Blogs from Israel, Middle East - page 3

Shalom Israel and Palestine - Piprey on wheels Israel/Palestine is one of the most politically unstable regions of the world where the Jews and Muslims are still annoying each other despite standing together in the 21st century. The rife started centuries earlier with the tribes of Cannan, Philistines, Samarians etc living in the Judah and Israel region. David unified the northern kingdom of Israel and southern kingdom of Judah after capturing it from the Jebusites, local inhabitants to establish his capital. Actually, most of the buildings in the old city of Jerusalem were built by Herod, who was a prolific builder. There were the Ottomans (Walls of the old city) and Habsburg empire (Churches) among others. Jerusalem is an old vibrant city where religious identity is expressed strongly by most individuals. The values of peace, harmony ... read more

We had a bit of a late morning the next day and ate breakfast at the hotel before we were driven to the Jordan-Israel border where we would return to Israel, but this time Jerusalem. Getting there in the late afternoon, we spent time in our Air BnB and ended our night with dinner in a nearby mall. Our first morning in Jerusalem started in Rachel’s Tomb. Jewish women- as the tomb was divided by sex- bowed their heads in prayer and cried as they faced the walls of the tomb. I am Jewish, but by blood, not faith, so it was interesting to see real devotion and practice of the religion, especially in the holy land. Following the tomb was the Shepherds’ Field Chapel where supposedly an angel came down to inform the shepherds of ... read more

The best part of my job while working on a cruise ship is, that once in a while I get to escort guest tours. Since I started cruising again last December I have been able to add a few new countries to my travel list. Yesterday I had the chance to visit the city of Jerusalem, a place that was not really on my list, but I was really excited to see the city. From Ashdod were our ship docked it was a 2 hour drive to the city of Jerusalem. The tour itself would take about 10 hours. We covered so much much during this day and a lot of walking was involved. We had 33 guest on board of the bus and while our tour guide was leading the tour I was staying in ... read more

This was the last day of our break and we did not rush to leave. We had a leisurely brunch and went back to the room to pack. Check-out was simple and we put our bags into the car. A final bug bit Lesley as we walked out, as a goodbye remembrance? The drive home had a little more traffic than our outbound ride, but still not bad. Now being Thursday afternoon perhaps people were starting to travel before the weekend. Don was not paying enough attention as navigator, so even with Waze he suddenly told Lesley to change roads. Unfortunately that was the wrong turning and added 25km to our journey. Upon arrival home we unpacked and undertook another birthday tradition: laundry! Rather than end our break at this point, we determined to make a ... read more

After breakfast Don planned to investigate Alma Cave. This is north of Safed, about 20km from the spa. He expected to be gone for several hours. Meanwhile Lesley was free to lounge around the hotel, read her book, enjoy a facial treatment in the spa, to do whatever she fancied. Don describes his experience: Despite the hot weather (33C and above) I dressed in classic denim bluejeans and a long-sleeve thick cotton shirt. I also removed my sandals and put on hiking boots over thick socks. From what I had read, the terrain around and within the cave warranted reasonable skin protection and climbing leverage. I drove along a winding mountain road and passed Safed toward Rehaniya, following directions in an article I had read about caves in Israel. As directed, I turned onto an unpaved ... read more