Holy Land trip - Israel and Palestine - COMPLETE

[kateb78]

Day 4 - Old Town Jerusalem

We left our hotel at 6am as we were lucky enough to have booked a slot to celebrate mass in the Crucifixion Chapel at the Holy Sepulchre. This meant we entered Jerusalem via the Jaffa Gate when it was still empty and quiet

We walked along the closed market streets until we arrived at the very unassuming entrance of the church which is the site of such importance to so many people across the world

The first thing you see when you enter the church is the Anointing Stone

The church is built over the site of Calvary which was a hill outside of the original city walls. This means there are lots of different levels inside the church and we made our way to the chapel, which was up some steep stairs, to the site of the crucifixion. It’s mind blowing.

It always feels very emotional being here. Compared to our last visit, the church was almost empty and so it meant we were able to take our time visiting the various parts of it, including the tomb itself

After a couple of hours inside the church we made our way back out to the streets which were starting to come alive, albeit slowly because it was still the Eid holiday

We stopped inside a Russian church which had a preserved piece of the old street level inside

We walked through the Muslim quarter and then through the tunnel (and metal detectors) to get to the Western Wall

As the following day was Israeli Independence Day there was a lot of military presence and soldiers standing beside an eternal flame. Men and women have to visit separate sections of the wall which we all did and then moved a little further away to get an iconic picture with the Dome of the Rock in the background

We weren’t able to visit the Dome of the Rock on this trip as it was Eid. It’s also the site of some tension, always, but at no point did we feel unsafe.

We walked back the way we’d come to the Pools of Bethesda and St Anne’s church

It was at this point that we started walking the Stations of the Cross along the Via Dolorosa. This is the route Jesus took through the Jerusalem streets on His way to be crucified. The stations are marked with a plaque on the wall. It’s a surreal experience to do this with the hustle and bustle of the market streets all around you!

The final stations are inside the Holy Sepulchre, but as we’d already been inside we finished our route on a roof part of the church where there’s an Ethiopian monastery. It’s such an interesting place!

After another falafel lunch, we had a couple of hours free time in the old town. Some people went for coffee, some browsed the markets and others went to the oldest tattoo studio in the world and got a permanent souvenir of our pilgrimage!

[duchy]

Your posts are bringing back some fantastic memories . I spent six months in Israel in my twenties on a kibbutz and spent many weekends travelling . Absolutely amazing.
I’m so glad you got to reschedule , it’s a very special trip in lots of different ways.

[Melbatb]

What a fabulous trip. Thanks for sharing- looking forward to reading about the rest of the trip!

[kateb78]

Day 5 - Ein Karem and Mount Sion

It was a more leisurely morning today and we set off to Ein Karem which was one of my favourite places on our 2015 visit. Our first stop was the home of Zachary and Elizabeth who were the parents of John the Baptist.

Inside the Church of St John the Baptist you can see the place where he was born

Close to the church is the site of Mary’s Spring which Mary would have visited when she visited her cousin, Elizabeth

We then walked the short but uphill walk to the Church of the Visitation

This is really a lovely church and setting. We were again lucky enough to celebrate mass in the garden here. It’s not often you celebrate mass overlooking olive trees and citrus trees!

After Ein Karem we went for lunch to a restaurant on the way to Mount Sion where we had a traditional Palestinian dish called Maqluba. It was amazing and was a show and delicious rice/chicken/vegetable dish all in one! It translates as “upside down” and is a one pot dish which is theatrically tipped upside down to serve. When I look at the pic now it doesn’t look amazing, but it definitely was!

Full from lunch we travelled on to Mount Sion where we visited the Cenacle which is site of the Last Supper and the Upper Room is replicated there

In a different part of the building you’re able to visit David’s tomb. Again, men and women are separated

We walked on to look at Dormition Abbey which was closed for renovations but it’s such an imposing building

We were close to the old city walls here so stepped outside to see the evidence of past conflicts where you can see the bullet holes in the walls of the city gate

It was a quick drive from here to St Peter In Gallicantu which is in such an amazing location. It’s the place where Peter denied knowing Jesus 3 times and where the cock crowed (that’s the translation of Gallicantu), and is the site of Caiaphas the high priest’s house. It was here that Jesus was held in a dungeon before his trial

This statue of Jesus being held in the dungeon took my breath away when I first saw it and again this time

From here you can see the “Sacred Steps” which was the only route from the city to get to Caiaphas’ house at the time of Jesus - He therefore had to walk up these steps. Again, mind blowing

On the way out of the area of the church there’s a great viewpoint where you can see the Mount of Olives and the old city in panorama

On our way back to our hotel, we took the opportunity to stop at Banksy’s hotel; The Walled Off Hotel which is built right next to the Separation Wall and you pay extra for a “wall view”. Beside the hotel, a Palestinian gallery has popped up with really creative art drawn literally right on the wall itself and includes original work by Banksy himself. It’s become a symbol of the struggle. We found it both clever and moving

The cherubs pulling the wall apart are by Banksy

And there ends another spectacular day!

[DisneyDaffodil]

Absolutely amazing trip, your photos are stunning. I can read how excited you were on the trip and how much you enjoyed it too. I’m so pleased you decided to write the report, I’m really enjoying it

[Princess Alison]

What a fabulous trip. It really paints a picture of what it's like there and brings to life the stories many of us know so well from our upbringings. It's pleasing to see that these sites have survived.

The food too looks very good. That Palestinian dish certainly sounds interesting!

Were there many tourists over there?

Thank you so much for taking the time to post this.

[kateb78]

Originally Posted by DisneyDaffodil

Absolutely amazing trip, your photos are stunning. I can read how excited you were on the trip and how much you enjoyed it too. I’m so pleased you decided to write the report, I’m really enjoying it

See more...

Aww thank you, glad you’re enjoying it. I know that I’ll be glad I did it when I read it back in the cold winter months! Final few days in the Sea of Galilee area coming up

[kateb78]

Originally Posted by Princess Alison

What a fabulous trip. It really paints a picture of what it's like there and brings to life the stories many of us know so well from our upbringings. It's pleasing to see that these sites have survived.

The food too looks very good. That Palestinian dish certainly sounds interesting!

Were there many tourists over there?

Thank you so much for taking the time to post this.

See more...

Thanks for reading along!

That’s the thing that stuck with me most from our 2015 trip - just how much was brought to life so that when I hear a phrase, or a Christmas Carol or a bible story now I can actually picture where it happened.

We all really enjoyed the food. Lots of salads, grilled meat, pitta and hummus… a Mediterranean diet sure is good for you! The only caveat is that it’s not recommended for tourists to drink the tap water there so we stuck to bottled.

There were lots of tour groups around. Nowhere near as many as we saw in 2015, but it’s getting back to somewhere near normal. Certainly it’ll be back at pre-pandemic levels by next year.

[Vinniecat]

Just flicked through the photos. I’m looking forward to reading this one in the morning. It looks like a fantastic trip.

[DisneyDaffodil]

Originally Posted by kateb78

Aww thank you, glad you’re enjoying it. I know that I’ll be glad I did it when I read it back in the cold winter months! Final few days in the Sea of Galilee area coming up

See more...

I will admit to reading back my old trip reports in the winter, it’s a lovely way to remember the holidays.

I’m looking forward to reading about the Sea of Galilee. Just the names of the places brings back the photos from the childrens bible I was given as a child (and still own today). It was a big book filled with beautiful illustrations of far off, mysterious lands and people of long ago and I loved looking at it and reading the stories