This year we were off to Israel and Palestine for spring break. Geographically it's not very far away but since the countries aren't exactly best buddies, we couldn't fly their directly. We were able to buy a round trip ticket between both places but had to change planes in Amman, Jordan, which has better relations with Israel. Contrary to a lot of beliefs, it is completely legal for US residents of the UAE to visit Israel and even return with a visa stamp in your passport. Since Israel doesn't stamp passports anymore at most border crossings (including the airport), this wasn't even an issue on our trip. Instead you get a blue entry visa that has a copy of your passport photo. We had no problems getting into or out of either country on our trip. The countries aren't diplomatic friends but as it is an important location for three major religions, I think people understand why others would like to visit.
We started our vacation in Jerusalem which was about an hour and half or so from the Tel Aviv Ben Gurion airport. We arrived during Shabbot (Jewish sabbath). The nice thing about arriving during Shabbot is that there is very little traffic as most people refrain from driving or riding in cars. The bad thing about arriving during Shabbot was that it was hard to find an open grocery store to get a few groceries for our apartment and to find a restaurant that opened before about 8 p.m. Luckily the internet is our friend and we found a great restaurant (Zuni) within walking distance (our two best meals were probably our first and last nights there - both during Shabbot!).
The apartment we stayed in was about a 15-20 minute walk from the Old City but even more convenient there was a tram right beside our building. Public transportation doesn't run during Shabbot either (I learned A LOT about Shabbot our first few hours there!) so we were definitely hoofing it (and girls were a bit tired from our long travel day) until the sun went down on Saturday night. I had also planned on us taking the train to the airport from Tel Aviv on our last day there but definitely learned I needed to come up with Plan B. Our apartment building had two elevators - one is run as "Shabbot" elevator during the sabbath and it just goes up and down and stops on every floor since you aren't allowed to push the buttons if you are observant.
On our first full day in Jerusalem, we had such a terrific Palestinian guide (Peter Sabella) who showed us around the Old City for the day. He has two daughters about Regan and Jane's age and really tried to make the history of Jerusalem interesting to the kids as well. We saw the Temple Mount, the wailing wall, the Church of the Sepulcher (on the site where Jesus might have been buried), attended a Protestant church service at the Church of the Redeemer, visited many of the stations of the cross and toured the Tower of David Museum which chronicles the history of Israel. We traipsed all over the Old City and got our little heads crammed with history! At the end of the day, we hit one of the nicer restaurants of our trip (Eucalyptus) which focused on local ingrediants - sweet Anna conked out mid-dinner!
Day 3 we drove ourselves out near the Dead Sea to Masada. Let me just say a word about our rental car. I reserved a 7-passenger Mazda minivan. Which sounds like just what we needed. Except their version of a minivan is just that - mini! It's like someone took what *I* think of as a minivan, shrunk it by about 20% and chopped all the luggage space off the back. We made it work but it was a very tight squeeze when we had our luggage in the car. Also on the first night, I left the lights on so we had to try to find someone to help us jump it. Even though the parking attendent didn't know the English word battery, modified sign language can be very effective in explaining that particularly problem. He definitely had no interest in helping him at first but my silence in thinking of what my plan B should be must have given him time to reconsider and he hollered over to a buddy of his about 20 feet away who had a set in his car. It took all of five minutes to get us up and running. Thank goodness for the help of strangers - even in far off lands (especially when the car rental company said it would take them one or two hours to get to us - eek!).
Masada was a very old palace (don't come to this blog to get historic details - I don't remember how old - just that it was very, very old!) on top of a giant mountain plateau overlooking the Dead Sea built by Herod the Great (different from the Herod in Jesus' day), was abandoned and really became famous during a Jewish uprising against the Romans culminating in a mass suicide at Masada rather than be taken captive. It also figured in the modern Zionist story as youths would hike up to the top in groups during their training. Now there is a comfortable gondola that whisks you to the top in three minutes. Jake and I lobbied for at least hiking down but got outvoted by weary 5 and 7 year olds and an 11 year old afraid the hike down would be too scary and steep. Jane abstained - she probably wanted to preserve sisterly relations!). We had a great time exploring the ruins and trying to figure out how they kept themselves fed on top of a big dry rock. There were giant storerooms but I can only imagine the diet wasn't exactly full of fresh fruits and vegetables. Pretty impressive feat of architecture and building though.
After Masada, we drove up the road to the Ein Gedi National Preserve and hiked up to Wadi David. This part of the country is super dry and rocky. Our hike took us up a canyon with a spring. It was lovely with the sound of running water and about the only lush vegetation around. I would have built *my* palace near Wadi David and not on top of a giant, dry rock. Anna was such a trouper - she did the entire hike and frolicked the whole way. She still had a smile on her face and a spring in her step until the very end. It felt like a real milestone for her.
