This was a famulous trip! And that doesn't even begin to describe it accurately.
First of all, spending 2 weeks with my dear friend, Brenda was great! We got along perfectly, our morning "getting ready" schedules meshed great, we laughed, we talked, we shared very memorable events. It was wonderful sharing all of this with her.
Secondly, the weather was great! It was a little warmer than we had anticipated but we only had one morning where it misted a little bit. The rest of the time was gorgeous!
Thirdly, this was a wonderful group to tour with. They all welcomed me in with open arms. I felt like I had known them for years. Right off the bat, Greg and I started bantering back and forth - that made it alot of fun. His wife, Kris, was very nice and we chatted a few times. Stan and Linda, Ralph and Kathy, Sharon and Gary, and several others made a point to get to know me. I really liked Sharon - we really hit it off. She is very bubbly and energetic. We just seemed to take to each other.
Lastly, the trip itself was very cool! In Egypt, I loved the pyramids. Going inside one was awesome. Riding a camel was quite the experience. Cairo, though, was a disappointment. 18 million people live there so it was very crowded. 96% live in apartments. It is run down and dirty - they just throw trash everywhere! There are no traffic lights that work and basically no traffic laws - everyone drives where ever and how ever they please. I would hate to drive a car there!
Going to Israel was fantastic. Most of the hotels we stayed in were very nice. Our guide, George, was awesome, a lot of fun, and extremely knowedgable. He made it quite a learning experience. He also had an arsenal of jokes which was great and kept us laughing.
Some of my most memorable places in Israel:
1- boating on the Sea of Galilee - knowing that Jesus had been here: preaching and walking on this very lake.
2- walking the Via Dolorosa - realizing this was the path that Jesus walked, carrying the cross on His way to being crucified: that He did it for ME!!
3- Singing "The Old Rugged Cross" in the very room Jesus was held the night before he was crucified, knowing that it is 99% likely the correct place.
If you ever get a chance to go to the Holy Land... GO! It will be the experience of a lifetime!
Thanks for reading my blog and sharing in this experience with me.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Holy Land Pilgrimage - Day 13
Saturday, March 14:
We got up around 6-6:15 a.m. We met everyone in the dining room around 7:00 a.m. for breakfast. It was one of the best breakfasts we have had on this trip! This was a great hotel!
We got on another bus and were headed to the airport a little before 8:00 a.m. Going through passport control was a breeze. Going through security??? Well.... I "beeped" when I went through the metal detector - so I got "wanded" and "frisked"!! It was by a female security guard but she still touched just about everywhere! Then my carry-on bag came through the detector and they pulled me aside and searched it! I think my flat iron caught their attention. They thoroughly searched my bag. I had to repack it when they finished! Brenda's bags also got searched! I think I was the only female to go through a body search. I had on the exact same thing as I did when going through the Tel Aviv security the day before and had no problems there so I am not sure what was going on??? Basically, though, all the security and control was easy - no lines at all. We got to our gate about 45 minutes before it was to start boarding.
Brenda and I looked through a couple of duty free stores. I bought some german chocolate bars and Brandy filled chocolate bites.
We boarded on time and after a short delay, we were on our way back to the states. Brenda and I again were seated together in the middle seats. She had the aisle seat. People on this flight were very loud and extremely rude! The guy in front of me kept wiggling and I mean BIG time wiggling! It shook my TV monitor. Then there were 4 friends seated behind us who spoke another language and they talked alot and very loudly! Then there were 2 babies a couple of rows ahead of us who cried alot - in fact, one of them was never quiet! The flight was 8 1/2 hours long. The lunch was not very good and the dinner "snack" was even worse.
When we arrived in Chicago, we went to get a bite to eat at McDonalds. But before that we had to go through passport control, get our luggage, to through customs, and give them back our luggage. We then had to take a train to a different terminal and go through security again (last security checkpoint - yea!). Our flight from Chicago to St. Louis was short and, thankfully, uneventful! The plane was so small compared to others we had been on. It was only 3 seats across. We got our luggage quickly, walked up to the departure area, and the church bus was there waiting to take us back to the church. Charlie, Brenda's husband, was not there to pick us up so we had to call him. He and his daughter, Katie were out eating dinner - can't believe they went without us!
