Israel - Welcome to the Holy Land

Day one:

I had to wake up early for my flight. It didn’t help that it took me a long time to fall asleep so ended up with getting maybe 3-4 hours sleep.

I got to the airport quite early even though I had checked in online. I thought I had done something wrong as for some reason it would not give me a boarding pass for the first plane. Not sure what the issue was but I was given both when I got there.

I was feeling awful because of my cold but managed to get some sleep on the plane. I was impressed with Turkish airlines because although the flight was around three hours we were given breakfast and there was tv to watch movies. Yes I hate plane food but I guess you can’t screw up a sandwich.

Getting to Istanbul the airport is huge. It said my gate was 225 so after walking for 20 minutes it said it changed to 201 so another long walk back. We were then checked for what I think were drugs? Baby Groot even got swabbed! It was at this stage that we had to change gates again to 205, not a long walk but we had to be searched and tested again.

At this stage we should have boarded 30 minutes before. They then decided to let us on but without groups so it took much longer to have anyone settled. We were again given food and I watched another movie.

Arriving at the airport I managed to get through customs quite quickly. I heard some people had been asked a lot of questions as to why they were visiting. The man I saw simply asked me where I was staying.

Friday night is the sabbath for Jewish people so all public transportation and stores close down. Luckily they have a shuttle service where they wait for enough passengers then drive you to the place you are staying.

Unfortunately this hostel is not the best. I am concerned as to how places get genuine reviews as this was voted the best of all hostels in the area. Most staff seemed to be travellers living there. I was so tired I didn’t care so ended up having a sleeping tablet and slept until the morning.

Day two:

I woke up feeling terrible. My nose is still blocked but the sleeping tablet kept me asleep all night. I then took a walk down the road and managed to l get something for lunch.

I ended up staying at my hostel reading for the rest of the day catching up with the blog as it was hot and I felt terrible.

In the late afternoon I started to feel a bit better and decided to go and visit the beach. I got off the bus according to google maps but got lost as you apparently had to walk under train tracks through a tunnel. Luckily I found a couple who were also headed there and showed me the way.

The beach was teeming with people as this was obviously the place to be. There was a boardwalk with lots of different places to eat and drink. The water was nice and warm but with my head cold I decided not to go swimming. My last two days are in Tel Aviv so hope to do some swimming there.

Day two:

I woke up early to go on a tour of the Baha’i gardens. It is quite hot and as it’s a holy place we had to cover the knees and shoulders. I ended up wearing jeans and I was boiling by the end. I need to sort this out and find something alternative to wear when I get to Jerusalem tomorrow.

The gardens were breathtaking. Over nine terraces high they look the same walking down. It is to represent unity and peacefulness. The religion seems very simple that everyone is equal and there is no set clergy or special ceremonies.

Getting to the bottom we were allowed to look inside the temple but not take photos. It was amazing and a peaceful place to pray.

After the tour I managed to buy a new phone charger - broke mine last night. Haifa is a small place and most of the shops were shut so I was amazed I found a phone shop open today.

After cooling down I headed out of buy some postcards - unfortunately not with the gardens. Finger crossed there are more to buy to Jerusalem.

Day three:

I have just checked out of the hostel from the twilight zone. I checked into the place on Friday and was given a bed in the room the ‘volunteers’ or ‘staff’ stayed in. The room was filthy and had all of their things scattered everywhere. Unsure as to why this happened as I saw at least two other rooms unoccupied.

The next morning I was moved to another dorm which I was grateful. I had received smirks from the girl who had moved me and this person continued to act increasingly strange for the rest of my trip. The afternoon / evening I was reading in my room when she suddenly decided to come into my room to use the wifi as it had a better signal.

Now I’ve stayed at more than 10 different places over the past three months and never once had a staff member decide to come and sit in a room where a paying guest was staying. I decided to inform other staff members of this the following morning where I was told to speak to her directly. Again in what universe should a paying guest have to confront a staff member's behavior? I wrongly assumed this was the end of it.

Only to come back from dinner that night to find her again in my room wanting to use the Internet. She had a new guest she had shown where the room was so used this excuse to come in? I asked her if she was sleeping in here in which she became snarky and left. When I left this morning she acted like nothing had happened.

I am making a complaint to Expedia, however, I have learned to always follow your gut. I wanted to check out after the first night but am trying not spend more money then I have to, I should have done in this case.

Anyway off now to Jerusalem - I love their public transport system as I turned up to the main bus station and managed to catch a bus leaving in 40 minutes. In New Zealand there would have probably been one a day.

I got to the hostel and it was 100% better. Not only did I get a lock for my door but also a locker and no random staff members have been in yet to use the wifi.

Also I heard back from Expedia - they have given me a voucher and the hostel apologised for the behaviour.

