Israel 2008 Tour Travel Journal

Welcome!
You can follow our tour by reading our travel journals, we will be posting every day of the tour.



Join us as we walk through Israel!

May 26 - (The Day Before)  posted by Rachelle Page-Wood

We leave tomorrow! I'm so excited, I can't wait! We should be in Israel by early Wednesday morning (Eastern Standard Time) and late afternoon Israeli time. Keep us in your prayers, I will post with pictures from our journey as soon as we're settled in.

Day 1

We have arrived! We were met at Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv by our wonderful guideEli, and then taken to our beautiful hotel in Caesarea. We just finished a delicious Israeli dinner and are looking forward to a good night's rest and a packed day tomorrow. We are so excited, we can not wait to begin.
 

Day 2

Today, after a wonderful breakfast, we headed to the Caesarea National Park where we saw an Amphitheatre that is still in use today.  The acoustics in the amphitheatre are wonderful. In fact, the theatre was being set-up for a performance while we were there! We also viewed the Hippodrome, where chariot races took place.

We saw the aqueducts on the Mediterranean, which were used to bring fresh water to the city, and then we traveled to Mt Carmel, where Elijah defeated the prophets of Baal. After Mt. Carmel, it was time for lunch! Our delicious lunch was an Israeli favorite, falafel.  After lunch, we headed to Megiddo, or Armageddon, which is amazing, so many kingdoms have come, settled, and been conquered in Megiddo, an estimated 25! We then wound our way to the Galilee area, stopping to view Nazareth from Mt Precipice. We then hopped back on the bus and arrived at our hotel in Tiberias, where we just finished another great dinner. We're looking forward to a great day tomorrow, starting with a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee!

Day 3

After a delicious Israeli breakfast and for me, a second cup of coffee, we were privileged to see the famous fishing boat that has been dated back to the time of Jesus.The story of the discovery of the boat and the lengths took to preserve it is just amazing.

After lunch, we visited the Mount of Beatitudes where we read Jesus' sermon on the mount, then it was off to the monastery that commemorates the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and the fishes. We then traveled to Capernaum, where we not only viewed the remains of a synagogue dated from the time of Jesus; but we also saw the Apostle Peter's home. 

After Capernaum, we had the best part of our day, although the entire day was amazing, but after Capernaum we had mar the opportunity to be baptized in the Jordan River. That was a very special and touching experience. 

Then it was back to our hotel for another great dinner, and a special treat, Eli taught us a few Shabbat songs (tonight at sundown marked the start of Shabbat) and a traditional Israeli folk dace which I think we learned fairly well. Now it's off to bed, because we have another full day of adventures waiting for us tomorrow.

Day 4

Today we hiked in the Tel Dan nature reserve where many brooks form into a running river, the Dan River, which is one of the three sources of the Jordan. Eli talked to us about the great importance water plays in the land of Israel. It was a good walk in the beautiful sunshine and flora of the nature reserve. At the end of our walk, we saw ruins from Ancient Dan and read a portion of scripture relating to the ruins, you'll have to come next year to hear the full story! 

We then traveled 5 minutes up the road to the Hermon Stream nature reserve, which was the town of Caesarea Philippi during the time of Jesus.  This is where Jesus asked his disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" We read scripture and Pastor Steve shared a word. Caesarea Philippi was a pagan town before and during the time of Jesus, the original residents worshiped Pan, the shepherd god. When the Romans conquered the land, they continued the worship of Pan. Today we saw an ancient sacrifice site where worshipers of Pan would throw people or animals into a cave with running water at the bottom. They believed sacrifice pleased their god.  I think we all have a greater understanding of Peter's revelation of who Christ was, and for the works Jesus did in Caesarea Philippi after knowing the darkness surrounding the town and it's people. Today, it is the Hemon Stream nature reserve, because the Hermon Stream runs through, the Hermon Stream is one of the sources of the Jordan River.

We took a drive up to the Golan Heights. At the top of the Golan we stopped at a lookout point and Eli spoke to us about the importance of the Golan to Israel, the strategic importance of this area to the people of Israel cannot be underestimated. From our vantage point we were able to see the border of Syria. 

