Thursday Adventures and Random Thoughts

Thursday morning we awoke to thunder and off & on rain. The day was a gift from Air Canada who changed our original schedule. This way we had time in the morning and many of us used the opportunity to repack, reorganize and sort out an suitcase prior to our noon departure from our hotel. Some took the opportunity to go down to the Bazaar, which we learned was much closer then we expected. Others took the opportunity to just walk around, or to gather for an informal lunch or coffee in the bar. Many did a little of all of the above. Then it was time to load our luggage onto the bus for the last tour on this trip.
Mohamed took us to Hezekiah’s Tunnel which was built between the 18th and the 15th centuries BCE. Unfortunately he made it out to be a much more difficult climb than it really was, so some spent the time in the Archaeological “Garden”, while others remained on the bus, and 8 of us armed with miniature flashlights made our way through this remarkable engineering feat.

The purpose of

the tunnel was to get water from the Gihon” springs to the Shiloh Pool to provide a regular supply of water to the city. We ventured only though the dry part of the tunnels whereas the young people went through a much wetter route. One of the most interesting aspects was the ongoing archaeological work. At the Shiloh Pool we also picked up a few decorating ideas—note the pot lights! We also really appreciated this old Olive Tree with its gnarly trunk.
We were picked up by our bus, transported back to join the rest of the group that had remained at the top, then parked the bus of a very familiar lot and proceeded through the Zion Gate to the Wohl museum. This is a very interesting museum displaying the recovered ruins of the dwellings of wealthy Jerusalemites around the early part of the first century. The reconstruction work is ongoing. As are had time before our date at the restaurant for our farewell dinner, we took over a coffee shop, and enjoyed the opportunity for some list minute shopping in the Jewish Quarter. Several wonderful finds were made by a number of the really determined shoppers.
We then said good bye to Mohammed and went on to our date in Bethlehem with Raji Khoury(our host and Owner & CEO of Shepherds Travels) at his nephew’s Restaurant. We had a wonderful dinner including many choices of salads, and probably the best lamb that most of us had ever eaten. After exchanging our Secret Pal gifts we were off to Tel Aviv for our journey home. Security was quite a challenge and the whole process took almost the whole three hours we had allotted ourselves. There was—however a few minutes for a duty-free stop. Then we were on board for a very long flight home.

Random Thoughts on our Trip

As I write this entry we are headed home, back to our busy lives and regular routines. I found some time in the plane to renew my 3500 or so pictures, to eliminate those that were under or over exposed, the bus jiggled at just the wrong time, or where a tree just happened to get in the way. As I was engaged in this activity I had the chance to reflect on the past 18 days. We have had some amazing adventures, had the chance to fulfill many of our dreams, and basically to have what will probably be one of the most memorable experiences in our lives. From the pyramids and The Sphinx of Egypt, to walking the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem, our days here been filled to the brim. The memories come sweeping back. Some of our prejudices challenged, information recorded, impressions made, our senses overwhelmed, and everything put into better perspective. We learned about the effect of intolerance, of fear and of anger. During our last few days we have seen young people who as part of their duty-carry guns and cell phones with equal casualness. We experienced school children being kept under the watchful eye of those not much older than themselves, but armed with very large guns. Then me saw the pride of nations trying to reclaim their rich past heritage, and of plants and flowers growing out of tiny crevices in monstrous walls. We learned of kindness and brutality in our ancient and modem history. Coming home-several commented on how nice it was not to see soldiers with guns. We are so richly blessed and hopefully through this trip have gained a greater appreciation just how fortunate we are in being born in such a peaceful and rich land. It tends to put tings like ‘the markets’ and the trials of on everyday lives in to prospective. We also really enjoyed a great Latte or Cappuccino in the Toronto airport.
And now—as you read this—our travellers will have been home for a day or so. We trust they will think back on their time on this tour with fond memories, and a greater appreciation of all the experiences, of the friendships made and impressions collected. We hope you have enjoyed the Blog and we offer our thanks to all who travelled with us. It has been a great trip and from Barbara and Harry—we hope to see you all very soon.

Keep watching - next entries will be in December from Australia.