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Biblelands and Greece trip
  • susie hicks
  • susie hicks

Biblelands and Greece trip

36-päiväinen seikkaillu — susie Lue lisää
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  • Matkan aloitus
    11. syyskuuta 2019
  • susie hicksBiblelands and Greece tripMatkaaja

    Doha to Istanbul.. Istanbul to Tel Aviv

    12. syyskuuta 2019, Qatar ⋅ ☀️ 36 °C

    Arrived in Doha and waved goodbye to Julie and Phil who were booked on an earlier flight to Turkey. We had 4 hours to kill so explored the huge Doha airport before meeting up with Steve and Sandy Dodson and James and Jenny Higgs, all on our flight to Turkey. Then had a 5 hour wait in Istanbul before the final leg. Met up with Andrea Prince from NZ who recognised us all from WhatsApp pics, and also Annie and Dave Young. We all got through the intense questioning by the Israelis prior to being allowed to board this final flight.. Arrived in Tel Aviv at 9pm. By the time we got our luggage, haggled for a taxi and found our little bnb with the Dodsons and Higgs, it was 11pm.. Some 35 hours of travel 😮Lue lisää

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    James and Trev brekky on the sandTel Aviv.Jaffa at night

    Tel Aviv

    13. syyskuuta 2019, Israel ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    After a fabulous full Israeli breakfast with our new kindred spirits James and Jenny, who I'm sure will be lifelong friends, we explored the beachfront of Tel Aviv. Later we met up with Ruth and Peter, Phil and Mignon and Steve and Sandy and spent most of the day between the glorious Mediterranean and a beach umbrella 😍 So relaxing... Apart from Trev getting bitten several times by a savage fish.. Enough to draw blood 😮.. And me being dumped by a wave and losing my sunglasses.. Ah well . Forced to buy a pair for 30 shekels! Rounded off the day with a 45 minute walk along the coast to old Jaffa for dinner at the Man of the Sea . Quite an experience! Met up with about half of our tour group there.. How exciting!Lue lisää

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    Day 3 Biblelands tour

    16. syyskuuta 2019, Israel ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    Day 3 Sunrise overlooking the sea of Galilee at Tiberias. Breaking of bread at the mount of Beatitudes (a Very emotional experience reading the sermon on the mount and singing a hymn about the very place we are sitting on.)
    Chorazim.. Ruins of a synagogue in a city cursed by Jesus for rejecting his message (Matt 11:20-24)
    Capernaum..the home of Jesus during his ministry and the site of many miracles. Mind blown. Boat ride on the sea of Galilee.. Again quite surreal as we cut the engine and read from the scriptures as the boat gently rocked on the water. Lunch at Ein Gev kibbutz.. Fish straight from Galilee.
    2000 year old boat found on the Galilee shores..
    Magdala.. One of only 7 1st century synagogues uncovered in Israel. A packed day. It just keeps getting better 😍    Lue lisää

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    Day 4 Biblelands tour

    17. syyskuuta 2019, Israel ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    Day 4 started with a trip to Gamla in the Golan Heights ( An interesting day to be driving through this area on Israel's Election Day today given the struggle for control over this area of the state of Israel throughout history as evidenced in driving past active mine sites, tank training bases, bunkers, and abandoned Syrian army bases and bombed buildings from the 1967 and Yom Kippur wars.. even a bunch of active tanks we sneakily photographed from the bus)
    Gamla was a fortified City so named because it looked like a camel.. Almost inaccessible due to the topography. Josephus reports that it was conquered on the second attempt by the Roman legions who slaughtered 4000 of the Jews taking refuge there. The remaining 5000 jumped to their death from the tower. A very hot walk down the hill and back up into Gamla but well worth it for the view (and the bragging rights)
    Lunch at El Rom Kibbutz and watched a movie about the part of the Yom Kippur war that was fought here in 1973, the reason for the area being renamed Valley of Tears
    Banias(or Panias) also known as Caesarea Philippi in Dan..a centre of pagan worship..where Jesus said to Peter 'Who do you say that I am?'. Peter's reply (Matt 16) 'You are the Christ, the son of the living God' Another surreal moment.
    Nimrods Castle a crusader fortress built in 1228 to prevent the crusaders invading Damascus conquered in 1260.    Lue lisää

