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U.K. - Iceland - Israel

April - June 2023
7 weeks exploring 3 very different locations. Brand new experiences mixed with revisiting some familiar ones.
In our usual style, it’s a packed itinerary . . . . Read more
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  • U.K. - Iceland - Israel
    1
    Day 50

    A bang and not a whimper

    June 15, 2023 in Israel ⋅ 🌙 20 °C

    Whenever we holiday, we always like to go out with a bang rather than a whimper and today was a good example of that.
    The weather was fine but slightly cooler and we revisited some familiar places. We also stumbled across a great new way to do Hezekiah’s tunnel if you’re on a budget.

    We commenced by trying out the light rail system in preparation for tomorrow when we hope to catch the light rail to Jerusalem central station then catch the fast train direct to BenGurion airport. We knew we needed to buy physical tickets for the light rail and we didn’t want to be stumbling around tomorrow with a full complement of luggage trying to work out the unfamiliar ticketing system.
    It was just as well we did.
    After several attempts to purchase a ticket at 3 different machines on Jaffa street we eventually got a physical card (a bit like an Opal Card for Sydney people) loaded with two single fares. We thought we had read that 2 people could share one card (and simply debit it twice when boarding) but when we did board the next tram to Damascus Gate station we found that it would only debit one fare . . . .so one of us was riding ticketless . . . again. Later re-reading the fine print we discovered that you can indeed share a single ticket on all forms of public transport EXCEPT the light rail.

    We got off at Damascus Gate and thankfully no ticket inspectors ‘detained us for further questioning’. We endeavoured to purchase another card at Damascus Gate station but none of the machines would cooperate. Eventually we surmised that they had run out of the physical cards in the machine so it was impossible to buy a valid fare by this method.
    We walked into the old city through the Damascus Gate, through the market street where we bought some delicious looking baklava at a fraction of the price it is in a ‘regular’ shop and then turned left on Via Dolorosa to get to the Lion Gate. The purpose of this was because Loss hadn’t been to the Lion Gate before and it had of course featured prominently in our ‘Ammunition Hill’ experience yesterday as being the gate through which the Old City was taken in 1967.
    We stood outside the gate and discussed this, noting that most of the gunfire damage inflicted on the gate in 1967 has now been repaired.
    We then took a few steps back inside the gate to visit St. Anne’s Church in the grounds of which are the remains of the Pool of Bethesda. We had visited this before but it was good to see some new information and signage which made the layout of the site much easier to understand.
    We continued back along Via Dolorosa with the sole intention of enjoying coffee and apple strudel at the Austrian Hospice. However, a sign on the side of the Ecce Homo Pilgrim House caught my eye indicating that parts of the Strouthion Pool and the rockscarp of the Antonia fortress could be observed inside. I had heard about such a site but wasn’t sure of its location - now I knew.
    Entry required a few shekels in cash which I didn’t have, but the Australian lady on the reception area kindly let us go in anyway. The archaeological aspects were surprisingly good and quite well placarded and we enjoyed piecing this together with our understanding of Herod’s Temple and its associated structures. We had seen the Antonia Fortress rockscarp from the Temple Mount a few days ago and part of the Strouthion Pool on the Western Wall Tunnels tour from a few years ago. Now we were seeing the opposite side of these same features.
    Caffeine and strudel were calling and we were not to be sidetracked again. The Austrian Hospice is a wonderfully tranquil haven just a few metres away from the noise and bustle of the streets below and we rested here for a while, taking the opportunity to do our Bible readings in a most enjoyable location. The rooftop view from the Hospice is also quite good and we enjoyed picking out many of the features that we had visited over the past 5 days from this vantage point.

    Next up was a retracing of steps down the Via Dolorosa, back through the Lion’s Gate, down across the Kidron Valley and up the Mount of Olives. We accidentally discovered a new stairway adjacent to the Garden of Gethsemane site that leads right up to the crest of the Mount which was much safer and somewhat easier than dodging cars flying up the narrow, winding road.

    We lingered here for a while taking in that view of which you never tire. We decided we would head down and walk the Kidron Valley as they have installed a new path that runs down its length. As we made our way down we noted some excellent signage with Bible references to events that had taken place in the Kidron.

    Unexpectedly, we came across a structure that looked like a large open Bedouin tent with seats, couches and refreshments. We initially didn’t have any intention of engaging with the proprietors but the young Israeli man told us it was a new feature of the City of David company. Looking about, it did have appropriate signage so we let him speak on.
    For a small fee of 15 shekels (equivalent to just over AUD$6) we would be taken on a tour down the rest of the Kidron and then given access to a ‘side entrance’ into Hezekiah’s tunnel to either do the Wet or Dry tunnel as we chose. Additionally they would provide a courtesy shuttle ride for us back up the valley if we wished - and the absolute clincher was that they made us a free cup of mint tea in the pleasantly cool tent while I paid via the online facility!
    Loss got to ride in a sidesaddle sort of arrangement on the gopher driven by our ‘guide’ who hailed from Silwan and spoke not a word of English - but no matter, because he had a magic phone that opened locked gates in our path and then a magic key that opened the ‘secret’ gates where Hezekiah’s tunnel can be accessed from the side of the Kidron Valley.
    It was quite disorienting to approach Hezekiah’s tunnel in this way.
    We stood there for a few minutes getting our bearings, said goodbye to our Arab guide, allowed some groups to pass and then we found that the normally packed Gihon spring fortifications area was completely empty!
    We spent about half an hour going back around all this area, taking photos and watching the excellent audiovisual demonstration that helps make it all very understandable. Being able to move around this area freely with no one else there except 2 Israeli information people who also answered a few of our questions was just amazing.
    Now we started to hear voices coming down from above so it was time to go.
    As we had not come with shoes or clothing to do the ‘wet’ tunnel, we opted for the dry (Canaanite) tunnel which neither of us had done before.
    This was also a bonus, as right with us was a knowledgeable guide and his sole client who filled in some background information on this tunnel and how it was used for irrigation during David’s time.
    Once exiting the ‘dry’ tunnel and as we were still within the bounds of the City of David facility we were able to go and investigate some more of the archeological features in this lower area of the site, including walls from the first temple period.
    We decided to walk back up to the starting point of the City of David rather than right down to the Siloam Pool, so as it turned out we did a full City of David experience starting in the Kidron Valley for exactly half the cost of a ‘regular’ City of David ticket.