The next day we picked up another guide in our mini-minivan (TIGHT squeeze!) and explored a little outside of Jerusalem where a car was handy. Our plan was to hit the Mount of Olives, Garden of Gethsemane and then head across the border to Bethlehem (which is in the West Bank on the Palestinian side). But the girls were completely worn out by lunchtime so we bailed on Bethlehem and hit the road for Nazareth instead. They all slept the whole way there so I think it was a good call.
Nazareth was about a 2-ish hour drive and we learned that driving in Israel is really easy. Well, except for finding Highway 1 getting out of Jerusalem (we got a *little* lost on our first day of driving to Masada). Getting to Nazareth was easy but getting to our hotel was a different story. I broke the news to Jake a few miles before Nazareth that we couldn't actually drive to our hotel and had to park and walk into the old city of Nazareth. We followed our trusty GPS and as we were winding up the big hills of Nazareth onto ever shrinking roads, a sweet man rolled his window down and asked where we were going. After we told him the name of our hotel he generously had us follow him back down the hill to the parking lot closest to our hotel. We walked to the hotel to make sure we could find it and then went back to get our luggage (didn't want to risk wandering all over old town Nazareth will all our luggage). It was a good thing the girls all had naps before that adventure! We thoroughly enjoyed winding our way through the narrow streets of a market town from long, long ago. Many of the shops were now closed (with the limited parking, I know the in town shops struggle with foot traffic). The streets and city were very charming though.
I had read an article about the burgeoning restaurant scene in Nazareth and the restaurant I had spied for us happened to be very near our hotel so we headed there that night for a lovely dinner in a great new restaurant in a beautiful old building. Another great meal. Our hotel was very.... historic.... and rustic. It was a bit more of a hostel than I expected but the place definitely has a cult following, an interesting clientele and a beautiful setting. So the roughing it wasn't too bad (although Jake wasn't a fan of the troll-sized shower and like our apartment in Jerusalem we had to turn the hot water heater on well in advance of our shower which I wasn't too sure I liked! It meant we had to set an alarm to turn on the hot water and then go back to bed until it warmed up). First world problems, I know!
We were up bright and early to see Nazareth as well as a bit of the Sea of Galilee area. So beautiful and so much amazing history. We went to where they think Jesus fed the 5000 people with the five loaves and two fish, where he gave the Sermon on the Mount about the beatitudes. So beautiful...
The Beatitudes (Matthew 5)
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
We also visited two more sites that had something to do with Peter.... but I can't remember their significance - I think one was his house. One had a modern spacehip like church with a glass floor over some ruins - a bit odd but I did like the modern church and how the windows really framed the view of the sea so well. The other had a lovely location right on the Sea of Galilee and the girls enjoyed playing it in a bit. We were all a bit "churched out" by the end of this day between this and Jerusalem. It's interesting to see how different countries and different churches placed buildings and churches either on top or quite near all the important Biblical sites. Sometimes I would have just preferred to see the mountain or the field as it was. But not to be.
Our next stop was a significant one. We drove to the southern end of the Sea of Galilee where it empties into the Jordan River. I had arranged to meet an American pastor there who runs a mission there in the area (with his wife and four kids about the same ages as ours). Regan, Jane and Meredith were baptized right there! In the Jordan River! Wow! Such an amazing experience. I hope it is something they remember forever and it was a sweet, somewhat emotional experience for us as parents, too. Jake was kind enough to get in with them so I could be the one to take pictures. They said the water was a bit chilly and that fish nibbled their feet but they still seemed to all stay focused on the business at hand. Exciting stuff! We dried them off, got some celebratory ice cream and then headed back to the hotel.
Our last day in Nazareth we visited Nazareth Village right near the city center which is a little museum where they recreate a New Testament era village. We met a shepherd, a weaver, saw a tomb, olive press, synagogue, etc. It was a very well done experience. Our hands-on activities weren't over yet as we then headed to Kfar Kedem, a farm where a Jewish family tries to recreate an Old Testament era farm. We dressed up like Jews 2000 years ago, milked the sheep and goats, made cheese like the shepherds did in the fields, made bread, practiced with a sling (like the one David killed Goliath with!), played with the puppy (not sure that part was true to life but he sure was cute), rode the donkeys and probably more than I am forgetting. The owner of the farm, Menachem, is just one of those amazing and interesting people you want to be around. He taught us a lot about Jewish life a long time ago as well as its more recent history. This part was probably the highlight of the trip for the kids - they loved it all and I wish we could have stayed longer.
