Jerusalem & Bethlehem

During our first evening in Jerusalem, we had just enough time to stop in the old city for a drink before evening shut down for the night.

Western Wall (aka Wailing Wall)

In the morning we got a little lost on our search for the dome of the rock. By the time we arrived and found the line, it was to late to get in. The hours for non-Muslims are limited so we abandoned that plan and visited the Western Wall, and then, surprise surprise, got lost on our way to the Holy Church of the Sepulchre.  The last four stations of the cross are in the Church, including the marble slab where Jesus was washed before burial (we narrowed it down to one of two slabs within the Church but without labels or pictures on the lonely planet we're not 100% which one it was). Starting at the end, we decided to walk Via Dolorosa to see the remaining stations of the cross at which point we were a bit surprised how short of a walk Jesus made. End to end it can be done in about 10 minutes. Makes you wonder just how heavy that cross was.

Our next stop was a tour of the Tunnels of the West Wall. This is an underground tour of nearly the full

Holy Church of the Sepulchre

length of the wall as well as a history lesson of the Temple Mount. Some of the stones that make up the wall are said to weigh over 500 tons which makes you wonder just how they were stacked one on top of another in times predating cranes and other heavy lifting equipment of modern times.

By the time we finished the tour we realized that we were starving and speed at what appeared to be a popular tour group lunch spot. Fortunately the food was worth the wait and came it very quickly one seated.

After lunch we headed to the Tower of David  and Citidel museum which provided a great overview of the history of Jerusalem. The short version is as follows: the Jews built a city but lost it to the Romans who lost it to the Byzantines who lost it to the Muslims who lost it to the Crusaders who lost it to the Ottomans who lost it to the British who gave it the the UN who returned it to Israel who lost it to Jordan who lost it to Israel. I think the Greeks, Egyptians and some other warring civilizations of the past were involved as well but I think you get the picture... everyone has, does, or wants to lay claim to Jerusalem.

After the museum, Colleen and I decided to create a new tradition and recommend everyone try it on their next trip. We call it "apres tour". Think of it as a liquid reward for a long day spent touring. I'm already looking forward to our next one.

Dome of the Rock

For the last day of pilgrimage, we made a second, and this time successful, attempt to see the Dome of the Rock. We spent nearly two hours in line in order to enter the Temple Mount on which the Dome of the Rock was built. While the wait was long, it was with it to see the Dome and surrounding ground up close. After snapping a few photos it was time to hop a bus to Bethlehem in the West Bank.

Church of Nativity

The "Oh Little Town..." was not so little after all. Buildings and homes fill every hill in every direction from where the bus let us off. I don't know why I'm constantly surprised by the lack of signage to tourist destinations and as a result all the tourists departing the bus kept asking each other where to go. Eventually Google maps came to our rescue and navigated us to the Church of the Nativity. It was hard to concentrate on the route because of all the wonderful aromas from the street food stands. After touring the Church of Nativity and neighboring churches we found a food stand for lunch. I don't know exactly what I ate, but it was delicious combination of kebab, grilled onion, tomato, jalapeno, potato and spices served in a fresh pita. My only regret is that I ate too much of it to be able to enjoy any of the other delicacies along the way back to the bus.

After returning to Jerusalem we decided to hit one last spot on our brief pilgrimage, the Mount of Olives. Now we have officially seen Jesus's birthplace, childhood town, the spot he walked on water and the place where he died and the spot where he ascended to heaven. It feels like a fitting end to our pilgrimage.

From the Sea to the Holy Land

We landed at the Tel Aviv airport at 3:30 AM on December 27^th and figured that by the time we made it through customs and immigration and got our rental car it wouldn’t be worth it to get a hotel.  So we immediately headed North to Haifa, using both Waze and Google maps to find our way.  At the start of the drive we were so thankful to have these tools to help us find our way.  But soon, we realized that while they were helpful, navigating roads that did not use a grid system, lacked street signs and when they existed were sometimes written in Hebrew, sometimes Arabic and occasionally English was more difficult than expected.  Especially since the English street names were rarely spelled the same way in the guide book, Google or the hotel website.  Depending on which one you looked at we were looking for Herzl, Hertzl, Hertzel, or Hertsel Street.   And when we arrived at our destination, according to Waze, we arrived on a residential street, several miles from the hotel. 

After checking in to our hotel and grabbing a little something to eat, it was time to start exploring.  We started by heading further north to the walled city of Akko that seems to jut out into the Mediterranean in a way that it is surrounded by water on three sides.  We walked along the coastal wall for a while before entering in to old town to check out some sites.  First stop was the Templar tunnel that was discovered only about 20 years ago when a nearby resident’s toilet backed up.  That unfortunate plumbing incident resulted in lots of tourist dollars for this small town.  After the tunnel we found ourselves lost wandering the streets in search of the citadel.  There were occasional signs marking the path but many intersections that required us to make a turn lacked the friendly brown tourist sign and we inadvertently chose wrong.  But our determination finally led the way.  The citadel looks like it is going to be a great tourist spot in about six months.  For us, there was not much to see but construction and signs indicating new attractions opening in the Spring 2014. 

After leaving Akko, we continued north to the town if Rosh Hanikra on the border of Lebanon. In Rosh Hanikra we took a cable car down a cliff to visit the caves created from the waves of the Mediterranean crashing against the cliffs. You can also see the railroad tunnel built by the British but never opened after Israel took control of the land in the 40's. After a late lunch we headed back to Haifa where we hit the worst traffic either Colleen and I had ever seen.

In Haifa, we headed to the German Colony for a drink before doing at the falafel shop described by one patron on Trip Advisor as the best in the world. It was definitely delicious but I'll be to try a few more before I weigh in.

On our second day, we decided to start our pilgrimage to some of the holy sights of Israel with our first stop in Nazareth. Nazareth is not the small village that one would expect but rather the largest Arab city in Israel. This turned out to be good for us since it was the Shabbat. After visiting the Church of the Annunciation we followed the Jesus trail to the Church of Jesus the Adolescent at which point I decided that Jesus must have had quads of steel under his robes climbing up and down the steps in Nazareth during his youth.

After Nazareth we made a quick stop at the Sea of Galilee. The spot where Jesus walked on water has been turned into a boardwalk complete with a McDonald's and tacky tourist spots. Needles to say, we didn't stay long and instead headed to the car to drive to Jerusalem.