(Israel Flag)
(Israel Map)
All of the images below are thumbnails and can be clicked on for a larger image.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2009:
On a beautiful Wednesday morning we docked in Haifa, Israel.
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 265,000.
The city is a major seaport located on Israel's Mediterranean coastline in the Bay of Haifa. It is located 56 miles north of Tel Aviv.
After clearing Israel security procedures I was on my way to the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel.
The Sea of Galilee is the largest freshwater lake in Israel.
Many of Jesus' miracles are said to have occurred here including his walking on water.
The pictures below were taken on the southwest side of the lake looking toward the Golan Heights on the other side.
Our first stop was on the Mount of Beatitudes where Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount.
The Church of the Beatitudes is a Roman Catholic church built on the traditional site of the Sermon on the Mount.
Popes Paul VI and John Paul II each celebrated Mass at this church during their pastoral visits to the Holy Land.
Capernaum was a settlement on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. The site is a ruin today, but was inhabited from 150 BC to about AD 750.
The town is mentioned in the New Testament and was reported to have been the home of the apostles Peter, Andrew, James and John.
In Matthew 4:13 the town was reported to have been the home of Jesus.
In the center picture below you can see the Catholic Church built over the ruins of the House of Saint Peter.
According to Luke 4:31-44, Jesus taught in the synagogue in Capernaum, the ruins of which can be seen lower right.
Tabgha is an area situated on the north-western shore of the Sea of Galilee.
It is the traditional site of the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes (Mark 6:30-46)
and the fourth resurrection appearance of Jesus (John 21:1-24) in Christianity.
Including Mount of Beatitudes, Capernaum and Tabgha. |
The 156 mile long Jordan River which flows into the Dead Sea is considered to be one of the world's most sacred rivers.
We stopped at a section of the river just south of the Sea of Galilee.
After a delicious lunch at Ginosar, a kibbutz on the western banks of the Sea of Galilee, we headed toward Nazareth.
Nazareth is the capital and largest city in the North District of Israel. Known as "the Arab capital of Israel,"
the population is made up predominantly of Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel.
In the New Testament, the city is described as the childhood home of Jesus.
The Church of the Annunciation is a two-story building constructed in 1969 over the site of an earlier Byzantine-era church.
Inside, the lower level contains the Grotto of the Annunciation, believed by Christians to be the remains of the childhood home of Mary.
mainly focusing on the Church of the Annunciation. |
We watched the sun set on our drive back to Haifa. We sailed away at 8:00.
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Hello folks, We docked in Haifa, Israel at about 6:00 this morning. It was a beautiful day here. Bright sunshine all day. It took a little while to get off the ship. Israel customs are very thorough and strict as you might image. Once we finally did get off the ship we traveled through the Carmel mountains and across the Jezreel Valley to Galilee. The Sea of Galilee is in northern Israel not far from the borders of Lebanon to the north and Syria to the east. Our first stop was at the northern part of the Sea of Galilee at the Mount of the Beatitudes. Christ delivered the sermon on the Mount from this hill. Below is a picture of the Catholic church at the top of the hill. Below is a picture of me from the church with the Sea of Galilee behind me. You can't really see much of the lake (the Sea of Galilee is really a fresh-water lake) through the morning sun. We traveled around the Sea of Galilee stopping at places where Jesus preached and performed many of his miracles. Our first stop was at Capernaum. Below is the ruined synagogue where Christ preached. The grounds of Capernaum were beautiful. Our next stop was in Tabgha and the Church of the Multiplication which is believed to be the site where Jesus performed his miracle with two fish and five loaves. The interior of the church and the rock where Jesus performed the miracle under the altar. Next we had lunch at the country's first kibbutz. A very nice buffet, probably the best meal of the trip. We continued driving around the Sea of Galilee after lunch. We were now on the west side of the lake and with the sun higher in the sky I was able to get a decent picture from the bus window. The mountain you see on the other side of the Sea of Galilee is in the country of Jordan. Our next stop was at the River Jordan. You can see people being baptized in the river on the left of the picture. Our last stop of the day was in Nazareth, the place of Jesus' youth. A city of around 90,000 people today. But in Jesus' time this was a very small place of only a few families. The church in the picture above and below is the Basilica of the Annunciation which is the largest Christian Church in the Middle East and is said to mark the grotto where Archangel Gabriel appeared to the Virgin. The church was consecrated in 1969 and inside the church are the ruins of other churches. Below is the interior of the church above the ruins you see in the picture above. Pictured below is St. Joseph's Church and the Sisters of Nazareth Convent which are directly behind the Basilica of the Annunciation.  The sun is fully set by 5:00 here and it was after 6:00 before we got back to the ship in Haifa. We sailed away at 8:00. We are now sailing down to Ashdod where we will dock early tomorrow morning for another full day in Israel. Tim |
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2009:
On Thursday we docked in Ashdod, Israel at 7:00AM.