Next it was time to head to Tel Aviv which is known as a newer, lively city. It turns out that the University of Chicago Booth School of Business was having its annual worldwide night out where alums gather in major cities all over the world. There happened to be a gathering in Tel Aviv that night. Through my board work at our school in Abu Dhabi, I had also gotten to know a couple of board members at the American school in Tel Aviv and one of them hooked us up with a super overqualified babysitter so that Jake and I actually got a date night in during our vacation. We went to dinner first and then met some other Chicago alums at the wine bar where the event was held. We met a few really interesting alums who had all made their way to Israel to live. They had all "made aliyah" which is a form of immigration to Israel. It was fascinating to hear their stories and how the Israeli government helps people financially to do so (housing support, intensive language courses, etc.).
Our last day in Tel Aviv we walked around a little bit and had an ill-fated attempt at returning our rental car. I thought we had until 4:00 but the office closed (for Shabbot!) at 2:00. Since our flight was the next day and the office was closed through Shabbot, I did have a moment of panic wondering how in the world we would return our car if the office was closed until after we left. Fortunately I remembered their airport office was open and since I hadn't figured out Plan B on how to get to the airport since public transportation wasn't in operation during Shabbot, it all (accidentally) worked out just fine.
We didn't get home until midnight that night (flew into Dubai on our way back since it was a better connection), but giant lines at immigration and getting out of the parking lot meant that it took a long time to get home. Overall another wonderful trip that we feel fortunate to be able to take during our time in this region.
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| Preview photo of Anna at the farm clearly having a great time on her donkey ride! |
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| Amman has opened a new airport since we went there a couple of years ago. The new one has a small, cute playspace for the kids. Anna and Meredith enjoyed it. |
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| While Meredith and Anna played, Regan and Jane worked on their Rainbow Looms |
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| Our first dinner out in Jerusalem. We had a great meal at Zuni and Anna clearly loved her lemonade and mint smoothie |
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| Our first bottle of yummy Israeli wine |
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| We attended church on Sunday morning at the Church of the Redeemer (German Lutheran). The English service was in this lovely chapel overlooking a courtyard. The pastors are an American husband and wife team. Guests were introduced and there were visitors from all over. |
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| Inside this square building in the middle of the Church of the Sepulchre contains an old slab that might have been in Jesus' tomb. The tomb was closed for an Armenian religious festival but our guide managed to get us in quickly for a quick viewing (another benefit of having such a great guide!) |
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| The dome of the Church of the Sepulchre |
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| Failed family photo attempt #1 by a nice German man |
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| Failed attempt #2! |
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| Our first day in Jerusalem was COLD - a hot drink break |
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| Listening to our wonderful guide |
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| Our family in front of a shrine built on top of the Rock of Calvary - you could reach under to touch the rock if you were willing to stand in line for a while (which we weren't! So we just settled for this photo instead) |
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| I think this is part of the Armenian celebration (but a lot of the details of that day have blurred together!) |
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| I *think* these are Benedictine monks |
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| Lots of very young looking Israeli soldiers wondering about with big guns. They do two years service. There were five young soldiers (looked 18-20ish) waiting for breakfast at our restaurant in Tel Aviv - two had very American accents and one had a British accent which surprised me a bit. |
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| Very big guns! That being said, we felt very safe our whole time there. |
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| Temple Mount in the background |
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| Meredith putting her prayer into the Wailing Wall |
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| The men's side of the wailing wall. There was some dancing and singing going on over there - our guide said it was a group of settlers celebrating. The women's side was much quieter - women sitting quietly studying their Torah. |
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| Razorbacks in the market! |
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| Steep steps at the Tower of David museum |
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| View from the top of the Tower of David museum |
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| The museum had several of these models of the Old City over the centuries - very interesting to see how it grew |
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| I thought they told us that this was hyssop but I just googled it and it doesn't look like the photos! So I'm not exactly sure what this is - but it has a nice scent (a little stronger scent than the girls liked though) |
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| Sweet Anna couldn't quite make it through dinner |
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| On our drive to the Dead Sea area, we got a glimpse of the famous wall with the controversial border that Israel has built separating the West Bank |
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| On the gondola on the way up to the top of Masada |
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| Regan is usually a little nervous with heights but she did great on the gondola. |
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| One of the storerooms at Masada where they would keep food supplies |
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| Meredith wasn't afraid of the edge - you can see the Dead Sea in the background |
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| Four happy girls on top of Masada |
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| Anna loved climbing where she could |
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| Mere found a little rock cut out just her size |
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| After Masada, we went to Ein Gedi National Park and hiked up this canyon |
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| We saw many of these rock hyrax critters along our hike on the ground... |
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| ...and up in the trees eating the leaves |
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| Beautiful view of the Dead Sea on our way up the canyon |
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| Made it to the big waterfall - the David Waterfall |
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| At the church near the top of the Mount of Olives where Jesus taught his disciples to pray the Lord's Prayer. The church had the Lord's prayer in many, many different languages all over the building. Here are Regan and Jane in front of the one in Arabic. |
