My trip to Israel with photos.

[mikelan6]

My partner Adam and I just returned from a twelve day trip to Israel and I’d like to share some of our photos with you. I know it's not Disney related, but I hope it's ok.

We flew Continental Airlines from Ft Lauderdale to Tel Aviv via Newark. It was a pretty long flight.

Fortunately we were in their Business/First section, so it was more comfortable.

I won’t show you what we ate for dinner, but here’s the dessert on the flight.

Our first glimpse of Tel Aviv’s beautiful beaches.

Our first few days were in Jerusalem. Here’s the view from our hotel.

A view of the old city of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives.

We entered the old city via the Zion Gate. I believe there are twelve gates in all.

The Romans built a great shopping area called the Cardo. Here are its remnants.

We saw a few cats around the old city.

An olive tree in old Jerusalem.

More ruins in the Jewish quarter of the old city.

The Muslim Al Aqsa mosque and the Mount of Olives in the distance.

The Israeli flag and the Menorah above the city.

These are the rules to enter the area of the Western Wall and the Temple Mount.

The Western Wall is the holiest place in the world for Jews.

In the Muslim Quarter, we had some freshly squeezed pomegranate juice.

The Arabs use green signs to bring good luck.

A typical street in Jerusalem’s Muslim Quarter.

The fifth station of the Via Dolorosa where Jesus walked to the crucifixion.

A Muslim minaret stands near the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

Christian pilgrims use these crosses to re-enact Jesus’ way.

The place of Jesus’ crucifixion is marked by this ornate altar.

This is the stone where Jesus’ body was washed before burial. People place souvenirs here to bless them.

The beautiful dome over Jesus’ tomb.​

More to come soon.

 

[mikelan6]

There was a huge queue to enter Jesus’ tomb. No fastpasses here.

The Tower of David outside the city walls.

The main gates into the old city – Jaffa Gate.

Our hotel in Jerusalem had a great location – the Harmony Hotel.

We took a tour to Masada and the Dead Sea. We passed by the caves of Qumran where the Dead Sea scrolls were found.

Along the way, we stopped by the Ahava cosmetic factory.

Jordan was on the other side of the Dead Sea.

The Masada visitors center was very modern.

A cable car takes visitors up to the summit.

The view from above.

The ruins of the ancient bath houses are so interesting.

King Herod had a three level palace built on the side of the mountain.

This ramp was built by the Romans to conquer Masada.

We were also taken to a place on the Dead Sea to take a swim in the therapeutic waters.

The YMCA in Jerusalem – interesting architecture!

Yad Vashem – the holocaust memorial was a must see.

This was Yad Vashem’s visitors center.

A windmill in Jerusalem was a strange site.

One day, we toured a park called “Mini-Israel,” which had miniatures of many of the country’s sites.

This was a miniature of Haifa’s Baha’i Shrine and gardens.

A miniature of Jesus’ town on the Sea of Galilee.

A miniature of Jerusalem’s Damascus Gate.

A miniature of Jerusalem’s Dome of the Rock – a holy place for all three main religions.

A model of the Western Wall. The tiny people in the model would even move as they prayed.
​

And there's still more.

 

[mikelan6]

The details of the models were stunning.

Jerusalem’s finest hotel – the King David also had a miniature of itself.

A model of the menorah in front of Israel’s parliament building – the Knesset.

A model of the YMCA – we saw the real one above.

A model of Herod’s palace on Masada as it must have looked in ancient times.

A model of the fantastic Dan Eilat Hotel.

Another view of the model of the Western Wall.

We spent some time in town of Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee in the north of Israel.

We stayed at the FABULOUS Scots Hotel.

This was the spread at the amazing dinner buffet.

Even the wines got into the Scottish act!

From our hotel, we could see the tomb of one of the most famous Rabbis – Maimonides.

The beautiful view of the Sea of Galilee from our hotel.

The landscaping at the Scots Hotel was inspiring.

The main building had the restaurant in it.

A boat sails by on the tranquil Sea of Galilee.

The hotel gardens even had pomegranates growing on them.

This was one of the hotel’s buildings where rooms were located.

The delicious breakfast buffet – one of the best we had on our trip.

A nice view from the window.

We also visited Tabgha where Jesus fed the multitudes with fish and bread.

The rock below the altar was where Jesus performed his miracle.

The White Synagogue in Jesus’ town of Capernaum.

An octagonal church was build above where St. Peter’s house was.
​

Yeah ... there's still more.

 

[mikelan6]

We also stopped at an artist colony in the small town of Safed.

Many of the galleries were housed in an old mosque.