    So, there’s a tip for anyone travelling on a budget! This operation has only been going for five months and as far as we were concerned, it was a winner.

    Our final activity for the day was to visit ‘The Time Elevator’ which is a motion-ride experience that takes you through the history of Jerusalem in a novel way. It had moved from its previous location up near Jerusalem Tower hotel and is now down in the Mamilla Centre. We got there just in time for the last show of the day at 5.20pm - and as we were literally the only ones in the theatre they played the English soundtrack for us over the theatre speakers rather than having to listen to the translation through headphones.
    It was pretty much the same as we had remembered with a few added touches at the conclusion but I particularly enjoy the way they portray the scenes that involve Jeremiah and Zedekiah.
    We made our way back towards our unit with a detour to try to buy another Light Rail ticket in preparation for tomorrow’s trip. After 2 more unsuccessful attempts we finally got a machine to spit out a ticket.

    And the Damascus Gate baklava was very much enjoyed after dinner.

    So ends our Jerusalem visit. We didn’t visit many of the ‘classic’ sites because we had been to them before and were well familiar with them. What we did this time was to seek out new points of interest (e.g. Annas’ tomb) and to also spend more time at places that we had not had sufficient time to explore properly in past visits, at the same time enjoying the new archeological finds that have taken place since we last visited.

    It has been a wonderful 7 weeks. We have suffered no illness or injuries. The weather has been remarkably good and the experiences diverse and enriching. We have been truly blessed.

    It’s now time to head home to our ‘real’ life. May it be that we will be in Jerusalem again very soon when it is ‘made a praise in all the earth’.

    And thank you to all those who have followed this blog and for those who have contributed (and helped correct some entries) along the way over the past 50 days.
    Hopefully it has been informative and entertaining in equal measures.
    May God bless you all.    Read more

  • U.K. - Iceland - Israel
    111
    Day 49

    As the mountains round about Jerusalem…

    June 14, 2023 in Palestine ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Our intense day yesterday was followed up by a much more slowly paced day today.
    Our only real plans were to visit Ammunition Hill in the daytime and the City of David Sound and Light Show in the evening.
    We tossed up whether to walk, catch a bus or a taxi to Ammunition Hill and decided the half hour walk would be fine. Down the hill on King George Street through Mea Shearim (again) and then steadily climbing towards the very large Israeli flag flying proudly on this decisive location from the 6 Day War of 1967.

    We had visited Ammunition Hill once before but it was very late in the day and on that occasion our stay was short and rushed. The Ammunition Hill Heritage site has undergone a big transformation since that visit and is still having its facilities upgraded.
    It took us a little while to get our bearings around the site. There is a new audiovisual theatre and a new interactive museum, as well as the outdoor trenches and some military hardware that was involved in this difficult, decisive battle. As is often the case in Israel, the staff only drip feed you enough information to get you suitably confused about the logistics of the site.
    We had decided we would do the 20 minute theatre experience first as it would be a good way to cool down in the air-conditioning after our walk. Signage to the theatre was sparse, the electronic key tag to open the door refused to let us in but eventually we found a fire door at the side open. The film was in progress in Hebrew and was attended by a full complement of young female Israeli army recruits. When their presentation finished and they exited, we sat down and waited for the promised English presentation.
    Eventually, after more trips backwards and forward to the front desk ‘Oh, yes, the tag wouldn’t work because there was a Hebrew group in there …. Oh, has the group now finished? A girl will come and start it for you . . . ‘ Eventually we got the English version up and running.
    It is a powerful and informative show detailing the extreme events during this most intense of wars, with a physical 3-D model of Jerusalem and its strategic surrounding hills being lit up at various points of the film in order to understand where the events were taking place.
    Unfortunately one of the two overhead projectors illuminating this model was not working, so some of the impact of the presentation was lost. Fortunately we were well enough acquainted with the events and the topography for this not to be too much of a problem for us.
    At the conclusion of the presentation, we thought we should mention the deficient projector to the more senior staff member who had just come in. He was extremely apologetic and offered to try to make it up to us. We weren’t quite sure what this meant but when he realised we hadn’t done the interactive museum yet, he personally took us there and gave us a one-on-one introduction and explanation of the whole ‘Ammunition Hill’ history.
    He was the CEO of the whole site and was knowledgeable and passionate about it and the reason for this soon became obvious.
    He shared with us the fact that he was a 10 month old baby boy when his own father lost his life right here on Ammunition Hill during that battle in 1967 and it was very moving to hear him tell us of his resultant life growing up without a father; but also of the solid support his family - and indeed all families in a similar situation - received from the government and the wider community.
    He was surprised that we were not Jewish ourselves but we took the opportunity to tell him of our support and connections with Israel and of the miracle (in the true sense) that the nation actually is. He was especially surprised that we, like they, had marked the 75 year anniversary of the declaration of the State of Israel with a special day of talks etc.

    The interactive museum was next and it is very well done although there seem to be some teething problems with the ‘georeferenced’ audio guide that would often flick across from one track to another when it was not supposed to.

    As we were so close to Mount Scopus we decided we would walk across to this other strategically important mountain. Mt. Scopus has often been the favoured staging point from which invading armies would mount their attacks on Jerusalem (e.g. Titus and the Roman army in A.D. 70).
    We were flagging a little in the heat of the day and didn’t quite make our objective of the Hebrew University which has the best views of the old city. We did however make it as far as the Dan Jerusalem Hotel, Mt. Scopus - which although didn’t have quite as commanding view - DID have air-conditioning, comfortable seating and good coffee.

