Blogs from East Jerusalem, West Bank, Israel, Middle East

I'd booked us on the Tour Israel Dead Sea and Masada tourto start the trip. The coach picked us up at 0715, our tour guide was Norbert who delivered the tour in English and French, switching seamlessly between the two making me jealous. I slept though the journey and BAM delighted in telling me about all the cool views and facts that I'd missed. Thanks BAM. The coach stopped at a cafe/gift shop selling Dead Sea Minerals creams and had a cracking view of the Dead Sea. We continued onwards to the Masada ruins. Masada is an ancient fort atop a massive mountain. There's a visitors centre at the bottom with facts, a gift shop and a cafeteria. Our tour ticket included the cable car to the top, but the traditional route follows the "snake path" ... read more

The Middle Eastern Airlines flight from Beirut landed at Jerusalem's Atarot Airport at 8:30 a.m. This allowed for a full day of sightseeing before pushing on to Cairo. Jerusalem was the ninth stop on the Around the World trip. In 1963 East Jerusalem and the West Bank were governed by Jordan. (It was before the six Day War in 1967.) A series of private cars, mostly American models, transported the group. The first stop was Bethlehem to see the Church of the Nativity. The church was built about 326-339 over the traditional site of Jesus' birthplace, the Nativity Grotto. It was rebuilt in the 6th century under Justinian. Next on the drive through the Judean Desert was a stop at the Qumran Caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1946. Returning to East Jerusalem, ... read more