Israel | Blissfulbritt

The first places that come to my mind when I think of Israel are the cities of Bethlehem and Jerusalem. As a wee lass I was raised in a Catholic Church where many a Sunday’s I was left with the other linoleum lizards to learn about Jesus. These days I don’t identify with the Catholic faith, but I will forever have the VeggieTales theme song burned into my memories.

Religion is a very individualized process, and I have always resonated more with the Christian faith, but I am by no means well versed on the Bible.

Regardless of where anyone is in their walk with faith I think it’s safe to say these two cities are worth a visit. After an amazing day at Masada and the Dead Sea, we woke up bright and early again for our second port of the cruise. We docked in Haifa, Israel where we had a much easier departure process while heading to meet our guide for the day, Igal. Our first stop was to Bethlehem – a two hour drive away. I immediately noticed Igal spoke much less than our guide the day before, but I gave him the benefit of the doubt because it was early.

Bethlehem is a Palestinian town located in the West Bank, one of the two areas (Gaza Strip and West Bank) advised against visiting. Tourists are free to come and go with caution, however Israelis are not allowed to enter into Palestinian Territories unless they receive approval. Our guide Igal is an Israeli citizen, and because of this he was not allowed to give us the Bethlehem portion of the tour. Thankfully he was able to enter with us, however we picked up a Palestinian guide before entering through the check point.

The first thing I noticed about Palestine after spending the previous day in Israel was the difference in how they treated their land. There were heaps of trash tucked in all corners around Palestine, while in Israel the streets were clean. It was a bizarre difference of two locations so close to each other. The conflict between the two areas was certainly felt more within Palestine, from needing a local guide to reading signs threatening Israeli people.

*“This road leads to area “A” under the Palestinian Authority. The entrance for Israeli citizens is forbidden. Dangerous to your lives and is against the Israeli law.” Yikes.*

I still felt safe throughout this entire day, it helped being in such a large group of other tourists.

The Palestinian guide we picked up was very kind, and passionate about her job, but incredibly difficult to understand. She walked too fast at times, causing some stress on the folks who were slower moving. This day was a prime example of what happens when you cram too much into one day. I tried my best to understand her through our personal headset devices, but the best way to hear her was standing as close to her as possible.

Our first stop in Bethlehem was to the Church of the Nativity. This church is one of the most sacred sites of the Christian religion as it is said to be the birthplace of Jesus. Today this church is one of the oldest christian churches still in daily use. The interior was beautiful, but I could not tell you what I learned while inside. Aside from seeing the cave entrance where He was born, I had no idea what I was looking at.

*Church door lowered to deter invaders, and a special appearance of Duncans backside.*

The tour became comical to myself and some of the other guests at one point, because it was so all over the place that no one quite knew what was going on. I gave up trying to listen to the guide and instead focused on soaking in as much as I could. I knew I could read more about what I had seen when I returned home. After spending more time than necessary inside the church, we walked back to the bus to head towards our next destination.

We were headed to a local shop selling olive wood fixtures, jewelry, and other traditional religious items, where I bought my mom an olive wood cross. I was more interested in the sights along the way, and by this time my belly was screaming for food.

For lunch we ate in Bethlehem at an assembly like buffet station. The food was delicious, aside from the fact I decided it was a good time to try chicken liver. I was having a “when in Rome” moment thinking I wanted to try any of the local foods I could (while actively avoiding my allergens) and this was a drastic error of judgement. I am not one who can hide their facial expressions well, and my disgust was seen by those around me.

Somehow I couldn’t get Duncan to try the liver, I wonder if it was something I said.

*Thankfully I was able to wash away the liver taste with some cardamom coffee.*

After lunch it was time to say goodbye to our Palestinian guide, and we headed back to Israel to finish our day in the Old City of Jerusalem. We ended up having to walk part of the way into the city center due to traffic, but these mishaps are some of my favorite. There are few things I enjoy more than walking around new to me places. We entered in through the dung gate, the lowest part of the Old City where all the waste used to exit when it rained (according to Igal), and we were immediately met with music and a parade celebrating a bar mitzvah.

What an incredible way to enter into the city.

We first headed towards the Western Wall, the last remaining outer wall of the ancient Jewish temple, and an incredibly important site of modern Israeli history. People of all religions come here to pray either with spoken word or writing prayers onto pieces of paper to stick into the wall. Igal told us people often write questions on their papers and then place them into the wall, so I decided to participate.