Before he got there, we started saying our goodbyes. That was very sad - I had met some very nice people on this trip and they all made me feel like I had been friends with them for a long time! It was a great trip!
We got up around 6-6:15 a.m. We met everyone in the dining room around 7:00 a.m. for breakfast. It was one of the best breakfasts we have had on this trip! This was a great hotel!
We got on another bus and were headed to the airport a little before 8:00 a.m. Going through passport control was a breeze. Going through security??? Well.... I "beeped" when I went through the metal detector - so I got "wanded" and "frisked"!! It was by a female security guard but she still touched just about everywhere! Then my carry-on bag came through the detector and they pulled me aside and searched it! I think my flat iron caught their attention. They thoroughly searched my bag. I had to repack it when they finished! Brenda's bags also got searched! I think I was the only female to go through a body search. I had on the exact same thing as I did when going through the Tel Aviv security the day before and had no problems there so I am not sure what was going on??? Basically, though, all the security and control was easy - no lines at all. We got to our gate about 45 minutes before it was to start boarding.
Brenda and I looked through a couple of duty free stores. I bought some german chocolate bars and Brandy filled chocolate bites.
We boarded on time and after a short delay, we were on our way back to the states. Brenda and I again were seated together in the middle seats. She had the aisle seat. People on this flight were very loud and extremely rude! The guy in front of me kept wiggling and I mean BIG time wiggling! It shook my TV monitor. Then there were 4 friends seated behind us who spoke another language and they talked alot and very loudly! Then there were 2 babies a couple of rows ahead of us who cried alot - in fact, one of them was never quiet! The flight was 8 1/2 hours long. The lunch was not very good and the dinner "snack" was even worse.
When we arrived in Chicago, we went to get a bite to eat at McDonalds. But before that we had to go through passport control, get our luggage, to through customs, and give them back our luggage. We then had to take a train to a different terminal and go through security again (last security checkpoint - yea!). Our flight from Chicago to St. Louis was short and, thankfully, uneventful! The plane was so small compared to others we had been on. It was only 3 seats across. We got our luggage quickly, walked up to the departure area, and the church bus was there waiting to take us back to the church. Charlie, Brenda's husband, was not there to pick us up so we had to call him. He and his daughter, Katie were out eating dinner - can't believe they went without us!
Before he got there, we started saying our goodbyes. That was very sad - I had met some very nice people on this trip and they all made me feel like I had been friends with them for a long time! It was a great trip!
Holy Land Pilgrimage - Day 12
Friday, March 13:
Even Though we had the option to sleep in, Brenda and I went ahead and got up around 5:30 a.m. We told Sharon, another gal in our group, we were going to breakfast around 6:50 a.m. and she said she would meet us down there. We sat and talked for almost 1 1/2 hours - it was quite delightful! The three of us decided to go to a couple of stores. Since we had packed the night before, we had about 2 hours of free time this morning. We went to a bazaar and a pottery store. The owner of the pottery store told us a bit about herself and her pottery. She suggested buying the signed pottery. Brenda and Sharon both purchased an item.
When we got back to the hotel, we got some bad news: Marsha had fallen in a store and had hit her head on the floor. She walked back to the hotel and was fine. But when she reached her room, she passed out. George, our guide, immediately arranged to take her to the clinic a few blocks away. While they went there, we went on to our room , set our luggage outside the door to be picked up at 10:30 a.m., and checked out. We walked over to the grocery store because there was a sign for a dentist's office that I wanted a photo of.
When we got back to the hotel, we stood around and chatted with a few others for a few minutes. Brother David, then, gathered us all together for an update on Marsha: He said she was fine but the doctor wanted her to go to the hospital to get a cat scan just to be safe. They arranged to taker her to a Christian/French hospital and to get a cat scan done immediately since we had a flight to catch. We were supposed to have gone to "the upper room" today but that had to be cancelled. We very quickly loaded the bus and headed to the hospital. Nassar, our bus driver, drove us all to the hospital, they did the cat scan, and said it all looked fine and she could fly home. Yea!
