Israel - Wk. of May 19

With Monday off in Switzerland (Whit Monday), I used the long weekend to visit Israel, taking advantage of my location and somewhere not easily accessible directly from the US.

Going into this trip was a bit nerve wracking with the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem and the news earlier in the week that headlined the riots in the Gaza Strip as being one of the worst days in recent history in the country.  I planned to be nowhere near this area, but did take extra precautions of calling my hotel several times prior to my flight to understand the situation and was assured that where I would be going was ‘business as usual' without heightened risks.

Upon arrival, my first impression was the country was very westernized and much easier to navigate than trips I've take to other Arabic countries.  At border control, the country does not stamp your passport, but gives you what appears to be a business card to evidence that you have passed customs, as there are several countries in the world that will reject entry after one has travelled to Israel.  Even though the country did seem easy to navigate at first, I did still manage to travel the wrong direction on my first train from the airport.  Rather than going to the Tel Aviv center, I went inland was very happy to be traveling with a smart phone so that I could then determine how to get to Jerusalem instead.  I arrived an hour later and relaxed and grabbed dinner.

On Friday, I had an early start with a 7:30am tour to the West Bank to see the Jordan River, Jericho, Bethlehem, and Ramallah.  The temperature variation between the cities was surprising as it was over 100 in Jericho and near 90 in Ramallah.  

Jericho Cable Car

Baker in the streets of Ramallah

Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem

West Bank Wall

For Saturday/Sunday, I did several tours of old town Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives and added some of the highlights below:

Armenian Cross / Knight Templar

Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem

Jewish graveyard on Mt. Olive

Mt. Zion - Compound of David's Tomb and the site of the Last Supper

Inside Church of the Holy Sepulchre

Following the few days in Jerusalem, I spent one night in Tel Aviv:

Beach run in Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv felt like any other city on the Mediterranean with amazing beaches and great seafood.  I only spent one day, but this was enough time to go for a run, jump in the water, and for a great meal.

From my experience in Israel, the most surprising things I felt was the age of the cities, number of dynasties that ruled, the number of times the city has been destroyed and rebuilt, and the number of religions that hold the city as their holy site.  I feel compared to the US that Europe is old while this entire area and history predates Europe by centuries.  

Going to Israel was a surreal experience and I was quite happy that I went and was able to experience all of the history within such a small land area.  Travelling to the area can seem risky at first, but the well-developed infrastructure and welcoming nature of the locals made this an easy destination to navigate that I would recommend to anyone.