    It was time to head back to the unit for an early dinner before our evening at the City of David and for the first time, we decided we would catch a bus that would deliver us right to our door. We found the nearby bus stop at Mt. Scopus with no problem, boarded the bus which arrived almost immediately but then could not work out their system of how to pay for our fares. The bus driver waved us away with a dismissive gesture toward the automated ‘tap-on’ machines, the instructions were all in Hebrew and we had little idea what to do.
    A lovely young local who spoke excellent English told us that we needed to download an App called ‘Moovit’, register your credit card and then select the appropriate fare. She also said that if a ticket inspector got on and found you hadn’t paid your fare ‘They were ruthless - they would show no mercy at all’.
    In a country where young women sling machine guns over their shoulders like handbags, this was enough for me to feverishly jump on to the App store and with visions of news headlines at home featuring ‘Australian couple executed for fare evasion on Jerusalem bus’. I downloaded the App, started putting in the relevant details for the credit card…. and then came up against that dreaded obstacle where the credit card provider would send a 4-digit code to enter for verification. Again, as I was not using my Australian SIM, this 4 digit code was not received…. and I was left with very unhappy thoughts.
    Loss and I moved seats so that we had a view of everyone boarding the bus at every stop. We had a prearranged understanding with each other that if someone who looked suspiciously like a ticket inspector were to board the bus, we would exit immediately via different doors in the hope that at least one of us would survive to be able to finalise the Estate of the less fortunate one.
    It was a tense ride home.
    Thankfully only a combination of Orthodox Jews, students and regular commuters boarded the bus and we were able to exit at our chosen stop without incident.

    We had an early dinner then walked back down to the City of David for the evening light and sound show. Again, this is new since we were here last so it simply had to be done(!).
    It was really well executed - far superior to the sound and light shows we have seen at the Citadel of David in the past. It told the story of the destruction of Jerusalem and the rebuilding of the walls under Nehemiah. The visual projections onto the stonework of the foundations of David’s palace were spectacular and the English audio headphones produced a very immersive experience although the pyrotechnics and water features at the conclusion made it feel a little like a sporting event finale.
    An unexpected bonus was to be allowed to inspect some of the excavations while we were waiting for the show to start. This allowed us to visit and photograph some of the areas with no one else around. At the end of the show I thought I should just have a quick look in the courtyard area of the City of David where there is a very unspectacular looking manhole / grate. It is suggested (and was confirmed by the staff member we spoke to) that the deep and voluminous cavern that this opens up to underneath could be the very place Jeremiah was thrown into (Jer. 37, 38). It is hard to see much down there during the day and I was really surprised that when I peered in there this evening it was all fully lit from inside. The staff member said that with all the new excavations taking place adjacent to it, the area might be open for inspection at some point in the future.
    It’s things like this that keep making you want to return!

    A pleasant wander back up through the Jewish Quarter at night and then the Mamilla Centre and Ben Yehuda street which were really buzzing at 9.30pm. Most of the shops were open and doing brisk trade, the buskers were out and people everywhere enjoying the balmy Jerusalem evening.

    Tomorrow is our last full day before heading home.    Read more

  • U.K. - Iceland - Israel
    1
    Day 48

    ‘It won’t rain again until October’

    June 13, 2023 in Palestine ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Today we left the apartment at 8am to head down to the City of David. It was a warm, sticky morning but the walk down through the Armenian quarter was pleasantly quiet until we got to the traffic, roadworks and excavation dust that always seems to be a feature of the Dung Gate.
    We got our tickets to do Loss’ favourite activity- Hezekiah’s Tunnel- and we just managed to beat a tour group so we pretty much had the tunnel to ourselves.
    It’s extraordinary to think about the workmen chipping away from either end to meet in the middle- and my favourite part is to see the direction of the strikes of their picks on the rock face change at that spot.
    There was a very pleasant surprise once we emerged at the Pool of Siloam. The excavations of the pool have extended dramatically- the Arab houses that butted up against the site have been demolished and the full extent of the pool is gradually being uncovered.

    We had a bit of a poke around into the excavated street leading up to the Temple Mount. Only the lower part of the actual Herodian street has been excavated, but this has been expanded to show where a shop existed off its side and they had this space decked out to show what it would have looked like.
    As no one else was coming up this ‘cul de sac’ street section, we used this as a convenient place to change out of wet shoes and shorts and into dry gear.

    Having checked to make sure it was OK to exit the site and then return a little later, we headed down the Kidron a little further to explore something I have been keen to do for years- finding the burial place of Annas in the Hinnom valley, still called Akeldama today.
    Loss wasn’t especially keen to get down into this Arab dominated area, but she didn’t object too much. From the Ritmeyer’s writings I knew where the Monastery of St Onuphrius was and that that burial cave was in its lower grounds and I expected that we would have to walk up the hill on the other side of the Hinnom valley and descend back down from there.
    However, on our walk down in the lower part of the Kidron just where it joins the Valley of Hinnom I was able to spot the cave up a little way on the hill slightly to our left.
    We walked down the valley another 50m and spotted a likely path / scramble up to the cave through an Arab building site. Having asked the worker via some verbal and other gestures if it was OK to walk up through his building site, he seemed to nod in agreement indicating our best path, so after a scramble up the hill, climbing over some rubble and broken fences we were in front of the cave.
    There was a camel lazing on the ground just to it’s left and he didn’t seem too concerned about us, but we kept one eye on him just in case because I have a great distrust of camels.
    What I wasn’t prepared for was being charged by a flock of sheep as we went to enter the cave- it turned out there were a lot of lambs inside and mum, dad and various other family members were VERY keen to keep them safe from us Australian intruders.
    I’ve never encountered aggressive sheep before and I wasn’t about to argue with them, so we backed away and everyone seemed to relax then.
    Photos and video taken, also noting the direct line of sight up to the triple gate (the priestly entrance to the Temple Mount) was quite exciting for me.
    On the other hand, Loss was excited when we got back to the safety of the pool of Siloam.
    It was now time to do the walk back up to the Davidson Centre via the ‘drain’. However, we stopped a little while at Siloam to watch the excavations taking place. I have always wanted to do a little bit of archeological digging, so I approached the chief archaeologist and asked if I could just ever so briefly have a bit of a dig. Of course the answer was ‘No’, mainly because of insurance …..
    Not to be completely thwarted, a few meters further along at the raw edge of the dig in the public area, I saw there were absolutely hundreds of pieces of (probably Byzantine) pottery sticking out of the edge.
    A couple of quick blows on a likely looking piece with a small rock and voila- I dug out my first artefact from the pool of Siloam!