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    Day 5 Biblelands tour

    18. syyskuuta 2019, Israel ⋅ ☀️ 35 °C

    Belvoir.. Another crusader fortress built in 1168AD
    En Harod (still a bubbling spring) from where Gideon went to spy on the Midianites on Mt Moreh (Judges 7) and where God told Gideon to cull the army from 32000 men to only those 300 that lapped the water from their hands
    Mt Gilboa where Saul and Jonathan died.. we read David's lament for his friend Jonathan and saw the barren areas on the Gilboa range..a stark reminder of David's curse on the area that nothing would grow because of what happened
    Lunch at a kibbutz at Tel Megiddo.. an archaeological site where 25 different layers of rebuilding have been uncovered, dating back to 5000 BCE. Of interest was a temple built by Solomon and the stables for his horses, and a tunnel to allow water collection from a well without going outside the city walls, probably built by Ahab.(197 steps down underground!) Great views across the Jezreel Valley of Mr Tabor . To the right Mt Moreh . To the left Nazareth.
    Mt Precipice overlooking Nazareth(now a predominantly Arab City) the area our Lord grew up in, imagining him recalling all the events of the Old Testament. Hard to believe so much happened in this small area. We read in Luke 4v29 where the people wanted to throw Jesus off a cliff.. possibly here.
    Another goosebump moment when we sang a hymn... "We saw thee not when thou didst come to this dark world of sin and death, Nor e'er beheld thy cottage home in that despised Nazareth. But we believe thy footsteps trod it's streets and hills thou son of God"    Lue lisää

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    Day 6 Biblelands tour

    19. syyskuuta 2019, Palestiina ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Day 6
    Bet She'an. Archaeological site mentioned in Joshua 17, Judges 1:27-28,1 Kings 4:12,1 Chronicles 7:29
    Drove for an hour, at times only metres from the border of Jordan. Quite bizarre for an Australian in an island nation without this type of border.. It felt like we could just about pole vault into another country..if it wasn't so heavily patrolled. Also driving through the West Bank, Judea and Samaria, so often reported about on the news, and the often incongruous biblical scenes like shepherds on donkeys with their flocks
    Shiloh.. Where Joshua divided the land after the wilderness wandering. It was one of the main centres of Israelite worship by virtue of the presence of the tabernacle and the Ark of the covenant, until it was moved in battle, the place Samuel grew up.
    Our first glimpse of Jerusalem, as our bus belted out an emotional rendition of The Holy City. A stop at the Mt of Olives looking across the Kidron Valley to the old city of Jerusalem. Another moving moment as our group sang 'Pray for the peace of Jerusalem' Then onto our hotel inside the walls of the Old City.. Very special ❤️    Lue lisää

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    Day 7 Biblelands tour

    20. syyskuuta 2019, Palestiina ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Day 7 started at the Jaffa Gate where our hotel is .. We noticed the bullet marks from the 1967 war when the Jews managed to take back the old city.. From here we started the Ramparts walk along the wall.. Couldn't help singing "Walk about Zion and go round about her.. mark well her bulwarks, consider her palaces.."🎶. On to the Zion gate with bullet marks from the 1948 fighting..Jews firing on the Jordanians inside unsuccessfully. Next we headed to the Jewish quarter.. inside of which was the Burnt House and the Herodian quarter destroyed in AD 70 by the Romans.. rediscovered after the 1967 liberation including the excavated priestly precinct including highly likely the very house of Caiaphas and the room where Jesus would've appeared before the Sanhedrin.. we stood in the courtyard where Peter was warming his hands by the fire when Jesus turned and made eye contact after Peter had denied him thrice.. Mind blown again 😮
    Fascinating that 36,000 people are living in 1 square km in the Old City across the Jewish/Christian/Armenian and Moslem quarters, all trying to get along.. mostly!
    Walked through the Cardo (lit meaning Hinge.. The mall/main street that every Roman City hinged around) 2000 years old!
    We saw the part of the wall that Hezekiah built 8m high 6m wide. That's quite a wall!!😮
    Then headed back down to the Western Wall.. Sabbath tonight so it was much more chaotic and crowded..a unique experience.
    Another fabulous day wandering the narrow cobblestone streets of Jerusalem ❤️    Lue lisää

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    Day 8 Biblelands tour

    21. syyskuuta 2019, Palestiina ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Day 8 started with a visit to Golgotha, the place of the skull and a breaking of bread at the Garden tomb.. Another very emotional moment.Then back to the reality of present day Israel as we drove through the West Bank in Palestinian occupied territory
    Herodian..a palace fortress built by Herod on a man-made hill which became his burial place.
    Next stop Bethlehem.. Not the serene relaxing visit to Jesus birthplace you may expect. After a lengthy stand off when our bus driver was refusing to drive into the Palestinian held city, a rather stressful game of chicken between buses, cars and people on grotty narrow streets in a huge filthy city, all the time feeling uneasy. All I can say is now I've been to Bethlehem and don't feel the need to do that again! All part of the adventure in a bit of a roller coaster of emotions day. A fabulous end with a spectacular sound and light show in the Citadel of David.    Lue lisää