Day four:

Unfortunately I didn’t get the best sleep as some old ladies in my room decided to talk until almost 1am I have a feeling one has left today so fingers crossed for a better nights sleep.

I also had to wake up early as I had booked a tour of Bethlehem the night before. The hostel I’m staying with also runs a tour company so you can book things at the desk.

We were picked up by a van around 8.30am and were transported to the West Bank. There we met the tour guide and switched to a car as there were on seven of us. He gave us an overview of the area and we were able to take some pictures. He is an Arab Christian and he said that after 2000 the population had dropped significantly and because of this many businesses had closed down. Instead of walking the street tours simply take people to the Church of the Nativity.

We saw the first Bethlehem Gate then went to the Chapel of the Milk Grotto. Legand says that Joseph, Mary and Jesus hid here as they fled and that Mary’s breast milk fell on the floor. The stone then turned white. Women from around the world now come here and drink the powder with milk believing that it will help with infertility issues.

We then headed over to the Church of the Nativity which is quite run down. It is currently under repairs and had taken a long time to get this far. Three groups share the church - the Catholics, Orthodox and Amernins. None can decide on how this can be done so the Palestinian President has taken over with Palestine paying for a lot of the work to be completed.

Walking under to where he was born we also saw the manger. It is a tiny cave like area that is underneath the place where the various groups hold their mass. In the manger area today there was a Catholic priest saying mass who should not have been there. All three groups have a chance for mass each day but it is then reserved for the public to walk through. There is plenty of police in the church that sort out these issues if there are problems.

We then went to Saint Catherine’s Church next door where if you see mass on tv at christmas this is the location shown. Afterwards we were taken to a Christian gift store where I managed to get a gift for a friend. We were also offered mint tea but it was so boiling hot I had to decline which I felt bad about.

We then went back into Israel and I saw this sign. Strange as we went through the checkpoint and no one even looked at our passports. I then went back to my hostel to rest for a few hours and do some washing.

I then headed out around around 4pm for a free tour of the old city. I walked down to the gate for something to eat and got a few strange looks from people. It was because my teeshirt had spaghetti straps and Jerusalem is quite a conservative city. People tell me it’s nothing like this in Tel Aviv.

As I was early for that tour I went to a market stall to buy some postcards and stamps. Unfortunately I was ripped off. I ended up paying double what I should have. You see I didn’t think someone would inflate stamp prices. I’m not too upset but know now to question prices more.

We started at tour at the Jaffa Gate which is not named after the orange but that the direction goes to Jaffa. We walked through the tiny streets and it was amazing.

We saw archaeological sites that have been dug up which were only possible after the destruction of the six day war.

We then went through the Jewish Area and saw the western or wailing wall. We noticed that the section for men was much bigger yet far more women were praying. The reason they pray there as the holy stone that they believe started the world is now under the dome of the rock. Our guide was quite good and explained a lot about the Jewish faith and the many different factions within it.

We then headed off to the Arab quarter where the biggest population of people live in the old city. There were a lot of markets there and as a group didn’t get harassed as much.

We ended the tour at the church of the septour. This is the most holy place for Christians as they believe Jesus was killed and buried at this spot. Of course the various churches share the space inside. Apparently protestants don’t believe he was buried there as they say as he was Jewish he would not have been buried in the city walls. However, they don’t realise that the walls have constantly changed and when he was buried there was no wall where the church is now.

The tour was quite informative and it was amazing to see how much diversity there is in Jerusalem.

Days five:

I woke up after a much better night’s sleep. I headed over to my tour of the kotel tunnels which is beneath the western wall. It was quite hot today and I was glad to only have to walk though a bit of it.

We started the tour with a model of the area. The area is so special because the stone mentioned in the Old Testament where Abraham almost sacrificed his son is under the dome of h Rock. The first temple was built over this stone. Once it was destroyed King Herod completely rebuilt the foundation of the area and built the second temple over it.

As we all know from history after it was destroyed by the Romans around 68ce the Muslims then built the dome over the old second temple where it is now. Yesterday on my tour I asked why people had just not taken the rock back during one of the wars but learned that orthodox Jewish people are waiting for the rock to return to them through their next messiah.

This is important because it explains why people worship at the western or wailing wall. They are facing the rock which is under the dome. Walking through the tunnel we reached the holy of holy - they spot in the wall where it is directly facing the rock.

We walked across the whole wall underground and it was amazing to think that 2000 years ago people walked on these very stones. Also shows how much archeologists had to go through to get to this layer of history.

The stone that make the wall are around 1 ton each. The buggiest stone 517 ton iis located in the wall section north of Wilson's Arch, is 13.6 meters (44.6 feet) long and 3 metres (9.8 feet) high and has an estimated width of 3.3 meters (10.8 feet). (Thanks Wikipedia). This is considered one of the biggest building stones in the world.

