2 countries
7 days
9 restaurants (lame)
3 bakeries (still lame)
About the size of New Jersey, Israel is at the root of the world’s major religions. Its history and struggles are mind-boggling. Being surrounded by Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt has unfortunately provoked generations of conflict. Through these generations the Holy Land’s borders have ebbed as they sought peace.
It would be a great journey to explore the deep history and culture of this land.
Monday, November 27th, 2017
O’Hare, 10 hours and 12 minutes to.....
Tuesday, November 28th, 2017
....Istanbul.
Hour and a half layover, first exposure to Turkish security, 1 hour 45 minutes to Tel Aviv.
Check in, quick walk around Tel Aviv and pass out after 18 hours of traveling.
Wednesday, November 29th, 2017
While running along the Mediterraenan I reflected how many times various (high end) running shoes have been a portal into exploring new lands.
Turning inland it got a little more...rustic.
A top aim was to explore the Camel Market. It was rewarding to cruise along watching the vendors set-up.
Continued to plod along, head swiveling, accessing, comparing to other countries; all while clearing the cobwebs out of the mind and airplane aching calves.
After a shower and delicious breakfast (and I don’t even know what I was eating) back out to explore.
As one of of the world’s most ancient ports, Jaffa’s history dates to biblical times and swirls with Phoenician King Hiram, Solomon’s Temple, Jonah and the whale, Greeks, Andromeda, Perseus, Crusaders and Richard the Lion-Hearted.
St. Peter’s Church is new. Built in 1654.
Drove around downtown Tel Aviv.
On November 4th, 1995 Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated in what is now called Rabin Square. The markers indicated where he, his bodyguards and the assassin were positioned.
Headed north on hwy 2.
Caesarea is a Roman city built by Herod the Great with its peak spanning 29 to 22 BC. The elaborate and sprawling city included a port, theatre, palace, hippodrome, citadel and aqueduct.
It was mesmirizng to navigate the stone pavers trying to picture the massive splendor of this ancient metropolis. To make it easier for you:
An engineering marvel, the Romans had created a harbor where there wasn’t one.
It fell into ruins starting in 614AD and soon the sands took it. In the 1940s archeological digs started to uncover evidence of the lavishness of this city.
This is the site of Herod’s palace.
And where the hippodrome was. Imagine the chariots thundering around the curves!
The theatre had a third level and fabric roof.
Further up the coast is one of many surviving Roman aqueducts that attest to their workmanship and engineering.
Lunch in Daliyat El-Carmel in the Carmel Mountains.
Driving inland.
Jesus preached in Capernaum for 3 years and is where Peter and Andrew made their home on the northern shores of the Sea of Galilee.
The Synagogue of Jesus.
Part of this crowd broke out in song and more joined in. Beautiful.
The church of Peter has a church built in 1992 over it for protection.
The Sea of Galilee is 689 feet below sea level and formed by Jordan River. It was here Jesus preached to crowds who were fed by bread and fish.
Tiberias is the largest town on the Sea of Galilee and steeped in history as one of the four holy cities of Israel.
Buffet dinner in Ginosar.
Thursday, November 30th, 2017
Getting to try new food at breakfast.
Back on the road.
Mount of Beatitudes is where Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount.
This hill is currently home to a monastery.
and church dedicated in 1937. By Mussolini. Bad call there.
Drove north. Was contemplating this is probably not good farming terrain.
Rolling over several hilltops, Safed is the highest town in Israel and a holy city.
Started exploring old town.
It is an amalgamation of narrow alleys,
small courtyards
with occasional openings of vistas reminding you of the hillside perch.
Heading out of old town and after climbing 4 flights like these...
...I was rewarded with another area of town.
How wonderful is it to picture scenes like these around the world?!
Driving east you can see Golan Heights in the distance.
Lunch at a kibbitz. What is a kibbitz? It is like a commune/Marxist/Zionist group. After not doing well for generations they voted to privatize. Once again proving communism/socialism fails every time it’s tried.
Yep. That is the mighty Jordan River.
You’ve heard of Golan Heights, but do you know what it is? It is an area of high plains made infamous as part of decades of border struggles.
Up until 1983 this area was Syria. This is an abandoned Syrian village.
Barb wired fences are accessorized with signs warning of land mines.
Mount Bental is a volcano. Don’t worry! It hasn’t erupted in millions of years.
The peak has views of 3 countries, a restaurant and bunker system.
Views of Lebanon and Syria. No! I'm not winking! It was the setting sun.
The bunker system is still somewhat active with a military observation post monitoring the cease fire line with Syria.