We headed on to the airport and said our goodbyes to Nassar, the driver. George went into the airport with us. We went through the first security area with our bags - they asked us questions about where we had been, did anyone give us gifts, had we stayed with our group the whole time, etc. Several of us had to have our luggage manually searched including Brenda and myself. We went over to the security station where they asked if we had any books in our bags. We did. They wanted to know where we got them. Brenda had to open one of her bags for them to look but they only glanced in it. Then we went to check our luggage in. The agent was able to seat Brenda and I together all the way to St. Louis. We were happy about that.
We had to go througha second security area where they x-rayed our carry-on bags and we had to walk through a metal detector. The next stop was passport control where they took our passports, stamped them, and basically said nothing to us. We all walked to Concourse C to make sure we knew where it was. At that point, we had about 1 1/2 hours before boarding began. We had not eaten lunch, so we grabbed a bite to eat- most of us went to McDonalds. Brenda and I also got ice cream - by then... we were stuffed!!
We walked around the shops a bit and went to our gate. We boarded shortly after we got there. The flight was not full, so Brenda and I were able to move to the middle of 4 seats that we had all to ourselves. We were flying to Frankfort, Germany where we will spend the night. Our flights was going to be about 4 hours long. We had dinner on the flight but it wasn't very good so we were glad we had grabbed a late lunch! The flight was uneventful. We did some puzzles, I snoozed a little. Brenda stayed awake the whole time - she said she deserved a "mark on the wall" for that - she usually falls asleep whenever she sits very long.
When we arrived in Franfort, we didn't have to get our luggage, so we went on through passport control and had no problems there. Mia, an agent, met us at the baggage area near the exit and took us to the bus which transported us to our hotel which was only a few minutes from the airport. We checked in and went to our rooms. We needed an adapter so we went to the front desk to get that. Marsha and Glen, a couple in our tour, were eating in the dining room so we stopped and chatted for a few minutes. Kathy and Ralph, another couple, also stopped by. We went on to our rooms and were in bed by 9:45 p.m. On the itinerary, our flight was not supposed to get in until 10:00 p.m. - it was an error, we actually got in at 8:00 p.m. That was nice; now we can get a good nights sleep. The hotel we stayed at was very modern and very nice!
Even Though we had the option to sleep in, Brenda and I went ahead and got up around 5:30 a.m. We told Sharon, another gal in our group, we were going to breakfast around 6:50 a.m. and she said she would meet us down there. We sat and talked for almost 1 1/2 hours - it was quite delightful! The three of us decided to go to a couple of stores. Since we had packed the night before, we had about 2 hours of free time this morning. We went to a bazaar and a pottery store. The owner of the pottery store told us a bit about herself and her pottery. She suggested buying the signed pottery. Brenda and Sharon both purchased an item.
When we got back to the hotel, we got some bad news: Marsha had fallen in a store and had hit her head on the floor. She walked back to the hotel and was fine. But when she reached her room, she passed out. George, our guide, immediately arranged to take her to the clinic a few blocks away. While they went there, we went on to our room , set our luggage outside the door to be picked up at 10:30 a.m., and checked out. We walked over to the grocery store because there was a sign for a dentist's office that I wanted a photo of.
When we got back to the hotel, we stood around and chatted with a few others for a few minutes. Brother David, then, gathered us all together for an update on Marsha: He said she was fine but the doctor wanted her to go to the hospital to get a cat scan just to be safe. They arranged to taker her to a Christian/French hospital and to get a cat scan done immediately since we had a flight to catch. We were supposed to have gone to "the upper room" today but that had to be cancelled. We very quickly loaded the bus and headed to the hospital. Nassar, our bus driver, drove us all to the hospital, they did the cat scan, and said it all looked fine and she could fly home. Yea!
We headed on to the airport and said our goodbyes to Nassar, the driver. George went into the airport with us. We went through the first security area with our bags - they asked us questions about where we had been, did anyone give us gifts, had we stayed with our group the whole time, etc. Several of us had to have our luggage manually searched including Brenda and myself. We went over to the security station where they asked if we had any books in our bags. We did. They wanted to know where we got them. Brenda had to open one of her bags for them to look but they only glanced in it. Then we went to check our luggage in. The agent was able to seat Brenda and I together all the way to St. Louis. We were happy about that.
