My kingdom for a better map!

Israel was the only unplanned part of our trip.  We originally were going to spend 6 days in Egypt but decided that since Israel was so close, why the heck not?  It ended up costing us quite a bit more than expected when we realized Egypt wouldn't let us back in!  Apparently you can't buy a visa at the border for a land entry like you can for an air entry.  We missed our flight from Cairo to Madrid and had to buy another ticket out of Telaviv.

Getting onto the plane in Telaviv was another major ordeal!  Being backpackers with our passports stamped from going in and out of Egypt and Israel in such a short amount of time we must have fit some type of suspicious person profile.  We were questioned for over an hour and then getting our bags checked took almost another hour. They questioned us separately, asking us every kind of who, what, where, why and when type of question you can think of about our past, present and future.  They conferred together at times to see if our stories matched. We had to provide hotel receipts from China and Thailand, names and addresses of people we were staying with in Europe, they read my journal, asked why we had certain pages dog-eared in a tour book someone lent us in Egypt. My mind was numb, but I was glad for the strict security.  I wouldn't want any real shady characters getting on my plane.  Everyone was pleasant too.

Ok, so now that that's out of the way.  Israel is definitely worth the trip.  We went by way of a bus that passes through the Gaza Strip.  Seeing the way people live in those settlements way out in the desert was moving.  The armed guards that rode with us and the army escorts in the jeep in front were not to be forgotten either.

We spent one day in Telaviv and then went to Jerusalem.  We then traveled to Eliat and ended up spending 2 nights there because of the visa problem mentioned earlier.  That bus went via the highway that follows the Dead Sea.  We were able to get out and touch the water at one point.  It was oily and when my hand dried it was encrusted with white minerals. Hostels are easy to come by, some with private rooms, others dorm style.  All the ones we saw were from $8-$17 US.  The buses were cheap too.

Jerusalem was amazing.  The smooth cobblestone streets that twist and wind into nowhere in particular.  The vast differences in culture from one quarter to the next.  The deep religious awe at such sites as the Western Wall, Temple Mount and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. That is to say, when you can actually find the suckers!  I've never been so lost so many times in all my life.  I still feel a bit guilty about throwing my falafel wrapper down in the street and then looking up to see the sign that marked the Fifth Station of the Cross.  I didn't know we were on the Via Dolorosa, honest!

Israel Photos