This was my second trip to Israel, the first being 7
years ago. I had no expectations from the trip, apart from a good rest during
the Christmas vacation with the office shutdown. I was looking forward to
enjoy each destination and see the bible come alive, and enjoy the inner shalom
I always get being in Israel. One thing about going Israel as a believer, is to expect the unexpected, and flow as the situation flows. For both trips to Israel, I joined the Omega Tours package tour as they are highly experienced in handling such trips. Israel is one of those places where it is more practical to follow an organised tour than to have it free and easy.
Our first stop in Israel upon arrival in the early morning was
Caesarea Maritima, just in time for refreshing breakfast by the sea. Our first
meal in Israel consisted of my favorite humus, bread, fresh salad, and omelette. A simple fare but hugely satisfying and refreshing.
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Caesarea Martima - my breakfast view!
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| Breakfast at Caesarea Maritima (omelette not shown here) |
Built by Herod,
Caesarea Maritima was a great habour city with an ancient Roman aqueduct and theatre. It was also the place where Peter preached the good news to the Cornelius' household, where the earliest Gentile believers of the new covenant was first recorded. It is also where Paul was imprisoned before being taken to Rome to stand trial.
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| Roman Theatre at Caesarea Maritima |
Our next stop was to
Tel Megiddo (Armageddon) and ancient fortress and city, where the site of the world's last battle will take place. It was so cold and windy here due to the openness of the space.
Our final stop over before night came was to
Mount Precipice, where Jesus was rejected by His fellow Nazarenes after He had preached at the synagogue. (Luke 4:29). The thing about going to Israel during winter, apart from the cooler climate is that day ends early, we often left tour sites by 5pm in order to make it back to the hotel at 6pm for dinner. Given the time difference between Singapore and Israel, this was appreciated, as by that time, I would have been really sleepy.
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| Mount Precipice at sunset |
Our hotel during the stay was at
Leonardo Club Tiberias. To me the hotel was pretty run down and basic, with a lift that frustrated us as it took forever and was super cramped. Food at the hotel was quite extensive and fresh, which made up for the state of the hotel. I have never saw so many different types of cheeses and salad varieties that it was quite okay being a vegetarian!
Day 2 - Tiberius
Our day started early with a boat ride from the back of the hotel that would take us on the
Sea of Galilee. Going on the boat ride was an experience, just imagining how Jesus would have done the same, traveled by boat on the very same sea. This very sea that Jesus rebuked, and Peter got to walk on it (Matthew 8:23-27, Mark 6:45-52). On the boat ride brought us right to the
Ancient Boat Museum to see the oldest wooden boat boat that was to be dated in the first half of the first century (how a boat would have looked like during Jesus time)
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| Early morning boat ride on sea of Galilee |
After which, we went to the famous
Mount of Beatitudes where Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) The mount has a slope that serves as a natural amphitheater and carries a person voice just by speaking normally. Naturally we had to test this out by sending people up to the top of the slope. And so true it was!
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| Mount of Beatitudes |
We later cooled off by spending some time at the
Church of St Peter's Primacy where resurrected Jesus showed Himself and cooked breakfast for his disciples (John 21). Just being here you will understand what it feels like to be in an area of peace or lack of peace.
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| Church of St Peter's Primacy |
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| Sea by Church of St Peter's Primacy |
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| St Peter's Fish |
Lunch was one of the highlights with each one of us having a St Peter's Fish at the Ein-Gev Fish Restaurant. This came with one of the better tasting hummus and pita breads.
We ended the day at
Capernaum where Jesus lived for a period of time healing the sick. We even got to see Peter's house and the synagogue where Jesus would have preached at (Matthew 4:13, Mark 1:23-26, Mark 2:1-12, Mark 1:29, Luke 7:1-10)
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| Synagogue at Capernaum |
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| Peter's house at Capernaum |
Before we returned to our hotel, we were brought to a store that sold dried goods, spices, tea, and dates. I didn't take note of the shop name, but boy did we have a good time loading up on goodies!
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| Shopping for dried goods! |
Day 3 - Tiberius
We started the day taking a long freezing walk up to
Mount Arbel. The wind chill was incredible, an experience you will never get being in the tropics. Being on Mount Arbel is like being on top of the world, giving a birds eye view of the Sea of Galilee, and the likely spot of the feeding of 5000 to have taken place (Mark 6:32-44) and where Jesus had gone up the mountain to pray (Matthew 14:23).
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| Mount Arbel |
After the wake-me-up morning walk, we went to a warmer spot at
Caesarea Philippi (Banias). This was where Jesus asked His disciples 'Who do men say I am' (Matthew 16:13-20). This was also the spot where many pagans would make human sacrifices.
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| Caesarea Philippi |
After warming up sufficiently with a hike around the area and getting a view of the Palace of Agrippa, we moved on to Golan Heights for a view of
Mount Hermon where Jesus was to have transfigured (Matthew 17:1-8). As we arrived a week after the snow storm in Israel, it was really blistering cold and windy here it it became unbearable after 10 minutes out in the cold.
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| View of Mount Hermon |
We ended the day with more shopping. This time to
Olea Essence olive shop that sold all the products made from the olive tree. Though I made a lot of purchases here including skin care products, I realize upon returning home that what was most worth the purchase was the olive oil itself as the skin care would vary base on the climate we live in.
