TRIP TO THE HOLY LAND: ISRAEL
By Dennis Schmidt 9/2007
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This paper discusses my trip to Israel and includes: scriptures references, what is located in each place, & personal observations. The trip was provided by God who had my daughter in Israel to visit & supplied the money by IBM stock going to a price level to pay for the trip. All scriptures are from the King James’ version Bible.
Shown in figure 1, is a map of Israel with the arrows showing where I went in Israel and the order of places I visit. The trip was fifteen days, with two days used to travel. The trip was taken May 5-19, 1997.
The trip cost about $7,000 for both my wife & me to visit the Holy Land. Included in the cost was a fifteen day visit with two days of air travel (by El Al for $1,700), stay at five star hotels (all top hotels), a nine day tour (Isram: which included tour, guide, bus/driver, hotels, all entrance fees and some meals: all hotel buffet breakfasts, 1 lunch & 5 dinners - excellent food), a visit with my daughter (who stayed at my hotel two days with us), food, van/taxi transports & miscellaneous items.
I took five (24 pictures) rolls of film and one panoramic (14 pictures) film. I also purchased a few pictures in Israel.
In preparation of the trip, I listened to 16 tapes from a previous person’s tour of Israel & several tapes about the land of Israel. I also read a large number of papers & articles about many aspects of life in Israel.
Monday May 5, 1997
We drove, by rented car to Montreal, Canada Milabel airport for the airplane to Israel. Left the airport at 2:30 pm by El-Al on a 767 aircraft for a 10 hours trip to Tel Aviv, Israel Ben Gurion airport where we arrived at 6:30 am the next morning (there is a 7 hour difference in Israel-ahead of US Eastern Time). I got about two hours sleep on the airplane. The food was fair & they showed three movies. The temperature in Canada was 50 compared to 85 in Israel.
Tuesday May 6, 1997
We were driven by Isram transport van to Jerusalem. As we traveled from Tel Aviv to
We saw our daughter in the afternoon (excitement kept us awake) & went to the Old City which was won in the 1967 (6 day) war by God's miracle. Jerusalem was united into the capital of Israel in 1980.
Jerusalem last year had its 3,000 year birthday as the city of David. They celebrated, with special events, the entire year.
Many political statements are made by the entire world against Israel about the city of David. Even the United States still does not have its embassy in Jerusalem. Around 1973 almost every nation removed their embassy from Israel.
We went to lunch where I had a first taste of mid-east food which I enjoyed. Most food in Israel is Kosher which means: clean or fit to eat, conforms to scripture, is killed in a humane method, & all the blood is drained from meat.
The Jewish religion system requires a separation of meat from dairy. Restaurants are either meat or dairy. They do not mix. Hotels have separate kitchens and restaurants (floors apart) for meat and dairy.
We walked through the City of David and went to the western wall (Wailing Wall) to pray. The City of David made a great impression on me. The 30 feet high walls of the city (which were constructed about 500 years ago) and small streets (ten feet wide) with homes on both sides are made of white rock. Soon we arrived at the western wall where I prayed for the Jewish people and the peace of Jerusalem. One negative was that I was stopped 3 times by religious dressed people requesting money: going to the wall, going away from the wall, and at the wall he interrupted me, while I prayed.
Wednesday May 7, 1997
My daughter took us to a class at her Yeshivah (Jewish institute of
Talmud study & learning). They
were studying the first chapter of Ruth.
The class starts with a two hour preparation session where two students
working together read the Bible in Hebrew. They also read the commentary in
Hebrew. The discussions are
centered on law. The instructor is
available for help during this preparation period. This period is followed by a hour class were each study reads a verse and commentary in
Hebrew. The instructor then
explains the central issues and law for each verse. I was delighted with the classes and
subject matter. The school was
started by a number of Princeton graduates. It is located in a beautiful section
of
We later went to the western wall again, and I prayed again for the Jewish people and the peace of Jerusalem. Again a second time a religious dressed person interrupted me requesting money while I prayed at the western wall.
We visited a Synagogue in the Old City which was destroyed in the
1967 six day war. As the Jordanians
lost the war, they destroyed most of the Jewish religious places. Compare this with
Thursday May 8, 1997
My wife, daughter and I went through the Hasmonean tunnel. This tunnel has been in the news, about six months ago, when Prime Minister Netanyahu opened the tunnel at the Muslim end. A great deal of fighting occurred with many people killed and hurt. The tunnel opens to the Via Dolrosa and helps businesses in the Muslim shopping streets. The tunnel has existed for about 25 years and follows the continuation of the western wall for about 1500 yards. In the past, the people would reach the tunnel end and would need to turn back. The tunnel is about three feet wide for most of its length. It goes under Muslim housing and is re-enforced to prevent cave-in. At a spot nearest to the location of the holy of holies a small room was made for people to pray. I prayed there for the Jewish people and the peace of Jerusalem.
