FUN-travel: Holy Land – Dead Sea to Jerusalem, Israel – Day 10
April 10, 2013 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Holy Land – Dead Sea to Jerusalem, Israel – Day 10
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.
FUN-travel: Holy Land – Mitspe Ramon to Dead Sea, Israel – Day 9
April 9, 2013 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Holy Land – Mitspe Ramon to Dead Sea, Israel – Day 9
The ABC’s of The Holy Land
A = Awesome
B = Bummer
C = Celebration
Trip Day 63 – Tuesday, April 2 – Mitspe Ramon to Dead Sea, Israel – sunny, hazy, breezy – high 80’s
- A – 7:00 – wake up & can see crater! air quality mysteriously cleared
- B – breakfast doesn’t start until 7:30 – only powder coffee in room – order milk from room service, not hot!
- A – 7:45 – cappuccino really good in dining room – really nice spread – make egg salad & tuna fish sandwiches (still kosher, can’t have meat & cheese together)
- 9:00 – check out & take off
- 11:00 – arrive Isrotel Ganim Dead Sea to drop luggage
Northern Palace Wall
- 1st stop – 12:00 – Masada – isolated palatial fortress on plateau 1,300 ft above banks of Dead Sea – to get there you either take a cable car or walk up steep snake path which takes 45 to 60 mins
- 2000’ long & 900’ wide – 2nd century BC – then enlarged & reinforced by Herod the Great who added 2 luxurious palaces
- Northern Palace Complex includes…
- A – Hanging Palace over 90’ high – Herod’s private residence built on 3 levels tiered on edge of mountain top, middle is circular hall used for entertaining, lower had bathhouse
- Western Palace includes…
- rooms for guests, lots of mosaics & frescos – also has hot baths, huge cisterns for water, commandant’s quarters & the oldest synagogue
- 1:30 – drive back to hotel
Bathhouse Floor
- 2nd stop – 2:30 – arrive Isrotel Ganim Dead Sea
- 2:45 – head to Dead Sea to swim & rub therapeutic mud on body
- B – have to buy mud – thought it was along the bank
- 4:00 – beer break & shopping – Ahava makes best Dead Sea skin products
- B – internet charge – 1 hr for consecutive 60 mins = $7.50
- 5:30 – nature walk to Ein Bokek spring – natural spring in desert w/waterfall – need to walk in the stream to do that, so cut walk short – reality is, this is not a tourist spot, filled w/ locals
- 6:15 – return to hotel
- 7:00 – dinner included – not very good buffet
Dead Sea
FF – (FUN-fact) – The Dead Sea is actually a lake with half lying in Jordan, half in Israel. At 1,348 feet below sea level it’s the lowest point on earth.
More FF – Masada made UNESCO World Heritage List in 2001. The camps, fortifications, and assault ramp at its base constitute the most complete surviving ancient Romans siege system in the world.
Not so FF – I could not believe that the Isrotel hotels today and yesterday were remotely related. The room wasn’t that bad but the service and food were horrible here. We are on the water and there is no outdoor patio connected to the hotel or room balcony.