When Mark and I first took the job in Doha, we sat down and created a "Dream Travel List". The opportunity to travel was one of the main reasons why we began teaching abroad, in addition to the growth and adventures this opportunity would bring. While discussing where we wanted to go, Mark suggested Israel and I immediately said I thought it would be neat to be in Bethlehem on Christmas. I feel very grateful to look back at that conversation of dreaming about our travels, as we were able to make that dream a reality.
We spent about a week in Israel traveling to some of the holiest sites in the world, walking where JC walked, lived, and taught. It was truly an amazing and unforgettable experience and I'm so glad we had the opportunity to go. This past year we continued to be blessed with the opportunities He provided for us and am grateful for this experience. Below we will try to give you a snap shot into our trip with pictures and explanations.
Day 1: We arrived and got to our Hostel. This was our first experience staying in a Hostel and we learned that when we travel again for longer periods of time, we will be sure to switch it up between hostel and hotel. Although it was extremely cheap to stay there, the luxury of our own room and bathroom is priceless at times. After we checked in and unloaded our bags, we went exploring Old Jerusalem. Our Hostel was located in Old Jerusalem in the Muslim Quarter. Old Jerusalem was very different than I imagined. It was enclosed with walls and the inside was a maze with shops everywhere. We walked around and saw some of the amazing sites, but didn't spend a lot of time at each as we were taking a tour of the Old and New City the following day.
In front of the door to our hostel. To the right is a guarded Muslim entrance to the Dome of the Rock. There were guards there most of the day in full uniform with automatic rifles. Lets just say we were never allowed in that entrance, although it was just feet from our door.
Inside Old Jerusalem
I loved all of the small doorway entrances in the Old City.
More pictures of the Old City to get an idea of how it looked like a maze.
Mark and I in front of the Wailing Wall (Western Wall) - only part of the original temple still standing.
Birthday dinner outside fully bundled (not used to the cooler temps of 50s and 60s), but it was delicious and had good company. :)
Hostel Night 1: I was awoken in the middle of the night by a woman having night terrors. She started yelling in Chinese and then was quiet for a bit and then would begin yelling in Chinese again. It was quite terrifying to wake up to, but just added to the experience of hostel living. Of course Mark slept right through this.
Day 2: Old & New City Tour
This was by far our favorite tour of the three we went on. We had an awesome tour guide, Sylvia, and a great group. Plus, it was well organized and extremely informative.
Going up the Mount of Olives
View from the top of Mount Olives - cemeteries below for the three main religions for this area, Jewish, Muslim, and Christian.
The Olive Tree represents where they think the last supper happened.
The Wailing Wall and Dome of the Rock behind us--We were able to go and pray and put in a prayer at the Wailing Wall and I was truly moved thinking about this is where JC taught. It was such a great experience as we were able to truly reflect on where we were and the significance of the site.
We walked most of the stations of the cross - somewhat hard to truly picture as were were waling through the Old City with tons of people and shops on both sides. It helped me get a better idea of how long his journey was and have me an idea of the distance between different sites.
Holy Sepulchre Church- Where JC was crucified and buried - they have built a church over the holy sites, which is what they did with most holy sites in this area.
Day 3: Holocaust Museum
Mark and I spent the afternoon touring the Holocaust Museum. We didn't take any pictures inside as that was not allowed, and also wouldn't seem appropriate. The museum was filled with artifacts, written information, and video testimonies. It was very well done to represent the events. Although it was depressing to go through, we both truly appreciated the information displayed throughout the museum.
Hostel Night Experience: Unfortunately, there was a loud snorer who was sleeping in the bunk below me. I was awoken multiple times throughout the night with someone hitting on our bunk to try to quiet the snorer. I later found out it was Mark hitting my bed... Needless, to say I didn't get much sleep with the snoring and the banging of my bed and we had a very early day for our tour.
Day 4: Nazareth and Galilee Tour
Overall, we enjoyed the different sites we went on during the tour, but didn't like how much time we spent in the bus. We were gone for a little over 12 hours and spent about 7-8 hours in the bus. The sites were great, but we didn't like the tour guide as much as the first one we had, who we absolutely adored. Below are some pictures of the different places we visited. The signs will hopefully help explain where we are in each picture.