My daughter showed us an Orthodox religious neighborhood of people who
are against the state of Israel existing. They believe the Messiah should
come first, and the state of Israel's existence will delay the Messiah from
coming. This group of people does
not pay taxes and will not support the country in any way.
My daughter then showed us the
We went to the Tower of David. This museum located inside the Old City by the Jaffa gate has exhibits from eight periods of Jerusalem history. The Tower is a great place for pictures and viewing the Old City on its high tower. Inside the Tower of David citadel walls are ruins from many phases of Jerusalem life.
Friday May 9, 1997
We were driven by Isram transport van to Tel Aviv to start our tour. The tour success is dependent upon the guide and group of people. We had a great tour guide who spoke about 80% of the time. He speaks six languages and added enough humor to the details on each place visited to make the information both educational and interesting. He answered many of my questions.
The tour started with an excellent dinner at a hotel which we came back to, for dinner, on our last night in Israel.
Saturday May 10, 1997
We took a walking tour of some of Tel Aviv. The tour guide showed where Ben Gurion lived (Israel's first Prime Minister), an art piece (with fire and water which changes to a music pattern) and memorial where Israel's Prime Minister Rabin was killed. Many in Israel didn't like Rabin's killer not showing remorse at his trial.
We went swimming in the Mediterranean Sea and enjoyed the sun, beaches & warm weather of Israel. I collected shell to bring home.
Today was Israel's Memorial Day & tomorrow Independence Day. The country had flags on cars, home, and building. It was great to see the people are patriotic. Tomorrow is Israel's 49th Independence Day. Next year is the year Jubilee (50). The country honors the 14,000 plus people who lost their lives in all the wars and from terrorist. At 10:00 PM the sirens went off for two minutes. Again at 10:00 AM, the next day, the siren went off for two minutes. All movement stopped as people honors the falling people. The Israel people truly remember & feel the lost.
Sunday May 11, 1997
The tour group went to the Diaspora Museum at Tel Aviv University. The museum gave a private tour, with guide, discussing & showing 2,500 years of Jewish life and history in many countries. This was the best museum tour I experienced. The museum has computers in which you type in your family name and it provides the history for that name. We did not have time to try this.
The tour group continued to Caesarea, a Roman city on the Mediterranean which Herod built. He made a large shipping port which is covered with water due to an earthquake. The ruins include an amphitheater that sits 7,000 people. The theater is used today for events. A person speaking on the stage will be heard by all.
Israel's 49th day of Independence is a holiday where the people went to the beaches, barbecued food, & enjoyed the day. This was not a Jewish Holy day so people could drive & the roads were busy.
The tour group continued to Acre (Akko) a Crusader ruins and city. In 1099 the Crusader built a castle and city on the Mediterranean with shipping port. We walked over much of the castle and city.
The tour group ended in Haifa on Mount Carmel where the hotel was
located on the top of the mountain.
The hotel has a spectacular panoramic view of
Monday May 12, 1997
The tour stopped on Carmel to show us the Bahai Shrine & Persian hanging gardens. They have a lot of land going up the mountain. This is an Iran Moslem group that went to the United States and made their mark. The leader & his son are buried there.
The tour group went to Safed (Zafat) an artist city with beautiful streets and shops. My wife purchased a colorful painting and print. A Jewish mystic group has their center there. They spiritualize most of the events in the Old Testament.
The tour group continued on to the Golan Heights to a Kibbutz for lunch and a private tour. The Kibbutz’s are now self supported as Israel does not provide fund for them anymore. This Kibbutz’s supports itself by a purchased of a valve and pump factory for water and oil industries. Israel 30-40 years ago depended on the Kibbutz’s for their existence. Today only 3% of the people live on Kibbutz’s. Only about 50% of the children stay after growing up on the Kibbutz’s. This Kibbutz’s pays for the children to go to college which is about $2,000 per year in Israel. The Kibbutz’s was started on the Golan in 1967 & does not want to return the Golan to Syria.
The tour group continued to Capernaum to see the ruins of the ancient synagogue where Jesus preached & St. Peter's house. I was wearing shorts because of the heat. The guide the night before told us that we needed to dress in long pants and woman wear long sleeves. I pull my shorts as low as possible to cover my knees and put my shirt outside to cover my belly. They let me in.
