Back to day 9 where we docked in the first of two Israeli
cities, Haifa where we hired a driver to take us to Nazareth.
Originally, we were not sure we had been there before and
when we saw the first church, the Church of the Assumption, we knew we had been
here in 2011. So we revisited the
church, which on the spot where the Angle Gabriel came done and told Mary that she
was going to bear the Christ Child.
After that we walked to St. Joseph’s Church which was the place
were Joseph, the husband of Mary had his carpenter shop.
After about 2 hours I Nazareth the driver took us back to
the ship.
Dinner was with a new couple from England and it was fun sharing
experiences.
After dinner the show was a singer who sang the music of
Andrew Lloyd Webber and he was pretty good.
Then it was onto the casino where Barb did not play and Ed
had a quick win.
Day 10
So many of the passengers on the ship for the almost sole purpose
to be in Jerusalem for two days.
Our driver met us at the pier at 9:00am for the 1-hour drive
to the Old City of Jerusalem.
Words cannot describe the original city of Jerusalem and neither
can pictures – but we will do our best.
The official name of our hotel is – the Pontifical Institute
– Notre Dame – of Jerusalem Center and it was amazing.
The hotel was part of a larger building built in 1882 to
house pilgrims coming to the Holy Land. While the rooms were small by American standards,
they were quite nice with all the modern conveniences, except a tv which we did
not miss. We also had a 2’ x 25’ Balcony
that overlooked the city.
This hotel is the only hotel that is located right next to
the wall of the Old City so it was perfect for us.
We first walked to the Hotel of the Holy Sepulcher, which is
built on the site of Jesus’ Crucifixion and burial.
The hotel dates back to the 4th century and it is
in the Christian area of the Old City; however, the Church as shared property
with the Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic, who all control
parts of the Old City.
We then walked around and had an interesting experience in a
German Lutheran Church where we met a couple who were running a small coffee shop
in the cloisters of the church. Turns
out that she was a magician and did a trick with Barb that was quite good. They
also sang Happy Birthday to Ed and gave hi a candle to light in the Church.
We then ate dinner in a little shop on one of the streets.
Then our room was ready and we went back to the hotel to check
in.
We found out that the 12th and 13th was
a Jewish holiday so the Old City was to be very busy.
We had tickets to see a light show at the Tower of David. This was a set of towers and fortress type of
building where they were to have a light show depicting the various states of
King David. The first part of the Tower
was built in the 5th century BC!!
We thought that if we arrived there from the hotel at about
6:00pm we would be early so we could walk around.
When we got to the gates of the Old City, the police had
closed the city and were not letting anyone if as it was already too crowed.
We walked along the wall and found a smaller gate and a policeman
who believed us that we had tickets for the show. We arrived just in time to see it and it was
very good.
We then walked back to our hotel with what seemed like hundreds
of people, laughing, playing music and just celebrating their holiday.
Day 11
This was our second day in Jerusalem and we traced the steps
of Jesus and he was led through the streets of the Old City to his Crucifixion. It was moving to see all the places that are
part of the story.
Then we went to the Western Wall, sometimes referred as the
Wailing Wall.
Hopefully the video will show you had crowed it was, but a
great experience for us.
We had originally planned to be driven back at 4:00pm for an
8:00pm sailing; however, our driver called and said we had to leave by 2:00pm
or we might not make it back to the ship.
We took his advice and left at 2:00pm. Coming the drive was one hour and going back
to the ship it took 2 hours as the traffic had not gotten bad yet.
We had dinner with a couple from England we had met before and
thoroughly enjoyed it.
After we went to a small entertainment area to see a couple
of magicians up close and they were amazing.
At the casino, Barb didn’t play as Ed started out with a nice
winning streak and got up a winner after only about ½ hour, plus we were very
tired.
Our next and last port with be Limassol
on the island of Cyprus.
Ready to go to Jerusalem
Where Jesus was crucified Inside the Luthern Church
The entrance to the Old City
On our deck
The front of the hotel - our room, 2nd floor on the far right
Going out for the second day
Why not a new necklace!!
Where Jesus fell against the wall
Amazing street food
The steps to the Western Wall
Barb's new friend
Dinner
Of course Barb bought a new scarf or two!!
Snacks before dinner in our room
Tuna for dinner and Lamb Chops - both outstanding
Our dinner partners
