PREFACE: This was written two days ago, however, due to internet issues on the ship, I couldn't get it uploaded. We're now on the first of 4 contiguous sea days so maybe, just maybe, I'll get a couple more posts done!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Where oh where does the time go!! Last post was about Halloween and before that Istanbul. Since then, we've been to Greece, Turkey, and Israel. Now, we're in Egypt, resting on board today after yesterday's loonnngggg journey to Luxor and the Valley of the Kings.
After Istanbul, the next port was Kavala in northern Greece, on November 1st. As we drove through Kavala on our way to Philippi, we passed a well preserved example of an ancient Roman aqueduct.
Monday, November 2nd the Port of Call was Kusadasi for Ephesus. We'd been to Ephesus a few years back and to Kusadasi a week ago. We chose to stay on board just to avoid the carpet making demonstration and the bizarre bazaar!!
Today, the "Way" is mostly shops where a mere detected glance is an invitation to the vendor to badger you to buy something!! Aggressive vendors are prevalent in this part of the world!
Safed is quite an artsy town with many galleries.
One carried replicas of the Nicky Imber statues that are seen on the streets.
Of course, no trip to a sacred city would be complete without a visit to a synagogue.
Our guide then took us to a candle making shop. I suspect she got a cut of everything we bought! I've become sales resistant! Fortunately we were allowed to take photos as the displayed some of the most magnificent wax artwork I've ever seen. No, I've not been to Madame Tussauds!!
Noah's Ark all made of wax and was, of course, in a glass case so disbelievers would keep their grubby little hands off!
Just after I took the picture of the woman braiding the warm wax, I saw the sign that said "No Photos of the artists". Alas!
A few more samples of the work, no more of the artists.
And back on the streets, we were all fascinated by this mamma cat trying to wean her babies, she did get a little "hissy" with them!
From there to the winery! There were quite a few, Dalton was the one the agency had selected for us. Honestly, it had never dawned on me that Israel produced wine! An "oh, duh!" moment!!
We had samples of 2 whites and 2 reds then as a treat, a small taste of kosher wine. We learned the difference in kosher and "koshered", the latter having been pasteurized rather costly expense of having a rabbi oversee the entire process to ensure the production follows Judasim's dietary laws.
After lunch driving on through the Golan Heights, we passed the Sea of Galilee. It was a hazy sandy day so clear pictures were not an option!
One last stop before heading back to the boat. Many, many Christians come here to be baptized or re-baptized in the river Jordan to confirm their faith. The number of folks donning the white "robes" and taking their turn in the river was amazing!
On arriving in Philippi, we really encountered ancient, mostly ruins, ruins like we'd seen in Ostia Antica, Ephesus, Akrotiri, and Pompeii before. All are similar in that they are all mostly in ruins yet are different in many ways. One of these days, I need to learn more about the timeframes of each, the situations of each, etc.
An arial view of the area that had been excavated at the time it was taken… more continues today.
From within, a view of the theater (upper right corner in the arial photo above). Note, the "projection booth" up at the back is not ancient.
From within, a view of the theater (upper right corner in the arial photo above). Note, the "projection booth" up at the back is not ancient.
Not much left of the Basilica. It did vaguely remind me of Delphi where we'd visited several years back.
Monday, November 2nd the Port of Call was Kusadasi for Ephesus. We'd been to Ephesus a few years back and to Kusadasi a week ago. We chose to stay on board just to avoid the carpet making demonstration and the bizarre bazaar!!
November 3rd was a "Sea Day" so we had 2 days to "veg out" on the ship, Tom catching up on his reading and me spending some of on-board credits for a 90-minute hot stone massage, A-H-H-H-H-H!! Happiness is . . .!!
November 4th, we arrived Haifa in the early AM. As we were coming into port, we were "greeted" by an Israeli submarine! In chatting with the Captain later in the day, he assured us that it was friendly and usually happens. As you might imagine, Israel works hard to ensure safety from would-be attackers!
