Home at last!

Saturday at 12:30 PM we finally arrived at San Francisco International Airport. A delayed flight from Tel Aviv caused us to miss our connecting flight in Toronto. In turn, that forced us to spend the night in Toronto. We should have been home on Friday, but, hey...we're finally home! When we were forced to stay the night in Toronto, we had to go through their Customs. When the Canadian Customs officer requested our passports, asking; "What is the purpose of your visit, ehh?"  I was tempted to respond; "frustration, disgust and and disappointment!"  But I held my tongue. After all it wasn't his fault, ehh?  What can I say about Air Canada?  Well, I was always taught, if you can't say say something nice, don't say anything at all! ............................(silence) : )  But big picture.......Had a great time and was quite an adventure!

Psych!

We are not home yet....still waiting in Canada.  Our flight out of Israel was delayed for over an hour which made us miss our connecting flight in Canada.  It was quite an emotional let down after dreaming of sleeping in our own bed and hugging our family and friends.  After the initial thoughts of the "F" word and brief beginnings of tears, we pulled ourselves together and chose to praise God as He always has our best interest at heart.  Got news today that one of our friends is undergoing a tough time with chemo and then I saw all the prayers requests on my email.  It was good to have a different perspective.

This was our last room number in Israel.  Pretty much says it all:

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

 

Day 12 - Our last full day in Israel

Well, today is our last full day in Israel and it was a pretty full one. We started our day by driving about 50 kilometers up the coast to the archaeological park of Caesarea. This city is featured prominently in the New Testament for being the home of the Roman Centurion-Cornelius, with whom Peter visited and shared the Gospel. But it is also the place Paul was taken to appear at trial before Governor Felix, King Agrippa and his wife Bernice. Paul made his defense and his appeal to Rome here. (Acts 23-26)


The park presents a movie of the history of the city when you first arrive. Great production quality and very informative. We were able to get pictures of Caesarea from the various periods of the city. Beginning with the Palace, Amphitheater, Port and Chariot stadium built by Herod. Then the Byzantine period, the Muslim period and the Crusader Period. Each period suffered earthquakes that caused wide destruction and degradation to the city. Not to mention the wars fought over the city!

After our outing, we returned to the Hotel and went to the beach. It seemed a shame that our hotel was only 2 blocks from the beach and we not at least lay out on it for a few hours. Afterward, we came back at sunset to take some last pictures of our vacation and the Mediterranean Sea. The beautiful sunset represented a literal and allegorical end to our stay. Tomorrow, up early to fuel the rental car and turn it in at the airport. Then California here we come!

Chariot race track  (Pre-NASCAR short track)

Day 11...walking...walking...walking

Our dawgs are barkin'

We are beat....basically we walked today.  Greg ran out of underwear.  We walked looking for a laundry mat to wash our clothes. We did a 10 mile circle only to find it almost at the corner from our hotel.  They told us to turn right at the corner so we did.....it was to the left.  We did find a place that would wash our clothes for us along the way so we left them and then ventured to buy men's underwear.  At least 12, and I am not exaggerating, women's underwear places on every street...men's however are not popular.  We ended up back at the mall (second time today) and having gone in almost every men's store finally found one place that had few ($20 bucks).  As soon as we bought them, we of course, passed the underwear store that sells both men's and women's.....that's all they sell is underwear...the entire store, underwear only...weird. 

We tried to hurry back to catch the sunset....missed it :(

We went to our restaurant across from our hotel and had dinner.  I ordered Sea Food Pasta and thought I would be getting shrimp and scallops....it was squid.  Yep.

Squid?!

Day 10

Yesterday was a travel day. We left the Crown Plaza Hotel at the Dead Sea and headed back to Tel Aviv. The drive was a little over 2 hours. But we arrived at our hotel in Tel Aviv with little difficulty. Not because the traffic was any less, but because I know my way around this city a little better and the streets are laid out with a little more logic then Jerusalem. We checked in and walked across the street from the hotel to a neighborhood restaurant called "Whitehall" and had lunch. They have really good food and huge portions. Afterwards we were both stuffed. I thought a walk along the city's beach promenade would be a good way to walk off our meal. We walked all the way to the old city of Jaffa. Probably a little too much of a walk for the humidity, but it was fun. Patty took pictures of Jaffa and pictures of Tel Aviv from Jaffa.

Jaffa or Yafo is mentioned many times throughout the Bible. Most prominent is the home of Simon the Tanner. (Acts 9-10)  Simon the Tanner's home is where the apostle Peter stayed and was given a vision by God while resting on the roof of the house. It was here that God made it clear to Peter, Gentiles were also to receive the Gospel. Shortly after the vision, Peter went to the home of Cornelius, the Roman soldier. To some in the Jewish world, this is considered the birthplace of Christianity. It was here that God made it clear to Peter that Gentiles were welcome into this new relationship as well. Until then, Jewish/Christian converts had continued to attend synagogue services and go to the Temple.  To most of the Jews at large, the followers of "The Way" were considered just another of the many Jewish sects. However, once they began to accept Gentiles who hadn't become Jews into their "sect" they could not be tolerated!