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| Olea Essence |
Day 4 - Tiberius - Jerusalem
And onward to Jerusalem today. Tiberius is incredibly refreshing, because of the nature trails, the freedom of open spaces, and just being where Jesus spent much of His ministry There was a sense of expectation onward to Jerusalem. The grief over the Jews for not believing their Savior had come, the hustle and bustle in Jerusalem, and how everything is held in fragile peace. We stopped at
Haas Promenade for an overview of the city, and then proceed to travel into Bethlehem. Since it was Christmas it was special going into Bethlehem. However, the experience was not as peaceful and organized as when in Israel. I would have felt more shalom not going into Bethlehem, but it was a once in a lifetime experience, and what's more, during Christmas.
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| Haas Promenade, Israel |
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| The Church of the Nativity Bethlehem |
The hotel where we stayed in Jerusalem was
Dan Jerusalem. This is my second time in the hotel, and it still looks the same. The hotel is massive, fairly comfortable, and decent. It had reasonably priced gift shops that sold souvenirs as well. Our meals were initially held in a function room, which they later moved us to the restaurant. which was definitely a better experience.
Day 5 - Dead Sea
Today it was like going from winter to summer in Israel. We started the day at Beit Abara at the Jordan River where Jesus was said to have been baptized by John the Baptist (Matthew 3:13-17).
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| Jordan River |
After the visit to the Jordan River, we headed for a morning hike up the mountain in
Ein Gedi. This was the place where David hid from King Saul (1 Samuel 23:29). Just climbing up here and being by the waterfall felt so peaceful to me, as David had penned some of the psalms here. Just him and God. What an experience. It is not an easy hike as some parts had steep steps that required you going on your hands and feet. However it was all worth it reaching the waterfall.
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| David's cave Ein Gedi |
During the walk you would have seen us removed our winter wear layer by layer. And after the walk, you would have thought we were in summery Singapore. I would recommend dressing down to t-shirt and jeans/berms before the start of the hike. And onwards to
Qumram for food, and to see the caves where the 2000 year old Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. 7 years ago when I was here, history was all shared by the tour guide. But today, many of the sites would actually have a video room to give an overview, which I greatly preferred, as videos paint a visual story where a guide is unable to.
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| Qumram Dead Sea Scrolls |
The day ended with going down to the
Dead Sea to float. It was an experience for many. As I was not keen in getting wet, I decided to look for some mud to bring back for a good body mask in the comfort of the hotel room (really needed care not to mess up the bath!)
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| Dead Sea |
Day 6 - Jerusalem
Today we had a full day of walking in Jerusalem, starting from the Mount of Olives where Jesus wept over Jerusalem (Luke 19:37-41), and where He ascended to heaven after his resurrection (Acts 1:9-12). We also walked around the
Garden of Gethsemane where olive trees as old as 2000 years still exist. This could have been the place where Jesus sweat great drops of blood for us (Mark 14:32-42) and was betrayed (Mark 14:43-50). Next to the garden was the
Church of All Nations where the property is said to house the bedrock where Jesus prayed. We also went to the Upper Room, a likely area where the Last Supper was held.
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| Garden of Gethsemane |
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| Upper Room |
We ended the day with a trip to the Yad Vashem Holocust Museum. How the Jews had suffered, all because they did not believe, and how much the enemy hates them just because Jesus came as a Jew. When you see young Israeli recruits in the museum, and stopping by a corner to cry, you know it was because they had lost someone during the Holocust. It was heart wrenching, but so real.
Day 7 - Jerusalem
Today we went to the Southern Temple Mount where the southern steps were unearthed, a flight of stairs that led to the main entrances of the Temple Mount. The fact that Jesus passed by this way, made me be in awe.
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| Southern Steps of Temple Mount |
And onward to the Western Wall where we got to see many Bat Mitzvah taking place.
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| Bat Mitzvah at Western Wall |
Following on we visited the Holyland Model and The Israel Museum.
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| Holyland Model |
We ended the day at the
Pool of Bethesda where Jesus is said to have healed the paralytic of 38 years (John 5:1-15). We got to sing in the crusader
Church of St Anne which had fabulous acoustics with our voices just resounding back to us.
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| Pool of Bethesda |
Day 8 - Jerusalem
It was our last day here in Israel. It's the day you wish it would not end, but it had to. Hopefully someday soon, I'll be back.
A large part of the day was spent walking through
Jewish Quarters, followed by a lovely time by the Garden Tomb where we had the holy communion and renewing of marriage vows. On request, we managed to visit
Mahane Yehuda Market, a local Jewish market where I picked up local spices, olives, fruits, and pita bread. The free time that was opened up to us was because we did not go to the Temple Mount, which was fine with me, since it required queuing to see a place that belonged to the Jews, but owned by another religion. How complicated.
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| Jewish Quarters |
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| Garden Tomb |
Onward to the airport we had lunch at Yad HaShmonah Biblical Garden where we experienced the Passover meal. Our final stop was at
The Valley of Elah, where the battle of David and Goliath took place (1 Samuel 17). Part of the area has now become a farm, compared to the last time I came when it was fully unused land. Of course we picked up rocks, of which we were jokingly told that truckloads of stones came by frequently because of what the tourists would do in this area.
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| The Valley of Elah |
Things to Note
- Pack all your items neatly in clear ziplock bags. This allows for customs to easily go through your items
- Never accept any gifts from the locals there. If you decide to, have it on your hand carry to present to customs
- The hotels I stayed in all provided kettles for a hot drink in the night
- Water is drinkable from the tap
- What's good to buy - olives, olive oil, tea, spices, dates, fruits (eg. oranges are humongous), hummus, pita bread, dead sea products
- Expect the unexpected. Programs would change accordingly because of the crowds or weather.
- Most importantly enjoy Jesus in this beautiful land of Israel.