The tour guide discussed the lost of 3 Israel soldiers in Lebanon. He was visually affected since his 2 children are in Lebanon also.
The tour group continued to the Sea of Galilee for a tranquil boat ride and arrived in Tiberias where we stayed over-night. I had time for a swim in the pool, but it was closed. I went into the hot tub instead. It was 90 F and the hot tub was 120 F, but it felt great on my back since we had walk a great deal. Two others people on my tour were in the tub, so I asked why the pool was closed. They said, a storm came up and the wind was strong. The area was very windy and the sky was black, but it never rained. A storm can grow fast on Galilee.
Tuesday May 13, 1997
The tour group went to Nazareth, the Galilean town where Jesus spent part of his youth. We stopped at the church which was the place where Mary got her announcement. The church has great art.
The tour group continued to Megiddo where archaeologists unearthed 20 levels of civilization. We tour the excavated Tel (mountain of layers of building cities on top of each other.) and went down into a tunnel which provided the water to the city. The water tunnel was built by Herod. This included 185 step down, walk through tunnel which is sloped down, and 85 steps up. It must have been some job, 2,000 years ago, to remove dirt/rocks from a well and get the people doing the work down 150 feet.
The tour group went through the
The tour group continued to Bet Shean. Bet Shean is a Roman city from the time of the fifth millennium BC. The Tel (mountain around the city) has many levels of construction back to King Saul. The city went through an earthquake in 749 AD and most everybody died. It was completely cover and only found eight years ago when they were digging a foundation for a bus terminal. The city is cleared to about 0.2 miles square and is one of the best kept 2,500 year old cities since no one knew that it was there & things are intact.
The tour group went through the Jordan Valley and stopped at Jericho. Jericho is the oldest city in civilization. It is presently under Palestine control. A number of people took camel rides. Palestine's sold many goods & desire United State dollars.
The tour group went by way of a difficult road towards Jerusalem and saw Saint George Monastery built into the side of a mountain. The road has 1,000 foot drops. The view was great. An aqueduct runs along the side of the mountain and spots of beautiful green appears where water gets into the desert.
The tour group came to the east side of Jerusalem and stopped on the campus of Hebrew University. The view was fantastic over-looking the city. The tour guide gave each person wine and presented a blessing. This was a very nice touch since this is the first time the tour group came into Jerusalem on the trip.
Wednesday May 14, 1997
My daughter was allowed to join our tour group, and we visited the model
of ancient
The tour group went to Isram Forest to plant trees commemorating our visit to Israel. This is a nice means of leaving something growing in Israel after our departure.
The tour group continued to Hadassah Hospital to see the brilliant Chagall Windows. Chagall is a top artist in Israel & France.
The tour group visited Yad Vashem memorial to the Holocaust. The tour guide provided a history of the museum, Children's Pavilion and a walk along the Avenue of the Righteous (Gentiles who helped Jews during the Holocaust. The tour guide's words were sensitive. This was a place to reflect on the six million Jews killed in Europe for just being Jewish. The names of 500,000 children who were killed are spoken in the Children Pavilion. To hear the same name again, you have to come back three & half years later.
The tour group continued to Shrine of the Book Dead Sea Scrolls Museum where a copy of the complete Book of Isaiah is displayed.
The Dead Sea Bible Book is 2,000 years old and is equal to the Isaiah we read in our Bible today. We went to the Israel Museum, in the same complex, to see Israel items from their country.
The tour group continued to Mount Herzl National Cemetery to pay respect to their war Heroes & Israel leaders (Golda Meir & Yitzhak Rabin) who have died and are buried.
Thursday May 15, 1997
The tour group walked through the Old City stopping at the Western Wall and Dome of the Rock. The Dome charged $10 per person admission. The churches required no fees for admission. The Dome requires the person to remove their shoes. The inside has mosaic tiles artistic decor and Persian rug. In the center, of the Dome, a rock where they believe Abraham offered Ishmael as a sacrifice.
The tour group continued through the Hasmonean tunnel along the Via Dolorosa (there are several stations) to the church of the Holy Sepulchre. The Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Armenian churches believe this is where Jesus was buried and resurrected. The three religious groups are at each other so that the building key was given to a Moslem.
The church has a rock platform they say was used to wrap Jesus body. The top rock was replaced as people take pieces. There is a small room they say is the place Jesus was buried.