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    Day 9 Biblelands trip

    22. syyskuuta 2019, Palestiina ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Day 9 saw an early start to beat the crowds at the Temple Mount. Pictures here include a pile of rocks (!) significant because they are believed to be the rocks thrown off by the Romans when they destroyed the Temple.(since been excavated and left where they fell). As was foretold 'not one stone shall remain upon another that will not be thrown down' (Matt 24:2).. the Golden gate which was opened on the Day of Atonement to let the red heifer out as a scapegoat into the wilderness and killed. Now bricked up which I found quite appropriate...Solomon's porch mentioned quite a few times in scripture...Dome of the Rock.. Now a Moslem shrine believed to be built on the site of the Most Holy Place on Mt Moriah...The site where it's believed the Gate Beautiful was..a gate that Jesus would've used many times.
    Then we walked down through the Dung Gate to the Old city of David..still an active archaeological dig as they uncover more every day that dates back to the time of David. Awesome views of Mt of Olives the oldest active cemetery in Israel.    Lue lisää

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    Day 9 continued..

    22. syyskuuta 2019, Palestiina ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Next..Hezekiah's tunnel...a surreal and fantastic experience walking through cool running water, sometimes knee deep in a narrow tunnel.. Exiting at the Pool of Siloam.
    After lunch the group did a few different things.. We walked to the Garden of Gethsemane with Julie and Phil which was a lovely peaceful garden of veeeery old olive trees.. if this was the actual garden or somewhere close to here it was easy to see why Jesus came here to pray before his arrest. Made me feel equal parts calm and ridiculously excited to be here😊
    We then wandered back through the old cobblestoned streets of the Old city browsing the markets. After dinner we did a tour of the Western Tunnels.. Of interest was this 14.6mx5.3m single stone which was part of the original wall . Massive and amazing workmanship for just the fence basically..let alone the actual Temple!.. Walking through narrow tunnels on the original floor stones of the market place. Another fabulous day 😊    Lue lisää

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    Day 10 Biblelands trip

    23. syyskuuta 2019, Palestiina ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Day 10 First stop the Theodore Herzl memorial "If you will it, it is more than a dream"
    This told the story of his dream for a Jewish state which at the first Zionist congress caused great excitement. He says "there is no national existence without territory" and declared that within 50 years there would be a Jewish state. After there was no progress at the second Jewish Congress in 1898 he sailed for Israel to discuss his vision for his people, travelling several countries arranging loans and negotiating deals to obtain a piece of the Promised Land using his own money. He died in 1904 not seeing the fulfillment of his dream, but leaving a legacy to which all Jews are indebted.. Only after the Holocaust did the world recognise the need for a Jewish state 50 years after Herzl proclaimed it would happen.
    He was buried in Vienna but he was so confident of his vision that he wrote in his will to be buried in the Holy Land .In 1949 his body was interred in Israel here on Mt Herzl.
    Next stop the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum. 😢I really wanted to stay long enough to bear witness to the suffering, but found it overwhelming. Man's inhumanity to man at its worst and I can't even write about what I saw and heard there.
    It's easy to think of 6,000,000 as a statistic but this quote on the wall stuck with me ."It is not that 6 million Jews were murdered, but that there were 6 million murders and in each of them one Jew was killed." Unfathomable.
    Our last afternoon and evening in Jerusalem was spent wandering the streets soaking up the culture and enjoying a drink on the rooftop overlooking the city walls, cementing friendships old and new ❤️    Lue lisää

