Chapter 28 Eilat

Eilat finally appears on the horizon rising, like a mirage out of the desert, similar to the way Las Vegas looks when you drive into it. Eilat, of course is nowhere near that size but the high rise hotels and the surrounding geography are eerily familiar.

We check into Herod's Boutique which, we were told, was an upgrade because the Leonardo was fully booked. As things turned out, it would take a lot of convincing to make the case that the Herod Boutique was better than the Leonardo.

We quickly freshen up and decide to walk the boardwalk along the Red Sea. I think I found the spot where Moses crossed.

This looks like it would be possible to get across with chariots chasing you. the rest of the Red Sea has tankers and other large vessels sailing on it.

There are some pretty spots for photo-ops as we walk along.

The fishing must be pretty good.

There is a lovely canal that empties into the sea.

Andrea and Ruth find an unexpected treat riding a blue camel. Well girls, that's your camel ride.

We head back to the hotel to change for dinner and then head down to the bar to talk about today's events. We find out that Lynn & Ed changed their room because of an ant infestation problem and have a few laughs over that. There are 2 servers working (and I use that term loosely) the bar. Andi and I wait patiently for a few minutes to be acknowledged (there are only 4 people at the bar including us). I clear my throat a few times and the bartender finally acknowledges our existence. I ask for a glass of Riesling but, apparently, the bartender doesn't understand and consults with the barmaid. I tell her I want Riesling and she says something to the bartender in Hebrew but all I get is a blank stare. I ask what kind of white wine he has and still don't get an intelligible response so i ask for a menu but it only had bottle prices. I now ask him to show me a bottle of white wine he sells by the glass and he hands me a bottle of RIESLING! I couldn't believe what I was looking at and pointed out the name to him so maybe he would know what to give the next patron who ordered this.

We bring our drinks over to the lounge area and join several others from our group where we continue to make jokes about ants in the rooms, fleas in the furniture and our adventure with the bartender. It's a good thing we were all in a good mood because after we adjourn to the restaurant, the bartender comes storming in demanding payment for some of the drinks. Apparently, some of our group had given the bartender their room numbers and expected the drinks to be put on the their tab. We already know how well the bartender understands English and how bright he was but he wasn't able to transfer a crucial piece of information to us. When you are part of a group at this hotel, you can't charge to the room so he was expecting to be paid for the drinks. The greeter at the restaurant said something that only made the situation worse, voices were raised, feelings were hurt and all over something so needless. It turned into an hour long melodrama with the Rabbi and Ronit trying to calm things down. Finally the hotel manager came over and apologized profusely but by then it was too little too late. During this same time frame, I asked one of the wait staff to add another table to ours so we could accommodate a few more people and that turned into a discussion of how to arrange the table. Then we asked for some ice for our drinks and the waitress brought over this 2 gallon bucket that looked ridiculous sitting on the table on the table.
When we asked for coffee and tea at the end of the meal, we were told we'd have to go downstairs to the lobby to get it. By this time, we were all shaking our heads in amazement, not believing that this hotel was a 5 star upgrade from the Leonardo chain where we stayed in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Give me Leonardo any day.

It's really unfortunate the evening turned out that way but tomorrow is another day and by then everyone was laughing about all of the craziness of the previous night.

Chapter 27 Tues. May 17th Drive to Eilat

Our much smaller group of 20 heads off on a much smaller bus driven by Jamal, who is our new bus driver and of Druze extraction. After a week of being #28, I have to learn my new number #16. This is going to be tougher than I thought.

We travel on Rd#1 back towards Latrun. We pass many vehicles that had been shot up and destroyed by the Arabs which have been painted and left of the side of the road as a constant reminder of living life in a war zone. We pass the Crusader Stables and then head south on Rd. #3 to Be'er Sheva where we stop at Aroma for coffee and snacks. The coffee at Aroma is better than /Starbucks and maybe equal to Dunkin Donuts and the food served is outstanding for a fast food convenience store. (The closest Aroma is in Boca Raton and I think it's the only one in the US).

