Day 26 : Suez Canal
The day before, we could see the ships lining up for the Suez Canal. We finally did enter at 4:00 am, but unlike many other people on the ship, Lynda and I did not get up for the momentous event. So when we woke up hours later, we were well into it already. It takes 12 hours to for a ship to traverse the canal, so I knew we’d be seeing plenty of it throughout the day.
The Suez Canal connects the Red and Mediterranean Seas and runs between the continents of Asia and Africa. On one side is Egypt and on the other is the Sinai Peninsula (which I guess is owned by Egypt too). Our “lane” was one-way and we traveled at a pretty slow speed. Throughout the canal, there are pilots that hop on and off the ships to help the captains navigate the narrow passage.
At first, we were surrounded on all sides by desert. Eventually, towns and agriculture appeared along the Egypt side. There were even people fishing in small boats along the shore. I knew we were coming to the end when we passed a large container port. Giant ferries carried semi-trucks to the port across the canal. At the end, the canal just opened up into the Mediterranean Sea and we were on our way to Israel.
Day 27: Jerusalem and the Dead Sea
This is the day we had scheduled a private tour with some people we met on Cruise Critic. We actually have randomly met some of them around the ship already, so I felt comfortable with our group before we even left.
After a 1-1/2 hour bus ride from the port of Ashdod to Jerusalem, we started our BIG day at the Mount of Olives. It is said that here the Messiah will resurrect the dead on judgement day. From the top of the hill we had a fabulous view of the Old City of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. Immediately below us was Jerusalem’s holiest cemetery.
So, here I’m just going to admit it: my biblical historical knowledge is massively lacking. So while I listened and learned, all of my “factual” claims have to be taken with a grain of salt. I’m looking forward to having Google again so I can look this stuff up at will with no concern for data usage! I will definitely be doing some post-trip homework on Jerusalem and some of the places we went.
From the Mount of Olives, we walked down the hill along the same route as the people do on Palm Sunday. I’ve seen this imagery of crowds of people carrying their palms down the hill, so I could relate to this walk. We passed by a small church that identifies the spot, “And so he wept,” but didn’t have time to veer in to take a look.
At the bottom of the hill was the Garden of Gethsemane (the Garden of Olives) and the Basilica of the Agony. This is the place where Jesus and his disciples rested after the last supper and where Jesus prayed to his Father.
“Jesus went out with his disciples across the Kidron valley to a place where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered.” Gospel of John 18-1
“Then Jesus withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, knelt down, and prayed. ‘Father if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be done.” Gospel of Luke 22:41-42)
Next we passed by the Tomb of the Virgin Mary. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to go inside, but I don’t believe her actual body is there. Besides, as our guide explained to us, many of these places are best guesses and universally accepted as the place of certain happenings, but we can’t really know for sure.
We entered the Old City of Jerusalem through the Dung Gate and walked the short distance to the Western Wall. I did write a prayer on a small piece of paper and stuck it in the wall. I wore my scarf on my head as it is recommended (and used to be required) even though many woman did not. Men, however, ALL needed to wear something on their head at The Wall. There were separate sides for men and women.
We walked through the Muslim Quarter, down the Via Dolorosa. Along this path we stopped at 4 of the Stations of the Cross. Like, the ACTUAL Stations of the Cross. The path we took is the same as Jesus took carrying the cross on his way to the Crucifixion. We stopped at V, VI, VII, and VIII. At VI, there is a rock where Jesus leaned up against the wall. I couldn’t resist, I had to put my hand up there.
We had a really quick stop for lunch: 25 minutes, 15 of which was spent in line. We both had shawarma. Our walk resumed in the Jewish Quarter and then Christian Quarter. We were told that everything in the Jewish Quarter is made in Israel. In the Christian Quarter I bought my ornament, and a small cross for my mom.
Everywhere we went we saw groups of young people in military uniform all carrying guns. They just casually have these rifles slung across their shoulders at all times. It’s like they don’t go anywhere without them. All residents must serve in the military when they turn 18, with a few exceptions.
So, if you’re thinking we’ve already had an amazing day, we weren’t done yet. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher is the place where Jesus was crucified and is the location of his tomb. Also there is the slab where his body was cleansed for his burial. This place was AMAZING. We entered through these giant wooden doors, and the first thing I noticed was the smell of incense. All throughout the church hang hundreds of incense burners. The church is a bit like a labyrinth, with different levels, multiple chapels and a walkway that goes around the inside. There were beautiful murals, altars, niches for praying, giant candlesticks, etc., etc., etc. It is a place that really needs to be experienced.
We weren’t able to go into the tomb of Jesus: the line was over two hours long. But I got a picture from outside as the next best thing. I then rubbed my mom’s cross on the stone where Jesus’ body was washed. It is believed that anything rubbed on the stone will carry with it His holiness.
Interestingly, there is not just one religious sect that lays claim to the church. I guess there are different areas of the church that are “owned” or used by different religious factions, and they definitely do not crossover. I would really love to read up more on this church to understand better everything I saw.
The thing is, the whole time I was there I kept thinking about some of my aunts and how much being in this Holy City would mean to them. To have walked the path that I did today was really extraordinary. So to my aunts, just know that I was thinking of you all, which made my day even more special to me.
We exited the Old City through the Dung Gate. We got back onto the bus and headed to our final destination of the day—and our most fun.
So Jerusalem is about 2100 ft above sea level. We now headed down 3400 ft to the lowest place in the world that is not under water. The Dead Sea is about 1300 ft below sea level and is in an area that is incredibly arid, receiving less than an inch of rain a year. I was surprised to see Bedouin camps and lots of camels along the way. I guess it makes sense, I just never picture them when I think of modern Israel.
Our guide talked us into buying water shoes that we didn’t need. She kept saying it was really rocky and the mud would suck our sandals off of our feet. As it turned out, plenty of people were barefoot, and we could have easily done without shoes at all.
The thing with the Dead Sea is its salinity level. And its mud. Most seas are about 3 or 4% salt. The Dead Sea is 34%. That means that even sinkers like myself, will float right on top of the water. The mud is supposed to be really good for your skin. After lathering up and letting the mud dry a bit, then rinsing it off, my skin did feel amazingly soft. So of course, we had to buy some mud masks for ourselves. The vendor even threw in some Dead Sea Salt for pain treatment (no idea) and some mud for body and hair treatment.
After we cleaned up, we had a beer and pretzels at the bar while waiting for the rest of our group. There are times when a cold beer just tastes so good. That was one of them. On our way out to the bus we also bought a couple of shirts we may wear in Morocco (still Ramadan). The guy selling to us was flirting with Lynda so he threw in a couple of bracelets too. Thanks Lynda!
We got back to the ship at 7:00 pm with an 8:00 pm departure. We thought we still had ½ hour before all-aboard time, so we Face-timed with our sister Sue. As it turns out, all-aboard was 7:00, so we were late getting back onto the ship. Thanks Sue!
I really LOVED the Old City of Jerusalem and the Dead Sea made for great fun. I just hope that someday I get to go back to Israel for a more extensive trip.
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