We found some extremely cheap tickets from Switzerland to Israel. We felt like we had to go. Apparently the idea was not unique. In fact, I have never been on such a crazy, rambunctious plane ride before. It seems cheap tickets were popular with young families as well. Kids were running around the aisle like it was a flying 'Chuck-E-Cheese' (as Chase named it). There was lots of food, crayons, blowing bubbles, dirty diapers, musical chairs and even vomit. It was the longest 4 hours I can remember.
Gratefully we arrived without incident, and drove immediately to Jerusalem, and the famous Ben Yehuda street. We dropped our bags and walked to the Jewish Market (Mahana Yehuda Market) to stock up on supplies.
Prices were so much cheaper then Switzerland, we went a bit crazy...
... buying fruits, nuts, vegetables, bread, hummus and sweets. Then we walked directly to the 'King of Falafel' for a hot meal bursting with flavour. Delicious.
The next day we made our way to the old city. It was so great to be back. Rebekah and I reminisced about our time here as students at the BYU Jerusalem Center way back in 1997. The old city had not changed.
We spent some time at the Western Wall, observing the people in prayer,
We even took some time to offer a few prayers ourselves.
It was a Thursday, so the place was buzzing with Bar Mitzvah celebrations, full of singing, dancing, music and candy.
We found time to make it to the Dome of the Rock. They no longer allow non Muslims inside, which was too bad.
So instead we took some time to get a shave. At least Chase and I did.
The next day we scheduled a tour of the city of David and Hezekiah's tunnel.
For old times sake, we purchased some of the cheesy pants we used to wear back in the day. Still in fashion after all this time.
The kids had a great time. So did the adults. Most of the city of David had not been discovered (or excavated) when we were last here. It was amazing to see how much work had been done, and how it brought so many stories from the Bible to life. I think anywhere you dig in this city you will find history.
Then we walked over to see the destruction left by the Romans when they laid the city to waste. We are studying this exact time period in school right now, so it was great to witness and touch it first hand.
We tried to keep ourselves running with a constant diet of Falafel
, Hummus and pitta bread.
By day three, we were ready for something new.
Luckily, our fun-loving niece Carlie Jackson was in town that week. She is currently studying at the Jerusalem Center. So we took her out to Ethiopian food for a change of pace. That turned out to be a genius move.
As it was the night of the Sabbath, nothing else was open in our part of town. Only Ethiopian. In fact , the entire Jewish section was like a ghost town. They even sounded a loud horn to let everyone know the official start time of the Sabbath (and thus when to be indoors). We had the place to ourselves, but nothing to do. Except eat Ethiopian.
We spent a few more days exploring sites like Golgotha, and Gethsemane, the Kidron valley, and others. We even made it to Church at the Jerusalem Center and ran in to an old teacher. Small world.
So many great memories.
For the final few days we rented a car and decided to get out and see the countryside. The first stop was the Dead Sea and Masada.
While the story of Masada is world famous, the desolate scenery and location make it that much more amazing in person.
We climbed the jagged, barren cliffs, thinking of the people who were trapped here for two years.
Slowly watching the Romans build a giant ramp to the fortress from their camps far below. All of these things are still visible today.
We explored the old water cisterns, which enabled them to hold out for so long in such a hot, arid place. Today they are as dry as a bone. Which made us think - lets go swimming!
So we drove up the coast to take a dip in the Dead sea. The kids could not stop giggling when they got in. They loved the floating sensation and the oily feeling of the water.
In addition, they could not get enough of the mud baths near by.
They went back and forth until we were forced to leave at closing time.
Their skin never looked so good!
The following day was a complete contrast. We drove up to the Galilee, which was bursting with life; grass, flowers, blossoms, shepherds, sheep, goats - even my hay fever kicked in!
We were searching for a unique way to explore these fertile valleys. We found it. We drove to Mt. Gilboa, death place of King Saul, early in the morning to meet our paragliding guides.
Weston and I suited up and quickly ran straight off the mountain, up into the air. It was great! Weston went especially high, over 1000 feet. I guess I weigh too much!
Weston then made a superb landing (with the help of his guide of course) in the freshly plowed field below. He was all smiles.
However the wind soon died and we were forced to move to Mount Tabor, traditional sight of the transfiguration of Christ. This mountain was even higher, jutting out of the valley like an old volcano.
Shayne and Rebekah were undeterred by the height, and before you knew it were both in the air, soaring above the fields and villages below.
Once again, Rebekah struggled with the landing, and crashed face first into the dirt, her guide tumbling right on top of her. It was like Switzerland all over again!
Chase was the last to fly that day, and after a shaky start, found some thermals that took him high into the air, above the haze.
They saw the sea of Galilee, Lebanon and even Jordan. They could have drifted for miles if we were not waiting for them in the village below. It was an exciting morning.
We then made our way to the river Jordan, where a few baptisms were taking place.
It really is a lovely, peaceful setting, much different then the same river a few miles downstream, which looks more like a muddy, small irrigation ditch!
It was a short, busy trip. As we boarded our plane, Rebekah turned to me and said - "why did we wait so long to come back?" Good question.