Joseph's dwelling
Village of Nazareth behind us
Sea of Galilee- - Where JC walked on water and near where he fed 5,000
Shortly after we took this picture we went and watched someone get baptized in the Jordan River.
Day 5: Our own explorations
We toured around the Old City ourselves and enjoyed a hike up the Mount of Olives.
Enjoying a mid morning treat~
Garden Gethsemane - where JC was captured before his crucifixtion
After our hike up Mount of Olives...it was quite a hike, but totally worth it! Enjoying a nice glass of wine and the pretty view.
Singing Christmas Carols on Christmas Eve - - quite a neat experience to sing with people from all over the world and in different languages.
Day 6: Christmas Day - Bethlehem and Jericho Tour
The beginning of this tour started off great. We visited a site where Mary took JC, Shepard's Field, and the birthplace of JC. While we were at Shepard's Field, we read the scripture that talked about when they were informed about JC's birth. It was pretty powerful to read at the location where it happened and was glad that our tour guide recommended it. Our tour guide was also a follower, so we had a good perspective of this area.
After Shepard's Field we went into the city of Bethlehem and visited the site where JC was born. It was amazing be there on His birthday, but it was quite crowded as you can see from the pictures. We went in to the church that is built ontop of the site he was buried and began to wait in line to see the actual spot he was born, but it would've taken us quite a long time to wait and see it. So, we decided to only have a few people from our group go, as that way the could go through the exit door. It was supposed to only take 30-40 minutes, but 2.5 hours later, they came out. I can only imagine how long it would've taken if we would've all waiting in the long line together. While we waited we were able to go to party of a nearby Christmas Service, which was nice.
With the long wait, we were late to our Jericho tour and got a very late start to that. So the tour was a bit rushed. We also missed lunch and the combination of being starving and the swerving roads did not set well with me. I got car sick on the way, but it was luckily at a stop to view Temptation Mountain, and there was a trash can.
We went on a short tour and also enjoyed a Falafel sandwich.
This is the site where JC was tempted on the mountain.
Day 7: Dome of the Rock and Travel to Oman
The Dome of the Rock is owned by the Muslims, so it is only open to the public certain days of the week and certain hours. Mark and I got up early to get in line to visit the Dome of the Rock. This is where Abraham was going to sacrifice his son Isaac. Unfortunately, we were not able to go inside the Dome, but were able to walk the grounds around it. It is such a beautiful building.
After the Dome of the Rock we departed for the airport to begin our travels to Muscat, Oman.
Days 8-11: Muscat, Oman
After nearly missing our flight in Dubai to Muscat, because we both fell asleep, we finally arrived to Muscat early Friday morning. Overall, Muscat was just okay. It reminded us a lot of the neighborhood we live in now, but enjoyed having the beach within walking distance. We enjoyed the lounge chairs of the 5-star hotel that was a few minutes away, rented a car one day (quite a pain with contradicting maps/internet directions), visit a fort, their souq, and enjoyed eating their cheap food with fun different juices (big in the Middle East).
We love flying Royal Jordanian - - they give you a free meal (tastes good), even if your flight is less than 3 hours and a complimentary drink!
Muscat, Oman
We stepped it up a bit this time and actually had our own room.
The food was so cheap - this meal was $9 for the two of us, with juice drinks
Enjoying the 5-star hotel chairs ;)
We loved this guy- he was right across from where we stayed. His naan (bread) was delicious! We went several times while we were there. It was cool to see him make the bread and cook in near the fire.
Sunset on our roof :)
Palace behind me
Juice hopping--this was more like a dessert than anything.
Coconut drink = never have again, it was gross!
Our travels went very smoothly and we were grateful, considering we took a total of 8 flights. We did experience something quite traumatic while were in Dubai on our way home to Doha. As we were sitting in our chairs we heard a loud smack and a woman started screaming. We stood and turned around and saw a man beating a woman with a cane. I have never witnessed something like this and was very shaken up. Luckily the guards came and took him away, he definitely didn't fly out that night and they took the woman to get checked out and hear her story. We have no idea what it was about, as they spoke in a different language, but it was quite scary.
Getting off the plane back in Doha this time was drastically different for many reasons than when we first came in December. One difference is I could actually breathe when I came off the plane, and wasn't suffocated by the heat/humidity. It was nice this time getting off in cooler temperatures and it feeling more like home. Although, we had a great time on our trip, it was good to be home.
Kristin
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