We also went to the port city of Haifa. This was the view from our hotel.

The hotel view at night – spectacular.

Israel’s only subway called the Carmelit went up and down Mount Carmel.

The Baha’i Shrine and Gardens at night.

The gardens went most of the way up Mount Carmel.

The Baha’i Shrine houses the tomb of the Bab - that religion’s founder.

Another view of the beautiful gardens.

Simply stunning.

In Tel Aviv, Israel’s modern city, I went to an arts and crafts market called “Nahalat Binyamin.”

The Opera Tower as we saw it from our hotel room – we’d seen the model of it in Mini-Israel.

A statue of a whale in the old city of Yaffo recalls the story of Jonah and the Whale – set here.

Another scene from the ancient city of Yaffo.

We went to an Arab restaurant near Jerusalem. We loved the pita bread.

They had dozens of different salads to try.

The outside of the Arab restaurant at night.

We also visited the ancient Roman town of Caesaria, also built by King Herod. Here, we saw a small sphinx head made from sandstone.

The ancient Roman amphitheater in Caesaria.

After the Romans, the Turks invaded Caesaria and built their mosque.

The Romans also had an aqueduct to bring water to the city.

We also visited Acco in the north. Acco is an ancient crusader city.

We saw these impressive columns built by the crusaders.

Of course, when the Arabs came in, they built their mosques.

Our final stop was Rosh Hanikra on the Israel-Lebanon border. We took cable cars down to the amazing grottoes.

​

Just a few more ...

 

[mikelan6]

The ocean waves had created these grottoes naturally.

These scenes reminded me of Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean attractions.

The beautiful cliffs of Rosh Hanikra on the Mediterranean Sea.

A mountain marked the border between Israel and Lebanon.

This was the pretty view to the south.​

That's it. I hope you enjoyed!

 

[DSNY4ever]

Wow, looks like you had an amazing trip! What beautiful pictures- and lucky you, an ice cream sundae on an airplane- I have never seen that, but haha I guess seeing so many amazing things in Israel was a little more exciting for you .

 

[beachwarmer]

Wow great photos of an amazing trip. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Decorated_Dust]

Wow, that looks amazing! It's actually a life goal of mine to go and follow Paul's travels, so color me jealous.

This looks gorgeous. It must have been a very awesome trip. Take me with you next time!!

 

[aspen37]

WOW what gorges photos. Thanks for sharing them with us. One day I also would like to go to Israel. It sounds like you had a great trip.

 

[DVCsince02]

Thank you for sharing your beautiful photos of what looks to be an amazing trip!

 

[NeverLandDreamer]

Wonderful photos! Israel looks like a beautiful place. How interesting to see landmarks from Jesus' time. Amazing.

Were you frightened a bit while there? I think I might have been. (I don't mean to be offensive by that...just curious).

 

[jeanigor]

It must have been a trip of a lifetime! Thank you for sharing it with us!

 

[disneym2m]

Thank you so much for sharing these pictures of your amazing voyage. Due to medical reasons, I can not fly and will never see this in person, so seeing these pictures was truly wonderful.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

 

[DisneyKevin]

Thanks for letting us see these.

They are fascinating!!!!

 

[msteddom]

Wonderful photos! Thanks so much for sharing!!!

Melissa

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

I really enjoyed these photos -- thank you for sharing them with us!

 

[disneyholic family]

BEAUTIFUL pictures!!!!

really lovely...

You managed to see an incredible amount in a very short time.

we just did a Segway tour of jerusalem last month....
it was amazing...the views were stunning...

2 small corrections to your captions:
1. The model of the jerusalem gate in your picture from mini-israel is actually Damascus Gate (not jaffa gate)

2. the model that you're calling the 7 arches hotel i'm pretty sure is actually the YMCA - a famous site in Jerusalem (the real one in Jerusalem is right across from the King David Hotel). I walk by it every Sunday.


thanks for the pictures of the Scots hotel - i've wanted to stay there...
i've only heard great things about it..

thanks again for all the pictures....
(and that ice cream sunday....yummmmm)

 

[Mouse Skywalker]

Mike - thank you so much for sharing your photos. They are great pictures, and very interesting to look at. Looks like you had an amazing trip.

 

[rotlex]

These are amazing! Thanks so much for sharing them. It's a mini-dream of mine to one day visit Jerusalem. No idea if it will ever happen, but I can pray.

 

[Applemomma]

WOW! Those are stunning pics. That must have been a trip of a lifetime and now it makes me want to go to! Thanks for sharing them!

Was it an organized tour that you went with?