No security hassles today, having done that yesterday in Haifa, I was able to walk right off the ship.
We drove directly to Jerusalem and our first stop was on top of the Mount of Olives.
The Mount of Olives is a mountain ridge in east Jerusalem named for the olive groves that once covered its slopes.
You get a nice view of the walled Old City of Jerusalem including the Temple Mount.
From biblical times until today, Jews have been buried on the Mount of Olives. There are an estimated 150,000 here.
We visited the Church of All Nations (Gethsemane Church).
The church enshrines a section of bedrock where Jesus is said to have prayed before his arrest.
Adjacent to the church is Gethsemane, a garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives
where Jesus and his disciples prayed the night before his crucifixion.
Mary's Tomb is also located in the Kidron Valley, on the foothills of Mount of Olives.
and visit the Mount of Olives and the Church of Gethsemane. |
The Western Wall, sometimes referred to as the Wailing Wall or simply the Kotel
is an important Jewish religious site located in the walled Old City of Jerusalem.
From the Western Wall we walked the Via Dolorosa which has been traditionally held to be the path that Jesus walked,
carrying his cross, on the way to his crucifixion. It is currently marked by nine Stations of the Cross.
Our walk along the Via Dolorosa took us to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
This is the site where the New Testament says that Jesus was crucified,
and is said to also contain the place where Jesus was buried (the sepulchre).
To the left, or west, is The Rotunda of the Anastasis beneath the larger of the church's two domes,
in the center of which is The Edicule of the Holy Sepulchre itself.
walk the Stations of the Cross (Via Dolorosa) and visit the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. |
After lunch we ventured into Palestine. Our Jewish guide was not allowed to travel into Palestine with us.
After crossing into Palestine we picked up a local Palestinian guide who took us into Bethlehem.
In Bethlehem we visited the Church of the Nativity which is one of the oldest churches in the world.
The structure is built over the cave that tradition marks as the birthplace of Jesus of Nazareth.
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Hello folks, We docked in Ashdod, Israel shortly after 6:00 this morning. This being our second day in Israel there were no immigration formalities to go through today so we were able to walk right off the ship. The first thing we did was drive to Jerusalem which is the capital of Israel although most countries, including the United States, do not recognize Jerusalem as the capital. All the embassies are in Tel Aviv. Our first stop was at the Mount of Olives where there was a spectacular view of the city. Our next stop was at the Church of All Nations at Gethsemane. Below is the Garden of Gethsemane and its ancient olive trees. It was here that Judas betrayed Christ. Next we visited the Temple Mount and the Wailing Wall. From the Temple Mount we entered Via Dolorosa, The Way of Suffering. We climbed uphill through the narrow cobblestone streets stopping at the different Stations of the Cross. The walk ended at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. The site is believed to enshrine the sites of Christ's Crucifixion, entombment and resurrection. After lunch we went to Bethlehem. Our guide could not go with us to Bethlehem because Bethlehem is under Palestinian control and Israel won't allow Jews to enter. Once we got to Bethlehem an Arab guide joined us. He must have been in a hurry to get some where and rushed us through without seeing much of anything. Below is the Church of the Nativity. Driving into Palestine was no problem, we weren't stopped once. Coming back was another story, we were stopped two times where Israeli soldiers boarded the bus with machine guns and searched the bus. We got back to the ship at 6:30 and sailed away at 8:00. The pictures today weren't too good. Every place was very crowed and almost impossible to photograph. Tomorrow I will visit the only continent that I have not yet been to, Africa. I will spend two days is Egypt before sailing back north. Tim |
I return to the Middle East in 2015. Click HERE for my short visit to Jordan & the Dead Sea.
Click on the arrow above to continue to my next adventure, EGYPT.
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