Israel & Med Cruise
Firstly, I have to say that in writing this post I had a LOT of difficulty. The "world" was conspiring against me changing things, moving them around, making them larger or smaller, changing colours and it was nearly impossible to complete...I finally just had to leave it as is or go bonkers.
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Starting off in the Turkish Airlines lounge in Moscow - free passes! Whoohoo!
Itinerary:
| With the white being the ocean and green being land in the above photo,
we started our cruise in the port of Piraeus (Athens, Greece), then on
to Kusadasi (Haifa), Turkey - Rhodes, Greece - Limassol, Cyprus - Haifa
(& Nazareth), Israel - Ashdod (Jerusalem, Bethlehem), Israel -
Valletta, Malta and finally ended the cruise in Civitavecchia (Rome),
Italy (where we just headed straight to the airport - didn't see Rome). |
Thurs. Oct. 20th - fly from Moscow-Istanbul-Athens
Our
vacation started off really nice with a free pass to the Turkish
Airlines lounge. We arrived in Athens to a great driver - Alex - he was
so friendly and professional. Spent the night at the Hotel Plaka with a
fabulous view of the Acropolis / Parthenon. We enjoyed a drink out on
the rooftop patio and then hit the sack for an early start to exploring
Athens.
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| What a view! |
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| The group - Craig & I, Francine & Alain |
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| Can't get enough of that view, wonderful! |
Fri. Oct. 21st - spent the day in Athens, Greece exploring the Plaka area via Hop-on-hop-off bus and walking around then headed to the ship and
departed at 10:30 pm. Our taxi ride from the hotel to the ship was an
experience in itself! There was no indication on our paperwork which
gate we were in and our taxi driver had no idea. You'd think it would be
well marked, but it was not and it was crazy trying to find it.
Unfortunately we unwittingly went right past the entrance. You'd think
we could easily tell, after all, it's a huge ship, but the way it was
laid out it was crazy. We ended up really really close to it at one
point, but the ship was located across a channel. We had to go all the
way back and around to finally get to the right area! Phew! Craig was
losing it a bit because the driver kept turning off randomly! lol
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| Lemon? Lime? trees all over the city - this shot was taken from the bus as we drove around the city. |
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| Of course we had to try the food...Greek salad, gyro platters and souvlaki. Yum! |
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| Check-in
was a breeze (because there were so much time for boarding) and we were
excited to board the ship - our home for the next 12 nights! |
Our home for the two weeks.
Sat. Oct. 22nd - day at sea
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| Craig & Alain enjoying the pool that first day at sea |
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| The pool area - three amigos |
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| Maybe this is one of those "What happens on the cruise stays on the cruise moments"??? lol These two were so goofy together! |
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| Food
on the ship was quite good - this was duck. Often times the boys were
"hungry" and ordered multiple appetizers or entrees! Our waiter Alex
from Moldova was awesome. Rudolfo was the cocktail guy and he always had
Craig's bourbon & coke drink waiting for him at the table and would
bring him a fresh one when he was only half finished the previous one!
Ivonne was our wine lady and she was very sweet - always ready with my
white zinfandel wine. |
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| Random statue pose |
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| Our absolutely adorable and very efficient 25 year old waiter - Alex - at table #515 - loved this guy (obviously)! |
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| The main dining room - The San Marco Restaurant |
Sun. Oct. 23rd - Ephesus (& Kusadasi), Turkey
We (Craig
& I) have been to this port before on a cruise and we enjoyed seeing
the Terrace Houses (an excellent excursion in our opinion - but book it
on your own). Francine was NOT into seeing the sites here, shopping was
on her mind and she definitely did some damage! So we walked off the
ship and shopped till we dropped.
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| Coming into the port of Ephesus, Turkey |
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| The market area - "Genuine fake watches" ya baby! |
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| 3 pairs of shoes were purchased here |
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| A quick pit stop from shopping in Ephesus |
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| Cute umbrella ceiling (and cute husband) in the market area |
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| We
spent a good hour here with "Jesus" - he was the artist, not the
salesperson and he was a hoot! Francine purchased a 7-bulb floor lamp
here (something she was determined to buy) as well as some candle
holders. We were tough bargainers. We bought that pitcher Jesus is
holding in his hand (glows in the dark) and some candle holders.