    We then started up the ‘drain’. We worked our way up - some parts are very narrow, slippery and quite low- but we enjoyed picking out the various features, seeing where the road slabs formed the roof, hearing the excavations continuing above our heads and seeing where the little golden priestly bell was discovered.
    Emerging out underneath Robinson’s arch was not a surprise but seeing grey and cloudy skies certainly was. It even looked as though rain was possible despite locals often saying ‘it won’t rain again until October’.
    We headed back up the stairs to the Jewish quarter and had a little lunch at the same place- again.
    By now we are on such good terms with the proprietor that family photos were being shown on Loss’ phone.
    There’s a moment’s pause before our friend stabbing his finger at Loss’ phone he says says with a slightly concerned tone in his deep, booming voice. “And who is DIS?”
    I couldn’t quite see the phone and who exactly was raising his concerns. A Mossad agent who has photo bombed one of our family snaps? Someone ‘of middle eastern appearance’ wearing a suspicious looking ‘vest’?
    “Ah, that’s Sam our son-in-law - he couldn’t be at the birthday celebration so we had to have a cardboard cut out of him”
    He did a good job of pretending that this was a satisfactory answer and we changed the subject back to the deliciousness of his falafels . . .

    After this brief lunch stop it was time to visit the Montefiore Windmill which was about a 25 minute walk away. We headed off via the Armenian Quarter and exited the Zion Gate. As this is very close to the ‘Gate of the Essenes’ (the Herodian stairs and gate into his palace which is quite likely where Jesus was tried by Pilate) we made a slight detour to re visit it and observed some new signage which also supports this idea.

    We then walked to the Montefiore Windmill (via the Sultan’s Pool) which was a project undertaken by the British Jewish philanthropist Sir Moses Montefiore and built in 1857 in order to help the impoverished Jews of the area become more self sufficient. It was the latest technology of the time - a wind powered flour mill - and in addition to building this he also helped established the neighbourhood around it. Today it is a very ritzy part of Jerusalem.
    This was a significant step in the reestablishment of a Jewish population in Jerusalem and it was an endeavour that Bro. Roberts supported some few years later.

    The interior of the base of the windmill is now a wine bar with an adjacent outdoor seating area. We had taken our photos and had a bit of a poke around and just as we were about to leave…. it started raining.
    We had brought no umbrellas or jackets as ‘it won’t rain again until October’ and the only place to shelter was under the umbrellas of the outdoor wine bar.
    We took a seat and ordered a very expensive glass of Israeli red wine to sip on until the rain abated. We started chatting with some locals who were also delaying their departure due to the rain…. ‘It shouldn’t be raining, not until October’.
    It was about another 35 minute walk to the Israel museum so we set off, however after only a few minutes it started raining again. This was playing havoc with my hair (not to mention Loss’) so we tried to hail multiple taxis to complete the trip. This endeavour was decidedly unsuccessful so we simply continued walking on in the rain and eventually arrived at the Israel museum looking somewhat bedraggled.

    Once we dried off a little we made our tour of the museum which is always fascinating. With the help of a phone call to Bro. Stephen Whitehouse in the UK, we were also eventually able to locate a small seal belonging to Ahab’s wife, Jezebel.
    A quick look at the outdoor model (which hasn’t been updated for a long time in the light of new discoveries) as well as The Shrine of the Book, and we were done by about 6.30pm (they stay open late on Tuesdays).
    The day had now cleared to a beautiful evening.

    We’d decided we would eat out tonight and thought we would try the YMCA again for old times’ sake. It wasn’t directly towards home, but we got our feet moving and got there ready for a good meal. We were there well before the kitchen had closed, but when we asked for a table we were told ‘Oh, we don’t serve food anymore, just drinks and snacks’.
    The only snack offering was a slice of reheated quiche so we gave that a miss and headed back to our reliable ‘Zumis’ for an excellent meal.
    Our friendly waiter was up for a bit of a chat as well, and commented about how unusual it was to get rain today- ‘normally, it shouldn’t rain until October’
    We got through the door at 8.45pm after another big day - 30k steps and 21 km of walking with a backpack of wet Hezekiah’s tunnel clothes now to deal with.

    And I’ll also need to go and do something with my hair.    Read more

  • U.K. - Iceland - Israel
    1
    12
    Day 47

    On and Around the Temple Mount

    June 12, 2023 in Israel ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    An early start today to try to beat the usual crowds lined up to visit the Temple Mount.
    We left the apartment just before 7am to arrive at the entry point down near the Dung Gate just after 7.
    To our surprise, there was not a single person lined up and we were through security and onto the Temple platform within just a minute or two. Despite Loss wearing her 3/4 length dress especially so as to comply with the modesty standards, it was deemed still unacceptable by the Muslim gentleman at the gate, so mandatory extra skirt it was!