We then continued along and saw a section that was unfinished. They excavated a large stone placed beside a large gap where it should have been placed. It’s almost like the person had gone on a break and never came back to finish his job.

We also saw an animation of how people managed to create and move such big rocks. We then walked through an aqueduct the lead onto one of many pools of water. So clear it is safe to drink.

We finished the tour and I decided to buy something I had seen the day before. I first stopped in a place for lunch and learned my place in the food chain. Ordered a drink and food before another man walked in how was served before me - I even had to ask twice for a drink.

I was unsuccessful in my purchase but bought something for someone else. I then decided to go home but chose to take a taxi as the heat must have been in the late 30s.

We had a few new people move into my dorm this afternoon including what I like to call a happy clappy Christian. She invited everyone to some prayer meeting on Friday. She then wanted to know everyone’s name again and when I attempted to explain to her I am terrible name she told me it was a form of respect to remember names. I found this both irritating and funny as half the time I can’t remember my name.

Day six:

I had to wake up early today as I am off on a trip to the Dead Sea and Masada. It said to be outside of my hostel at 8.30, however, it was a bit late. Luckily there was another lady also waiting for a tour and said they were late the day before so I stopped worrying. We eventually were picked up about 15 minutes later.

We started travelling along out of Jerusalem towards the Dead Sea. The tour guide was very good and explained a lot of the differences in landscape. He also shows how technology had transformed the area. For example Israel was also affected by the drought that a lot of Africa suffered in the 80s-90s. As a response they created a way to turn salt water into fresh water so they are not faced with this again.

We then stopped at the factory where they make the products from the Dead Sea. It was an excuse to sell us products but I had wanted to buy something there so was not disappointed.

We then headed to Masada and the heat was terrible already. Luckily we didn’t have to walk up (in fact the stairs are blocked most of the day) so we went up on a gondola which I noticed was manufactured in Switzerland.

We got to the top and the heat was intense, however, there was a breeze and I bought an umbrella with me to provide extra shade. It truly was amazing to be up there. I was amazed that anyone would choose to build a castle up there.

We looked around at the structures and everything was quite detailed like many places were in Jerusalem. In fact there was even ruins of a swimming pool. They had a system to collect water from the rain but they needed a lot more for the pool. As a consequence they used man and donkey power to bring it up. I don’t blame King Herod for building it as it was around 40c up there.

We were only up at the top for around an hour but we were all exhausted. Getting down we went for lunch and of course I had left my wallet on the bus, luckily the bus driver was nearby and I managed to get it. Unfortunately lunch was not good. I bought what I thought was lemonade - most people would when seeing the lemons on the front. It was in fact grapefruit juice. I then had accidentally chosen this salad that had coriander in it - yuk! I then admitted defeat and went to buy an ice cream and different drink.

We then headed to the Dead Sea for a swim. Once I got there I found out it was 43c and had been warned a few days before the water was only slightly cooler. So I made the right choice and decided to stay out. When someone asked the driver and guide if they were going in they told us they only swam in the winter!

A lot of the people who did go in said it was a bit overrated as it was so hot and the salt caused a few to break out with a rash. We then headed back to the city.

I was so tired when I got back but could not face cooking dinner so signed up for a hummus making class. It was a lot of fun and I must say mine was quite nice and it didn’t need a lot added to it.

Day seven:

Today everything closes early as it’s the sabbath which also includes all public transport and shops. I decided to head to the Israeli Museum as I can use tomorrow as a rest day. I went to the market first to buy some food as all the stores would be closed the following day. It was very busy, I swear everyone was out and buying things.

I then went to the museum which luckily had a bus directly to it from the bus stop outside my hostel. The museum was quiet as I’m guessing most were preparing for tonight. I saw the most amazing model of Jerusalem showing what the city looked like during the second temple period. It had been created next to a hotel but became so popular it was moved in 1000 pieces to where it is now.

I then went and saw what I think was the Dead Sea scrolls. They are the oldest versions of the Old Testament ever found. It was discovered by some Bedouin people in the 1940s who then sold them. Luckily the University was able to get a hold of them. The museum closed at 2pm so I then quickly looked around the archeology section of the building.

I then headed back to my hostel and everything was closing down. I had signed up for the sabbath dinner at 8pm so had a rest before hand. That afternoon it did get strange as outside I could hear a loud horn going off for a while. I thought it was maybe a military alarm but as it turned out it was the sign that the sabbath had started and to stop and go home.

Dinner was nice and we went through some of the traditions Jewish people hold before they eat. Dinner was nice and I then went for an early night.

Day eight:

Unfortunately I forgot to set up alarm so slept through breakfast. Luckily I had stocked up the day before and ended up having Oreos.

I spent the rest of the day sleeping and watching tv. I can see why they have a whole day of rest. Maybe other countries need to adopt this to ensure everyone gets some time off.