Men and women are separated by a divider and there were far more women on their side of the wall than men.

*Walking towards the city. So many buildings close together.*

*Southeast point of the Temple Mount*, *leading towards western wall.*

*Western Wall. Mens side with barrier in far left of photo.*

*Papers, including my own stuffed into the wall.*

After spending time observing the happenings at the Western Wall we moved on to walk through the narrow streets of the Old City. This is about when I lost what was going on. Similar to our Palestinian guide, it was very hard to hear Igal. I discovered they both had been talking right on top of their microphones making the sounds muffled. They both reminded me of Charlie Brown’s teacher.

I did my best to stay close to him, but eventually I gave up and tried to enjoy the atmosphere without the history lesson.

We walked the streets as we headed towards the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which I sadly had little to no knowledge of. This is where my lack of Bible smarts bit me in the butt. I think if I’d had a baseline knowledge of the significance of certain locations we were visiting I wouldn’t have been so frustrated by the lack of audible information. I now know the church is identified as both the place of the crucifixion and the tomb of Jesus.

What stood out to me most was the Stone of Anointing, and a small window viewing into Golgotha. There were people on all side of the oiled up stone rubbing their personal belonging over the top of it. This is said to be where Jesus was laid after his death, but I have read conflicting information. Golgotha is the rock where Jesus was crucified, and there is an area within the church you can touch the rock, but the amount of people inside made me want to move through the area as quickly as possible.

The viewing point was more than enough.

We made our way from the church back through the streets towards the bus to begin the long drive back to the ship. What I enjoyed most in the Old City was all the narrow streets, the architecture, the alleyways, and the local hustle and bustle (not to be confused with the tourist hustle and bustle.) I would love to return someday and wander these streets, get a little lost, and have more time to soak in what I am seeing.

Maybe if I am lucky I can find my orange and white friend again.

*The first of many, MANY cats on this vacation.*

If this post felt chaotic in anyway, then you are getting an accurate representation of how the day felt for me. Large tours in larger cities are hard to execute well. It wasn’t Igal’s fault (though at times he was more interested with his phone than with providing information), and I did my best to enjoy the city for what it was. No regrets were had, without this tour I would not have been able to see as much as I did.

The trade off for a rushed tour is the ability to see a lot of things at once. While this is not normally my cup of tea, the day was good and I am thankful to have seen the sites regardless. Two days in Israel was just enough to get an idea of all the beauty to be seen and history to be learned. Perhaps one day I can return to see these cities again on my own terms.

Next up: our half day in Cyprus.

Q: Have you ever been on a less than stellar tour?

The beauty of vacation, is that when my alarm goes off at 0500 I don’t wince and drag myself out of bed. I spring up like a slinky falling down stairs because I know a new experience is ahead of me. After a full day at sea exploring our temporary home base, Duncan and I woke up bright and early in our first port of the trip – Ashdod, Israel. We were to meet for our shore excursion around 0630, and we made sure to have enough time to eat breakfast before we left.

With bellies full of chocolate croissants and watermelon we made our way to the theatre to meet for our tour. The process was smooth – we were given a number and were sent to find our bus with the matching number. Before we could exit to find our bus, we had to stand in the longest customs line of the trip. We waited for what felt like an hour, but we made it through receiving a small passport-like paper allowing us to be in Israel for 90 days.

We were on bus number 7, where we met Eli (ell-EE), the most amazing tour guide I will likely ever meet. A tour guide is like a cup of coffee. The quality can make or break your experience.

Our excursion for the day was a visit to Masada National Park, and the Dead Sea. We drove from green grasslands to barren deserts in a matter of moments, and the drastic change was fascinating. These areas of Israel were unlike anything I have ever seen. We began our day at Masada, a new to me location, and this rugged natural fortress has a somber yet inspirational backstory.

What started as a palace for King Herod the Great, turned into a refuge after Judaea became a province of the Roman Empire. The refuge was home to the last survivors of the Jewish revolt who chose death by suicide rather than slavery when the Roman enemies broke through their defenses. The Romans built a ramp to climb up to an entrance of Masada, where they found the bodies of the Jewish refugees.