    We spent just shy of 3 hours going around all the important features of the platform (with the help of Leen Ritmeyer’s exceptionally helpful book ‘Jerusalem - The Temple Mount’) in the rapidly warming day. Even at this time of the morning we were seeking out shade as and where we could, but were keen to complete the whole tour in the most thorough way possible. Finding the ‘window’ where John of Gischala dug into the wall to undermine and damage the Roman earthworks in the siege, seeing exactly where Paul gave his speech on the north portico at Antonia, finding the original Herodian pavements and the corner of the first temple platform - these and many others leave a powerful impression.
    I only got into trouble once today by nonchalantly strolling up to the open doors of the Dome of the Rock hoping that they would think I was a Muslim worshipper, however that was cut short pretty quickly. As usual we were also denied entry to the stairs leading down to the Double Gate at the southern end of the platform as well as the Islamic museum at the southwestern corner.
    We exited from the western side of the platform and sought out a little coffee shop that had been recommended which we found via a fairly circuitous route. Google maps had us initially walking through the Arab markets and turning left through some large, locked green gates.
    The coffee and carrot cake was indeed very good and we decided we might give ‘The City of David’ a try today. We made our way down by foot through the building crowds and when we arrived there were hoards of people, school groups etc. I spoke to the ticket seller and we mutually agreed it would be a much more enjoyable experience if we came back tomorrow early - between 8 and 9. We thought this was an excellent idea, so headed back up to the Davidson Archeological Park.
    There were far fewer people here and we were very pleased for the airconditioning in the museum / theatre.
    Since we were last there, the whole experience has been revamped and upgraded with the exhibits and audiovisuals being really first rate. New areas of excavation have been opened up - much of it being ceremonial Mikvehs for pilgrims coming to worship at the Temple.
    There was also much better signage and some audio guidance which was quite helpful as well. As always, the best features are the ascending staircase from the south and being able to stand on the stones that Jesus and his disciples stood on and to touch the door frame of the triple gate is a must-do for me. And of course the stones at the southwestern corner that have crashed down and destroyed the pavement near Robinson’s Arch in fulfilment of Jesus’ prophecy that ‘not one stone shall be left standing’ of the Temple.
    A quick excursion down the drainage tunnel under Robinson’s arch that links up with the Pool of Siloam was also worthwhile. We hope to do it ‘full length’ in the correct , upward direction from Siloam tomorrow.
    Once we were done here, we made our way back up to the Jewish Quarter and our friend at the falafel shop spotted us ‘ ‘Please, you come, sit here, take your time, what would you like - I tell the guys inside serve you straight away’.
    So a few falafel balls it was today as a mid afternoon snack to replace a non-existent lunch.
    It’s only a short stroll to the Hurva synagogue from here so we made our way up there to use the last part of our Jerusalem multi-ticket.
    The synagogue has an interesting history. Having been destroyed by the Jordanians in 1948 during the war of Independence, it lay in ruins for decades but was finally rebuilt and the restoration completed in 2010. The view from the top of the dome was excellent.
    One more walk through the east Cardo and then the main part of the Cardo and a familiar walk back to our apartment and we were all done quite early - 4.30pm. Dinner and MM to come.    Read more

  • U.K. - Iceland - Israel
    1
    Day 46

    Digging Deep

    June 11, 2023 in Israel ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Today started with our pre-booked tour to the Western Wall tunnels (Kotel)- but this time it was a new tour - the Great Bridge Route.
    This is a newly excavated section adjacent to the Western wall, revealing a large reception area that pilgrims from around the world during New Testament times were most likely received in before making their way up into the Temple itself. There are ceremonial mikveh and also beautiful examples of the pilasters that would have adorned the entire temple walls but of course were all destroyed in A.D. 70.
    It was a grand and beautifully designed room.
    The Bridge area is an extension of Wilson’s arch and bridge (the covered section at the far left that of the Western Wall Plaza) and the large reception room is immediately adjacent to this.
    The audio visuals and diagrams were very helpful in piecing together more elements of the Temple that Jesus and his disciples would have known and the magnificence of this room is a further example of why the disciples would have exclaimed to Jesus

    Mark 13:1
    “And as he went out of the temple, one of his disciples saith unto him, Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!”

    This grand reception room would have been one of such buildings that they admired.

    After finishing our tour we emerged into the bright sunlight and warmth of early summer. We made our way up into the Jewish quarter, stopping for a falafel at Loss’ favourite place just near the Burnt House.
    We then continued up towards the Hurvah synagogue and called into the bookstore (Sharashim - The Biblical Store) just there on the right side at the open square. We saw that they sold quite a bit of the Ritmeyer’s materials. Loss wanted to buy some cards which we duly did and as we got chatting to the proprietor, we mentioned that we happened to know the Ritmeyers.
    “Ah, so you must be Christadelphians ….. I also know the Billingtons who have been in here from time to time and ……”

    As Loss had never been to the Burnt House (first time she came it was all booked out, last time it was closed) we went back to see if we could get in for a show.
    We were ushered in almost immediately - and apart from an Orthodox couple who left a few minutes after it started, we were the only ones in there!
    At the Burnt House we had purchased a ‘multi-pass’ which gave us access to a couple of places we had never visited (The Hurvah Synagogue and the Plugat Hakotel), as well as the Davidson Centre which we intended to visit anyway.
    Upon leaving the Burnt House, we found the Plugat Hakotel just up and around the corner near the ‘Broad Wall’ and went in.
    It was a surprisingly interesting audiovisual presentation about a feature of modern Israel of which we both had little knowledge - the Beitar movement and the Western Wall.
    This was a movement founded by Ze’ev Jabotisnky in Poland and involved pushing back against the strict British sanctions against the Jews in the Old City and the Western wall. The blowing of the Shofar was illegal but the Beitar movement did this at the end of every Yom Kippur. This came to a head in 1938 and the museum is based around this incident. Check out https://www.itraveljerusalem.com/attraction/the…
    if you want to follow this up further.

