Tag Archive | Photo

Israel 2019 – Final Installment

Oct18

Here we stand, in this devastatingly beautiful land, all together, our tour nearing and end.

It was at this spot that all ten buses joined at once for the Watchman on the Wall commissioning.

Hats off to Gate 1 Travel. https://www.gate1travel.com/.

The logistics of ten very full buses seeing the same things, all at different times on the same day, is mind boggling!

Any way,

Watchmen on the Wall are taught about Israel’s history in depth, and are trained to pray for all things Jerusalem.

—————————————

Our flight from Tel Aviv was perfect.

We flew to Barcelona.

Waiting for our flight to Chicago (With airplane mode on to avoid roaming fees) and unaware of the fact that we were being rerouted through somewhere else, we totally missed our gate.

Here we were in Barcelona, we only speak English. Zero Spanish, trying to figure out our next move.

With exhaustion and frustration, we did our best not to argue. It was tough.

Then a ladies voice comes from behind us.

“I speak some Spanish. Can I help you? Where are you going?”

Believe it or not, she was going to Chicago as well!

Same gate. Different time. Thank you God!

She went to speak to someone, came back, and told us how we could book another flight.

Needless to say, we were in the wrong, wrong, place, at the wrong, wrong time, (we thought) and somehow, like He is known to do, God turned things around for us.

The flight from Barcelona to Chicago of course was long (ten hours) and we did not get to sit together on the plane, but we were both grateful to have a seat on that plane, and be homeward bound.

Of course when we landed in Chicago, it was far too late for the scheduled flight for the last leg of our journey.

So the airline provided us with a hotel voucher, so that we could sleep, food vouchers, so we would not starve, and transportation vouchers so we could get back and forth from the hotel to the airport.

We used our first transportation voucher to get to our provided hotel, WHICH HAD NO ROOMS, there was literally no room at the inn.

Voucher number two took us right back to the airport, and to the customer service desk, to find out just what were were going to need to do.

The gal was so sweet and helpful.

After regaling her with our story, she looked at her screen, and said “Oh look what just popped up!”

A room had JUST opened up at the O’Hare Hilton. (At 10:30 at night?)

A simple ten minute walk from where we stood.

The photo above is the view from our forth floor window.

We even had some extra time to get to our flight home in the morning.

There is a moral to this story, a punch line, a promise.

God never once tells us in His word that things will be easy.

In fact sometimes, things can be down right frustrating.

But His promise, is that if we trust Him, He will always care for us.

Scripture says clearly;

No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper. Isaiah 54:17 (ASV)

Note; It does not say that there won’t be weapons, it says they will not prosper.

So we ended up home, safe, exhausted, and forever changed.

My hope is that you enjoyed your virtual tour to Israel. If you did, then please feel free to share the following link; https://significantencounters.com/2019/09/21/home-again/ This is where it all begins.

Thank you so much for travelling with me.

I hope to see you next time, for something new and different.

Miscellaneous Views – Israel 2019

Oct16

**Didn’t you always wish you could fly?**

**Can you picture Jesus and his disciples walking here?**

**They take great pains making things beautiful.**

Please join me again on Friday for the final installment of my Israel 2019 photo journal.

Day #8 – Our Last Tour Day

Oct14

This was my favorite day I think.

But it’s so hard to choose.

Visiting Joppa was more than I expected.

It took us a while to get there.

Even though it was the hottest day on our tour – we enjoyed it very much. (Thank God for well air conditioned buses on our return!)

But first …………….

**Yitzhak Rabin Memorial**
https://mfa.gov.il/mfa/aboutisrael/state/pages/yitzhak%20rabin.aspx

**German Colony in Haifa**
https://www.touristisrael.com/haifas-german-colony/4998/
Note the places for the kiddos to play and the adults to rest in the lower right hand corner. Sweet.

**Who knew? Hey lady! Get off the lane!**

**A view of the new places, from the middle of the old places.**

We saw these buildings from all angles in our travels – now here on the ground we could see their size!

We all really wondered about that twisty one!

**Worldwide Center for the** **Baha’i Faith – Haifa**
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terraces_(Bah%C3%A1%27%C3%AD)

Jaffa, City in Israel – Description -Jaffa, in Hebrew Yafo and in Arabic Yaffa and also called Japho or Joppa, the southern and oldest part of Tel Aviv-Yafo, is an ancient port city in Israel. Wikipedia

This explains the discrepancy in spellings and pronunciations.