For months the defenders of Masada had to watch the approach of the ramp and the Romans. And I thought my anxiety was bad.

Today there are two additional ways up to the fortress: a cable car, and the snake path. Perhaps if you’re really brave you can take the old Roman ramp, but that has bad vibes written all over it. The snake path walks up the entirety of the mountain, and while I’d have loved to do this we were strapped on time and it was 90F outside. After patiently waiting for Eli to argue with the cable car operator on why we needed physical tickets, we made our way up the mountain where we got our first view of one of the many Roman camps below.

These camps are where the Romans organized the building of the ramp, and the attack on Masada.

*Square in middle left of photo Roman camp.* *Views of the Dead Sea at the top.*

Eli was a wealth of knowledge. His tour enthralled me to the point of forgetting how hot it was. Until he stopped talking and I had to find shade in any corner possible. We met another couple on this tour who was not only from Washington, but from the same town, and the four of us cowered away from the sun any chance we had. Us northwesterners don’t do well in the heat.

Duncan didn’t wear a hat and his forehead turned crispy like a piece of well cooked bacon.

*One of the Columbian Towers – where King Herod raise doves. The doves roosted in the holes, supplying meat for guests and fertilizer for crops.*

*Be thankful you’re not a dove little black bird.*

After an amazing trip to Masada, we made our way to the Dead Sea for the final stretch of our tour. After walking and standing in the heat at Masada, relaxing in the salty sea was a great way to end the day. We went to one of the many hotels near the Dead Sea for a meal (included with our tour), where I quickly shoveled a plate of chicken, hummus, cucumbers, potatoes, and fish into my face.

We only had an hour and a half to eat AND to get our bodies floating – I didn’t want to waste a single minute. Thankfully Duncan was just as keen on turning himself into a human vacuum, and we ate quicker than anyone else on the tour. We made our way to the locker rooms to change, and found an empty spot of land away from the majority of the other people.

Floating in the Dead Sea is unlike anything I can explain by words. They tell you that you will float, you know scientifically that you will float, but you cannot fully grasp what it will feel like to float until you are in the water for yourself. Duncan was a fish in a past life and when you get that guy in the water he is the most content I’ve seen him (other than when he is in the safety of his own space.)

Duncan is to the water like Brittany is to the mountains.

We ended up having plenty of time to float, swim, and roll around like pool noodles, while actively ensuring our faces did not go under the water. Dead Sea salt in the eyes is not something I’d ever like to experience. The water was warm, but I was not uncomfortable despite how hot the day was, and despite wearing black. While planning for this trip I was unsure of what type of bathing suit I should wear. I wanted to be modest and respectful of Israel and their customs, so I chose a halter top suit with shorts to ensure I wasn’t too revealed.

Once we arrived, there were people in bikinis, and speedos. We were in a small, private beach area belonging to the surrounding hotels and I don’t think anyone would care what I wore. Ultimately I was more comfortable in this bathing suit so it all worked out.

I’m a sucker for anything holistic, and the minerals in the waters of the Dead Sea are said to be very healing. That, paired with the Dead Sea being the lowest body of water on earth made this visit bucket list worthy. I could have left the vacation and gone back home happy after day one with the experiences I had. This first day was the best day of the entire trip.

The bus ride back to Ashdod was about two hours, so we settled in for the ride and watched the desert fade back into green while Eli told us stories of his home country. Our tour started at 0800, and we made it back on the ship at 1830. A full day, back just in time for dinner. My souvenir for the day was a clump of salt I found while walking with my hands on the bottom of the sea near the shore. These clumps were everywhere, and my clump made it back home in one piece.

Duncan found a cool rock, and I am scheming a plan to steal it.

Before leaving for this trip I had a lot of anxiety about Israel in particular. The country continues to get attention in the media for protests, for unrest between Israel and Palestine, and more recently for missile attacks throughout parts of the country. These are all valid reasons of concern, but at the end of the day there is unrest everywhere in the world. Travel to Israel is currently only a level 2 out of 4 on the US Department of State website, and as long as certain areas are avoided this country is just like any other.

I am thankful for the experiences we had on our first day, Israel is a beautiful country full of kind people and rich with history. We were able to spend our second day exploring Jerusalem and Bethlehem, but more on that in my next post.

Q: Are there any places you were fearful of, but once you visited you were thankful you went? Are there any places you will not visit?