Friday and Saturday In Israel

Friday we went to Grotto in the Church of Nativity, and saw the manger and where Jesus was born which was awesome. Next we went to a Bedouin Village and had lunch there, which was my favorite part of the day. Then we went to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which was weird and also cool. Today we went to Galilee. First we went to Nazareth and saw the Roman Catholic Church of the Annunciation, that was also really cool.  Next we went to Capernaum where we saw Peter’s house. We also saw a 4^th century synagogue which is like a 4^th century church. After lunch we went on a boat in the sea of Galilee. Tonight we are still staying in the same hotel in Bethlehem.

Saturday we went to the Mount of Olives I could see the entire Old City of Jerusalem, and it’s so cold up there. Then we hiked down it into the Old City, but we stopped at the Garden of Gethsemane which is where Jesus sweated blood and prayed to take the cup from him. Then we hiked the whole way down, and walked through the Old City. Next we went down to street level in Jesus time. After that we went to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher again and saw some cool art and mosaics. Then we went to dinner which was a Bedouin restaurant called the tent I had  a mixed grill which is like lamb mixed with beef  with a side of chicken. After that we said bye to the part of the group that was not going to Jordan. Now we are packing to leave Bethlehem tomorrow.

Churches, Ruins, Museums, and Other Stuff

Yesterday we went to the Church of the Nativity. That has two churches Orthodox and Roman Catholic. Next we went to Herodium, a palace of Herod the Great. Also, tradition says that his tomb lies there, it was so fun to climb there even though it was only stairs. Also we went to the Israel Museum, where we went to see the Shrine of the Book, and that is where the Dead Sea Scrolls are held it was sooooo boring. We also saw a small model of Jerusalem in Jesus time, that was kinda cool . Lastly we met with a Jew that lived in America a long time, but then moved to Israel that was kinda interesting. We are still staying in Bethlehem.

More from Israel

Yesterday we went to Independence Hall in Tel Aviv, where we learned how Israel became an independent state. It was kind of boring in some parts and cool in others.  Next we met with members of the Israeli Joint Distribution Committee. They provide help for people in need. Where we were, they were helping refugees from Eritrea and Sudan. Next we went to our hotel in East Jerusalem, and our view was the Dome of the Rock, which is a building that has a solid gold dome on top of it, and only Muslims can go in. Today we went to the Holocaust Museum. The Holocaust was in 1938 when Adolf Hitler killed millions of Jews in Europe I didn’t matter if they were children, women, or even babies. It was so terrible they would take them to concentration camps where they would be rounded up then killed 1 out of every 3 Jews were killed. The survivors were either dead or starving to death is was sad, disturbing, and scary. Next we met with a person that is in a refugee camp and they gave us terrible coffee, tea, and a chocolate bar that was like a kit kat. Now we are staying in Bethlehem.

Holy Land, Day 3

Today we went to Sepphoris . Sepphoris is a place with a lot of mosaics. Mosaics are art made out of tiny tiles and the most famous mosaic is the Mona Lisa of Israel and it is about a drinking contest between Hercules and the god of wine. Then we went to the Valley of Megiddo which means Armageddon in Hebrew. After that we went to the Mediterranean Sea at Caesarea Maritima which was built by Herod the Great. We also saw an aqueduct and a hippodrome where they used to race chariots. Tonight we are staying in East Jerusalem.

First and Second Night in the Holy Land

Yesterday we got up at 3 o clock in the morning to get to the airport. Then we went on a 1 hour flight, then a 3 hour flight, and the one I hated the most a 10 hour flight from Newark to Israel. Half of our group had their flights cancelled because of a snowstorm in the East coast, But we made it along with some other people. Later we had some falafel sandwiches which are falafel in pita bread which is really good. We also went to Jacob’s Well and an Orthodox Church and I finally know what mur is YAY! We spent the night in Bethlehem which is in the West Bank. Today we went to Jericho and we went to the place where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found and the Dead Sea I put my hand in the in the water and when it dried off it was completely white because of all the salt. We went to St Georges Monastery by the Wadi Qelt which is a huge ravine we had to hike down to the monastery and when we were going back up I rode a donkey it was scary and awesome the donkey was running so close to the edge of a ravine. Tonight we are staying in Galilee.