I then finished my day with my favourite hobby - doing laundry! I did think about going out for ice cream but the shops didn’t open until after 8.30-9pm so I didn’t bother as I wanted to go back and sleep.

Day nine:

Today I visited Yad Vashem Israel’s national holocaust memorial. The area has a museum, gardens and memorials in one place.

I was struck by how busy it was for the equivilant of Monday morning. The first part is the museum and took a number of hours to get through. I later learned that the design of the building was made to make people feel uncomfortable. The subject matter alone should do this, howeber, just walking through you get lost and frustrated. There are so many different rooms and halls to go through by the end you feel exhausted.

What I admired about the museum is that the information goes into so much more detail then any others I have been in. Many simply chart the rise and fall of the Nazi’s and Hitler then focus on the death camps with Alchwitz / Birkenau being the main focus. At this museum all aspects are addressed. The other focus is identifying as many people as possible. For example there are photos of people murdered by the killing squads and we have the items found in their pockets with their names. This humanises the museum and makes it less abstract. For me it made me angry, even more so then I have been. You get to the end and there is a room filled with files in each person they can identify who was murdered. When you are in Israel almost everyone is Jewish and you can’t not see them and wonder if they had family members who had been killed. Even in my dorm there is a lady from Canada whose Grandfather was one of nine children and the only person in his whole family to survive. If he had as well died she would never had exisited.

After reaching the end of the museum I walked through the grounds which were so peaceful. Many trees have been planted to honour those who saved Jewish people in the war. There was also an amazing monument with an eternal flame for all of those who were killed.

I then bought a heavy book from the bookstore which I’m not sure how I’m going to fit in my bag. I also had a nice conversation with the lady in the book store. She was about to join the army and explained to me how the system worked. Although she would do a few weeks of boot camp she was then going to be trained in IT and computers. She also explained to me how although all of the soldiers travelling on the busses etc had large guns there were not loaded. I have at no stage felt unsafe but did wonder what the situation was. As it turns out the bullets as in another bag they do have on them at all times.

I then went back to my hostel and repacked my bags again. I’m still travelling with my rucksack and backpack and after more than two months of travel both have little space left. Another issue is Israeli security when leaving the country. I’ve read online that people are given a number to show what security level they are and searched at the airport. Now I have done nothing but be a tourist so I’m not too worried. However, I know some of my souvenirs have raised questions before. Mainly my magnets, coins (what am I supposed to do with them all!?!) and last time my music boxes. Think the wind up ones. So I managed to get all the stuff in my bags but I will repack in Tel Aviv to but the above items in my check in luggage.

Day ten:

On the road again - this time to Tel Aviv. My hostel is quite organised and has two other locations in Israel so they have a shuttle between each place. This was brilliant as I used it to get to my new hotel without having to navigate public transport with my bags. I discovered Israel have their own version of Uber (like Athens which also utilises the normal taxi drivers) so I could get to my hostel.

I then decided to hit the beach first as I wanted to see how warm the water was. It was amazing - just like a bathtub. I made a silly mistake of wearing my shoes and of course got my feet dirty so ended up with somewhat wet feet for a bit of the afternoon.

Check in was at 2pm so I left my luggage and headed to the Carmel Market. My name is everywhere and people are either shocked my name is Carmel or think I am Jewish. A few people understand the Baha’i’s use of the name but most of the time do not.

I then got to the market and had a look around. This one was much better than the one in the Old city as no one harassed you to buy anything. I ended up buying a few more magnets and looked at the amazing stalls.

It was around 1.30pm at this stage and was going downhill as it was so hot and there were so many people. Luckily I was able to use my app to get a taxi back as there was no way I could have walked any longer in the heat.

After checking and resting for a few hours I headed back to the beach to have a swim. I can’t tell you how amazing the water was. New Zealand has some hot days but often the water is still cold - this was just amazing. I had a great time except for being bitten by a fish or two. As it turns out they have the same issue I faced in Athens. The beach was interesting as the lifeguards have a loud speaker system to tell people off. I could not understand as it was all in Hebrew but I think a few lost people were called out for.

Day eleven:  

What can I say, in my in my own room and I ended up sleeping in quite late. After Skyping my family I ended up falling back to sleep.  

After finally managing to get up and getting some lunch I went back and spent some time at the beach (in the shade) reading my book.

I had planned to go back out in the early evening and going swimming. However, I could not deal with the idea of dealing with wet togs in my bag as I was back to London tomorrow.

I somehow managed to get everything in my bag and went to sleep. I am looking forward to getting back to the uk for a few reasons. One being that I’m going to send some of my stuff to my Aunt”s house so I don’t have to lug it to Cornwall in a week. Luckily postage is quite cheap if sending it in the country.