The fundamental
The tour group continued to the place of the last supper of Jesus. From outside I heard singing/music which I though was from a tape. The upper room was large and empty of furniture. Two groups of people were there when my group entered. The guide for one group said quietly to my guide, as his group left, that the other group there remaining was crazy. That group was singing and clapping their hands. The music was a beautiful praising music to God in Oriental language. I did not understand the words, but knew some of the songs. After my tour guide gave his talk, I went over and joined in the clapping to the music. After a minute, several others from my 95% Jewish tour group also clapped to the music. We were doing this a few minutes. As our group left, the Oriental group started praise God with other tongues. I was one with them even if I could not understand their language. My tour guide told me that this was the second most visited religious place for Christians.
Down the stairs from the upper room of Jesus last supper was a room that could be where David was buried.
The tour group continued to Bethlehem to the church of Jesus birth. I saw a small room in the basement that they believe was the manger.
Friday May 16, 1997
The tour group continued to Masada a winter home for Herod in the desert, about 50 miles from Jerusalem where a lone mountain stands. The story of Masada occurs in 70 AD at the time of the destruction of the Jerusalem temple. Some 1,000,000 Jews Israel died under Roman soldiers. A group of Jews when to Masada and lived there 6 years. The soldiers came to Masada and for 2 years built a ramp. When they finally got to the top of Masada, they found that all the people had killed each other. It took the Romans several years to know people were at Masada, and it takes about three days to get to Masada. My question is why spent a few years effort over people who are not giving the Romans any problems?
We went into the Dead Sea where you go into the water, sit down and you float. It is hard to stand up again. I tried using my hand, to get up, but I splashed water everywhere. This is not good since if the water goes into your eyes it hurts. The salt hurt where I shaved also. The salt density is 3 times that of Salt Lake in Utah or many times that of the oceans. They have mud which people use to cover themselves completely which, they say, is a means of healing your skin. I tried a little on my top only.
My daughter took us to the Wailing Wall again to see the Orthodox Jews come singing and dancing to the wall at the start of the Sabbath. The joy of being at the temple mount will only be surpassed by being at the temple itself in the future.
My daughter arranged for us to have a Sabbath dinner with a Rabbi, in the Old City, at his house. We had a great time and good food. I was able to both ask questions and share a little with him about Christ. The Rabbi had been a lawyer who found religious Orthodox Judaism. His job is to bring other Jews back to the Judaism.
The typical home, in the Old City, is part of an apartment complex & is about 800-1200 square feet. It includes a large family living room with dining table, 3 small bedrooms, a small kitchen and one bathroom. The Rabbi family also had use of the roof for their children to play. A home/apartment like this would rent for about $1,200 per month or cost about $500,000. The owner would pay about $2000 a year taxes.
Saturday May 17, 1997
The tour group took a walking tour of some parts of Jerusalem near the Old City. The tour included the King David hotel which was half destroyed by Jews in 1947 where English intelligence was set-up.
We went through streets with beautiful homes, flowers & gardens that were no-mans-lands in 1948. We ended at an artist complex.
Sunday May 18, 1997
I went to the Garden Tomb for a morning English service. The fundamental
We sadly left
We walked along the beach to visit Jaffa (Joppa). The city was mostly Muslim. We were both sad to be leaving Israel. We counted it as our best vacation. We wanted to finish on a positive note so we decided to go to a hotel for a great dinner. Beside we had a $30 discount for that hotel restaurant from our tour.
We walked along the beach and found a Ben & Jerry ice cream shop. We had some ice cream made in Vermont. The scoop of ice cream was the size of a meatball. However, this was a nice taste of home. We went to dinner at the hotel, where we first had dinner when we started the tour. We asked for a table by the window, but they told us that they are reserved. We were eating for 45 minutes before anyone came in. After 1.5 hours the reserve tables were still not used. God wanted us to sit where we were. We notice a uniformed woman come in with a walkie-talkie and the restaurant manager set-up a special place twelve feet from us. We asked what was going on & were told the PM is coming. We had four cups of coffee/tea (more than we would ever have while we waited) & a short time later Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel came in for dinner. What a great way to end our last day in Israel.
Monday May 19, 1997
We were driven by Isram transport van to the airport. We left Tel Aviv Ben Gurion airport at 2:30 am by El-Al on a 767 aircraft for a 10.5 hours trip to Montreal, Canada Milabel airport where we arrived at 6:30 am the same morning (where Canada is 7 hours behind Israel time). I got about four hours sleep on the airplane. The food was fair and they showed three movies. We drove home to Burlington by rental car.
FINAL THOUGHTS: A month ago we had a Passover Seder in our home, and a week before the trip I presented a Passover Seder at a church. The Seder ends with the statement "next year in Jerusalem". I now am able to say I went this year to Jerusalem. There will be a day that all Gentiles will go yearly to Israel with Jews.
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