FUN-travel: Holy Land – Dead Sea to Jerusalem, Israel – Day 10
April 10, 2013 by Susan Clarke
The ABC’s of The Holy Land
A = Awesome
B = Bummer
C = Celebration
Trip Day 64 – Wednesday, April 3 –Dead Sea to Jerusalem, Israel – sunny, breezy, high 80’s
- 7:00 – get up
Church of Holy Sepulcher
- A – good cappuccino
- B – breakfast pretty bad like dinner last night w/more not very good service
- 8:30 – take off for Qumran antiquities where Dead Sea scrolls were discovered – since you can’t see them there (they’re in Jerusalem Museum & we saw them on tour in San Diego) we do a drive by and continue on
- 10:20 – arrive Jerusalem
- A – meet Yuval, our guide for next 8 days – my intuition tells me he is going to be great!
- A – check in to Harmony hotel – in the heart of the city, great location – boutique, very nice people
- B – no king bed – only 2 doubles
- A – sister hotel Arthur (only 2weeks new & only 2 blks away) has big bed – they take luggage over
- 11:30 – take taxi to…
- 1st stop – Mt. of Olives – dotted w/sites connected w/last days of Jesus Christ – covered partly in olive trees, cemeteries and churches – superb view of the Old City from summit – start all day walking tour
- 2nd stop – Garden of Gethsemane & Basilica of the Agony – where Jesus was arrested
- 3rd stop – enter Old City of Jerusalem, walk along Via Dolorosa, follow path culminating at Church of Holy Sepulcher – built @ believed site of Christ’s crucifixion, burial & resurrection
- go to underground tunnels
- 2:00 – shopping break
View from Mt.Olive
- 2:30 – ‘Shuk Bites’ – stimulate senses w/aromas, flavors, and sounds of ancient alleyways of Old City
1st bite – lamb kebab pita (restaurant in same family over 300 yrs)
2nd bite – 3 Turkish delight candies (total of 6)
3rd bite – mint tea on rooftop – more great views of Old City
4th bite – hummus & pita
- A – all of the “bites” have been very big & VG!
- 5:00 – finish walk through Old City – areas include Jewish, Arab, Christian & Armenian Quarters
Basilica of the Agony
- stop @ wine shop, buy Israeli wine for room
- C – 5:30 – happy hour @ Arthur hotel – free wine, food & snacks!
- C – free internet too!
- B – biggest bed is queen size & bathroom is teeny tiny – balcony is French style – non-functional but fresh air is nice
- A – there is private patio outside, next to dining area
- A – staff is very cheerful & helpful here too
- A – no dinner, still full from Shuk Bites
Underground Tunnels in Old City
FF – (FUN-fact) – The Dead Sea scrolls were found in 1947 when a Bedouin shepherd boy looking for a lost goat happened upon a cave full of jars. Inside the jars were 190 linen-wrapped scrolls that had been preserved for 2000 years.
More FF – We went to all 14 stations that related to Jesus’ last days in Jerusalem.
Not so FF – We were jammed into a mid-size car for the last ten days. It couldn’t accommodate our luggage in the trunk (front passenger seat was loaded) let alone give us any legroom. My mistake for telling Ali it was okay at the Amman airport when he picked us up. He did say he could change to a minivan. We were supposed to get a larger car in Eilat which never happened, and that car was even smaller.