Israel

Ever since I can remember, when I have asked KR where she would like to go next, her answer has always been the Holy Land - she would say I want to walk where the Savior walked. Well she finally got her chance and what a great experience we had - the days were long and exhausting, but so worth the time and expense. We went to every corner of Israel and got to see and hear about so many interesting things. Places that when I read about them now, I will have a clear image in my mind for reference.


As I previously mentioned, we took thousands of digital images, but I have chosen just a few to post. It was a trip of images and symbols: 1) Nazareth, the city of Jesus' childhood, is considered the Arab capital of Israel, as it is predominantly populated by Arab citizens, many of them Christians, 2) the Andertons & Gundersens enjoy an evening cruise on the Sea of Galilee, 3) as we were still not totally adapted to the time change, I kept waking up early in the morning and I took advantage to enjoy the sunrises over the Golan Heights and the Sea of Galilee - Syria is over the distant hills, 4) the Sea of Galilee at Capernaum, the town of Peter, 5) over the centuries, churches have fought (sometimes literally) for control of the holy sites and built shrines or churches on the premises for pilgrims - here is KR at the Roman Catholic center on the Mount of Beatitudes, 6) KR at the ruins of Caesarea Phillipi, 7) the Israeli flag overlooking the road to Damascus - the border of Syria is just a few miles to the left, 8) KR on the banks of the Jordan River at dusk, 9) a late night swim in the Sea of Galilee, 10) on the steps that Paul perhaps used exiting from a ship in Caesarea Maritima, 11) Garden of Gethsemane, 12) KR in the Orson Hyde Memorial Garden, with the Temple Mount in the background, 13) attending services at the BYU Jerusalem Center - what a great location, 14) stairs dating back to the time of Jesus that adjoin the site where He was taken after being arrested - truly where Jesus walked, 15) KR inside the walls of Old Jerusalem, having entered the Lions' Gate, 16) the Garden Tomb, 17) KR on the Temple Mount - the Dome of the Rock is in the background, 18) KR and Barb Gundersen on the narrow streets of the Old City, 19) the famous Western Wall of the Temple Mount, 20) we walked in water to our knees several kilometers though Hezekiah's Tunnel - it got very narrow in places, 21) floating in the Dead Sea - it was so salty you floated like a cork, and 22) Mike keeping the sun off on the top of the plateau at Masada. Awesome, just ..... awesome.