Not the first time I have an excellent flight with Turkish Airlines. The inflight service is perfect. Which other airline offers a hot meal on a short haul flight nowadays. Every seat on the aircraft has a screen with all kind of entertainment. @Turkish, hope that's enough advertising for a free flight.
03.09.17Arrival at Ben Gurion Airport at around half past two in the morning. Following a monstruous gangway we arrive at customs. The procedure does not take too long. A sherut (small bus or shared taxi) is about to depart. We jump on and pay about 16 USD per person. The trip to Jerusalem takes about one hour....Another hour to drop off all passengers at their destination. Hotel Palatin is located at the center of the city. After a short sleep we have our first proper Israeli breakfast. A buffet with cabbage, tomato and other salads, olives, different sorts of cream cheeses, pickled herring and tuna and of course coffee, butter, jam, cereals and breads. The walk to the old town lasts about 20 minutes. You easily get lost in the oriental medina with its narrow alleys. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is not easy to find. Lots of pilgrims inside, all sort of shrines where people pray. It is busy like in a Hindu or Buddhist temple. The muslim quarter is one big market. Our last highlight of the day is the Western Wall. We pass x-ray and security check to get to the holiest place of the Jews. The wall is 15 to 20 meters high, consists of blocks of stone, one to two meters in diameter. There is a sector for men and one for women. Not too many people there on that Sunday afternoon. Later in the day we have dinner in the city center. An Italian style restaurant. The food is somehow different to Italian food. Fairly expensive for what we get. At least there are some music bands playing.
04.09.17Today's plan is to visit Temple Mount. As we arrive at the gate, it is closed. Strange. Closed on a Monday morning. Will be open tomorrow according to what people say. We have to change plans. Rush through the old town to Damascus gate. We take a bus to Bethlehem. Visit Palestine. The bus stops at the border. A huge wall separates Jerusalem from Bethlehem. We walk through a maze of corridors and get to the other end. Surrounded by touts we try to find a bus to town. Impossible. We have to take a cab. At Bethlehem we visit the Church of the Nativity, a pilgrim's highlight. Visitors can enter the cave where Jesus is born and stay there for a couple of minutes. A 14 jagged star marks the spot of birth. I feel a bit dizzy. Somewhat later a taxi driver offers a ride to the monastery Mar Saba for 20 USD. On the way out of the city we stop at one of Banksy's famous mural paintings, the "Flower Thrower". A small road leads to the desert. After half an hour we stop in front of the monastery, built on a cliff above a canyon. We walk down to the river and back up again by 40 degrees celsius outside temperature. Only men can enter the monastery. The Greek orthodox monk, who opens the door, is very friendly, explains their mission and shows me around. At the end of the visit he doesn't accept any tip (no entrance fee by the way). Back to the cab, the driver offers an excursion to Jericho for another 20 USD. The town is 400m below sea level, not far from the Dead Sea in the same valley. We stop at the tree of Zacheus which is supposed to be older than 2000 years. In fact, the plant doesn't seem to be that old to me. There is a cablecar which leads from Jericho to the mountain of temptation. A monastery built in the vertical rock. We don't go there. Old Jericho is just a pile of stone. Might be interesting for archeologists, not for us. However the Hisham palace is a must see place. Interesting is the stone rosette and the famous tree of life, a mosaic on the floor of a bathhouse. The taxi driver drops us somewhere close to the border to Israel. I'm about to pay 40 USD. He wants 60, 3 times 20. After some argument I finally pay 50. We take the bus back to Jerusalem. Three Palestinian guys have to leave the bus at the border, they apparently haven't got valid papers. We finish the day with Shawarma (the Israeli Kebab dish) at a fast-food stand.
05.09.17Yet another day in Jerusalem. We head to the Western Wall right after breakfast. Lucky us, the gate to the Temple Mount is open. At the security check, they take my kippa, which I received to visit the wall: Jewish symbols are not allowed inside the Islamic sanctuary. The Dome of the Rock is a fantastic subject for the camera. Next destination is the Mount of Olives. There is a superb view to the Temple Mount and the old city. We plan to visit the Israel museum in the afternoon aswell as Yad Vashem. Latter is a Holocaust memorial. We are impressed of the vast amount of historical material and the manner of the exposition. We leave the museum after 4 p.m. Too late for the Israel museum.