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    Day 11 Biblelands trip

    24. syyskuuta 2019, Israel ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    Day 11 Very sad to to leave Jerusalem but every day brings a new adventure! We drove past Bet Shemesh known for being the area given to the tribe of Dan.. one of the 48 cities given to the Levites..where the Philistines brought the ark of the covenant ..the area where Samson judged Israel for 20 years.
    First stop.. Tel Azeka above the Valley of Elah first mentioned where Joshua conquered the land (Josh10) this area given to the tribe of Judah. Best known as the site where David fought Goliath.We can see the brook where David picked up the 5 stones when he fought Goliath, Israel was camped across the valley, the higher hills we are on was where the Philistines were camped(a definite strategic advantage for them and we could imagine the Philistines shouting out challenges across the valley). David carried the head of Goliath to Jerusalem (an hour and a quarter bus ride for us!!
    Then a slow perilous trip down a narrow winding road.. Our bus has a few more scratches to show for it!!
    Next stop-Tel Lachish held by King Hezekiah, conquered by Sennacherib and the Assyrian army 2800 years ago. Trev reckons he found part of a white flint arrow head(or a chicken bone 😂)and Peter found a pottery shard with writing on it 😲
    We then drove down through the Negev with extensive plantings of jojoba beans, heading to BeerSheva(Beersheba) where we visited an Air force museum and heard how the Israeli air force has thrived despite embargoes being placed against them, and their technology has leapt ahead through their own ingenuity in appropriating other nations aircraft.. We then visited the ANZAC memorial to the taking of BeerSheba from the Ottomans in 1917 by the Australian light horsemen along with the Brits. 2 days after this the Balfour Declaration was presented and 2 years after BeerSheba was taken, the Allies succeeded in taking Palestine from the Turks. Sobering seeing so many graves of boys younger than our children 😢
    BeerSheba was also mentioned many times in scripture including the place where Jacob had the dream of the ladder with angels descending and ascending(Gen28), Abraham's oath (Gen 21), Hagar wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba, sons of Samuel were judges here (I Sam 8) .
    Arrived at the Dead Sea (423m below sea level.. The lowest point on the planet) in time for a swim before dinner..a unique experience!    Lue lisää

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    Day 12 Biblelands trip

    25. syyskuuta 2019, Israel ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Day 12
    Masada-This was Herod's winter palace which at its height housed 1000 zealots. Amazing that they grew crops and had water in the middle of the desert on a huge high Rock.. They had dovecotes for food.. their droppings used as fertiliser.. They had enough food and water for 3 years with 12 cisterns and an ingenious system of redirecting floodwater, so the Romans got sick of waiting to starve them out and took 47 days to build a ramp and used a battering ram for the stone walls and archers with flaming arrows to burn the wooden reinforcements. Almost 1000 people committed suicide rather than face slavery and rape and torture. This act has become legendary and the Israeli Defence Force youth are brought here to inspire them.. 'Masada will never fall again'. is their catchcry and it has become a symbol of staunch resistance against oppression.
    (66AD was the start of the revolt,70AD destruction of the Temple and Masada was the last remaining City to be taken before the Jews were eradicated from the land in 73AD.)

    We then journeyed on and learnt that the Dead sea is today not one sea but 2 landlocked lagoons as the sea is receding at the rate of 1m a year.. as the Jordan River is only supplying 4% of its former volume into the sea due to drought and the fact that more water is being pumped out of the sea of Galilee for domestic use..plans are afoot to pump water from the Red Sea but costs are an issue at present.
    Next stop was Ein Gev(Engedi).. this region lost 30% of its date production in a sink hole in the last 20 years.. Many of these have opened up due to the drying out of the dead sea. The Engedi spring is the source of 30% of the bottled water market in Israel,a major source of income for the kibbutz here, along with date palms.
    This is the area where David fled from Saul and hid in the caves..5 waterfalls from this Spring which was a welcome refreshing stop 😊 Another amazing feeling thinking we were standing under the same waterfall that David would've done😲(1Sam 23/4) We read Ezek 47:10 when the Dead sea in this area will be full of fish.. Hard to imagine the change.
    Qumran -the site where Bedouin goatherds accidentally found some dead sea scrolls that are believed to have been hidden by the Jews living here to preserve them, once they heard Jerusalem had been taken and the Romans were heading to Masada. We saw herds of wild ibex through this area.
    Back to the resort for a relaxing afternoon at the pools and another Dead Sea swim 😁    Lue lisää

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    Day 13 Biblelands trip

    26. syyskuuta 2019, Israel ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    Day 13
    Left the Dead sea today and drove through the Negev Desert, past many Bedouin encampments (there are 250,000 Bedouin living in Israel today) and more herds of wild ibex.
    Visited Avdat established in the 3rd century BCE as a stop over for Nabatean tribesmen transportng spices and perfumes.. it became known as the Incense Route.. and Avdat was taken over by the Romans and then the Byzantines..abandoned after an earthquake in the 7th century .
    More driving through the desert past massive solar farms, the Israeli Defence Force Academy in the middle of the desert, the top secret nuclear plant that our guide assured us wasn't for weapons but was a"biscuit factory"🤔
    Wilderness of Paran where the children of Israel were wandering.. such a dry arid area we could understand their murmurings about wanting to be back in Egypt where at least they had food.
    Timna Park...the site of King Solomon's copper mines, in the territory of Edom, with stunning natural rock formations known as Solomon's pillars. We visited a life sized model of the Tabernacle here.
    Eilat, the southernmost City in Israel.. We can see Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt from here.. Everything is so close 😲 Ended the day with a delicious refreshing swim in the Red Sea with awesome colourful fish on the reef!    Lue lisää