Friday, December 1st, 2017
Took a run to watch the sun rise over the Sea of Galilee. (Which is actually a lake.)
You never know what you’ll find on these runs. I went up on the roof. The basement...no way.
Meet halva. Halva and I now have a close relationship.
Another swing through Tiberias while heading south.
That’s Jordan.
Laying at the intersection of the Jordan and Jezreel Valleys, Beit She’an reveals a treasure trove of Roman archeological excavations.
This city dates to 2 to 6 AD over both the Byzantine and Roman eras.
The downtown had colonnaded main streets, a central plaza and fountains.
After being destroyed by an earthquake, it was abandoned which preserves the remains of those glorious times.
One of the main boulevards. Really!? How fantastic is this?!
And they are paved in mosiac tile. And marble! And it still looks good!
This is a model of the bathhouse complex.
It was quite the set-up they had for this social and business hub.
These short pillars supported a marble floor and were part of a heating system. Yeah, that’s right, heated marble floors. The heating system also heated the water for the pools and baths.
They are everywhere. Just imagine each tile was handcut and laid. And still look good a couple thousand years later.
What a joy to walk down the boulevards imagining this bustling city.
There was a massive temple on the mountain.
Hand carved. Stone. All of it.
See what I mean? Walk, walk, walk. Gaze, astonish, awe.
And what is it about those Roman arches that stand for centuries?
This is where they performed shows like Cats and Oklahoma.
Back on the road continuing south. West Bank checkpoint.
Jordan
Part of the border with the double fence using high tech surveillance.
Think they have Slurpees?
Continuing to drive south.
Judaean Desert
The holy and historical city of Jericho. That yes, is strewn with garbage.
Leaving Jericho.
Jerusalem
The Wall into Palestine.
Bethlehem
There was a perceptive difference from Israel.
In 326 a church was built over the cave purported to be Christ’s birthplace.
In 530 the Church of the Nativity was rebuilt by the Justinians. It is currently being restored.
This is the alter over the grotto (cave) that Jesus was born in.
A large mass (see what I did there) of people funnel down a half circle staircase into a marble entrance,
descend narrow stairs,
try not to get jostled,
and touch the star indicating the birthsite.
Nearby is the manger.
Saturday, December 2nd 2017
Jerusalem has been a holy city for over 3 centuries for 3 of the world’s major religions.
The Old City is easily distinguished by its 39 foot walls and has four quarters: Jewish, Christian, Muslim and Armenian. This pic, taken later, is a view of Old City.
The hotel was an 8 minute run from Old City so headed out on an hour and 15 minute run. Jaffa Gate is the main entrance.
Started out in the Armenian Quarter.
Then circled to the Jewish Quarter.
As compared to the other Quarters this one is more open and maintained.
Dome of the Rock and Western Wall.
The Western Wall is the holiest of sites for Jews. It is part of the remains of a massive temple built by King Herod.
The run continued in the Christian Quarter.
As with many sites in Israel, Via Dolorosa is more tradition than historically accurate. It is believed to be the route Jesus followed from judgement to crucifixion
The Damascus Gate in the Muslim Quarter.
Yep, getting some bakery! Have no idea what it was I got.
Back to the hotel for another photogenic breakfast spread...and more halva
Out on the road heading south. Yep, camels at a convenience store.
Drove along the Dead Sea for about an hour.
Around 30BC King Herod built a heavily fortified complex on a mountain plateau. This is what it looked like then:
And now:
A cable car whisks tourists up the mountain.
And then you take a catwalk along the cliff up to the mountain plateau.
Behind the ruggedly handsome gentleman was the location of smaller palaces, soldiers quarters and temples.
It’s really high.
This area contained storage for 4 years of food and supplies, officers quarters and offices.
Just imagine building all of this, 2,000 years ago, in the desert.
This model shows the 3 level palace.
This is where the upper level palace was.
And looking down on the other 2.
Guess what? The bath house. Yep, with only 1 inch of rain a year they had one.
The ingenious systems shows how floors and walls were heated- the pillars hold up the floor and allow warm air to be ciculated below and up the clay pipes in the walls.
Just imagine working and living in this stark environment
And how did they get all that water? An impressive system captured flash flood rains from the nearby valleys and channeled it into cisterns.
Looking back at the palaces.
Around 70AD Jews fleeing Jerusalem from the Romans took over the fortress. For years the Romans tried to take it back. This pic shows the areas of Roman encampments far below.
