Days 109-113: Tel Aviv, Jerusalem & Bethlehem

Our first morning in Tel Aviv we woke up early to head to the Indian Embassy to attempt to get an Indian visa. (We attempted to get the visa in Cairo but arrived at noon to find out that they could only accept paperwork between 9:30 and 11:30. Also we had read on the internet that it would take three days to process and we weren't going to be in Cairo that long.) We arrived at the embassy, to be told that we needed to go down the street to a travel agency for tourist visas. Apparently India has outsourced their visas, which we find a little ironic. At the travel agency they said it would take at least two weeks to process! So, we will not be going to India any time soon.


The weather was beautiful and there weren't a lot of sights to see in Tel Aviv so we decided to spend the rest of the day relaxing. We took a nice long walk along the beach and then settled into some beach chairs for day of reading and people watching.

The next day we caught a bus and headed to Jerusalem. A friend of Todd's has a brother-in-law living in Jerusalem and they welcomed us into their home. We had a lot of fun hanging out with Chris and Kate and their adorable little girl, Esther. We spent our first day in Jerusalem wandering around the old city. It was the start of Shabbat so it was a cool time to see the Western Wall. We also visited the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Dome of the Rock. Behind the Western Wall.

The Western Wall

Inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Stone of the Anointing.

The next day we headed to the West Bank to visit Bethlehem. We had thought about spending a night in Bethlehem but we couldn't get a room. I guess that's typical for this time of year... Walking around the West Bank was interesting; I was surpised by how tall the walls surrounding it were. We walked along Manger St and went to Manger Square. Then we visited the Church of the Nativity. Under the altar, in the Grotto of the Nativity, there is a star marking the spot that some say is the actually spot Jesus was born. The door to the grotto was very small and there was no form of a line, just lots of people trying to push their way to the entrance. We waited in the cluster for a while but after a fight almost broke out (which included one guy yelling, "this aint your house" to another guy) we decided to pass. Next we went to the Milk Grotto Chapel, which was much more peaceful. Legend has it that Mary and Joseph stopped here to feed Jesus during their flight to Egypt, and a drop of milk touched the red rock causing it to turn white. Getting out of the West Bank was not as quick as getting in. On the way in, we showed our passport and walked straight through the police check point. On the way out, the line was long and once again many people did not care about the concept of forming a line. After almost an hour we finally made it to the other side.

View of Jerusalem on our walk to Bethlehem.

Church of the Nativity

People trying to get into the Grotto of the Nativity.

Front door of the Church of the Nativity. It is called the door of humility.

Milk Grotto Chapel

Inside the Milk Grotto

Wall of the West Bank.

On Sunday, we headed back to the old city of Jerusalem and did the Ramparts Walk. The Ramparts Walk is a path that leads around the top of the walls of the old city. You aren't able to go all the way around because they have closed off the section that goes around the Temple Mount for security reasons. It was neat to see the city from the walls and there were also a couple of stops along the way. There was a Roman plaza that had been discovered beneath one of the gates that had some artifacts and a cave that had been used as a quarry for the stones of the Temple. There was also a large archeological site outside the Temple Mount. We also stopped back by the Western Wall since it was no longer Shabbat.

View from the top of the wall on the Ramparts Walk.

Inside the cave. One of the large rooms has been used by the Freemasons for meetings or ceremonies.

Todd in the men's section of the Western Wall

Cute, narrow street of the old city.

Damascus Gate into the old city.

Hanging out at home with sweet, little Esther.

We have had a great time in Israel and are very thankful for Chris and Kate and their great hospitality. Next we are headed back to Tel Aviv to catch a flight to Dubai.