**Dare I say; The old man and the sea?**

**Inside a** **restaurant we ate in.**
**It was cool in more ways than one.**

**Jaffa Clock Tower**
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaffa_Clock_Tower

Shalom Tower

Tower in South City Centre (Tel Aviv)

This huge tower, the first skyscraper in Israel opened in 1965, is one of Tel Aviv’s major landmarks and a notable part of its skyline. It has permanent exhibits on the history of Tel Aviv in the foyer and on the 1st floor.

We listened to a guide that knew so many facts, had so much knowledge, and was funny to boot – It was hard to keep up.

We also got to see about twenty minute long documentary about Israeli/Tel Aviv history.

**If you are a history buff, this is your place.**

To find out what all those displays (and our guide) are talking about, you can click here; https://israelforever.org/programs/myherzl/who_was_theodor_herzl/

Our day of touring, our week in fact, was over, and we headed back to our hotel in Herzilya in time to visit the beach on the Mediterranean Sea.

We stayed at a brand new hotel in Herzilya called Herod’s.

**Closer and closer to the** **Mediterranean.**

Just a ten minute walk to the sea.

It was much more than a ten minute walk when you decide to walk along the sea wall.

This is the actual sea wall, and the place we stayed, click here if you want to know more; https://econcretetech.com/seawall-units-herzliya-marina/

Our room was in the far left horseshoe shaped building.

That’s it for now – but next time I will just share some random photos – neighborhoods, plants, walls, buildings and such.

About two more posts for our trip to Israel, I hope you’re enjoying them.

I hope to see you again next time.

Day # 7 – Israel

Oct11

**Our touring began with cruising along the** **Mediterranean Sea.**

**What a lovely drive – A different lovely than what I’m accustomed to.**

I have many photos to share from the Crusader Halls.

There was so much history here, I can’t possibly repeat it all.

Enjoy the photos, and if you like, check the link and get the history, and the scope, of this place.

http://www.akko.org.il/en/Old-Acre-About-Conservation-Fortress-Project

**I love walls, and texture, and brick, and this.**
**How about you?**

**Complete with a** **hologram of the crusaders!**

**On the way to Rosh Hanrika**
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosh_HaNikra_grottoes

**Taking the cable car down to the** **Grottos.**

After leaving the Grotto, we went up the hill to the Lebanese border.

While we were here , our group reached our hands over the border and prayed for both countries.

After leaving Rosh Hanrika, we headed toward Haifa.

**Not the clearest photos get taken from a moving bus**,

**But they help to tie the places together.**

**Haifa – Worldwide Headquarters of the Ba Hai faith.**
https://www.ganbahai.org.il/en/haifa/

At the end of this day, the eve of our last day, we celebrated at a farewell dinner at the Dan Panorama Hotel.

All ten buses met for an enormous dinner, and farewell remarks from Jane and several other of our leaders.

Then off to our separate hotels for a much needed rest.

Join me again next time for our last tour day. Day #8.

Day #6 – Israel

Oct9

Good morning from the Sea of Galilee. 6:49 AM.

This is my favorite photo from our trip.

It was so peaceful, and minus the modern embellishments, is a view that my Jesus saw a lot of.

The Sea of Galilee is essentially a large lake.

There is no Hebrew word for lake.

So it’s a sea.

We were on the Sea of Galilee with ten of these “Jesus Boats”, where we all locked together and had a worship service, along with some Hebrew dancing before departing.

Quiet seas.

It was easy in some spots on our cruise to imagine Jesus walking across the water to one of these little boats containing some very concerned Apostles.

We hated leaving the boats; but there was so much to see.

**Appropriate attire required for entry.**

Capernaum is next.

**Excavated synagogue close to Peter’s home.**

**Inside excavated** **synagogue close to Peter’s home.**

Peter’s home – What you see above is a new synagogue built above it.

I had difficulty getting great photos here; so you can follow the next link if you want to see more clearly.

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-sites-places/biblical-archaeology-sites/the-house-of-peter-the-home-of-jesus-in-capernaum/

This statute was close to the entry to Capernaum.

Made of black stone. Note the nail holes in the feet.

**The view of the Sea of Galilee from outside of Capernaum.**

Onward to lunch!

**So not used to having my food stare at me!**

This was so far out of my comfort zone!

But I ate it any way.

I was surprised at how good it was – Seconds?

**Great care was taken to keep the keel of this boat in tact.**

**An amazing** archaeological find, actual floor tile.

**Exciting to think that Mary of Magdalene walked here.**

As we head down the pathway from this spot, we come to Duc In Altum.

Which means “Out into the deep”

https://www.magdala.org/visit/duc-in-altum/womens-atrium/

In this atrium, we all stood circling this fountain.

