We left the mountains of Transylvania before the sun rose to make our way back to Bucharest for our flight to Tel Aviv. It's the norm to make sure you are at the airport 2.5-3 hours before an international flight but little did we know we'd actually need it for this flight. I said in my last post that the Bucharest airport felt like it's stuck in the soviet era. Surprisingly the airport facilities were not the problem. After going to the desk to drop off our checked baggage we were told to remove our bags from the conveyor belt and join the line behind us. Confused we took back our bags and joined the line.
People were queuing up to a sign that said security control. Considering there were 3 armed guards at the front of the line we thought it strange that everyone else seemingly not on our flight were able to drop off their bags and proceed straight to passport control like normal. But not us. No we were flying with El Al, Israel's national carrier, which apparently warranted a lot more security measures. So we just stood in line to see what was waiting for us at the front. Fortunately for us, Caleb decided to wear his LA rams hat that day so a security official walked down the line direct to us and asked if we spoke English. We said yes and were fast tracked to the front of the line. It was here we finally found out what was going on.
El Al employ their own airport security team. We were asked a lot of questions by an official who only spoke English which is thankfully the only reason why we were pulled forward. Here we had to hand over our passports for him to then disappear into a different room with them. We were left at the counter for what felt like a lifetime before he returned with them. Still carrying our big bags with us, we then had to surrender our carry on bags for inspection which he again took them to the back room. We were then directed to an Xray scan for our other bags being told our carry on luggage will be available shortly. After our checked baggage got the green light to be loaded onto the trolley, we continued to wait for our backpacks to be returned to us. Approx 15 mins later we got our bags back, checked everything was still inside and headed for passport control. I wasn't sure how to feel about this level of security & the meaning behind it at first but by the end of it all I felt like this was the most secure flight we'd ever been on and we were finally on our way!
Our first stop was Tel Aviv. I have a very good friend who holidays in Tel Aviv from Russia often and I never thought it was as beautiful a beach destination as we saw. We were staying beach front with a gorgeous view over the Mediterranean which we were pretty happy about. Our first full day in town we traveled to the Latroun Trappist Monastry in the Judean Valley. This Monastry was built on a hill over looking vineyards. As we drove through the valley our guide shared with us the story of David & Goliath as well as Samson & Delilah as it was thought those stories originated in the valley area. We headed back towards town and spent the rest of the afternoon exploring Old Jaffa & the original Port of Israel. The Port contains the old walls of the city as well as the Rock of Andromeda - famous in Greek Mythology.
It was time to head north and our first stop was a 1st century Roman port city of Caeserea. On this same site there is a 9th century Saracen village and an 11th century Crusader fortress built within the ruins. A very popular place in the areas history. Our final stop for the day with the Crusader Citadel of Akko which as recently as 2013 was still being excavated. The ancient city walls still line the coastal town the local kids use it as a ledge to run and jump into the sea some 10m below.
On a tour like this there are some long days as you travel in all directions to see as much as possible. Well the following day was no exception. Our first stop was the Ba'Hai shrine in Haifa, the main base of this faith. The shire is perched on a hill that over looks the whole town and port & they have beautiful manicured gardens that make you feel like you're in a difference place. The city of Cana was next and thought to be the place of the Lord's first miracle - turning water into wine. Next up was Nazareth and St Mary's Cathedral which was rebuilt on the ruins of a previous church near where Jesus grew up. We finished the day on the Sea of Galilee where they have a fossilised 2000 year old fishing boat on display. The Sea of Galilee is approx 120m deep and almost half of that is mud. The wooden boat was found in the mud and the museum explains what the experts had to do to ensure the wood would remain intact.
The following morning we started our day with a cruise on the Sea of Galilee taking in the sites of the coastal towns along with way. Then it was time to get back on the bus and travel to Jerusalem. Along the way we followed Jesus' miracle in Tabgha, his synagogue in Capharnaum and visited the Baptism site in the Yardent (Jordan river - pictured). In the afternoon we spent time at the Roman ruins of Beit She'an, an incredible city from the 4th century AD before traveling through the West Bank to Jerusalem. I had heard the stories on the West Bank but nothing prepared me to see just how segregated this part of the country really is. Before entering the outskirts of Jerusalem each vehicle has to pass through an armed guard check point. Here our guide told us about how this area is divided into A, B & C territories and only those who have the correct permits can enter and these permits were based on if you were a Jew, Palestinian or a Muslim. This practice would become very clear in the coming days as we prepared to spend the next four days in this area.