    Next up was a bit of a wander through the Cardo after which we thought we would try our luck at gaining admission to the Tower Of David again, to finish the parts we hadn’t covered yesterday. Our friend from yesterday was not on duty and it took a little bit of discussion before we were eventually given fresh tickets to go back in. We spent another 2 hours covering all of the rest of what this excellent site now has to offer.
    We climbed right to the top of the Phasael tower for magnificent views over all of Jerusalem.
    It was now approaching closing time again and were just about to exit when we stumbled on the Kishle part of the site - the excavations of sections of Herod’s palace.
    It was now well after closing time and we just kept getting deeper and deeper into the site. No one else was around and no one had asked us to leave.
    We fully expected that the electronic security door through which we had entered the Kishle would be firmly shut by now. As I was climbing the stairs back up to it I was genuinely thinking ‘Well, we have an apple, 1 packet of chips and a bottle of water - that should keep us alive until opening time tomorrow morning’.
    I must say I was genuinely / happily surprised when the door opened without issue and we continued on outside again.
    Due to the recency of the renovations to this area, the Ramparts Walk also joined the stairs now in front of us as we headed towards the exit- so without anyone to advise us to the contrary off we went along the Southern Ramparts, picking out on the exterior the sections of the Herodian Palace we had seen on the interior in the Kishle. We kept heading south on the ramparts, snapped photos of the area we believe to be where Jesus was examined by Pilate at the ‘Gate of the Essenes’ (see Shimon Gibson - ‘The Final Days of Jesus’ pgs 81-106), continued around the corner to the Zion Gate where we exited the Ramparts at the Zion Gate

    It was now a longish walk back to the apartment, but with three diversions. The first of these was a visit to the Nespresso shop in the Mamilla arcade to get one more sleeve of capsules (and enjoy a complimentary iced coffee at the same time). The second diversion was to ‘The Time Elevator’ which is now also in the Mamilla Centre - but they had just had their last session for today so we will hopefully go back sometime in the next few days. The third diversion was to view the so-called ‘Finger of Og’ which is an area of excavation in the Russian quarter. Here, a large pillar for Herod’s Temple was being quarried but was never finished as it had a fault in the stone. It is still a attached to bedrock and is interesting in its own right. Quaries in this higher part of Jerusalem meant that the stones / pillars could be rolled down to the Temple site itself (with engineering help of course).
    The final diversion was to try to pick up some better quality groceries - Loss had found a likely Supermarket but didn’t realise it was in Mea Shearim - so off we went grocery shopping amongst all the Orthodox Jews that inhabit this part of Jerusalem, with wives shielding their husbands’ eyes from Loss dressed in her shorts and short sleeved top.

    The groceries weren’t that great, but better than what we had available at the mini-market nearby so we walked back ‘home’ to start dinner at about 8.15pm.    Read more

  • U.K. - Iceland - Israel
    2
    Day 45

    Shabbat Shalom

    June 10, 2023 in Israel ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    We really did have a restful start to Shabbat. After a very long day yesterday which ended at nearly 3am today, we both slept in - Loss more so than me as I had to wake her at 11am.

    Being Shabbat, things were very quiet anyway. While Loss was still sleeping I went in search of a mini market to buy some milk. There are several near us but none were open, so a ‘long black’ it was :)
    We eventually made our way down Ben Yehuda Street and found that our favourite non-Kosher restaurant (Zuni) was open so we indulged in a real lunch. Fortified by this and feeling much refreshed after our sleep, we kept walking to the Jaffa Gate via the Mamilla centre. Our one and only plan was to do The Tower of David / Kishle museum which was surprisingly open on Shabbat - I had seen this online before coming.
    Being a bit obssessed with Herod the Great and his building works, I was pretty keen to see this.
    It’s a brand new excavation and exhibition and I was particularly interested to see the excavated base of the Phasael tower which is part of Herod’s palace complex right by the Jaffa gate and has just recently been opened to the public.
    On the way down Hillel street we noted that there is also a new, large museum where we remembered a construction site last time we were here. We saw it was named ‘The Museum of Tolerance’ as we approached it and weren’t quite sure what that meant. However, in the forecourt area is a display of all the Jewish Nobel Prize winners and a brief description of their field of expertise.
    This is exactly what Darren Tappouras was speaking of at the combined day on 14 May (which we had streamed while travelling in the UK) and I have included a video of it.

    Continuing on, its always a thrill to enter the Old City and we immediately found the entrance to the Kishle display just around to the right of the Jaffa gate. The audiovisual displays and artefacts are really excellent and we spent a long time going through these, As there was no signage to the contrary and the staff were unconcerned, we photographed and videoed each one. We then moved outside to the courtyard area (just adjacent to where the night time sound and light shows take place) and found all the relevant excavated walls from Herod’s Palace.
    Eventually we were being chased out by the staff as we had stayed beyond closing time but there is still more to see! Our friendly guy on the Jaffa gate exit said he would let us sneak back in tomorrow to finish this off without having to pay for another entrance fee - as long as he was on duty. We shall see.

    It was then time for a bit of a wander down through the Arab markets; up onto the roof of the markets where all four quarters of the old city can be seen; Western Wall Plaza, which was just starting to come to life as Shabbat was drawing to a close; a bit of a wander around the Jewish Quarter and then back towards the new city still in search of a super (or mini) market that was open. We found one - but they had already sold out of milk.
    No ingredients for self catering tonight, so its off to the YMCA restaurant (opposite the King David hotel) for dinner which we had enjoyed last time when we had stayed there.
    Alas, we arrived at 8.10pm and the kitchen had just closed so we decided we would head down to the Mamilla Centre to find somewhere to eat.
    This plan changed again when we spied the Supermarket across the road had now opened, so we bought some overpriced ingredients for dinner and returned to the apartment.