We had to go througha second security area where they x-rayed our carry-on bags and we had to walk through a metal detector. The next stop was passport control where they took our passports, stamped them, and basically said nothing to us. We all walked to Concourse C to make sure we knew where it was. At that point, we had about 1 1/2 hours before boarding began. We had not eaten lunch, so we grabbed a bite to eat- most of us went to McDonalds. Brenda and I also got ice cream - by then... we were stuffed!!
We walked around the shops a bit and went to our gate. We boarded shortly after we got there. The flight was not full, so Brenda and I were able to move to the middle of 4 seats that we had all to ourselves. We were flying to Frankfort, Germany where we will spend the night. Our flights was going to be about 4 hours long. We had dinner on the flight but it wasn't very good so we were glad we had grabbed a late lunch! The flight was uneventful. We did some puzzles, I snoozed a little. Brenda stayed awake the whole time - she said she deserved a "mark on the wall" for that - she usually falls asleep whenever she sits very long.
When we arrived in Franfort, we didn't have to get our luggage, so we went on through passport control and had no problems there. Mia, an agent, met us at the baggage area near the exit and took us to the bus which transported us to our hotel which was only a few minutes from the airport. We checked in and went to our rooms. We needed an adapter so we went to the front desk to get that. Marsha and Glen, a couple in our tour, were eating in the dining room so we stopped and chatted for a few minutes. Kathy and Ralph, another couple, also stopped by. We went on to our rooms and were in bed by 9:45 p.m. On the itinerary, our flight was not supposed to get in until 10:00 p.m. - it was an error, we actually got in at 8:00 p.m. That was nice; now we can get a good nights sleep. The hotel we stayed at was very modern and very nice!
Holy Land Pilgrimage - Day 11 Part 2
Thursday March 12:
Next we went to the Palace of Ciaphas. It has been proven that this is most likely his palace (99% sure ). So that means this probably where Peter denied Jesus 3 times and houses the dungeon where Jesus was held the night before His crucifixtion. 
We were able to go down to the "cell" where Jesus was held. We sang "The Old Rugged Cross" while down there - wow, what an emotional experience! Now whenever I hear that song, I remember being down in that dungeon and it evokes quite the feelings!
This is the hole where the guards would look down to check on Jesus and lower food or water to prisoners.
These ruins are from the 1st century. These are the steps Jesus would have walked if, indeed, He was held here.
The Gospels tells us three different people asked Peter, a disciple of Jesus, whether he knew the person who was on trial inside the home of Caiaphas, the high priest. Each time Peter said he didn't know the man. Jesus had predicted Peter would deny him. After the third denial, Peter heard a rooster crowing. He then recalled what Jesus had said: You will deny me three times - after the third time, you'll hear a rooster crow.
The church of St. Peter in Gallicantu (which, translated, means "crowing of the cock") commemorates the events with these statues. Note the rooster at the very top of the picture.
Before we left Mt. Zion, we went to a lookout point. George pointed out several sights that we had already visited.
The area where they say Judas hung himself.
Brenda and myself with Jerusalem in the background.
We then headed toward Bethlehem and just outside the wall, we stopped for lunch. Brenda and I once again each bought something different and shared it (Felafel and Schwarma) along with fries and a drink. After lunch we went into Bethlehem. George, our guide, let Brother Daved take the reins and he had no trouble getting in. The walls that surround Bethlehem are quite something. It is controlled by the Palestinians and is considered part of the West Bank.
Our first stop was the Church of the Nativity. The Church of the Nativity is one of the oldest continuously operating churches in the world. The structure is built over the cave that tradition marks as the birthplace of Jesus, and thus it is considered sacred by Christians. While we were in the main hall, George made us laugh. A security guard and a priest got upset at that; our punishment was we were asked to leave and come back later more reverently. We felt that was a bit harsh but did as asked. The Door of Humility was made smaller because people would ride their horses in through the door and around the church which was unacceptable. If you look closely at the door in the 2nd picture, you can see the outline of the original door.
Again, like other churches we have visited, this one was very ornately decorated!
We went down some stairs into the Grotto of the Nativity. This silver star, beneath the altar in the Grotto of the Nativity, marks the spot believed to be the birthplace of Jesus. While down there, we sang "Away in the Manger" - again... a very moving experience.
