Israel Travel Diary

Welcome to my Israel Travel Diary! I had the amazing opportunity to go to Israel several months ago with my little sisters in Christ, Carryn and Brianna, and it was a life-changing experience. It’s hard to put into words how much this trip meant to me, but getting to walk where Jesus walked and see the Bible come to life was a special time with my Savior that I’ll never forget. I took lots and lots of pictures with you guys in mind, so I truly hope this diary makes you feel like you were there, too, and maybe even help you learn more about the places in the Bible!

Monday

NYC > Istanbul

Tuesday

Istanbul > Tel Aviv > Tiberias

 

Wednesday

My first full day in Israel! I woke up to the most beautiful view of the Sea of Galilee from my hotel room. This day we journeyed to the Golan Heights and got to see the borders of Syria and Jordan. We visited so many neat archeological places including Chorazin, Tel Hazor, Tel Dan Nature Reserve (like Dan from the twelve tribes of Israel!) and Caesarea Philippi. We walked a small part of the Valley of the Doves (a trail they believe Jesus walked many times) and stopped by Kursi, the place where Jesus cast demons out of a man and sent them into a herd of pigs (Mark 5). I also had my very first falafel for lunch!

 

Thursday

Our group started waking up at 5am every morning (thanks to our amazing tour guide) so we could do and see even more on our trip! I wasn’t crazy about the idea at first, but it turned out to be the best thing ever. We began our morning with a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee where we danced, listened to music and watched a demonstration of how the disciples would have cast their nets over the side of the boat. It was incredible! Next we visited the Mount of Beatitudes. Then onto the Church of the Primacy of St. Peter, where I waded into the Sea of Galilee for the first time. This place was absolutely beautiful—this is where they believe Jesus asked Peter, “Do you love me?” three times after He rose from the dead (John 21). Next we traveled to Capernaum and Beit She’an, both amazing archeological sites. Beit She’an is at the foot of Mount Gilboa, where Saul and Jonathan were killed. Last but not least, I and several others in our group got baptized in the Jordan River!

 

Friday

This morning we ascended Mount Precipice, where we had a beautiful view of the Jezreel Valley and the city of Nazareth. Then we explored Tel Megiddo, a super neat archeological site. Next we visited Mount Carmel, where the epic story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal took place (1 Kings 18). It was unbelievably windy on this mountain! After that, we traveled to one of my favorite places of the trip—Caesarea by the Mediterranean Sea! We got to explore the ancient Roman ruins of Caesarea Maritima and the cutest little area that had such a Rome/Italian feel—our group even stopped for gelato at Bella Gelato Italiano. Last but certainly not least, our bus carried us up to Jerusalem! We stopped at Mount Scopus, where we had our very first magnificent view of Jerusalem, the City of God, before continuing on to our second hotel of the trip, Ambassador Hotel Jerusalem.

 

Saturday

Bright and early this morning our bus drove us through the desert to Masada, one of the coolest places I’ve ever been to in my life and a definite must-see if you travel to Israel! This ancient fortress built by Herod the Great is set on a massive plateau overlooking the Dead Sea. We rode a cable car to the top and I was completely blown away by the view! Next we traveled to the beautiful oasis, Ein Gedi, where there is a waterfall in the desert. David lived here when he was running for his life from Saul (1 Samuel 23:29), and it’s very likely that he visited this water often! Then we stopped by Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls (containing most of the Old Testament) were found. We couldn’t go inside any of the caves, which I was super disappointed about, but we did get to see them from a distance. Next we journeyed on to Jericho, where we had lunch, rode a camel and saw the ruins of the walls of Jericho that came tumbling down. Finally, one of the best parts of the whole trip—we floated in the Dead Sea! This was an absolutely incredible experience that I would love to do again someday.

 

Sunday

We didn’t go to church on Sunday morning, but we did go to the Mount of Olives, where we had an absolutely spectacular view of Jerusalem. We walked down the mountain on Palm Sunday Road, listening to “Hosanna” by Hillsong UNITED. Then we continued on to the Garden of Gethsemane, which was beautiful but totally different than I imagined it would be! I pictured walking through a quiet, peaceful garden, praying and reflecting on what Jesus did for me. But nope—it was busy! There were people everywhere, and the garden they have today is surrounded by a fence, so we couldn’t go inside. After that we journeyed on to the Western Wall (or the Wailing Wall), which is the most religious site in the world for the Jewish people. Nearby, we saw and got to walk on remains of steps that may have led up to the Temple, where they believe Jesus walked many times. Then at lunchtime we journeyed to Bethlehem. Believe it or not, I was not a huge fan of Bethlehem. As we passed through the massive Israeli barrier and into the West Bank, we drove by heartbreaking graffiti on the walls—artwork of children playing with barbed wire hula hoops, a peace dove wearing a bulletproof vest, and more. Our tour guide also told us how badly local Christians are treated here. We were completely safe with our group, but I could just feel the sadness and brokenness in the city. Before returning to our hotel, we visited one of the sites where the angels could have appeared to the shepherds and the traditional sites of the Upper Room (Cenacle) and King David’s Tomb (very unlikely that these are the actual sites, but still neat).

 

Monday

This morning I was bursting with excitement because we were headed to the Temple Mount to see the Dome of the Rock! I wasn’t necessarily excited because of the mosque, but because this is the place where they believe the Temple once stood. (We don’t know for sure, but it’s possible. It was at least nearby.) We weren’t allowed to go inside (only Muslims can—definitely not Christians), but I went right up to it and touched the outside. It was stunning! We then walked to the Pool of Bethesda, where Jesus healed a lame man. This place touched me more than words can say, because this story in the Bible (John 5) means so much to me. Now here comes my absolute favorite part of the whole trip—the Via Dolorosa, believed to be the path that Jesus walked on the way to His crucifixion. We followed the streets of Old Jerusalem, stopping at several churches, including the Church of Saint Peter in Gallicantu (they believe this may have been the place where the High Priest, Caiaphas, interrogated Jesus, and where Peter denied Jesus three times). We then visited the Garden Tomb, an absolutely wonderful place run by Christians. They shared the Gospel with our group and showed us the Place of the Skull, Golgotha (where Jesus was crucified). Then we got to go inside a tomb where Jesus may have been buried (no one knows for sure, but this is a possible location), and it was exactly how I pictured it would be. That evening after dinner we ventured out with some other people from our group and visited the Downtown Triangle, which is a lively commercial hub with shops, cafés, live music and more!

 

Tuesday

My last full day in Israel. We were all exhausted this day and had a different tour guide, so it was pretty laid back. We visited the Temple Institute, where they are working on plans and instruments for the new Temple—so exciting and surreal to see Bible prophecy being fulfilled right before our eyes! Next we went to the Israel Museum and saw the incredible Holyland Model of Jerusalem and the Shrine of the Book, where the Dead Sea Scrolls are kept. Then we traveled to Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center. This place was unbelievable. The Holocaust History Museum was extremely heavy and depressing to me, but also beautiful. We returned to our hotel, had dinner, and then some people in our group ventured back out with our tour guide to the Western Wall Tunnel, where we got to walk underneath Jerusalem!

 

Wednesday

Jerusalem > Tel Aviv > Istanbul > NYC

 

Well, that concludes my Israel Travel Diary! Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed this peak into the beautiful Holy Land of Israel! Please let me know if you have any questions. And I’d love to hear from you—have you ever been to Israel? What was your favorite part? If you could go, what would you most like to see? Let me know in the comments!