Unfortunately, after Francine's lamps were all dissembled and wrapped
up, parts were left behind. Luckily, she had a feeling they didn't get
everything and so she went through all the pieces once we were back on
the ship and the boys had just enough time to go back to the shop to
pick them up before we set sail again! In the meantime, Francine & I
enjoyed a leisurely drink before dinner. |
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| Our tiny ship - 91,000 tons/ 2034 guests / 965 ft long |
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| Back on the ship...gotta go in the hot tub and have a drinky-poo |
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| Ice cube on the belly - hee hee |
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| Good reaction shot! |
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| The boys and their new 5 USD Hugo Boss shirts from Turkey |
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| Two turkeys |
Mon. Oct. 24th - Rhodes, Greece
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| Coming into port in Rhodes |
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| Craig up early enough to catch this sunrise shot |
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| I love these little holes in the floor in the buffet restaurant that allow you to see below |
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| Heading out for a self-guided walking tour or Rhodes, Greece |
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| I loved the stone walkways in Rhodes |
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| Sea sponge anyone? |
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| Our curious George (Alain) |
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| Our ship from within the walled city |
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| Alain
& I went into the Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of
Rhodes - originally built in the late 7th century (with restorations in
1937-1940) and converted to a museum in 1948. It is a UNESCO World
Heritage site and it contains some good artifacts and gorgeous mosaics. |
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| Internet photo of the outside of the palace |
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| Beautiful staircase within the palace |
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| Curious George at it again - he just had to see what was up in the fireplace! |
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| Mosaic tile on floor of palace |
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| Our ship from within the palace |
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| Two very well-preserved Greek statues |
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Our group: Craig & I, Liz &Paul (Toronto), Francine & Alain and Mary-Ann & David (USA)
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| Craig & Francine participated in the "Frisky Feud"... they had to come up with answers as a pair - some really dirty answers! Like "Name another word for penis"They never thought they'd have to work together to come up with an answer to that question! lol |
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| Craig pleading to the audience for help |
Wed. Oct. 26th - Haifa, Israel
We
were all excited to arrive in Israel! It's definitely a unique
destination for us Canadians. Craig had arranged a tour through "Rent a
Guide" called Biblical Highlights of the Galilee which included Nazareth
(where Jesus spent his childhood), the Basilica of the Annunciation and
the Church of St. Joseph. From there we drove via Kana to Tiberias (a
lovely resort town on the Sea of Galilee). We visited Capernaum and
viewed the ruins of the ancient synagogue where Jesus taught. We
continued to Tabgha (the site of Miracle of Fish and Loaves) located at
the foot of the Golan Heights and then proceeded to Yardenit (the famous
baptismal site). Craig had arranged a total of 3 tours in Israel - all
with our FABULOUS guide Ofer.
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| Basilica
of the Annunciation (annunciation meaning the announcement to the
Virgin Mary by the angel Gabriel of the incarnation of Christ) - located
in Nazareth. It incorporates the ruins underneath where the virgin Mary
received news from Gabriel that she should give birth to Jesus. The
site has been a pilgrimage destination since the earliest times and
remains an important stop for Holy Land pilgrims today. |
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| The
cave that is enshrined inside the Basilica was identified no later than
the 4th century as the place of the Annunciation. The Byzantine Church
has been excavated beneath the current church. |
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| Inside the Church of Annunciation |
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| In
the Church of Annunciation there were plaques from several countries.
This is the one for Canada inside the church itself (some were outside). |
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Window inside staircase of the Church of Annunciation
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| Beautiful tile work outside the church |
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| The Sea of Galilee |
Baha'i
Shrine and Gardens (a.k.a. Terraced Gardens named a UNESCO World
Heritage site) located on the edge of Haifa city centre completed in
2001. It is the 2nd holiest shrine of the Baha'i faith and are a tribute
to the founders of the Baha'i faith. They believe in the unity of all
religions. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to walk the gardens and
could only take pictures from above and we had to pass through metal
detectors just to go into the first level.
