The Welly Trav-Ellers

14 – 16 March 2019:

Apologies in advance for the lengthy blogs. Most of you know I’m a detail person but believe me when I say that these are just a summary of our very full days & if I dont write it down here I will not remember it in a few weeks when looking back at photos!  Photos for the below to be posted soon

The Magdala site was an amazing example of the precious discoveries being made in Israel all the time. It is the oldest excavated synagogue in Galilee and one of seven from the first century in all of Israel. A coin minted in Tiberias in 29 CE was found inside the synagogue, proving that the synagogue was from the first century and the time of Christ’s ministry. Since the Bible tells us that Jesus taught throughout the Galilee, & knew Mary of Magdala, it is more than probable that he taught here.

Tel Dan was the next stop, a pagan city (golden calf worship was the in thing !) and near the source of the Jordan river. Beautiful bush walk not unlike NZ  – some tricky parts across slippery wet stones was worse when we took a wrong turn with one of the guides and lost the rest of the group – didn’t phase Mum at all…she was more nimble than me clambering back over the rocks! What fascinated me was a gate to the city that has been dated back 4000 years – just incredible history.

The temple of Pan was next and was where Saint Peter declared that Jesus was the son of God. They call it the gate to hell due to all the pagan worship and human sacrifice. Just horrendous – and it had that feel – I swear I could see a face in the rock – can you? (photos to be uploaded soon!)

The next stop was a bit unexpected – I knew we were going in the direction of Mt Hermon but didn’t realise we were heading up to the Golan Heights – there is a whole community up there and although the food has been incredible so far, we had the best falafel and stuffed vine leaves I have ever tasted at the Peace Cafe (I’m going to write to them for the recipe!) On the way back we could just see in the distance the UN compound and the border checkpoint into Syria. Our guide Ilan is like a walking encyclopedia and our driver David maneuvers that bus like it’s a mini cooper! They keep us very informed and we are always safe on the roads.

That night just before bed we heard that rockets had been fired into Tel Aviv from Gaza, one was taken out by the iron dome and the other fell in uninhabited land, so all Tel Aviv residents were safe.  To date Israel has not retaliated, that we know of. We were far away from  Tel Aviv but it was a sharp reminder that we are not only travelling through old history but also history in the making.  I’m checking the NZ govt safe travel website regularly ….we are still green to go for the remainder of the trip.

Friday 15th

Next morning  we woke to find New Zealand was not so safe as we all had thought and it was front page news with the horrendous murders in Christchurch. A tragic senseless act. Our tour group members have all been very concerned & respectful towards us, the only Kiwis on the tour. And it’s hard to be away from home when our country is hurting so badly but we are praying that God will bless all those affected.

The next day we travelled to Shiloh where the Ark of the Covenant (which contained the 10 commandments) once resided in the Tabernacle for 369 years until the first temple was built in Jerusalem. (Steph…I’ve looked but I still dont know where it is!) and where Hannah prayed for a baby….and later had Samuel the Prophet. All these bible stories are coming to life,  there is great technology to show and tell…a wonderful hologram presentation on the building of the tabernacle. The discoveries by archaeologists in all these sites we are seeing shows far too many co-incidences for the bible to just be a fictitious piece of writing. It’s historical – the Jewish people were incredible historians and this is why they still practice their ways the same way that they did 2000 years ago.

Then it was off to Bethlehem, driving through Jerusalem to get there. The checkpoints in and out of the city with armed guards was an experience &  so strange to see shepherd with sheep, in small patches of open land in between built up areas…the old ways and the new. Back to Jerusalem and up to Mt Scopa for our first view of the old city of Jerusalem with the Temple Mount & the Dome of the Rock in clear view. Cant believe we are really here.

Saturday 16th

The old city of Jerusalem on speed !  Unbelievable that none of our group got lost in the maze of the old city. Vibrant, colourful, loud, old and very slippery as it was raining. (Rain is a blessing in Israel so we didn’t complain) We went to all the main sites starting at the Mount of Olives and walking down to Garden of Gethsemane where 8 of the olive trees have been dated back more than 2000 years old. The Via Dolorosa (the way of the cross) &  Church of the Holy Sepulcher are the main draw cards obviously. The church was so jam packed with tourists that we couldn’t get to see all the holy places inside and it took 15 minutes to try and get out the door. Luckily Mum & I are back in Jerusalem next week on our own and will get there at 7am before the rush.  Going into the dungeon at the house of Caiaphas gave me a bit of claustrophobia and I was glad when we were back up above ground.

Mum is a bit over filled pita bread for lunch (& falafel is a standing joke on the bus) but it’s quick and does the job for a big group. The breakfasts and dinners at the hotels we have stayed in are phenomenal – fresh fruit and salads as far as the eye can see and although I’m not a dessert person….you cant help being enticed each night with the mini plates of every pudding known to man! I am not losing weight with all this walking as the buffets keep calling …in fact, I can hear the dinner one now ! (The elevators in the hotel will be working properly now that Shabbat (Sabbath) is over…although there is a dedicated Shabbat elevator that stops on every floor so you don’t have to push the button at all !)

Tomorrow we are off to Masada – something I have been looking forward to and then we will be floating in the dead sea !  Hope you are all ok and keeping safe back home.