When we arrived at JFK, our group jumped on the shuttle to the international terminal, where we got our seats, had some dinner, and waited for 3 hours. Eventually we boarded the 747 for our trans-Atlantic flight.
The east-moving jet stream was quite strong, as we made it to Zurich in just six hours, giving us a full five-hour layover there. So 15 out of our group decided to take the metro down-town and check it out. We were glad to have kept our warm clothing in our carry-ons, as it was about 15°F! We dumped our carry-on bags in lockers and 12 of us headed down-town (the other three having changed their minds at the last minute). That little junket turned out to be foreshadowing, as trying to coordinate 12 people (some of whom wanted to shop, some of whom had never traveled before, some of whom wanted to see as much as possible) was quite challenging. But no one got lost. We did have an adventure when we got back to the airport, however, as one of our group left her passport in the lockers. Recall that three of the 15 had decided to stay at the airport at the last minute. Well, they had emptied the lockers for part of the group. So poor Liz was stuck outside customs and her passport was on the inside. So John had to go in and find the others, which turned out to be more difficult that it should have been... But we all made it in the end and boarded the flight for Tel Aviv.
Being up late must do weird things to one's perception of time. In June of 1981, John and family drove from Albany, NY to Washington, DC. For John, New Jersey (which is not that long) seemed to last forever. Likewise this time with the Italian peninsula. But eventually we made it, got thru customs, boarded our bus, and made it to our hotel in Jerusalem.
Of course our rooms were not ready. Their plea for 20 minutes turned into an hour, but by 11 we had finally found our room, showered, and crashed.
We went to the morning celebration meeting, which was like a big church service. This led directly to the March for Jesus, which went from the International Convention Center down a big hill and up another to the Knesset (Israel's parliament) building, about 2 kilometers. There another rally was held in the warm (about 72°F) sun. We walked back to the hotel for lunch. John (thank God) was able to take a nap while Peggy went to the afternoon session. After dinner, we both went to the evening session, which had some nice dancing performed, and we got to listen to our Pastor speak.
This was our first day of touring. We
started out at the Mount of Olives, looking across the Kidron Valley (at the
bottom of which lay the Garden of Gethsemane) towards the walls of the Old City
and the Dome of the Rock. We then drove
around and walked into the Old City, and visited the Dome. Here we saw some
amazing weather. The sun was shining just as we got there, it started to rain
about 5 minutes later as we got in line, it started absolutely pouring just
as we got inside, and 10 minutes later the sun was shining again. The Dome
was built over the Rock where Abraham was thought to have brought Isaac to
sacrifice, and where the Muslims believe Mohammed later ascended.
We then walked to the Western (Wailing) Wall, the only remnant of Solomon's Temple. We saw some of the Stations of the Cross on the Via Delorosa, where Jesus dragged his cross on Good Friday. The last thing we saw in the Old City was the pool of Bethesda, where Jesus healed a cripple. From there we went to a building where downstairs is King David's Tomb and upstairs is the hall of the Last Supper.
That afternoon we were taken to an overpriced cafe for lunch and an overpriced souvenir store (can you say kick-backs for the tour company?). Afterwards we drove to Bethlehem (a few miles south), where we saw the church of the Nativity.
The last spot of the day's agenda, and the high-light of the entire trip, was the Garden Tomb. Just next to a hill that looks like a skull (Golgotha) lies a garden that was just excavated 100 years ago. This garden is a few hundred meters outside of the north gate of the Old City, not far from where executions were held. This was a working garden at the time of Christ, with a wine press and a huge cistern for water, just the sort of place that a wealthy tin merchant like Joseph of Arimathea would have been likely to own. Cut out of solid rock in the side of the hill is a typical Jewish family four-person tomb. Although large enough for four, only one grave was actually carved. In front of the tomb is a trough for a disc shaped rock, typically 4 inches thick and several feet across, to roll. In the front wall is a large crack which an earthquake would have likely caused. Emotion filled us as we believed that we looked upon the tomb where our Lord was laid and rested for two nights before arising again.
That was the last we saw of Jerusalem as we headed south-east towards the Dead Sea. On the way we stopped at Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in 1947. It was a neat place, but air was very dusty that day, so we had a hard time seeing the caves in the hillside.