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| Views from top of gardens of city (Haifa) and our ship |
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| Love their "Stop" signs - no words, just the hand |
Thurs. Oct. 27th - Jerusalem (& Ashdod), Israel
From
Haifa the ship traveled to Ashdod Port where we would remain overnight.
Craig again arranged a tour for us including Jerusalem/Bethlehem. I
REALLY wished I had taken some notes because we traveled around so much
and saw so many things I cannot keep them all straight. I know we were
in Jerusalem, on Mount of Olives and Bethlehem in Palestine (sector A).
We were taken to the Palestine Territories, or "occupied Palestine
territories" - a term which refers to the West Bank (including East
Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip.
To
try and explain the conflict in this are is incredibly difficult. In VERY simple terms, Israel wants to
remain a Jewish state and live in peace. Israel also recognizes the
right of Palestinians to have their own state and live in peace. The
problem: many Palestinians and many other Muslims and Arabs don't
recognize the right of the Jewish state of Israel to exist. In 1947 the
United Nations voted to divide the land called Palestine into a Jewish
state and a Arab state. Unfortunately, no Arab or Muslim country
accepted it. When British rule ended in 1948, the armies of all the
neighboring Arab and Muslim states (Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Trans Jordon
and Egypt) attacked the 1-day old state of Israel in order to destroy
it, but to the worlds surprise, the small Jewish state survived. Then,
it happened again in 1967, however Israel preemptively attacked Egypt
and Syria, but did not attack Jordon, instead begging them not to join
the war, but they did. Shortly after the war, the Arabs went to Sudan
and announced their famous "3 No's" - No recognition, no peace, no
negotiations. What was Israel supposed to do? 10 years later in 1968
they gave an entire area of land - the Sinai Peninsula (an area larger
than Egypt itself that also included oil) back to Egypt because Egypt,
under new leadership, signed a peace agreement with Israel. So they gave
land, for the promise of peace with Egypt and it has always been
willing to do the same thing with the Palestinians. All Palestine has
ever had to do is recognize the Jewish state and promise to live in
peace with it. In 2000, Israel tried again to do give them land for
peace, but it was rejected and instead waves of suicide terrorists were
sent into Israel. Why can't one Jewish state (the size of El Salvador)
be allowed to exist and be peace? That, to me, in very simple terms,
seems to be the root of the problem.
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| So,
here we find ourselves going through the Palestine inspection point so
we can see Bethlehem. I didn't realize it would be like this. I'm not
going to lie, I was a little uneasy when Ofer let us out of the van and
we were to cross over ourselves and meet our new Palestinian guide. Some
guy met us through bars and whisked us off to the holy site where we
visited King David's tomb, the room of the Last Supper, the Wailing
Wall, Church of Holy Sepulcher (where Christ was crucified). We
continued on to Bethlehem (the birth place of Jesus) for an overview of
shepherd's Fields and we visited the Church of Nativity and Manger's
Square. |
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| Passing through into Palestinian territory |
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| Passing through the inspection point |
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| Jerusalem |
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| Francine
touching the shrine to the birthplace of Jesus (the Church was
apparently built on top of the spot where he was born). I think this was
a highlight for Francine. |
I didn't
get a picture of our guides here in Palestine, but I had an uneasy
feeling about them. Brief thoughts of being accosted or some other such
scenario did cross my mind.