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    Day 14 Biblelands trip

    27. syyskuuta 2019, Jordan ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    Day 14 After a fairly stress free border crossing to Jordan we farewelled the lovely Effi and met our new guide Rami and drove through massive granite mountains with lines of dark lava.. quite spectacular.. This area known as the Exodus road. mentioned in1 Kings 9:26/Numbers 33:1 Elah (now known as Aqaba)..
    Headed to Wadi Rum (wadi means valley)..many movies filmed here Including Martian, Aladdin, Mummy 2, Lawrence of Arabia, Transformers. We had a fun 4WD jeep ride through the dunes and stunning rock formations, with a traditional Jordanian lunch in a Bedouin camp.
    Then we drove along the Kings way.,(mentioned in the Bible several times) to our hotel in Petra. Hot and dusty and very glad of a shower 😁    Lue lisää

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    Day 15 Biblelands trip

    28. syyskuuta 2019, Jordan ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Day 15 Petra.. In 600BC Nabateans settled here.. After several major earthquakes in the 4th Century the site was abandoned. But in 1812 a Swiss explorer rediscovered the ancient city which was in 1985 declared a world heritage site. A definite bucket list item 😲

    Drove through Edom, to Moab through areas mentioned in the Bible although names have since changed (Josh13:16-20 territory of Reuben,Jeremiah 48:20-22)
    Ruins of Umm ar-Rasas where we saw some gorgeous mosaic dating back to AD 785 from Saint Stephen's church built in this biblically significant site on the King's Way (named in Bible times- Mephaath)
    Next stop was Arnon River Gorge with stunning views (part of the Exodus road on the way to Nebo).. Ammonites would've been on the right, Moabites on the left, Edomites behind us.
    We then drove to the capital, Amman..through cities and farming areas that shocked us with the amount of rubbish EVERYWHERE! So different from Israel, and the driving here in the Middle East is an adventure in itself😲😲 From highways wide enough for 3 lanes each way but no lanes marked so some interesting jostling for position.. babies in laps in the front seat unrestrained..to narrow streets really only wide enough for one car after there were cars parked and double parked at all sorts of angles.. our bus ran the gauntlet through these with stall holders either side 😲    Lue lisää

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    Day 16 Biblelands trip

    29. syyskuuta 2019, Jordan ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Day 16. First stop the supposed site where the chariot of fire appeared and Elijah was taken, Elisha became his successor 2 Kings 2:11. We can see Jericho from here.
    Bethany beyond Jordan.. The site where it's believed John the Baptist baptised Jesus. The Jordan used to be the fastest running River in the world but little water remains. We had a breaking of bread here which was very special, and the words of a hymn we sang were so meaningful..'For Abraham's God is our God, and Isaac's God is ours. Ours is the God of Jacob, with His almighty powers'🎶
    Next we headed to Madaba in Moab, where Ruth was from, and visited a church built on top of the old Byzantine church with a mosaic floor containing 2.8 million tiles, of a map of the Holy land, designed to guide the pilgrims.
    Next stop Mt Nebo where Moses died after he had been shown the land (Deuteronomy 34) Unfortunately it was a dusty hazy day so we didn't get a great view but still awesome to feel we were on this mountain with Moses ❤️
    A very steep ascent with hairpin bends.. uneasily aware that what goes up must come down😲 but we safely made it to Maccherus where John the Baptist was beheaded after the daughter of Herodias danced A steep hot climb to the remains of the palace of Herod Antipas (Matt 14)    Lue lisää

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    Day 17 Biblelands trip

    30. syyskuuta 2019, Turkki ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Day 17 On the way to the airport for our flights to Turkey we stopped at the Citadel of Amman.. where David sent Uriah to battle possibly where he was killed, as this would be the likely place to defend the city (2 Sam 11 ancient city of Ammon)

    Last look at Amman from the lookout . Our guide shared his sadness with the fact that orruption and greed dominates the politics and the cost of living and low wages with very high unemployment rates..up to 30%..makes life very difficult for the average Jordanian family The gap between the rich and poor is increasing and the national debt has doubled from 20 billion to 40 billion in 20 years 😢
    More interesting Middle Eastern driving..where herds of goats actually waited for the lights to change on a major road before their goatherd led them across.. Better disciplined than a lot of the humans here 😂
    Flight from Amman to Ankara. with great perspective of Israel, Cyprus and Turkey from the air..then Ankara to Izmir.to meet our new guide. Arrived at our hotel for a late dinner after 9pm excited for the next part of the adventure 😊    Lue lisää

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