The Wonder of Israel - A Christmas Odyssey

The Wonder of Israel - A Christmas Odyssey

 

By Victoria Chadwick

 

Day 1 Arriving on the Shabbat

 

Shabbat is the Jewish Sabbath, held from sunset on Friday evening to sunset on Saturday evening. We arrived in Jerusalem in a taxi just as the sun went down.

 

All around were Orthodox Jews in their traditional regalia, long gowns and magnificent beards, tall hats, parading nonchalantly on the streets.

 

Some of the Jewish boys are quite rowdy on the Shabbat and our taxi was stopped briefly by a group of them!

 

Once we had checked into our hotel it was time to explore the city in the dark, most of the shops and restaurants being closed by this point.

 

Once you reach the Old City and go down a few of the narrow cobbled passageways, you are truly in the Middle East!

 

In fact it didn’t feel like the Shabbat in this part of Jerusalem as the souvenir and takeaway outlets were still open and thriving.

 

All bustle and exotic smells, market stalls glistening with fruit and colourful scarves, and trinkets.

 

‘Shalom, madam! Come in my shop!’

 

What an introduction!

 

Day 2 To Bethlehem

 

We had a tour of the Old City in the daylight, where we witnessed all the men and boys praying at the Western Wall, an extraordinary and moving sight.

 

We followed the path of the Via Dolorosa, which is the Stations of the Cross and an important journey for Christian pilgrims re-enacting the journey of Jesus to the cross.

 

We got to visit the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and see an ancient tomb hewn out of the bare rock on which the church itself is built, a moving and unnerving sight.

 

The church itself is beautiful and boasts some amazing Byzantine-era mosaics.

 

On to Bethlehem and pushing through rapturous crowds (me and my partner nearly lost each other among the pilgrims!), to visit the Church of the Nativity, which is said to be the sight of the place of Jesus’s birth.

 

A word of advice: to truly enjoy Bethlehem, don’t go on Christmas Eve, unless you are a devoted pilgrim, it was all quite overwhelming having to push through the eager crowds!

 

Day 3 Masada and Dead Sea

 

Another spectacular day taking a coach tour out to the Dead Sea Desert where we visited the astonishing site of the mountain-top fortress of Masada. Ride on a cable-car or take the tougher route up the mountain by foot…we took the cable car that time!

 

On to the nature reserve on Ein Gedi where we had our photo taken in front of the waterfall of David’s Stream, and saw Ibex, a once endangered wild goat which has been brought back from near-extinction.

 

We finished our journey by stopping at Kalia Beach on the Dead Sea, wallowed in the Dead Sea mud!

 

My partner had to have his picture taken outside The Lowest Bar in the World, by virtue of the Dead Sea being the lowest place on earth!

 

The salt content of the Dead Sea means no life except one tiny microbe can survive in the water, and swimmers are able to float on their backs without sinking.

 

The Garden Tomb

 

Our final morning was spent with a stop at the Garden Tomb, where there is an ancient rock-hewn crevice tomb which believers claim to be the site of Jesus’s burial.

 

A beautiful, tranquil place to end our whistle-stop journey through the Holy Land.

 

I shall be dreaming of more adventures in Israel, as I return to daily life in England.