Here is our Plan

Our journey through the Fifth Gospel, the land of Israel (and Jordan) begins at home. We arrive in Tel Aviv no later than November 7th and spend our first night on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. Our steps will take us to Caesarea Maritima on the coast; Mt. Carmel, Megiddo, Nazareth, Cana and on to the Sea of Galilee.  Two full days around the Galilee and Golan Heights.  A day of travel over to and through Jordan (Jerash, Mt. Nebo, Medeba and on to Petra); A full day relaxing on the Red Sea and two nights around the Dead Sea (Masada, En Gedi, Qumran).  The rest of our trip is in or around Jerusalem.

Here are links to the hotels we will be staying at through our trip:

November 7th (and 6th for those who arrive early:  Tal by the Beach. https://m.atlas.co.il/tal-hotel-tel-aviv  (This includes a video of the hotel)

November 8-11:  Nof Ginosar Hotel, Tiberius.    https://english.ginosar.co.il/.  Video here:  https://youtu.be/SsFNQzItm0Y

November 11-12:  Grand View Hotel, Petra, Jordan:  http://www.grandview.com.jo/    Video here: https://youtu.be/m38MwIwmhJk

November 12-14:  Yam Suf Hotel, Eilat:  https://www.isrotel.com/isrotel-hotels/eilat/isrotel-yam-suf/  Video link here:  https://youtu.be/J99eSEDq2JM

November 14-16:  Hod Hotel, Dead Sea:  https://www.hodhotel.co.il/en/  Video here:  https://youtu.be/Y6DUaNeNw5Q

November 16-20: Ibis Style Hotel, Jerusalem:  https://www.accorhotels.com/gb/hotel-8730-ibis-styles-jerusalem-city-center-/index.shtml   Video here:  https://youtu.be/J8QHb_WFqME
(This is a brand new, recently opened hotel)

This blog will provide a summary of our day with text and pictures for family and friends to travel with us.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Holy City

Image
We departed the desert to head up to Jerusalem.  But before we did, we made one last stop along the Jordan River.  It is a place called Aenon or Bet Aenon and it is the place traditionally thought to be where John the Baptist baptized Jesus.  The river is very small and muddy here, and we could have easily tossed a stone into Jordan.  Several churches stand on either side of the river. As we crossed the line of sea level we started to see the Bedouin family camps, goats and camels.  They don’t move around now but are subsidized by the state and provided permanent water.  We crossed a check point as we got close to the city and the bus driver started playing “The Holy City.” We exited a tunnel through one of the hills and to our left was our first glimpse of the Temple Mount with the the gold dome of the mosque of Oman standing where the Temple once stood. (And will stand again!)  We had arrived to the Holy City, Jerusalem. Some had tears. First stop was to the top of the Mount of O
Read more

Final Day and Heading Home

Image
This is my last installment for this journey.  In a few hours we all will be heading home and the tour comes to an end.  But the questions, the insights and the memories will last into eternity. We began our morning at the Garden Tomb.  Run by a British foundation, the Garden Tomb area was cited by British General Gordon as being the potential place of Jesus’ burial.  It is located outside the city walls; by a rock formation that looked like a skull; along the Damascus Road; and has a tomb hewed out of the rock.  We always tell people that while the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is historically probably accurate, the feel would be like here. Once we were guided through the garden and went into see the tomb, we retreated to a small chapel where we did a trip review and had communion together.  The testimonies were memorable. Next, the City of David.  Yes Bethlehem is also called the City of David.  That is where he was born. But this City of David was the 12 acre plot of ground locat
Read more

O Little Town of Bethlehem

Image
We know a number of people back home who are playing Christmas music already.  Today that familiar carol was our first stop on our next to last day of touring.  We left early again (7:15) and made our way through the check point into the political West Bank under the control of the Palestinian authority.  Nir could not go with us, so Rami drove us and once inside our Christian Arab guide was Issa.  He did a wonderful job of showing us Beit Sahour, the Shepherd’s Fields.  He took us into the Barluzzi chapel where we admired the mosaics and sang Joy to the World.  We then walked into one of the many caves in the area to see where the shepherds kept their sheep. We then went to the Church of the Nativity and waited in line to see the traditional cave where Jesus was born.  While our wait lasted an hour, it was interesting.  We were immediately behind an African American group who sang a few songs while waiting and immediately in front of an Indonesian group.  The pastor, a very short st
Read more