Once our rest stop has ended, we continue our drive thru the Negev while listening to the fascinating history of the Nabataeans who lived in the area. They were descendants of the Edomites and lead caravans to Asia for spices and perfume. The Romans had much difficulty defeating the Nabataeans because they had an uncanny knack for being able to find fresh water and new the desert very well. Trajan finally did conquer them. Nabataeans - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

We continue on to the Sede Boger Kibbutz where David Ben Gurion lived out his life and where he chose to be buried rather than on Mt. Herzel. We drive past many farms and orchards and everything is green. The irrigation is almost all drip irrigation and it is amazing how much can grow in this arid land. The area outside the farms is a brown, dry, hostile environment with not even a blade of grass growing. I don't know what the Ibex live on.

Ben Gurion's living room above.

Pepper tree that Ben Gurion planted on Tu B'shvat in 1964. His modest home is in the background.

Ibex grazing along the road.

On we travel to Makhtesh Ramon Makhtesh Ramon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia which is considered the Grand Canyon of Israel. I've been to both places and, admittedly there were dust storms the day we went to Makhtesh Ramon, but Grand Canyon is certainly more spectacular. In any case, this crater (more than a canyon) was interesting. We stopped, snapped a few photos (nothing worth publishing so go to the link) and on to Eilat.

Chapter 26 Monday May 16th cont.

After lunch, we walked over to the Western wall and receive more information about Arab culture and the political problems of the area. Apparently, Arabs teach their children history with a timeline beginning with Mohammed and this produces the misconception that the Israelis have stolen lands from the Muslims. I tried to verify this account on-line but couldn't find any corroboration although it does seem plausible.

The Al Aqsa mosque with the grey metal roof is very close in proximity to the Dome of the Rock with the gold roof.

Mohammed never set foot in Israel yet most Muslims believe that Mohammed received the Koran at the site of the Dome of the Rock. That is not substantiated by Wikipedia which offers a different explanation and worth a read. Quran - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Barbarosa the Mamaluk built the Muslim Quarter in the 13th century.

We walk over to the south wall and see the steps going up towards the main entrance to the temple. The steps had different widths so it was not an automatic process to climb. You had to pay attention to what you were doing so it would be more special than an ordinary staircase.

It must have been an awe-inspiring site walking these stairs 2,000 years ago. The Turks rebuilt the stairs but the stones that comprise the wall date back to Herod.The top section of wall at the far end is part of the Al Aqsa mosque.

Next we go to the Archeological Park where we tour a site discovered while excavating to build a Yeshiva. We see the remnants of 3 cohanim houses including cisterns and mikvas which were located in the basements.

That's us, except for yours truly, waiting to get into the Archeological Park.

When we complete this part of the tour, most of the group heads back to the bus while Ronit, Dave, Rick, Steve, Harvey and me go back to the gift store to reclaim the days shopping bags. We walk at a very brisk pace thru the Arab Quarter which looks quite interesting and makes me sorry that we don't have time to shop in this section. We arrive at Bar-On Gifts, collect the bags and head to the bus, passing part of the wall where you can climb to the top and walk the parapet.

Trying to redistribute the shopping bags on the bus turns into a balagan (ah, that word again). There are bags inside bags with multiple owners of the gifts inside. It takes almost the entire ride back to the hotel to sort everything out but I think everyone wound up with all of their purchases once Marcia realized she had Bernice's shawl in her back pack.

Tonight we have our farewell dinner for the part of the group going back to the states tonight. There are gifts presented to Ronit & Yaron and also to Mark and Meryl from all of us. Seventeen people leave for the airport and the rest go to the Night Spectacular at David's Tower which part of the group had seen last night.

Once we get past a group of really unruly, pushy children, we are treated to one of the most beautiful presentations I've ever witnessed. You can't really call it a light show because it is a motion picture projected onto the walls of one of the most breathtaking outdoor venues I've ever seen. The movie, which depicts the history of Jerusalem, is set to haunting melodies. No photography is allowed inside but there are some YouTube videos although most are shaky, hand-held smart phone videos. It's one of those experiences that you've got to see it in person to believe.  Tower of David Museum of the History of Jerusalem | Night Spectacular Click on the video in the upper left of the website and enlarge to fill your computer screen for just a taste of what we saw.

