World Cruise – Days 25-27 – Sea Days, Suez Canal, and Israel

After some exhausting and long days in Egypt and Jordan, I was looking forward to a couple of Sea Days before our next port. Nothing too eventful on day 25, but we were going through the Suez Canal on Day 26. We entered the canal at 4:00am, so I wasn’t awake for that (besides, there are no locks or anything exciting to see). We didn’t get through the Suez until 2:30pm.

Here are a few pics (we had Egypt to our left and the Sinai Peninsula (also Egypt) to our right.

Day 27 - Jerusalem and the Dead Sea

Leslie and I had decided to go on a private tour in Israel since the ship didn’t offer exactly what we wanted to do. We found a group of people that were going to be on our cruise through Cruise Critic prior to our cruise. Some of them were going on a tour to Jerusalem and the Dead Sea and that is exactly what I wanted to do. It is a Bucket List item for me to float in the Dead Sea.

We met our group on the ship at 7:00am and got on our private bus that took us to Jerusalem (a 1.5-hour drive from the Port of Ashdod). Below are a few pictures from our bus ride. There were many vineyard along the way.

Our first stop was Mount of Olives where it is said that the Messiah will resurrect the dead on judgement day, according to the Jewish religion. Jerusalem’s holiest cemetery and Olive Trees (hence the name) cover the hill. There is also a fabulous view from there where you can see the whole city.

We walked down the hill through the Street of Palms (where “Palm Sunday” occurred for you Catholics), and it is said that Jesus walked the path that we were on.

The Street of Palms lead to the garden (Garden of Gesthemane) and church (Basilica of the Agony) where Jesus prayed after the Last Supper, the Apostles betrayed him and slept, and where Jesus wept and prayed on the Rock of Agony. You can see this depiction in the mural in the church.

This door in the Eastern wall, that you can see from the gardens and church, is where the Jews believe that Jesus will enter the city on Judgement Day.

We walked by the supposed tomb of Mary (Jesus’s mother) while waiting for the bus to pick us up.

Finally, we were going inside the wall to the Western Wall (also known as the Wailing Wall), which was what I was really looking forward to.

We entered through Dung Gate on the southern side of the city.

There were people young and old visiting the site, of all religions. You definitely felt like you were in a holy place. The wall is the most sacred site and symbol in the Jewish religion where they have been gathering to pray for centuries. There was a side for women, and a side for men. Only the men are allowed in the building under the arch.

A crowded night at the Wall...

Here is where our tour differed from the boat tour that was going to Jerusalem. We got to walk around the various shops and streets of the city. There are four quarters, and we went to 3 of them (the Jewish Quarter, the Muslim Quarter, the Christian Quarter, and the Armenian Quarter).

Muslim Quarter – this one was the most interesting because we were able to go to 4 of the stations where Jesus went when he was crucified. It was surreal standing on the very spot that it happened. They are all marked by a semi-circle of pavers on the ground.

Station V - the second pic is where Jesus leaned against the wall.

Stations VI, VII and VIII...

Other scenes from the Muslim Quarter...

Jewish Quarter...

Lunch – For lunch, we had 25 minutes of free time. Leslie and I had pomegranate juice and Shawarma for the second time (our first was in Langkowi, Malaysia). Just as it was the first time, it was delicious!

Christian Quarter...

On our walk through the streets, we visited the church where the tomb of Jesus supposedly lies. This is probably the most amazing church that I’ve ever seen. It was huge (it had several levels with stairs) and 4 religions share the site. There was a long line for the tomb, so we didn’t have time to enter the tomb that was inside the church; however, Leslie got some of her trinkets that she bought blessed on the ground that cleansed Jesus’s body after he died. Again, surreal!

After all the excitement of Jerusalem, we still had a trip to the Dead Sea on our agenda. We drove about 30 minutes outside of Jerusalem to the Dead Sea. Along, the way, the terrain changed dramatically, and I was surprised to see Bedouins in the barren desert here in Israel as well.

The Dead Sea is supposedly the lowest place on earth (1,276 ft below sea level). There is 34% salt in the water, which allows you to float easily. There is also the most amazing black mud, that is proven to have health benefits, improving, revitalizing, and providing relief for your skin. I can tell you from first hand, that as soon as you wipe of the mud the first time (of course we had to do it several times), my skin felt smoother than it ever has. Even a day later, while I’m writing this, my skin feels just as smooth and soft. I’m glad I bought a mud mask to bring back with me.

Before and after our mud bath...

Our beer afterwards, tasted so good!

We barely made it back to the boat on time. Long enough for us to Facetime with sister Sue, and her husband, Mike, and to see my little Leo. Although, I don’t think he misses me much – he seemed to be happy and having a grand old time without me.

Coming up….One more Sea Day, then Greece!