    Our restful start to Shabbat ended up being quite busy with about 13km of walking which is probably pretty standard for a day in Jerusalem.    Read more

  • U.K. - Iceland - Israel
    Day 45

    Iceland to Israel

    June 10, 2023 in Israel ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    Our journey from Reykjavik to Jerusalem was tolerable.
    Alarm at 5am, out into the morning drizzle, refuel the car and then a 40 minute drive to Keflavík airport, return the car, wait for shuttle to airport proper, spend the last of the bit of Icelandic Kroners.
    The flight to Helsinki was pleasant enough with the whole row to ourselves. A few glimpses of Iceland and its snow capped peaks was seen through the cloud.
    By the time we had reached the Norwegian coastline the weather had cleared to a fine day and it was interesting to see the thousands of fjords and lakes in central Norway transition to more forests and farmland as we passed over Sweden.
    We had a few hours to kill at Helsinki airport before our next flight to Ben Gurion so we utilised the Priority Pass lounge to get some food, drink and Wifi as none of this is provided enroute for either leg. It seems Finnair are just as stingy as British Airways.

    I was thankful for noise cancelling headsets to drown out the endlessly repeating ‘Baby Shark’ song coming from the tablet of the child in front, but the headsets were doing nothing to dampen the thuds from the seat-kicking child behind. Thankfully it was only 4.5 hours and we kept busy with writing, reading etc as well as a little shuteye as circumstances would allow.
    The route did of course keep us well clear of Ukrainian airspace- see the screenshots showing that nothing flies that route.
    The lights of Cyprus were visible off to the left as we commenced our descent and we landed at about 11.35pm.
    Electronic passport processing made entry a breeze with the little blue Visa printed out and no questions asked about ‘why don’t you want your passport stamped’ as happened in the past.
    Outside into the humidity and negotiations / wrangling with a taxi driver got him down from ILS 400 to 275 for the fare into Jerusalem.
    All went smoothly, access to apartment just next to Ben Yehuda street gained 1.45hrs after landing- pretty good all things considered.
    It’s nice being ‘back home’.    Read more

  • U.K. - Iceland - Israel
    11
    Day 43

    Finishing up in Hot Water again

    June 8, 2023 in Iceland ⋅ 🌧 10 °C

    Back in Reykjavik after about 6.5 hours of driving today means we have completed our circumnavigation of Iceland.

    When planning the trip, I booked the flights in and out before working out exactly what we would be able to cover in 5 days.

    All the resources I looked at said that 10 days was ideal to do the full circle route - some said it could be done in 7 at a pinch. Any search of ‘5 days in Iceland’ yielded the comment “Can’t tour the whole island - just stick to the south and southeast - aka ‘the Golden Circle’. Try as I might, I couldn’t find any itinerary that would allow the whole island to be covered in a 5 day period. Rather than seeing this as a red flag I saw it more as a challenge and put together such an itinerary. It was busy with long days but . . . It was achieved.

    Today the alarm went off at 5.50am, checked out at 7 and by 9am we had done our first 3 points of interest.
    It was just a few minutes drive to the nearby Hverfjall Volcano where we parked and started the very steep 15 minute climb up the side of the volcano to its rim. Despite the expectation of one more day of good weather before cold and rain returned, we found the first of these on the climb up and the second of these starting shortly later.
    After catching our breath at the top and snapping some shots we were quickly back down for another short drive to the associated Dimmuborgir Lava field.

    Next up was about a 40 minute drive to our last ‘foss’ of the trip - the Godafoss waterfall - so named because in the year 1000A.D. the chieftain of Iceland was entrusted with the decision as to whether Icelanders should adopt the Christian faith. When eventually he made his decision in favour of this he went home, collected all his pagan gods and threw them into this waterfall.
    Godafoss has derived its name from this event.

    Following Godafoss, it was now a long drive back to Reykyavik, punctuated by a little diversion to the Kolugljufur Canyon (although in my opinion it could also be classified as a ‘Foss’). This remote, poorly signposted spot was quite spectacular. By now the wind was up, the rain was falling in earnest and it was a good time to spend a few hours inside the car travelling back to Reykyavik.
    Although our booking for the relatively new Sky Lagoon thermal pool was’t until later in the evening, we decided to drive straight there and see if they could bring our booking forward. This they kindly did so at 4pm we found ourselves luxuriating in the beautiful hot springs with an infinity edge onto Reykjavik harbour. Eventually we dragged ourselves away, drove 15 minutes back to the heart of the city, found our apartment and settled in for the evening.
    We had some ingredients for dinner but no ‘real’ meat. Unfortunately we missed the closing of the local supermarket by just a few minutes and neither of us had the energy to go searching further afield, so Loss got some things out of her ‘Mary Poppins Carpet Bag’ and rustled up something which could be best described as a tuna risotto. Although not fine dining, it was edible, but Loss assures everyone she won’t repeat the recipe on any future visitors.
    Next will be some rearranging of bags for our early flight to Tel Aviv via Helsinki tomorrow morning, then hopefully an early night.
    Tomorrow will be an entire day of travel and we arrive at Ben Gurion airport around Midnight on Shabbat (worst possible time as far as transport etc is concerned but that’s just how the flights worked out) - so there may not be a blog until after we are settled in Jerusalem the following day.

    Iceland has exceeded expectations, and Jerusalem never disappoints.    Read more

  • U.K. - Iceland - Israel
    1
    Day 42

    Hot and Cold Running Water

    June 7, 2023 in Iceland ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    Today started early - last night, actually.

    Just as we were winding it up for the day I thought I should check over the itinerary for tomorrow (today) and I found that (a) it was going to be another busy day and (b) the first point of attraction to visit was a slight backtrack to our intended route of travel for the day. It was a waterfall called Sveinsstekksfoss and access was open 24 hours, so we jumped back in the car at 10pm and checked this great little ‘Foss’ before heading back to Lindabrekka for the night. We were ahead of the game before it even started!