Incidentally, there was a full moon that night and the air temperature was perfect.

At the conclusion of the show, we walked back to the hotel by way of the Mamilla Mall, stopping for ice-cream and other assorted treats. I can't speak for anyone else but I was on an emotional high that night.

Chapter 25 Monday May 16th Part I

Our day begins with a bus tour around the walled city. Let me apologize here for the quality of the next few pictures since they were taken from a moving bus.

We pass the Church of All Nations which contains 12 domes, 1 for each nation who donated. Church of All Nations - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Gold domes of St. Mary Magdelene on the Mount of Olives, built by the Russian Tsar Alexander III in 1888.

Here is a better picture that I found on-line.

Next is the Dormition Abbey on Mt. Zion.

Passing the Tomb of Absolom. Tomb of Absalom - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

We get off the bus and enter the Armenian Quarter thru the Zion Gate. We are told that the Armenians built one of the first churches once Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. We are told that the Turks marched 1.5 million Armenians into the desert where they perished but the Turks, when they ruled Jerusalem, left the Armenians alone.

We procede at a fairly rapid rate thru the Armenian Quarter to the Jewish Quarter. This is the upper portion of the old city depicted in the model at the Israeli Museum with red roofs. Adrianus Caeser suppresses the last revolt by Bar Kochba in 135 AD. 200,000 KIA's and 100,000 are enslaved. The Romans turn Jerusalem into a pagan city named Iliacapotina.

In 1948, the entire Jewish Quarter is destroyed by the Jordanian army which was not entirely a bad thing since, if the buildings had not been completely destroyed, the Arabs would have moved into the vacant houses. It also allowed the Israelis, once they recaptured Jerusalem in 1967, to excavate and put underground utilities and also uncover archaeological sites.

Before entering the Cardo, we stop in front of a mosaic that was salvaged from an 6th century Jordanian church in Madaba showing that Jerusalem was a complete city at that time. Jerusalem was destroyed by an earthquake in the 8th century. http://www.biblewalks.com/Sites/JerusalemRomanStreets.html This link gives a good description.

We walk through the Cardo and have about 1 hr. of free time to shop before continuing our tour. When we are finished, Ronit advises us to leave all of our shopping bags at the Bar-On gift shop where her proprietor friend will watch the bags till we are ready to go back to the bus at the end of the day.We'll staple our names to the bags and they'll be no problems. What could possibly go wrong with that idea? More about this adventure later when we try and sort everything out on the bus.

The picture above is a mural depicting the Cardo 2,000 years ago.

We walk past some archeological restorations and then out to a plaza where we watch part of a B'ar Mitzvah celebration.

We stop for lunch at numerous cafe's and falafel stands. While I'm sitting in one of the cafe's wearing my Seminoles cap, a jolly man in a Gators cap introduces himself as Beryl the Gator rabbi of Hillel at UF. We chit-chat for a while and asks me to say hello to Rabbi Vogel in St. Augustine, who he's friends with. This wasn't the only time my Seminoles caps got noticed. While we were listening to a lecture on top of Masada, some birthright kids walk by and 2 of them give me the Gator chomp. Both were wearing UF colors. I gave them the tomahawk chop right back.

Continued in Chapter 26

Chapter 24 Sunday Night

Dinah McNamara's daughter, Tracy, joins us for dinner on Sunday night. It was nice to see her again and happy she took the time to join us.

The part of the group that was flying home on Monday night went to the Night Spectacular at David's Tower while the rest of us could spend time as we wished. We decided to walk along Ben Yehuda street with our cousins and friends.

Here are Andrea's cousins in front of Kipa World. They had almost every Yarmulka design imaginable though the proprietor tried to convince me that a Cleveland Indians kipa was an FSU design. I was born in the dark but not last night.

I did spend some time here buying gifts for the outgoing board of TBY. It was really nice to be able to sit and enjoy an ice cream and not have the pressure of being at a specific place at a set time. Tomorrow it's back on the road.

