jericho in the Palestinian region before we went to bed through our hotel. We were not able to drive in the Palestinian region so tours were the only way to get there.
** A personal note regarding the Old Walled City of Jerusalem. It is located in the near middle of Jerusalem (the modern city) and is surrounded by a large wall (duh) but is dramatically different from the modern city. Within the walls Jerusalem is a vast network of alleys, shops, streets, churches, places to eat and drink, steps, gates, and tunnels. It is divided into four quarters but has no boundaries within, just different gates for entry. It is crowded with people of many different faiths, ethnic backgrounds and races, as well as vendors and tour guides. If you go there looking for a religious experience you must really focus on what is motivating your search. The crowds, the vendors, the cars … all detract from the religious setting one might expect. I do not refute the religious events that have occurred in this city, only caution a traveler that it is easily seen as more commercial than religious.
We spent the next several days exploring the old city of Jerusalem as well as the new city of Jerusalem. Quite the contrast. Both have a great deal of history.
21 Oct: We went back to spend the day in Old Jerusalem. We did all four quarters, the Holy Sepulcher, the Wailing Wall, a thousand gift shops, several restaurants, the Via Dolorosa (The Way of the Cross) and spent some time in New Jerusalem on the Israeli side … great train system, modern, great restaurants, busy people. We saw people praying and weeping on the Holy Sepulcher, eating nearly any type food you can name, people praying at the Wailing Wall, tour guides leading bus loads of people, churches from at least four different faiths, church groups, student groups, and a lot of worn out people. Definitely worth seeing, fighting the crowds, avoiding the vendors and leaving knowing you have been to Old Jerusalem. There are countless things to see in Jerusalem. One thing not to miss is the Holocaust Museum … extremely well done, informative, and moving. Jerusalem itself is a Vibrant city with many interesting places and things to see. It is a great place to stay that is in the center of most of the things to see in Israel. We stayed at a small boutique hotel just a couple blocks from Old Jerusalem, a couple blocks from the light rail, and a block from a main street that had oodles of restaurants, souvenir shops, ethnic foods, art shops, … The Hotel Malka, Great place, nice people.
22 Oct: Having wore our legs off up to the knees yesterday, today is a good day to take a bus tour. As I mentioned, we could not drive into Palestine so the bus tour seemed to be a good option. When you book tours you must be aware that many tour operators combine their tour with others and essentially “Sell” you to a larger tour operator. Also when you book tours you should be aware that tours take you where they want to take you, on their schedule. So it was with this tour. What started out as a tour with “about a dozen people” we ended up on a large bus with maybe 40 or 50 people. We booked a tour to Bethlehem and Jericho and that is what we got. We were picked up at O’dark thirty in a small van that went to 4 or 5 other pick up points. Then we went to this area that had big buses, little buses, vans, and taxis. We were told to be at a certain station point at 9 O’clock, where we could get something to eat or drink, and where the bathrooms were. As it was still well before 8 we just hung out. Buses, vans, and taxis were dropping people off from all over the place. When we finally boarded the bus at 9 our reason for not taking bug tours was justified when one of the group on the bus asked where the bathroom was and would everyone please wait till they got back. … Then a dozen other people had to use the bathroom so waited an additional 30 minutes till that was all taken care of. Finally we were on our way to Bethlehem to see where Jesus was born and later to Jericho where some really bad horns tore down some walls. First stop, was at a church that was out in the hills where shepherds tended their flocks. The church was built over a cave that was supposed to be like the one that the Shepard’s who saw the star were in while tending their sheep when Jesus was born. Interesting. Next stop, and most important to the tour operator, was at a large souvenir shop that offered “exceptional deals”. Hmmm. The goods sold at this store were the same goods you could buy nearly anywhere in the Jerusalem area. Consequently, everyone got off the bus, did a quick walk about, and got back on the bus. However, a handful of people continued to shop, chat with the owners, and generally waste every one’s time for the next 45 minutes … and everyone else just wanted to go see where Jesus was born. Finally we started again. We were on our way to the Church of the Nativity … The church was originally commissioned in 327 CE by Constantine the Great and his mother Helena on the site that was traditionally considered to be the birthplace of Jesus.
Okay … So we left Jericho and rode back to Jerusalem, mostly in the dark. A long day but interesting. I would not recommend a bus tour like this, if at all possible keep the group as small as you can and make sure you understand the itinerary and schedule BEFORE you buy it. But wait!! The trip was not over. Our bus driver started getting phone calls on the way back and our guide got off the bus before we got back to Jerusalem … said it was where he had parked his car. As we approached the city the driver pulled into a large parking lot and announced everyone would have to get off the bus and find their own way back to their hotels!! It seems there were some demonstrations in Jerusalem and the police had shut off all highways into the city. The driver was not able to help much as he spoke little English but pointed to a light rail station across the way and indicated we should catch that back to the city. Guess what??? Yup, when we got to the station, the rail too had been shut down. We know the light rail went near our hotel so we just started following the light rail tracks … we didn’t really know where we were or how far we had to go, just that walking was the only way we were going to get there. Turned out it was only a couple miles … in the dark … and ironically, through the area with the demonstrations … Hmmm. Anyhow, that was the end of a long day, a lousy tour, but we got to see what we wanted to see in Palestine. Had a great Pizza for dinner and got a good night’s sleep.