The dust in the air also hampered our view from our next stop, Masada. The ruins there are remarkably well preserved for being 1923 years old. You may recall the ABC mini-series shown about 15 years ago on this subject. After the Romans destroyed Jerusalem in 73 AD, one of the Jewish sects, the Zealots, hid out at Masada, a fortress built on a high butte by Herod the Great (the same who ordered the babies killed, hoping to catch Jesus). The Romans laid siege to Masada, and started building a ramp (it's 400 meters high). After a few months, the Zealots realized they were trapped, and committed mass suicide rather than surrender to Roman slavery. Their name lives on for obvious reasons. Anyway, the ruins were really cool. Then, instead of taking the cable car back down, John and a few others ran down the trail. It took us 10 minutes to finish the roughly 1.5 miles, versus 4 or 5 for the cable car, but we didn't have to wait in line for 20 minutes, so we got back much sooner.
Our next stop was the Dead Sea at Ein Gedi.
The lowest spot on Earth, 400 meters below sea level, it's also the saltiest
body of water on the planet, far worse than any ocean. So salty, in fact, that
you float almost on top of it. In pike position the water level is normally at
my nose or higher, but here it was a mid-chest. You can easily stick all four
limbs several inches out of the water. Or lie flat on your back and float.
Or on your stomach and pretend you're sky-diving. Only don't get any in your
mouth, as it's beyond bitter, and especially watch the eyes, as it stings with
a vengeance. After we got out, we rubbed the clay beneath the sand all over
for a make-shift mud-bath.
We drove thru Jericho, though it was getting dark, on the way to our hotel in Tiberias.
In the afternoon, we headed south-west towards Tel Aviv. Our first stop was for lunch at McDonalds, which was heartily welcomed by our group, most of whom were getting somewhat tired of the bland Israeli food.
We saw much of the country-side of Galilee that afternoon, which was quite beautiful. We drove by Mount Tabor, site of Jesus' transfiguration. We stopped at the ruined fortress on Megiddo, which is the source of the name Armageddon, the site of the final battle someday according to Revelation. The scenery there was beautiful, reminiscent of the valley around Salinas on 101. We then drove to the sea and saw the great aqueduct at Caesarea. Again the scenery reminded us of home, this time Monterey.
Our hotel in Tel Aviv was by far the nicest we stayed at. That night we took a walk on the beach and soaked in the hot tub.
Anyway, we finally got going, and Sinai desert had a few nice palm trees on the beach, but was otherwise forgettable. We got to the Suez Canal just after sunset, and took the ferry across into Africa. It was still over two hours to Cairo, so by the time we got to our hotel, we were pretty hungry and tired. At least everyone had a nice view, as our hotel was a big cylinder on an island in the middle of the Nile near down-town.
Anyway, the pyramids were quite
spectacular. We
rode camels up the hill that they're built on.
They are HUGE! Peggy stood at the foot of one, and John went over to the
foot of the big one and stood on a lean-to for a picture, and you can barely
see him! The Sphinx, on the other hand, is tiny
by comparison. We always thought it was 200 or 300 feet high (compared
to the pyramids, which are almost 500), but it's maybe 75 feet.
Finally, more shopping: a perfumerie, and a papyrus store (at least Peggy
had fun at these places). Then back to our hotel for our last night.
Our flight back across the Atlantic took eight hours, so the jet stream must
really blow hard from west to east! The sun sat perched outside our window
the whole, time; I joked that it was like the day Joshua fought and the sun
stood still. 
Anyway, we got back to JFK, and the same airport that people had been griping
about nine days earlier got much more favorable reviews on the second visit.
This time being near the front of the line bought us exit-row seating, which enabled John to sleep for over two hours - a new PR! He woke somewhere over the mid-west, but was still able to determine when we entered California and that we were a half-hour ahead of schedule. At SFO, we got our bags quickly, the shuttle was waiting for us, and we were home by 11:15. Thank God! Opal was very excited to see us.
It was wonderfully moving to visit the Holy Land and see the Bible come alive. And despite minor hassles, it was worth it to see the Pyramids. But as the mantra of The Wizard of Oz says: There's no place like home.