Chapter 23 Sunday May 15 Israeli Museum, Mt. Herzel, Yad Vashem

Another busy day today. No rest for the weary. We head to the Israeli Museum whose claim to fame is a scale model of the original walled city of Jerusalem as it looked before the second temple was destroyed. The attention to detail is exquisite and we get quite a history lesson for over an hour.

I have included some pictures of the model but the attached link is a virtual tour of the model so you can walk around it yourself. http://www.imj.org.il/panavision/jerusalem_model_index.html (If the link doesn't work, try copy & paste)

The Romans destroyed the 2nd temple around 70 AD while trying to quell the revolt of the Israelites. Second Temple - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The inner wall is Herodian and the outer wall was built by Agrippa.

Next we travel to Mt. Herzl which is a national cemetery similar to Arlington. Those in the military are buried there as well as many dignitaries such as Herzel, Golda Meir, Yitzak Rabin and Ed Kolek who was mayor of Jerusalem for many years.

 Golda Meir's tomb above.

Herzel's tomb above.

Then we travel to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial, where we tour the main exhibit, the memorial to the 1.5 million children lost and the memorial to the communities of Europe that had their Jewish population decimated. Ronit told us the story of her stepmother Elizabeth who survived the camps and emigrated to Israel in 1957.

There is no photography allowed inside the memorial but after go thru the main exhibit hall, you come out onto this balcony overlooking a beautiful valley. Your insides are churning from all of the emotions you are feeling and then you see the following.

There were not many dry eyes by the time we left the main exhibit but going thru the memorial of the 1.5 million children lost is gut wrenching.

The Monument to the Communities is a block constructed maze approximating the geographical layout of Europe. The maze is constructed with high walls and in such a manner to give you the feeling that there was no way out and no way to escape the clutches of the Nazi's.

The next stop on our itinerary was the Rabbi's Tunnel which runs under the Western Wall but our guide felt that it was too dangerous to go today because of Muslim protests commemorating the Nakba (or Catastrophe). Here is a YouTube link so that all of you that went with us can see what we missed. Rabbi's Tunnel - Jerusalem The tunnel has been a flash point in the past and here are a couple of links for your reading pleasure which explain why. 

TEMPLE MOUNT TUNNEL - What is the truth regarding the ...  

Notes on the Rabbinical Tunnel

Here is a link explaining Nakba: Nakba Day - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Watching CNN that night, we learn about Syrian protestors crashing thru the border at the Golan Heights with shots fired and some injuries. This also occurred on the Lebanese border and the Gaza Strip but it was all quiet wherever we had gone today. The news reports did punctuate how fragile the situation in Israel really is.

Chapter 22 Church of the Holy Sepulcher

After dinner, we walk to the old city to go to the Christian Quarter and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

Walking through Christian Quarter.

Church of the Holy Sepulchre - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Christian Quarter - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

As we enter through the Jaffa gate (I think) to the old city near the Christian Quarter, Ronit stops to give us her opinion of the origination of a mezuzah on the doorposts of Jewish homes.

In Ronit's version, she poses the question of why it would be necessary to mark the doorposts of Jewish homes with lambs blood if God was all-knowing. Hm-m-m-m. She answers her own question with the following explanation: the people of that time believed in many gods including Ra and also believed in magic. It was much more efficient to tell them that the one and only all-knowing god needed a sign than to get into a philosophical argument. This explanation is different from anything I'd ever heard before or read on-line since.

We continue on past the tomb of the wall engineers. They were ordered hung by Sulamen either because  when they built the wall, they excluded the City of David and Mt. Zion or to prevent them from ever building anything so beautiful again - the legends vary. That's some tough building inspectors.

The Church of the Holy Sepulcher was built around 400 A.D. on the spot where a stone shaped like a human skull, called the Golgata stone, was found since the stories passed down from one generation to another claimed that Jesus was crucified near a stone that had this shape. Again, the precise location is just a rough guess. Golgata - Wikipedia You'll have to click on Translate this page before reading what's on the link (unless you speak Swedish) (Sorry about all of the posts trying to get this link to work)

                                                           Courtyard and entrance.

Altar

Tomb

                                          Mural near stone of anointing depicting that scene