We all began to sing (Sadly I can’t remember what song) and as we all moved to the center, the sound seemed to fill the hall.

It was amazing.

**We were surrounded by pillars.**
Each with the name of an important woman from the Bible carved into it.

https://www.magdala.org/visit/duc-in-altum/boat-chapel/

https://www.magdala.org/visit/duc-in-altum/encounter-chapel/

This room, the Encounter Chapel, struck my companions and I perhaps more than anywhere else we visited.

We stayed here in silence for several prayerful moments before leaving with very quieted hearts.

Just one more stop today –

https://www.israeljerusalem.com/yardenit.htm

The Yardenit is the baptismal site located on the Jordan River.

I have no photos of my own from this site, as I was busy getting re-baptized myself.

That’s it for today’s tour.

I’m exhausted.

How about you?

Please join me next time for Day # 7.

Day #5 Jerusalem to Tiberias

Oct7

Day #2 of our tour.

We saw so much.

The time seemed so long, and so short.

Since it is impossible to remember all our guide told us, I placed some links.

Please enjoy the photos – It was hard to choose.

Elijah challenged King Ahab and the prophets of Baal here.

The day was very warm. This was one of the most restful stops we had. It was so peaceful.

**About Kibbutz – http://archive.jewishagency.org/first-home-homeland/program/16766**

**A quiet walk way outside the Kibbutz.**

The place where Harod’s palace was.

On the horizon, part of his palace was made into a restaurant.

Some of the ancient names can still be read on the seats.

The restaurant. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g297742-d7251187-Reviews-Limani_Bistro-Caesarea_Haifa_District.html

Aqueduct – https://followinghadrian.com/2015/01/05/the-hadrianic-aqueduct-of-caesarea-maritima-israel/

We would love to visit Caesarea again, and stay a while.

What a beautiful town it was, oh and the ocean!

**Jezreel (Yizrael) Valley – Armageddon**

**Olive trees in the distance from Mt. Precipice**

**My hubby with Mt. Tabor in the background.**

Mount Tabor. … In the Hebrew Bible (Joshua, Judges), Mount Tabor is the site of the Battle of Mount Tabor between the Israelite army under the leadership of Barak and the army of the Canaanite king of Hazor, Jabin, commanded by Sisera. In Christian tradition, Mount Tabor is the site of the transfiguration of Jesus. (Google search)

After leaving Mt. Tabor, we headed on to our hotel, that night would be our first night in Tiberias.

We. Were. Exhausted.

Please join me next time for Day #6.

Day #4- Israel

Oct4

Day #4 officially began our “Tour Days”.

The next few posts will be more photos and less words.

I’ll caption whatever I can; if you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Enjoy.

**Jewish cemetery from the Mt. of Olives.**

The cemetery goes the entire distance around the Mt. of Olives.

**The Dome of the Rock from the Mt. of Olives.**

Our guide told us that the Dome of the Rock is essentially a large tombstone with no one buried inside.

The Dome of the Rock is built on top of the Foundation Stone, which is sacred to both Jews and Muslims.

**The Golden Gate from the Mt. of Olives.**

On our trip around the city, we saw all of the gates.

I wish I had had more time to learn about them all.

I see a new study in my future.

A bell rings and the gate is opened every half hour by a Monk.

Only a certain amount are allowed in at once – six?

There is a men’s side, and a women’s side.

My husband took this photo – with his head covered.

It is believed that a room like this was used for the last supper.

**IDF ending their** **maneuvers next to the walls of Mt.Zion.**

**Walking along one of the walls of Mt. Zion.**

Being in this place, around the wall, and inside the wall was a dream come true for me.

**Door to the upper prayer room at the** **Western Wall**

**Prayer room in the top corner of the Western Wall**

There were people praying in here; but I didn’t photo them, just the ceiling portion.

We were sad to leave, but had much more to see on that day.

Bodies were allowed to stay in the tombs for one year.

The bones were then removed so that the tomb could be used again.

**Passing by a set up for a city festival day.**

This area is being set up for a city wide festival, many bands at the same venue.

The cool thing is that there are maybe six places all around that have this event at the same time.

They know how to party!

I hope you enjoyed this tour of Day #4.

I hope you’ll join me again next time for Day #5.

	bigskybuckeye on Day #4- Israel
	Day #6 – Israel — Si… on Day #6 – Israel
	bigskybuckeye on Directionally challenged
	bigskybuckeye on Day #6 – Israel
	Deborah on Day #6 – Israel

Significant Encounters

"You are fearfully and wonderfully made"