After a big couple of days in the bus we had a late start and after entering Palestine, complete with an armed checkpoint, we spent the morning at the Dead Sea. Located 430m below sea level the water is lethally poisonous to ingest and is 4 times saltier than the ocean. You can not swim in the water so you bob up and down like an apple. It was surprisingly difficult to submerge my shoulders. I had to jump up out of the water and hope my body weight would push me down enough to cover them. Loads of fun to simply float. The Dead Sea is known for his minerals so we took advantage of the muddy shore and had our own mud scrub.
After a well needed fresh water shower, we drove along the coast and spent the afternoon at Masada, an incredible mountain-top fortress accessible now via cable car. In 68AD, the final remnants of the Jewish Zealot rebellion made their final stand against the Roman armies. With the battle lost, the final 900 odd Jews committed suicide rather than be forced into Roman slavery. Only 5 remained when the Romans forced their way in the following morning. From above you can see the excavated sites showing the Roman camps littered around the base of the mountain effectively trapping those on the mountain-top.
The next day we visited the Israeli National Museum and saw the original Dead Sea scrolls then spent time at Yad Vashem, the Jewish holocaust museum. At the children's memorial we walked through a dark tunnel that opened up to a dark room littered with lights. Each light represented a child killed in the camps. We walked through the museum and came across the Hall of Names. Each folder holds 10,000 names of someone exterminated by the Nazis. Having been to the Dacau concentration camp in Germany, this museum once again bought history to the forefront of everyone's mind and reminds us just what happened during that time of war.
With heavy hearts we left the Holocaust Museum and re-entered Palestine to visit Bethlehem. As Bethlehem is in Palestine our Israeli guide could not enter due to the A, B & C divisions so our bus driver dropped her off at a bus stop close to the boarder and he drove us through the check point showing his permit for entry. Once we entered Bethlehem we picked up our Muslim guide and headed off to lunch. Our one stop for the afternoon was the Church of the Nativity, a Greek Orthodox church built on the exact site of Jesus' birth. After a solid 2 hour wait in line, we finally entered the chamber that accessed the basement. As we descended below the church the birth place is marked by a 14 point star and his manger is in the same room opposite the star. This is one of the very few historical places from Jesus' time that historians are 100% sure about the exact location. After our 2 hour wait it look no longer than 5 mins to pass through the underground room and before we knew it we were back on the bus saying goodbye to our guide before passing the check point once again and bidding farewell to Bethlehem.
On our final day we spent an incredible 10 hours walking through Jerusalem Old Town. For most of this tour all the religious sites we visited could not be verified as the actual place of origin. Most stories had a familiar tone. For example - this is the location where Jesus fed 5000 people or so we think because no one really knows. Well Old Town was much of the same. Once again it was heavily religion based and once again no one can agree on if the sites are real or not. Highlights for us were the Garden Tomb (maybe the tomb of Jesus), Mount of Olives, House of Caiaphas (maybe where Jesus spent his last night in prison), Mount Zion, Upper Room - site of the last supper (99% sure it's not), Garden of Gethsemane, Jewish Quarter, the Wailing Wall, the Tomb of King David (replica), Via Dolorosa (the street Jesus carried the cross up which is now a bustling market street) and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (maybe houses the stone that Jesus was laid on after coming down from the cross as well as his tomb but probably not).
Our time in Israel really showed me how tentative their peace treaties are with their neighbors. To hear about the history of how this country, which is not recognised by many around the world, came about only 40-60 years ago is mind boggling. There is an undertone with every story we heard about the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, Egypt and about Jordan. We felt incredibly safe during our time there but it is easy to see that just one small misstep from either party would erupt into outright war.
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Travelers tip - Be prepared for crowds. In our experience religious sites had 40+ buses where the Roman ruins had up to 10 buses at a time. Long queues are expected.
Travelers tip - Make sure you do not receive an Israeli stamp in your passport on arrival or departure. As Israel is not recognised by a number of countries you could be banned from travelling to certain places simply by having this stamp. The border control is good and didn't issue a stamp for us but be aware just in case.