06.09.17We have rented a car for one week. We pick it up around noon somewhere downtown Jerusalem. Our today's destination is Haifa. First stop at Caesarea, not far from our final destination. Situated at the coast of the sea, the archeological site consists of a Roman theatre, an amphitheatre, some columns and buildings. Not a must-see. Back on the road, we pass by banana plantations. Our hotel in Haifa (called Eden, not Eden Rock) is somewhere between downtown and uptown. Mount Carmel, the upper town is 500m above sea level. The Bahai gardens connect Karmel with downtown. The German colony, situated right below the gardens, is maybe the only place where some activity goes on after dark. However, if you look for night life, Jerusalem is the better option. Restaurant Fattouch is a fancy place for dinner, not for the meals, but for its decoration.
07.09.17After having crossant and cappucino at a street café close to our hotel, we take the bus to Carmel. The view from the top is superb. We walk to the upper end of the Bahai Gardens. The entrance is closed due to maintenance for a couple of days. We drive to Akko. Takes roughly an hour. The medieval town with a maze of alleys has a big market, a handful mosques, a port and is surrounded by a wall. We walk through a 350m long tunnel, constructed by the crusaders at the time. Somewhat disillusioning is its port. A dusty place, partly shut due to construction. Back at Haifa, we stop at the abbey Stella Maris, high above the sea, walk down to the cave of Elijah, a holy place for Jews. Later in the evening, we have a few drinks at Masada street. Nothing to eat there, so we end up at the same place as the day before.
08.09.17Today's destination is Nazareth. We head direction Mount Gilboa. The road is in a good condition. Not much traffic though. We stop at a look-out point. Not much to see. Too hazy is the air. Next stop is the Roman site of Bet She'an. Its buildings are in a fantastic state, a Roman theatre, lots of columns. One of the most interesting places is the public latrine. Dozens of citizens, one next to the other sitting on the loo in the same room, no curtin, imagine. From top of a hill at the Eastern end of the site you have a marvellous view to the ruins as well as to the Jordan valley. With temperatures of 40 degrees and above we are glad to be back in our air-conditioned car after two hours. The Sea of Galilee is not too far from Bet She'an. We stop close to Tiberias at a stoney beach. I pretend to walk on the water for a fancy picture. Jesus Christ had better practise than I do. Tiberias is a modern town at the shore of the lake. We have a tasty falafel dish before taking off for Nazareth. Similar to Jerusalem the city is built on various hills and valleys. Our guesthouse is right at the city center. My navigation app guides me through steep narrow roads. A nightmare for drivers who are not used to such conditions. The host of Rosana's Guesthouse welcomes us very friendly. The place is quiet and the room clean and spacious. Before dawn we visit the Basilica of the Annunciation, a modern temple. Too big, too much concrete after my fancy. We have pasta for dinner at a restaurant at church square.
09.09.17Kafr Kanna is the place where Jesus transformed water into wine at a wedding party. Two churches, a Catholic and a Greek Orthodoxe, lots of pilgrims and stalls where you can buy clay jugs and bottles of wine apart from other bits and bobs. Back at the Sea of Galilee we stop at Magdala, an ancient synagogue. Interesting is a piece of carved stone representing the Menorah (seven branched candelabrum). Kapernaum is the village where Jesus used to live. At Tabgha he propagated fish and bread. Both places are packed with pilgrims. The churches are not that spectacular. We stop at the mount of beatification. The entrance to the church is closed so we carry on our journey to Safed. The town, built on a hill, is famous for its Kabalistic community. Today is Sabbat. Orthodox Jews walk through the picturesque alleys in the old town. One art gallery next to the other. All shops are closed. Hardly any traffic on the streets. We carry on our journey direction North. On road 99 we enter the area of the Golan Heights. Passing by the fortess of Nimrod we have Mount Hermon (2743m) in front of us. It is the highest mountain in the region. Arriving at the high plateau, vineyards, apple plantations along the road. At the observation point, not far from Ein Zivan, we enjoy the view into Syria. A strange feeling, since we are closer to Damascus than to Nazareth where we stay over night. Back in Nazareth we have difficulties in finding the way to the city center. I have to switch on the navigation app.
