Wow! The last few days have been almost unreal. Israel is amazing. Unlike anything I’ve ever imagined and yet it also feels totally comfortable. We have been on a gruelling schedule. Up at 6am to get ready, have breakfast & on the road by 8am.
We have packed in so much already, it’s incredible. Eg… Caesarea By Sea where Herod had his palace, Mt Carmel, Megiddo, the valley of Armageddon ( so peaceful now but one day it won’t be & boy is it a perfect battle ground for the final showdown!) , Mt of Precipice where the Jews tried to throw Jesus off the cliff… incredible 360 degree view including overlooking Nazareth, Tabgha, Capernaum, Mt of Beatitudes ( where Jesus fed the 5000 – It has a natural ampitheatre and a voice would carry so makes perfect sense ), sailed on the Sea of Galilee which is so calm there is hardly a ripple & watched a few of our group have full immersion baptisms in the Jordan river. This is not a full definitive list.. and so many sites pointed out along the way.
Being a Christian tour, all these sites we are seeing have biblical significance and the stories make even more sense when you can see where things happened. The land we’ve seen so far is so very green with rolling hills and valleys…definitely a land of milk & honey… it could be New Zealand, the agriculture is booming and it’s warm which is a nice change from snowy New York !
Our current hotel in Tiberius is right on the Sea of Galilee waterfront ( the lowest fresh water lake in the world at 290 metres below sea level ) and the view is out of this world. The sunrise yesterday was stunning. There is this beautiful haze across the water and we look out over the lake to the Golan Heights … hard to believe just over those hills, beyond this peaceful setting is Syria.
We feel so very safe & the Israeli people are lovely. The group we are with are friendly chatty people & it’s so nice to be on a small bus with just 28 others including the driver, the tour guide & the 2 American hosts from the Zola Levit tv show that Mum watches. Apparently the second tour later this year in October is already booked with 60+ people & could double so we’ve come at the right time in early spring.
I’ve been unable to load photographs on the website so trying to sort that out. You will get them eventually .. possibly sideways ! 😀
Right it’s almost 2.30am so better try get back to sleep. Another huge day tomorrow including a trip to Magdala.. the town of my namesake and patron Saint Mary Magdalene… my understanding has always been that she was a very rich business woman in the fish mongering business and helped finance Jesus’s ministry (keen to find out tomorrow if I’m right!) and is not to be confused with the story of the prostitute.. totally different person.
We are both having a blast … and Mum is keeping up with everything & everybody!
Loving the updates … happy travels through Israel, such a historical country with heaps to see.
What an amazing time you are having. Am enjoying the read . Sophia xx
What a great wee writer you are, so enjoyable reading your blog. You will need to make it all into a book with your photographs when you get back. Have fun and tell Nova to make sure she puts her feet up when she needs to, she seems to be keeping up well though. Lots of love xxx
Just watching the news darling, stay safe and get out of there straight away if things escalate. xx
Thanks Sue. We were in peaceful Tiberius when the 2 rockets were fired into Tel Aviv but the inhabitants are all ok.The iron dome stopped one and the other fell in vacant land. We feel very safe and are now in beautiful Jerusalem. More concerned about the horrific murders in Christchurch at the moment & our group prayed tonight for all concerned.