Usually when we visit a country ( or two) we tour the sights, learn some history, and enjoy the people and food. Yes, we did all those important things in Israel and Jordan but this trip was so much more.
First of all, both guides were stellar, esp...
Day 19: Tel Aviv, Anu Museum, farewell dinner
Most of what we did in Tel Aviv was in the Jaffa area because major attractions and shops were closed, so it was a somewhat low-key end to our trip. But over the three days we were there, we captured the feel of this vibrant area. It is the second la...
Day 18: Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Ilana Goor Museum
Well, it is Shavuot, a " high" holiday here so most things are closed. Not very good planning on OAT’s part since tomorrow is Shabbat and ditto! Ibrahim did not let this faze him however, and found wonderful things for us to do.
Tel Aviv is a very...
Day 17: Mount of Olives, Yad Vashem, and travel to Tel Aviv (long)
A day we looked forward to, and also dreaded. Emotions ran high, but first much patience was needed.
The bus this morning brought us to another holy site,the Mount of Olives…or tried to. This, too, is in Arab East Jerusalem, and luck wasn’t with us ...
Day 16: Masada and the Dead Sea
Within just a few minutes after leaving Jerusalem, you are really in the desert. Our destination today is 1411 feet below sea level, the absolutely lowest place on earth. But our first stop was to the great symbol of heroism to the Jewish people: Masad...
Day 15: Chagall windows at Hadassah Hospital, then to Bethlehem
Although not on the original itinerary, Ibrahim arranged for us to tour the famous Chagall windows. This was a fabulous opportunity as we would not have seen them otherwise. Hadassah Hospital, the most prominent and renowned medical facility in Israel...
Day 14: Pantry Packers, Machane Yehuda (market), more friends of friends, home-Hosted Dinner
After a more relaxed breakfast, we headed to the bus for our visit to Pantry Packers which is part of Colel Chabad ,an ultra-orthodox Jewish charity founded in 1788(!). They work with municipal governments throughout the country to arrange monthly dro...
Day 13: Jerusalem - The Old City (very long)
Finally, it was Sunday, with everything open again, we left very early as we had an early registration at the tunnels and Ibrahim wanted to take us to the Western Wall first.The security was much heavier than usual everywhere for several important reas...
Day 12: “A Day in the Life”, Israel Museum
O.A.T. (Overseas Adventure Travel) sponsors a program called a Day in the Life. It gives an overview of the home life and the surrounding area of a person, family or group. Today, we drove to the Arab- Israeli village of Abu Ghosh, in East Jerusalem....
Day 11: Traveling to Jerusalem through Christian Holy Sites, Shabbat dinner with friends
Our first stop after leaving the Golan Heights and our "basketed" breakfast was to go down, down, down to the Sea of Galilee. This morning was a mini pilgrimage to three holy sites. All were crowded with real pilgrimages of people from all over the w...
Jim and Wendy Damoulakis
A journal of our major travels
Jordan and Israel
May 2023
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London and Scotland
Sep 2022
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Machu Picchu and Galapagos
May 2019
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Portugal and Spain
September 2018
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Southwest US
September 2017
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China
June -July 2015