We then drove back down to Tiberias, and on our way to the hotel, we stopped at a church along the shore of the Galilee. It is the traditional site of where Jesus asked Peter " Do you love me? Then feed my sheep."

Day 5

Today we left the Galilee area and traveled up to Jerusalem. On the way we stopped at Bet She'an, the largest archaeological dig in all of Israel. Bet She'an has such a fascinating history, and Eli did such a fantastic job teaching, I could never do it justice in these few paragraphs, it's just something you will have to see and hear for yourself when you come to Israel with us next year.

After leaving Bet She'an, we continued our climb to Jerusalem. Along the way we passed many Bedouin camps with their flocks of sheep, and goats. We also passed many farming settlements, and the ancient city of Jericho, and we caught a glimpse of the Dead Sea, where we will be in just a few days.

We caught our first glimpse of Jerusalem from the windows of the bus, everyone was extremely excited, the Holy City, we were here! We stopped along the Hebron Road to view the city from a high lookout point; the view was breathtaking not only because of the beauty, but because of the spiritual significance of where we were. We were gazing across the city at Mount Moriah, which is now the Dome of the Rock and the site of the Temple Mount. Mount Moriah is also where God directed Abraham to sacrifice Isaac.

To finish our day, we attended church at King of Kings, a local Messianic congregation, service was wonderful, we definitely felt the presence of the Lord.

Tomorrow we begin at the Mount of Olives.

---

Day 6

Today was packed full of wonderful, amazing things. So many things, it would take a book to describe them in detail so I'm just going to briefly list a few of them.  

We visited the City of David and actually saw King David's palace, Hezekiah's water tunnel (amazing) and the Pool of Siloam.
We also briefly entered the Old City, here we walked on the steps that Jesus and the disciples would have walked on leading up to the Temple Mount.

We were then on the Mount of Olives, looking over the city. A few brave souls took Camel rides. We walked down the Mount of Olives, and came to the Garden of Gethsemane; we also were able to see the dungeon where Jesus was held in Caiaphas' home. Pastor Steve read scripture and we worshiped the Lord together. To actually be in the dungeon where the Lord was held was a spiritual moment beyond description, something you must experience for yourself.

Tonight we had the privilege to eat dinner in the Old City and visit the underground Western Wall tunnels. According to the Hebrew calendar, today is the 41st anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem, and everyone was celebrating! As we were entering and leaving the tunnels, the crowds around the Western Wall were incredible! A sea of people, singing, dancing, waving Israeli flags and celebrating! It was so many people, we were propelled back through the Damascus gate to the New City from the Old, and as we were traveling out of the Old City, people were pouring in, all headed toward the Western Wall. It was a wonderful thing to be a part of.

Tomorrow we are headed to the Dead Sea and Masada.

Day 7
Today we visited Masada. The archaeological finds at Masada are incredible.

The historian Josephus recorded the story of Masada, and the main points of his writings have been confirmed by archaeological finds! 

Day 8

Hello Dear Friends, today is day eight of our Holy Land Tour and we took a walking tour of the Old City. We began in the Muslim Quarter, walked through the Christian and Jewish Quarters and ended in the Armenian Quarter.

We began our walk at the church of Saint Anne, which is know for it's wonderful acoustics, we had a time of worship there with a beautiful song from our sisters from the Virgin Islands. We also saw the remains of the Pool of Bethesda, where Jesus healed the invalid. 

We walked the Via Dolorosa, the Way of the Cross, which begins in the Muslim Quarter and ends at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Christian Quarter.

While in the Jewish Quarter we visited the Upper Room, the site of the Last Supper and the possible site of Pentecost.

We ended our beautiful day with personal prayer at the Western Wall, those who wished placed their written prayer in the cracks of the Wall.

Tomorrow is bittersweet as it is our last day.  We will be viewing the Dead Sea Scrolls, Yad Vashem, and the Garden Tomb.

Everyone has had such a wonderful experience, we don't want it to end, but we know, God willing, that we will be back in the Holy Land again.