10.09.17Today is Sunday. The first working day of the week. Much traffic around Afula, the next bigger town after Nazareth. We drive along cotton plantations, pass Bet She'an and take road 90 through the West Bank, Palestine. The road is a so called corridor controlled by Israeli. By the way, most car rental companies do not allow to enter Palestine. However driving on road 90 from Bet She'an to the Dead Sea and road 1 between Jerusalem and the Jordan valley is allowed. The shore of the Dead Sea is quite away from the road. Its water-level lowers one meter every year. Hotels and resorts are abandoned at the Palestine shore. Passing the boarder we reach En Gedi, a national reserve, famous for its wadis. For somewhat more than 10 USD you can visit Wadi David, Wadi Arugot and the ancient synagogue. We start with Wadi David. A river meanders through the canyon. Rough rock drops into thick vegetation. We have a shower under a waterfall. A fantastic experience; clear and cool water at temperatures above 40 degrees. We could climb to the top of the canyon. Just too hot to undertake such activities. Time is not enough to explore Wadi Arugot. So we have a look at the ancient synagogue before we leave the place. Not far from the site a herd of ibices graze along the road. Lucky us to take a couple of pictures. Today's final destination is Masada. A cableway connects the bottom with the plateau where an ancient fortress is built upon. The Masada Guest House is close to the valley station, a massive bunker with spacious rooms. We have a swim in the pool. More refreshing was the water in the Wadi. Unfortunately there is no possibility to get anything for dinner, neither in the hotel nor anywhere close-by. So we take the car and drive 20 minutes to En Boqeq where we order burger and Coke at a McDonald's.
11.09.17An hour before sunrise the gate opens for visitors who want to hike to the plateau of ancient Masada. We get up at 5 a.m., pay a fee of approximately 10 USD and start the ascent. The temperature is 28 degrees celsius. Flashlights on, we follow the so called snake path and reach the top in about 45 minutes. The ruins date back to the years when Jesus was alive. They were inhabited by the Jews. Romans besieged them and finally won the battle. In fact, all inhabitants commited suicide rather than become slaves. A fantastic sunrise, having the valley of the Dead Sea below us. We are surrounded by the desert, red ochered mountains and canyons. Back in the hotel, a rich breakfast buffet is awaiting us. On the way out we first stop at a canyon with white formations of chalk and have a walk. Masada is situated between the Dead Sea and lagunas which belong to the Dead Sea but are somehow ponded so that the waterlevel does not sink. We drive along the salt ponds pass by En Boqeq and stop below a rock called Lot's Wife. It is just too hot to walk around so we continue to the end of the Dead Sea where a huge plant is situated at the shore. They extract salt, magnesium and other Dead Sea commodities. The plant looks like a space station at Star Wars. On the way back to En Boqeq we have another break at the shore and take some picture of fancy salt formations. En Boqueq is a holiday resort with a few 4 to 5 star hotels. We stay on the twelfth floor of hotel Crowne Plaza, right at the beach. Having a bath in the Dead Sea our bodies behave like cork. Not possible to sink. The salty water is dangerous for eye and mouth. Lifeguards supervise the beach making sure that no kids enter the water and nobody splashes.
12.09.17A day at the Dead Sea beach. We buy mud for about 5 USD a bag and grease ourselves. After half an hour we wash the mud away with Dead Sea water. The treatment is supposed to be good for skin and joints.
13.09.17We drive back to Jerusalem. Takes us two hours to get there. Further on by sherut to Tel Aviv. We stay at hotel Galileo close to the Carmel market. Later in the day we visit the old town and the port of Jaffa. A half an hour's hike along the beach. After dark we have a couple of drinks and something to eat around Carmel market. People are easy and relaxed.
14.09.17Tel Aviv is famous for its Bauhaus buildings. Most of them are in quite a run-down state. The Great Synagogue is a chunk of concrete. Rothschild Boulevard is famous for its street cafés. The walk from Allenby Street, along Rothschild, passing by the Museum of Art and Ha Medina Square to HaYarkom park takes about two hours. A flock of parrots are producing a tremendous noise in the park. The beach all along the coast is populated by citizens aswell as tourists. Sunsets are spectacular.
15.09.17The day before Sabbath. Carmel market is packed. People do their weekend shopping. Fruit, fish, cheese. Israeli seem to buy their food on the market, not in shopping malls. Our flight back home is in the afternoon. We take the bus to the train station. Trains operate only until noon on Fridays. So we have to take a taxi to the airport for about 50 USD. We were told to be three hours before departure at the airport. In fact, check-in and security procedures do not take longer than at other airports outside Israel. Turkish Airlines is on time.