HOLY LAND TRIP APRIL 2019

As it’s Easter, I thought I would share some memories from my trip to the Holy Land with Charlie and my sister Catherine. It was part of my seventieth celebrations and one of the highlights. It was a whirlwind trip spread over eight days. We started off in Istanbul, which was an amazing city. Did you know that tulips were first cultivated there and not in Holland as I thought. We then flew into Tel Aviv from where we were transferred to Bethlehem for three nights and then moved onto Nazareth for four nights. During that time we never stopped. The weather was glorious and the flowers were out in abundance, apparently quite unusual for that time of year. We visited lots of the places we hear about in the bible and I still get a little frisson of delight when I hear those places mentioned and think I’ve been there.

For me the highlights were Tabgha and Jerusalem. Tabgha was on the shores of the Sea of Galilee and the place where many of Jesus’ miracles took place and also the place where he appeared to his disciples after his resurrection. Jerusalem was amazing and I would like to go back there. We visited the western or wailing wall as we know it, walked the Via Delarosa where Jesus carried his cross to his crucifixion and stood on the steps of the temple where he overturned the tables of the moneylenders. The trip took us all over Israel. We saw where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered and viewed them in glass cases in the beautiful museum that’s been erected for them and visited archaeological digs one of which was a Roman Theatre built by the infamous Pontius Pilot. Water featured quite a bit on our trip; sailing on the Sea of Galilee while taking part in a service was special, standing in the River Jordan as one of our party was being baptised was an emotional experience and what can I say about swimming in the Dead Sea? It was scary and exhilarating as we floated in the salty, brown water and struggled to right ourselves when we wanted to get out. We were taken to where it was said Jesus was born, where he and his disciples ate their last supper, where he was crucified and where he was entombed. I loved the walk we did from the Mount of Olives to the Garden of Gethsemane where we had a service next to the peace garden.

It was, of course, touristy at times and I’m sure some of the places weren’t where Jesus actually went, but it was also sometimes very special and emotional. I’ll never forget the beautiful, spontaneous singing from various churches as we walked around. At the end of the tour when the others in our group flew home, Charlie, Catherine and I headed to Tel Aviv for three days for a bit of relaxation. It was lovely and we managed to visit the old city of Jaffa. It’s definitely worth a trip whether you are Christian or not.

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