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| The Lords Prayer church (run by French nuns) is in a very crowded, urban area but had this beautiful olive grove on its property |
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| Top of Mount of Olives overlooking the Old City |
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| The down slope of the Mount of Olives is a very old and crowded Jewish cemetery |
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| Another view from the Mount of Olives - pretty Russian church |
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| Garden of Gethsemane |
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| Rock inside the Church of All Nations where Jesus might have prayed the night before he died |
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| I noticed this sign on the gate of the Red Cross office :-) |
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| Now we are in Nazareth enjoying the winding narrow streets looking for our hotel |
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| Happy we found our hotel. Sydney the stuffed dog made it, too |
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| Courtyard of our hotel |
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| Finishing up dinner at Sudfeh in Nazareth - we had a good experience there and loved the old restored building |
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| Anna loved the Anna-sized door at our hotel |
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| Meredith trying a raw almond at the Nazareth vegetable market (Jake and I tried one, too - I didn't know they were green and fuzzy!) |
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| We loved watching this frog in a pond in Nazareth. A moth was flying around under the netting and this frog (which we hadn't seen yet) jumped out of the pond and tried to catch up. After that, the frog was a bit illusive until we left him alone for a while. Then we were to find him again. |
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| View of the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth - it is thought that this would have been near where the angel approached Mary. |
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| Sugar break at the candy store! |
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| Mary's well in Nazareth |
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| Lighting a candle at the Loaves and Fishes church |
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| Koi ponds are always a big hit |
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| Loaves and fishes! |
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| Sea of Galilee - the small pebbles were fun |
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| Trying to skip rocks |
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| We were thrilled that no one fell in |
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| See little Anna? She is galloping around the area with her "unicorn"! |
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| The "spaceship" church built on top of Peter's house |
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| No more walking, said Anna |
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| The church at the Beatitudes hillside |
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| View of the Sea of Galilee from the beatitudes mountain |
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| Gathering before the baptism with Dr. Todd Horton |
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| Getting ready |
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| A quiet moment of prayer (except Regan says that fish were nibbling on her feet!) |
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| Happy face |
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| Mere looks a little nervous but afterward she said she was just cold |
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| A group of 200 people from South America came in after us to get baptized but you can get a sense of the baptism area |
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| The Jordan River looking towards the Sea of Galilee |
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| Looking up the Jordan River |
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| One last glimpse of the Sea of Galilee |
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| Golon Heights on the other side of the Sea |
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| Now we're visiting Nazareth Village where they try to show you what life was like in Nazareth during the time of Jesus - we were there when all the lovely wildflowers were blooming |
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| Inside a tomb! |
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| Checking out the sheep herds |
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| Riding a donkey with the shepherd |
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| Watching the village carpenter make farm implements. This will be a plow. |
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| Wool spinning |
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| In the village synagogue. A Christian group from Texas was there. One of them had a guitar and we sang a few songs together. |
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| Now off to the Old Testament farm. This is Menacham teaching us how to put on the head coverings. |
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| What a nice looking Old Testament family! |
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| The girls *loved* Johnny - the fluffy four month old puppy |
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| Making cheese with hot goat milk stirred with a fig tree twig with sap |
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| Straining the cheese. The kids were interested in making it but weren't too interested in eating the cheese that came from the goat just a little while before! |
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| Milking the sheep. Menacham squirted the girls and Jake thought that was hilarious |
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| Learning the slingshot skills to slay the next Goliath |
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| The girls loved holding this adorable baby goat |
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| Spinning wool |
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| Anna picked wildflowers and decorated Menacham's head covering, too |
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| Grinding wheat to make flour |
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| Baking our bread |
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| Eating our bread |
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| Who do you think is enjoying her donkey ride? |
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| The girls named our donkeys - S'more, Snowflake and Brownie |
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| Lovely stroll through the forest. Although Snowflake kept pushing me into the bushes and prickles. Anna gave *me* grief over this and thought Snowflake could do no wrong (it was clearly my fault!) |
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| No one would hold the apple out for the donkey so Meredith put it on a stick |
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| After a week of Arabic/ Israeli breakfasts, the kids were begging for pancakes. We stood in line for 45 minutes to eat this breakfast at Benedict's in Tel Aviv - luckily the pancakes were yummy |
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| One last relaxation in the lobby of our hotel in Tel Aviv |
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| The girls all got Jerusalem crosses as souvenirs to remember out trip. |
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