Day One: Trip to Israel in Feb 2008

Our trip to Israel was great! Our flight to Israel didn’t leave Newark until Monday afternoon but we wanted  to go to the Broadway play Curtains in New York City so we flew from Knoxville to Newark and watched the play Sunday evening.

The shuttle took us to the airport at 10 am Monday morning and we got our luggage checked with no problems. We were literally alone going through security. (That did make it a little more comfortable shedding shoes, belts and jackets.) The place was empty except for workers. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 1 p.m. and we were told to get there 3 hours early so we did. But, no one else did.

                         Mike at Newark Airport in New Jersey.


Cherel in the deserted Newark Airport Terminal.

                                            
We waited in the gate area most of the time because the shops were closed. There wasn't a good place to eat in the security area so we finally went back out and ate at Chilis. That’s where we met Richard, our guide for the trip from Ed Hill Tours. He was warm and sociable and ended up going back through security with us just a short time before we boarded our El Al Boeing 777 for the flight to Tel Aviv.

We met the McNauls and a few other people in our travel group just before we took off and sat near some of them during the flight but we didn’t really do any socializing on the flight.

I like the Boeing 777. It has 9 seats across and was not crowded so I was able to put my feet up during the 10 hour flight. Mike watched movies and I took pictures of the flight monitor screen in front of me, looked out the window, and rested my eyes, though I got no sleep. I was so taken with the whole idea of going to Israel and being on such a long flight that I couldn’t concentrate to read or watch a movie. I just kept thinking about the week ahead and trying to get some rest.

                                                  El Al 777

                                  Hasidic Jewish man on our flight.

                               7 seconds to touchdown!

                                    Tel Aviv from the air.

They fed us a dinner meal and then a breakfast about 90 minutes before we landed. I finally got sleepy enough to rest around breakfast time but that kept me awake so I took night-light pictures of the coast of Italy and touched up my make-up as

I waited for dawn so I could take pictures as we landed in Tel Aviv around 6:30 a.m. Israeli time. I got some good shots and was very excited to see Tel Aviv from the air.

Tel Aviv-Jaffa was founded in 1909. Israel became a nation there on May14, 1948. It is about half the size of Jerusalem with a population of 400,000 and it's only 43 miles from Jerusalem-- less than an hours drive. It's a lively modern city with plenty to do--featuring arts, entertainment, cafes, beaches and bicycle paths to keep things hopping. But, alas, we spent no time there.   :-)

When we landed, we got our luggage, used the restroom, met Schlomo, our Israeli guide for the week, and headed for our brand new 50 passenger tour bus with the Mercedes engine. There were 16 of us so we had plenty of room inside for carry ons and parcels and for our luggage below.

Schlomo greeted us, welcomed us to Israel, passed out our maps and diaries and Ed Hill Tour orange baseball caps, and started giving us a historical, topographical, sociological, religious and political lesson about Israel; using a map hanging in the front of the bus and his own personal pointer.

Our first stop was Caesarea on the Mediterranean Sea. We visited an ancient Roman amphitheater and saw the remnants of Pilate’s Palace and Herod’s aqueduct system that brought water to the palace and the city from Mt Carmel eight miles away.

Work was going on to restore other areas of the complex including the Hippodrome. The sea was a gorgeous blue green color with deep purple patches along the shoreline. I only got a few pictures before our camera battery went dead.

                            Mike with a foot bigger than his!

                               Ancient Roman Amphitheatre

                                           Caesarea Info

Mediterranean Coast

From there we headed to Mt. Carmel. During the drive Schlomo told us about the building of the aqueduct and pointed out sections of it and showed us where it began. I was fascinated by everything I saw. This was Israel, God’s chosen country, His choice spot in all the earth, and it is like a third world country in many ways. The housing areas are mostly unkempt. The terrain is extremely dry and rocky. It reminded me of Honduras.

                         The Prophet Elijah on Mt Carmel.

           The Valley of Armageddon from the ruins of Megiddo.

From Mt. Carmel, overlooking the valley of Armageddon, we went to Megiddo, the ruins of the ancient city that controlled the plains. Schlomo pointed out Mt. Tabor from which Deborah and Barak fought with Sisera, and the Mountains of Gilboa where Saul and Jonathan died. We walked through the ruins of the city.  There was a 2000 year old round altar which had been used for human and animal sacrifices.

We went down through Ahab’s aqueduct system that helped make the city invulnerable during sieges.


From there we went to the vicinity of Nazareth. We went up the hill from which the townspeople attempted to throw Jesus down. We took more pictures of the valley of Armageddon, as well as pictures of our group and the city of Nazareth– featuring the Church of the Annunciation– allegedly covering the cave where Gabriel told Mary she would bare the Messiah.

           Distant view of Nazareth and Basilica of the Annunciation

      Closer view of Nazareth and Basilica of the Annunciation

The Basilica was built over a cave where it is believed that Gabriel announced the coming birth of Jesus, the son of God, to Mary.

                        Valley of Armageddon

                      Mountains of Gilboa in the distance

Now the Philistines fought against Israel: and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gilboa. And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Melchishua, Saul's sons. ... So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armour bearer, and all his men, that same day together. 1 Sam 31:1-2,6

                                     Mt. Tabor in the distance

 And Deborah said unto Barak, Up; for this is the day in which the LORD has delivered Sisera into your hand: is not the LORD gone out before you? So Barak went down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him. Judges 4:14 NKJV

 Mount of Precipitation where Nazarenes tried to throw Jesus down the mountain.

     Ed Hill Tour Group on the Mount of Precipitation

     After that we drove through Cana and headed for Tiberias.

         Our first view of the Sea of Galilee. 

 

         We visited the baptismal site on the Jordan River.  
      

                  Sea of Galilee from our hotel room.

            We checked into the Tiberias Sheraton for the night.

We were given a couple of hours break to shower and rest before having dinner at a nearby hotel. Finally, we got to go to bed. And so ended Day One of our trip to Israel.

 

 

 Thank you Lord for the privilege of visiting Your Chosen place!