Jerusalem, Israel

Shalom!

After Haifa, our next stop was to Ashdod, Israel. Ashdod is the closest port to the holy city of Jerusalem. The day we got there, the Israeli navy seized a ship carrying tons of weapons to Iran. They parked this ship next to our boat! It was a little scary considering this is everyday life in Israel. It has become a way of life to get used to national security threats.

We took a tour to Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Bethlehem was our first stop. It was interesting because we had to cross over into the West Bank. Israelis are not allowed to go, so our bus driver dropped off our tour guide at a coffee shop outside of the gate. Our bus driver was Palestinian so they are allowed to cross back and forth.



All the signs are written in Hebrew first, then Arabic, and then (sometimes) English.

Once we got to Bethlehem, it was kind of surreal that we were in the birthplace of Jesus Christ. What was interesting is how it is Muslim there, so there was a mosque playing in the background across the street from where Jesus was born.

There was a church built on top of the birth site, so we had to crawl inside to check it out!



This is the church built on top of the site.



We had to go underneath that as well.



The star is the spot where Jesus was actually born.





This is the spot where they laid him in a manger.



Here is a super short clip of what was playing across the street.



After Bethlehem, we picked up our tour guide and made our way to old town Jerusalem.





We walked through the crowded markets and made our way to the site where Christ was crucified.



The picture isn't the best, but we didn't get to go any closer. Those people must have had VIP passes!

Then the tomb that he arose out of.



I stood in front of the tomb for a while just thinking, "Wow, how can anyone not believe?"

Before we headed back we stopped for a photo op at the Mount of Olives.



The food here was to die for. We brought some date honey back with us. They get the dates from the Palm Trees and then make honey out of it. Our jar is already almost empty :(.