A Flight to Israel

Please take this as in invitation to join me on a 14 day trip to the Holy Land. To see the full agenda or to sign up, click the links. You will be rewarded through personal discoveries and experiences by going on this journey.

Our entry into Israel during our 2018 visit will take place near Lod, a modern city of 72,000 citizens. Ben Gurion Airport is located near the city in a compound just off Israeli Highway 1. The location of the airport and the surrounding cities provide a beautiful entry as we begin our tour of Eretz Yisrael (the land of Israel). This airport has served as the arrival point for tourists, businessmen, world leaders and Israelis who are returning home.  Egyptian pharaoh Thutmose III recorded the existence of a city at this location in 1465 BC.

Awaiting our flight to Israel

Our flight will depart in the evening, taking us across the Atlantic Ocean and most of Europe during the nighttime hours. We will try to sleep (some successfully) before being served a meal as we fly near the Mediterranean  Sea. The blue waters of this sea are beautiful from above, and we will enjoy their peacefulness from the sky.

View of modern housing as we fly into Israel

After the meal we will approach the coastline of Israel. We will notice the tan coloration of a semi-arid paradise. As we cross the coastline and beaches we will notice high-rise apartments starting near the coast and expanding toward the hill country which lies in front of us. This is the architecture of modern in Israel. Many immigrants from around the world inhabit apartments which are built over much earlier communities. Lod and the plane of Sharon are noted in the BIble for several events which happened there.

Lod from Ben-Gurion Airport, Israel

Lod, which also carries the Greek name Lydda is located about twelve miles east of Tel-Aviv. It is formerly and currently on one of two major roads leading from the seacoast up to Jerusalem. Joshua, David, Solomon, and many others are known to have visited this city. The apostle Peter visited a man named Aeneas, who was paralyzed and had been bedridden for eight years and healed him.

View from Ben Gurion Airport, Israel

We will disembark from the plane, walk down a long hallway (with glass windows offering some visibility to the area) and then down a spiral ramp towards the main terminal. We will know we arrived at the main part of the building when we see the Mezuzah.

Mezuzah, Ben Gurion Airport, Israel

Mezuzahs are attached to doors on most Jewish homes as a reminder for all who enter to honor God. The Mezuzah which is made up of two parts, an outer decorative box and an inner parchment scroll containing scriptures from Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and 11:13-21. The placement of the box on the doorpost reminds the Jewish people of a sign commanded by God during the exodus from Egypt (Exodus 12:7), Upon entering the main terminal of the airport we will see one of the largest Mezuzahs in the world.

Entry area Ben Gurion Airport, Israel

Once in the airport we will pass through customs, pick up our baggage and meet our guide. Once we clear customs we will be off on our adventure.

Israel Adventure - Day 7

Today is our last day in Tel-Aviv. Later this afternoon we will turn in the car, meet the group from Hebrew Union College, and drive to Jerusalem.  

We returned for breakfast today to the Cafe Yaffo and ate two of their breakfast specials: Israeli breakfast for two and eggplant shakshuka. As you can tell from the picture it was PLENTY! We enjoyed the food, and brought a little home. The cafe is located in the flea market district, and from our booth you can see the horse which passed our window.

After breakfast we went to Old Jaffa. Ruins are preserved beneath the plaza and we went in to see the exhibit and the multimedia multiexperiential movie. They told the story of how Jaffa is one of the oldest cities in the world, started by Noah’s son Japeth (tradition).

They had a video with the Roman agronomist (wine-taster) Judah speaking from his home (which was uncovered in an excavation - the ruins are now the location of the museum). Different people came to visit him at his home. The first was a Pharaoh, pictured above. Egypt conquered Jaffa several times.

A second visitor was Jonah, who was running from God.

A third section was on Peter’s vision of the animals.

After our visit to Old Jaffa, we went into the Mediterranean once again. We did not take swim suits, so we only waded into the water. The water cooled us off, and as this was our last day in Jaffa, we wanted to take advantage of the afternoon.

After our wade in the sea, Chelsea and Sarah went to pack, and I climbed a hill south of Jaffa, created as a greenspace in Jaffa. In this picture you can see the old harbor (left), the wharfs (straight ahead), and the Old City, with the Catholic Church at the top. There is also a lighthouse. Busses use the lot in the front to wait for tour groups.

While on top of the hill a hoopoe was pointed out to me. This is Israel’s state bird.

After climbing the hill, I returned to the apartment, we packed the car, and left Jaffa for Jerusalem.

On the way we met the group Chelsea will be working with this summer at Ben-Gurion airport. We shared a shuttle ride to our apartment (pictured below)

After settling into the apartment we went to Jerusalem’s first train station, which has been turned into an outdoor mall. They consistently have special events. They had a huge book sale going on in the middle of the train station. We ate dinner there, and returned to our apartment in Jerusalem.