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| Our
group for 2 days - far left is Liz & Paul again and on the far
right are Heather and Anthony - both couples are expert (chronic)
cruisers. Heather & Anthony have 3 more future cruises already
booked! I think Liz & Paul have been on over 25 cruises! This cruise
was the 5th one for Craig & I. I don't ever need to get to 25. |
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| The ugly wall built between Palestine & Israel |
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| The slab where Jesus is said to have been laid to rest. |
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| Craig
at the wailing wall with his little Jewish cap on (you have to wear one
to approach the wall - and the separate it - one side for women and one
for men) |
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| In
this same square there was a ceremony going on for the graduation of
these soldiers where they would receive their weapons that are to be
carried with them at ALL times, even on vacation - according to our
guide Ofer. |
Fri. Oct. 28 - Jerusalem (& Ashdod), Israel
If
I had to say which was my favorite day, it would be our day spent at
Masada and the Dead Sea. It was a truly wonderful experience!
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The
beautiful scenery along the way. All of a sudden when we took a corner
we were on the decent to the Dead Sea and there seemed to be no
civilization - like we were in the middle of nowhere.
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| The Dead Sea! |
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| Approaching Masada... I had no idea what I was in for. I had never heard the story before and didn't look it up before we went, so I thought it was a current medieval city! Nope. |
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| Look up the story of Masada... I've written it out three times now and lost it, so I cannot bare to write it out a 4th time and lose it. There is written information, videos and even a movie. It involves King Herod, zealot Jews fleeing the Romans and the siege that followed including the terrible decision the Jewish zealots faced. |
This is the view from the cable car as we ascended to Masada.
View of the Dead Sea from Masada
This is one of many Roman camps built in the valley. For 3 years they tried to conquer Masada to get to the Jewish zealots inhabiting the fortress. It was amazing the Jews were able to fight off the Romans for as long as they did!
View of the Dead Sea and Roman Camp through a cool hole in the wall way up high on Masada.
Ofer, our great guide through "rent a guide"
Francine & I posing with the huge storage areas in the background that contained so many non-perishable provisions thanks to King Herod
The beautiful and almost eerie view of the Dead Sea from Masada - it's quite desolate here, but wonderful to see. Apparently we were luck to have this very "clear" day.
Pictures of King Herod's elaborate bath house. Water had to be constantly supplied, which was no easy feat in the desert! I would not have wanted to be a worker who had to provide the boiling water for the lucky few - working in very hot, desert temperatures.
Hmmm.... looking at this picture now, maybe it's not so safe to pose for a picture in this arch?
These holes were apparently pigeon "homes"
Our ship was at approximately 88 meters above sea level and here we were, in the same day at -388.95 meters below sea level!
Our group of 8 - we all had a great time together and the size of the group was also wonderful. I just so happened to get salt in my eye just as this picture was being taken - thus the face I am making! Trust me, it was not fun. I was told to look up at the sun and blink and surprisingly, it worked quite well.
So much fun floating in the Dead Sea! An experience of a lifetime for me. It took a little bit to get used to, but then it was fun to see what poses you could do while easily floating in water 8x saltier than ocean water!
It's quite an unusual feeling to be able to float so easily!
The parachute pose
The "sort of" v-sit yoga pose
So relaxing!
We were SO fortunate and excited to see 2 caravans of camels on our way back to the ship after a fantastic day spent in Masada and the Dead Sea. I highly recommend the experience.
The "camel man" was apparently also watching us with his binoculars!
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| Loved, loved, loved seeing the camels. The perfect end to our fantastic day at Masada & the Dead Sea |
Sat. Oct. 29th & Sun. Oct. 30th - Day at sea
Mon. Oct. 31st - Valletta, Malta
As we were coming into Valletta, Malta it was absolutely POURING rain, but Francine & I managed to find a spot outside to get away from the rain to be able to take a few pictures.
Lucky for us, as we came into port, the rain stopped and it turned out to be a beautiful day for exploring the city on foot.
The ship allowed for a great perspective of the city from way up high on the 12th deck!
As usual, I love the narrow streets!
Of course, Craig could not resist this pose when he saw a toilet seat in the street!
A Maltese statue
A more ancient Maltese statue (lol ... sorry Alain)
Good-bye to Malta
I wanted to do so much more from this trip and tell stories, but as I mentioned, it was a difficult task this time and I so I will finish up here. I want to thank our wonderful travel companions Francine & Alain for making this a really fantastic experience with lots of laughs and good times!
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