From the Church, we headed to the Shepherds Field. this is supposed to be where the angel told the shepherds about the birth of Jesus. The roads descending to the east of Bethlehem lead through the mostly Christian village of Beit Sahour, which includes the Shepherds' Fields: the fields identified since ancient times with the shepherds who saw the Star of Nativity. Of course, there is a church there: Church of the Shepherd's field. In a grotto there, we had a short devotional and sang some Christmas songs.
We then headed back to the hotel to freshen up before dinner at 6:30 p.m. After dinner, a group of us went back to Abrahams to do some more shopping. It was very enjoyable chatting along the way and in the store with some of the others. Back at the hotel, Brenda and I packed up and were in bed by 10:30 p.m.
We viewed the King David Memorial. The Tomb of David is a much-revered site on Mount Zion in Jerusalem that has been variously owned and jealously guarded by Christians, Muslims and Jews throughout its history. Today it is a Jewish holy site. Despite this site's long association with King David, it is highly unlikely that this is actually his burial place. The Bible records that David was buried on the eastern hill in the City of David (1 Kings 2:10), which is on the other side of Jerusalem. Our tour guide, Brother David, posed with the statue of King David.
Next we went to the Palace of Ciaphas. It has been proven that this is most likely his palace (99% sure ). So that means this probably where Peter denied Jesus 3 times and houses the dungeon where Jesus was held the night before His crucifixtion. We were able to go down to the "cell" where Jesus was held. We sang "The Old Rugged Cross" while down there - wow, what an emotional experience! Now whenever I hear that song, I remember being down in that dungeon and it evokes quite the feelings!This is the hole where the guards would look down to check on Jesus and lower food or water to prisoners. These ruins are from the 1st century. These are the steps Jesus would have walked if, indeed, He was held here.
The Gospels tells us three different people asked Peter, a disciple of Jesus, whether he knew the person who was on trial inside the home of Caiaphas, the high priest. Each time Peter said he didn't know the man. Jesus had predicted Peter would deny him. After the third denial, Peter heard a rooster crowing. He then recalled what Jesus had said: You will deny me three times - after the third time, you'll hear a rooster crow.
The church of St. Peter in Gallicantu (which, translated, means "crowing of the cock") commemorates the events with these statues. Note the rooster at the very top of the picture.
Before we left Mt. Zion, we went to a lookout point. George pointed out several sights that we had already visited.The area where they say Judas hung himself.Brenda and myself with Jerusalem in the background.We then headed toward Bethlehem and just outside the wall, we stopped for lunch. Brenda and I once again each bought something different and shared it (Felafel and Schwarma) along with fries and a drink. After lunch we went into Bethlehem. George, our guide, let Brother Daved take the reins and he had no trouble getting in. The walls that surround Bethlehem are quite something. It is controlled by the Palestinians and is considered part of the West Bank.Our first stop was the Church of the Nativity. The Church of the Nativity is one of the oldest continuously operating churches in the world. The structure is built over the cave that tradition marks as the birthplace of Jesus, and thus it is considered sacred by Christians. While we were in the main hall, George made us laugh. A security guard and a priest got upset at that; our punishment was we were asked to leave and come back later more reverently. We felt that was a bit harsh but did as asked. The Door of Humility was made smaller because people would ride their horses in through the door and around the church which was unacceptable. If you look closely at the door in the 2nd picture, you can see the outline of the original door. Again, like other churches we have visited, this one was very ornately decorated!
We went down some stairs into the Grotto of the Nativity. This silver star, beneath the altar in the Grotto of the Nativity, marks the spot believed to be the birthplace of Jesus. While down there, we sang "Away in the Manger" - again... a very moving experience.From the Church, we headed to the Shepherds Field. this is supposed to be where the angel told the shepherds about the birth of Jesus. The roads descending to the east of Bethlehem lead through the mostly Christian village of Beit Sahour, which includes the Shepherds' Fields: the fields identified since ancient times with the shepherds who saw the Star of Nativity. Of course, there is a church there: Church of the Shepherd's field. In a grotto there, we had a short devotional and sang some Christmas songs.We then headed back to the hotel to freshen up before dinner at 6:30 p.m. After dinner, a group of us went back to Abrahams to do some more shopping. It was very enjoyable chatting along the way and in the store with some of the others. Back at the hotel, Brenda and I packed up and were in bed by 10:30 p.m.
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