The foundations of the house believed to be that of Simon the Tanner remains to this day. A medieval dwelling is built on top of it and it is a private residence. Pilgrims are asked not to disturb the residents, but we got a picture of the front of the house. Patty also took pictures of what remains of the ancient peer of Jaffa.

Words

Sometimes we need very little words to communicate.  I got a massage today from a Russian woman who spoke minimal English.  She asked me if I spoke German?...um, nein....Russian?....um, nyet....Hebrew?...um, lo.  She didn't know sign language...I tried.  She said "is ok"....I said "ok" and we continued down the hallway to the massage room.  "Off".  She pointed to my clothes.  I got on the table and after awhile it was clear, the massages here were a little bit different.  For instance, in the US, they generally don't massage your big white belly.  They also don't leave your entire upper body uncovered while you are laying on your back while they are jiggling the jelly roll.  I got cold...you know what happens when that occurs.  OMG. I started thinking about how I must look although I keep my eyes tightly closed out of embarrassment.  In my head, I was repeating, don't laugh, don't laugh, don't laugh...you are a grown up....this is a professional environment....but then the giggles would start to well up again.  Finally she wrapped me up in some towels and Saran wrap stuff.  Sigh of relief.  "Sleep."  This meant, don't open your eyes because I am going to pour hot sesame oil on your forehead.  Very cool indeed. "Is ok?"....very ok. "Ok, good."  Lots can be communicated with "ok".

Sometimes other words should be chosen.  This morning, for instance, we were driving and we see this sign  out in the middle of the desert:

We find it humorous and pull over to take a picture.  The police then pull over and yell out "Back. Mines!"  What the hey?  There are mines out here and you post a sign to warn against drowning?!  I peed my pants and then walked in the path of the tire treads back to our car.  I know they have mine signs as I stumbled upon one in our hike up at the Banias...not a mine, the sign, I mean.

So with all the hiking and mines, and what not, you can see why a massage was in order.  Greg chickened out...maybe he knew about the getting cold part : ). 

Sesame seed oil slick backed hair style

Anyway, it's been a fun day....even doing the laundry.  Word.

 

Day 9

Today we got up early, ate breakfast in the hotel and head out to Ein Gedi National Park. We arrived at the park about 9AM before the heat really set in. There is little indication at the entrance you are any where near an oasis. But as we hiked along the trail leading back into a narrow gorge, gradual signs of green life began to appear. There are several paths hikers can take through the Park. We chose to take the one that leads to David's Falls and the caves, where David and his men hid from King Saul. (1 Samuel 23)

The path becomes increasing difficult to navigate the further along you go. But you are rewarded with cool clear pools of water and small falls feeding each one with greater intensity as you move up the gorge. You find yourself strangely surrounded by more and more lush green growth as you continue as well. After several smaller falls and pools, you finally reach David's Fall as it roars through the rock and poor into the pool below. Next to it hidden in the green foliage along the rock wall is a cave. Is this the cave David and his men took refuge in?

The Park is full of wild life, including the Ibex, which is a wild mountain goat with long spiraling horns and the Coney, which is a clumsy rabbit like critter. They are very cute to watch. The Bible mentions these little guys. They climb up in the trees and sunbath on the rocks. They have no tail, but back legs like a rabbit. They appear to be much less coordinated then a rabbit though. Patty was able to get pictures of both. We may go back tomorrow to hike up one of the other trails.

We came back to the resort area for lunch and then Patty took in a massage. After dinner, we will try another dip in the chemical soup, I mean the Dead Sea! : )

Liar Liar Pants on Fire

Enticing and gorgeous (above is the view from our room). The water almost yells, "Come swim in me and I will make you as beautiful as myself."  Here is a claim regarding the Dead Sea Salts anti aging properties:
"When it comes to stopping the hands of time, Dead Sea salts have been mentioned in literature from the earliest written records. Dead Sea salts are procured from the Dead Sea and offer the highest levels of natural salt of any body of water. When the salt from the sea is collected, the anti aging properties are thought to be almost heavenly... Due to the high levels of magnesium in the Dead Sea salts, the soaks are thought to increase the skin barrier functionality, reduce skin roughness, reduce skin inflammation and possible reduce other inflammations of the body. The skin effects related to the Dead Sea salts combine together to make the skin appear younger and more vibrant, thus the anti aging effects."

Yeah.  All I know is this is what we looked like a few hours before we went in and below is what we looked like after only a few minutes.  

These poor little girls were only in for 20 minutes.  It was too late.  They will never even see high school.

Other things they don't tell you.  The salt burns ever little nook and cranny.  Can you say crotch-o-fire?  Praise Jesus for the beach side showers.

All kidding aside, isn't that just the sweetest darn couple up above? I hope Greg and I are that adorable when we really get there.