In 73AD the Romans decided to end this resistance and built a ramp to the fortress. The construction of the ramp was an engineering marvel.
Seeing the impending defeat, the 967 citizens decided they would rather die free than be prisoners and slaves to the Romans. Since their religion prohibits suicide 10 soldiers were selected to kill everyone, then each other with the last committing suicide. This event became a celebration of freedom for Jews.
Straddling the Israeli and Jordanian border, the Dead Sea is the lowest point of land in the world; 1,348 feet below sea level.
Since the Jordan River flows into it and there is no output, evaporation makes the salt concentration 32%; 9 times that of the ocean.
It is a strange sensation to feel the water pushing up at you.
Back to Jeruslam and more exploring the labyrinth of Old City. The Christian Quarter was quiet at this late hour.
However, the Muslim Quarter was very active.
Dinner time!
Oh my. Kanafeh: Cheese, sugar, honey. What a triad of deliciousness!
Apparently,going into this area at night is not a good idea. I never had a problem.
The chattering of different languages, the smells, the religious customs.
The common site of gun toting soldiers.
The Cardo was the affluent part of the Jewish Quarter.
Sunday, December 3rd, 2017
This morning’s run headed NW with the first stop at the King David Hotel which has hosted diplomats and heads of state since the 1920s.
Across the street is the YMCA built in 1930s by the same architect who did the Empire State Building at the same time.
Continued to head NW with every turn providing visual stimulation
And using that uncanny sense of direction (he says modestly) turned back running past the Old City walls.
After a shower and bountiful breakfast it was back to Old City. Remember the Damascus Gate from a couple days ago? This is the exterior side.
And this is Herod’s Gate.
That is Dome of the Rock to the left and Mount of Olives behind it to the right.
Back to Western Wall.
Since it wasn’t sabbat I could approach (after putting on a yamaka).
The ‘mailbox direct to God’.
This is an unfortunate site around this area. For bomb disposal.
Once again a delightful exploration of the 4 quarters of Old City.
Unlike the morning run and late night there were more people.
The bread had a nice chew with a hint of sweetness.
As you know, Via Dolorosa has the stations of the cross. Station III is Jesus falls for the first time. Station V is where Simon of Cyrene carried the cross for Jesus.
Station VI is where Veronica wiped the face of Jesus. Station VII is where Jesus fell for the second time.
Station VIII is where Jesus offered some women a sermon.
Continued to amble on taking in all the people, smells, wares and aura.
Church of Holy Sepulchre is built on what is believed to be the site of Christ’s burial and Resurrection.
It was first built between AD326 to 335 and rebuilt in the 1040s. So it’s really old.
This is the slab on which Christ’s body was lain.
The church was built over the hillside cave in which Jesus was entombed. This is the tomb.
This is just before entering the tomb and then the tiny room before the tomb.
Headed out of the touristy areas to the bustling Muslim Quarter.
The perimeter of the Christian Quarter was very serene.
Shawarma for lunch.
Walk, walk, walk, gaze, gaze, gaze.
It’s amazing how the 4 Quarters in these city walls all have distinctive personalities.
The bullet holes around Zion Gate are from the 1947 Israeli attempt to take the Jewish Quarter.
The hill to the south of the city walls is Mt. Zion and includes King David’s Tomb, Dormition Abbey and the Room of the Last Supper.
Christian tradition dictates this is the Room of the Last Supper.
Beneath this hall is believed to be the Tomb of King David.
Named for olive groves that once covered its slopes, Mount of Olives has been a burial site since the 3rd century.
Headed west to New City.
Israel Museum was built in 1965. It includes this model of ancient Jerusalem.
While looking for a lost sheep in 1947, a Bedouin boy went into a cave and found the first of parts of the Dead Sea Scrolls hidden around the Dead Sea region.
This is the building they are housed in. No pictures are allowed inside. Yeah, I've been known to..well. But there was a young lady in there with a semi-automatic weapon.
Knesset is Israel’s parliament.
The Jews lost 6 million in the holocaust. Yad Vashem memorializes this tragedy.
The main hall has galleries zig-zagging off of it.
The expansive and well coiffed grounds contain an art museum, courtyards
boxcar, children's memorial and memorial cave.
From the hotel looking at Mount of Olives.
Monday, December 4th, 2017
Hour drive to Tel Aviv, Israeli security wasn't that bad, quicker than TSA. 2 hour 10 minute flight to Istanbul (pictured). 15 minute layover (eeks). 12 hours back to Chicago. Sleep after being up for 29 hours. Sleep for 5 hours. Back to 15 hour workdays.