If I sound skeptical, it is not because I was not impressed with the opportunity to visit the Holy Land and to see the actual places where Christianity was born. The disappointing part of the entire place is how over commercialized it is. You really loose the opportunity to “feel” the region. However, it is the only place on earth where these sites exist so ….
23 Oct: We spent the day exploring the Current City of Jerusalem. Beautiful place. Decorated streets, murals, busy pleasant people. Had a great time … Visited the Holocaust Museum by taking the light rail out to it, the city market, half way back to the hotel we stopped for lunch. Great day to recover and enjoy ourselves.
24 Oct: Got up early, recovered our car, and left Jerusalem. We are off to the region of Galilee. Driving out of Jerusalem towards the Sea of Galilee is like going back in time. The roads narrow, the villages become more “Rural” and everything kind of slows down. We reached the Sea and drove south the very tip of it where the River Jordan flows from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea. It is at the very start that John the Baptist baptized Jesus. Along the way:
We then drove north along the Dead Sea, through Tiberius to the town of Caparnaum where the Apostle Peter came from. There is a lovely church there in a very pleasant setting. Traveling along the shore we went past the site where Jesus performed the miracle of the Fishes and Loaves, preached the beatitudes, and spent most of his ministry years. The West side of the Sea of Galilee is very picturesque, with trees, flowers, and sea side parks. A pleasant change from the crowded streets of Jerusalem.
We spent the night in a small boutique hotel, The Way Inn, in Tsfat. Tsfat is a artsy kind of town located in the mountains near the Lebanon border. The Way Inn was a pleasant place to stay with easy walking to restaurants, galleries, and shopping. This was my DELICIOUS Breakfast. Found it twice since. Once in Tampa and once in Costa Rica.
25 Oct: After an excellent breakfast at The Way Inn we continued our journey West … destination Acre, headquarters for a number of Christian Crusades. Acre is right on the Mediterranean Sea, and served a a harbor and port for sailing ships bringing Ccrusaders and supplies to the holy land. It hosts a very well cared for and interesting museum and an impressive fortress that has been there for centuries. For a small fee you can wander through the entire complex visualizing life must have been like in the 14th century
From Acre we drove South along the Med to get to Haifa. Haifa is Israel’s biggest port and and is an impressive city set between the Mediterranean Sea and Mt Carmel. Haifa is great to look at but is just a big, busy city. I’m sure there are museums and other things to look at but we had not found anything in our research that we wanted to see. We stayed at a hotel in Mt Carmel and spend the afternoon walking around Mt Carmel. Many shops, restaurants, bars, etc. Not many pictures as it is just a nice city to see.
26 Oct: We left Mt Carmel and continued South. We were on our way to our final destination, Tel Aviv, but wanted to stop in Caesarea first. Caesarea was a small Roman resort town on the Mediterranean Sea. One can tell by the types of buildings that remain, their layout, and location that it was an enviable place to go. Definitely a good stop to see some history on the drive between Haifa and Tel Aviv.
From Caesarea we continued on our way to Tel Aviv. Tel Aviv is a large metropolitan city bustling with commerce, tourism, government, and religion. We checked into our hotel and took the car out to the airport to turn it in. This was the end of our automobile experience and looking back, it was quite successful with no serious problems either with the car or driving. If we were to go back to either Israel or Jordan, we would indeed again rent a car. Best way to get around, no hassles, no schedule, no sales pitch by guides and drivers. We took a cab back to our hotel and made arrangements for the same driver to return on the 28th to take us out to the airport for our return trip home.
27 Oct: Spent the day exploring Tel Aviv. Walked South along the beach to Old Jaffa. Old Jaffa was once the port city for Tel Aviv but now just sports marina that supports local fishing and tourism. Walking around Old Jaffa was again a walk through history. Old churches, museums, restaurants, etc. It took the better part of the day to walk down and back and spend several hours exploring. It is not that far but it was Saturday (The Sabbath) so everyone was out relaxing and enjoying their day off. We did discover a wonderful Irish Pub in Tel Aviv, The Molly Bloom. We had dinner there and were treated to a local group of musicians who gather and play Irish music every week. According to a grade school teacher we met there, it is the best Irish Pub in Israel.
28 Oct: Up early, check out, and our cabby was back to take us to the airport. Uneventful trip home in spite of the airlines messing with everyone’s schedule and flights. We did make it back and we are happy we went.
** A repeated last note. I encourage you to google or do a web search on any of the places I have mentioned. There are many, many pictures and history of each … all better than mine and my descriptions. We just wanted to share our trip with you and our driving experience. Thanks for reading.
