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Published: January 29th 2011
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Today started out with breakfast at the hotel. Our breakfast and dinners were included in our tour and are buffet style. Today, however, was different because it is the Sabbath here so there was no hot food as Jewish people don’t cook on the Sabbath. However what we had was wonderful!
We started our day with a trip to Bethlehem. Our guide is Jewish Israeli and cannot go into Bethlehem so we with in with our bus driver who is Arab and can go. We traveled through a checkpoint which was really no big deal going in but coming out they came on the bus and looked at our passports and looked in every seat. We were told we couldn’t take pictures but you all know me…..I ask my roommate (who was sitting in front of me) to hold real still and I hid my camera kind of in her sweater (both were black) and snapped away until we were actually at the checkpoint…then quickly hid my camera in my seat. What made us all sad was the guard was just a kid…probably 16 or so…
In Bethlehem we went to the Church of the Nativity where it is
thought Jesus was born.. According to our guide, the church is the oldest in the world. All of the churches in Israel and neighboring countries were destroyed when Persian invaded except for this church. The reason they left is standing is because they saw the pictures of the Three Wise Men (who came from Persia) and they felt they couldn’t touch something that was meaningful to their countrymen. This church was built in the early part of the 4th Century and has huge columns and beautiful mosaics both on the floor and wall. From there we went to Shepherd Field and then left Bethlehem for our trip to the area of the Dead Sea where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found.
As we traveled to the Dead Sea we saw nothing but miles and miles of nothing but mounds of dirt and Bedouins. Bedouins are nomads that live in tents or shacks along the highway, however if you look closely you can see their satellite dishes, cars (really old ones), and supposedly now they carry cell phones. They are everywhere in the desert hills. It was also interesting to note when we traveled 1300 feet below sea level. There
was a roadside marker when we reached sea level.
We also went to Jericho, where we had a great lunch. Some people are getting tired of the various salads, hummus and pitas…but I love them! Today we had grilled kabobs..either chicken, lamb or a little or both. We also stopped a the sycamore tree that Zaccheus climbed. I had to climb up on a fence to get a good picture as the gate to the garden was locked. Next we drove to the Mt. or Temptation where the devil tempted Jesus and then we started back home.
The Internet here is extremely slow and expensive so I didn’t take the time to label the pics….will try to get caught up tomorrow and get them labeled. Believe me the people in Israel LOVE Americans because their economy depends on tourism…we have been inundated with street vendors trying to sell their wares. It sure has been interesting…I had to crack up at one vendor…trying to sell his product 3 for $10.00...when he got no takers he said OK 3 for $9.99.…..and all of them end with In God We Trust….the love the American Dollar!!
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Cindy
non-member comment
beautiful
Just beautiful, thanks for sharing. ENJOY