Day 8

This morning we headed out of Jerusalem toward the Dead Sea. Once again we got temporary lost trying to navigate through the busy morning traffic in Jerusalem. But eventually we got our bearings and were soon on highway 90 and in the desert. As we descended into the Dead Sea basin, there were altitude markers along the highway showing how far below sea level we had come. The Dead Sea is approximately 1380 feet below sea level - the lowest surface point on the planet.

Once we were traveling alongside the Dead Sea toward our hotel destination in Ein Bokek, we saw numerous Bedouin encampments and camels at various way points along the road. There is nothing "wilderness" about the Judean wilderness. It's just plain desert! We passed Ein Gedi (Going to Ein Geti tomorrow) and we passed Masada on our way to the hotel. We arrived at The Crown Plaza hotel at about 10:30AM. Check in time wasn't until 3PM and there was no indication they were going to be ready for us soon. So I left my Cell number with the receptionist and our luggage in the baggage room and we headed back to Masada!

We were probably crazy for beginning at Masada around noon, given that the temperature was hovering at around 108F. But it was amazing. Patty got some beautiful pictures of the ruins. Because of the heat and the time of day, the Park authority would not permit hiking up to it and I have to admit I was relieved! Instead, we rode a cable car up the side of the mountain. But there was still plenty of hiking to get around the fortress ruins. Masada is a fortress built by King Herod. It was used as a last stronghold by Jewish rebels who were trying to break the grip of Roman occupation. Following the destruction of the Temple in 70m AD, Roman legions cornered the Jewish rebels, who had taken refuge on Masada, and laid siege to it. Eventually the Romans built a siege ramp to the top and breached the fortress. But not until all of the 900+ rebels and their families committed suicide rather then face capture by the Romans. Masada has become a powerful symbol in the modern Israeli national psyche regarding those who would seek their destruction and is sort of the Israeli version of "Remember the Alamo."

After a hot sweaty trip to Masada, we returned to our hotel where we tested the therapeutic properties of the Dead Sea. I took a picture of Patty floating in it. It was extremely warm. It has attracted visitors for thousands of years, seeking its healing properties. It has a salinity 8.6 times that of the ocean, which has the effect of making you bob like a cork in it. It will also seriously burn your eyes or any cuts, scrapes or recent shaved areas! Following our dip in the Sea, we showered off and went for a dip in the seaside pool. Then to our room for a real shower and dinner. Tomorrow Ein Geti and maybe a spa. Stay tuned for another installment of Patty's Corner!

Day 7

Today is Shabbat and we are in Jerusalem, so pretty much everything in the city comes to a stop. However, we are able to get up early and drive into Arab East Jerusalem, where the Garden Tomb, Mount of Olives and Garden of Gethsemane are. Before we left, Patty was able to capture a beautiful picture of the sunrise over Jerusalem from our hotel room window.

The Garden Tomb is a rock cut tomb considered by many to be the actual site of the buriel of Jesus because of it's it's age, location and proximity to the Old City and biblical reference points. But no one can be sure. In any case, it is a very quite meditative and beautiful garden facility which looks like it would have in the time of Jesus. It is a very powerful and spiritually stimulating experience!

Next, we drove to the top of Mount Scopus and into an Arab neighborhood which took up to the Mount of Olives and the Garden of Gethsemane. We were able to get some great pictures of the Temple Mount from this location. There is an ancient Jewish cemetery now located in the spot where the Garden one was. Tradition has it, the Romans cut down the trees in the Garden to make siege engines to destroy the city in 70 A.D.

After the Mount of Olives, we returned to our hotel for lunch because very thing is closed. After 8PM we will go to the Jerusalem Mall and hang out. The city comes back to life after sun down, the end of Shabbat.

Day 6

Now that Patty got that out of her system, I will describe our day today. We got up early and caught a cab to the Jaffa Gate in the Old City. The first thing we did was walk the ramparts of the city wall which were re-constructed by the Ottoman Empire. It provided some great views of the city and Patty was able to get some great pictures there.

Next, we went to the Western (wailing) Wall. Being the eve of Shabbat, it was crowded with  Jews with their heads covered with their Tallits and Teffilin (phylacteries ) on their foreheads and arms. We had Shwarma for lunch in the Jewish quarter. After lunch we went to the Temple Institute, where they have faithfully recreated all the furniture and instruments for Temple worship, including the Great Menorahs, Tables of Showbread and the High Priest's garments.

We saw Hezekiah's Broad Wall, written about in the Bible (Isaiah 22:9-11, 2Chronicles 32:5) and The Cardo - A Roman era boulevard. We walked all the way around the old city walls into Arab East Jerusalem, in attempt to go to the Garden Tomb, but the hours had changed. We got there at noon and they were closed until 2PM. So, we decided to take a cab back to the hotel and take a nap. We will try again tomorrow. After our nap, we went for a drive to see if we could find the Jerusalem Mall. We did find it, but it was closed as well. Everything in this city closes for Shabbat. We did find and take a picture of the new soccer and sports stadium that is mentioned in the Left Behind book series!  Tomorrow we will See the Garden Tomb, The Mount of Olives and the Garden of Gethsemane.