Our tour for the day was "A Day in Jerusalem & Bethlehem". First stop, the Garden of Gethsemane and the adjacent Church of All Nations. I'm sure the garden looks nothing like it did when Jesus and his disciples visited there, however, there is little doubt that at least one of the many olive trees there might go back some 1000 years!
The Church of All Nations, aka, Basilica of the Agony enshrines a section of stone in the garden where it is said that Jesus prayed before his arrest. The current rendition is the third building, the first going back to the 4th century.
Next stop, the old walled city of Jerusalem.
Inside, first attraction, the Wailing Wall, aka, Western Wall was MUCH smaller than I had anticipated. Also, we were not aware that men and women prayed in separate sections; men on the left, women on the right. I did walk to the wall and laid my palm on a section of cold stone and made my wishes. It is promised that the wishes will come true BUT not when!! And, wishing for monetary things won't work! Oh drat!!
Next, a walk along the Via Dolorosa with our guide pointing out the Stations of the Cross as we went. The one pictured is #5.
Today, the "Way" is mostly shops where a mere detected glance is an invitation to the vendor to badger you to buy something!! Aggressive vendors are prevalent in this part of the world!
That was a 12-hour tour day!!
Tom chose to stay on board for our second day in Haifa (Jerusalem) and I was off on 10-hour tour to Safed, folllowed by a winery visit and the Golan Heights.
Tom chose to stay on board for our second day in Haifa (Jerusalem) and I was off on 10-hour tour to Safed, folllowed by a winery visit and the Golan Heights.
Turns out Safed is the highest (no, not on pot!) city in all of Israel sitting at almost 3,000 feet above sea level is considered to be one of Judaism's four holy cities. Actually, before this trip, I'd never heard of it.
From the bus, I spied this sign showing that pizza exists in many many countries and languages… much more ubiquitous than McDonald's!
Safed is quite an artsy town with many galleries. One carried replicas of the Nicky Imber statues that are seen on the streets.
Of course, no trip to a sacred city would be complete without a visit to a synagogue.
Our guide then took us to a candle making shop. I suspect she got a cut of everything we bought! I've become sales resistant! Fortunately we were allowed to take photos as the displayed some of the most magnificent wax artwork I've ever seen. No, I've not been to Madame Tussauds!!
Just after I took the picture of the woman braiding the warm wax, I saw the sign that said "No Photos of the artists". Alas!
A few more samples of the work, no more of the artists.
And back on the streets, we were all fascinated by this mamma cat trying to wean her babies, she did get a little "hissy" with them!
From there to the winery! There were quite a few, Dalton was the one the agency had selected for us. Honestly, it had never dawned on me that Israel produced wine! An "oh, duh!" moment!!
We had samples of 2 whites and 2 reds then as a treat, a small taste of kosher wine. We learned the difference in kosher and "koshered", the latter having been pasteurized rather costly expense of having a rabbi oversee the entire process to ensure the production follows Judasim's dietary laws.
We stopped at a kibbutz hotel for lunch, not exactly what I expected for a kibbutz!
After lunch driving on through the Golan Heights, we passed the Sea of Galilee. It was a hazy sandy day so clear pictures were not an option!
Crossing the River Jordan by bus!
Sunset over the Sea of Galilee.
And down a winding, multi-switchback road to the River Jordan.
One last stop before heading back to the boat. Many, many Christians come here to be baptized or re-baptized in the river Jordan to confirm their faith. The number of folks donning the white "robes" and taking their turn in the river was amazing!
After a relatively short stop, we headed out to find our bus patiently awaiting our arrival for the not so short drive back to Haifa! It was dark so most of us slept during the trip back.
That's it for this post! It's 4pm-ish here now. Tom just came back from, as he put it, "getting stoned"! Fortunately, it was at the spa!
We had one more day in Israel, 1 day at sea in the Mediterranean, 1 day traversing the Suez Canal and one day in Luxor and the Valley of the Kings. Tomorrow, we dock in Aqaba, Jordan for our 10-hour trip to Petra. I'll cover those in a later post!
rf