    Alarm at 6am, out the door just after 7 and drove to our first waterfall for the day - Folaldafoss. This one didn’t require much walking and we snapped a few shots in the cold morning air and headed off to the little town of Stodvarfjordur - tucked away on one of the fjords that are a feature of this part of the coastline. Nothing was open as it was only 8.30am - so ‘Petra’s Rock Collection’ museum would have to wait for another day as this was the only real feature in the town and Petra was sleeping in until 10am.
    We continued snaking our way along the dramatic Fiordland coastline and then turned off the Ring Road to visit the very quaint town of Seydisfjordur - again as the Icelandic name suggests is situated on another fjord.
    On the way in were another two ‘fosses’ - Fardagafoss and Gufufoss - both sensational but the first one requiring a steep and strenuous climb from the car park. This definitely warmed us up for the day but the effort was certainly worth it.

    At Gufufoss, Loss in her bright jacket was seconded by a German photographer who asked her to pose in front of the waterfall for her shots. All of a sudden it dawned on me that I could have been utilising this as an income stream all through the trip. What a missed opportunity!

    The drive in to the gorgeous little town of Seydisfjordur required climbing up over a mountain pass and then descending down the valley on the other side leading into the fjord. The low cloud and overcast that had been lingering earlier started to burn off and we were treated to a beautiful morning and the picturesque little town looked stunning. The way the vibrantly painted houses cluster around the harbour make it look especially attractive and the ‘Blue Church’ is a famous feature of this town.
    We spent a little time wandering around, treated ourselves to coffee and lunch at an excellent little restaurant with views up the fjord and then we returned back up over the mountain pass to rejoin the ring road and continue on our way.

    We now had quite a long drive towards our destination for tonight (Myvatn) with a detour off to see the most spectacular falls of the northern part of Iceland - Selfoss and then just slightly downstream, Dettifoss (which according to Google is Europe’s most powerful waterfall). They were indeed spectacular and the spray from Dettifoss wet us considerably even though we were well away from its plunge point.

    We continued driving towards Myvatn and just before arriving we crested a hill that was spouting steam and sulphurous fumes. This of course required further investigation and we pulled into the parking area for Namafjall - Iceland’s version of Rotorua. Steam vents, boiling pools of water and mud and lots of sulphur dioxide - what more could you want?

    It should then have only been a short drive to our destination for tonight (Myvatn Guesthouse) - but there happened to be two of these on opposites sides of the lake to each other. I managed to enter the wrong one into Waze and drove half an hour past the correct one before realising my mistake.
    It wasn’t all bad, because our backtrack took us around the beautiful Myvatn lake again which wasn’t too much of a trial to endure.
    Tonight, it is as close to ‘camping’ as Loss has gotten in a long time. We are staying at a large campground and although we have a private room, it is a shared bathroom and cooking facilities. While I’m sitting in the communal dining area typing out this blog, Loss is a few metres away in the shared kitchen cooking up some dinner. I was keeping a mental tab on how long I thought it would take before she stuck up a conversation with the Germans in there as well. She was a bit slower than I had expected tonight - it took her exactly 3 minutes and 30 seconds before they were all best friends, sharing stories and being subjected to photos of the grandchildren.

    Dinner was done by 8pm - just in time for the perfect way of finishing a day in Iceland - a visit to the open air hot baths. These were about a 10 minute drive from our accommodation and were very well set up with good facilities and two different pools of different temperatures. We chose the hotter one - and then found the hottest part of that where the water was flowing into the pool. It was quite special to be out in daylight at 9.30pm enjoying this experience. Quite tranquil and much less odiferous than Rotorua.

    Loss has just finished hanging out the washing in the daylight at 10.40pm. Tomorrow is our last full day in Iceland and at this stage it looks like the good weather should hold out.    Read more

  • U.K. - Iceland - Israel
    Day 41

    Reverting to a more Glacial pace

    June 6, 2023 in Iceland ⋅ ☀️ 8 °C

    Yesterday’s gruelling program meant that we did actually have the luxury of having a very lazy start to the day and were able to enjoy the beautiful facilities at the Glacier Lagoon hotel.
    After some calls home and breakfast we headed 20 minutes up the road to ‘Diamond Beach’.
    Loss rather liked the sound of this place when I had previously mentioned it and I had promised that you could actually pick up ‘diamonds’ that were just lying on the sand.
    ‘Diamond Beach’ is a volcanic black sand beach so named because the chunks of ice that have calved from the nearby glacier run out to the sea and then get washed back up along the shore making it look like the beach is littered with sparkling diamonds of all shapes and sizes. Although the reality wasn’t quite what she had been secretly hoping for, it was a unique spectacle.

    Just a few hundred metres away was our meeting point for our main activity of today - a Zodiac ride out into Jokulsaron lake to experience the beauty of the glacier that calves directly into the lake. The ice floes that float in the lake make for an amazingly beautiful scene - and we had a picture perfect day to go with it as well.
    Our skipper and guide Marcus was very knowledgeable and witty and a really enjoyable 1.5 hours were spent out on the lake. We got up very close (well as close as is safe) to the glacial face. Although we could hear the sounds of the glacier groaning and cracking, we didn’t witness any of the face calving off - however late in the trip we did see one of the icebergs nearby in the lake shed a sizeable chunk from below the surface and shoot up to the surface.

    The magical hues of blue and white, harbour seals swimming and basking on their own little floes, and the thrill of running at high speed through the ice field hearing the occasional bump agains the fibreglass hull made for an unforgettable experience.
    The beauty and splendour of creation never ceases to amaze.

    At 2.45pm we drove off to continue our anticlockwise circumnavigation. The coastline and mountains were ever changing and never dull - and all accomplished in the luxury of a car that could actually hold its speed on a hill, had a functional cruise control AND Apple CarPlay. Bliss!

    After a fuel and grocery stop at Djupivogur we continued 20 minutes up the first of the fjords on the eastern side of the island to Lindabrekka - an idyllic little cabin perched between a volcano and the end of the fiord.
    And we arrived there at the very respectable time of 6.30pm!
    After dinner we are off for a post prandial stroll in the beautiful evening - there’s a ‘foss’ nearby to take a closer look at.    Read more

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